Photosensitive input peripheral device in a personal computer-based video gaming platform
First Claim
1. A video game system comprising:
- a) a personal computer comprising i) computer processing means for executing a video game program, said computer processing means generating a plurality of display frames representative of images to be displayed on a video monitor screen;
ii) video adapter means coupled to said computer processing means for processing said display frames and generating analog display signals proportional thereto and synchronization signals correlated to said analog display signals, said analog display signals and said synchronization signals being output to a video port associated therewith;
b) a peripheral adapter external to said personal computer and coupled to said video port, said peripheral adapter configured to output said analog display signals and said synchronization signals to a video monitor, said peripheral adapter further configured to output said synchronization signals to a video game peripheral device;
c) a video monitor coupled to said peripheral adapter for processing said analog display signals and said synchronization signals to display images on a screen associated therewith; and
d) a video game peripheral device connected to said peripheral adapter, comprising i) a photosensitive transducer having a field of view, said photosensitive transducer outputting an electrical signal proportional to light sensed in its field of view, ii) means for receiving said synchronization signals from said peripheral adapter, iii) peripheral processing means for processing said electrical signal from said photosensitive device and said synchronization signals and for generating a peripheral position signal indicative of the relative position of the field of view of said photosensitive transducer on said screen; and
means for transmitting said peripheral position signal to an input port on said personal computer for further processing.
3 Assignments
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Accused Products
Abstract
A video game system with a light gun video game peripheral device having a photosensitive transducer operating in conjunction with a personal computer platform. The gun-shaped light-sensitive device is connected to a peripheral adapter coupled between the computer and a video monitor. The peripheral adapter captures the horizontal and vertical synchronization signals from the video adapter card in the computer and sends them to the light gun so that processing circuitry therein can generate a peripheral position signal indicative of the position of the field of view of the photosensitive transducer relative to the screen. The video game peripheral device also has means for transmitting the peripheral position signal to the computer means for further processing. This allows a light gun to be used with a conventional personal computer without having to modify the computer with additional circuit boards and operating system changes.
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Citations
63 Claims
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1. A video game system comprising:
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a) a personal computer comprising i) computer processing means for executing a video game program, said computer processing means generating a plurality of display frames representative of images to be displayed on a video monitor screen;
ii) video adapter means coupled to said computer processing means for processing said display frames and generating analog display signals proportional thereto and synchronization signals correlated to said analog display signals, said analog display signals and said synchronization signals being output to a video port associated therewith;
b) a peripheral adapter external to said personal computer and coupled to said video port, said peripheral adapter configured to output said analog display signals and said synchronization signals to a video monitor, said peripheral adapter further configured to output said synchronization signals to a video game peripheral device;
c) a video monitor coupled to said peripheral adapter for processing said analog display signals and said synchronization signals to display images on a screen associated therewith; and
d) a video game peripheral device connected to said peripheral adapter, comprising i) a photosensitive transducer having a field of view, said photosensitive transducer outputting an electrical signal proportional to light sensed in its field of view, ii) means for receiving said synchronization signals from said peripheral adapter, iii) peripheral processing means for processing said electrical signal from said photosensitive device and said synchronization signals and for generating a peripheral position signal indicative of the relative position of the field of view of said photosensitive transducer on said screen; and
means for transmitting said peripheral position signal to an input port on said personal computer for further processing. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17)
initialization means for measuring a set of initialization parameters correlated to an x-dimension of a raster pattern traced on said video monitor screen and a y-dimension of said raster pattern;
means for sensing an activation of a trigger signal; and
means for determining the relative x-position and the relative y-position of the field of view of the light gun positioned on the screen when the trigger is activated.
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7. The video game system of claim 6 wherein said initialization means comprises:
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first means for sensing the active polarity of the horizontal synchronization signal; and
second means for sensing the active polarity of the vertical synchronization signal.
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8. The video game system of claim 7 wherein the second sensing means for sensing the active polarity of the vertical synchronization signal comprises:
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means for counting the number of horizontal synchronization pulses during a low state of said vertical synchronization signal;
means for counting the number of horizontal synchronization pulses during a high state of said vertical synchronization signal; and
means for establishing the polarity of the vertical synchronization signal to be (i) active high if the number of horizontal synchronization pulses counted during a high state of said vertical synchronization signal is greater than the number of horizontal synchronization pulses counted during a low state of said vertical synchronization signal;
or(ii) active low if the number of horizontal synchronization pulses counted during a low state of said vertical synchronization signal is greater than the number of horizontal synchronization pulses counted during a high state of said vertical synchronization signal.
