Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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.
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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
18
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
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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.
