Patent ID: RE41392

Claim:
A personal emergency response communications system, comprising: a portable communications unit intended to be carried by a user who may require emergency attention, including (1) a wireless transmitter and a wireless receiver for respectively transmitting and receiving communication signals, (2) a call button actuatable by the user to initiate a call request signal that will result in placing the user in voice communication with an emergency response provider; a base communications unit coupled with a dial-up telephone system for establishing voice communication between the user and the emergency response provider, the base unit including (1) a wireless transmitter and a wireless receiver for respectively transmitting and receiving communication signals, and (2) a dialer for dialing the emergency response provider telephone number, a first memory in said system for storing a telephone number of the emergency response provider in one of the portable communications unit and the base communications unit , and a first controller responsive to the call request signal for controlling the dialer to dial the emergency response provider telephone number, wherein the a second memory stores in said system for storing electrical signals convertible into preselected voice messages, a speech synthesizer is provided in said system for reproducing the preselected voice messages from the stored signals indicative of the status of the call request, and the a second controller is operative to deliver play the preselected voice messages to through a speaker in the portable unit and, wherein the preselected voice messages include a first voice message indicating that the emergency response provider number is being dialed, and a second voice message indicating that the call to the provider is being terminated.