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9. The video game system of claim 7 wherein the first sensing means for sensing the active polarity of the horizontal synchronization signal comprises:
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means for timing the duration of the horizontal synchronization signal during a low state of the horizontal synchronization signal;
means for timing the duration of the horizontal synchronization signal during a high state of the horizontal synchronization signal; and
means for establishing the polarity of the horizontal synchronization signal to be (i) active high if the duration of the horizontal synchronization signal timed during a high state of said horizontal synchronization signal is greater than the duration of the horizontal synchronization signal timed during a low state of the horizontal synchronization signal;
or(ii) active low if the duration of the horizontal synchronization signal timed during a low state of said horizontal synchronization signal is greater than the duration of the horizontal synchronization signal timed during a high state of the horizontal synchronization signal.
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10. The video game system of claim 6 wherein the initialization means comprises first means for determining the y-resolution Ys of the raster pattern and second means for determining the x-resolution Xs of the raster pattern.
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11. The video game system of claim 10 wherein said first means for determining the y-resolution Ys of the raster pattern comprises means for counting the number of horizontal synchronization pulses while the vertical synchronization signal is in its active polarity.
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12. The video game system of claim 10 wherein said second means for determining the x-resolution Xs of the raster pattern comprises means for timing the duration of the horizontal synchronization signal while the horizontal synchronization signal is in its active polarity.
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13. The video game system of claim 10 wherein said means for determining the relative x-position and the relative y-position of the field of view of the light gun positioned on the screen when the trigger is activated comprises:
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means for detecting a pulse in said electrical signal from said photosensitive transducer, means for counting the number of horizontal synchronization traces from the time the vertical synchronization signal transitioned to its active state until the time the pulse is detected, said number of traces being defined as Yc;
means for timing the duration of the horizontal synchronization signal from the time the horizontal synchronization signal transitioned to its active state until the time the pulse is detected, said timing means being reset when said horizontal synchronization signal transitions to its inactive state before the pulse is detected, said timed duration being defined as Xt.
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14. The video game system of claim 13 wherein said peripheral position signal comprises Xt/Xs and Yc/Ys.
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15. The video game system of claim 14 wherein said computer processing means determines the X-pixel coordinate by the formula Xr*Xt/Xs, wherein Xr is the X-axis pixel resolution of the video monitor screen.
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16. The video game system of claim 14 wherein said computer processing means determines the Y-pixel coordinate by the formula Yr*Yc/Ys, wherein Yr is the Y-axis pixel resolution of the video monitor screen.
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17. The video game system of claim 2 wherein said video game peripheral device is shaped like a gun comprising a barrel and wherein said photosensitive device is located near the tip of the barrel.
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18. A video game peripheral unit for use with a computer-based video game platform having (i) computer processing means for executing a video game program, the computer processing means generating a plurality of display frames representative of images to be displayed on a video monitor screen, and video adapter means coupled to the computer processing means for processing the display frames and generating analog display signals proportional thereto and synchronization signals correlated to the analog display signals, the analog display signals and the synchronization signals being output to a video port associated therewith, and (ii) a video monitor for processing the analog display signals and the synchronization signals to display images on a screen associated therewith;
- said video game peripheral unit comprising;
a) a peripheral adapter adapted to be coupled to the video port, said peripheral adapter configured to output the analog display signals and said synchronization signals to the video monitor, said peripheral adapter further configured to output the synchronization signals to a video game peripheral device; and
b) a video game peripheral device connected to said peripheral adapter comprising;
i) a photosensitive transducer having a field of view, said photosensitive transducer outputting an electrical signal proportional to light sensed in its field of view, ii) means for receiving the synchronization signals from said peripheral adapter, iii) peripheral processing means for processing said electrical signal from said photosensitive device and said synchronization signals and for generating a peripheral position signal indicative of the relative position of the field of view of said photosensitive transducer on the screen; and
iv) means for transmitting said peripheral position signal to the computer platform for further processing. - View Dependent Claims (19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32)
initialization means for measuring a set of initialization parameters correlated to an x-dimension of a raster pattern traced on the video monitor screen and a y-dimension of said raster pattern;
means for sensing an activation of a trigger signal; and
means for determining the relative x-position and the relative y-position of the field of view of the light gun positioned on the screen when the trigger is activated.
