Stick assembly capable of performing attenuation adjustment and game controller

Abstract

To provide a stick assembly capable of performing attenuation adjustment, and to provide a game controller.SOLUTION: A stick part is rotatably attached to a base part, and includes a stick 21 movable with respect to the base part. The stick 21 is formed with a first space 211. An adjusting tray 3 is movably connected to the base part. An adjusting knob 4 is of a housing structure, located outside the stick part, rotatably connected to the adjusting tray 3, and is configured to move the adjusting tray 3 toward or away from the stick 21 when rotated. An adjusting seat 5 includes a sliding part 51 and a rotation part 52 connected to the sliding part 51. The sliding part 51 and the stick 21 are telescopically and slidably fitted to each other. An upper end surface of the adjusting tray 3 abuts against the rotation part 52. A first spring 6 is externally fitted to the sliding part 51 and is stored in the first space 211 at least partially. The two ends of the first spring 6 abut against the rotation part 52 and the stick 21 respectively.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 5

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to the technical field of sticks, and particularly to a stick assembly and a game controller with adjustable damping.

Background Art

[0002] Currently, commercially available mainstream game controllers are equipped with a stick, push buttons, and trigger buttons. The stick can be tilted and rotated, and since a spring is arranged, it can automatically return to the neutral position. By tilting and rotating the stick, a player inputs directional information to a device such as a game console or a computer to perform game operations. The elastic force by which the stick automatically returns to the neutral position is called damping. Preferences for the magnitude of damping vary among players.

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0003]

Patent Document 1

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0004] In order to obtain a better game experience, the present invention enables a player to adjust the damping of the stick according to their own preference for damping, and also enables a disabled person to adjust the damping so that they can play games in the same way as an ordinary person. The present invention provides a stick assembly and a game controller with adjustable damping.

Means for Solving the Problems

[0005] For this purpose, the attenuation-adjustable stick assembly proposed by the present invention includes a base portion, a stick portion, an adjustment knob, an adjustment plate, an adjustment seat, and a first spring. The stick portion is rotatably attached to the base portion and includes a stick that is movable relative to the base portion. A first space is formed in the stick. The adjustment plate is movably connected to the base portion. The adjustment knob has a housing structure and is located outside the stick portion. The adjustment knob is rotatably connected to the adjustment plate and is configured to move the adjustment plate so as to approach or separate from the stick when rotated. The adjustment seat includes a sliding portion and a rotating portion connected to the sliding portion. The sliding portion and the stick are fitted so as to be telescopically and slidably engaged. The upper end surface of the adjustment plate abuts against the rotating portion. The first spring is externally fitted to the sliding portion and at least partially accommodated in the first space, and both ends of the first spring are respectively abutted against the rotating portion and the stick.

[0006] In some embodiments, the adjustment knob is rotatably connected to the adjustment plate by a screw.

[0007] Furthermore, in some embodiments, a female screw is formed on the inner wall of the adjustment knob, and a male screw corresponding to the female screw is formed on the outer periphery of the adjustment plate.

[0008] Furthermore, in some embodiments, the number of threads of the female screw of the adjustment knob is greater than the number of threads of the male screw of the adjustment plate.

[0009] In some embodiments, the attenuation-adjustable stick assembly further includes a second spring, and both ends of the second spring are respectively abutted against the lower end surface of the adjustment plate and the base portion.

[0010] Furthermore, in some embodiments, the second spring is a conical coil spring.

[0011] In some embodiments, a plurality of positioning holes are formed in the adjusting dish, and a plurality of positioning posts are formed on the base portion corresponding to the plurality of positioning holes. The rotation of the adjusting dish relative to the base portion is restricted by the positioning posts passing through the positioning holes.

[0012] In some embodiments, a second space is further formed in the stick, and the sliding portion is a sliding rod inserted into the second space and slidably fitted to the inner wall of the second space.

[0013] Furthermore, in some embodiments, a plurality of sliding ridges are formed on the outer periphery of the sliding rod, and the plurality of sliding ridges are slidably fitted to the inner wall of the second space.

[0014] In some embodiments, an adjusting ring is formed at the upper end of the adjusting knob, and a plurality of protrusions are formed on the adjusting ring.

[0015] In some embodiments, an indication arrow and / or indication characters used to indicate the rotation direction of the adjusting knob are provided at the upper end of the adjusting knob.

