Station selection device in tuner for automatic selection according to input information

• US 5,379,454 A
• Filed: 03/02/1992
• Issued: 01/03/1995
• Est. Priority Date: 06/03/1988
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Pioneer Electronic Corporation (Pioneer Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Pioneer Electronic Corporation (Pioneer Corporation)
• Inventors: Koinuma, Hiroshi, Tasaki, Akira, Takegawa, Tomohiro
• Primary Examiner(s): Eisenzopf, Reinhard J.
• Assistant Examiner(s): FAILE, ANDREW I
• Application Number:
  US07/841,768
• Time in Patent Office: 1,037 Days
• Field of Search: 455/158, 455/160-161, 455/165-166, 455/168, 455/179, 455/180, 455/182-186, 358/191.1, 358/192.1, 358/193.1, 358/194.1, 379/354, 379/355
• US Class Current: 455/158.5
• CPC Class Codes: H03J 1/005 in a loop
• CPC Class Codes: H03J 5/0281 the digital values being held in an auxiliary non erasable memory

Abstract

A tuner having a programmable frequency divider which selects a broadcast station in accordance with a frequency division number, and a broadcast station selecting device. The selecting device includes an input device for inputting information representing a broadcast station; a memory means for storing information representing a plurality of broadcast stations and for storing frequency division numbers respectively corresponding to the stored information; and a control circuit for reading from the memory he stored frequency division number corresponding to the inputted information by the input device, and for supplying the read frequency division number to the programmable frequency divider so that the programmable frequency divider will select a broadcast station in accordance with the supplied frequency division number.

Claims

1. A tuner having a programmable frequency divider which selects a broadcast station in accordance with a frequency division number, the tuner comprising:

input means for inputting information representing at least one character of a broadcast station name, said input means including means operable for successively inputting a plurality of characters of the broadcast station name;

memory means for storing character information representing a plurality of broadcast station names and for storing frequency division numbers respectively corresponding to the stored information representing the plurality of broadcast station names; and

control means, coupled to said input means, for reading from said memory means a stored frequency division number in accordance with the information inputted by said input means and for supplying the read frequency division number to the programmable frequency divider so that the programmable frequency divider will select a broadcast station in accordance with the supplied frequency division number, wherein said control means includes stop means for stopping said control means from supplying a stored frequency division number to the programmable frequency divider, and wherein when said memory means stores a plurality of broadcast station names corresponding to the information inputted by said input means, said control means successively reads the stored frequency division number corresponding to the inputted information and successively supplies the read frequency division number to the programmable frequency divider unless said stop means is activated.

2. The tuner defined in claim 1, wherein said control circuit does not supply the programmable frequency divider with a successive stored frequency division number until a predetermined amount of time after the programmable frequency divider has selected a broadcast station.

3. The tuner defined in claim 1, wherein said tuner is a radio tuner.