JPH0345799B2 - - Google Patents

Description

[Detailed description of the invention] The present invention relates to programmable timers.

Traditionally, programmable timers are turned on once,
There are everyday timers that repeatedly turn on and off at that time every day after setting an off time, and once timers that once turn on and off at that time, do not operate until the on and off times are set again. There are sleep timers and the like that do not have an on-time setting and only have the function of turning off after a certain period of time.

Everyday timer, Once timer on,
To set the off time, you can set the time directly using the 10 keys from 0 to 9, or you can set the hour and minute digits independently by operating the two keys provided corresponding to the hour and minute digits. It is set by the method of raising the clock and setting the time. In addition, the settings for the sources to be turned on and off are also performed, and although these differ depending on the purpose, for audio timers, it is necessary to set the sources such as "PHONO", "TAPE",
"AUX", if it is a TV timer, the channel etc. is the source.

In conventional programmable timers, once the source to turn on or off is set, the timer stays on with that set source until it is set again.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of an example of a conventional programmable timer.

In Figure 1, the current time and timer on,
The off time is set from the keyboard 8 via the control circuit 1. The control circuit 1 is provided with a crystal oscillator 7, and the current time is counted based on the value obtained by dividing the frequency of the crystal oscillator 7.
The control circuit 1 reads the data from the current time memory 2, sends the data to the display circuit 5, and displays the current time on the display 6. The sources are terminals 9 _a , 9 _b , 9 _c ,
Connected to...

The control circuit 1 transfers the current time to the timer ON time memory 3 or OFF time memory 4 and the current time every time the current time memory 2 carries from the second digit to the minute digit, that is, from 59 seconds to 60 seconds (0 seconds). If they match, the control circuit 1 reads the source to be turned on from the source control memory 10, controls the source selection circuit 9 according to the content, and the source selection circuit 9 selects the selected source. Outputs a control signal to turn on the selected source and performs timer operation. In the source control memory 10, the source to be turned on is set by operating the operation switch on the keyboard 8. The same applies when it is off.

In such a programmable timer, once the source is set, the timer stays on at that set source until it is set again. That is, the source of the timer on time (or timer off time) written in the source control memory 10 is set only by operating the keyboard 8;
Once set, the source of the timer on time (or timer on time) will not be changed unless it is set using the keyboard 8 next time. There is no problem if the source to be set is determined in advance, but if it is not determined, the user will have to listen to various sources while making a selection, which is inconvenient as the setting must be made again each time. for example,
When trying to select which band or frequency is best when using a radio broadcast as a source, there is a drawback that the settings must be redone each time.

The present invention eliminates the above disadvantages and provides a programmable timer that can be turned on or off at the last source selected among various selections.

The present invention includes a memory that stores a desired turn-on or turn-off time, a source selection circuit that selects a source to turn on or turn off at the time, a source control memory, a display section that displays the time, and a source selection circuit that selects a source to turn on or turn off at the desired time. In a programmable timer that has a keyboard for setting the time and source, and a control circuit for controlling each of the above-mentioned parts, a last source memory connected to the control circuit and the source control memory is provided, and the last source memory is turned on by operating the keyboard. Alternatively, the content of the last source memory is written to the source control memory when the off time is reset.

Next, embodiments of the present invention will be described using the drawings.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram of one embodiment of the present invention.

In this embodiment, a last source memory 11 is added and connected to the control circuit 1 and the source control memory 10. Other than that, it is the same as the conventional product shown in FIG.

Next, the operation of this embodiment will be explained. All explanations will be made regarding turning on at a certain time, but the same applies when turning off.

When the control circuit 1 rewrites the timer on time memory 3 by operating the keyboard 8, the control circuit 1
reads the contents of the last source memory 11 and writes them to the source control memory 10, respectively. Therefore,
At this time, the source control memory 10 becomes the same as the last source memory 11. last source memory 11
The currently selected source is written, such as Tuner if it is a stereo set for audio.
If it is a deck, player, etc., or even a tuner, the band, frequency, etc. currently being received will be the last source.

The conventional source control memory 10 shown in FIG.
It was set only by operating the keyboard 8. That is, once the source of the timer on time (or timer off time) is set, it will not be changed unless it is reset using the keyboard 8 next time.

In the present invention, the source of the timer on time (or timer off time) can be determined based on the contents of the last source memory 11, without having to reset it using the keyboard 8, by specifying it as the last source. The source may vary due to the That is, it is possible to turn on the timer (or turn off the timer) using the source that was set immediately before (or last) to turn on the timer (or turn off the timer).

As explained in detail above, according to the present invention,
By simply setting the time when the programmable timer turns on or off using the keyboard, the contents of the source control memory are rewritten, and the timer
This is very effective because it provides a programmable timer that can be turned on at the last source when turned on.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of an example of a conventional programmable timer, and FIG. 2 is a block diagram of an embodiment of the present invention. 1...Control circuit, 2...Current time memory, 3...
...Timer on time memory, 4...Timer on time memory, 5...Display circuit, 6...Display device, 7...
Reference oscillation crystal oscillator, 8...Keyboard, 9...
...source selection circuit, 10...source control memory, 11...last source memory.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A memory that stores an on or off time, a source control memory that stores data for specifying a source to be turned on or off at that time, and a source control memory that stores data to specify which sources should be turned on or off at that time, and when the time reaches the source control memory, the source control memory stores data. A programmable timer having source selection means for selecting a source to be controlled and a keyboard for setting an on or off time, a last source memory for storing data indicating the currently selected source is provided, and the keyboard is operated A programmable timer characterized in that the contents of the last source memory are written to the source control memory when the on or off time is reset.