Patent ID: 8358744

Claim:
A teletypewriter (TTY) for communicating a pre-stored emergency message to a public safety answering point (PSAP), said TTY comprising: an input/output (I/O) unit configured to communicate with a communications network using a TTY communications protocol; a memory configured to store at least one pre-stored emergency message; a user interface configured to enable a user to generate TTY messages to communicate via said I/O unit over the communications network; and a processing unit in communication with said I/O unit, memory, and user interface, and configured to: receive an emergency call signal initiated by a user interfacing with said user interface; access a pre-stored emergency message stored in said memory; dial a PSAP; in response to an operator at a PSAP answering the call, communicate the pre-stored emergency message to a PSAP operator; in response to determining that an acknowledgement response is received to indicate that a call connection is made with the PSAP, provide the user with an option to add an interpreter to the call; and in response to the user electing to add the interpreter to the call, call an interpreter and add the interpreter to the call with the PSAP to create a 3-way call.