Patent Publication Number: US-11027192-B1

Title: System and method for an interactive controller

Description:
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
     This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 16/798,334, filed on Feb. 22, 2020, which is incorporated by reference in its entirety. 
    
    
     FIELD OF THE DISCLOSURE 
     This disclosure relates generally to the field of interactive video game controllers and more particularly a video game controller designed to allow a person with the use of only one arm to fully grasp and manipulate the controller. 
     BACKGROUND 
     The video game industry has become larger than ever and has spawned many innovations in both software and related hardware that provide various benefits to their players. Videos have become more advanced as well and require multiple controls to fully navigate the virtual world the games take place in. Multiple controls are also important for being fully immersed in the virtual world. With numerous controls, conventional gaming controllers present a significant barrier to entry for many players. Controllers such as these often require two hands and numerous dexterous fingers are required for one to use. Those with disabilities such as amputees or individuals, who do not have sufficient control of both arms have been unable to properly play video games with conventional controllers because of their conditions. It is estimated that around 350,000 persons with amputations in USA with around 30% having upper limb loss. To give more players such as these an opportunity to operate those video games there have been controllers designed for those with disabilities. However, these controllers require the players to manipulate their hands and other body parts into awkward and uncomfortable positions or are designed to address one specific disability. Thus, there exists the need for an interactive controller suitable for many disabilities including those that are an amputee. 
     SUMMARY 
     The disclosure presented herein relates to an interactive video game controller and more particularly a video game controller designed to allow a person with the use of only one arm to fully grasp and manipulate the controller. 
     The present invention in some embodiments is directed to a controller for interacting with an interactive application, including: a housing having a base, a shaft extending from a first end from a ball and socket mechanism within the base, a handle extending from a second end the shaft, the handle for holding by a first hand of a player, whereby the interactive application defines a virtual environment; and whereby the handle is rotatable with respect to the ball and socket mechanism within the base for movement or viewing purposes in the virtual environment, whereby the handle is contoured to be grasped by a player&#39;s hand; the handle having a semi cylindrical portion at the rear of the handle to confront the palm of the player&#39;s hand when the handle is grasped, whereby the handle has a top wall connected to the upper edge of and has a semi cylindrical portion positioned to confront one or more fingers of the player&#39;s hand when the handle is grasped, the top wall and semi cylindrical portion connected to two side walls, whereby the top wall is substantially planar, further including one or more buttons positioned on the top wall, the one or more buttons elongated and rectangle in shape extending over a majority of the length of top wall beginning near semi cylindrical component and ending at a front wall, the front wall at an angle extending inward from the top wall to a bottom wall, the bottom wall connected to a lower edge of the semi cylindrical portion, the one or more buttons arranged in clusters of two, orientated parallel with each other, the handle having a connecting component configured to connect to the shaft, the semi cylindrical component having a circular planar surface with a thumb stick extending outward from circular planar surface  146  of semi cylindrical component, the first thumb stick positioned closer to the top wall than the bottom wall, the second thumb stick positioned lower than the first stick, the second thumb sticker closer to the sidewalls than the first stick, the base comprised of a top surface and bottom surface and a circular sidewall orientated at an angle directing outward from the from top surface to the bottom surface whereby the top edges of circular sidewall are connected to the top surface and bottom edges are connected to bottom surface, the base conical frustum in shape, the comprised of a top surface and bottom surface and a circular sidewall orientated at an angle directing outward from the from top surface to the bottom surface whereby the top edges of circular sidewall are connected to the top surface and bottom edges are connected to bottom surface, the base wider than the shaft to provide balance and stability when positioned on a surface, further including a wireless communication interface configured to transmit wireless signals representing the input received from the player. 
     The preceding and following embodiments and descriptions are for illustrative purposes only and are not intended to limit the scope of this disclosure. Other aspects and advantages of this disclosure will become apparent from the following detailed description. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       Embodiments of the present disclosure are described in detail below with reference to the following drawings. These and other features, aspects, and advantages of the present disclosure will become better understood with regard to the following description, appended claims, and accompanying drawings. The drawings described herein are for illustrative purposes only of selected embodiments and not all possible implementations and are not intended to limit the scope of the present disclosure. 
         FIG. 1  is an illustration of a player operating the interactive video game controller. 
