WO2020217374A1

WO2020217374A1 - Controller

Info

Publication number: WO2020217374A1
Application number: PCT/JP2019/017595
Authority: WO
Inventors: 幸一郎天野; 良典小西
Original assignee: 株式会社ホリ
Priority date: 2019-04-25
Filing date: 2019-04-25
Publication date: 2020-10-29

Abstract

A controller (1) comprises: an analog joystick (2) having a lever (20); a housing (10) that holds the analog joy stick (2); and a plurality of guide rings (3, 4, 5) that restrict the maximum inclination angle in each inclination direction of the lever (20) of the analog joystick (2). Any of the plurality of guide rings (3, 4, 5) can be attached to and detached from the housing (10). One of the plurality of guide rings (3, 4, 5) is attached to the housing (10), thereby restricting the maximum inclination angle in each inclination direction of the lever (20) of the analog joystick (2). The forms of restriction of the plurality of guide rings (3, 4, 5) are mutually different.

Description

controller

The present invention relates to a controller.

Patent Document 1 (Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2003-236246) is used by being connected to a video game machine that generates game image data for displaying a game image on a monitor, and the video game machine can change the game image. It discloses an operation device for a game machine that outputs an operation signal according to an operation of an operator. This game console operating device is equipped with a handheld housing, grip, and analog joystick.

The analog joystick is formed on the surface of the housing where the thumb is extended when the grip is gripped. The analog joystick can be tilted in any direction with a single thumb. The analog joystick outputs an operation signal for changing the game image depending on the tilt angle and tilt direction.

Furthermore, the analog joystick is equipped with a lever and a signal generator. The lever has a height that protrudes above the surface of the housing and can be tilted in any direction. By operating the lever, the signal generating unit generates an operation signal according to the angle and direction in which the lever is tilted.

The housing is formed around the analog joystick and is equipped with a guide ring that guides the lever. The guide ring is formed in an octagonal planar shape that guides the lever in eight directions of up, down, left, right, and intermediate positions when the lever is tilted to the maximum tilt position.

The guide ring of the operation device for the game machine described above is suitable for guiding the lever in eight directions when the lever is tilted to the maximum tilt position. Further, a guide ring that does not guide the lever in any direction when the lever is tilted to the maximum tilt position is also conventionally known.

By the way, whether to guide the lever in a specific direction when the lever is tilted to the maximum tilt position, or in which direction to guide the lever, should be determined according to the genre of the game and the play style of the user. Is desirable. Therefore, the user prepares operation devices for a plurality of game machines having different guide ring shapes in advance, selects the one suitable for the genre of the game actually played and his / her own play style, and connects to the video game machine. I had to do it.

Therefore, the purpose of this disclosure is to provide a controller that can flexibly respond to the genre of the game and the play style of the user.

According to the first aspect of the present invention, a stick input unit having a lever, a housing for holding the stick input unit, and a plurality of guides for regulating a maximum tilt angle of the stick input unit for each tilt direction of the lever. A ring and the plurality of guide rings are all detachable from the housing, and by attaching any one of the plurality of guide rings to the housing, the tilting direction of the lever of the stick input unit. A controller is provided that is configured to regulate each maximum tilt angle, and the regulation modes of the plurality of guide rings are different from each other.
According to the second aspect of the present invention, a stick input unit having a lever, a housing for holding the stick input unit, and a guide ring for regulating the maximum inclination angle of the lever in each inclination direction of the stick input unit. , And the guide ring is provided with a controller that is removable to the housing.

According to the present disclosure, a controller that can flexibly respond to the genre of the game and the play style of the user is realized.

It is a top view of the controller. (First Embodiment) It is a perspective view of an analog joystick. (First Embodiment) It is a perspective view of the analog joystick with the guide ring removed. (First Embodiment) It is a perspective view of the 4-direction type guide ring. (First Embodiment) It is sectional drawing of an analog joystick. (First Embodiment) It is a top view of the 8-direction guide ring. (First Embodiment) It is a top view of the non-directional guide ring. (First Embodiment) It is sectional drawing of an analog joystick. (Second Embodiment)

(First Embodiment)
Hereinafter, the first embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 to 7. FIG. 1 is a plan view of the controller 1. 2 and 3 are perspective views of the analog joystick 2. FIG. 4 is a perspective view of the four-way guide ring 3. FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view of the analog joystick 2. FIG. 6 is a plan view of the 8-direction guide ring 4. FIG. 7 is a plan view of the non-directional guide ring 5.

