JP2009520387A - Peripheral device communicatively connected to console device - Google Patents

Abstract

  Disclosed are systems and methods for attaching a device to a peripheral device that communicates to a game console or computing device. Peripherals are first coupled to the port of the game console or computing device. The device is associated with the game console or computing device, and then associated with the port assigned to the peripheral, either autonomously or through a user-initiated procedure. Data associated with the peripheral device is communicated to the device after being associated. Devices and peripherals may also be tied based on user profiles. When the user signs in to the game console or computing device, the device is tied to the peripheral device via the peripheral device identifier and configuration settings information in the profile.

Description

(Copyright notice / permission)
The disclosure portion of this patent document contains material that is subject to copyright protection. The copyright owner does not object to any duplication of this patent document or patent disclosure that occurs in a patent file or record of the United States Patent and Trademark Office, but in all other cases, All rights reserved. The following notice shall apply to the software and data described below and in the drawings herein: Copyright (Copyright) 2005 Patent Applicant, All Rights Reserved.

  The present invention relates generally to the field of computing and gaming devices. The present invention is directed to tying peripherals in communication to a console, controller, or other computing device.

  Online gaming has become a significant part of the gaming experience. Players may initially communicate via text, but it is difficult to communicate in text throughout the game play. Recently, games have been able to facilitate players to connect to each other or to centralized servers using devices such as headphones, such as headphones. Nowadays, many gamers (gamers) use headphones specifically designed for these purposes. Conventional headphones connect to the game console using, for example, headphones or a microphone jack, or a USB connector. Because the controller or console is a wired connection, it is relatively easy to associate that sound with a particular gamer's play.

  Gamers also enjoy using a wireless controller that provides a player with freedom of action by wirelessly connecting the controller to a game console. Wireless controllers typically provide functions that players will find in wired controllers, such as vibration feedback, mini joysticks, D-pads, pressure sensitive buttons and the like. Further, systems that connect a wireless controller to a game console often allow multiple players to play simultaneously on that game console.

  Traditionally, linking headphone audio to a game controller is performed by plugging a wired headphone into a jack on the wired or wireless controller. However, if the headphones are wireless, there is no physical mechanism to tie the headphones to a particular gamer play or controller, depending on the nature of the wireless device. However, depending on the nature of the wireless device, there is no physical mechanism to tie wireless headphones to a particular gamer play or controller.

  Disclosed herein are systems and methods for attaching a device to a peripheral device that communicates to a game console or computing device. Initially, the peripheral device is coupled to the port of the game console or computing device. Peripherals are coupled to game consoles or computing devices via autonomous or user-initiated procedures and are then associated with the ports assigned to the peripherals. Data associated with the peripheral device is communicated to the device after being associated. Game consoles (or computing devices) and peripherals may also be tied based on user profiles.

  One non-limiting example of the above is wireless headphones used by gamers during game play. The headphones can be tied to the gamer's controller so that game-related audio tied to the gamer's play is sent from the game console to the headphones. Gamers can also communicate with other gamers using headphones.

  Additional features and advantages will be made apparent from the following detailed description, which proceeds with reference to the accompanying drawings.

  The foregoing summary, as well as the following detailed description of the preferred embodiments, is better understood when interpreted in conjunction with the appended drawings. For the purpose of illustrating the invention, the drawings illustrate an exemplary structure of the invention. However, the invention is not limited to the specific methods and instrumentalities disclosed.

  FIG. 1 illustrates the functional components of a multimedia / game console 100 in which certain aspects of the invention may be implemented. The multimedia console 100 includes a central processing unit (CPU) 101 having a primary cache 102, a secondary cache 104, and a flash ROM (Read Only Memory) 106. Primary cache 102 and secondary cache 104 temporarily store data and thus reduce the number of memory access cycles, thereby improving processing speed and throughput. A CPU 101 having more than one core and consequently additional primary and secondary caches 102 and 104 can be provided. The flash ROM 106 can store executable code that is loaded during the initial stage of the boot process when the multimedia console 100 is powered on.

