Patent ID: 7142658

Claim:
A method of selectively sending a DTMF tone from a terminal to a user defined first or second destination, wherein the terminal sends a signal comprising at least one DTMF tone to a single intermediate module prior to distribution to an intended destination, comprising; receiving the signal at the single intermediate module via which the at least one DTMF tone can be sent to either of the user defined first and second destinations; analyzing, by the single intermediate module, the nature of any DTMF tones in a portion of the received signal to determine which of the user determined first and second destinations is the intended destination; sending, by the single intermediate module, a DTMF tone corresponding to the DTMF tones in the received signal to the intended destination, the single intermediate module sending the DTMF tone to the first destination that is a component internal to the single intermediate module via an internal communications line of the single intermediate module when the first destination is the intended destination, and the single intermediate module sending the DTMF tone to the second destination via an external communications line connecting the single intermediate module with the second destination when the second destination is the intended destination; and preventing, by the single intermediate module, the at least one DTMF tone from being sent to a non-determined destination.