Programmable channel regulating cable television controller
First Claim
1. A programmable channel regulating cable television controller, comprising:
- means for setting a time limit to be applied to the display of a cable television channel designated by a user and selected from a plurality of available cable television channels on a remotely located television set;
means for setting a time period during which said time limit is to be applied;
a channel timer for storing the amount of time available for display of said user designated cable television channel;
means for decrementing said channel timer in accordance with the amount of time said cable television channel is displayed;
means for disabling the display of said user designated cable television channel on said remotely located television set and for displaying a message for the viewer when said amount of time available for display reaches zero without disabling any other of said plurality of available cable television channels;
means for reininitializing said channel timer upon expiration of said time period; and
means for simultaneous display of a channel number associated with said user designated cable television channel, said time limit and said time period on said remotely located television set.
1 Assignment
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Accused Products
Abstract
The programmable cable controller in accordance with the invention is adapted to accept a time limit and a time period which are input by a viewer. A channel timer is provided to track the display time of the cable television channel and, upon reaching the preset time limit, display of the cable channel is blocked. The channel timer is reinitialized upon expiration of the preset time period. The programmable cable controller is also adapted to receive cable television programming listings and a viewer'"'"'s programming preferences and to store them in memory. The viewer'"'"'s programming preferences are applied to the cable television programming listings to produce a redacted listing of television programming which may be displayed on the television set.
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Citations
9 Claims
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1. A programmable channel regulating cable television controller, comprising:
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means for setting a time limit to be applied to the display of a cable television channel designated by a user and selected from a plurality of available cable television channels on a remotely located television set; means for setting a time period during which said time limit is to be applied; a channel timer for storing the amount of time available for display of said user designated cable television channel; means for decrementing said channel timer in accordance with the amount of time said cable television channel is displayed; means for disabling the display of said user designated cable television channel on said remotely located television set and for displaying a message for the viewer when said amount of time available for display reaches zero without disabling any other of said plurality of available cable television channels; means for reininitializing said channel timer upon expiration of said time period; and means for simultaneous display of a channel number associated with said user designated cable television channel, said time limit and said time period on said remotely located television set. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9)
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Specification