  A graphics processing unit (GPU) 108 and a video encoder / video codec (encoder / decoder) 114 form a video processing pipeline for high speed and high quality graphics processing. Data is communicated from the graphics processing unit 108 to the video encoder / video codec 114 via the bus. The video processing pipeline outputs data to an A / V (audio / video) port 140 for transmission to a television receiver or other display device. The memory controller 110 is connected to the GPU 108 and facilitates processor access to various types of memory 112, such as, but not limited to, RAM (Random Access Memory).

  The multimedia console 100 is preferably implemented in a module 118, such as an input / output controller 120, a system management controller 122, an audio processing unit 123, a network interface controller 124, a first USB host controller 126, a first. 2 USB controllers 128 and a front panel I / O subassembly 130. USB controllers 126 and 128 include peripheral device controllers 142 (1) -142 (2), wireless adapter 148, and external storage device 146 (eg, flash memory, external CD / DVD ROM drive, removable media) Etc.). It should be noted that additional USB controllers may be provided. Network interface 124 and / or wireless adapter 148 provide access to a network (eg, Internet, home network, etc.) and Ethernet card, modem, Bluetooth module, cable module It can be any of a wide variety of wired or wireless adapter components, including modems and the like.

  System memory 143 is provided to store application data that is loaded during the boot process. A media drive 144 is provided and may comprise a DVD / CD drive, a hard disk drive, or other removable media drive. The media driving device 144 may be built in the multimedia console 100 or may be externally attached. Application data can be accessed via the media drive 144 for execution, playback, etc. by the multimedia console 100. The media drive 144 is connected to the input / output controller 120 via a bus such as a serial ATA bus or other high speed connection (eg, IEEE 1394).

  The system management controller 122 provides various service functions related to ensuring the availability of the multimedia console 100. The audio processing unit 123 and the audio codec 132 form a corresponding high fidelity audio processing pipeline and stereo processing. Audio data is transmitted between the audio processing unit 123 and the audio codec 132 via a communication link. The audio processing pipeline outputs data to the A / V port 140 for playback by an external audio player or device having audio capabilities.

  The front panel input / output subassembly 130 includes a power button 150 and an eject button in addition to any LED (Light Emitting Diode) or other indicator exposed on the outer surface of the multimedia console 100. Support the functionality of 152. System power module 136 provides power to the components of multimedia console 100. Fan 138 cools the circuitry within multimedia console 100.

  The CPU 101, GPU 108, memory controller 110, and various other components within the multimedia console 100 may use serial and parallel buses, memory buses, peripheral buses, and processors that use any of a variety of bus structures. Or they are interconnected via one or more buses, including a local bus. Such a structure may include, for example, a peripheral component interconnect (PCI) bus, a PCI-express bus, and the like.

  When the multimedia console 100 is powered on, application data may be loaded from the system memory 143 into the memory 112 and / or the caches 102, 104 and executed on the CPU 101. The application can present a graphical user interface that provides a consistent user experience when navigating to the different types of media available on the multimedia console 100. In operation, applications and / or other media contained in the media drive 144 are activated or executed from the media drive 144 to provide additional functionality to the multimedia console 100.

  The multimedia console 100 can be operated as a stand-alone system by simply connecting the system to a television receiver or other display device. In this stand-alone mode, the multimedia console 100 allows one or more users to interact with the system, watch movies, or listen to music. However, by fusing with the broadband connectivity made available through the network interface 124 or wireless adapter 148, the multimedia console 100 can be operated as a participant in a larger network collaboration environment.

  When the multimedia console 100 is powered on, a certain amount of hardware resources are reserved for system use by the multimedia console operating system. These resources may include reservations such as memory (eg 16 MB), CPU and GPU cycles (eg 5%), network bandwidth (eg 8 kbps), etc. Since these resources are reserved during system boot, the reserved resources are not visible from the application perspective.

  In particular, the memory reservation is preferably large enough to contain the boot kernel, concurrent system applications, and drivers. The CPU reservation is preferably constant so that a free thread spends any unused period if the reserved CPU usage is not used by the system application.

