Remote transmitter and method

A remote transmitter for use with a controller which is not connected to the remote transmitter, the transmitter comprising:

• a housing;
• a signal transmitter coupled to the housing;
• a sliding element which moves to a signal on position when said sliding element is moved away from the center of the housing, wherein said sliding element is a flexible member;
• and
• a resilient retracting element coupled with said flexible member for retracting said flexible member toward the center of the housing,
• wherein said sliding element in the signal on position remains coupled to the housing and activates the signal transmitter to send signals to the controller.

A system comprising:

• a telephone base unit;
• a signal receiver on said base unit;
• a remote transmitter having a signal transmitter and a user input for activating the signal transmitter to send signals to the receiver on the base unit, said remote transmitter comprising a housing, said user input comprising a single elongate element extending a sufficient distance from the housing to allow the user to locate and manipulate the user input through tactile sensing, said single elongate element being pullable by a user away from the center of the housing to activate the signal transmitter while remaining coupled with the housing;
• an automatic telephone number dialer on the telephone base unit activated by the signal receiver to dial a selected telephone number;
• an automatic message sender which sends a prerecorded message to the selected telephone number;
• and
• a speakerphone on said base unit providing two-way communication after the prerecorded message has been sent.

A method for activating a remote transmitter comprising the steps of:

• providing a remote transmitter with a housing and a user input comprising a single elongate element extending from the housing by a sufficient distance to allow a user to locate and manipulate the user input through tactile sensing;
• tactilely locating the user input with one or both of the user's hands;
• manipulating the user input by pulling the single elongate element to further extend the single elongate element from the housing while remaining coupled with the housing to activate the remote transmitter;
• and
• contacting a controller.