Handheld controller with thumbstick guard
First Claim
Patent Images
1. A handheld controller, comprising:
- a body with a control opening;
a control member pivotally coupled to the body, the control member comprising a shaft portion extending through the control opening and an upper surface positioned to confront a finger of a user'"'"'s hand; and
a guard connected to the body and the control member, the guard comprising;
a tubular neck with a top region connected to the shaft portion of the control member and having a bottom region, the shaft portion of the control member extending through the neck;
a skirt extending outwardly from a bottom region of the neck and away from a central longitudinal axis of the neck, wherein an outer circumference of the skirt is sealably connected to an interior portion of the body of the handheld controller around the control opening; and
a flexible joint portion extending around the circumference of the bottom region of the neck, wherein the joint connects the neck to the skirt and is configured to bend to allow the neck to move relative to the skirt upon pivoting the control member relative to the body.
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Abstract
Handheld controllers having flexible thumbstick guards are disclosed herein for use with a handheld controller having a thumbstick or other pivotal control member. A representative guard has a tubular neck that sealably connects to a shaft portion of the thumbstick, and a skirt that sealably connects to an interior portion of the handheld controller around the control opening. The guard has a flexible joint portion interconnecting the neck and the skirt to allow the neck to move relative to the skirt upon pivoting the control member relative to the body.
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Citations
20 Claims
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1. A handheld controller, comprising:
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a body with a control opening; a control member pivotally coupled to the body, the control member comprising a shaft portion extending through the control opening and an upper surface positioned to confront a finger of a user'"'"'s hand; and a guard connected to the body and the control member, the guard comprising; a tubular neck with a top region connected to the shaft portion of the control member and having a bottom region, the shaft portion of the control member extending through the neck; a skirt extending outwardly from a bottom region of the neck and away from a central longitudinal axis of the neck, wherein an outer circumference of the skirt is sealably connected to an interior portion of the body of the handheld controller around the control opening; and a flexible joint portion extending around the circumference of the bottom region of the neck, wherein the joint connects the neck to the skirt and is configured to bend to allow the neck to move relative to the skirt upon pivoting the control member relative to the body. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10)
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11. A handheld controller, comprising:
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a main body including a thumb surface having an opening; a thumbstick comprising a shaft portion extending through the opening and an additional thumb surface positioned to confront a finger of a user'"'"'s hand, wherein the thumbstick is configured to pivot within the opening; and a flexible guard having— a tubular neck coupled to at least the shaft portion of the thumbstick, the shaft portion of the thumbstick extending through the neck; a skirt extending outwardly from a bottom portion of the neck away from a longitudinal axis of the neck, wherein a periphery of the skirt is sealably connected under the thumb surface of the main body; an annular joint between the tubular neck and the skirt; and wherein, when the neck is coupled to the shaft portion of the thumbstick and the thumbstick is moved in a direction, the neck bends about the annular joint towards the direction and the neck moves relative to the portion of the skirt under the thumb surface. - View Dependent Claims (12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20)
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Specification