Patent attributes
The present invention is generally directed to a system and associated method for communicating information to a predetermined location. The system includes a transmitter disposed at a first location and configured to transmit a signal containing an instruction code that uniquely identifies an instruction to be carried out. The system further includes a transceiver disposed remotely from the transmitter and configured to receive the transmitted signal. The transceiver circuit includes a line interface circuit configured to interface with a telephone line that is part of the public switched telephone network (PSTN) and initiate a phone call over the telephone line. Finally, the system includes a central station remotely located from said transceiver but being in communication with said transceiver via the PSTN The central station further include a decoder configured to decode the instruction code. In accordance with a broader aspect, the invention is directed to a general purpose transceiver having a receiver for receiving an information signal and a transmitter configured to transmit an outgoing signal over a phone line to a central station A portion of the information signal includes an instruction code, which may be decoded by the central station and acted upon accordingly Consistent with the general purpose nature of the transceiver, the phone number of the central station may be transmitted to the transceiver as part of the information signal.
