Low dead band rocker control

Abstract

The utility model discloses a low dead area rocker controller, include: the rocker body, the rocker cap of setting in the upper end of rocker body, be in the first response module of the first electric capacity that can form with finger electric capacity response connection in the rocker cap, wear in the electrically connected electrically conductive rod of rocker body and with the first response module, interval be in the lower extreme of electrically conductive rod and with electrically conductive rod electric capacity response connection form the second electric capacity of second response module and with second response module electrically connected touch response module and with touch response module electrically connected microcontroller. The utility model is through the design one electrically conductive rod in the rocker body, and the first response module of setting in the rocker cap and setting second response module on the PCB board realize electric capacity response connection with both ends of electrically conductive rod respectively, ingeniously utilize the structure of rocker body, has simplified the structure space inside controller.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This utility model belongs to the field of joystick controller technology, and in particular relates to a low dead zone joystick controller. Background Technology

[0002] In various gaming peripherals, such as game controllers and VR devices, the joystick is a very common and important component. The performance of the joystick directly affects the user experience, and the size of the dead zone is a crucial parameter for joystick performance. A larger dead zone requires a greater tilting angle to activate the joystick, affecting the precision of user control. A smaller dead zone allows the joystick to activate automatically, but due to structural inconsistencies and temperature variations, joysticks with smaller dead zones are prone to drift (drift refers to the phenomenon where the joystick outputs commands without being touched, resulting in incorrect actions by the game character or device; i.e., zero-point drift). The size of the joystick's dead zone is related to various factors, such as its physical structure, the electronic design, and the software control methods used.

[0003] Existing technologies that reduce dead zone by optimizing the joystick structure generally simplify the structure to reduce friction, relying on the spring's rebound force to return the joystick to the center point, i.e., centering. The drawback of this method is that when the joystick is slowly rocked at a small angle, the spring deformation is small, the rebound force is weak, and the centering accuracy is poor. Furthermore, the physical structure itself has inherent limitations in centering accuracy due to manufacturing and assembly tolerances. Existing technologies that reduce dead zone by changing the electronic scheme generally replace the original carbon film potentiometer with a Hall effect device, using a non-contact method to reduce friction and improve centering accuracy. The disadvantage of this Hall effect device method is its sensitivity to temperature changes; large temperature variations may cause the previously calibrated joystick to drift. Moreover, Hall effect devices require a magnet, and the magnetic flux of the magnet also changes with temperature. Existing technologies that reduce dead zone through software control generally involve calibrating each joystick and then setting a relatively small dead zone. This method allows most joysticks to function normally, but it still cannot overcome the shortcomings of the physical structure and assembly itself, as well as drift caused by temperature changes. Existing technologies also include methods to reduce the dead zone of the joystick by using springs and connecting wires to detect whether a hand is operating the joystick and processing the joystick data accordingly, such as patent application number 202011052405.1. This method involves a wire that swings with the joystick, which is prone to fatigue breakage due to the swinging motion, leading to lifespan issues. Furthermore, the reaction force generated by the wire's swinging motion can affect the smoothness of the joystick's movement. Therefore, it is necessary to improve this method. Patent publication number CN222816259U discloses a method that uses the joystick skirt as a first sensing module and a second sensing module fixed to the inner wall of the handle's outer shell for capacitive sensing connection. However, using the entire joystick skirt as the first sensing module results in poor stability, easily generating interference signals or causing accidental contact with the second sensing module on the inner wall of the handle's outer shell, thus failing to form a second capacitor and affecting the joystick's function. Utility Model Content

[0004] This invention addresses the technical problem of interference signals easily generated by the sensing module of the low dead zone joystick controller, and aims to provide a low dead zone joystick controller.

[0005] The low dead-zone joystick controller of this utility model includes:

[0006] The rocker body and the rocker cap sleeved on the upper end of the rocker body;

[0007] A first sensing module that can be connected to a finger capacitive sensor to form a first capacitor, the first sensing module being disposed inside the rocker cap;

[0008] A conductive rod is inserted into the rocker arm body, and the upper end of the conductive rod is electrically connected to the first sensing module.

[0009] The second sensing module is spaced apart at the lower end of the conductive rod and is capacitively connected to the conductive rod to form a second capacitor;

[0010] The touch sensing module is electrically connected to the second sensing module;

[0011] The microcontroller is electrically connected to the touch sensing module.

[0012] Preferably, the controller includes a PCB board, and the second sensing module, the touch sensing module and the microcontroller are all mounted on the PCB board.

[0013] Preferably, the joystick body has:

[0014] The joystick seat cavity is fixed on the PCB board, and the second sensing module is located under the bottom wall of the joystick seat cavity;

[0015] The movable rod has an upper section extending out of the rocker arm seat cavity and a lower section extending into the rocker arm seat cavity. The movable rod has a through hole in the center and the upper end of the movable rod is inserted into the rocker arm cap.

