Patent ID: 8885623

Claim:
A communications system, comprising: (a) first and second personal communications devices, each comprising a processor, a sound input device, a sound output device and a managed communications module, wherein the first personal communications device is configured to receive spoken words, and the second personal communications device is configured to output the received spoken words; and (b) a management computer physically separated from the first and second personal communications devices, the management computer comprising a processor, a sound output device and a management module; wherein for each of the first and second personal communication devices, the managed communications module of the personal communications device is configured to, when executed at the processor of the personal communications device: (i) when the personal communications device is the first personal communications device, receive a sound input signal from the sound input device, and send the sound input signal as audio output data to the management computer over a wireless network link, wherein the sound input signal is in representation of the spoken words received by the sound input device of the first personal communications device; and (ii) when the personal communications device is the second personal communications device, receive processed audio data from the management module of the management computer, and control the sound output device of the second personal communications device to output the spoken words based on personal device output data of the processed audio data; wherein the management module is configured to, when executed at the processor of the management computer: (i) receive the audio output data from the managed communications module of the first personal communications device over the wireless network link; (ii) perform at least one audio data processing function on the received audio output data from the first personal communications device to generate the processed audio data, wherein the processed audio data is in representation of the spoken words received by the sound input device of the first personal communications device, and comprises the personal device audio data in accordance to the sound output device of the second personal communications device and computer sound output data in accordance to the sound output device of the management computer; (iii) transmit the processed audio data to the second personal communications device, such that the managed communications module of the second personal communications device controls the sound output device of the second personal communications device to output the spoken words based on the personal device output data of the processed audio data; and (iv) transmit the processed audio data as a first output signal to the sound output device of the management computer, and control the sound output device of the management computer to output the spoken words based on the computer sound output data of the processed audio data.