In the present embodiment, the controller 1 is used by being connected to a stationary video game machine that generates game image data for displaying a game image on a monitor, and outputs an operation signal for changing the game image according to a user's operation. Is what you do. However, the controller 1 may be built in a portable video game machine having a monitor and output an operation signal for changing a game image according to a user's operation.

As shown in FIG. 1, the controller 1 includes a housing 10, a cross direction switch 11, an analog joystick 2 as a stick input unit, and four operation instruction switches 12. However, the number of operation instruction switches 12 is not limited to four. As shown in FIG. 1, the controller 1 further includes a four-way guide ring 3. Further, the controller 1 further includes an 8-direction guide ring 4 shown in FIG. 6 and a non-directional guide ring 5 shown in FIG. 7. The controller 1 includes at least one, two, or three of the four-way guide ring 3, the eight-way guide ring 4, and the non-directional guide ring 5. The controller 1 may further include other guide rings.

The housing 10 holds a cross direction switch 11, an analog joystick 2, and four operation instruction switches 12. The housing 10 has an outer surface 10a. A part of the cross direction switch 11, the analog joystick 2, and the four operation instruction switches 12 are exposed on the outer surface 10a of the housing 10 so that the user can operate them.

As shown in FIG. 3, a seating surface 10b is formed on the outer surface 10a of the housing 10 for any one of the four-way guide ring 3, the eight-way guide ring 4, and the non-directional guide ring 5 to be seated. ing. The seating surface 10b is, for example, a flat surface. However, the seating surface 10b may be a curved surface. A lever through hole 10c and two positioning holes 10d are formed on the seating surface 10b. A plurality of hook receiving portions 10e are formed on the inner peripheral edge of the lever through hole 10c.

Returning to FIG. 1, the cross direction switch 11 has four momentary switches (not shown) and a cross direction switch cover 11a that covers these momentary switches. Each operation instruction switch 12 is a momentary switch. Since the cross-direction switch 11 and each operation instruction switch 12 have known configurations, their description will be omitted.

As shown in FIG. 5, the analog joystick 2 includes a lever 20, an inclination detection unit 21, and a signal generation unit 22.

The lever 20 has a height that protrudes from the outer surface 10a of the housing 10, and can be tilted in any direction. The lever 20 is in a neutral state upright with respect to the outer surface 10a as shown in FIG. 5 in a no-load state by a compression coil spring (not shown). The lever 20 has a columnar lever body 30 and an operation knob 31 provided at the tip of the lever body 30. The lever body 30 faces the 4-way guide ring 3 in the radial direction of the lever body 30. The operation knob 31 has a larger diameter than the lever body 30. That is, the operation knob 31 has an outer diameter of 31D.

The tilt detection unit 21 detects the tilt direction and tilt angle of the lever 20. Since the specific configuration of the tilt detection unit 21 is known, the description thereof will be omitted.

The signal generation unit 22 generates an operation signal according to the inclination direction and inclination angle of the lever 20 detected by the inclination detection unit 21.

As shown in FIG. 2, the 4-way guide ring 3 is formed in a ring shape and is detachably attached to the housing 10. The four-way guide ring 3 is for regulating the maximum tilt angle for each tilt direction of the lever 20. In other words, the 4-way guide ring 3 determines and controls the maximum tilt angle for each tilt direction of the lever 20.

As shown in FIG. 2, the four-way guide ring 3 has a guide opening 40. When the lever 20 is tilted in the guide opening 40, the lever body 30 of the lever 20 eventually comes into contact with the opening edge 41 of the guide opening 40, and further tilting of the lever 20 is prohibited. Therefore, the maximum inclination angle of the lever 20 can be individually set for each inclination direction by changing the distance from the center of the opening edge 41 in the plan view for each inclination direction.

