Systems and methods for wirelessly pairing a fitness machine to an accessory

A method for wirelessly pairing a fitness machine to an accessory, comprising the steps of:

• providing the fitness machine to be wirelessly paired with the accessory, wherein the fitness machine is configured to wirelessly pair with the accessory using a pairing protocol when such wireless pairing is initiated by the accessory;
• initiating communication and receiving by the fitness machine a unique ID that is communicated from the accessory using a setup protocol, wherein the unique ID is associated with the accessory;
• communicating an advertising packet from the fitness machine to the accessory using the pairing protocol, wherein the advertising packet is associated with the fitness machine and includes the unique ID;
• providing a program that controls the accessory, wherein the program causes the accessory to generate the unique ID, and wherein the program analyzes the advertising packet from the fitness machine to identify when the unique ID included in the advertising packet;
• and
• wirelessly pairing the fitness machine and the accessory using the pairing protocol when the accessory identifies that the unique ID is included in the advertising packet and initiates such wireless pairing.

A system for wirelessly pairing a fitness machine to a wearable accessory, comprising:

• an NFC reader and a pairing radio, each in communication with the fitness machine, wherein the NFC reader communicates using a near-field protocol, wherein the pairing radio communicates using a pairing protocol when initiated by the accessory;
• an NFC tag and a pairing radio, each in communication with the wearable accessory, wherein the NFC tag initiates communication and communicates using the near-field protocol, wherein the pairing radio communicates using the pairing protocol;
• a unique ID that is associated with the accessory and is communicated from the NFC tag to the NFC reader;
• an advertising packet that includes the unique ID and is communicated from the pairing radio of the fitness machine to the pairing radio of the accessory;
• and
• a program that controls the accessory, wherein the program generates the unique ID, and wherein the program analyzes the advertising packet from the fitness machine to identify when the unique ID is included in the advertising packet;
• whereupon the fitness machine is configured to wirelessly pair with the accessory using the pairing protocol when the accessory identifies the unique ID included in the advertising packet and initiates such wireless pairing.