[0016] The present invention further proposes a game controller comprising a controller housing and the attenuating adjustable stick assembly according to any one of the above items. An attachment opening is formed in the controller housing, the adjusting knob of the attenuating adjustable stick assembly is rotatably attached to the game controller, the base portion of the attenuating adjustable stick assembly is fixedly attached to the game controller, and at least a part of the structure at the upper end of the adjusting knob protrudes from the attachment opening to the outer surface of the controller housing.

[0017] In some embodiments, the game controller further includes a mounting seat provided within the controller housing, the base portion is fixedly attached to the mounting seat, the adjustment knob has a columnar housing structure, the outer diameter of the upper end of the adjustment knob gradually decreases in its extending direction, the lower end of the adjustment knob is adjacent to the mounting seat, and the upper end of the adjustment knob is adjacent to the edge of the mounting opening.

[0018] In the technical solution of the present invention, the base portion is for being fixedly attached to an input device such as a game controller. Since the stick portion is rotatably attached to the base portion and the stick portion further includes a stick movable relative to the base portion, the stick can be moved by a player's finger to tilt and rotate. The adjustment seat includes a sliding portion and a rotating portion connected to the sliding portion. The sliding portion and the stick are fitted in a telescopic and slidable manner. The first spring is externally fitted to the sliding portion and at least partially accommodated in the first space of the stick. Both ends of the first spring are respectively abutted against the rotating portion and the stick. The adjustment dish is movably connected to the base portion. The adjustment knob is located outside the stick portion and is rotatably connected to the adjustment dish. The upper end surface of the adjustment dish is abutted against the rotating portion. When the adjustment knob is rotated, the adjustment dish is moved so as to approach or separate from the stick, thereby moving the adjustment seat to approach or separate from the stick, and further enabling adjustment of the compression amount of the first spring whose both ends are respectively abutted against the stick and the adjustment seat, and is configured to achieve the purpose of adjusting the damping of the stick.

[0019] To more clearly explain the embodiments of the present invention and the technical solutions of the related art, the accompanying drawings required for the description of the embodiments or the related art will be briefly described below. It is obvious that the accompanying drawings in the following description are only some embodiments of the present invention, and those skilled in the art can obtain other accompanying drawings based on the structures shown in these accompanying drawings without creative labor.

Brief Description of the Drawings

[0020]

Figure 1

Figure 2

Figure 3

Figure 4

Figure 5

Figure 6

Figure 7

Figure 8

Modes for Carrying Out the Invention

[0021] With reference to the accompanying drawings, the realization of the object, functional features and advantages of the present invention will be further described in combination with the embodiments.

[0022] Hereinafter, in combination with the accompanying drawings in the embodiments of the present invention, the technical solutions in the embodiments of the present invention will be clearly and completely described. It is obvious that the described embodiments are only some of the embodiments of the present invention, not all of them. Based on the embodiments of the present invention, all other embodiments obtained by those skilled in the art without creative labor belong to the scope protected by the present invention.

[0023] It should be noted that all the directional indications (such as up, down, left, right, front, back...) in the embodiments of the present invention are only used to explain the relative positional relationship, movement status, etc. between each component in a specific posture (shown in the accompanying drawings). When the specific posture changes, the directional indications also change accordingly.

[0024] In addition, the descriptions related to "first", "second", etc. in the embodiments of the present invention are only used for the purpose of explanation, and should not be understood as presenting or implying their relative importance, or implicitly designating the number of technical features presented. Therefore, the features limited to "first" and "second" may explicitly or implicitly include at least one of such features. Also, "and / or" appearing throughout the text means including three parallel cases. Taking "A and / or B" as an example, it includes case A, or case B, or the case where both A and B are satisfied simultaneously. Also, as long as it can be realized by those skilled in the art, the technical solutions of each embodiment can be combined with each other. If a contradiction occurs or it cannot be realized in the combination of technical solutions, it should be understood that such a combination of technical solutions does not exist and is not within the scope of protection sought by the present invention.

[0025] One embodiment of the present invention proposes a stick assembly with adjustable attenuation.

