JPH1119336A - Computer game controller - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a computer game controller provided with a vibration function. SOLUTION: A vibration device 7, mounted on the inside of the housing 2 of this computer game controller 1, comprises a permanent magnet 17 fixed to a rotatable arm 16 and a fixed electro-magnet 18 facing to the permanent magnet 17. The arm 16 provided with a rubber suspension 19 makes the permanent magnet 17 displace from the front surface of the electro-magnet 18. On the basis of the game software program, an electro-magnet driving circuit drives the electro-magnet 18 to make the permanent magnet 17 vibrate in the right and left direction. The reaction of the permanent magnet 17 makes the vibration device 7 and the housing 2 vibrate to give the vibration to operator's hands.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a computer game controller, and more particularly, to a computer game controller having a vibration function.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A driving simulation device for an automobile or an aircraft or a so-called arcade computer game machine is provided with a vibration device for applying vibration to a steering wheel or a control stick of a controller. It has been known. A typical example of a vibration device is to attach an eccentric weight to the shaft of a motor provided in the controller, control the rotation of the motor according to the operation of the controller, and generate vibration caused by the rotation of the eccentric weight, such as a steering wheel or a control stick There is something to communicate. This allows
For example, when a car enters a rough road in the simulation screen, when an aircraft enters turbulence, or when a gun is fired, vibration is given to the operator's hand via a steering wheel or a control stick. It is possible to make the user feel the actual operation feeling.

In a home computer game machine, if the controller can be vibrated in accordance with the content of the game, it is thought that the interest of the game will be increased. However, a simulator device or an arcade computer game machine with less space restrictions is considered. In contrast, incorporating a vibrating device having a conventional structure into a computer game controller that requires a reduction in size and weight is difficult in terms of space. In addition, if the size and the amount of eccentricity of the weight are reduced, the weight can be incorporated into a small controller housing. However, there is a problem that the vibration becomes weak and a sufficient vibration effect cannot be obtained.

[0004] Therefore, there arises a technical problem to be solved in order to provide a small computer game controller having an effective vibration performance, and the present invention has an object to solve the above problem. I do.

[0005]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention is proposed to achieve the above object. An arm is rotatably pivoted in a housing of a computer game controller, and a permanent magnet is attached to the arm. An electromagnet facing the permanent magnet, fixing an electromagnet facing the permanent magnet to the housing, and holding the permanent magnet at a rotational position displaced with respect to the electromagnet by interposing an elastic support such as rubber or a spring on the arm; The present invention provides a computer game controller capable of generating a vibration in the housing by supplying a pulse current to the electromagnet to attract / release the permanent magnet to swing the arm. .

[0006]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment of the present invention will be described below in detail with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 shows a computer game controller 1. A housing 2 is formed with a grip portion 3 extending from both left and right sides to the front side, and various function keys 4 such as start / stop and select are arranged on the right side of the upper surface of the housing 2. The cross key 5 is arranged on the left side. A trigger key 6 is provided at the front of the back surface of the left and right grip portions 3, and a vibration device 7 is provided in the distal end portion of the grip portion 3.
Is incorporated. The center 8 of the front edge of the housing 2 is a computer connection cable, and 9 in the housing 2 is a circuit board.

The vibrating device 7 is mounted on a vibrating device mounting seat 2a provided in a housing via an elastic rubber 10 so as to be able to vibrate freely. As shown in FIG. The boss 12, the suspension support rib 13, and the electromagnet mounting seat 14 are formed.
A round bar-shaped elastic rubber block 15 is provided on the arm mounting boss 12.
And an arm 16 is inserted into the elastic rubber block 15, and a permanent magnet 17 is attached to the tip of the arm 16.

The permanent magnet 17 faces the electromagnet 18 fixed to the electromagnet mounting seat 14, but the cup-shaped elastic rubber suspension 19 mounted on the suspension support rib 13 abuts on the left side surface of the intermediate portion of the arm 16, One pole of the permanent magnet 17 (the north pole on the left side in this embodiment) is the electromagnet 1
The arm 16 is maintained at a standby position opposite to the arm 8.

The electromagnet 18 is connected to an electromagnet drive circuit (not shown) on a circuit board, and a control circuit (not shown) outputs a control signal to the electromagnet drive circuit based on a computer game software program. The DC output polarity of the electromagnet drive circuit is set so that the arm-facing surface of the electromagnet 18 becomes the N pole, and the electromagnet 18 is driven by outputting a unipolar pulse current according to the control signal.

When power is supplied to the electromagnet 18, the N
The N pole of the permanent magnet 17 repels the pole and the S pole is attracted, the arm 16 to which the permanent magnet 17 is attached rotates clockwise in the figure, and the elastic rubber block 15 is twisted,
The rubber suspension 19 is compressed. At this time, a counterclockwise rotational force acts on the base frame 11 to which the electromagnet 18 is fixed, and the elastic rubber 1 supporting the vibrating device 7.
When the pulse current is turned off and the pulse current is turned off, the arm 16 returns to the standby position by the elastic restoring force of the rubber suspension 19 and the elastic rubber block 15 and turns on / off the pulse current.
The vibration device 7 vibrates when turned off. This vibration is transmitted to the housing 2 and gives vibration to the operator's hand.

By controlling the output pulse frequency, on / off duty ratio, and output voltage of the electromagnet drive circuit by the control circuit, the vibration frequency and vibration acceleration generated by the vibration device can be changed. These controls depend on a computer game software program.For example, in a car driving simulation game, by changing the cycle and acceleration of vibration generated in the controller according to the state of the running road surface and the running speed. , It is possible to give a simulated experience closer to the actual driving feeling.

Note that the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment.
Also, even if the electromagnet 18 is directly mounted in the housing 2, the same operation and effect as those of the above embodiment can be obtained.
In FIG. 1, the vibration devices 7 are provided in the left and right grip portions 3, respectively. However, one vibration device 7 may be arranged on either the left or right or in the center of the housing 2. Various modifications are possible within the scope,
Of course, the invention extends to those modifications.

[0013]

As described above, the present invention forms a vibration device by combining an electromagnet and a permanent magnet, and drives the electromagnet to reciprocate the permanent magnet, thereby generating vibration in the entire controller. In addition, it is possible to provide a small-sized computer game controller having a high response speed, a high vibration generation capability, and easy control of a vibration frequency and an amplitude.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a partially cutaway front view of a computer game controller, showing an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a front sectional view of a vibration device of the computer game controller.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Computer game controller 2 Housing 2a Vibration device mounting seat 3 Grip part 7 Vibration device 10 Elastic rubber 11 Base frame 15 Elastic rubber block 16 Arm 17 Permanent magnet 18 Electromagnet 19 Rubber suspension

Claims (2)

[Claims] An arm is rotatably mounted in a housing of a computer game controller, a permanent magnet is mounted on the arm, an electromagnet facing the permanent magnet is fixed to the housing, and a rubber or a spring is mounted on the arm. The permanent magnet is held at a rotational position displaced with respect to the electromagnet by interposing an elastic support member such as the like, and a pulse current is supplied to the electromagnet from an electromagnet drive circuit to attract / release the permanent magnet. A computer game controller capable of swinging the arm to generate vibration in the housing. 2. The computer game controller according to claim 1, further comprising a control circuit for controlling a frequency, a duty ratio, a voltage, and the like of an output pulse of the electromagnet drive circuit.