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1. oC mU T we ee Sheet 3 7 5 440 351 Aug 8 1995 U S Patent SNISS3204d Old v OldYH AL ag S pud S3I2N300344 TV 15 3100115 0 0 n STVNSIS 0 0 i OF 1 A2N300314 p of Oldva 20 9 9NISS3203d 90 5 30000 VNNALNY 0167 AL OL Xov8d11i 01 0 0 2 Pr pm PS ep a SE scat ml m ZZ T Perge gee eat Te oer sce TCR J G7 03910 1301 8301 1050 T3NNVHD AL s3lndWv ST3NNVH2 JHA TIY 83 235 51 0915 JHA 030 AL 9 HN T3NNYHO 0 JHA 319NIS SNISS3203d 8001 713860 SI3NNVHO 160 TIY 0000 03 JHN SIVNOIS JHN e 7 P l l l l l l L Sheet 4 of 7 5 440 351 Aug 8 1995 U S Patent 53131130103294 STVNOIS 0 NOILVIS 0 08 15 VNN31NV 01 61 6 Al 3O1VTH2SO _A3NNVHD AL S13NNVHO 4HA TIY TWNOIS JHA 38 31 3 p 601 27 27 MEN VNN3INY 13NNYHD JAA 319NIS 31 9NISS3201d uoivmioso Si3NNvHO JHN TIY AHN SIVNOIS JHA 3 00 VEN VNN3INY JHN 0111553008904 000 AL ec Sheet 5 of 7 5 440 351 Aug 8 1995 U S Patent ONISS2. designing televisions which are either confined to re ceiving FM radio broadcasts or which cannot receive 20 25 30 35 40 45 50 55 60 65 1 TELEVISION WITH USER SELECTABLE RADIO SOUND This is a Continuation In Part of Ser No 07 817 137 filed Jan 6 1992 now abandoned BACKGROUND DESCRIPTION OF PRIOR ART Heretofore only FM radio simulcasts could be substi tuted for a normal television audio program a viewer has not previously had the option of substituting an AM radio simulcast for a television audio program Televi sion audio engineers have traditionally seen radio simul casts as merely stereo versions of the original television audio broadcast and have either provided no simulcast capability or the ability to substitute FM radio simul casts for the television audio program The similarities between FM radio circuitry and television audio cir cuitry which permit FM radio signals to be amplified through pre existing television audio circuits have rein forced this mindset A number of inventions which allow an FM radio simulcast to be substituted for a normal television audio program exist in the prior art however none of these designs will accommodate AM radio simulcasts By ignoring AM radio these teachings exclude nearly all radio simulcasts since the vast major ity of all radio simulcasts are found on AM radio Portable units with both televisions and AM FM radios have been produce
3. 319NIS jM STVNSIS JHA 0 AL 4 91 MN 7 T3NNYHO JRA 319NIS SHA ONISSIOOUd 8001 111380 SI3NNVHO AHN 171 0000 M3XIN 6 STVNOSIS JHN 0Y VNN31NV JHN 9NISS3203d 000 AL IF Z Sheet 1 of 7 5 440 351 Aug 8 1995 U S Patent LAV AOKI C Old S9NISS32ONd OldnV OldVH AL TTT _ 77 NOILYLS 0 0 319NIS 1 901553008340 _ I 01007 AL 92 VNN31NY 0 yz E DE NB P m ma u Y oe J G27 5 Ai 3MO1VTHOSO T3NNVH2 AL 3 ST3NNVHO 4HA Tiv U3XIN 319NIS d 51 9015 JHA 030 81 Gf HAN VNN31NV T3NNYHO JHA 319NIS 3HA S9NISS3203d 800 7 080 S13NNvHO JHN TIY 0301 03 AHN 51711955 6 ez oY VNN3LNY yA Sheet 2 of 7 5 440 351 Aug 8 1995 U S Patent l l l l 531308300381 7 SIVNOIS 08 NOH VIS 0 078 31915 0 0 ST3NNVH2 JHA Tv 3 AI YOLVTTIOSO I3NNVH2 AL 47 6 W3XIM 3HA 5 0 STVNOIS JHA O30IA AL 2 9 MN 3NNYHO ierra JHA 319NIS 8 00 43XIN 6 ST3NNVHO JHN Tiv SIVNOIS JHN 0111553008900 000 24 2 y N VNN31NV 3H 0080 01007 AL
4. claim 1 A television apparatus comprising a television tuner means capable of selecting from a plurality of TV signals representative of television program channels received one of said TV signals and further capable of separating the Video signal of the selected television channel from the Audio signal of the selected television channel and still further capable through Audio Pro cessing means of endowing said Audio signal with the capability of actuating a sound replication device an AM radio tuner means capable of selecting from a plurality of AM radio signals received one of said AM radio signals 10 20 25 30 45 55 60 65 9 to selecting a radio frequency since this channel will be associated with the selected radio frequency and stored in memory unit 34 when the Enter button 46 is pressed TV Radio button 44 switches between the television audio program and the radio simulcast as described above When television set 5 is first turned on the default sound on every channel is the normal television audio program When the viewer presses TV Radio button 44 memory 34 is searched to see if it contains an entry for a television channel corresponding to the currently active channel If no such channel is found in memory 34 the normal television audio program will continue to play through Television Sound System 26 If a chan nel corresponding to the current television channel is found in memory 34
