Patent ID: 6897765

Claim:
A remotely activated doorbell system for a building having a door and a doorbell, said system comprising: a sensor means connected to said doorbell, which receives a coded laser beam signal, and upon receiving said signal, causes activation of said doorbell; a switch means, included in said sensor means, for selecting one of a plurality of options for doorbell operation upon receiving codes from said signal; and a remote control device, including switches for causing transmission of said coded laser beam signal, which causes activation of the doorbell when a user directs the signal to said sensor means, said activation depending on the selected doorbell operation option; wherein said doorbell operation options include a public option in which any remote control device causes activation of the doorbell, a private option wherein only specified remote control devices having a private code may cause activation of the doorbell, and an off option wherein the doorbell cannot be activated by any received signal.