  With respect to GPU reservations, lightweight messages generated by system applications (eg, pop-ups) are displayed by using GPU interrupts to time-plan the code representing the pop-up. The amount of memory required for the overlay depends on the size of the overlay area, and the overlay preferably corresponds to the screen resolution. Where a complete user interface is used by concurrent system applications, it is desirable to use one resolution regardless of the resolution of the application. A counter may be used to set this resolution so as to eliminate the need to change the frequency and cause “resynchronization” of the television receiver.

  After multimedia console 100 boots and system resources are reserved, concurrent system applications are run to provide system functionality. The system functionality is encapsulated in a set of system applications that execute within the reserved system resources described above. The operating system kernel identifies threads that are system application threads to game application threads. In order to provide a consistent resource view for the application, the system application is preferably time-planned to run on the CPU 101 at predetermined times and intervals. Time planning is to minimize cache interruptions for game applications running on the console.

  When concurrent system applications require audio, audio processing is timed asynchronously with game applications depending on time sensitivity. When the system application is active, the multimedia console application manager (described below) controls the sound level (eg, silence, attenuation) of the game application.

  Input devices (eg, controllers 142 (1) and 142 (2)) are shared by gaming and system applications. Input devices are not reserved resources, but will be switched between system applications and game applications so that each is the target of an input device. The application manager preferably controls the switching of the input stream without knowledge of the game application, and the driver maintains state information regarding object switching.

  Referring to FIG. 2, a representative radio controller 154 having four quadrant (note. The circle is divided into four) LED indicators 156 (including an enlarged view thereof), and four quadrant LED displays. A console 100 having a child 158 is illustrated. Controller 154 also includes vibration feedback, mini joysticks, pressure sensitive buttons, and the like. The game is shown on screen 160. The console indicator 158 is shown surrounding the power button, however, other configurations can be implemented. Each quadrant of the ring can be illuminated by an LED, which may be a single color or two colors and displayed in multiple colors. As described below, quadrants can be displayed in multiple patterns indicating notifications, system status, bindings, and discoveries.

  To assist in an environment where multiple consoles 100 and radio controllers 154 may exist simultaneously, each controller is logically “bound” to a single console 100 and a link is connected to that console 100. Only established by. It is not possible to couple the controller 154 to more than one console 100 at a time. Coupling is a process in which the console 100 sends information to the controller 154 that enables the controller to establish a link with the console 100. Once "coupled" to the console 100, the controller 154 attempts to establish a link with the console 100 to which it is coupled whenever the controller 154 is turned on.

  It is desirable that the combined information is held only in the corresponding controller. The coupling is one to one for the controller 154 but one to many for the console 100. Thus, coupling is maintained for the controller 154 during the battery discharge / charge cycle until a new coupling relationship is established. When the BIND button on the console and the BIND button on the radio controller 154 are pressed within each other's predetermined time period, an operation is attempted to establish a coupling relationship. Successful establishment of the coupling relationship depends on the successful establishment of the wireless communication link and the successful execution of the mutual verification algorithm.

  The console is preferably turned on before pressing the BIND button. When the user starts coupling with the controller 154 connected to the console 100 at that time, the controller 154 disconnects the connection to the console 100 before attempting the coupling process. As the merge process operates, the status notification screen can display the merge and find process (eg, merged ... merged ... discovered). A join is a one-to-one event. In other words, one controller 154 is coupled at a time by pressing a coupling button on the console 100. To couple the second controller 154, the BIND button on the console 100 is pressed again. If the binding does not succeed within a predetermined time, the console 100 or controller 154 will autonomously time out and return to the previous state so that the previous binding relationship is not lost.

  On console 100, there are four (or some other) virtual controller ports, referred to herein as “V ports”. The V port represents an active game controller connected to console 100 either wired or wireless. Numbered V ports are autonomously assigned to controllers in the order in which they are connected to the console 100. Each V port is represented by a quadrant of an LED indicator 156 and a console indicator 158. “Discovery” is the process during which a wired or wireless gaming device is recognized by the console 100, assigned a V port, and made available for game play.

  Thus, desirably, the “join” and “discover” operations are two different operations. The binding operation is activated by pressing the BIND button on the controller and console. Once coupled, the controller will begin the discovery process and, if successful, will be assigned the first available V port, which in this case is V port 1 as described. If one to three controllers have been previously combined and discovered, the next discovered controller will be assigned V ports 2, 3, 4, etc. individually. If a total number of controllers equal to the total number of V ports has already been discovered, the combining process may still be performed, however, no V ports will be available to assign, so control. The V port cannot be assigned to the device. However, if one of the other controllers is turned off or coupled to a new console, it will still be coupled to the console and available to be discovered.

