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Versatile personal medical emergency communication system

DC
  • US 8,548,422 B2
  • Filed: 03/05/2009
  • Issued: 10/01/2013
  • Est. Priority Date: 03/05/2008
  • Status: Expired due to Fees
First Claim
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1. A versatile personal emergency response communications system, comprising:

  • (a) a portable communications unit intended to be carried by a user who may require emergency attention, including (1) a wireless transmitter—

    receiver for respectively transmitting and receiving communication signals;

    (2) a first microprocessor unit;

    (3) an emergency call button manually actuatable by a user to initiate a call request signal;

    (4) a test button manually actuatable by the user to initiate a system condition request;

    (5) a microphone through which the user can communicate by voice during a two-way voice communication between the user and an emergency responder;

    (6) a speaker to hear voice communications during a two-way voice communication between the user and the emergency responder and to hear voice messages;

    (7) an indicator for showing visually a status of the system; and

    (8) a battery;

    (b) a base communications unit for coupling with a public dial-up telephone system for establishing two-way voice communication via the public dial-up telephone system between the user through the portable communications unit and an emergency responder, the base unit including (1) a wireless transmitter-receiver for respectively transmitting and receiving communication signals from and to the portable communications unit ;

    (2) a dialer for dialing a telephone number to establish two-way voice communication between the user and an emergency responder connected to the dial-up telephone system;

    (3) a second microprocessor unit;

    (4) a first connection for connecting a telephone to the base communications unit;

    (5) a second connection for connecting a computer to the base communications unit;

    (6) a power connection;

    (7) circuitry for conducting tests for determining system condition and generating a signal for transmission to the portable communications unit; and

    ;

    (c) a non-transitory computer readable storage medium storing computer readable and executable instructions, and a plurality of voice messages concerning (i) dialing an emergency responder responsive to the actuation of the emergency call button to place the user on the portable communications unit in two-way voice communication with the emergency responder (ii) results of system testing;

    (d) wherein execution of the computer readable and executable instructions cause the versatile personal emergency response communications system (1) to be enabled to program the versatile personal emergency response communications system to selectively dial a central monitoring station instead of 911;

    (2) to be enabled to put the versatile personal emergency response communications system into a learning mode to be programmed responsive to (i) a predetermined key sequence of a telephone connected to the first connection of the base communications unit, (ii) a preloaded program in a computer connected to the second connection of the base communications unit, and (iii) by voice input to the microphone of the portable communications unit responsive to a predetermined actuation of the emergency call button and the test button of the portable communications unit;

    (3) to enable the versatile personal emergency response communications system to program the versatile personal emergency response communications system to selectively dial at least one of a list of prioritized telephone numbers and names of a plurality of third parties stored in the system;

    (4) to perform versatile personal emergency response communications system viability tests including at least one of battery condition, range test, phone line check, and voice recognition test;

    (5) to generate and transmit a voice message to the portable communications unit indicative of a viability test result that is played through the speaker of the portable communications unit (6) to establish two-way voice communication between the user speaking through the microphone and hearing through the speaker of the portable communications unit and the selected one of 911, a central monitoring station and one of said third parties responsive to the actuation of the emergency call button;

    (7) at the user'"'"'s selection to dial successively the list of prioritized telephone numbers and names of the plurality of third parties until one answers and a correct preset code is received, to establish two-way voice communication between user speaking through the microphone and hearing through the speaker of the portable communications unit and the answering one of said third parties, and if none answer, then to dial automatically the selected one of 911 and a central monitoring station (8) to monitor the user speech through the microphone of the portable communication unit to determine if within a predetermined set time following actuation of the emergency call button, the user'"'"'s voice instructs dialing one of the list of prioritized telephone numbers and names of the plurality of third parties, and if the third party answers, but no acknowledgement by appropriate preset code is received within a predetermined time, the versatile personal emergency response communications system will automatically dial the selected one of 911 and a central monitoring station, and if there is no answer by the third party within a predetermined time, the versatile personal emergency response communications system will automatically dial the selected one of 911 and a central monitoring station;

    (9) to play stored voice messages to the user through the speaker in the portable communications unit; and

    (10) to detect status of a call to the selected one of the emergency responders.

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