Specifically, the opening edge 41 of the guide opening 40 of the four-way guide ring 3 has four concave portions 42 recessed in a V shape so as to be convex outward in the radial direction in four directions orthogonal to each other, and a circle. It is composed of four arc portions 43 arranged between two recesses 42 adjacent to each other in the circumferential direction. Therefore, when the lever body 30 of the lever 20 is in contact with any of the arc portions 43, the user can delicately adjust the inclination direction of the lever 20. Further, when the lever body 30 of the lever 20 is fitted in any of the recesses 42, it is difficult to change the tilting direction of the lever 20, so that the tilting direction of the lever 20 can be easily maintained.

The 8-direction guide ring 4 of FIG. 6 and the non-directional guide ring 5 of FIG. 7 are formed in a ring shape like the above-mentioned 4-direction guide ring 3, and can be attached to and detached from the housing 10. It is configured.

As shown in FIG. 6, the opening edge 51 of the guide opening 50 of the 8-way guide ring 4 has an octagonal shape in a plan view. Therefore, when the 8-direction guide ring 4 is attached to the housing 10 instead of the 4-direction guide ring 3, when the user tilts the lever 20 in the 8 directions specified by the 8-direction guide ring 4, the user can use the 8-direction guide ring 4. Easy to maintain the tilt direction.

As shown in FIG. 7, the opening edge 61 of the guide opening 60 of the non-directional guide ring 5 is formed in a perfect circle in a plan view. Therefore, when the non-directional guide ring 5 is attached to the housing 10 instead of the 4-way guide ring 3, the user can change the current tilt direction without receiving any resistance when the lever 20 is tilted. , The tilt direction can be changed freely.

As shown in FIG. 4, eight hooks 71 and two positioning pins 72 are integrally formed with the four-way guide ring 3 on the lower surface 70 of the four-way guide ring 3. However, the number of hooks 71 is not limited to eight. The number of positioning pins 72 is not limited to two.

Then, as shown in FIG. 5, by claw fitting each hook 71 to each hook receiving portion 10e of the housing 10, the lower surface 70 of the four-way guide ring 3 is seated on the seating surface 10b of the housing 10. A four-way guide ring 3 is attached to the housing 10. Further, at this time, by inserting each positioning pin 72 into each positioning hole 10d, there is no rotational deviation of the four-way guide ring 3 with respect to the housing 10 in the circumferential direction.

Similarly to the above-mentioned four-way guide ring 3, eight hooks 71 and two positioning pins 72 are integrally formed on the eight-direction guide ring 4 and the non-directional guide ring 5 shown in FIGS. 6 and 7. There is.

As shown in FIGS. 2 and 5, the controller 1 further includes an expansion operation knob 80. As shown in FIG. 5, the expansion operation knob 80 is attached to the operation knob 31 of the lever 20 to substantially increase the diameter of the operation knob 31 and thereby improve the operability of the lever 20. is there. The expansion operation knob 80 is made of a flexible material such as silicone rubber, and is formed in a U-shaped cross section that opens inward in the radial direction. When attaching the expansion operation knob 80 to the operation knob 31 of the lever 20, the expansion operation knob 80 may be stretched to increase the diameter, and the diameter may be reduced by elastic recovery so as to wrap the operation knob 31.

As shown in FIG. 5, the outer diameter 80D of the expansion operation knob 80 is larger than the minimum inner diameter 3D of the 4-way guide ring 3. Further, the minimum inner diameter 3D of the 4-way guide ring 3 is larger than the outer diameter 31D of the operation knob 31 of the lever 20. Therefore, the expansion operation knob 80 attached to the operation knob 31 of the lever 20 cannot penetrate the guide opening 40 of the four-way guide ring 3. On the other hand, the lever body 30 and the operation knob 31 of the lever 20 are configured to be able to penetrate the guide opening 40 of the four-way guide ring 3.