[0016] The conductive rod includes:

[0017] A connecting rod is inserted into the through hole of the movable rod, and the first sensing module is electrically connected to the upper end of the connecting rod.

[0018] The movable disk is movably located on the upper surface of the bottom wall of the rocker arm seat cavity and electrically installed at the lower end of the connecting rod. The movable disk is capacitively connected to the second sensing module to form a second capacitor.

[0019] Preferably, the conductive rod further includes a spring, which is embedded in the lower section of the through hole of the movable rod, the upper section of the spring is sleeved on the lower section of the connecting rod, and the lower section of the spring is sleeved on the head of the movable disc.

[0020] Preferably,

[0021] The first sensing module is the first sensing element;

[0022] The second sensing module is the second sensing element.

[0023] Preferably,

[0024] The first sensing element is made of metal or has a metal coating on its surface;

[0025] The second sensing element is made of metal or has a metal coating on its surface, or the second sensing element is a copper layer on a PCB board;

[0026] The connecting rod is made of metal or has a metal coating on its surface;

[0027] The movable plate is made of metal or has a surface coated with metal material.

[0028] Preferably, the upper end of the rocker cap is fitted with an insulating mushroom-shaped cap.

[0029] Preferably, the touch sensing module is integrated on the microcontroller.

[0030] Preferably, the second sensing module is electrically connected to the touch sensing module through copper foil traces on the PCB board.

[0031] Preferably, the bottom of the movable plate has a concave clearance position.

[0032] The positive and progressive effects of this utility model are as follows:

[0033] 1) The low dead zone joystick controller of this utility model designs a conductive rod inside the joystick body. The first sensing module inside the joystick cap and the second sensing module on the PCB board are respectively connected to the two ends of the conductive rod by capacitive sensing. By cleverly utilizing the structure of the joystick body, no additional structural space is needed in the controller, thus simplifying the internal structural space of the controller.

[0034] 2) The low dead zone joystick controller of this utility model adopts the connection between the finger and the first sensing module inside the joystick cap through capacitive sensing technology, thereby realizing human contact detection to solve the drift problem of the low dead zone joystick. This solution also avoids the centering error caused by the limitations of the joystick's own structure, the centering error caused by temperature changes, and the lifespan problem caused by wire connections, while not affecting the smoothness of joystick operation. Attached Figure Description

[0035] Figure 1 This is a cross-sectional view of the low dead zone rocker controller of this utility model;

[0036] Figure 2 This is a schematic diagram illustrating the working principle of the low dead zone rocker controller of this utility model.

[0037] Figure 3 This is another working principle diagram of the low dead zone rocker controller of this utility model. Detailed Implementation

[0038] The following specific examples illustrate the implementation of this utility model. Those skilled in the art can easily understand other advantages and effects of this utility model from the content disclosed in this specification. This utility model can also be implemented or applied through other different specific embodiments, and various details in this specification can also be modified or changed based on different viewpoints and applications without departing from the spirit of this utility model.

[0039] In the description of this utility model, it should be noted that the terms "first" and "second" are used for descriptive purposes only and should not be construed as indicating or implying relative importance or implicitly specifying the number of technical features indicated, nor should they be construed as limiting the specific protection scope of this utility model.

[0040] like Figure 1 As shown, this utility model provides a low dead-zone joystick controller, which includes: a joystick body 11, a joystick cap 12, a conductive rod 13, a first sensing module, a second sensing module, a touch sensing module 16, a microcontroller 17, and a PCB board 18. The joystick cap 12 is fitted onto the upper end of the joystick body 11. The first sensing module is a first sensing element 14 embedded in the joystick cap 12, and the first sensing element 14 is made of metal or has a metal coating, capable of connecting with a finger 10 according to the capacitive sensing principle to form a first capacitor C1. The conductive rod 13 passes through the joystick body 11, and the conductive rod 13 is made of metal or has a metal coating. Its upper end is electrically connected to the first sensing element 14, and its lower end is capacitively connected to the second sensing module to form a second capacitor. The second sensing module is a second sensing element 15, which is made of metal or has a metal coating, or the second sensing element 15 is a copper layer on the PCB board 18.