5. said sound replication device switching means for substituting said selected and amplified AM or FM radio signal for the processed Audio signal of said selected television channel whereby selected AM or FM broadcasts can be substituted for the original television Audio pro gram control means for controlling said switching means whereby a user can choose to listen to a selected AM or FM radio broadcast or the original televi sion Audio program while viewing the television picture 4 The television apparatus of claim 3 with a non volatile electronic memory capable of associating a television channel with either an AM or an FM radio frequency and further capable of storing said television channel radio frequency association and which when the viewer specifies retrieves the radio frequency asso ciated with the currently active television channel pro vided that a valid radio frequency has previously been associated with said currently active television channel and which further causes the radio to be set to AM reception mode or FM reception mode as appropriate and which still further causes the radio to become tuned to said associated radio frequency whereby the syner gistic interaction between the AM FM radio and the television picture is facilitated by providing a means to quickly and easily tune a frequently used radio fre quency for a given television channel Ck ck X 10 15 20 25 30 35 45
6. television channel ra dio frequency association into programmable memory When Enter 46 button is pressed in the device of FIG 4 memory 34 is checked to see if the television Channel the set is currently tuned to already exists in memory 34 If so the existing entry has its radio fre quency field overwritten with the newly entered radio frequency If no entry for the current television channel is found a new entry is created consisting of the cur rent television channel and the newly entered radio frequency 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45 50 55 65 5 signals to a UHF mixer oscillator 12 Mixer oscillator 12 contains a mixer to select a single television channel from the multitude of signals received and radio fre quency tuning circuits not shown to convert the chosen channel into an intermediate frequency The resultant signal can be processed by the VHF circuitry and thus is sent to the VHF RF amplifier 16 Alternately the VHF antenna 14 receives incoming VHF signals and sends these signals to to the VHF RF amplifier 16 which selects the desired frequency and rejects all others In the VHF mixer oscillator 18 this amplified signal is converted to an intermediate fre quency If the signal is a UHF IF from mixer oscillator 12 the input UHF IF is amplified twice once by the VHF RF amplifier 16 and again by the VHF mixer os cillator 18 Video processing 20 mainly amplifies and synchro nizes the ver
7. when the user switches among various audio sources the volume re mains constant He describes a memory which stores preset volume levels and associates each preset volume level with a particular device Like Kozokai this device refines pre existing relationships rather than creating new attributes In contrast a memory which can associ ate a radio frequency with a given television channel and make this radio frequency available whenever the television is tuned to the channel creates a new attribute for the television channel It creates a new relationship between the television channel and the radio frequency with the new and unexpected result that the viewer has a choice between the standard television audio program and one or more radio simulcasts which describe the same event but which differ in content among them selves and the original television audio broadcast The need of the non English speaking person to watch a television picture while listening to a simulcast in his or her native tongue has not heretofore been fully addressed Second language simulcasts are to be found on AM not on FM radio Television broadcasters have attempted to accommodate non English speaking per sons by offering a Secondary Audio Program SAP but not all languages are covered nor is SAP offered for every program nor is SAP available on every broadcast channel Radio simulcasts in a number of languages exist today the prior art has ignored them by
8. 000 US005440351A i Patent Number 5 440 351 4 Date of Patent Aug 8 1995 4 272 788 6 1981 Onkita sess 381 3 4 527 204 7 1985 Kozaki et al 358 194 1 4 627 101 2 1985 Anderson et al 455 179 1 4 688 252 8 1987 Kufta et al 381 4 4 779 129 10 1988 Usee et al we 358 189 5 046 107 9 199 Iwamatsu 381 107 5 097 249 3 1992 Yamamoto 358 194 1 5 142 370 8 1992 Wignot et al 358 189 FOREIGN PATENT DOCUMENTS 2831014 4 1980 Germany 358 189 0017017 2 1978 Japan 9 0045712 3 1982 Japan 9 0155885 9 1982 Japan e 0033085 2 1986 Japan HO4N 5 60 OTHER PUBLICATIONS Middleton Robert G Television Service Manual 5th Edition T Audel Indianapolis Sep 1984 p 49 4 Primary Examiner James J Groody Assistant Examiner Jeffrey S Murrell 57 ABSTRACT A television set with an integrated radio tuner such that simulcast radio broadcasts may be played through the television sound system at the viewer s discretion A user programmable memory provides the viewer with the ability to store multiple television channel radio frequency associations A remote control device pro vides the viewer with the capability of selecting either normal television audio or radio simulcast sound 4 Claims 7 Drawing Sheets VIDEO PROCESSING United States Pate