         FIG. 2  is an illustration of a top perspective view of one embodiment of the interactive video game controller. 
         FIG. 3  is an illustration of a bottom perspective view of one embodiment of the interactive video game controller. 
         FIG. 4  is a front view of one embodiment of the interactive video game controller. 
         FIG. 5  is a back view of one embodiment of the interactive video game controller. 
         FIG. 6  is a view of removable thumb sticks onto interactive video game platform. 
         FIG. 7  is a view of a mounting platform onto interactive video game controller. 
         FIG. 8  is a block diagram of the components of the interactive video game controller. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
     In the Summary above and in this Detailed Description, and the claims below, and in the accompanying drawings, reference is made to particular features (including method steps) of the invention. It is to be understood that the disclosure of the invention in this specification includes all possible combinations of such particular features. For example, where a particular feature is disclosed in the context of a particular aspect or embodiment of the invention, or a particular claim, that feature can also be used, to the extent possible, in combination with and/or in the context of other particular aspects and embodiments of the invention, and in the invention generally. 
     The term “comprises” and grammatical equivalents thereof are used herein to mean that other components, ingredients, steps, among others, are optionally present. For example, an article “comprising” (or “which comprises”) components A, B, and C can consist of (i.e., contain only) components A, B, and C, or can contain not only components A, B, and C but also contain one or more other components. 
     Where reference is made herein to a method comprising two or more defined steps, the defined steps can be carried out in any order or simultaneously (except where the context excludes that possibility), and the method can include one or more other steps which are carried out before any of the defined steps, between two of the defined steps, or after all the defined steps (except where the context excludes that possibility). 
     The term “at least” followed by a number is used herein to denote the start of a range beginning with that number (which may be a range having an upper limit or no upper limit, depending on the variable being defined). For example, “at least 1” means 1 or more than 1. The term “at most” followed by a number is used herein to denote the end of a range ending with that number (which may be a range having 1 or 0 as its lower limit, or a range having no lower limit, depending upon the variable being defined). For example, “at most 4” means 4 or less than 4, and “at most 40%” means 40% or less than 40%. When, in this specification, a range is given as “(a first number) to (a second number)” or “(a first number)−(a second number),” this means a range whose lower limit is the first number and upper limit is the second number. For example, 25 to 100 mm means a range whose lower limit is 25 mm and upper limit is 100 mm. 
     Certain terminology and derivations thereof may be used in the following description for convenience in reference only and will not be limiting. For example, words such as “upward,” “downward,” “left,” and “right” would refer to directions in the drawings to which reference is made unless otherwise stated. Similarly, words such as “inward” and “outward” would refer to directions toward and away from, respectively, the geometric center of a device or area and designated parts thereof. References in the singular tense include the plural, and vice versa, unless otherwise noted. 
     The present description includes one or more embodiments for an interactive video game controller designed to be operated by an individual&#39;s left or right hand whereby the video game controller may be placed or positioned on a stable surface such as a table, the player&#39;s leg, or other level apparatus and controlled without the video game controller needed to be lifted or replaced during use. Elements included herein are meant to be illustrative rather than restrictive. Persons having ordinary skill in the art relevant to the present disclosure may understand there to be equivalent elements that may be substituted with the present disclosure without changing the essential function or operation of the controller. 
     Interactive video game controller  100  may have a power system designed to provide energy to the circuits and components of interactive video game controller  100  during the process of operating video game controller  100 . Interactive video game controller  100  may be powered by methods known by those of ordinary skill in the art. In some embodiments, interactive video game controller  100  may plug into an electrical outlet using an electrical cord to supply power to the circuits and components of interactive video game controller  100 . Further, the power system may include a rechargeable battery pack whereby the rechargeable battery is of a charge, design, and capacity, to provide sufficient power to the circuits and components of interactive video game controller  100  during operation for a set period of time needed to interact with one or more video games. 
     In some non-limiting embodiments interactive video game controller  100  may have one or more battery compartments for receiving and holding batteries such as but not limited to AA or AAA sized conventional batteries. The battery compartment may include one or more electrodes (e.g. conventional electrodes) that are configured to contact electrically conductive surfaces of the battery received inside the compartment. The battery compartments are selectively accessible by removal of a latch cover whereby the battery compartments and the batteries are accessible only when the player removes a removable battery cover or latch mechanism concealing the battery compartment from external view. Interactive video game controller  100  may include a latch receiving component that engages with the latch cover concealing battery compartment to facilitate removal and reattachment of the latch cover from Video game controller  100 . 
