Programmed recording device and method of cable television broadcasting signal

#1. Field of the Invention

#The present invention relates to a programmed recording method of a cable television (CATV) broadcasting signal, and more particularly to a method of performing programmable recording of the CATV broadcasting signal which a viewer desires to watch by automatically transmitting a channel-up code so as to direct the CATV channel to a valid channel for recording especially when the current CATV channel is an invalid channel.

#2. Description of the Prior Art

#The above object, and other features and advantages of the invention will become apparent by describing the preferred embodiment thereof with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

#FIG. 1 is a view explaining the programmed recording state of a CATV broadcast in case that the previous channel of the cable converter is an invalid channel;

#FIG. 2 is an algorithm diagram incorporating the programmed recording method of a CATV broadcast according to the present invention; and

#A programmed recording apparatus of a CATV broadcast incorporating the method according to the present invention is shown by FIG. 3 and designated generally by reference numeral 10. The apparatus 10 includes a system controller 12 having a microprocessor (μP) and a memory 20 storing programmed instructions for controlling a cable converter 14 and performing other functions. The cable converter 14 receives a CATV broadcasting signal and provides the CATV signal to a TV-VCR system 16. The microprocessor of the system controller 12 receives data of a programmed recording time and channel from a user via a data input port 13, and determines whether the current time has reached the programmed recording time by using a counter 18, as further described below with reference to FIG. 2. The system controller 12 then controls the operation of the cable converter 14 via an interface 15 which in turn controls the operation of the TV-VCR system 16. The system controller 12 can also be configured to control other peripheral devices.

#The programmed recording process of the CATV broadcast according to the present invention will be explained in detail with reference to FIG. 2.

#Referring to FIG. 2, if a user selects a programmed recording time and a programmed recording mode for performing the programmed recording of a CATV broadcast (step S1), the system controller 12 stores the programmed recording time, within the memory 20 and continually checks whether the current time reaches the start time for the programmed recording by counting the current time (step S2). When the current time reaches the start time for programmed recording, the system controller 12 checks if the programmed recording condition is satisfied, for example, if the recording medium, such as a VCR tape, is placed in a VCR (step S3).