[0041] In this example, continue as follows Figure 1As shown, the joystick body 11 includes a joystick seat cavity 111 and a movable rod 112. The joystick seat cavity 111 is located on the PCB board 18. The upper section of the movable rod 112 extends out of the joystick seat cavity 111, and the lower section of the movable rod 112 extends into the joystick seat cavity 111. The second sensing module 15 is located under the bottom wall of the joystick seat cavity 111. The upper end of the movable rod 112 is inserted into the joystick cap 12 to follow the movement of the driven joystick cap 12. The conductive rod 13 further includes a connecting rod 131, a movable disk 132, and a spring 133. The connecting rod 131 passes through a through hole in the center of the movable rod 112, and its upper end is electrically connected to the first sensing element 14 embedded in the rocker cap 12. The movable disk 132 is located on the upper surface of the bottom wall of the rocker seat cavity 111 and is electrically mounted on the lower end of the connecting rod 131. It can be capacitively connected to the second sensing element 15 mounted under the bottom wall of the rocker seat cavity 111 to form a second capacitor. In this example, the bottom area of ​​the movable disk 132 is equal to or slightly smaller than the area of ​​the second sensing element 15. A concave clearance is provided at the bottom of the movable disk 132, and the second sensing element 15 is placed at the clearance, making the distance between the movable disk 132 and the second sensing element 15 closer, increasing the capacitance of the second capacitor C2 and enhancing the sensitivity of the capacitive sensing. In other words, by designing a conductive rod 13 inside the joystick body 11, and having the first sensing element 14 inside the joystick cap 12 and the second sensing element 15 on the PCB board 18 respectively capacitively connected to both ends of the conductive rod 13, the structure of the joystick body 11 is cleverly utilized, eliminating the need for additional structural space in the controller. Continuing... Figure 1 As shown, spring 133 is embedded in the lower section of the through hole of movable rod 112, upper section of spring 133 is sleeved on the lower section of connecting rod 131, and lower section of spring 133 is sleeved on the head of movable disc 132. Of course, spring 133 is also made of metal. Since connecting rod 131 can move up and down, there may be a gap between it and movable disc 132 during movement, and the two may not always maintain an electrical connection. However, by sleeved with the metal spring 133 on the lower section of connecting rod 131 and the head of movable disc 132 respectively, the electrical connection between the two can be maintained at all times.

[0042] In this example, continue as follows Figure 1As shown, the circuit board 18 has printed circuitry on its circuit side. The second sensing element 15, the touch sensing module 16, and the microcontroller 17 are all soldered onto the PCB board 18, allowing the second sensing element 15 and the touch sensing module 16, as well as the touch sensing module 16 and the microcontroller 17, to be electrically connected via copper foil traces on the PCB board 18. The joystick body 11 is also fixed to the PCB board 18. It should be noted that the touch sensing module 16, the microcontroller 17, and the joystick body 11 can be on the same side or not; their positions are not restricted. Here, we will illustrate this by assuming the touch sensing module 16, the microcontroller 17, and the joystick body 11 are on the same side of the PCB board 18. In this example, an insulating mushroom-shaped cap is fitted onto the upper end of the joystick cap 12 of the joystick controller. When the player's finger touches the mushroom-shaped cap, the finger and the first sensing element 14 embedded in the joystick cap 12 form a first capacitor C1. The mushroom head shape of the glove makes it easy for users to operate and grasp. It can be disc-shaped or hemispherical to enhance the player's handling feel. It can also be made of flexible material to prevent fingers from being scratched by metal. There is no specific limitation on its shape.

[0043] like Figure 2 The diagram shown illustrates the working principle of the low dead-zone joystick controller of this invention. The first sensing element 14 serves as the first sensing module, and the second sensing element 15 serves as the second sensing module. The first sensing element 14 is electrically connected to the conductive rod 13. The movable disk 132 of the conductive rod 13 is capacitively connected to the second sensing element 15. The second sensing element 15 is electrically connected to the touch sensing module 16, and the touch sensing module 16 is electrically connected to the microcontroller 17. In another example, as... Figure 3As shown, the touch sensing module 16 is integrated into the microcontroller 17. In this way, the finger 10 can form a first capacitor C1 with the first sensing element 14. The formed first capacitor C1 is electrically connected to the conductive rod 13, i.e., the connecting rod 131 and the movable disk 132, and the movable disk 132 in turn forms a second capacitor C2 through capacitive induction with the second sensing element 15. When the finger is not in contact with the rocker cap, the sensing capacitor C1 is non-existent, and the charge on the movable disk 132 is minimal. According to the principle of parallel plate capacitors, the capacitance of capacitor C2 is also relatively small. The touch sensing module 16 charges the second sensing element 15, calculates the charging time T1 of the second sensing element 15 in this state, generates a signal V1 (e.g., high level), and transmits it to the microcontroller 17. It should be noted that the touch sensing module 16 here can utilize existing touch sensing modules, such as the TTP233H-BA6 touch chip from TONTEK. When a finger approaches the joystick cap 12 where the first sensing element 14 is embedded, a first capacitor C1 is formed between the finger and the first sensing element 14, i.e., the first sensing module, according to the principle of capacitive sensing. The finger then charges the first capacitor C1, increasing the charge of the first capacitive sensing module. According to the principle of a parallel-plate capacitor, as the charge of the first capacitive sensing module increases, the capacitance of the second capacitor C2 also increases. The charging time T2 of the second capacitor C2 by the touch sensing module 16 also increases. At this time, the touch sensing module 16 compares the magnitudes of T1 and T2, generating a signal V2 opposite to signal V1 (e.g., a low level), and transmitting it to the microcontroller 17. The microcontroller 17 can detect whether a finger is approaching or touching the joystick based on the acquired level signal. For example, when the microcontroller detects that a finger is not approaching or touching the joystick, it considers the joystick to be in an inactive state. In this case, the microcontroller considers the acquired joystick data to be invalid data, meaning the joystick is always at the center point, and transmits the center point data of the joystick to the host, preventing the host from drifting. When the microcontroller 17 detects a finger approaching or touching the joystick, it considers the joystick to be in use. At this time, the microcontroller considers the collected joystick data to be valid data and transmits the valid data to the host computer. The host computer then controls the game character or machine according to the instructions of the valid joystick data. That is, in both the non-touching and touching states, the comparison signal of the charging time of the second sensor 15 by the touch sensing module 16 is collected by the microcontroller 17 and transmitted to the host computer. Then, the host computer selects whether or not to perform drift processing on the joystick data.In addition, the low dead zone joystick controller of this utility model utilizes capacitive sensing technology to connect the finger to the first sensing module, and the movable disk of the conductive rod electrically connected to the first sensing module to the second sensing module, thereby realizing human contact detection to solve the drift problem of the low dead zone joystick. This solution avoids the centering error caused by the limitations of the joystick's own structure, as well as the centering error caused by temperature changes, and the lifespan problem caused by wire connections, while not affecting the smoothness of joystick operation.

