GB2502975A

GB2502975A - Controller for a portable touchscreen device using mechanical actuators

Info

Publication number: GB2502975A
Application number: GB1210272.9A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Cathal John O'sullivan
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 2012-06-11
Filing date: 2012-06-11
Publication date: 2013-12-18
Anticipated expiration: 2032-06-11
Also published as: GB2502975B; GB201210272D0

Abstract

A controller 11 for a portable touchscreen device 1 comprises a casing 13 having means 15, 17 to retain the device and a viewing aperture 19 through which most of the screen 3 of the device may be viewed. The controller further comprises multiple control buttons 21-37 adjacent to the viewing aperture but remote from the screen, and multiple control pads 39-49 positioned where they can be in contact with a peripheral portion of the screen. A coupling rod 61 located between each control button and its corresponding control pad is used to translate actuation of the control button into actuation of the control pad. The coupling rod normally provides an electrical disconnect between the button and the pad until the button is operated, at which point a conductive path between the button and the pad is created. This allows the control buttons to be located away from the screen so that they do not impede the view of the user, whilst allowing for maximum control function.

Description

tM:;: INTELLECTUAL S... * PROPERTY OFFICE Application No. 0B1210272.9 RTM Date:8 October 2012 The following terms are registered trademarks and should be read as such wherever they occur in this document: iPhone iPad iPod Amazoncom Apple Intellectual Properly Office is an operaling name of Ihe Patent Office www.ipo.gov.uk "A controller for a portable touchscreen device"

Introduction

This invention relates to a controller for a portable touchscreen device.

The controller hereinafter described is particularly suitable for use with so-called smart phones having a touchscreen and an implementation of the controller for use with a smart phone, more specifically an iPhone, will be described in detail below. However, the controller according to the present invention is also suitable for use with other portable devices having a touchscreen including, but not limited to PDAs, iPads, iPods, music players, mobile phones, computing tablets and the like. The controller according to the present invention is particularly suitable for gaming and again the controller hereinafter described will be described with reference to gaming applications however it will be understood that the controller will be suited to other applications also.

In recent times, there has been a shift in the mobile gaming industry from dedicated consoles such as those produced by Nintendo (Registered Trade Mark ®) (DS ® and DSLite ®) and Sony ® (PSP ® and PSVita ®) towards smartphones such as those produced by Apple®, HTC ® and Samsung ® to name a few. There are several reasons why this has been the case with advances in smartphone technology, lower smartphone game prices and the fact that smartphone owners already have the means necessary to play the games without having to carry another device on their person all cited as reasons for this shift towards gaming on smartphones.

Although increasing in popularity, there is however a problem with mobile gaming solutions on smartphones that is preventing even greater penetration by smartphones into the mobile gaming market. Perhaps the most significant problem associated with gaming on a smartphone is that it lacks an authentic gaming "feel" which leads to a diminished gaming experience for the user. This lack of authentic gaming "feel" is blamed on the fact that the touchscreen controls do not provide the same level of tactile feedback to the user as the more traditional directional pad (D-pad) and push buttons that are commonplace on dedicated games consoles.

Various devices have been proposed to overcome this problem and provide a more satisfying gaming experience to the sniartphone user. One such device is that described in US patent application No. US2009291 760 in the name of Hepburn et al. Another such device is that designed by the company CP Design described at the following URL httD://www.cr-desiQn.com.au!portfojio/iohonegame-oad/. Both of these devices provide more traditional gaming controls for the user and interface with the smartphone through the 30-pin connector of the smartphone. Although highly effective in enhancing the users gaming experience, both of these controllers require direct connection to the electronics of the smartphone through the 30-pin connector and this increases the manufacturing cost otthe devices.

