Handheld controllers with touch-sensitive controls
First Claim
Patent Images
1. A system comprising:
- one or more processors; and
a handheld controller comprising;
a housing having a front surface and a top surface;
a front-surface control residing on the front surface of the housing and controllable by a thumb of a user of the handheld controller; and
a top-surface control residing on the top surface of the housing and controllable by at least one of a middle finger or index finger of the user, the top-surface control comprising;
a top cover;
a touch sensor adjacent to the top cover and configured to provide, to the one or more processors, touch data indicative of a touch input based at least in part on contact between the at least one of the middle finger or the index finger and the top cover;
a digital switch residing at least partly beneath the top cover, mounted on a pressure sensor, and configured to provide, to the one or more processors, selection data indicative of a selection of the top-surface control based at least on a press of the top cover by the at least one of the middle finger or the index finger; and
the pressure sensor coupled to the digital switch and configured to provide, to the one or more processors, force data indicative of an amount of force of the press of the top cover by the at least one of the middle finger or the index finger.
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Abstract
Described herein are, among other things, handheld controllers having touch-sensitive controls, as well as methods for use of the touch-sensitive controls and methods for assembling the handheld controllers. An example handheld controller may include a top-surface control (e.g., a “trigger button”) that includes a switch, a pressure sensor, and a touch sensor for detecting a presence, location, and/or gesture of a finger on the top-surface control.
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Citations
27 Claims
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1. A system comprising:
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one or more processors; and a handheld controller comprising; a housing having a front surface and a top surface; a front-surface control residing on the front surface of the housing and controllable by a thumb of a user of the handheld controller; and a top-surface control residing on the top surface of the housing and controllable by at least one of a middle finger or index finger of the user, the top-surface control comprising; a top cover; a touch sensor adjacent to the top cover and configured to provide, to the one or more processors, touch data indicative of a touch input based at least in part on contact between the at least one of the middle finger or the index finger and the top cover; a digital switch residing at least partly beneath the top cover, mounted on a pressure sensor, and configured to provide, to the one or more processors, selection data indicative of a selection of the top-surface control based at least on a press of the top cover by the at least one of the middle finger or the index finger; and the pressure sensor coupled to the digital switch and configured to provide, to the one or more processors, force data indicative of an amount of force of the press of the top cover by the at least one of the middle finger or the index finger. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5)
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6. A system comprising:
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one or more processors; a handheld controller comprising; a housing having a top surface; and a top-surface control residing on the top surface of the housing and controllable by at least one finger of a user operating the handheld controller, the top-surface control comprising; a top cover; a touch sensor adjacent to the top cover and configured to provide, to the one or more processors, touch data indicative of a touch input based at least in part on contact between the at least one finger and the top cover; and a digital switch residing at least partly beneath the top cover, mounted on a pressure sensor of the top-surface control, and configured to provide, to the one or more processors, selection data indicative of a selection of the top-surface control based at least on a press of the top cover by the at least one finger; and logic configured to detect a gesture of the at least one finger based at least in part on the touch data provided by the touch sensor and on the selection data provided by the digital switch. - View Dependent Claims (7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13)
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14. One or more non-transitory computer-readable media storing computer-executable instructions that, when executed on one or more processors, cause the one or more processors to perform acts comprising:
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receiving touch data from a touch sensor of a handheld controller, the touch sensor residing adjacent to a top-surface control of the handheld controller, the top-surface control being operable by at least one finger of a user of the handheld controller; receiving selection data from a digital switch of the handheld controller based at least in part upon a press of the top-surface control by the at least one finger, the digital switch residing adjacent the touch sensor and mounted on a pressure sensor of the handheld controller; and detecting a gesture of the at least one finger based at least in part on the touch data received from the touch sensor and on the selection data received from the digital switch. - View Dependent Claims (15, 16)
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17. A method for assembling at least a portion of a handheld controller, the method comprising:
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coupling a digital switch to a top surface of a housing of the handheld controller, the digital switch configured to generate selection input at least partly in response to a press of the digital switch; coupling a touch sensor to a top cover and to one or more processors of the handheld controller, the touch sensor configured to generate touch data and provide the touch data to the one or more processors; mounting a pressure sensor to the digital switch and coupling the pressure sensor to the one or more processors, the pressure sensor configured to generate force data indicative of a force of the press of the digital switch; and coupling the top cover to the top surface of the housing to at least partly cover the digital switch such that selection of the top cover by a finger of a user of the handheld controller causes the press of the digital switch. - View Dependent Claims (18)
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19. A system comprising:
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one or more processors; and a handheld controller comprising; a housing having a top surface; and a top-surface control residing on the top surface of the housing and controllable by at least one finger of a user operating the handheld controller, the top-surface control comprising; a top cover; a touch sensor adjacent to the top cover and configured to provide, to the one or more processors, touch data indicative of a touch input based at least in part on contact between the at least one finger and the top cover; a pressure sensor configured to provide, to the one or more processors, force data indicative of an amount of force of a press of the top cover by the at least one finger; and a digital switch mounted on the pressure sensor and configured to provide, to the one or more processors, selection data indicative of a selection of the top-surface control based at least on the press of the top cover by the at least one finger. - View Dependent Claims (20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27)
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Specification