9. 300ud 0 0 0 Tl eee S3IONANDINA TV ISVOINNIS 8 STWNOIS 08 bz i 130833 o A olava 1 01 77 AN G2 9NISS3203d 9 1 5300801 O3QlA VNN31NV 06 AL Ol 3280334 7001 0 0 z 25 a Z Z S RS uen MERCED e Mean 5 7 830 T3NNVH9 AL SI13NNVHO 11 Tv 3140 3 JU 135 83 O3GIA AL 3191 STWNOIS JHA 9 7 d T3NNYH2 YNN3LNY JHN 05 AHA 9115510090 YOLVTTIOSO SI3NNVHO iHn TY 000 43XIN AHN SIVNOIS JHN Od zz ala VNN31NV m JH a a A 5 440 351 Sheet 6 of 7 Aug 8 1995 U S Patent U S Patent Aug 8 1995 Sheet 7 of 7 5 440 351 FIG 7 FREQ JE FIG 8 FREQ ENTER TV RADIO 5 440 351 2 synergy between a video cassette recorder and a televi sion set Kozokai s remote control device cannot be compared with the remote control device of this inven tion Kozokai s remote control device merely simplifies the interactions of two already interdependent video media rather than establishing new interactions be tween two dissimilar and non interdependent media Kozokai s remote control device automates the steps necessary to display a VCR signal through a television set it performs only mandatory actions In contrast a switch on a remote control device which causes radio sound to be substituted for tele
10. 440 351 6 a given AM radio frequency with a given television channel has been added to television set 5 As the viewer changes channels memory 34 is checked and if memory 34 contains an associated simulcast radio fre quency corresponding to the current television channel this simulcast radio program is automatically made available to the viewer i e AM radio tuner 30 is auto matically tuned to this associated radio frequency If an associated simulcast frequency does exist for the televi sion channel it is briefly displayed in inset window 38 on television screen 36 Whether or not an associated simulcast frequency is available memory 34 can be programmed by selecting an AM radio frequency at which time this AM radio frequency and the currently tuned television channel are stored as an association into memory 34 Memory 34 can also optionally keep track of which of the two audio sources was last active on a given channel and reactivate the same source when returning to the channel e g if the viewer is watching Channel 14 while listening to a simulcast and decides to change stations during a commercial break when he she re turns to Channel 14 the simulcast rather than the nor mal television audio will be heard FIGS 5 and 6 are modifications of the embodiments of FIGS 3 and 4 respectively wherein different radio tuners are utilized FIG 7 shows sample television screen 36 with inset window 38 which appears when t
11. 50 55 65 11 amplification means for amplifying the selected AM radio signal which is separate and independent from the Audio Processing of the television appa ratus and which endows said selected AM radio signal with the capability of actuating said sound replication device switching means for substituting said selected and amplified AM radio signal for the processed Audio signal of said selected television channel whereby AM broadcasts can be substituted for the original television Audio program control means for controlling said switching means whereby a user can choose to listen to a selected AM broadcast or the original television Audio program while watching the television picture 2 The television apparatus of claim 1 with a non volatile electronic memory capable storing a television channel AM radio frequency association and which when the viewer specifies retrieves the AM radio fre quency associated with the currently active television channel and causes the radio to become tuned to this retrieved AM radio frequency provided that a valid AM radio frequency has been previously associated with said currently active television channel whereby the synergistic interaction between the AM radio and the television picture is facilitated by providing a means to quickly and easily tune a frequently used radio fre quency for a given television channel 3 A television apparatus comprising a television tuner means capab
12. AM radio tuner 30 is set to the associated radio frequency and this radio broadcast is reproduced through Television Sound System 26 An other press of TV Radio button 44 returns the sound to the normal television audio program While the above description contains many specificit ies these should not be construed as limitations on the scope of the invention but rather as an exemplification of several embodiments thereof one being the preferred embodiment Many other variations are possible For example switch 32 between the output from AM radio tuner 30 and the output from the television tuner could be eliminated by having two speakers one for the television audio and one for the radio and an apparatus which ensured that only one of these sound sources was dominant at any given moment Another variation would be to include damping or muting circuitry to reduce the noise produced when switch 32 selects between television and radio sound Another variation would be to include an FM radio for stereo simulcast concerts in conjunction with AM radio tuner 30 Another variation would be to substitute a CB radio shortwave radio or any other kind of radio for AM radio tuner 30 Another variation would be to include a CB radio shortwave radio or any other kind of radio in conjunc ton with AM radio tuner 30 Another variation would be to have AM radio tuner 30 and the variations on AM radio tuner 30 listed above manually programma