Alternative, more cost-effective solutions have been proposed such as the Fling Mini ® currently sold by Ten One Design (htto://tenonedesign.comiflinqminLphp) and the product Thumbies ® developed by lthumbgear [C and currently sold by Camsdigital through Amazon.com (www.amazon.com). Although these devices are relatively inexpensive to produce and do not require an electronic connection through the smartphone's 30-pin connector, they suffer from the disadvantage that they are placed directly over the smartphones touchscreen and therefore reduce the amount of viewing/playing area on the screen that may be used for game-playing. This is particularly disadvantageous for smaitphones as they already have a relatively small playing area and it is undesirable to reduce the available playing area any further.

It is an object of the present invention to piovide a controller that overcomes at least some of the above-mentioned problems and that provides a useful alternative to the consumer.

Statements of Invention

According to the invention there is provided a controller for a portable touchscreen device, the controller comprising a casing having means to releasably engage the portable touchscreen device, a viewing aperture through which a substantial portion of the screen of a portable touchscreen device may be viewed, a plurality of control buttons mounted on the casing located adjacent to the viewing aperture but in a position remote from the screen of a portable touchscreen device, and a plurality of control pads mounted on the casing located adjacent to the viewing aperture in a position for continuous engagement of a peripheral portion of the screen of a portable touchscreen device, and in which there is provided a coupling rod intermediate each control button and a corresponding control pad to translate actuation of that control button to actuation of that control pad; the control buttons, the control pads and the coupling rods are all constructed at least partially from a conductive material so that when connected together, the control button, the control pad and the coupling rod together form a conductive path between the control button and the control pad and by extension there is provided a conductive path between an operators digit contacting the control button and the touchscieen, and in which there is provided a selectively closeable open circuit in the conductive path between the control button and the control pad, the open circuit being temporarily closed upon operation of the control button by an operator thereby closing the conductive path.

By having such a controller, the control buttons will be located remotely from the screen and they will be coupled to control pads that only engage a peripheral portion of the touchscreen through coupling rods. This configuration will result in a controller that provides an authentic gaming "eel" yet is relatively inexpensive to produce and does not significantly detract from the available playing area of the screen. Furthermore, it is believed that the controller will be more ergonomic and comfortable to hold over extended periods of time than many of its competitors. Advantageously, the controller is configured so that the control pads are in constant contact with the screen of the touchscreen device when the controller is mounted on the smartphone. A conductive path to the control pad, normally open, is closed when a control button is actuated by an operator. The actuation of the control button thereby provides a conductive path between an operator's digit and the touchscreen to perform an action on the touchscreen. By having the control pad in constant contact with the touchscreen and selectively closing the conductive path to the control pad, the controller is less likely to cause damage to the touchscreen. In addition to being less likely to cause damage to the touchscreen, the controller itself will also provide a degree of protection to the portable touchscreen device as the controller components and the casing in particular will absorb some shock in the event of the portable touchscreen device being dropped or subjected to a sudden impact.

In one embodiment of the invention there is provided a controller in which the coupling rod is a two part rod, one part of which is connected to the control button and the other part of which is connected to the control pad, and in which the two parts are spaced apart from each other thereby providing the open circuit in the conductive path when the control button is released and the two parts are brought into engagement with each other thereby closing the conductive path upon operation of the control button by the operator. This is seen as a simple configuration that will be reliable in operation and simple and inexpensive to manufacture.

In one embodiment of the present invention there is provided a resilient biasing member associated with each control button operable to bias the control button away from the screen of the touchscreen device. This is seen as a useful way of providing the open circuit as the resilient biasing member can be configured to act to separate the two parts of the coupling rod.

In one embodiment of the invention there is provided a controller in which there is provided at least one control pad located adjacent to a first side of the viewing aperture in a position for engagement of a peripheral portion of the screen of a portable touchscreen device and at least one control pad located adjacent to a second side of the viewing aperture in a position for engagement of a second peripheral portion of the screen of a portable touchscreen device.

By having at least one control pad located adjacent to a second side of the viewing aperture this will provide greater freedom for the placement of buttons on the controller and will also provide greater available area for the placement of the control pads ensuring reliable detection of a touchscreen press.

