Patent attributes
A toy vehicle track system of the present application includes electrical connections between the track pieces that allow a central hub, referred to herein as a “portal piece,” to communicate with any track pieces included in the track system. In order to ensure that the portal piece can quickly and accurately identify track configurations that are built, the toy vehicle track system implements a communications protocol that supports communications between any two pieces of track. Based on these communications, the portal piece can determine an orientation, a track type, and a position of any track pieces attached, whether directly or indirectly, to the portal piece. The portal piece can then transmit this information to an electronic device executing an application associated with the track system to allow for digital play on a digital version of the track configuration (among other digital play modes).
