Patent ID: 8238869

Claim:
A notification apparatus for use in conjunction with a wide area notification device, comprising: a trigger device electronically coupled to a low-range wireless transceiver, wherein the trigger device has an input module configured to receive a first signal from the wide area emergency notification device, and further has an output module configured to provide a second signal to the low-range wireless transceiver in response to the first signal; wherein the low-range wireless transceiver is configured to (a) provide a third signal to at least two wearable wireless transceivers in response to the second signal, (b) provide a fourth signal to at least one of the wearable transceivers in response to a manual operator input by an operator of the low-range wireless transceiver, wherein the fourth signal is a user-specific and event-specific notification signal, and (c) optionally receive a fifth signal, and (d) provide a local audible and/or visible alert notification in response to the first signal; wherein the first and the third signals are an emergency signal, and wherein the third and fourth signals are different and independent from each other; wherein the wearable transceivers are configured to provide a notification to a person in response to at least one of the third and fourth signals, and wherein the wearable transceivers are optionally configured to send the fifth signal; and wherein the person is an individual other than the operator.