When removing the 4-way guide ring 3 from the housing 10 with the above configuration, first, the expansion operation knob 80 may be removed from the operation knob 31 of the lever 20, and the 4-way guide ring 3 may be pulled out upward. Further, when the four-way guide ring 3 is attached to the housing 10, the outer diameter 31D of the operation knob 31 of the lever 20 is substantially expanded by attaching the expansion operation knob 80 to the operation knob 31 of the lever 20 again. Therefore, the operability of the lever 20 is improved.

According to the controller 1, the user will play from the four-way guide ring 3 shown in FIG. 2, the eight-way guide ring 4 shown in FIG. 6, and the non-directional guide ring 5 shown in FIG. High operability of the analog joystick 2 can be ensured by selecting an appropriate guide ring according to the genre of the game to be played and one's own play style and mounting it on the housing 10. Further, it is not necessary to prepare a plurality of types of controllers in advance in order to realize the operability of the analog joystick 2.

Although the first embodiment has been described above, the first embodiment has the following features.

The controller 1 includes an analog joystick 2 (stick input unit) having a lever 20, a housing 10 holding the analog joystick 2, and a plurality of guide rings 3 for regulating the maximum tilt angle of the lever 20 of the analog joystick 2 in each tilt direction.・ It is equipped with 4 and 5. The plurality of guide rings 3, 4, and 5 are all removable from the housing 10. By attaching any one of the plurality of guide rings 3, 4, and 5 to the housing 10, the maximum tilt angle of the lever 20 of the analog joystick 2 in each tilt direction is regulated. The regulation modes of the plurality of guide rings 3, 4, and 5 are different from each other. In other words, the regulatory patterns of the plurality of guide rings 3, 4, and 5 are different from each other. In other words, the shapes of the plurality of guide rings 3, 4, and 5 are different from each other. In other words, the plan-view shapes of the opening edges of the guide openings of the plurality of guide rings 3, 4, and 5 are different from each other. According to the above configuration, a controller that can flexibly respond to the game genre and the user's play style is realized.

Note that the controller 1 may be provided with at least two or more guide rings having different regulation modes, instead of providing the three guide rings 3, 4, and 5 having different regulation modes.

Further, for example, as shown in FIGS. 2 to 4, the plurality of guide rings 3, 4, and 5 are all removable from the outside of the housing 10 to the housing 10. According to the above configuration, the controller 1 in which the guide rings 3, 4, and 5 can be easily replaced is realized.

Further, as shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, for example, the plurality of guide rings 3, 4, and 5 are all removable by fitting the claws to the housing 10. According to the above configuration, the guide rings 3, 4, and 5 can be attached to and detached from the housing 10 with a simple configuration. At least one of the plurality of guide rings 3, 4, and 5 may be detachably attached to the housing 10 by claw fitting.

Further, for example, as shown in FIG. 5, the lever 20 includes a lever body 30 and an operation knob 31 formed on the upper end of the lever body 30. The operation knob 31 can penetrate the guide opening 40 (ring hole) of the 4-way guide ring 3. According to the above configuration, the operation knob 31 does not get in the way when the 4-way guide ring 3 is removed from the housing 10.

Further, for example, as shown in FIG. 5, the controller 1 further includes an expansion operation knob 80 that can be attached to and detached from the operation knob 31. According to the above configuration, since the substantially outer diameter of the operation knob 31 can be expanded, the operability of the operation knob 31 can be improved.

Further, for example, as shown in FIG. 5, the expansion operation knob 80 may not be able to penetrate the guide opening 40 (ring hole) of the 4-way guide ring 3 in a state of being attached to the operation knob 31. That is, when removing the four-way guide ring 3 from the housing 10, the expansion operation knob 80 may be removed from the operation knob 31 in advance.

The controller 1 includes an analog joystick 2 (stick input unit) having a lever 20, a housing 10 holding the analog joystick 2, and a four-way guide ring that regulates the maximum tilt angle of the lever 20 of the analog joystick 2 in each tilt direction. 3 and. The 4-way guide ring 3 is removable from the housing 10. According to the above configuration, the controller 1 that can flexibly correspond to the genre of the game and the play style of the user is realized. Further, when the 4-way guide ring 3 is worn out due to use, the life of the controller 1 can be extended by replacing only the 4-way guide ring 3 with a new one.

