Patent ID: 7382233

Claim:
A digital sampling playback doorbell, comprising: a. a central unit connected to an electrical power source; b. memory means associated with said central unit for storing a plurality of digitally sampled sound files; c. connection means for connecting said central unit to a computer and, by hard wiring, to a plurality of doorbell buttons or actuators; d. software means associated with said central unit for enabling a user to program each of said doorbell buttons to play a particular digitally sampled sound file; e. sound file playing means associated with said central unit for playing said sound file when said doorbell button is activated; f. sound file updating means associated with said central unit for updating said digitally sampled sound files through a computer with first software through an interface connecting said central unit to a computer; g. Internet access means associated with said computer through a second computer software means for establishing an Internet connection and downloading digitally sampled sound files from a web site; and h. input means associated with said computer, said input means having audio input terminals and associated third computer software means for capturing digitally sampled sound files from a sound file source, selected from the group consisting of CD player, radio, and microphone or a music mass storage device including an Apple IPOD or other MP3 player, such as Archos, Creative, HP, iRiver, Rio, Samsung, or Sony, to download sound files into the computer's hard drive; i. said first software resident in said computer converting said digitally sampled sound files to a common file format in use by said central unit of said doorbell system; whereby said digitally sampled sound files in said memory of said central unit are updated according to said user's preferences.