Television – Special applications – Manufacturing
Patent
1995-01-25
1996-06-04
Groody, James J.
Television
Special applications
Manufacturing
348 8, 348 10, 348 12, 348552, H04N 710
Patent
active
055237819
ABSTRACT:
A billing system for billing for the use of television sets in a hospital, hotel or the like includes a computer located in a billing office and television sets located in various rooms. Command signals from the computer, video signals, and power for powering the television are all delivered to each television set over a single coaxial cable. Each television set includes a microprocessor, a modem and logic circuits which remain active even if a user turns off his television receiver. The computer may assume control over any one or more of the television receivers by issuing a slave command which, at a time specified in the command (1) turns an addressed television receiver on if it is off and (2) tunes the addressed receiver to a specific channel. The slave commands may be of two types. One type permits no control over the TV receiver by a user and the other permits a user to override the slave command. Billing for TV usage is stored in the TV set and is transferred to the computer in response to a command from the computer. Billing information in one TV set may be transferred to another set if a user should move from one room to another. In a second embodiment, power is provided from a conventional AC wall outlet but in this case the slave commands are not executed if the television receiver is unplugged.
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(Revised) Scott D. Brusaw, "PDI Computer Controlled Television System (Communicator)" (Manual), 1992.
Brochure titled "Hospital Television Systems" published 1991 by Intelligent Communications Systems, Inc., Bethlehem, PA.
Oral Communication Described Accompanying Disclosure Statement.
Larry Frank, "TV Computer Control System" (Brochure), 1992.
Larry Frank, "PDI Computer Controlled Television System (Communicator)" (manual), 1992.
Dybvig Roger S.
Groody James J.
Hsia Sherrie
Precision Industries Incorporated
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