In one embodiment of the invention there is provided a controller in which there is provided at least one control pad located adjacent to a third side of the viewing aperture in a position for engagement of a third peripheral portion of the screen of a portable touchscreen device.

In one embodiment of the invention there is provided a controller in which there is provided at least one control pad located adjacent to a fourth side of the viewing aperture in a position for engagement of a fourth peripheral portion of the screen of a portable touchscreen device.

In one embodiment of the invention there is provided a controller in which there is provided at least one control button located on a first side of the viewing aperture and at least one control button located on a second side of the viewing aperture.

In one embodiment of the invention there is provided a controller in which the second side of the viewing aperture is opposite the first side of the viewing aperture. This will provide a more familiar configuration and ergonomic design of controller for the user.

In one embodiment of the invention there is provided a controller in which there is provided at least one control button located on a third side of the viewing aperture.

In one embodiment of the invention there is provided a controller in which there is provided at least one control button located on a fourth side of the viewing aperture.

In one embodiment of the invention there is provided a controller in which the control pads are mounted on the casing located adjacent to the viewing aperture in a position for engagement of a peripheral portion no wider than 4.5mm of the screen of a portable touchscreen device. Preferably, the control pads are mounted on the casing located adjacent to the viewing aperture in a position for engagement of a peripheral portion no wider than 3.0mm of the screen of a portable touchscreen device. Ideally, the control pads are mounted on the casing located adjacent to the viewing aperture in a position for engagement of a peripheral portion no wider than 2.5mm of the screen of a portable touchscreen device.

In one embodiment of the invention there is provided a controller in which the viewing aperture through which a substantial portion of the screen of a portable touchscreen device may be viewed is dimensioned to permit viewing of greater than 70% of the screen of a portable touchscreen device. Preferably, the viewing aperture through which a substantial portion of the screen of a portable touchscreen device may be viewed is dimensioned to permit viewing of greater than 85% of the screen of a portable touchscreen device. Ideally, the viewing aperture through which a substantial portion of the screen of a portable touchscreen device may be viewed is dimensioned to permit viewing of greater than 90% of the screen of a portable touchscreen device.

Detailed Description of the Invention

The invention will now be more clearly understood from the following description of some embodiments thereof given by way of example only with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:-Figure 1 is a front view of a smartphone to which the controller according to the invention is to be attached; Figure 2 is a front view of a controller according to the invention attached to the smartphone of Figure 1; Figure 3 is an end view from below of the controller according to the invention; Figure 4 is a diagrammatic representation of one configuration of control button, control pad and mechanical coupling rod for use in the controller according to the invention; and Figure 5 is a diagrammatic representation of a configuration of control button, control pad and coupling rod for use in the controller according to the invention.

Referring to Figure 1, there is shown a graphical illustration of a smartphone, in this case an iPhone 3G as sold by Apple, Inc., indicated generally by the reference numeral 1.

The smartphone 1 has a touchscreen 3, a function button 5 and a speaker 7. It will be understood that the iPhone 30 also possesses other function buttons for powering the device onloff. controlling the volume and controlling the mode of operation of the device as well as another speaker, a microphone, a 30-pin connector port, a SIM card holder and a headphone jack-receiving port however these have been omitted for clarity. The device is operated through a combination of the function buttons and the touchscreen.

Referring to Figures 2 and 3, there is shown a controller according to the invention, indicated generally by the reference numeral 11. The controller 11 comprises a casing 13 with means, in this case wings 15, 17 (Fig. 3) to releasably engage the portable touchscreen device 1. Preferably, the controller casing 13 is constructed from a resiliently deformable plastic material that will allow the wings 15, 17 to be temporarily deformed downwardly and outwardly in the direction of the arrows to allow the smartphone to be introduced into the controller 11. When released, the wings will spring back to their original configuration thereby securing the smartphone in position relative to the controller 11.

