Wireless devices, such as cellular telephones and MP3 players, are readily available today and widely used. Many such devices support the use of a Bluetooth accessory, such as a headset, car kit, a Bluetooth-enabled adapter for a portable device, a home entertainment device, or a PC, and a Bluetooth-enabled speaker system. Many Bluetooth accessory devices, for example stereo Bluetooth headsets, are capable of connecting to two devices at a time using different Bluetooth profiles.
A Bluetooth profile describes general behaviors through which Bluetooth-enabled devices communicate with other Bluetooth devices. For example, a hands free profile (HFP) describes how a device such as a mobile telephone can be used to place and receive calls for a hands free device. As another example, an Advanced Audio Distribution Profile (A2DP) describes how stereo quality audio can be streamed to an accessory, for example, from a media player.
When a Bluetooth accessory can connect to two devices, for example a cellular telephone and a media player, at the same time using different Bluetooth profiles, a user may be able to listen to music streamed from the media player using A2DP until a telephone call arrives. The accessory can automatically interrupt the play of music, and upon user input, stream speech to and from the cellular telephone using HFP. Upon the user completing the telephone call, the accessory can automatically return to streaming music from the media player using A2DP.
Before a Bluetooth accessory can stream speech, music, or other content to and from a device, it must be paired with the device, exchanging identification and authentication data. The pairing process can be cumbersome if multiple devices must be paired with a single Bluetooth accessory. Thus a more user-friendly solution to the problem of pairing multiple devices to a Bluetooth accessory may be desirable.
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USPTO Backgrounds
USPTO Backgrounds