13. TV set showing the basic concepts of converting signals for audio video processing as shown in prior art FIG 2 is a block diagram of a TV set in conjunction with a radio tuner as shown in prior art FIGS 3 5 and 7 are block diagrams of a TV appara tus in conjunction with a radio tuner in accordance with the present invention FIGS 4 6 and 8 are block diagrams of a TV appara tus in conjunction with both a radio tuner and a pro grammable memory in the preferred embodiment of the present invention FIG 7 is a front view of a TV screen with a special inset window which displays the radio frequency set ting as it is entered by the user The dotted rectangles are intended to show the location of the displayed digits of the radio frequency setting and will not appear on the actual display FIG 8 is a front view of a TV remote control device in accordance with the present invention The block diagrams have been drawn to illustrate the invention with maximum clarity rather than to produce the most efficient device For instance in practice the television audio signal would probably not be separated from the video signal at the stage shown in the dia grams Rather it would most likely be allowed to go through several stages of amplification along with the video signal and would be separated at a much later stage than shown in the block diagrams saving the cost of a couple of audio amplifiers As another example the means of switch
14. ber of such associa tions When the television is first turned on the viewer will always receive the normal television audio pro gram regardless of the contents of programmable mem ory 34 If the viewer attempts to switch to an AM radio simulcast using TV Radio button 44 memory 34 is searched to see if a radio frequency has been associated with the channel that television 5 is tuned to If this television channel cannot be found in memory 34 no action is taken If the channel is found in memory 34 the associated AM radio frequency is briefly displayed in inset window 38 AM radio tuner 30 is set to the associated radio frequency and this AM radio simulcast is reproduced through Television Sound System 26 Pressing TV Radio button 44 again will restore the normal television audio program FIG 7 shows television inset window 38 which appears only when the viewer is programing AM radio tuner 30 Frequency selection is finalized by pressing Enter button 46 at which time inset window 38 disap pears and a normal television screen is restored For the device of FIG 3 the programmed frequency is retained even when the television set is turned off and becomes immediately available when the television set is turned back on For the device of FIG 4 the programmed frequency is entered into memory unit 34 along with the current television channel additionally AM radio tuner 30 is tuned to the selected radio frequency and this simulcas
15. ble rather than remotely programmable as described in the Detailed Description of the Drawings Another variation would substitute a rocker switch a toggle switch or a slide switch for TV RADIO switch 44 Another variation would substitute any switch capa ble of selecting between or among a plurality of audio sources for TV RADIO switch 44 Another variation would break the functionality of TV RADIO switch 44 into two separate switches one which selects radio simulcast sound and defeats televi sion audio when actuated and one which selects televi sion audio and defeats radio simulcast sound when actu ated Another variation would substitute a different type of sound replication device such as a plasma or an electro static screen or a metal ribbon for the television speak ers Yet another variation could vary the placement of buttons 42 44 and 46 on remote control device 40 or change the labels of buttons 42 44 46 Remote control device 40 could be redesigned to achieve the result of 5 440 351 12 an AM FM radio tuner means capable of selecting from a plurality of AM and FM radio signal fre quencies received one of said frequencies from one of the AM and FM radio signals amplification means for amplifying the selected AM or FM radio signal which is separate and indepen dent from the Audio Processing of the television apparatus and which endows said selected AM or FM radio signal with the capability of actuating
16. can also be used to program memory unit 34 depicted in FIG 4 The viewer first tunes the television to the desired channel presses Freq button 42 keys in the simulcast radio fre quency as described above and finally presses Enter button 46 on remote control device 40 The difference between the two procedures is that the device of FIG 4 must be tuned to the desired television channel prior 5 15 20 25 30 35 40 45 50 55 65 T Pressing Enter button 46 also restores a normal tele vision picture window 38 displaying the selected radio frequency is eliminated At the same time the numeric keypad of remote control 40 is restored to normal oper ation that is pressing a button or buttons of the numeric keypad will now serve to select a television channel rather than to program a radio frequency TV Radio button 44 on remote control 40 toggles back and forth between the radio simulcast and the normal television audio program As mentioned previ ously this does not have to be a button it can be any one of a variety of switch types LIST OF REFERENCE NUMERALS 5 Television TV Set Apparatus 10 Ultra High Frequency UHF Antenna 12 UHF Mixer UHF Oscillator 14 Very High Frequency VHF Antenna 16 VHF Radio Frequency RF Amplifier 18 VHF Mixer VHF Oscillator 20 Video Processing Unit provides sync and stabil ity to the television picture 22 Television Picture Tube Television Audio Sys