The controller 11 further comprises a viewing aperture 19 through which the screen of the smartphone may be viewed and a plurality of control buttons 21, 23, 25, 27, 29, 31, 33,35,37 mounted on the casing adjacent to the viewing aperture 19. Control button 21 is a D-pad and in fact constitutes four distinct buttons, one for each of up, down, left and right. The 0-pad usually controls directional movement of a character or other object in a game. Control buttons 23, 25, 27 and 29 are typically action buttons that control certain actions of a character or object, such as shoot, jump, run, roll, weapons selection or the like. The function of the control buttons 23, 25, 27 and 29 are typically programmable depending on the individual game. Control buttons 31, 33 are typically game control buttons with functionality such as, but not limited to start, stop, pause, reset and the like.

Finally, shoulder buttons 35, 37 may be provided with additional, alternative game playing or game control functions to any of the control buttons 23, 25, 27, 29, 31, 33 or may provide an identical function to one or more of the control buttons 23, 25, 27, 29, 31, 33. It will be understood from this specification that the functionality of the control buttons 23, 25, 27, 29, 31, 33, 35 and 37 is not important for the execution of the present invention and the above examples have been provided by way of illustration only.

The controller 11 comprises a plurality of control pads 39, 41, 43, 45, 47, 49 some of which are shown in Figure 3, mounted on the casing 13 adjacent to the viewing aperture 19. There is provided a control pad for each control button on the controller and each control pad corresponds to one of the control buttons. There is further provided a plurality of mechanical coupling rods 51 intermediate each control button and its corresponding control pad. The mechanical coupling rods translate the actuation of a control button to the actuation of the corresponding control pad. In other words, when a control button is depressed, so too will the corresponding control pad be depressed and when the control button is released, so too will the corresponding control pad be released.

Each control button, control pad and mechanical coupling rod are provided with a resilient biasing member 53 to return the control button, control pad and the mechanical coupling rod from a depressed configuration having been subjected to downward pressure on the button by a user of the controller, to a released configuration when the downward pressure on the control button has been released. The controller comprises a backing member 54 on which the resilient biasing members 53 are mounted that will provide a degree of protection to the resilient biasing members and the mechanical coupling rods 51. The backing member 54 is provided with a plurality of apertures to allow through-passage of the control pads through the backing member so that they can come into contact with the touchscreen. In use, the touchscreen 3 will be in close proximity to the backing member and spacers (not shown) may be provided outside the touchscreen to hold the touchscreen and the backing member 54 apart.

Advantageously, the normal functions of the touchscreen device will remain available even when the controller is in position. For example, the buttons, microphones! speakers and the like will remain unhindered. In this way, the operator can switch from game playing to another application supported by the smartphone such as making or receiving a telephone call or browsing the web.

Referring specifically to Figure 2, it can be seen that there are provided a plurality of peripheral portions 55, 57, 59, 61 of the touchscreen 3 of a smartphone. These peripheral portions are further sub-divided into a plurality of sections. There is provided a section for each control button on the controller. For example, peripheral portion 55 is divided up into four distinct sections, one for each of the four buttons of the D-pad.

Peripheral portion 57 is divided up into two sections, one for each shoulder button 35, 37 and peripheral portion 59 is also divided up into two sections, one for each of the game control buttons 31, 33. Peripheral portion 61 is further divided up into four sections, one for each of the action control buttons 23, 25, 27 and 29. A control pad (not shown) is associated with each section of the peripheral portions 55, 57, 59 and 61 and a mechanical coupling rod 51 is led from a control button to its respective control pad. The mechanical coupling rods have been represented diagrammatically in Figure 2 to facilitate understanding of the present invention however it will be understood that these mechanical coupling rods would not normally be visible unless the controller was constructed from a translucent or transparent material.