     Turning to  FIG. 1 ,  FIG. 1  is a perspective view of a handheld interactive video game controller  100  according to an embodiment of the present invention. In this context, interactive video game controller  100  is considered to be hand-held because it is operated by hand of the player such as player  200 , whether or not the entire controller is fully supported by the player&#39;s  200  hand. Interactive video game controller  100  may be used by player  200  using their left hand or right hand and is controllable from any side including from the back whereby player&#39;s  200  hand is angled upwards and from the front whereby player&#39;s  200  hand is angled downwards. Interactive video game controller  100  may have three main components, as illustrated in  FIG. 2 , including a base such as base  110 , a handle such as handle  120 , and a shaft such as shaft  130 . Interactive video game controller  100  and the various components including base  110 , handle  120 , and shaft  130  may be made of a plastic, such as injection-molded polycarbonate (PC)/acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS) or polyamide (nylon), metal, or other materials typically used in the manufacturing of video game controllers that do not stray away from the intent of the current invention. The material of interactive video game controller  100  may exhibit heat resistance, mechanical strength, or rigidity for continuous playing of interactive games without degradation or deformation of the controller. 
     Base  110  may be comprised of a top surface  112  and bottom surface  111  and a circular sidewall  113  orientated at an angle directing outward from top surface  112  to bottom surface  111  whereby the top edges of circular sidewall  113  are connected to top surface  112  and bottom edges are connected to bottom surface  111 . With this configuration, base  110  is a conical frustum shape with circular bottom surface  111  parallel to circular top surface  112  whereby bottom surface  111  is of a larger diameter than the diameter of the top surface  112 . Base  110  may be wider and have a greater circumference than handle  120  to allow for greater balance and stability for player&#39;s  200  hand movements and manipulation. Player  200  may therefore comfortably hold interactive video game controller  100  without moving the controller from the surface whereby when holding interactive video game controller  100 , base  110  may support interactive video game controller  100  and the player&#39;s  200  hand&#39;s weight for continuous playing of interactive games. 
     Base  110  may be hollow acting as housing element for housing and holding together the components and circuitry of interactive video game controller  100 . Inside of base  110  may be a ball and socket connection designed to operate as an analog stick. Ball and socket connection  114  may have a first end segment and a second end segment. An engaging end surface is present at the first end segment. The second end segment is substantially or completely hollowed out. The surface of the receiving cavity is tailored to fit the engaging end surface. In some non-limiting embodiments, a bulge may protrude from the surface of the receiving cavity to stop the movement of the engaging end surface, thus preventing over angulation or separation in the connection. The receiving cavity wall thickness and/or the engaging end surface wall thickness, are built whereby an interference fit is present after the ball and socket joint connection is linked. It should be appreciated that the ball and socket mechanism  114  may include any number of shapes, hollow areas, and sizes in various configurations and is not limited to those described above. 
     Utilizing ball and socket mechanism  114 , handle  120  and shaft  130  are capable of motion around an indefinite number of axes, which have a common center at ball and socket mechanism  114 . With this configuration, directional control similar to a thumb stick or joystick may be actuated by handle  120 , which transfers the motion via shaft  130  leading down to ball and socket mechanism  114 . Ball and socket mechanism  114  may be connected to one or more switches that are connected to a circuit board which sends these signals to the microprocessor, which compares that data with the instructions in the game software for that specific input from the directional movement of handle  120  in relation to base  110 , and triggers the appropriate response. 
     In some embodiments, base  110  may have one or more compartments capable of holding one or more weights to increase the weight of base  110 , as preferred by player  200 . In another embodiment, the one or more compartments can optionally be empty, for example, if player  200  prefers a lighter controller  100 . 