17. d but the radio of these com bination units has always been separate from the televi sion of the unit no provision to substitute radio sound for television audio has been provided The radio and television of these combination units have been per ceived as separate entities which happen to share a common housing It is well known in the prior art that television audio circuits can be used to amplify FM radio signals indeed Middleton teaches that television audio circuitry is quite similar to the circuitry of an FM radio The prior art has made heavy use of this similarity Wignot et al U S Pat No 5 142 370 1992 Uee et al U S Pat No 4 719 129 1988 Ogita U S Pat No 4 272 788 1981 and foreign patents Gorenje DT 2831 014 1980 Hita chi 53 17017 1978 Suzuki 57 45712 A 1982 and Saitou 57 155885 A 1982 all use television audio circuitry to amplify the radio signal Wignot carries this circuit sharing to its logical extreme disclosing a way to make a television audio circuit function efficiently as an FM radio receiver Every instance of applicable prior art known to the applicant has either ignored the potential synergy be tween radio simulcasts and television sets or else lim ited itself solely to FM radio simulcasts by routing the radio signal through television circuitry to be amplified Television audio circuits cannot be shared with an AM radio the intermediate frequencies of the two signals are t
18. he viewer attempts to set AM radio tuner 30 of either FIG 3 or FIG 4 to a desired frequency Inset window 38 can also appear when the television is tuned to channel for which an associated simulcast frequency exists In the interests of economy and ease of operation the display has been kept simple FIG 8 shows remote control device 40 which can be used to program AM radio tuner 30 of FIG 3 or AM radio tuner 30 and programmable memory 34 of FIG 4 To program AM radio tuner 30 the viewer first presses Freq button 42 on remote control 40 Radio program ming inset window 38 now appears on television screen 36 and the numeric keypad of remote control 40 now serves to program AM radio tuner 30 rather than to select a television channel As the viewer punches in each digit of a radio frequency the number is echoed to radio programming inset window 38 When the fre quency is satisfactory the viewer presses Enter button 46 In the device of FIG 3 AM radio tuner 30 is now set to the selected frequency the simulcast radio pro gram is played through Television Sound System 26 the numeric keypad of remote control 40 is restored to its normal function of selecting television channels and the television picture is restored to normal In the de vice of FIG 4 the same thing happens with the addi tional effect of forming a correlation between the cur rently tuned television channel and the selected simul cast frequency and entering this
19. hese sports simulcasts are found on the AM radio band not on FM radio The present invention gives these sports fans the best of both worlds they can listen to the radio announcer for the play by plays switch to the television announcer for the replays sta tistics and interviews and switch back to the radio announcer when play resumes The need of a viewer of alternate television formats such as HDTV and cable to access AM simulcasts has not heretofore been addressed By keeping the interde pendency between the host television and the AM radio to a minimum the present invention will work with a wide variety of television sets All that is required is a television which eventually separates the Audio signal from the Video signal and sends this Audio signal to the speaker system to be reproduced OBJECTS AND ADVANTAGES Accordingly one object and advantage of the inven tion is to provide the television viewer with a choice between listening to the regular television audio pro gram and a radio simulcast The viewer would be free to associate any television channel with any AM radio station but would presumably select an appropriate radio station which is broadcasting an alternate audio program for the television program being watched Another object and advantage is to provide the tele vision viewer with a choice between listening to a shortwave CB FM AM or another type of radio simulcast instead of listening to the norma
