Apparatus and method for utilizing an emergency button of a communication device accessory

Abstract

An apparatus and method for placing a call to an emergency response center is provided. The apparatus comprises a communication device (100) and an accessory (102, 104) located remote from the communication device. The communication device (100) is configured to establish a wireless connection with the emergency response center via a cellular interface (324) in response to receiving an emergency signal. The accessory (102, 104) has an emergency button (118, 128, 130) and configured to send the emergency signal to the communication device (100) via an air interface (218, 316) when the emergency button is activated. The communication device (100) or the accessory (102, 104) receives, via the air interface (218, 316), the emergency signal indicating that the emergency button (118, 128, 130) of the accessory (102, 104) has been activated. The communication device (100) then establishes, via the cellular interface (324), a wireless connection with the emergency response center in response to receiving the emergency signal.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.