- said video game peripheral unit comprising;
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25. The video game peripheral unit of claim 24 wherein said initialization means comprises:
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first means for sensing the active polarity of the horizontal synchronization signal; and
second means for sensing the active polarity of the vertical synchronization signal.
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26. The video game peripheral unit of claim 25 wherein the second sensing means for sensing the active polarity of the vertical synchronization signal comprises:
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means for counting the number of horizontal synchronization pulses during a low state of said vertical synchronization signal;
means for counting the number of horizontal synchronization pulses during a high state of said vertical synchronization signal; and
means for establishing the polarity of the vertical synchronization signal to be (iii) active high if the number of horizontal synchronization pulses counted during a high state of said vertical synchronization signal is greater than the number of horizontal synchronization pulses counted during a low state of said vertical synchronization signal;
or(iv) active low if the number of horizontal synchronization pulses counted during a low state of said vertical synchronization signal is greater than the number of horizontal synchronization pulses counted during a high state of said vertical synchronization signal.
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27. The video game peripheral unit of claim 25 wherein the first sensing means for sensing the active polarity of the horizontal synchronization signal comprises:
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means for timing the duration of the horizontal synchronization signal during a low state of the horizontal synchronization signal;
means for timing the duration of the horizontal synchronization signal during a high state of the horizontal synchronization signal; and
means for establishing the polarity of the horizontal synchronization signal to be (iii) active high if the duration of the horizontal synchronization signal timed during a high state of said horizontal synchronization signal is greater than the duration of the horizontal synchronization signal timed during a low state of the horizontal synchronization signal;
or(iv) active low if the duration of the horizontal synchronization signal timed during a low state of said horizontal synchronization signal is greater than the duration of the horizontal synchronization signal timed during a high state of the horizontal synchronization signal.
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28. The video game peripheral unit of claim 24 wherein the initialization means comprises first means for determining the y-resolution Ys of the raster pattern and second means for determining the x-resolution Xs of the raster pattern.
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29. The video game peripheral unit of claim 28 wherein said first means for determining the y-resolution Ys of the raster pattern comprises means for counting the number of horizontal synchronization pulses while the vertical synchronization signal is in its active polarity.
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30. The video game peripheral unit of claim 28 wherein said second means for determining the x-resolution Xs of the raster pattern comprises means for timing the duration of the horizontal synchronization signal while the horizontal synchronization signal is in its active polarity.
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31. The video game peripheral unit of claim 28 wherein said means f or determining the relative x-position and the relative y-position of the field of view of the light gun positioned on the screen when the trigger is activated comprises:
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means for detecting a pulse in said electrical signal from said photosensitive transducer, means for counting the number of horizontal synchronization traces from the time the vertical synchronization signal transitioned to its active state until the time the pulse is detected, said number of traces being defined as Yc;
means for timing the duration of the horizontal synchronization signal from the time the horizontal synchronization signal transitioned to its active state until the time the pulse is detected, said timing means being reset when said horizontal synchronization signal transitions to its inactive state before the pulse is detected, said timed duration being defined as Xt.
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32. The video game peripheral unit of claim 31 wherein said peripheral position signal comprises Xt/Xs and Yc/Ys.
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33. A video game system comprising:
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a) a personal computer comprising i) computer processing means for executing a video game program, said computer processing means generating a plurality of display frames representative of images to be displayed on a video monitor screen;
ii) video adapter means coupled to said computer processing means for processing said display frames and generating analog display signals proportional thereto and synchronization signals correlated to said analog display signals, said analog display signals and said synchronization signals being output to a video port associated therewith;
b) a peripheral adapter external to said personal computer and coupled to said video port, said peripheral adapter configured to output said analog display signals and said synchronization signals to a video monitor;
c) a video monitor coupled to said peripheral adapter for processing said analog display signals and said synchronization signals to display images on a screen associated therewith; and
d) a video game peripheral device connected to said peripheral adapter and comprising a photosensitive transducer having a field of view, said photosensitive transducer outputting to said peripheral adapter an electrical signal proportional to light sensed in its field of view;
wherein said peripheral adapter further comprises i) peripheral processing means for processing said electrical signal from said photosensitive device and said synchronization signals and for generating a peripheral position signal indicative of the relative position of the field of view of said photosensitive transducer on said screen; and
ii) means for transmitting said peripheral position signal to an input port on said computer means for further processing. - View Dependent Claims (34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 43, 44, 45, 46, 47, 48, 49)
initialization means for measuring a set of initialization parameters correlated to an x-dimension of a raster pattern traced on said video monitor screen and a y-dimension of said raster pattern;
means for sensing an activation of a trigger signal; and
means for determining the relative x-position and the relative y-position of the field of view of the light gun positioned on the screen when the trigger is activated.
