APPARATUS AND METHOD FOR MANAGING PERIPHERAL DEVICE COMMUNICATIONS

• US 20140011590A1
• Filed: 09/13/2013
• Published: 01/09/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 11/16/2009
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Steelseries Aps
• Original Assignee: Steelseries Aps
• Inventors: Aronzon, Michael, Hawver, Bruce, Rom, Kim
• Granted Patent: US 9,504,910 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 463/37
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/22 Setup operations, e.g. calibration, key configuration or button assignment
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/235 using a wireless connection, e.g. infrared or piconet
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/42 by mapping the input signals into game commands, e.g. mapping the displacement of a stylus on a touch screen to the steering angle of a virtual vehicle
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/843 involving concurrently two or more players on the same game device, e.g. requiring the use of a plurality of controllers or of a specific view of game data for each player
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 2300/1018 Calibration; Key and button assignment
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 2300/1025 details of the interface with the game device, e.g. USB version detection
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 2300/1031 using a wireless connection, e.g. Bluetooth, infrared connections
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 2300/8088 involving concurrently several players in a non-networked game, e.g. on the same game console

Abstract

A system that incorporates teachings of the present disclosure may include, for example, a first peripheral device having a controller to store operational settings tailored for a gaming application, interact with the gaming application using the operational settings and user inputs, and share the operational settings with a second peripheral device for use with the gaming application. Additional embodiments are disclosed.

Claims

1. A device comprising:

a memory to store executable instructions; and

a processor communicatively coupled to the memory, wherein the processor, responsive to executing the executable instructions, performs operations comprising;

receiving first operational inputs from a first peripheral device, wherein the first operational inputs correspond to first stimulations captured at the first peripheral device;

receiving second operational inputs from the first peripheral device, wherein the second operation inputs correspond to second stimulations captured at a second peripheral device and transmitted to the first peripheral device; and

generating control signals according to the first operational inputs and the second operational inputs for controlling an application.

2. The device of claim 1, wherein the first peripheral device and the second peripheral device each comprise one of a mouse, a joystick, a gaming pad, and a gaming console controller.

3. The device of claim 1, wherein the first peripheral device and the second peripheral device are communicatively coupled via a wireless interface.

4. The device of claim 3, wherein the wireless interface comprise a protocol associated with one of WiFi, Bluetooth, Infrared, RFID, or wireless USB.

5. The device of claim 1, wherein the processor further performs operations comprising transmitting operational parameters from the first peripheral device to the second peripheral device.

6. The device of claim 5, wherein the processor further performs operations comprising receiving the operational parameters of the first peripheral device from a server that is remote from the first peripheral device.

7. The device of claim 6, wherein the server is remote from a console that hosts the application.

8. A first peripheral device, comprising:

a memory to store executable instructions; and

a processor coupled to the memory, wherein the processor, responsive to executing the executable instructions, performs operations comprising;

receiving first operational inputs corresponding to first stimulations captured at a first peripheral device;

receiving second operational inputs from a second peripheral device corresponding to second stimulations captured at the second peripheral device;

generating control signals according to the first operational inputs and the second operational inputs according to operational parameters; and

transmitting the control signals to a computer device for controlling a gaming application.

9. The first peripheral device of claim 8, wherein the processor further performs operations comprising generating the operational parameters.

10. The first peripheral device of claim 9, wherein the operational parameters are generated using a graphical user interface presented by the computer device that hosts the gaming application.

11. The first peripheral device of claim 8, wherein the processor further performs operations comprising receiving the operational parameters from a server that is remote from the computer device that hosts the gaming application.

12. The first peripheral device of claim 8, wherein the processor further performs operations comprising wirelessly transmitting the operational parameters to the second peripheral device.

13. The first peripheral device of claim 12, wherein the operational parameters are wirelessly transmitted using one of a plurality of communication protocols.

14. A method, comprising:

receiving, by a system comprising a processor, operational parameters from a server that is remote from the system;

receiving, by the system, first operational inputs from a first peripheral device, wherein the first operational inputs correspond to first stimulations captured at the first peripheral device;

receiving, by the system, second operational inputs from the first peripheral device, wherein the second operation inputs correspond to second stimulations captured at a second peripheral device and transmitted to the first peripheral device; and

generating, by the system and according to the operational parameters, control signals for controlling a gaming application based on the first operational inputs and the second operational inputs.

15. The method of claim 14, further comprising generating, by the system, the operational parameters at the first peripheral device.

16. The method of claim 14, wherein the first peripheral device and the second peripheral device each comprise one of a mouse, a joystick, a gaming pad, or a gaming console controller.

17. The method of claim 14, further comprising transmitting, by the system, the operational parameters from the first peripheral device to the second peripheral device.

18. The method of claim 14, further comprising transferring, by the system, the operational parameters from the first peripheral device to the second peripheral device using a removable memory device that directly and selectively connects to the second peripheral device.

19. The method of claim 14, further comprising adapting, by the system, the operational parameters at the first peripheral device using a graphical user interface.

20. The method of claim 14, wherein the operational parameters received from the server are generated at the server using a graphical user interface.