Patent ID: 7933556

Claim:
A remote monitoring system, comprising: a cordless telephone base station; a cordless telephone handset associated with the cordless telephone base station that is operable to be in periodic direct wireless communication with the cordless telephone base station when in a predetermined distance from the cordless telephone base station, the cordless telephone handset including a viewing screen that can display an image, the cordless telephone handset comprising a telephone interface and a modem circuit to connect directly to the PSTN and communicate over the PSTN to the cordless base station; and at least one camera that is wirelessly coupled to the cordless telephone base station and which is operable to capture an image of a predetermined area; wherein the cordless telephone handset is configured to (i) receive images from the at least one camera via a wireless connection with the cordless telephone base station when the cordless telephone handset is within the predetermined distance and (ii) receive images from the at least one camera via the PSTN when it is directly connected to the PSTN, wherein the cordless telephone handset comprises a storage device and is configured to store the received images in the cordless telephone handset for later viewing, to discard the received images, and to transfer the received images for storage in the cordless telephone base station, wherein the cordless telephone base station is configured to store the received images transferred from the cordless telephone handset, wherein the cordless telephone handset sends control signals through the cordless telephone base station and to the at least one camera to change a viewing angle of the at least one camera, and wherein the telephone interface comprises an RJ11 jack and a DTMF generator, and wherein the cordless telephone handset is configured to establish a modem connection over the PSTN with the cordless telephone base station when the cordless telephone dials a first telephone number that is associated with a place where the cordless telephone base station is located.