20. his process of selecting and demodulating a radio signal is well known to prior art it has been simplified and depicted as a block This simulcast radio signal is sent to AM radio signal amplifier 24 and then to Television Sound System 26 through switch 32 The television audio signal is independently amplified through Television Audio Processing 23 and sent to Television Sound System 26 through switch 32 For clarity these two processes have been segregated into a single block TV Radio Audio Processing 25 Switch 32 ensures that only one of the two audio sources is active at any given time and allows the viewer to change back and forth between the television audio program and the radio simulcast Switch 32 can be actuated either manually or by actuating a switch on a remote control device No changes need be made to Television Audio Processing 23 it can be completely normal and indistinguishable from the circuitry of a standard television set This independence from Televi Sion Audio Processing allows the present invention to work with any television set which separates the televi sion audio signal from the television video signal FIG 4 is the preferred embodiment of the present invention Programmable memory 34 which correlates 5 41 8 optionally keep track of which audio source was last active on this channel Programmable memory 34 has the capability to store a single television channel AM radio frequency association or a num
21. ibed FIG 4 is the preferred em bodiment of the invention It differs from FIG 3 by having programmable memory 34 Programmable memory 34 can store a single AM radio frequency along with a single associated television channel and can 5 440 351 10 setting radio 30 to a desired frequency or of storing a television channel radio frequency pair in memory 34 through different functions In another variation Memory 34 could be either manually or remotely programmable It could be pro grammed independently of AM Radio Tuner 30 or be programmed simultaneously with AM Radio Tuner 30 as described above in the Detailed Description of the Drawings Memory 34 could be programmed indepen dently of the currently tuned television channel or it could take advantage of the currently tuned television channel as described above in the Detailed Description of the Drawings Memory 34 could dispense with the feedback loop depicted in FIG 4 setting AM radio Tuner 30 to an associated frequency without displaying this frequency in Inset Window 38 In yet another variation Memory 34 could create duplicate television channel radio frequency associa tions instead of automatically overwriting an existing association If duplicate associations are allowed the viewer would be provided with a way to scroll through the simulcast radio frequencies associated with a given television channel and a way to select the desired fre quency In another variation a
22. ing between the normal television audio program and a radio simulcast is depicted as a button on a remote control device In practice this button could be a rocker switch a slide switch a toggle switch a pushbutton with a different shape or any type of switch capable of selecting a single audio source from two or more audio sources There could even be two different buttons or switches which accomplish this selection one which selects the normal television audio program when actuated and one which selects the radio simul cast when actuated DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS Referring to FIG 1 a television set apparatus 5 is broken into blocks to show the basic concepts of receiv ing incoming television signals and the video audio processing entailed in converting these signals to a dis playable form The system includes UHF antenna 10 which receives incoming UHF signals and sends these 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45 50 55 60 65 3 radio broadcasts at all The present invention allows AM foreign language simulcasts to be easily accessed without impairing the viewer s ability to receive a tele vision SAP audio broadcast Many sports fans would prefer to watch sports on television while listening to the play by play commen tary from their local radio announcer but desire the option to hear the normal television audio program when statistics are displayed or during interviews or replays Again t
23. l television audio program This invention has the potential to sub stitute virtually any kind of radio broadcast for a televi sion audio program it is not limited to AM simulcasts The discussion below focusses on providing AM radio capability solely because this is where the vast majority of simulcasts are currently to be found Another object and advantage is to provide the viewer with a convenient means of storing frequently used radio frequencies and to provide a means of asso ciating each of these frequencies with a television chan nel This would give the user the ability to designate which radio station if any is an appropriate alternative audio source for a given television channel and to en sure that only this radio station would be available for the television channel Another object and advantage is to provide the viewer with a choice between listening to a radio simul cast and the audio program of an HDTV broadcast Another object and advantage is to provide the viewer with a choice between listening to a radio simul cast and the audio program of a cable television broad cast Another object and advantage is to provide the above features in a fashion which requires a minimum of skill and training to use An additional object and advantage is to provide a non English speaking person with a convenient way of listening to a radio simulcast in his native language while viewing the associated television picture 5