[0044] The present invention has been described in detail above with reference to the accompanying drawings and embodiments. Those skilled in the art can make various modifications to the present invention based on the above description. Therefore, certain details in the embodiments should not be construed as limiting the present invention, and the scope of protection of the present invention shall be defined by the appended claims.

Claims

1. A low dead-zone joystick controller, characterized in that, The joystick controller includes: The rocker body and the rocker cap sleeved on the upper end of the rocker body; A first sensing module that can be connected to a finger capacitive sensor to form a first capacitor, the first sensing module being disposed inside the rocker cap; A conductive rod is inserted into the rocker arm body, and the upper end of the conductive rod is electrically connected to the first sensing module. The second sensing module is spaced apart at the lower end of the conductive rod and is capacitively connected to the conductive rod to form a second capacitor; The touch sensing module is electrically connected to the second sensing module; The microcontroller is electrically connected to the touch sensing module.

2. The low dead-zone joystick controller as described in claim 1, characterized in that, The controller includes a PCB board, on which the second sensing module, the touch sensing module, and the microcontroller are all mounted.

3. The low dead-zone joystick controller as described in claim 2, characterized in that, The joystick body has: The joystick seat cavity is fixed on the PCB board, and the second sensing module is located under the bottom wall of the joystick seat cavity; The movable rod has an upper section extending out of the rocker arm seat cavity and a lower section extending into the rocker arm seat cavity. The movable rod has a through hole in the center and the upper end of the movable rod is inserted into the rocker arm cap. The conductive rod includes: A connecting rod is inserted into the through hole of the movable rod, and the first sensing module is electrically connected to the upper end of the connecting rod. The movable disk is movably located on the upper surface of the bottom wall of the rocker arm seat cavity and electrically installed at the lower end of the connecting rod. The movable disk is capacitively connected to the second sensing module to form a second capacitor.

4. The low dead-zone joystick controller as described in claim 3, characterized in that, The conductive rod also includes a spring, which is embedded in the lower section of the through hole of the movable rod. The upper section of the spring is sleeved on the lower section of the connecting rod, and the lower section of the spring is sleeved on the head of the movable disc.

5. The low dead-zone joystick controller as described in claim 3, characterized in that, The first sensing module is the first sensing element; The second sensing module is the second sensing element.

6. The low dead-zone joystick controller as described in claim 5, characterized in that, The first sensing element is made of metal or has a metal coating on its surface; The second sensing element is made of metal or has a metal coating on its surface, or the second sensing element is a copper layer on a PCB board; The connecting rod is made of metal or has a metal coating on its surface; The movable plate is made of metal or has a surface coated with metal material.

7. The low dead-zone joystick controller as described in claim 1, characterized in that, The upper end of the rocker cap is fitted with an insulating mushroom-shaped cap.

8. The low dead-zone joystick controller as described in claim 1, characterized in that, The touch sensing module is integrated on the microcontroller.

9. The low dead-zone joystick controller as described in claim 2, characterized in that... The second sensing module is electrically connected to the touch sensing module through the copper foil traces on the PCB board.

10. The low dead-zone joystick controller as described in claim 3, characterized in that... The bottom of the movable plate has a concave clearance area.

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