Automatic remote communication using network telephony
View Patent ↗The present invention is a method and apparatus to provide remote communication using network telephony. In a transmitter, an activation message is decoded to generate an activation command. The activation message is sent from an activator via a communication medium in response to a telephony call. An information message is transmitted, responsive to the activation command, to a receiver using a communication protocol. In a receiver, an activation message is decoded to generate an activation command. The activation message is sent in response to a telephone call. An information message is received, responsive to the activation command. The information message is sent from a transmitter according to a communication protocol via a communication medium.
1. A location transmitter, comprising:
a reception unit configured to receive an activation request generated in response to a call by a call device in proximity to the location transmitter, the activation request being a query for a location of the location transmitter as an indication of a location of the call device; and
a transmission unit configured to respond to receipt of the activation request by the reception unit by broadcasting a signal modulated from an information message containing the location of the location transmitter.
2. The location transmitter of claim 1 , wherein the transmission unit is further configured to broadcast the respective location information on a substantially periodic basis.
3. The location transmitter of claim 1 , wherein the transmission unit is further configured to broadcast the respective location information on a substantially continuous basis.
4. The location transmitter of claim 1 , wherein the location transmitter is one of a group of geographically dispersed location transmitters which form a distributed location broadcast system.
5. The location transmitter of claim 1 , wherein the transmission unit is configured to broadcast respective location information in a format consistent with at least one of an identification tag, an absolute location, and a relative location.