The video game industry has become large and important, and has spawned many innovations in both software and related hardware. Various hand-held video controllers have been designed, manufactured, and sold, for a variety of game applications. For example, numerous patents have issued on purportedly advantageous button configurations for video game controllers. Some video game controllers are connected to other game hardware by a cable, and hence do not require their own power supply. Other video game controllers establish a wireless connection with other game hardware, and so require batteries. Hence, there is a need in the art for an improved wireless video game controller design that may better facilitate user operation and battery replacement.
As shown in the example of
In the embodiment of
In certain embodiments, the unitary back shell 150 may be resilient, i.e. able to be moved or flexed from a rest position by the force of a user's finger, but returning to a rest position when not under load. In certain embodiments, the resilient nature of the unitary back shell 150 may enable it to selectively depress one or more underlying control buttons in response to forces or pressures selectively applied by the user (e.g. by the user's fingers other than the thumbs, most usually the user's middle, ring, or little fingers). For example, contiguous and unitary left and right wing portions 152, 154 may be readily accessible to the fingers of the user's left and right hands, respectively, during normal operation while the controller 100 is held in the hands of the user.
In the embodiment of
Optionally but not necessarily, each of the battery compartments 172, 174 may receive one or more batteries (e.g. AA or AAA sized conventional batteries 176, 178, or another conventional battery configuration such as 9V batteries, etc.). As shown in
In certain embodiments, the underside 180 of the removable unitary back shell 150 may further include a rearward fulcrum bulge 186 disposed between the left and right rearward projections 182, 184. For example, the rearward fulcrum bulge 186 optionally may be approximately centrally located between left and right edges of the removable unitary back shell 150. In certain embodiments, the rearward fulcrum bulge 186 preferably may be in contact with the controller body 110 when the unitary back shell 150 is attached thereto. In such embodiments, the unitary back shell 150 may optionally rock or flex about the rearward fulcrum bulge 186, so that the left and right rearward projections 182, 184 can selectively depress the underlying left and/or right back control buttons 162, 164, respectively, in response to forces or pressures selectively applied by the user.
In the embodiment of
In the embodiment of
In certain embodiments, the unitary back shell 250 may be resilient, i.e. able to be moved or flexed from a rest position by the force of a user's finger, but returning to a rest position when not under load. In certain embodiments, the resilient nature of the unitary back shell 250 may improve its ability to selectively depress one or more of the underlying control buttons 262, 264, in response to forces or pressures selectively applied by the user (e.g. by the user's fingers other than the thumbs, most usually the user's middle, ring, or little fingers). For example, contiguous and unitary left and right wing portions 252, 254 may be readily accessible to the fingers of the user's left and right hands, respectively, during normal operation while the controller 200 is held in the hands of the user.
In the embodiment of
As shown in the
In the foregoing specification, the invention is described with reference to specific exemplary embodiments, but those skilled in the art will recognize that the invention is not limited to those. It is contemplated that various features and aspects of the invention may be used individually or jointly and possibly in a different environment or application. The specification and drawings are, accordingly, to be regarded as illustrative and exemplary rather than restrictive. For example, the word “preferably,” and the phrase “preferably but not necessarily,” are used synonymously herein to consistently include the meaning of “not necessarily” or optionally. “Comprising,” “including,” and “having,” are intended to be open-ended terms.
Number | Name | Date | Kind |
---|---|---|---|
5969440 | Young et al. | Oct 1999 | A |
5989123 | Tosaki et al. | Nov 1999 | A |
6362813 | Worn et al. | Mar 2002 | B1 |
6394906 | Ogata | May 2002 | B1 |
6760013 | Willner et al. | Jul 2004 | B2 |
7859514 | Park | Dec 2010 | B1 |
8641525 | Burgess et al. | Feb 2014 | B2 |
9089770 | Burgess et al. | Jul 2015 | B2 |
9289688 | Burgess et al. | Mar 2016 | B2 |
9352229 | Burgess et al. | May 2016 | B2 |
20070036372 | Vonlanthen | Feb 2007 | A1 |
20080179412 | Rhodes | Jul 2008 | A1 |
20100073283 | Enright | Mar 2010 | A1 |
20100298053 | Kotkin | Nov 2010 | A1 |
20130281213 | Yasuda et al. | Oct 2013 | A1 |
20140323220 | Lee | Oct 2014 | A1 |
20150238855 | Uy et al. | Aug 2015 | A1 |
20150283458 | Burgess | Oct 2015 | A1 |
20160089601 | Terry | Mar 2016 | A1 |
20160349885 | Kang, II | Dec 2016 | A1 |
20170180523 | Fernandes et al. | Jun 2017 | A1 |
20170189800 | Crain | Jul 2017 | A1 |
20190118080 | Campbell et al. | Apr 2019 | A1 |
Entry |
---|
Final Office Action for U.S. Appl. No. 15/630,081, dated Apr. 5, 2019, Campbell, “Hand Held Controller with a back shell and underlying force sensitive resistors”, 9 pages. |
“Rapid Fire Mod for Wireless Xbox 360 Controller,” retrieved on Apr. 22, 2016 from <<https://www.google.com/search?rlz=1C1GCEU_enUS819US819&q=phl+hr+420+%22Rapid+Fire+Mod+for+Wireless+Xbox+360+Controller%22&spell=1&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjepJ638ebfAhXLzIQKHUhdCdMQBQgpKAA&biw=2133&bih=1210>>, postings Mar. 9, 2008 to Jul. 13, 2008, 16 pages. |
Office Action for U.S. Appl. No. 15/630,081 dated Jul. 17, 2018, “Hand Held Controller with a Back Shell and Underlying Force Sensitive Resistors” Campbell, 13 pages. |
Number | Date | Country | |
---|---|---|---|
20190118079 A1 | Apr 2019 | US |