     Shaft  130  may have a main body that is tubular in shape with an upper first end and lower second end, the upper first end connected to handle  120  and lower second end connected to base  110 . Shaft  130  may be connected to base  110  by ball and socket mechanism  114  whereby the lower distal end of shaft  130  is directly connected to a receptacle on ball and socket mechanism  114 . Shaft  130  may be permanently attached to ball and socket mechanism  114  or removably attached. Shaft  130  may have a treaded male component on the lower second end whereby shaft  130  may be screwed into a threaded female receptacle in ball and socket mechanism  114 . In other non-limiting embodiments, shaft  130  may have snug-fit, snap-fit, or clamp connection with ball and socket mechanism  114  or be connected by any method known by those of ordinary skill in the art. 
     Handle  120  may have a connecting component  121  for shaft  130  to attach upon. Connecting component  121  may have a tubular slot  122  functioning as the receiving component for shaft  130  whereby shaft  130  may be inserted into tubular slot  122 . In some embodiments, slot  122  may have a treaded female component whereby a male threaded component of shaft  130  may be screwed into the female receptacle tubular slot  122 . In other non-limiting embodiments, slot  122  may have snug-fit, snap-fit, or clamp connection with shaft  130  or be connected by any method known by those of ordinary skill in the art. 
     Handle  120  may be shaped and dimensioned to be grasped by player&#39;s  200  individual hand such that player  200  may manipulate or interact with interactive video game controller  100  from a single position. Handle  120  may be ergonomically contoured such that player&#39;s  200  hand can comfortably grasp interactive video game controller  100 . For example, as illustrated in  FIG. 4 , handle  120  may have a semi cylindrical component  126  having the shape of a longitudinal part of a cylinder having two fully circular planar surfaces  146  at each end of curved surface  147 . Semi cylindrical component  126  may operate as bend or curve to receive player&#39;s  200  palm such that the palm of player  200  rests naturally along the semi cylindrical component  126 . 
     Curved surface  147  of semi cylindrical component  126  may be comprised of gripping surface material or any adhesive whereby the material prevents slippage between the palm of player  200  and interactive video game controller  100 . The coverage area of the material may be an externally applied adhesive coating or the material may be impregnated within the curved surface  147  itself. 
     Circular planar surfaces  146  of semi cylindrical component  126  may extend outward into a pair of symmetrical side walls  127  that are formed on the left and right sides of the semi cylindrical component  126 ; and a plate-shaped bottom wall  128  and top wall  129  whereby bottom wall  128  protrudes at an angle upward from the lower front edge of semi cylindrical component  126  and top wall  129  protrudes at an angle downward from the upper edge of semi cylindrical component  126 . Sidewalls  127 , bottom wall  128 , and top wall  129  may terminate at a front wall  124  relatively opposite of semi cylindrical component  126 . From semi-cylindrical component  126 , top wall  129  extends past bottom wall  128  when terminating at front wall  124  giving front wall  124  a downward retracting angle to the center of handle  120  and semi-cylindrical component  126 . 
     Top wall  129  may include a plurality of finger buttons  141  that extend outward from top wall  129  whereby when player&#39;s  200  hand is positioned on handle  120  of handle  120  with player&#39;s  200  palm resting on semi-cylindrical component  126 , the fingers of player  200  may rest upon on top wall  129  to interact with finger buttons  141  with little to no movement during gameplay. Finger buttons  141  may be pressed by an index, middle, ring, or pinky finger of player&#39;s  200  hand or a combination of both. Finger buttons  141  may have a spring mechanism or compressible material under finger buttons  141  bias to the original position of finger buttons  141  protruding from top wall  129  whereby the spring mechanism or compressible material stops the finger buttons  141  from staying down when pushed and pushes finger buttons  141  back up when player  200  releases finger buttons  141 . 
     In the illustrated embodiment, finger buttons  141  are elongated and rectangle in shape extending over much of the length of top wall  129  beginning near semi-cylindrical component  126  and ending at front wall  124 . Finger buttons  141  may be made of rubber or plastic. Finger buttons  141  may have the form other shapes such as but not limited to, elliptical or circular. Finger buttons  141  may be arranged in clusters or groups of two, totaling four groups for eight controls in total. In this embodiment, finger buttons  141  are orientated parallel with each other. In other non-limiting embodiments, finger buttons  141  may be orientated such that they converge towards the an edge of top wall  129  with respect to each other. 