According to one embodiment of the present invention, the peripheral portions are each 4.5mm in width. The touchscreen of the iPhone 30 measures approximately 75mm by 50mm, providing a total useable area of 3750mm2. Therefore, with a peripheral portion of 4.5mm on each side (effectively creating a border 4.5mm in width surrounding the remainder of the touchscreen) the total visible area will be 66mm by 41mm, providing a total visible area of 2706mm2. This equates to a new total visible (playing) area of approximately 72% of the touchscreen. Various modifications to the embodiment described may be made to alter the amount of available playing area. For example, if the peripheral portion width is decreased further to 3mm in width, this will result in a new total visible (playing) area of 3036mm2 or approximately 81% of the touchscreen. If the peripheral portion width is decreased further to 2.5mm in width, this will result in a new total visible (playing) area of 3150mm2 or approximately 84% of the touchscreen. If the peripheral portions of 4.5mm in width were provided on the two upright sides 55, 61 alone, this will result in a new total visible (playing) area of 3300mm2 or approximately 88% of the touchscreen. Preferably, the peripheral portions will be the narrowest possible while providing reliable contact with a control pad.

Referring now to Figure 4, there is shown a diagrammatic representation of one configuration of control bufton 21, control pad 39 and mechanical coupling rod 51 for use in the controller according to the invention. If necessary, the control pad 39 is constructed from a relatively soft conductive material to prevent it scratching the touchscreen. The mechanical coupling arm and the button are also at least partially constructed from a conductive material to allow conduction from an operator's finger, through the button 21 and the mechanical coupling rod 51 to the control pad 39. A resilient biasing member 53 is located under the elbow of the mechanical rod 51 so that it depresses when the control button 21 is depressed and will cause the control button 21, the mechanical coupling rod 51 and the control pad 39 to rise upwards.

Referring to Figure 5, there is shown an alternative construction of control button 21, control pad 39 and coupling rod 61 for use in the controller according to the invention where like parts have been given the same reference numeral as before. The control button 21, control pad 39 and the coupling rod 61 are all constructed at least partially from a conductive material. The coupling rod 61 is a two part coupling rod with one part 63 of the coupling rod connected to the control button 21 and the other part 65 of the coupling rod connected to the control pad 39. There is provided a resilient biasing member, in this case provided by a pair of resiliently deformable springs 67, 69. that operate to push the control button 21 upwards thereby separating the first and second parts 63, 65 of the coupling rod from each other, as illustrated in the diagram. There is further provided a mounting 71 for receiving the end of the part 65 of the coupling rod 61 that is remote from the control pad 39. The control pad is constructed from a soft conductive material that is not inclined to scratch the screen 3.

In the configuration shown in Figure 5, there is an open circuit in the conductive path between the control button 21 and the control pad 39 and no operating signal is supplied to the screen 3 of the touchscreen device. In use! an operator will use their digit (not shown) to depress the control button 21. As the control button 21 is depressed, the two parts, 63, 65 of the coupling rod 61 will come into contact with each other, thereby closing the conductive path between the control button 21 and the control pad 39 and by extension closing the conductive path between the operator's digit and the screen 3 of the smartphone. By closing the conductive path, a control signal is provided to the touchscreen. Once the operator's digit is removed from the control button 21 once more, the resiliently deformable springs 67, 69 will act on the control button 21 to push the control button 21 upwards which will in turn cause the two parts 63, 65 of the coupling rod 61 to separate.

It is envisaged that other constructions are possible whereby the conductive path between the control button 21 and the control pad 39 can be interrupted and selectively closed when desired. For example, the embodiment shown in Figure 5 illustrates an embodiment in which there is a two part coupling rod. Instead, a one pad coupling rod could be provided that is simply disconnected from one of the control button and the control pad and whereby operation of the control button 21 by an operator's digit will cause temporary engagement of all three of the control button 21, the control pad 39 and the coupling rod 61.