When a finger is pressed against the expansion operation knob 80, the air inside the expansion operation knob 80 is pushed out, and the pressure inside the expansion operation knob 80 becomes negative. As a result, the pressed finger is attracted to the expansion operation knob 80. Therefore, the operability of the analog joystick 2 is further improved.

(Second Embodiment)
Hereinafter, the second embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. Hereinafter, the present embodiment will be mainly described as being different from the first embodiment, and overlapping description will be omitted.

For example, as shown in FIG. 5, in the first embodiment, the four-way guide ring 3 is detachable from the housing 10 by claw fitting.

On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 8, in the present embodiment, the 4-way guide ring 3 is detachably attached to the housing 10 by magnetic coupling. That is, an annular guide magnet 90 is embedded in the lower surface 70 of the four-way guide ring 3. Further, an annular housing magnet 91 is embedded in the seating surface 10b of the housing 10. Then, when the lower surface 70 of the 4-way guide ring 3 is seated on the seating surface 10b of the housing 10, the guide magnet 90 and the housing magnet 91 are magnetically coupled, so that the 4-way guide ring 3 is attached to the housing 10. The same applies to the 8-direction guide ring 4 and the non-directional guide ring 5.

The 4-way guide ring 3 may be detachably attached to the housing 10 by using double-sided tape, a hook-and-loop fastener, a screw connection, an adhesive having a weak adhesive force, or the like. The same applies to the 8-direction guide ring 4 and the non-directional guide ring 5.

In the present embodiment, as a specific example of the controller, as shown in FIG. 1, a pad-type controller that operates the stick input unit while holding a housing for holding the stick input unit such as an analog joystick with both hands has been illustrated. Not limited to this. Other specific examples of the controller include a controller for a fighting game or an aircraft game in which the stick input unit is operated while the housing holding the stick input unit is placed on a table, for example.

1 Controller 2 Analog joystick 3 4-way guide ring 3D minimum inner diameter 4 8-way guide ring 5 non-directional guide ring 10 housing 10a outer surface 10b seating surface 10c lever through hole 10d positioning hole 10e hook receiving part 11 cross direction switch 11a cross Direction switch cover 12 Operation instruction switch 20 Lever 21 Tilt detection part 22 Signal generation part 30 Lever body 31 Operation knob 31D Outer diameter 40 Guide opening 41 Opening edge 42 Recessed 43 Arc part 50 Guide opening 51 Opening edge 60 Guide opening 61 Opening edge 70 Bottom surface 71 Hook 72 Positioning pin 80 Expansion operation knob 80D Outer diameter 90 Guide magnet 91 Housing magnet

Claims

A stick input unit with a lever and
A housing that holds the stick input unit and
A plurality of guide rings that regulate the maximum tilt angle for each tilt direction of the lever of the stick input unit, and
With
The plurality of guide rings are all removable from the housing.
By attaching any one of the plurality of guide rings to the housing, the maximum tilt angle of the lever of the stick input unit in each tilt direction is regulated.
The regulation modes of the plurality of guide rings are different from each other.
controller.
The controller according to claim 1.
The plurality of guide rings are all removable from the outside of the housing to the housing.
controller.
The controller according to claim 2.
Any one of the plurality of guide rings can be attached to and detached from the housing by claw fitting.
controller.
The controller according to claim 2.
Any one of the plurality of guide rings can be attached to and detached from the housing by magnetic coupling.
controller.
The controller according to any one of claims 2 to 4.
The lever includes a lever body and an operation knob formed on the upper end of the lever body.
The operation knob can penetrate the ring hole of the guide ring.
controller.
The controller according to claim 5.
The operation knob is further provided with a removable expansion operation knob.
controller.
The controller according to claim 6.
The expansion operation knob cannot penetrate the ring hole of the guide ring in a state of being attached to the operation knob.
controller.
A stick input unit with a lever and
A housing that holds the stick input unit and
A guide ring that regulates the maximum tilt angle of the lever of the stick input unit in each tilt direction, and
With
The guide ring is removable from the housing.
controller.
The controller according to claim 8.
The guide ring is removable from the outside of the housing to the housing.
controller.