24. le of selecting from a plurality of TV signals representative of television program channels received one of said TV signals and further capable of separating the Video signal of the selected television channel from the Audio signal of the selected television channel and still further capable through Audio Pro cessing means of endowing said Audio signal with the capability of actuating a sound replication device
25. mplifier 24 could be moved to follow switch 32 with logic circuitry to determine whether or not the signal should be routed through amplifier 24 In another variation amplifier 24 could be moved to follow switch 32 Switch 32 would eliminate the need for logic circuitry by routing a signal from TV Audio Processing directly to Television Sound System 26 and routing a simulcast radio signal through a separate cir cuit which would send the simulcast radio signal through amplifier 24 after which it would proceed to Television Sound System 26 In another variation both amplifier 24 and TV Audio Processing 23 could be moved to follow switch 32 In this variation amplifier 24 would lie on one circuit leading to Television Sound System 26 TV Audio Processing 23 would lie on separate circuit leading to Television Sound System 26 and switch 32 would make the appropriate connections For instance if normal television audio were selected switch 32 would com plete the circuit to Television Sound System 26 by routing the television audio signal through the circuit containing TV Audio Processing 23 If radio simulcast sound were selected switch 32 would route the simul cast radio signal through the circuit containing ampli fier 24 thus completing the circuit to Television Sound System 26 Accordingly the scope of the invention should be determined not by the embodiment s illustrated but by the appended claims and their legal equivalents I
26. nt s Ichino 54 TELEVISION WITH USER SELECTABLE RADIO SOUND 76 Inventor Ted Ichino 7351 Artesia Blvd 6 Buena Park Calif 90621 231 Appl No 68 620 22 Filed May 25 1993 Related U S Application Data 63 Continuation in part of Ser No 817 137 Jan 6 1992 abandoned 51 Int CRE was H04N 5 60 522 US CL 348 729 348 738 455 179 1 58 Field of Search 358 198 184 194 1 358 165 455 151 1 174 1 178 1 179 1 185 1 180 2 187 1 79 HO4N 5 46 5 60 381 3 4 107 102 104 101 312 7 2 348 729 738 706 56 References Cited U S PATENT DOCUMENTS 266 502 10 1982 Heijnen D14 131 279 095 6 1985 Kato et al D14 131 290 007 5 1987 Mano et al D14 131 292 097 9 1987 Akita et al D14 131 294 575 3 1988 Okamoto D14 131 296 552 7 1988 Shindo D14 131 298 534 11 1988 Turner D14 131 300 633 4 1989 Makino et al D14 131 305 024 12 1989 Nishiyori et al D14 131 2 617 878 11 1952 Goldfus 358 189 358 189 UHF ANTENNA RADIO SINGLE RADIO STATION 2 626 315 1 1953 Farr 1 ANTENNA aem eoo O J AL 4O1VT199SO _130 2 All 93 7 STANNVHO 4HA TIY 06 0 U3XIN SHA
27. oo dissimilar Besides excluding AM radio simul casts the prior art has the additional disadvantage of depending on a particular television broadcast format It is unlikely that Saitou s device will work in conjunc tion with an HDTV television set Saitou along with the entire body of applicable prior art relies on a fortu itous similarity between television audio circuitry and FM radio that has little chance of surviving the transi tion from analog to digital television Kozokai et al U S Pat No 4 527 204 1985 dis closes a remote control device which facilitates the 5 440 351 4 Another object and advantage is to provide a sports fan with a convenient way of watching a sports event on television while listening to a radio simulcast of the same event Another object and advantage is to provide a method of quickly and easily switching back and forth between the television audio program and the radio simulcast Another object and advantage is to provide this abil ity to switch between the television audio program and the radio simulcast using a remote control device Readers will find further objects and advantages of the invention from a consideration of the ensuing de scription and the accompanying drawings BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS The invention will best be understood when the ensu ing description is taken in conjunction with the accom panying drawings in which FIG 1 is a block diagram of a television