  Referring to FIG. 3, the merge operation and discovery process and how the LED indicator 156 and console indicator 158 visually convey the process to the player are visualized. As shown in FIG. 3, the controller is powered on and the console 100 and the BIND button on the controller are pressed. After the combining process is completed, a discovery process is performed. Since this is the first controller to be discovered by console 100, it is tied to V port 1 and the upper left quadrant of indicators 156 and 158 is lit (displayed) to signal the connection. It will be. If more than one controller is found by the console 100, the other quadrants of the indicator 158 are turned on (displayed) in sequence. As a result, if two controllers are connected, two quadrants of the indicator 158 and up to four quadrants in the case of four controllers will be lit (displayed). When additional quadrants are lit (displayed) sequentially on the console, they can be on any single controller, except when an error condition or other condition is displayed to the user. Note that only one quadrant is lit (displayed) at a time.

  With reference to FIG. 4, a block diagram of an exemplary wireless device (eg, headphones) 200 is illustrated. The headphone 200 includes a radio 203, a microcontroller (MCU) / digital signal processor (DSP) / audio codec 204, an input / output device 205, a DA converter (Digital to Analog Converter: DAC) 208, and AD conversion. An electronic module 202 that houses an analog to digital to converter (ADC) 210, a power source 212, an input device 214, and a visual indicator 216. Components in the electronic module 203 are connected to a speaker 216 and a microphone 218.

  Radio 203 can be a frequency hopping spread spectrum (FHSS) radio that operates in the 2.4 GHz frequency band that communicates data (eg, voice, configuration information, etc.) to console 100. . The MCU / DSP / codec 204 processes voice communication with the headphones 200. The output sound is communicated to the speaker 216 via the DAC 208. Input audio is received by microphone 218 and converted to digital information by ADC 210 and passed to MCU / DSP / CODEC 204 to radio 203 for communication to console 100.

  Input device 214, which will be described in more detail below with reference to FIGS. 6-9, is used to tie headphones 200 to a particular V port. The visual indicator 206 provides the user with a display or confirmation of the associated V port. As will be described below, the audio associated with the user's game play is the headphones 200 based on the binding of the headphones 200 to the V port assigned to the user's controller 154, or other discovered Communicates with peripheral devices.

  As mentioned above, the wireless headphones 200 communicate directly with the console 100 rather than the controller 154. As such, the headphones perform a combination / discovery similar to the controller 154. To accomplish this, wireless headphones 200 are tied to the console and assigned a V port. There are separate V ports for the controller and audio device ports.

  FIG. 5 illustrates the binding and discovery process for wireless headphones 200. At step 220, the user connects (couples) to the console, for example, by pressing a button on console 100, wireless controller 154, or headphones 200 (via input device 214). The headphones 200 and / or console 100 are preferably powered on after the coupling button is pressed, thereby advantageously reducing RF emissions. However, in the case of the headphones 200, first, the user may turn on the headphones 200, or an operation of pressing a button may turn on the headphones 200. Optionally, step 220 can be accomplished by bringing the headphones 200 into the communication range of the console 100. At step 222, console 100 initiates and completes the connection process with headphones 200. At step 224, it is determined whether there is one active controller 154. If so, at step 226, the headphones 222 are assigned the same V port as the active controller 154.

  The user is then notified at step 228 that the binding was successful. Notification can be audible or visual. The audible sound confirmation of the V port assignment can be made by sending a chime or tone to the headphones. Personal settings may be ignored or overridden to ensure that chimes or tones are played through the headphones. Visual notification can be done by flashing an LED (or other visual indicator 206) on the headphones. If a single LED is provided on the headphones, it may flash at a predetermined rate. If several LEDs are provided, the LED pattern can be flashed. From later scenarios, it is desirable that the pattern be the same as the associated controller 154. In addition, notification by screen display may be used. If the binding is unsuccessful, a different notification may be used than for the successful binding.

