Remotely actuated telephone alarm system

• US 4,219,698 A
• Filed: 05/22/1978
• Issued: 08/26/1980
• Est. Priority Date: 05/22/1978
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Boreas Electronics Incorporated
• Original Assignee: Boreas Electronics Incorporated
• Inventors: Birilli, Joseph A., DeBacker, Dennis, DiStefano, Carl
• Primary Examiner(s): Robinson, Thomas A.
• Application Number:
  US05/908,259
• Time in Patent Office: 827 Days
• Field of Search: 179/5 R, 179/5 P, 179/2 E, 179/90 BB
• US Class Current: 379/37
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 11/045 using recorded signals, e.g. speech

Abstract

An alarm system that couples into a telephone system serviced by Touch Tone® equipment or Touch Tone® equipment intermixed with digital dialing and which when actuated automatically dials a telephone number and delivers a message into the receiver of the telephone whose number has been dialed. The alarm system is made up of two parts, an emergency transmitter unit and a receiver-dialer unit. The emergency transmitter unit includes a small battery powered radio frequency transmitter. The receiver-dialer unit includes a radio frequency receiver, a magnetic tape transport and a coupling device for coupling the unit into a telephone voice pair. The magnetic tape transport contains a magnetic tape on which is recorded a series of audio frequency tones corresponding to the Touch Tone® combinations of the number to be dialed and a message which is to be delivered. When the emergency transmitter unit is activated it sends out an RF signal which is received by the receiver-dialer unit. Receipt of the signal by the receiver-dialer unit activates the magnetic tape transport and causes the unit to be accessed into a telephone voice pair. Two embodiments of the receiver-dialer unit are disclosed. In one embodiment, the magnetic tape transport is designed to operate solely in a playback mode; whereas in a second embodiment the magnetic tape transport is designed to operate in either a playback or record mode.

Claims

1. An alarm system for use with a telephone system serviced by Touch Tone®

equipment or Touch Tone®

equipment intermixed with digital dialing equipment comprising;

(a) An emergency transmitter unit energizable to generate a modulated RF signal for transmission to a remote location, and

(b) a receiver dialer unit energizable in response to receipt of the modulated RF signal transmitted by the emergency transmitter and adapted to be coupled into a telephone line for automatically dialing a preselected telephone and delivering a prerecorded message into the telephone so dialed, said receiver dialer unit including means for storing and transmitting over the telephone line the electrical equivalent of a series of Touch Tone®

combinations corresponding to the number to be dialed and the message to be delivered,

wherein the means for storing and transmitting the series of Touch Tone®

combinations corresponding to the number to be dialed and the message to be delivered over the telephone line comprises a tape transport unit, said transport unit including a recording tape, said recording tape having recorded thereon a series of audio frequency tones corresponding to the series of Touch Tone®

combinations of the number to be dialed along with the message to be delivered.

2. The alarm system of claim 1 and wherein the receiver dialer unit further includes a radio frequency receiver for receiving the modulated RF signal transmitted by the emergency transmitter and activating the tape transport unit.

3. The alarm system of claim 2 and further including switch means for coupling the radio frequency receiver to the tape transport unit.

4. The alarm system according to claim 1 and wherein the tape transport unit is a magnetic tape transport.

5. The alarm system according to claim 4 and wherein the recording tape is magnetic tape.

6. The alarm system according to claim 5 and wherein said tape transport unit includes a cassette read head and a cassette drive.

7. The alarm system according to claim 4 and wherein the receiver-dialer unit further includes means for coupling into the telephone system.

8. The alarm system of claim 7 and wherein the portion of the telephone system coupled into the coupling means is a telephone voice pair.

9. The alarm system of claim 8 and wherein the means for coupling into the telephone system comprises an inductive coupler device connected between the telephone voice pair and the tape transport unit.

10. The alarm system according to claim 9 and further including a relay coupled between the high frequency receiver and both the tape transport unit and the inductive coupler device.

11. The alarm system according to claim 1 and wherein the tape transport unit includes a record capability and a playback capability.

12. The alarm system according to claim 10 and wherein the receiver dialer unit includes means adapted to be connected to a telephone instrument so as to use said telephone instrument to record the Touch Tone®

combinations corresponding to the number to be dialed and the message to be delivered on the magnetic tape.

13. A method of remotely dialing a telephone in a telephone system serviced by Touch Tone dialing or Touch Tone dialing intermixed with digital dialing and delivering a recorded message comprising

(a) providing a tape transport unit adapted to be activated in response to an RF signal and having on a recording medium contained therein a series of audio frequency tones corresponding to Touch Tone combinations of the telephone number to be dialed and a message to be delivered,

(b) coupling the tape transport unit into the telephone system, and

(c) transmitting an RF signal to the tape transport unit to activate the tape transport unit.

14. A remotely actuated telephone alarm system for dialing a number of a remote station and transmitting through a telephone line a message comprising:

(a) a magnetic tape transport unit including a magnetic tape having thereon a series of audio frequency tones corresponding to the Touch Tone combinations of the number to be dialed and the message to be delivered,

(b) an inductive coupler connected on one side to the magnetic tape transport,

(c) a radio receiver,

(d) a power source,

(e) a radio transmitter for transmitting a signal to the radio receiver, and

(f) relay means for connecting the other side of the inductive coupler to the telephone line and the magnetic tape transport to the power source in response to a signal received by the receiver from the transmitter.