Patent ID: 7026926
Filing Date: 2006-04-11
Classification: G08B

Abstract:
1. A security system for providing notification of alerts, the system having a plurality of sensors installed within a facility, each sensor configured to detect a condition and generate an alert thereupon, the system comprising: a central computer hosting a database, the central computer asynchronously receiving the alert and querying the database to provide a communications channel indicator associated with the alert and a textual message associated with the alert, the central computer having a means to convert the textual message into a synthesized voice message; one or more radio transmitters, each radio transmitter capable of selectively transmitting on a plurality of communications channels, each communications channel assigned to only one radio transmitter; one or more handheld radios, each handheld radio assigned to and carried by a recipient, each handheld radio configured to receive on a first communications channel and to transmit on a second communications channel, wherein the second and the first communications channels are different communications channels; a single radio receiver receiving transmissions on the second communications channel, wherein the second communications channel is common to all handheld radios; and a communications interface having a means to select a communications channel in response to receiving the communications channel indicator sent by the central computer, the communications interface having a means to configure the radio transmitter associated with the selected communications channel to transmit on the selected communications channel, the communications interface having a means to transmit on the selected communications channel the synthesized voice message received from the central computer, the communications interface having a means to detect an acknowledgement received on the radio receiver and sending the acknowledgement to the central computer.