  However, if there is more than one active controller 154 at step 224, the user is notified to select the V port to which the headphones 200 should be connected by the console 100. This notification may be executed acoustically or visually by visual on-screen display on the headphones 200 via the indicator 206. Referring now to FIGS. 6-9, the user selection of the V port can be made by dial or jog shuttle (FIG. 6), slider (FIG. 7), button (FIG. 8), or toggle switch (FIG. 9). ) Or the like. One skilled in the art will recognize that other mechanical input devices can be provided to make V port selections.

  The visual indicator 206 may include an LED for communicating to the user whose V port is selected on the headphones 200, a 7-segment display, and the like. Using an input device is useful for resolving or avoiding conflicts between multiple headphones and a particular controller 154. Furthermore, if multiple headphones are configured for the same V port, it is desirable that the first to be discovered is assigned to that V port. At step 232, the headphones 200 are discovered and bound to the selected V port by the console 100. In step 234, a notification that the binding was successful is provided. The notification can be similar to that described above.

  Alternatively, processing can be performed using a screen display. Because screen displays are used to configure many options for game play, users may feel that using screen displays is more familiar and easy to use to configure the device. This may be desirable. Referring now to FIG. 10, on-screen processing may begin when the user turns on the wireless headphones (step 240). Next, a button is pressed on the controller and the user proceeds to the options screen (steps 242 and 244). The option “Wireless Headphone Detection” may be presented, and if selected, the console initiates the binding process with the headphones (step 246). The screen display is presented in a state presented to the user to press the join button on the headphones (step 248). The user presses the headphones button, and the console accomplishes the binding process to connect the headphones to the controller. The headphones may then notify the user that the coupling and binding has been successful (step 250).

  As another alternative, the user powers on the wireless headphones and depresses the headphones button (steps 240 and 242). These two steps can be performed by simply pressing the power button once. The user presses a button on the controller and proceeds to options (step 244). Next, the user selects a button “assign wireless headphones” from the option screen (step 252). The console activates the process of coupling with the headphones, and binds the headphones to the V port of the controller that initiated the process. The headphones and / or screen display informs the user that the coupling and binding has been successful (step 250).

  The above process can be repeated for all users who wish to tie wireless headphones to their controller.

  Thus, as described above, the console 100 manages the connection of the headphones to the controller. The headphones are coupled to the console, allowing the management of headphones and other peripherals to evolve over time so that the console 100 can be updated with new features relatively easily. Furthermore, it is desirable that a one-to-one connection be made between the headphones and the controller.

  In addition to binding / discovery notifications, the user may be notified if the V port assignment is lost and / or re-linked. For example, the controller 100 connection should preferably last between the power / sleep cycle of the console 100. However, the discovery process of the radio controller may reassign the V port after the power cycle. This means that the controller 154 associated with V port 3 before its power cycle may later be associated with V port l. The headphone 200 is attached to the V port 1 according to the controller 154.

  The headphones 200 originally associated with the controller 154 should be attached to its newly assigned V port according to the controller 154. This can be achieved by some headphone identifier or, desirably, in contrast to the gamer profile used to bind the headphones 200 to the controller 154. In a later case, when a gamer signs in, the profile determines which headphones 200 should be associated with the controller 154 via the unique identifier of the headphones 200 associated with the gamer profile. . The controller 154 is autonomously assigned to the V port at the time of discovery, and the headphones 200 are then tied to that V port as described above.

  It is conceivable that the user may try to use wired headphones during game play. If wired headphones are inserted into the headphone jack on the controller, the wireless headphones connection will be broken in favor of the wired headphones. This is because wired headphones are being used because of user preferences, and accidental insertion of wired headphones is unlikely.

  In addition to controls for selecting the V port, the headphones may include controls for power on / off, microphone mute, volume up / down, console connection, and the like. Indicators may be provided for battery level (e.g., LED or audible alarm), headphones ON, etc. A buzzer or other audible sound mechanism may be provided to indicate the position of the missing headphones 200.

  Note that while the above process is described with respect to a wireless controller, it is equally applicable to a wired controller to which wireless headphones are bound.

