Patent ID: 8233605

Claim:
A method of monitoring a conference, comprising: receiving first party signals from a first participant's communications device at a first splitter; receiving second party signals from a second participant's communications device at a separate second splitter; sending the first party signals from the first splitter to a first bridge device; sending the first party signals from the first splitter to a separate second bridge device; sending the second party signals from the second splitter to the first bridge device; sending the second party signals from the second splitter to the second bridge device; receiving monitor signals from a monitor's communications device at the second bridge device; establishing a first bridge in the first bridge device that bridges together the first party signals and the second party signals to establish a conference output signal; sending the conference output signal only to the second participant's communications device to establish the conference between the first participant's communications device and the second participant's communications device; establishing a second bridge in the separate second bridge device that bridges together the first party signals, the second party signals, and the monitor signals to produce a sub-conference signal; isolating the monitor signals from the second participant's communications device by sending the sub-conference signal to the first participant's communications device and to the monitor's communications device to establish a sub-conference between the first participant's communications device and the monitor's communications device, wherein the monitor party may monitor the conference and conduct the sub-conference with a first party at the first participant's communications device.