Automatic pairing of a telephone peripheral unit and an interface unit

Interface unit for connecting a first telephone peripheral unit for audio communication to a telephone, wherein both the interface unit and the first peripheral unit have unique device addresses, the interface unit having a telephone side and a peripheral unit side, and wherein the interface unit on the telephone side comprises telephone connection routine for relaying audio communication between the first peripheral unit and the telephone, and wherein the interface unit on the peripheral unit side comprises:

• wired connection for connecting the interface unit to a first peripheral unit,
• wireless connection for connecting the interface unit to a first peripheral unit, the wireless connection being adapted for providing a first wireless communication link for audio communication, the wireless connection comprising:
• a pairing list for containing device addresses of first peripheral units with which the interface unit is allowed to establish a first wireless connection, and
• a connection list for containing addresses of currently connected first peripheral units, wherein only peripheral units present in the pairing list may be present in the connection list, and wherein the wired connection are adapted for providing a wired communication link for auxiliary data, and that the interface unit further comprises:
• an automatic pairing routine for pairing the interface unit with a first peripheral unit when the wired connection is established between the two units, the automatic pairing routine comprising:
• link detection routine for detecting the establishment of a wired communication link between the interface unit and a first peripheral unit,
• device address exchanging routine for transmitting the interface unit device address to the connected first peripheral unit and/or for receiving the peripheral unit device address from the connected first peripheral unit over the wired communication link,
• a static personal identification number (PIN) for use during pairing, the PIN being shared between at least the connected first peripheral unit and the interface unit, wherein the wireless connection is adapted for providing at least a first and a second wireless communication link for audio communication, the first link being a primary link and the second link being a secondary link, the interface unit further comprising:
• a secondary pairing list for containing device addresses of second peripheral units with which the interface unit is allowed to establish a secondary link,
• a secondary connection list for containing addresses of currently connected second peripheral units, wherein only peripheral units present in the secondary pairing list may be present in the secondary connection list, wherein
• the automatic pairing routine is further adapted for pairing the interface unit with the second peripheral unit as a secondary pairing when the wired connection is established between the interface unit and the second peripheral unit;
• and wherein before a link can be completed with the secondary peripheral unit, a confirmatory signal is sent to said first unit and an approval signal must be received therefrom before said second link is completed;
• after linking said second peripheral unit, monitoring the connection status of a call underway or initiated after linking, and terminating the link to said second peripheral unit after said call is ended, so that the second peripheral unit may not eavesdrop on subsequent calls to said primary unit thereafter.

Method for secure linking and delinking of a first telephone peripheral unit and an interface unit for connecting the first peripheral unit to a telephone, wherein the first peripheral unit and the interface unit are adapted for being communicatively connected via a first wireless communication link, characterised in that the first peripheral unit and the interface unit are furthermore adapted for being communicatively connected via a wired communication link so that at a given time one unit may function as a sending unit and the other unit may function as a recipient unit, the method comprising the steps of:

• a) detecting establishment of a wired communication link between the first peripheral unit and the interface unit,
• b) determining if the first peripheral unit and the interface unit have a common pairing, in which case the method ends, otherwise
• c) transferring a device address over the wired communication link from a sending unit, the sending unit being either the first peripheral unit or the interface unit, to a recipient unit,
• d) initiating a conventional pairing procedure from the recipient unit for pairing the recipient unit with the sending unit,
• e) upon detection of a second peripheral unit being connected to the interface unit, determining if the interface unit has no previous primary pairing with a first peripheral unit, then a primary pairing is performed between the second peripheral unit and the interface unit, and connecting the interface unit and the second peripheral unit via a second wireless communication link, or
• f) if the first peripheral unit is connected to the interface unit via a first wireless communication link, determining if a telephone call is currently in progress via the first wireless communication link, then
• g) performing a secondary pairing between the interface unit and the second peripheral unit to connect the interface unit and the second peripheral unit via a second wireless communication link, and transmitting the telephone call simultaneously over both the first and second wireless communication link, or
• h) after linking said second peripheral unit, monitoring the connection status of a call underway or initiated after linking, and terminating the link to said second peripheral unit after said call is ended, so that the second peripheral unit may not eavesdrop on subsequent calls to said primary unit thereafter.