Patent ID: 6563427
Filing Date: 2003-05-13
Classification: G08B

Abstract:
A method of proximity monitoring in a wireless communication system operable on at least two wireless local area networks, the method comprising the steps of:providing at least two wireless master communication devices supporting respective wireless local area networks and at least one wireless monitor device as a slave unit operable in the wireless local area networks; transceiving signals between the at least one monitor device and at least one of the master communication devices on the respective wireless local area network; triggering an alarm in at least one of the master wireless communication devices when there is an indication that the at least one wireless monitor device is no longer within the proximity of either of the wireless local area networks; and transferring the monitoring of the at least one monitor device from a first wireless master communication device to a second wireless master communication device of the at least two wireless master communication devices, comprising the substeps of: communicating between the first and second wireless communication device on a wide area network for transferring the at least one monitor device therebetween, providing a time-out period for the at least one monitor device to transfer from the local area network of the first communication device to the local area network of the second communication device acknowledging the receipt of the at least one monitor device into the second local area network by the second communication device to the first communication device over the wide area network, and wherein the triggering step includes triggering the alarm if the time-out period expires before the transferring step is complete.