Back to results
US 5,334,975 AGranted
Residential time reference system
OwnerDavid E. Wachob, Hal M. Krisberghinventors
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Loading patent…
Loading patent…
OwnerDavid E. Wachob, Hal M. Krisberghinventors
Estimating the term…
A method and provides for transmitting a time reference throughout a residence or other facility for use by appliances operating within the facility. A time reference is received from the headend of a cable television (CATV) system at the subscriber converter and is retransmitted to set the internal clock timers of residential appliances throughout the house. The time reference is received by the CATV converter, then encoded and modulated for transmission on the residential AC wiring system which also carries AC power to all of the appliances in the house. Individual appliances receive the encoded time reference from the AC power line, demodulate the received signal and use the received time reference to set its internal clock timer. In such manner, a residential appliance does not need to have its internal clock set by the consumer.
A method for distributing the current time throughout a facility, said facility being connected by means of a converter to a broadcast video communication channel including a first time reference message having time reference data corresponding to the current time, and having at least one appliance connected to the AC power line wiring of said facility, said appliance having an internal clock including means for reading a second time reference message and setting the time of said clock in response to said second message, said method comprising:
A method for distributing the current time throughout a facility having an AC power line wiring, said facility being connected by means of a converter to a broadcast video communication channel including a first time reference message having time reference data corresponding to the current time, and having at least one appliance connected to said wiring of said facility, said appliance including an internal clock having means for reading a second time reference message and setting the time of said clock in response to said second message, said method comprising:
A method for distributing a first time reference message having time reference data corresponding to the current time in a facility connected by means of a converter to a CATV system, said facility having an AC power line, and at least one appliance connected to said AC power line, said appliance having an internal clock including means for reading a second time reference message and setting the time of said clock in response to said second message, said method comprising:
A method in a CATV converter for distributing the current time including a first time reference message having time reference data corresponding to the current time in a facility connected by means of a converter to a CATV system, said facility having an AC power line, and at least one appliance connected to said AC power line, said appliance including an internal clock having means for reading a second time reference message and setting the time of said clock in response to said second message, said method comprising:
A method for distributing the current time in a facility connected by means of a converter to a CATV system including a first time reference message having time reference data corresponding to the current time, said facility having an AC power line, and at least one appliance having an internal clock, said appliance being connected to said AC power line, and said clock including means for reading a second time reference message and setting the time of said clock in response to said second message, said method comprising:
A method for providing the current time for an appliance in a facility connected to a CATV system, said facility having an AC power line, and said appliance having an internal clock coupled to said AC power line, said internal clock including means for reading time reference data transferred thereto and setting the time of said clock in response to said data, said facility further including a CATV converter for receiving a first time reference message including said time reference data corresponding to the current time from said CATV system, demodulating said first time reference message to recover said time reference data, and retransmitting said received time reference data as a second time reference message on said AC power line, said method comprising:
An apparatus for distributing the current time throughout a facility, said facility being connected by means of a converter to a broadcast video communication channel including a first time reference message having time reference data corresponding to the current time, and having at least one appliance connected to the AC power line wiring of said facility, said appliance having an internal clock including means for reading a second time reference message and setting the time of said clock in response to said second message, said apparatus comprising:
An apparatus for distributing the current time throughout a facility having an AC power wiring, said facility being connected by means of a converter to a broadcast video communication channel including a first time reference message having time reference data corresponding to the current time, and having at least one appliance connected to said wiring of said facility, said appliance including means for reading and responding to a time reference message delivered thereto, said apparatus comprising:
An apparatus for distributing a first time reference message having time reference data corresponding to the current time in a facility connected by means of a converter to a CATV system, said facility having an AC power line, and at least one appliance connected to said AC power line, said appliance having an internal clock and including means for reading a second time reference message and setting the time of said clock in response to receipt of said second message, said apparatus comprising:
An apparatus in a CATV converter for distributing a first time reference message having time reference data corresponding to the current time in a facility connected to a CATV system by means of said converter, said facility having an AC power line, and at least one appliance connected to said AC power line, said appliance including an internal clock having means for reading a second time reference message and setting the time of said clock in response to said second message, said apparatus comprising:
An apparatus for distributing the current time in a facility connected by means of a converter to a CATV system including a first time reference message having time reference data corresponding to the current time, said facility having an AC power line, and at least one appliance having an internal clock, said appliance being connected to said AC power line and including means for reading time reference data transferred to said clock and resetting said clock in response to said data, said apparatus comprising:
An apparatus for providing the current time for an appliance in a facility connected to a CATV system, said facility having an AC power line, said appliance having an internal clock including means for setting the time of said clock, and said appliance being coupled to said AC power line, said facility further including a CATV converter for receiving a first time reference message corresponding to the current time including time reference data from said CATV system, demodulating said first time reference message to recover said time reference data, and retransmitting said received time reference data as a second time reference message on said AC power line, said apparatus comprising:
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.