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AssigneeMindmaster Inc.
InventorsRandal P. Levenson, James D. Kennedy, Zach D. Cox, Jr., Frank A. Browne
Estimating the term…
An electronic control device is connected in the power supply line to an electrical appliance to limit the amount of time the appliance can be used. In the illustrated embodiments, the invention permits a television to be put under parental control in order to limit the viewing time of each child in the family to a predetermined "allowance," for example, ten hours per week. The allowance is automatically refreshed at the end of each week. A current sensing circuit is included in the device to enable the device to monitor the on/off status of the television under control. The provision of the on/off information enables the control device to operate with numerous advantages, including permitting each child to simply turn off the television when he has completed his viewing without the necessity of "signing off" at the control device. Also disclosed is a system for controlling multiple televisions in a household by providing a master control device at one television and a slave control device at each remote television.
A device for limiting the amount of time a television may be viewed by a plurality of viewers to a predetermined allowance for each viewer, said device being connected in the power supply line to the television under control and serving to enable the power connection to the television when an authorized viewer has allowance time remaining, said device being characterized by the ability to sense the on/off status of the television to assure convenient and trustworthy operation of the device in an actual residential setting, said device comprising:
A device for limiting the amount of time a television may be viewed by a viewer to a predetermined allowance, said device being connected in the power supply line to the television under control and serving to enable the power connection to the television when the viewer has allowance time remaining, said device being characterized by the ability to sense the on/off status of the television to assure convenient and trustworthy operation of the device in an actual residential setting, said device comprising:
A device for limiting the amount of time an electrical appliance may be used by a plurality of users to a predetermined allowance for each user, said device being connected in the power supply line to the electrical appliance under control and serving to enable the power connection to the electrical appliance when an authorized user has allowance time remaining, said device being characterized by the ability to sense the on/off status of the electrical appliance to assure convenient and trustworthy operation of the device in an actual residential setting, said device comprising:
A system for limiting the amount of time a plurality of televisions may be viewed by a viewer to a predetermined allowance, said system comprising a master control device associated with one television and a slave control device associated with each of the other televisions, each control device being connected in the power supply line to its respective television and serving to enable the power connection to its television when the viewer has allowance time remaining, each master and slave device being characterized by the ability to sense the on/off status of its respective television to assure convenient and trustworthy operation of the system in an actual residential setting,
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.