     Labeling of finger buttons  141  may vary depending on which console, system, or device the controller is intended for such as but not limited to “A B X Y LB RB LT RT”, “A B Y X L R ZL ZR” or “Cross, Circle, Triangle, Square, LB, RB, LT, RT”. Finger buttons  141  may provide a signal for interacting, grasping, pushing, lifting, etc., of virtual objects in an interactive video game. 
     Finger buttons  141  may be connected to one or more switches that are connected to a circuit board which sends these signals to the microprocessor which compares that data with the instructions in the game software for that specific input of the pressing of the finger buttons  141  and triggers the appropriate response. 
     Circular planar surfaces  146  of semi-cylindrical component  126  may include a plurality of multifunctional controls or thumb sticks  142  that extend outward from circular planar surfaces  146  of semi cylindrical component  126 . Thumb sticks  142  are designed to normally control movement and viewing (camera angles or first-person perspective view) of an avatar and are intended to be operated by player  200 . In the illustrated embodiment, a first thumb stick  142  may be positioned near top wall  129  with second thumb stick positioned lower and closer to sidewall  127 . When player&#39;s  200  hand is positioned on handle  120  of handle  120  with player&#39;s  200  palm resting on semi-cylindrical component  126 , player&#39;s  200  thumb (i.e., the first finger) is comfortably positionable above circular planar surfaces  146  of semi cylindrical component  126  with the thumb engaging on thumb sticks  142 . Thumb sticks  142  may have a spring-based mechanism or be inherently resilient, whereby they return to an unbiased central position when not under force by player  200 . 
     The placement of finger buttons  141  on top wall  129  and thumb sticks  142  on circular planar surface  146  of semi cylindrical component  126  remove the need for player  200  to remove their thumb from the thumb sticks in order to operate additional actions controlled by finger buttons  141 . This is an improvement over existing controllers which require player  200  to remove his or her right thumb from the right thumb stick to operate finger buttons  141 . This takes time and can cause a loss of control, especially in video games that require jumping and aiming. 
     In other non-limiting embodiments, direction pads, depressible in four different directions (e.g., up, down, left, and right), may replace or work in conjunction with thumb sticks  142  or finger buttons  141 . The direction pads are intended to be operated by one of player&#39;s  200  thumbs, typically either as an alternative to the thumb sticks or for three directional movement and viewing and/or to provide additional actions similar to finger buttons  141  for interactive games with multiple controls needed. 
     Thumb sticks  142  may be connected to one or more switches that are connected to a circuit board which sends these signals to the microprocessor which compares that data with the instructions in the game software for that specific input of the pressing of thumb sticks  142  and triggers the appropriate response. 
     In some non-limiting embodiments, circular planar surface  146  may be removably affixed to sidewall  127  and opposite side of handle  120  via a mounting platform  160  without the use of any tools, as illustrated in  FIG. 7 . This is beneficial for players that only have a left hand or right hand whereby the circular planar surface  146  and thumb sticks  142  may be placed on both sides of handle  120  so that interactive video game controller  100  is ambidextrous and suitable for both types of player&#39;s needs. Circular planar surfaces  146  of semi cylindrical component  126  may have a corresponding mounting platform configured to interface with mounting platform  160  of handle  120 . Mounting platform  160  may include a top side having a retention interface configured to interface with and mate with a mounting interface of circular planar surface  146 . 
     Mounting platform  160  may include any suitable surface, feature, shape, and/or structure configured to selectively mate with the mounting interface of circular planar surface  146 . For example, the mounting interface of mounting platform  160  may have a shape that complements a shape of an accessory-retention interface of circular planar surface  146 . In some embodiments there may be multiple exchangeable circular planar surfaces  146  with different configurations so that thumb sticks  142  may be in different positions and orientations. Circular planar surfaces  146  may also be rotatable and connected to mounting platform  160  at different angles so thumb sticks  142  may be at similar positions on both sides of handle  120 . 
     In some non-limiting embodiments, thumb sticks  142  may be removably affixed to either circular planar surfaces  146  of semi cylindrical component  126  whereby player  200  may removably affix various removable controller accessories such as thumb sticks  142  to interactive video game controller  100  without the use of any tools as illustrated in  FIG. 6 . This is beneficial for players that only have a left hand or right hand whereby the thumb sticks  142  may be removed and replaced on both sides of circular planar surfaces  146  of semi cylindrical component  126  so that interactive video game controller  100  is ambidextrous and suitable for both types of player&#39;s needs. 