  Although the present invention has been described in connection with a preferred embodiment comprising various drawings, other similar embodiments may be used to perform the same function of the present invention without departing therefrom. It should be understood that modifications or additions can be made to the described embodiments.

FIG. 6 is a block diagram illustrating a game console in which aspects of the present invention may be implemented. It is a figure which shows a controller and an LED indicator. FIG. 6 illustrates an example of one or more controllers / peripherals coupled and discovered by a console. FIG. 3 is a block diagram illustrating an example wireless device. FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating a representative process example executed to connect a wireless device to a peripheral device. It is a figure which shows the design example of a typical wireless device. It is a figure which shows the design example of a typical wireless device. It is a figure which shows the design example of a typical wireless device. It is a figure which shows the design example of a typical wireless device. FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating an example of an alternative process executed to connect a wireless device to a peripheral device. FIG. 9 is a diagram illustrating an alternative process example that is performed to tie a wireless device to a peripheral device.

Claims (20)

Radio to communicate with the console;
A selector for selecting a port setting used by a wireless communication device associated with a port assigned to a peripheral by the console;
An indicator representing the port setting, and
A wireless communication device, wherein communication associated with the peripheral device is communicated to the wireless communication device.   The wireless communication device of claim 1, wherein if the peripheral device is the only peripheral device assigned a port by the console, the port setting is autonomously assigned to the wireless communication device. .   The selector comprises a coupled input device, and when the coupled input device is activated, the wireless communication device is coupled to the console, and the console provides screen display options and discovers the wireless communication device; The wireless communication device according to claim 1.   The wireless communication device according to claim 1, wherein the wireless communication device is set to the port setting based on a user profile and an identifier associated with the peripheral device.   The wireless communication device of claim 1, wherein the notification comprises an audible component.   The wireless communication device according to claim 1, wherein the indicator is displayed in a predetermined order and transmits a notification that the wireless communication device has succeeded in connection with the peripheral device.   The wireless communication device of claim 1, wherein communication associated with the peripheral device is communicated between the wireless communication device and the console. A method for establishing a connection between a wireless device and a peripheral device that communicates with a computing device, comprising:
Invoking the merge procedure;
Recognizing the wireless device and coupling it to the computing device;
Configuring the wireless device to a port setting associated with a port assigned to a peripheral device;
A method of communicating data between the wireless device and the computing device, the data comprising being bound to the peripheral device.   9. The method of claim 8, further comprising: autonomously assigning the port settings if the peripheral is the only assigned peripheral that communicates with the computing device. The initiating step comprises:
Receiving input via a coupled input device;
9. The method of claim 8, further comprising: providing a screen display option to discover the wireless device.   The method of claim 10, further comprising: setting the wireless communication device to the port setting based on a selected screen display option.   The method of claim 8, further comprising providing a notification that the wireless device is associated with the peripheral.   The method of claim 12, further comprising the step of showing visual indicators in a predetermined order and communicating the notification.   9. The method of claim 8, wherein the setting further comprises receiving user input via a mechanical input device and setting the wireless device to the port setting. Establishing communication between a wireless device and the computing device;
Removing the association of the wireless device and the peripheral device;
9. The method of claim 8, further comprising: establishing the association between the wireless device and the peripheral device. The setting is
Accessing a user profile;
Determining peripheral device settings in the user profile;
The method of claim 7, further comprising: setting the port setting based on the setting of the peripheral device and the identifier of the peripheral device. A method of establishing a connection between wireless headphones and a game controller in communication with a game console, comprising:
Activating a coupling procedure and coupling the wireless headphones to the game console;
Setting the wireless headphones to a port setting associated with a port assigned to the game controller;
A method of communicating audio between the wireless headphones and the game console, the audio comprising being bound to the game controller and port. The initiating step comprises:
Providing a screen display option and discovering the wireless headphones;
The method of claim 17, further comprising: setting the wireless headphones to the port setting based on a selected screen display option.   The method of claim 17, further comprising the step of maintaining radio off in the game console until the combining procedure is activated. The setting is
Accessing the gamer profile;
Determining peripheral device settings in the gamer profile;
The method of claim 17, further comprising: setting the port setting based on the game controller setting and an identifier of the game controller.

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