CA2286370A1 - Electrical device locked timer control - Google Patents

Electrical device locked timer control Download PDF

Info

Publication number
CA2286370A1
CA2286370A1 CA002286370A CA2286370A CA2286370A1 CA 2286370 A1 CA2286370 A1 CA 2286370A1 CA 002286370 A CA002286370 A CA 002286370A CA 2286370 A CA2286370 A CA 2286370A CA 2286370 A1 CA2286370 A1 CA 2286370A1
Authority
CA
Canada
Prior art keywords
lid
electrical power
appliance
power
override
Prior art date
Legal status (The legal status is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the status listed.)
Abandoned
Application number
CA002286370A
Other languages
French (fr)
Inventor
Kenneth W. Dove
Current Assignee (The listed assignees may be inaccurate. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation or warranty as to the accuracy of the list.)
Individual
Original Assignee
Individual
Priority date (The priority date is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the date listed.)
Filing date
Publication date
Application filed by Individual filed Critical Individual
Priority to CA002286370A priority Critical patent/CA2286370A1/en
Publication of CA2286370A1 publication Critical patent/CA2286370A1/en
Abandoned legal-status Critical Current

Links

Classifications

    • GPHYSICS
    • G04HOROLOGY
    • G04GELECTRONIC TIME-PIECES
    • G04G15/00Time-pieces comprising means to be operated at preselected times or after preselected time intervals
    • G04G15/006Time-pieces comprising means to be operated at preselected times or after preselected time intervals for operating at a number of different times
    • GPHYSICS
    • G07CHECKING-DEVICES
    • G07CTIME OR ATTENDANCE REGISTERS; REGISTERING OR INDICATING THE WORKING OF MACHINES; GENERATING RANDOM NUMBERS; VOTING OR LOTTERY APPARATUS; ARRANGEMENTS, SYSTEMS OR APPARATUS FOR CHECKING NOT PROVIDED FOR ELSEWHERE
    • G07C9/00Individual registration on entry or exit
    • G07C9/30Individual registration on entry or exit not involving the use of a pass
    • G07C9/32Individual registration on entry or exit not involving the use of a pass in combination with an identity check
    • G07C9/33Individual registration on entry or exit not involving the use of a pass in combination with an identity check by means of a password
    • GPHYSICS
    • G07CHECKING-DEVICES
    • G07FCOIN-FREED OR LIKE APPARATUS
    • G07F15/00Coin-freed apparatus with meter-controlled dispensing of liquid, gas or electricity
    • G07F15/003Coin-freed apparatus with meter-controlled dispensing of liquid, gas or electricity for electricity
    • HELECTRICITY
    • H01ELECTRIC ELEMENTS
    • H01HELECTRIC SWITCHES; RELAYS; SELECTORS; EMERGENCY PROTECTIVE DEVICES
    • H01H43/00Time or time-programme switches providing a choice of time-intervals for executing one or more switching actions and automatically terminating their operations after the programme is completed
    • H01H43/02Details
    • H01H43/04Means for time setting
    • HELECTRICITY
    • H04ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
    • H04NPICTORIAL COMMUNICATION, e.g. TELEVISION
    • H04N21/00Selective content distribution, e.g. interactive television or video on demand [VOD]
    • H04N21/40Client devices specifically adapted for the reception of or interaction with content, e.g. set-top-box [STB]; Operations thereof
    • H04N21/45Management operations performed by the client for facilitating the reception of or the interaction with the content or administrating data related to the end-user or to the client device itself, e.g. learning user preferences for recommending movies, resolving scheduling conflicts
    • H04N21/454Content or additional data filtering, e.g. blocking advertisements
    • H04N21/4542Blocking scenes or portions of the received content, e.g. censoring scenes

Abstract

A programmable timer device for selectively supplying or denying electrical power to an appliance such as a television, VCR or a computer monitor has a housing with a lockable lid, a recess provided in the housing to receive a power cord of the appliance, a yoke provided in the housing preventing unauthorized removal of the power cord, programmable control means for controlling the times when the appliance receives electrical power supplied through the power cord via the device, and a dedicated override actuator which is enabled by entering a code. The programmable control means is inaccessible when the lid is closed but the dedicated override actuator and a keypad for entry of the enabling code are accessible through openings in the lid when the lid is closed.

