1-9. (canceled)
10. A control device for a hybrid vehicle including an internal combustion engine and an electric motor for assisting the internal combustion engine with power, the control device comprising:
a first changing unit, which prepares to change an assist amount of the electric motor in response to a first input from a user, and subsequently changes the assist amount of the electric motor in response to a second input from the user;
a second changing unit, which prepares to change output power of the internal combustion engine in response to the first input from the user, and subsequently changes the output power of the internal combustion engine in response to the second input from the user; and
a first selecting unit, which selects the first changing unit or the second changing unit, based on a number of revolutions of the internal combustion engine or a number of revolutions of the electric motor,
wherein the first changing unit cancels the second input when a predetermined time has elapsed after receiving the first input.
11. The control device for the hybrid vehicle according to claim 10,
wherein the first selecting unit selects the second changing unit when the number of revolutions of the internal combustion engine or the number of revolutions of the electric motor is at least a predetermined number of revolutions; and
wherein the first selecting unit selects the first changing unit when the number of revolutions of the internal combustion engine or the number of revolutions of the electric motor is below the predetermined number of revolutions.
12. The control device for the hybrid vehicle according to claim 10, further comprising a second selecting unit, which selects the first changing unit or the second changing unit, based on a vehicle speed of the hybrid vehicle.
13. The control device for the hybrid vehicle according to claim 12,
wherein the second selecting unit selects the second changing unit when the vehicle speed is at least a predetermined vehicle speed, and
wherein the second selecting unit selects the first changing unit when the vehicle speed is below the predetermined vehicle speed.
14. The control device for the hybrid vehicle according to claim 10, further comprising:
a turning determination unit, which determines that the hybrid vehicle is not turning when a steering angle of the hybrid vehicle is within a range of predetermined steering-angle threshold values, and which determines that the hybrid vehicle is turning when the steering angle is outside the range of the steering-angle threshold values; and
a first permitting unit, which permits change by the first changing unit and change by the second changing unit if it is determined that the hybrid vehicle is not turning, and which prohibits change by the first changing unit and change by the second changing unit if it is determined that the hybrid vehicle is turning.
15. The control device for the hybrid vehicle according to claim 10, further comprising:
a driving-wheel skidding determination unit, which determines that driving wheels are skidding if a difference in front and rear wheel speeds of the hybrid vehicle is at least a predetermined threshold value of difference in front and rear wheel speeds, and which determines that the driving wheels are not skidding if the difference in front and rear wheel speeds of the hybrid vehicle is below the predetermined threshold value of difference in front and rear wheel speeds;
a second permitting unit, which permits change by the first changing unit and change by the second changing unit if it is determined that the driving wheels are not skidding, and which prohibits change by the first changing unit and change by the second changing unit if it is determined that the driving wheels are skidding;
a spinning determination unit, which determines that the driving wheels are spinning if a difference in right and left wheel speeds of the hybrid vehicle is at least a predetermined threshold value of difference in right and left wheel speeds, and which determines that the driving wheels are not spinning if the difference in right and left wheel speeds of the hybrid vehicle is below the predetermined threshold value of difference in right and left wheel speeds; and
a third permitting unit, which permits change by the first changing unit and change by the second changing unit if it is determined that the driving wheels are not spinning, and which prohibits change by the first changing unit and change by the second changing unit if it is determined that the driving wheels are spinning.
The claims below are in addition to those above.
All refrences to claim(s) which appear below refer to the numbering after this setence.
1. A circuit for audibly indicating at least one state of a television receiver, the circuit comprising:
memory operative to store at least one audio file; and
a controller coupled to the memory, the controller being operative, in response to a control signal indicative of the television receiver receiving a power-on command, to forward the at least one audio file to an audio indicating device associated with the television receiver during a power-on interval of the television receiver for audibly indicating the at least one state of the television receiver.
2. The circuit of claim 1, wherein the controller is operative to forward the at least one audio file to the audio indicating device when the at least one state of the television receiver is a first value, the at least one audio file not being forwarded to the audio indicating device when the at least one state is a second value.
3. The circuit of claim 1, wherein the controller is operative during the power-on interval of the television receiver to control an audio processing device associated with the television receiver, so as to prevent an audio portion of a television broadcast signal from being presented to the audio indicating device.
4. The circuit of claim 1, wherein the at least one audio file is representative of at least one attribute of the television receiver.
5. The circuit of claim 1, wherein the at least one state comprises a power-on status of the television receiver.
6. The circuit of claim 1, wherein the at least one state comprises at least one of a current date and a current time.
7. The circuit of claim 1, wherein the audio indicating device comprises at least one speaker of the television receiver.
8. The circuit of claim 1, wherein the audio indicating device comprises at least one speaker external to the television receiver.
9. The circuit of claim 1, wherein the television receiver comprises at least one of a flat panel television receiver, a digital television receiver, a high definition television receiver, and a plasma television receiver.
10. The circuit of claim 1, wherein the controller is further operative during the power-on interval of the television receiver to retrieve a current date and, when the current date is at least equal to a reference date stored in the memory, to forward the at least one audio file to the audio indicating device.
11. The circuit of claim 1, wherein at least a portion of the memory is implemented in a memory of the television receiver.
12. The circuit of claim 1, wherein at least a portion of the controller is implemented in at least one processor of the television receiver.
13. The circuit of claim 1, wherein the controller is further operative to establish a connection with a data source for selectively downloading at least one audio file from the data source and for storing the at least one downloaded audio file in the memory.
14. The circuit of claim 1, wherein the controller is further operative to receive one or more audio files from a data source external to the circuit.
15. The circuit of claim 1, further comprising a detector operative to generate the control signal in response to the power-on command received by the television receiver, the control signal being indicative of a start of the power-on interval.
16. The circuit of claim 1, further comprising a digital-to-analog converter for converting the at least one audio file to an analog signal.
17. The circuit of claim 1, wherein the memory comprises a plurality of audio files, the audio files being representative of respective states of the television receiver, and the controller is operative during the power-on interval to forward the plurality of audio files to the audio indicating device in succession.
18. The circuit of claim 1, wherein the memory comprises a plurality of audio files, the audio files being representative of respective states of the television receiver, and the controller is operative during the power-on interval to forward the plurality of audio files to the audio indicating device in a prioritized order, the prioritized order being a function of one or more characteristics of the states of the television receiver.
19. A television receiver including a circuit for audibly indicating at least one state of the television receiver, the circuit comprising:
memory operative to store at least one audio file; and
a controller coupled to the memory, the controller being operative, in response to a first control signal indicative of the television receiver receiving a power-on command, to forward the at least one audio file to an audio indicating device associated with the television receiver during a power-on interval of the television receiver for audibly indicating the at least one state of the television receiver.
20. An integrated circuit including at least one circuit for audibly indicating at least one state of a television receiver, the at least one circuit comprising:
memory operative to store at least one audio file; and
a controller coupled to the memory, the controller being operative, in response to a first control signal indicative of the television receiver receiving a power-on command, to forward the at least one audio file to an audio indicating device associated with the television receiver during a power-on interval of the television receiver for audibly indicating the at least one state of the television receiver.
21. A circuit for audibly indicating at least one state of a television receiver, the circuit comprising:
memory operative to store at least one audio file; and
a controller coupled to the memory, the controller being operative during a power-on interval of the television receiver to forward the at least one audio file to an audio indicating device associated with the television receiver for audibly indicating the at least one state of the television receiver without a need for extracting information from a broadcast television signal received by the television receiver.