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40. The video game system of claim 39 wherein said initialization means comprises:
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first means for sensing the active polarity of the horizontal synchronization signal; and
second means for sensing the active polarity of the vertical synchronization signal.
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41. The video game system of claim 40 wherein the second sensing means for sensing the active polarity of the vertical synchronization signal comprises:
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means for counting the number of horizontal synchronization pulses during a low state of said vertical synchronization signal;
means for counting the number of horizontal synchronization pulses during a high state of said vertical synchronization signal; and
means for establishing the polarity of the vertical synchronization signal to be (v) active high if the number of horizontal synchronization pulses counted during a high state of said vertical synchronization signal is greater than the number of horizontal synchronization pulses counted during a low state of said vertical synchronization signal;
or(vi) active low if the number of horizontal synchronization pulses counted during a low state of said vertical synchronization signal is greater than the number of horizontal synchronization pulses counted during a high state of said vertical synchronization signal.
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42. The video game system of claim 40 wherein the first sensing means for sensing the active polarity of the horizontal synchronization signal comprises:
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means for timing the duration of the horizontal synchronization signal during a low state of the horizontal synchronization signal;
means for timing the duration of the horizontal synchronization signal during a high state of the horizontal synchronization signal; and
means for establishing the polarity of the horizontal synchronization signal to be (v) active high if the duration of the horizontal synchronization signal timed during a high state of said horizontal synchronization signal is greater than the duration of the horizontal synchronization signal timed during a low state of the horizontal synchronization signal;
or(vi) active low if the duration of the horizontal synchronization signal timed during a low state of said horizontal synchronization signal is greater than the duration of the horizontal synchronization signal timed during a high state of the horizontal synchronization signal.
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43. The video game system of claim 39 wherein the initialization means comprises first means for determining the y-resolution Ys of the raster pattern and second means for determining the x-resolution Xs of the raster pattern.
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44. The video game system of claim 43 wherein said first means for determining the y-resolution Ys of the raster pattern comprises means for counting the number of horizontal synchronization pulses while the vertical synchronization signal is in its active polarity.
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45. The video game system of claim 43 wherein said second means for determining the x-resolution Xs of the raster pattern comprises means for timing the duration of the horizontal synchronization signal while the horizontal synchronization signal is in its active polarity.
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46. The video game system of claim 43 wherein said means for determining the relative x-position and the relative y-position of the field of view of the light gun positioned on the screen when the trigger is activated comprises:
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means for detecting a pulse in said electrical signal from said photosensitive transducer, means for counting the number of horizontal synchronization traces from the time the vertical synchronization signal transitioned to its active state until the time the pulse is detected, said number of traces being defined as Yc;
means for timing the duration of the horizontal synchronization signal from the time the horizontal synchronization signal transitioned to its active state until the time the pulse is detected, said timing means being reset when said horizontal synchronization signal transitions to its inactive state before the pulse is detected, said timed duration being defined as Xt.
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47. The video game system of claim 37 wherein said peripheral position signal comprises Xt/Xs and Yc/Ys.
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48. The video game system of claim 38 wherein said computer processing means determines the X-pixel coordinate by the formula Xr*Xt/Xs, wherein Xr is the X-axis pixel resolution of the video monitor screen.
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49. The video game system of claim 47 wherein said computer processing means determines the Y-pixel coordinate by the formula Yr*Yc/Ys, wherein Yr is the Y-axis pixel resolution of the video monitor screen.
