Patent ID: 7425978

Claim:
A system for communicating with a plurality of remote locations from a central station utilizing telephonic communication facilities for surveillance purposes, comprising: video communication structures located at the plurality of remote locations for providing representative image signals of scenes at the plurality of remote locations and for receiving and sending audio signals to carry voice over the telephonic communication facilities; a plurality of video display structures, including audio capability, located at the central station for receiving and displaying the representative image video signals of the plurality of remote locations; telephonic interface apparatus for interconnecting the video communication structures at the plurality of the remote locations with the plurality of the video display structures at the central station and including two way audio communication capability at the central station; and a control unit located at the central station for controlling the telephonic interface apparatus to establish video and audio communication between a select video camera structure at a select one of the plurality of remote locations and one of the plurality of video display structures at the central station, with the central station receiving a display of a scene from the select one of the plurality of remote locations and the same select one of the plurality of remote locations receiving audio communication from the central station via the telephonic interface apparatus, the control unit providing scenes from the plurality of remote locations in sequence, in programmed intervals, the control unit further including an interrupt structure for receiving an interrupt indication from any particular one of the plurality of remote locations at which a particular circumstance to cause an alert occurs, the interrupt indication configured to interrupt the sequence of scenes displayed in order to provide an alternate display of a scene where the particular circumstance to cause the alert occurs rather than the next one in the sequence.