Description

PROGRAMMABLE TIMER WITH OVERRIDE CAPABILITY
The present invention relates to a programmable timer controlling the supply of electrical power to an appliance, such as a television or a computer monitor, and more particularly to a programmable timer having an override capability.
Programmable timers are known in the prior art and have been used by parents to control the amount of television watched by their children or to restrict the viewing of television to certain times of the day.
One type of programmable timer is disclosed in U.S. Patent No. 5,283,475 granted to Berger on February 1, 1994. Berger's device consists of a lockable control box which receives the plug of a television set and regulates the hours that the television set is able to operate. A security mechanism prevents the removal of the plug from the device and insertion directly into an electrical outlet.
A lockable door prevents access to the control panel so that unauthorized changes to the settings of the device are not possible. While the security features of this device prevents unauthorized television viewing it may be inconvenient for an authorized user such as a parent to circumvent the settings since the control panel can only be accessed by unlocking the door. A further disadvantage of Berger's device is that the security mechanism appears to be designed for standard sized plugs and may not accommodate a larger power adapter which is used by gaming systems or consol game devices such as those marketed under the trademarks Nintendo or Sega.
Another type of programmable timer is described in U.S. Patent No. 5,168,372 granted to Sweetser on December 1, 1992. Sweetser describes a video viewing control system which may be used by a parent to control the amount of television watched by children by disrupting the television's Radio Frequency (RF) input signal or its video input signal when an allowable amount of time watching television has been exceeded. In order to disable all viewing regardless of any allowable viewing time remaining or to permit a parent to watch television without being confined to a limited amount of viewing time, Sweetser provides an override capability. This override capability may be activated by using the input means of the device to first enter a program mode and then make the select an appropriate option to enter a "locked on/off mode".
Although Sweetser permits a parent to override the device, one disadvantage is that the manner of activation of the override capability may not be intuitive.
Another disadvantage is that the input sequence required to activate the override capability may be unnecessarily complicated or long. A further disadvantage of Sweetser's device is that it is directed at regulating the RF
input signal or video input signal to television sets and may not be capable of being used with other types of appliances not having such input signals.
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a programmable timer which overcomes the disadvantages of the prior art. It is another object of the present invention to provide a programmable timer having an override actuator which is conveniently accessible. It is another object of the present invention to provide an override actuator which can be more simply operated. A
further object of the present invention is to provide a programmable timer able to accommodate different models and sizes of electrical adapters and plugs.
According to the present invention there.is provided a programmable device for selectively supplying or denying electrical power to an appliance, comprising:
a housing having a lockable lid capable of assuming an open position or a closed position, the lid capable of being locked in the closed position;
a recess provided in the housing for receiving a power carrying means for transmitting electrical power via the device to the appliance;
programmable control means for selectively controlling when the appliance is supplied or denied electrical power; and dedicated override actuator means permitting a user to override the programmable control means, wherein the programmable control means is accessible only when the lid is in the open position and wherein the dedicated override actuator means is accessible when the lid is in the closed position.
An advantage of the present invention is that operation of the device, and in particular operation of the override capability is intuitive and obvious.
Another advantage is that the programmed settings of the device can be overridden quickly and easily through the lid of the device without the need to unlock and open the lid. A further advantage of the device is that it can be used with a wide variety of appliances having different electrical cords or power adapters.
The present invention will be further described with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:
Figure 1 is a front perspective view of a programmable timer according to an embodiment of the present invention;
Figure 2 is a front perspective view of the timer of Figure 1 illustrating the timer when the lid is in an open position;
Figure 3 is a back perspective view of the timer of Figure 1;
Figure 4 is a back perspective view of the timer of Figure 1 illustrating the timer when the lid is in an open position; and Figure 5 is an enlarged view of the control panel of the timer of Figure 1.
In the drawings, similar elements are denoted by similar references in the different figures.
With reference to the Figures, according to an embodiment of the present invention, a programmable timer 10 has a housing 12 provided with a hinged lid 14. The lid 14 can be locked in a closed position using a lock 16. A yoke 18 permits an electrical cord 20 of an appliance (not shown) to pass though the housing 12. A recess 22 in the housing receives part of the cord 20 and its electrical plug 24. The yoke 18 cooperates with the lid 14 to prevent removal of the plug 24 when the lid is in the closed position. The electrical plug 24 is connected to a power outlet 28 in the recess 22 to provide power to the appliance. The timer 10 is itself supplied with electrical power by means of a power cord 29 connected to an external electrical power outlet (not shown) such as a wall outlet. The power outlet 28 is designed to accommodate either a two-prong plug or a three-prong plug. In addition, the recess 22 is large enough to receive a larger power adapter which is used by gaming systems or consol game devices such as those marketed under the trademarks Nintendo or Sega.
Power to the outlet 28 is controlled by a programmable control means (not shown), for example, a programmable microcomputer. A control panel 30 is provided inside the housing having a display 32, programming keys or actuators 34, a set code actuator 36, code entry actuators 38 and a dedicated override activation actuator 40. When the lid 14 is in the closed position, the programming keys 34 and the "set code" actuator 36 are inaccessible. The display 32 is used to confirm the user's input when entering information using the control panel and to provide other information to permit the user to operate the device. The display 32 may be viewed when the lid is closed by means of the opening 42 in the lid. Similarly, code entry actuators 38 and the dedicated override activation actuator 40 are accessible when the lid 14 is closed by means of corresponding openings 44 and 46.
To initially set up the programmable timer 10, it is plugged into an electrical wall outlet. The lid 14 is opened and the plug 24 of the power cord 20 of the appliance is connected to the power outlet 28 located within the housing 12.
The programmable timer 10 is initially set to a default mode in which power is not supplied to the appliance. The user programs the timer 10 by using the programming keys 34 to provide instructions to the programmable control means to control when the appliance can and cannot be operated.
Since the programming keys 34 are located on the control panel 30 inside the housing 12, they are accessible only when the lid 14 is in the open position.
The programming keys 34 consist of a program number key 34d to select program number or mode; a set daytime key 34a to set the day of the week or the time of the day; a day key 34e to indicate the day of the week; an hour key 34b to indicate the hour of the day; and a minute key 34c to indicate the minute of the hour. An additional key 34f (unlabelled in Figure 5) is also available for configuration by the manufacturer.
The exact configuration of the programming keys 34 and the method of entering in the desired settings using the programming keys 34 is not critical to the present invention and may be selected from known arrangements. These choices do not form the crux of the present invention. The user will, however, be able to determine when the appliance may be operated by specifying the minute, hour and day of the week for the start and end of each period that the appliance can and cannot be operated. One method is to have the user enter in the start and end times defining the periods of operation of the appliance with the appliance being inoperative outside of those periods. In other words, at any point in time the appliance is inoperative unless the user has enabled its operation.
Once the programmable settings have been entered, the user closes the lid 14 and may lock the lid 14 in the closed position to prevent unauthorized changes in the programmable settings by children, for example, who wish to watch television outside the hours chosen by their parents. The timer 10 now operates to supply power to the appliance only during those periods of time specified by the programmed settings.

