Reception control apparatus for a television receiver

• US 4,954,899 A
• Filed: 06/01/1988
• Issued: 09/04/1990
• Est. Priority Date: 06/02/1987
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Kabushiki Kaisha Toshiba (Toshiba Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Kabushiki Kaisha Toshiba (Toshiba Corporation)
• Inventors: Tanabe, Toshiyuki, Senoo, Seiji
• Primary Examiner(s): Chin, Tommy P.
• Application Number:
  US07/200,970
• Time in Patent Office: 825 Days
• Field of Search: 358/191.1, 358/193.1, 358/194.1, 455/181, 455/184, 455/180
• US Class Current: 725/14
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4383 Accessing a communication channel
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4436 Power management, e.g. shutting down unused components of the receiver power management in computer systems G06F1/3203; hibernate or awake process in computer systems G06F9/4418
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4532 involving end-user characteristics, e.g. viewer profile, preferences monitoring of user activities for profile generation for accessing a video database G06F16/739; user profiles in network data switching protocols H04L67/306; processing of user preferences or user profiles in wireless networks H04W8/18
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/466 Learning process for intelligent management, e.g. learning user preferences for recommending movies services using the results of monitoring in broadcast systems H04H60/61
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 5/44 Receiver circuitry for the reception of television signals according to analogue transmission standards H04N5/14 takes precedence

Abstract

A channel selection apparatus used for a television receiver for automatically selecting a predetermined TV channel along with a user'"'"'s habit or reception pattern for a prescribed period. The channel selection apparatus includes an input device for commanding reception control data for the channel selection, a clock device for generating a time data, a memory device for storing reception control data supplied from the input device for a predetermined period together with time data responding to the reception control data to be stored, a control device for controlling the memory device for a writing reception control data and its responding time data thereto and a reading out predetermined reception control data with time data responding to the present time and an output device responsive to the control device for receiving the reception control data.

Claims

1. A channel selection apparatus used for a television receiver, comprising:

power means for providing power to the channel selection apparatus;

input means for receiving channel selection data corresponding to a channel which the television receiver is currently receiving, and for outputting reception control data in accordance with the channel selection data;

clock means for generating successive current time data;

memory means for storing said reception control data supplied from the input means for a predetermined period together with a first one of said current time data corresponding to the predetermined period and to the reception control data to be stored;

means for controlling the memory means for writing said reception control data and said corresponding time data to the memory means and for reading out from the memory means reception control data and time data corresponding to a second one of said current time data, said clock means generating the second current time data at a time when said power means begins to provide power to the channel selection apparatus; and

output means responsive to the controlling means for receiving the reception control data read out from the memory means.

2. A channel selection apparatus of claim 1, further comprising selecting means coupled to the controlling means and the memory means for selecting a reception control data from a plurality of reception control data according to said second time data.

3. A channel selection apparatus of claim 2 wherein the selecting means includes decision means for selecting by a majority method the reception control data read from the memory means.

4. A channel selection apparatus of claim 2, wherein the selecting means includes calculating means for selecting by a factor-load method the reception control data read from the memory means.

5. A channel selection apparatus of claim 1, further including means for activating the channel selection apparatus, wherein the controlling means reads the reception control data responsive to activation of the channel-selection apparatus.

6. A channel selection apparatus of claim 1, wherein the controlling means includes means for comparing said reception control data from the input means and the memory means, and means for selecting the reception control data from the memory means when both the reception control data are different from each other.

7. A channel selection apparatus of claim 1 wherein the reception control data includes a channel data.

8. A channel selection apparatus of claim 1 wherein the reception control data further includes a sound volume data.