Claims
- 1. A modular electronic accessory docking system for a vehicle comprising:a stationary interface housing mounted to the vehicle, said stationary housing having an electrical system coupler connected to a vehicle electrical system; a plurality of removable electrical accessory modules each including on-board circuitry for performing a designated function; a removable module rack arranged to mount to the stationary interface housing, said removable rack comprising a plurality of uniformly dimensioned mounting spaces arranged to receive one or more of the plurality of removable electrical accessory modules, each receiving mounting space having a uniform electrical connector positioned to complete an electrical connection between a received accessory module and the electrical system coupler in the stationary interface housing when the module rack is mounted to the stationary interface housing.
- 2. The system of claim 1 wherein the uniform electrical connector of each mounting space comprises a plurality of compliant contact pads positioned to be in contact with a set of mating contact pads extending from the on-board circuitry when a module is received into the removable module rack.
- 3. The system of claim 1 wherein the uniform electrical connector comprises a strip conductor extending across each mounting space, the strip conductor positioned to be in contact with a set of mating contact pads extending from the on-board circuitry when a module is received into the removable module rack.
- 4. The system of claim 1 further comprising a display in communication with the electrical system coupler to display information generated by an accessory module received in the module rack.
- 5. The system of claim 4 wherein the display is mounted on the stationary interface housing.
- 6. The system of claim 5 wherein the display is mounted on a hinged access panel mounted to the stationary interface housing.
- 7. The system of claim 4 wherein the display is mounted on an accessory module received in the module rack.
- 8. The system of claim 1 wherein one of the plurality of removable accessory modules comprises a compass module.
- 9. The system of claim 1 wherein one of the plurality of removable accessory modules comprises a garage door opener module.
- 10. The system of claim 9 wherein the garage door opener module is arranged to operate when removed from the module rack.
- 11. The system of claim 1 wherein one of the plurality of removable accessory modules comprises a remote keyless entry module.
- 12. The system of claim 1 wherein one of the plurality of removable accessory modules comprises a tire pressure monitoring module.
- 13. The system of claim 1 wherein one of the plurality of removable accessory modules comprises a GPS module capable of operating when removed from the module rack.
- 14. A vehicle electronic accessory docking system comprising:a docking station having an interface housing mounted to the vehicle, said docking station including an electrical system coupler connected to a vehicle electrical system, and a plurality of uniformly dimensioned mounting spaces, each receiving mounting space having a uniformly positioned electrical connector; and at least one removeable accessory module having a uniform dimension independent of a designated function of the accessory module, said removable module arranged to be interchangeably mounted within any one of the mounting spaces in the docking station wherein the module has on-board circuitry arranged to allow the module to be operated when not mounted within a mounting space.
- 15. The system of claim 14 wherein the removable accessory module comprises a garage door opener module arranged to operate when removed from the docking station.
- 16. The system of claim 14 wherein the removable accessory module comprises a GPS module capable of operating when removed from the docking station.
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
This application claims the benefit of U.S. provisional application Serial No. 60/241,172 filed Oct. 17, 2000.
US Referenced Citations (14)
Foreign Referenced Citations (1)
Number |
Date |
Country |
WO 9859425 |
Dec 1998 |
DE |
Provisional Applications (1)
|
Number |
Date |
Country |
|
60/241172 |
Oct 2000 |
US |