Patent ID: 7231200

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 center; and a base communications unit coupled with a dial-up telephone system for establishing voice communication between the user and the emergency response center, the base unit including (3) a wireless transmitter and a wireless receiver for respectively transmitting and receiving communication signals, (4) a memory for storing a telephone number of the emergency response center, (5) a dialer for dialing the emergency response center telephone number, (6) a controller responsive to the call request signal for controlling the dialer to dial the emergency response center telephone number, wherein the base unit includes a speech synthesizer for producing preselected voice messages indicative of the status of the call request, and the controller is operative to deliver the preselected voice messages to the portable unit; and wherein the preselected voice messages include a first voice message indicating that the emergency response center number is being dialed, and a second voice message indicating that the call to the center is being terminated.