Patent ID: 8417186

Claim:
A method for determining and setting a push-to-talk state in a communication device, the method comprising: at a communication device having a multilayer protocol stack for processing incoming messages: receiving, from a peripheral that is wirelessly coupled to the communication device, a sequence of messages comprising a plurality of multi-byte data messages, wherein each of the multi-byte data messages provides a one-bit indication of a push-to-talk (PTT) state for the communication device, wherein the sequence of multi-byte data messages is received over a short range wireless data path for exchanging priority data that comprises a wireless serial communication channel and that is different from a short range wireless data path for exchanging non-priority data; performing a pattern matching process, within the first two layers of the multilayer protocol stack, to determine the PTT state indicated by each of the multi-byte data messages; setting the communication device to have the determined PTT states.