It will be understood that slight modification to the software for the existing games would have to be provided in order to enable those games to be played with the controller according to the present invention. Instead of providing the control buttons 21, 23, 25, 27, 29, 31, 33, 35, 37 or more generally (for example) a directional controller, one or more action buttons and one or more game control buttons programmatically directly on the touchscreen interface for manipulation by a user's finger or one of the passive controllers known in the art (i.e. those controllers that do not require connection to the electronics of the portable touchscreen device such as the Fling Mini ® or the Thumbies ®) as is normally the practice, these control buttons can each be programmed to be located in a dedicated section of the peripheral portion of the screen for engagement by a control pad.

It can be seen from the foregoing that according to the present invention, the amount of screen visible for gaming when a passive controller is used is maximised by having the control buttons located remotely from the screen with coupling rods extending from the buttons to control pads which in turn act upon a peripheral portion of the screen. This is the crux of the present invention. Various modifications to the embodiments described above are contemplated and are within the scope of the present invention. For example, it is envisaged that the peripheral portion with one or more sections may be provided on one, two, three or all four sides of the touchscreen. Furthermore, buttons may be provided on one, two! three or four sides of the touchscreen to provide the combination most favoured by game players or simply to provide a choice of controller to the game players. As can be seen from the foregoing description, the location of the control buttons and more specifically the control pads and the corresponding peripheral portions of the screen can impact greatly on the available playing area of the screen and careful selection will be taken to ensure that the maximum amount of screen is available for viewing.

It is envisaged that the peripheral portions may not extend along the entire side of a touchscreen and may be restricted to a part of the side in question, for example towards one or both ends of the side of the touchscreen. In this way, the control pads would be located adjacent to one or more corners of the touchscreen.

According to another embodiment of the invention, the peripheral portions may be outside the existing visible area of the touchscreen. For example, the smartphone may be provided with a touch sensitive area surrounding the touchscreen, such as, but not limited to the bezel. Other parts of the front face of the smartphone that are not usually touch sensitive may be made touch sensitive and one or more of the peripheral portions will be located in those instances on the touch sensitive area(s) not on the "regular" visible screen. It will be understood that the control pads will also be located for engagement of these areas. By doing so, the entire viewing screen of the phone may be used for viewing game playing action while the additional touch sensitive areas surrounding the viewing screen may be used for game control and functionality. The invention will still have the advantage of providing a more authentic game playing experience to the user and will not require electronic connections or wireless communications with the phone in order to achieve this aim.

In the embodiment shown, the control pads, mechanical coupling rods and control buttons are all constructed from a conductive material however this may not be essential and it will be understood that this will be dictated in part by the type of screen being used. Various other modifications may be made to the present invention without departing from the spirit or scope of the present invention. For example, it is envisaged that the controller may be provided with a hinge to allow the controller to be folded into a compact configuration for storage and transport.

In the embodiments shown, the construction of mechanical coupling rod comprises an arm cranked intermediate its ends in a right angle however this is for demonstration only and various other constructions of mechanical coupling rods could be provided that will translate the depression of a control button into the activation of a control pad. For example, the mechanical coupling rod may be hingedly mounted to the underside of the button and provided with a guide so that as the button is depressed, the coupling rod will pivot about the hinge and effectively move inwards in the direction towards the centre of the viewing aperture. In other words, if downward movement of the coupling rod is prevented, the coupling rod and in turn the control pad connected to the end thereof will slide sideways across the surface of a phone therebelow. It can be arranged for the contact pad to slide from a position free of the touchscreen to a position on the touchscreen in engagement with a section of a peripheral portion. When the button is released, the upward movement of the button will cause the coupling rod to pivot about the hinge once more and slide the contact pad back off the section of the peripheral portion.

In the specification the terms "comprise, comprises, comprised and comprising" and the terms include, includes, included and including" are all deemed totally interchangeable and should be afforded the widest possible inteipietation.

The invention is in no way limited to the embodiment heieinbefoie described but may be varied in both construction and detail within the scope of the appended claims.