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50. A video game peripheral adapter for use with a computer-based video game platform having (i) computer processing means for executing a video game program, the computer processing means generating a plurality of display frames representative of images to be displayed on a video monitor screen, and video adapter means coupled to the computer processing means for processing the display frames and generating analog display signals proportional thereto and synchronization signals correlated to the analog display signals, the analog display signals and the synchronization signals being output to a video port associated therewith, (ii) a video monitor for processing the analog display signals and the synchronization signals to display images on a screen associated therewith, and (iii) a video game peripheral device including a photosensitive transducer having a field of view and outputting an electrical signal proportional to light sensed in its field of view;
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said peripheral adapter is adapted to be coupled to the video port, said peripheral adapter is configured to output the analog display signals and the synchronization signals to the video monitor, and wherein said peripheral adapter comprises;
a) peripheral processing means for processing the electrical signal from the photosensitive device and the synchronization signals and for generating a peripheral position signal indicative of the relative position of the field of view of the photosensitive transducer on the screen; and
b) means for transmitting said peripheral position signal to the computer platform for further processing. - View Dependent Claims (51, 52, 53, 54, 55, 56, 57, 58, 59, 60, 61, 62, 63)
initialization means for measuring a set of initialization parameters correlated to an x-dimension of a raster pattern traced on the video monitor screen and a y-dimension of said raster pattern;
means for sensing an activation of a trigger signal; and
means for determining the relative x-position and the relative y-position of the field of view of the light gun positioned on the screen when the trigger is activated.
- wherein;
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56. The video game peripheral adapter of claim 55 wherein said initialization means comprises:
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first means for sensing the active polarity of the horizontal synchronization signal; and
second means for sensing the active polarity of the vertical synchronization signal.
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57. The video game peripheral adapter of claim 56 wherein the second sensing means for sensing the active polarity of the vertical synchronization signal comprises:
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means for counting the number of horizontal synchronization pulses during a low state of said vertical synchronization signal;
means for counting the number of h horizontal synchronization pulses during a high state of said vertical synchronization signal; and
means for establishing the polarity of the vertical synchronization signal to be (vii) a active high if the number of horizontal synchronization pulses counted during a high state of said vertical synchronization signal is greater than the number of horizontal synchronization pulses counted during a low state of said vertical synchronization signal;
or(viii) active low if the number of horizontal synchronization pulses counted during a low state of said vertical synchronization signal is greater than the number of horizontal synchronization pulses counted during a high state of said vertical synchronization signal.
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58. The video game peripheral adapter of claim 56 wherein the first sensing means for sensing the active polarity of the horizontal synchronization signal comprises:
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means for timing the duration of the horizontal synchronization signal during a low state of the horizontal synchronization signal;
means for timing the duration of the horizontal synchronization signal during a high state of the horizontal synchronization signal; and
means for establishing the polarity of the horizontal synchronization signal to be (vii) active high if the duration of the horizontal synchronization signal timed during a high state of said horizontal synchronization signal is greater than the duration of the horizontal synchronization signal timed during a low state of the horizontal synchronization signal;
or(viii) active low if the duration of the horizontal synchronization signal timed during a low state of said horizontal synchronization signal is greater than the duration of the horizontal synchronization signal timed during a high state of the horizontal synchronization signal.
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59. The video game peripheral adapter of claim 55 wherein the initialization means comprises first means for determining the y-resolution Ys of the raster pattern and second means for determining the x-resolution Xs of the raster pattern.
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60. The video game peripheral adapter of claim 59 wherein said first means for determining the y-resolution Ys of the raster pattern comprises means for counting the number of horizontal synchronization pulses while the vertical synchronization signal is in its active polarity.
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61. The video game peripheral adapter of claim 59 wherein said second means for determining the x-resolution Xs of the raster pattern comprises means for timing the duration of the horizontal synchronization signal while the horizontal synchronization signal is in its active polarity.
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62. The video game peripheral adapter of claim 59 wherein said means for determining the relative x-position and the relative y-position of the field of view of the light gun positioned on the screen when the trigger is activated comprises:
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means for detecting a pulse in said electrical signal from said photosensitive transducer, means for counting the number of horizontal synchronization traces from the time the vertical synchronization signal transitioned to its active state until the time the pulse is detected, said number of traces being defined as Yc;
means for timing the duration of the horizontal synchronization signal from the time the horizontal synchronization signal transitioned to its active state until the time the pulse is detected, said timing means being reset when said horizontal synchronization signal transitions to its inactive state before the pulse is detected, said timed duration being defined as Xt.
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63. The video game peripheral adapter of claim 53 wherein said peripheral position signal comprises Xt/Xs and Yc/Ys.
Specification