Patent ID: 8275315

Claim:
A method for transmitting digital data over an audio communication link, comprising: establishing an audio communication link between a first communication device and a second communication device, the audio communication link being a wireless, short-range communication link for communicating audio tones between the first communication device and the second communication device; transmitting an audio notification sequence from the first communication device to the second communication device, wherein the second communication device switches from an audio mode to a data-over-audio mode after receiving the audio notification sequence and the first communication device switches from the audio mode to the data-over-audio mode prior to transmitting the audio notification sequence; and after both the first communication device and the second communication device have switched to the data-over-audio mode, converting a digital data set, at the first communication device, to an audio tone sequence using a first digital-audio data converter; converting the audio tone sequence, from the first digital-audio data converter, to a digitized audio signal; transmitting the digitized audio signal from the first device to the second device over the audio communication link; converting the digitized audio signal, at the second device, to the audio tone sequence; and converting the audio tone sequence, at the second device, to the digital data set using a second digital-audio data converter, wherein the audio tone sequence includes an appended termination tone sequence that indicates a completed data-over-audio transmission and that triggers the second communication device to switch from the data-over-audio mode to the audio mode.