VCR with Atomic Clock

Publishing Venue

The IP.com Prior Art Database

Abstract

The present invention is a VCR 100 that includes an atomic clock 110. Atomic clocks are the official source of time for the U.S. Department of Defense and provide the standard of time for the United States. These clocks are maintained by the U.S. Navy, and provide time signals in a variety of formats, including radio signals. The present invention is calibrated to the national atomic clock in Colorado, which provides accurate time to 10 billionths of a second.

VCR with Atomic Clock

As video cassette recorders (VCRs) offer more and more features, they become increasingly difficult for VCR owners to use. One of the most valuable and frequently used features of a VCR is a clock, yet thousands of owners do not know how to program the clock successfully. What is needed is a way to automatically set the time for VCR clocks.

The present invention is a VCR 100 that includes an atomic clock 110. Atomic clocks are the official source of time for the U.S. Department of Defense and provide the standard of time for the United States. These clocks are maintained by the U.S. Navy, and provide time signals in a variety of formats, including radio signals (see for more information on atomic clocks). The present invention is calibrated to the national atomic clock in Colorado, which provides accurate time to 10 billionths of a second.

Figure 1 Exemplary figure of a VCR with an atomic clock

In operation, atomic clock 110 sends a radio signal to the national atomic clock in Colorado at set intervals, such as when a video cassette is ejected from the VCR. The signal that is returned automatically adjusts atomic clock 110 to the correct time.