JPH119838A - Computer game controller - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a computer game controller provided with a vibrating function. SOLUTION: A DC motor 10 is fitted through a sponge rubber piece 13 in the inside of the housing 2 of a computer game controller 1. One end of a loop type helical spring 11 is fitted to the shaft of the DC motor 10 and a weight 12 is fitted to the other end thereof. A motor-drive circuit drives the DC motor 10 on the basis of a software program of the computer game to rotate the weight 12 and give vibration to a player through a vibrator 7 and the housing 2 by means of the centrifugal force of the weight.

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, it is not impossible to assemble the weight into a small controller housing, but there is a problem that a sufficient vibration effect cannot be obtained due to a reduction in vibration generation capability.

[0004] Therefore, there arises a technical problem to be solved in order to provide a small-sized computer game controller having an effective vibration generation performance, and an object of the present invention is to solve the above problem. And

[0005]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention proposes to achieve the above object. A motor is mounted in a housing of a computer game controller via an elastic support such as sponge rubber or a spring. By coupling one end of a helical spring to the rotating shaft of the motor, attaching a weight to the tip of the helical spring, and driving the motor by a motor control circuit to rotate the weight, vibration is applied to the housing. An object of the present invention is to provide a computer game controller capable of generating the same.

[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 has a helical spring 11 attached to the rotating shaft of a DC motor 10 and a weight 12 attached to the tip of the helical spring 11. A sponge rubber 13 is attached to the outer peripheral surface of the DC motor 10. It is bonded and inserted into a motor mount 2a integrally formed in the housing 2.

FIG. 2 shows an arcuate helical spring 11, in which a coil part 11a is formed at one end and a loop part 11b for attaching a weight 12 is formed at the other end. The inner diameter of the coil portion 11a is slightly smaller than the outer diameter of the rotating shaft of the DC motor 10, and the inner diameter of the loop portion 11b is substantially equal to the outer diameter of the shaft portion 12a of the rivet-shaped weight 12 shown in FIG.

The weight 1 is attached to the loop portion 11b of the helical spring 11.
2 shaft portion 12a is inserted, and the weight 12 is caulked from above and below and fixed to the loop portion 11b.
The helical spring 11 and the weight 12 which are press-fitted into the 0 rotation shaft are attached to the DC motor 10.

The DC motor 10 is connected to a motor drive circuit (not shown) of the circuit board 9 and has a control circuit (not shown).
Outputs a control signal to a motor drive circuit based on a computer game software program. The motor drive circuit outputs a DC current according to the control signal to drive the DC motor 10.

When the DC motor 10 is started, the weight 12 attached via the helical spring 11 rotates around the rotation axis, and the DC motor 10 is moved by the centrifugal force of the weight 12.
And the eccentric rotation is performed within a range where the sponge rubber 13 is deformed, and the vibration is transmitted to the motor mount portion 2a and the housing 2 via the sponge rubber 13 to give a vibration to the operator's hand.

The vibration frequency and the vibration acceleration can be changed by controlling the drive voltage by a motor drive voltage control circuit (not shown) to change the rotation speed of the DC motor 10. 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.

As a result of the experiment, the vibration device 7 in which the weight 12 is oscillatably connected to the rotation shaft of the motor 10 via the helical spring 11 is more than the conventional vibration device in which the eccentric weight is rigidly connected to the rotation shaft of the motor. In addition, it was confirmed that the rate of change of vibration and the response speed of change in vibration acceleration with respect to the change in applied voltage were improved, the magnitude of the vibration was easily changed, and the weight of the weight could be significantly reduced.

The present invention can be variously modified within the technical scope of the present invention, and the shape of the spring and the mounting means can be replaced with various shapes and means.
The present invention is not limited to the above embodiment. Although the vibration devices 7 are provided in the left and right grip portions 3 in FIG. 1, one vibration device 7 may be disposed on either the left or right or in the center of the housing 2. It goes without saying that it extends to modified ones.

[0015]

As described above, according to the present invention, the weight and the motor are connected by a helical spring, and the weight is rotationally driven to generate vibration in the entire controller. Compared to the rigidly coupled conventional vibration device, the rate of change of vibration and the response speed to the applied voltage change are improved, and the vibration generation performance is significantly improved compared to the conventional type. A computer game controller that is lightweight and has good vibration generation performance can be provided.

[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.

FIGS. 2A and 2B show a helical spring of the vibration device, wherein FIG. 2A is a front view and FIG. 2B is a side view.

3A and 3B show a weight of the vibration device, FIG. 3A is a front view, and FIG.
Is a bottom view.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Computer game controller 2 Housing 2a Motor mount part 3 Grip part 7 Vibration device 10 DC motor 11 Vine spring 12 Weight 13 Sponge rubber

Claims (2)

[Claims] 1. A motor is mounted in a housing of a computer game controller via an elastic support such as sponge rubber or a spring, and one end of a helical spring is connected to a rotating shaft of the motor, and a tip of the helical spring is provided. A computer game controller, wherein a vibration is generated in the housing by attaching a weight to the unit and driving the motor by a motor control circuit to rotate the weight. 2. The computer game controller according to claim 1, wherein said motor is a DC motor, and a drive voltage control circuit for adjusting a rotation speed of said DC motor is provided.