The timer 10 is also provided with a capacitor (not shown) or other power accumulation means such as a rechargeable battery which supplies the timer 10 and permits the programmed settings entered by a user to be retained even if the timer 10 is unplugged or otherwise loses its power supply. The power accumulation means should have enough capacity to store the programmed settings for up to four days. Of course, when the timer 10 loses its power supply, power is no longer supplied to the appliance.
As mentioned above, upon initial activation of the timer 10, it operates in default mode in which power is not supplied to the appliance. Similarly, if the device is reactivated following disconnection or loss of its power source, it operates in default mode until it is configured by the user.
While a default mode of "OFF" in which the appliance is inoperative is contemplated as being the most convenient for users, it is also possible to construct the timer 10 with the opposite "ON" default mode in which power is supplied to the appliance until configured by the user.
The choice of an "OFF" default mode prevents unauthorized users from defeating the programmed settings by disconnecting and reconnecting the timer from its power source. It is also impossible for unauthorized users to bypass the timer 10 by disconnecting the power cord 20 of the appliance from the outlet 28 and connecting the power cord 20 to an external wall outlet since the yoke cooperates with the lid 14 to prevent removal of the plug 24 of the cord 20 when the lid 14 is locked in the closed position.
Authorized users, however, are able to bypass or override the programmed settings by use of the override capability of the timer 10. With the lid 14 of the timer 10 in the open position, the user has access to the set code actuator 36.
Pressing the set code actuator 36 permits the user to set an access code or to reset an previously entered code. Next, a 5 digit code is selected by pressing the code entry actuators in the desired sequence. Although the present embodiment uses a 5 digit, the length of the code may be fixed at any convenient length consistent with a desirable level of security.
When the lid 14 is locked in the closed position, the timer 10 may be overridden by entering the 5 digit code using the code entry actuators 38 which are accessible through the lid 14 by means of the openings 44 in the lid 14. The dedicated override activation actuator 40 is now enabled and pressing it overrides the programmed settings. In the present embodiment, when the override capability is in use, the appliance is operative. For example, this allows parents to watch television outside of the time periods permitted to their children.
It is also possible, however, for the override capability to render the appliance inoperative. When the override capability is in use, pressing dedicated override activation actuator 40 once again restores the timer 10 to normal operation controlled by the programmed settings.

