Patent ID: 11930879
Assignee: GENTEX CORPORATION
Field: Other consumer goods (Other fields)
Classification: CPC A  H | IPC A  H

Claim 20:
21. A helmet accessory mounting system comprising:
a mounting device configured to couple to an outer surface of a side of a helmet, the mounting device including a plurality of mounting locations configured to releasably couple to at least one accessory, a plurality of the plurality of mounting locations each including an electrical node:
a power supply coupled to the mounting device;
an electrical supply line electrically coupling the power supply to each of the electrical nodes, the electrical supply line contained at least partially within the mounting device;
a sensor configured to sense a condition associated with the at least one accessory being coupled to the mounting device; and
a helmet controller in electrical communication with each of the electrical nodes,
wherein the helmet controller is configured to:
periodically probe each of the electrical nodes to determine if a respective accessory is connected to the respective electrical node; and
in response to determining that a respective accessory is connected to the respective electrical node:
enable power at the electrical node,
transmit a broadcast discover message to the respective accessory at the electrical node,
receive product identification and device identification information
validate the respective accessory using the product identification and device identification,
assign a node identifier to the respective electrical node,
transmit the node identifier to the respective accessory at the electrical node for the respective accessory to register the node identifier, and
exchange accessory data with the respective accessory.