Video game controller

• US 20090221369A1
• Filed: 03/13/2009
• Published: 09/03/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 08/16/2001
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Topdown Licensing LLC (IP Edge LLC)
• Original Assignee: Beamz Interactive, Inc.
• Inventors: Riopelle, Gerald H.
• Granted Patent: US 8,835,740 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 463/35
• CPC Class Codes: G10H 1/00 Details of electrophonic musical instruments
• CPC Class Codes: G10H 1/0066 using a MIDI interface
• CPC Class Codes: G10H 1/20 for transposition
• CPC Class Codes: G10H 1/34 Switch arrangements, e.g. keyboards or mechanical switches specially adapted for electrophonic musical instruments
• CPC Class Codes: G10H 2210/371 Rhythm syncopation, i.e. timing offset of rhythmic stresses or accents, e.g. note extended from weak to strong beat or started before strong beat
• CPC Class Codes: G10H 2220/135 Musical aspects of games or videogames; Musical instrument-shaped game input interfaces game background music G10H2210/026; musical game scoring or performance evaluation G10H2210/091
• CPC Class Codes: G10H 2220/305 using a light beam to detect key, pedal or note actuation light beams in general G10H2220/411
• CPC Class Codes: G10H 2220/415 Infrared beams
• CPC Class Codes: G10H 2220/421 Laser beams
• CPC Class Codes: G10H 2230/015 PDA [personal digital assistant] or palmtop computing devices used for musical purposes, e.g. portable music players, tablet computers, e-readers or smart phones in which mobile telephony functions need not be used touch-screen interfaces G10H2220/096
• CPC Class Codes: G10H 2240/061 MP3, i.e. MPEG-1 or MPEG-2 Audio Layer III, lossy audio compression
• CPC Class Codes: G10H 2240/211 Wireless transmission, e.g. of music parameters or control data by radio, infrared or ultrasound beam G10H2220/405
• CPC Class Codes: G10H 2240/255 Optical fibre transmission for electrophonic musical instrument purposes, e.g. hum mitigation
• CPC Class Codes: G10H 2240/285 USB, i.e. either using a USB plug as power supply or using the USB protocol to exchange data
• CPC Class Codes: G10H 2240/321 Bluetooth
• CPC Class Codes: G10H 2250/435 Gensound percussion, i.e. generating or synthesising the sound of a percussion instrument; Control of specific aspects of percussion sounds, e.g. harmonics, under the influence of hitting force, hitting position, settings or striking instruments such as mallet, drumstick, brush, hand spint percussion G10H2230/231

Abstract

A controller configured to interactively control images, such as visual images including video images in interactive-multi-media including video games and the like. In one preferred embodiment, a controller is configured to generate a plurality of electromagnetic beams, whereby the user may selectively interrupt one or more of the electromagnetic beams to generate, control, or manipulate a visual image, rendered on a display. Advantageously, the user may control the visual image without having to physically depress buttons, to control one or more visual subjects.

Claims

1. A media apparatus, comprising:

a housing;

a plurality of transmitters and receivers coupled to the housing, each of the receivers configured to receive an electromagnetic beam generated by one of the transmitters, the receivers each configured to generate a respective control signal as a function of a received said beam; and

a controller responsive to the plurality of receiver control signals and configured to generate a data signal, the data signal configured to control a visual rendering of an image as a function of the received control signals.

2. The media apparatus as specified in claim 1 wherein the controller is configured to operate with a device comprising a processor configured to execute a computer program.

3. The media apparatus as specified in claim 2 wherein the device is a game station.

4. The media apparatus as specified in claim 2 wherein the data signal is configured to control a position of the rendered image.

5. The media apparatus as specified in claim 4 wherein the image is a cursor.

6. The media apparatus as specified in claim 2 wherein the data signal is configured to control a visual attribute of the rendered image.

7. The media apparatus as specified in claim 2 wherein the image is configured to be generated by a graphics processor.

8. The media apparatus as specified in claim 3 wherein the computer program is a gaming program.

9. The media apparatus as specified in claim 7 wherein the controller is configured to control the graphics processor.

10. The media apparatus as specified in claim 9 wherein the graphics processor is configured to generate a video signal as a function of the data signal.

11. The media apparatus as specified in claim 2 wherein the processor is also configured to generate an audio signal.

12. The media apparatus as specified in claim 11 wherein the audio signal is correlated to the data signal.

13. The media apparatus as specified in claim 2 wherein a reception of the electromagnetic beams by the receivers is configured to selectively controlled by a portion of a user.

14. The media apparatus as specified in claim 13 wherein the portion of the user comprises the user'"'"'s hand.

15. The media apparatus as specified in claim 14 wherein the housing is configured to be grasped in the palms of the users hand simultaneously.

16. The media apparatus as specified in claim 14 wherein the receiver'"'"'s reception of the electromagnetic beam is configured to be selectively controlled by the user'"'"'s hand grasping the housing.

17. The media apparatus as specified in claim 15 wherein the housing is configured such that both hands of a user grasping the housing can selectively control the reception of at least one said beam by one said receiver.

18. The media apparatus as specified in claim 17 wherein the housing is configured generally as a “

W”

.

19. The media apparatus as specified in claim 2 wherein the beam is generated as a visual beam.

20. The media apparatus as specified in claim 2 wherein the beam is generated as an infrared beam.

21. The media apparatus as specified in claim 1 wherein the control signals are configured to control the image in at least 2-dimensions as rendered on the display.

22. The media apparatus as specified in claim 21 wherein the control signals are configured to control the image in at least 3-dimensions as rendered on the display.

23. The media apparatus as specified in claim 1 wherein the control signals are configured to control a plurality of images rendered on the display.

24. The media apparatus as specified in claim 1 wherein the control signals are configured to control a first image with respect to a second image rendered on the display.

25. The media apparatus as specified in claim 24 wherein the control signals are configured to control the first image in at least 2-dimensions with respect to the second image.

26. The media apparatus as specified in claim 1 wherein the apparatus further comprises a processor configured to process the data signal.

27. The media apparatus as specified in claim 26 wherein the apparatus further comprises a display configured to render the image as a function of the processor.