28. t radio program is reproduced through Television Sound System 26 FIG 8 shows remote control device 40 which can be used to program the unit of FIG 3 Freq button 42 allows the viewer to key in a simulcast radio frequency using the numbers on the keypad of remote control device 40 The viewer receives feedback by watching inset window 38 which appears when Freq button 42 is pressed and which echoes the numbers punched in by the viewer Pressing Enter 46 button tunes the radio to this selected frequency restores a normal TV picture and returns the numeric keypad of remote control de vice 40 to normal functioning For instance to program AM 930 the viewer would press Freq button 42 and then press the 9 3 and 0 keys on the numeric keypad of remote control 40 Pressing Enter 46 button would tune radio 30 to this frequency and play the radio simulcast through Televi sion Sound System 26 Pressing Enter 46 button also restores television screen 36 to normal inset window 38 of FIG 4 which shows which numbers have been entered by the viewer will disappear Pressing Enter button 46 also restores the numeric keypad of remote control device 40 to normal functioning the numeric keypad will now select TV channels rather than pro gramming another radio frequency Pressing TV Radio button 44 switches between the radio simulcast and the normal television audio pro gram and vice versa Remote control device 40 of FIG 8
29. tem Radio Signal Amplifier TV Radio Audio Processing Television Sound System Radio Antenna 29 FM Radio Tuner 30 AM Radio Tuner 31 AM FM Radio Tuner 32 Switch 33 Non FM Radio Tuner Programmable Memory Unit Feedback from Programmable Memory Unit Television Screen Inset Window for Programming and Displaying Radio Frequency 40 Remote Control Device 42 Button to Program Radio Frequency 44 Button to Toggle between Television Audio and Radio Simulcast 46 Button to tune the radio to the keyed in frequency FIG 2 or to store the television channel radio frequency entry in the Memory Unit FIG 3 DESCRIPTION AND OPERATION OF INVENTION FIG 3 is the minimal embodiment of the invention comprising a regular television with the addition of AM radio tuner 30 and switch 32 to enable the viewer to select between the television audio program and the radio broadcast This embodiment would be relatively simple and inexpensive to implement The television tuner and AM radio tuner 30 can be completely autono mous and the radio broadcast could be available on either a single television channel or on all channels A single simulcast AM radio frequency is available at a time there is no way to program multiple simulcast AM radio frequencies Amplifier 24 is shown preceding switch 32 to divorce it from the television audio cir cuitry allowing non FM radio signals to be accommo dated As previously descr
30. tical and horizontal signals and outputs them to the TV picture tube Since this video process ing is well known to the art the system has been simpli fied and depicted as a block As shown in FIG 2 a radio antenna 28 an FM radio tuner 29 and a two way switch 32 are added to televi sion set 5 The FM radio tuner 29 selects the desired simulcast radio signal from the plurality of radio signals received by the radio antenna 28 and reconstructs the original audio signal Since this process of selecting and demodulating a radio signal is well known to prior art it has been simplified and depicted as a block It is also well known that FM radio signals can be amplified using television audio circuitry thus the signal is sent to Television Audio Processing for amplification Switch 32 determines whether the television audio signal or the FM radio signal is amplified picking the stronger of the two signals The amplified signal is then sent to Televi sion Sound System 26 to be heard by the viewer For clarity and to contrast the prior art with the present invention the audio processing has been segregated into a single block TV Radio audio processing 25 As shown in FIG 3 radio antenna 28 AM radio tuner 30 and two way switch 32 are added to television set 5 AM radio tuner 30 selects the desired simulcast radio signal from the plurality of radio signals received by radio antenna 28 and reconstructs the original audio signal Since t
31. vision audio creates an interaction between two different media a new rela tionship between the two media This switch is not essential to the operation of a normal television It is only useful when a receiver capable of decoding AM radio transmissions is incorporated into a television set at which time it provides the new and unexpected result of allowing the viewer to choose between the normal television audio program and a radio simulcast at the touch of a button This switch is neither obvious nor cost effective if only FM radio simulcasts are consid ered Because FM simulcasts differ from the original television audio program by being in stereo and most television sets provide marginal stereo separation there is no reason to provide such a switch for a television with FM only simulcast capability Even if the average television set had widely separated speakers and excel lent stereo separation the scarcity of FM radio simul casts would prevent such a switch from being cost ef fective The prior art recognizes this and provides cir cuits which automatically compare the strength of the FM simulcast signal against the strength of the televi sion audio signal automatically selecting the stronger of the two signals The viewer is not burdened with a choice between television audio and FM simulcast sound since the two are essentially identical Iwamatsu U S Pat No 5 046 107 1991 discloses a device which adjusts volume such that
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