     Circular planar surfaces  146  of semi cylindrical component  126  may have a mounting platform configured to interface with a selected removable controller accessory such as a thumb stick  142 . The mounting platform may include a topside having an accessory-retention interface configured to interface with and mate with a mounting interface of thumb stick  142 . The mounting platform may include any suitable surface, feature, shape, and/or structure configured to selectively mate with the mounting interface of thumb stick  142  to removably affix the removable thumb sticks  142  to interactive video game controller  100 . For example, the mounting interface of thumb stick  142  may have a shape that complements a shape of an accessory-retention interface of the mounting platform. 
       FIG. 8  is an example schematic block diagram of interactive video game controller  100 , in accordance with an embodiment. Interactive video game controller  100  includes finger buttons  141 , base controls  143 , thumb sticks  142 , and rotational movement of handle  120  in relation to base  110 , one or more sensor interface circuits  201 , light sources  204 , a circuit  203 , a wireless communication interface  205 , a bus  206 , and a microprocessor  207 . The sensor interface circuit  201  may be a digital, analog, or mixed-signal circuit to receive sensor signals in the form of voltage or current from finger buttons  141 , base controls  143 , thumb sticks  142 , and rotational movement of handle  120  in relation to base  110 , when they are interacted with by player  200 . Finger buttons  141 , base controls  143 , thumb sticks  142 , and rotational movement of handle  120  in relation to base  110 , generates sensor signals responsive to being pressed by the finger or thumb of player  200 . In some embodiments, the controls may be connected to a transducer that converts the mechanical motion of the controls into the sensor signals. 
     Interactive video game controller  100  may include circuit  203  to provide electrical signals, such as voltage, to light sources  204 . Circuit  203  may be powered by the power system of interactive hand-held controller  100  to generate the electrical signals. Light sources  204  emit the light responsive to receiving the electrical signals received. Interactive video game controller  100  may include wireless communication interface  205 , which may be a digital, analog, or mixed-signal circuit to transmit wireless signals indicating player input received from player&#39;s  200  hand. The wireless signals may be transmitted to another device such as a video game console, a computer, a wearable device, tablet, mobile computing device head-mounted display, a computer, a virtual reality system, etc. Wireless communication interface  205  may send and receive data via a wireless network without the need for connecting cables to interactive hand-held controller  100 . 
     Wireless communication interface  205 , sensor interface circuits  201 , and circuit  203  may communicate via bus  206 . Bus  206  may communicate with microprocessor  207  which compares data with the instructions in the game software for specific input from finger buttons  141 , base controls  144 , thumb sticks  142 , and rotational movement of handle  120  in relation to base  110 , and triggers the appropriate response. Each of the controls may be configured to activate a corresponding electronic input sensor to generate an activate control signal responsive to players acting upon them. For example, each control signal associated with a control may be mapped to an interactive video game operation. Different video games may have different mappings of control signals to operations. In some cases, each action button may be mapped to a different operation. In other cases, two action buttons may be mapped to a same operation. 
     In one or more non-limiting embodiments, interactive video game controller  100  may have one or more vibration motors (e.g., rumble motors, eccentric rotating mass vibration motors) that can be selectively actuated by a signal communicated to interactive video game controller from a separate device such as a video game console to provide vibration feedback to parts of interactive video game controller  100  (e.g., provide vibration feedback to handle  120 ). 
     The corresponding structures, materials, acts, and equivalents of all means or step plus function elements in the claims below are intended to include any structure, material, or act for performing the function in combination with other claimed elements as specifically claimed. The description of the present invention has been presented for purposes of illustration and description but is not intended to be exhaustive or limited to the invention in the form disclosed. Many modifications and variations will be apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art without departing from the scope and spirit of the invention. The embodiments were chosen and described in order to best explain the principles of the invention and the practical application, and to enable others of ordinary skill in the art to understand the invention for various embodiments with various modifications as are suited to the particular use contemplated. The present invention according to one or more embodiments described in the present description may be practiced with modification and alteration within the spirit and scope of the appended claims. Thus, the description is to be regarded as illustrative instead of restrictive of the present invention.