Claims (15)

1. A programmable device for selectively supplying or denying electrical power to an appliance, comprising:
a housing having a lockable lid capable of assuming an open position or a closed position, the lid capable of being locked in the closed position;
a recess provided in the housing for receiving a power carrying means for transmitting electrical power via the device to the appliance;
programmable control means for selectively controlling when the appliance is supplied or denied electrical power; and dedicated override actuator means permitting a user to override the programmable control means, wherein the programmable control means is accessible only when the lid is in the open position and wherein the dedicated override actuator means is accessible when the lid is in the closed position.
2. The device of claim 1, wherein the lid is provided with access means permitting operation of the dedicated override actuator means when the lid is in the closed positon.
3. The device of claim 1 or 2, wherein the dedicated override actuator means comprises code entry actuator means and an override activation actuator which is enabled when a predetermined code is entered using the code entry actuator means.
4. The device of claim 3, wherein the code entry actuator means comprises a plurality of code entry actuators.
5. The device of any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein electrical power is supplied to the appliance when the device is overridden using the dedicated override actuator means.
6. The device of any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein electrical power is denied to the appliance when the device is overridden using the dedicated override actuator means.
7. The device of any one of claims 1 to 6, further comprising power accumulation means permitting retention of program instructions entered by a user to program the programmable control means if electrical power to the device is interrupted.
8. The device of any one of claims 1 to 7, wherein a default mode of operation of the device is denial of electrical power to the appliance.
9. The device of claim 8, wherein the device operates in the default mode upon initial activation of the device.
10. The device of claim 8 or 9, wherein the device operates in the default mode upon reactivation of the device following interruption of the supply of electrical power to the device.
11. The device of any one of claims 1 to 10, wherein the power carrying means is an electrical power cord.
12. The device of any one of claims 1 to 10, wherein the power carrying means is an electrical power adapter.
13. The device of any one of claims 1 to 12, wherein the device further comprises a yoke provided in the housing preventing removal of the power carrying means from the recess when the lid is in the closed position.
14. The device of any of one of claims 1 to 13, wherein the recess is capable of accommodating a large electrical power adapter.
15. The device of claim 2, wherein the access means comprises one or more openings in the lid.
CA002286370A 1999-10-14 1999-10-14 Electrical device locked timer control Abandoned CA2286370A1 (en)

Priority Applications (1)

Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
CA002286370A CA2286370A1 (en) 1999-10-14 1999-10-14 Electrical device locked timer control

Applications Claiming Priority (1)

Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
CA002286370A CA2286370A1 (en) 1999-10-14 1999-10-14 Electrical device locked timer control

Publications (1)

Publication Number Publication Date
CA2286370A1 true CA2286370A1 (en) 2001-04-14

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ID=4164380

Family Applications (1)

Application Number Title Priority Date Filing Date
CA002286370A Abandoned CA2286370A1 (en) 1999-10-14 1999-10-14 Electrical device locked timer control

Country Status (1)

Country Link
CA (1) CA2286370A1 (en)

Cited By (2)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
GB2414119A (en) * 2004-05-15 2005-11-16 John Stanley Aldridge Lockable case for domestic electric timer
ITMC20090080A1 (en) * 2009-04-16 2010-10-17 Mauro Galassi CONTROL SYSTEM FOR CONSOLE OF VIDEO GAMES AND THE LIKE.

Cited By (2)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
GB2414119A (en) * 2004-05-15 2005-11-16 John Stanley Aldridge Lockable case for domestic electric timer
ITMC20090080A1 (en) * 2009-04-16 2010-10-17 Mauro Galassi CONTROL SYSTEM FOR CONSOLE OF VIDEO GAMES AND THE LIKE.

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Legal Events

Date Code Title Description
EEER Examination request
FZDE Discontinued