Impact activated telephone method and apparatus

• US 6,263,069 B1
• Filed: 07/24/1998
• Issued: 07/17/2001
• Est. Priority Date: 05/26/1998
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Dynachieve, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Dynachieve, Inc.
• Inventors: Schulze, Herbert C.
• Primary Examiner(s): Isen, Forester W.
• Assistant Examiner(s): Cheney, Clark S.
• Application Number:
  US09/122,459
• Time in Patent Office: 1,089 Days
• Field of Search: 379/352, 379/354, 379/355, 379/37, 379/38, 379/40, 379/45, 340/825.64, 340/426, 455/404, 455/422
• US Class Current: 379/352
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 25/016 Personal emergency signalling and security systems emergency non-personal manually actuated alarm activators G08B25/12
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 11/04 with alarm systems, e.g. fire, police or burglar alarm systems

Abstract

A method and apparatus for activating an emergency telephone mounted upon a structure, wherein the telephone is activated as a result of an impact by an object upon the structure causing the telephone to go off-hook active with immediate automatic connection to another telephone.

Claims

1. An emergency telephone comprising:

a conspicuous telephone building structure;

a telephone mounted on said building structure, wherein said telephone comprises telephone circuitry without electrical power connected to said telephone circuitry;

impact sensing means mounted on said building structure; and

means to connect electrical power to said telephone circuitry when the sensing means senses an impact upon said building structure.

2. The emergency telephone of claim 1 wherein means is provided to disconnect the electrical power from the telephone circuitry for after the electrical power has been connected to the telephone circuitry a predetermined period of time.

3. An emergency telephone system comprising:

telephone means connected to building structure means;

telephone electrical power means connected to said building structure means;

impact-activated electrical switch means connected to said building structure means;

electrically connecting means connecting said telephone electrical power means to said impact-activated electrical switch means;

means connecting said impact-activated electrical switch means to said telephone means; and

impact means comprising a human body part independent of said structure means capable of impacting upon said structure.

4. The method of activating an emergency telephone means comprising:

installing normally open impact switch means in an electrical power circuit of an electrically powered emergency telephone means mounted upon an emergency telephone tower structure; and

impacting the emergency telephone tower structure with a human body part.

5. The method of claim 4 wherein the emergency telephone means and the impact switch means are both connected to the same structure, and the impact by human body part is an impact deliberately and intentionally instituted by a human against the structure.