Patent ID: 8686849

Claim:
A method of wirelessly transmitting alarm signals, comprising the steps of: wirelessly transmitting an alarm signal from a transmitting station; determining whether an acknowledgement signal has been received by the transmitting station, wherein the acknowledgement signal has been wirelessly transmitted from an access point in response to the access point receiving the alarm signal; waking up a relaying station and keeping the relaying station awake during a plurality of periodic time intervals for overhearing transmissions from the transmitting station; if it is determined that an acknowledgement signal from the access point has not been received by the transmitting station, then wirelessly re-transmitting the alarm signal from the transmitting station during at least one of the time intervals in which the relaying station is awake; receiving the alarm signal at the relaying station; and transmitting the alarm signal from the relaying station to the access point, using the relaying station to sense a security breach; wirelessly transmitting at least one said alarm signal from the relaying station in response to sensing the security breach; using the transmitting station to periodically listen for said alarm signal; and using the transmitting station to relay said alarm signal overheard during the periodic listening, the alarm signal being relayed to the access point, wherein the access point is an IEEE 802.11 based hub for interfacing with an alarm network.