[0026] Referring to FIGS. 1 and 2, the stick assembly 100 proposed by this embodiment includes a base portion, a stick portion 2, an adjustment knob 4, an adjustment dish 3, an adjustment seat 5, and a first spring 6. The base portion includes an upper housing 1a and a lower housing 1b. The stick portion 2 is rotatably attached to the base portion and includes a stick 21 that is movable relative to the base portion. A first space 211 is formed in the stick 21. The adjustment dish 3 is movably connected to the base portion. The adjustment knob 4 has a housing structure and is located outside the stick portion 2 and is rotatably connected to the adjustment dish 3. When rotated, it is configured to move the adjustment dish 3 so as to approach or separate from the stick 21. The adjustment seat 5 includes a sliding portion 51 and a rotating portion 52 connected to the sliding portion 51. The sliding portion 51 and the stick 21 are fitted in a telescopic and slidable manner. The upper end surface of the adjustment dish 3 is in contact with the rotating portion 52. The first spring 6 is externally fitted to the sliding portion 51 and at least partially accommodated in the first space 211. Both ends of the first spring 6 are in contact with the rotating portion 52 and the stick 21 respectively.

[0027] In addition, in this embodiment, the base portion includes the upper housing 1a and the lower housing 1b, but the present invention is not limited thereto. The base portion may be integrally formed by injection molding. The base portion is made of a plastic or metal material and may be fixed to an input device such as a game controller and used to fix and support other elements of the stick assembly.

[0028] Referring to FIG. 3, in this embodiment, the stick portion 2 includes a stick 21, an upper rocker arm 22, a lower rocker arm 23, a first magnet 221 attached to the upper rocker arm 22, a second magnet 231 attached to the lower rocker arm 23, a pressing seat 232 connected to the lower rocker arm 23, a substrate 25, a flexible printed circuit board 24 mounted on the substrate 25, and a metal dome 242 and a Hall integrated circuit 243 mounted on the flexible printed circuit board 24. The upper rocker arm 22 and the lower rocker arm 23 are rotatably attached to the base portion, and the stick 21 is positioned within a rotational structure formed by the upper rocker arm 22 and the lower rocker arm 23 and can be tilted and rotated by being moved by a user's finger. Through holes 241 for passing the adjustment seat 5 are formed in the flexible printed circuit board 24 and the substrate 25. The pressing seat 232 can be moved by the lower rocker arm 23 to push down the metal dome 242, thereby realizing a click operation of the stick 21. The first magnet 221 and the second magnet 231 are respectively coupled to the Hall integrated circuit 243 on the flexible printed circuit board 24, and can convert the rotation information of the upper rocker arm 22 and the lower rocker arm 23 into an electrical signal and output it via the flexible printed circuit board 24. Note that detailed descriptions of how the stick portion 2 realizes attachment and rotation and how the magnetic field change information is converted into an electrical signal have already been disclosed in detail in related patent documents and are well known to those skilled in the art, so the description is omitted here.

[0029] In particular, referring to FIGS. 5 and 6, in this embodiment, a second space 212 is formed in the stick 21, and the sliding portion 51 of the adjusting base 5 is a sliding rod that is inserted into the second space 212 and slidably fitted to the inner wall of the second space 212. Since the rotating portion 52 of the adjusting base 5 and the adjusting dish 3 have a certain contact area, and the fulcrum of the rotation between the adjusting base 5 and the stick 21 is not located at the illustrated axis position, when the player moves and tilts the stick 21 with a finger, the relative distance between the adjusting base 5 and the stick 21 becomes smaller, and the first spring 6 that is in contact with the stick 21 and the rotating portion 52 of the adjusting base 5 is compressed, and the stick 21 also tries to return to the neutral state. In other embodiments, a sliding rod may be formed on the stick 21, and a space for accommodating the sliding rod and slidably fitting with the sliding rod may be formed in the sliding portion 51 of the adjusting base 5. Thereby, the effect that the sliding portion 51 and the stick 21 are telescopically and slidably fitted can be obtained in the same manner.

[0030] In particular, referring to FIGS. 5 to 7, in this embodiment, a plurality of positioning holes 32 are formed in the adjusting dish 3, and a plurality of positioning posts 11 corresponding to the positioning holes 32 are formed in the upper housing 1a and the lower housing 1b of the base portion. By restricting the rotation of the adjusting dish 3 relative to the base portion by the positioning posts 11 passing through the positioning holes 32, the adjusting dish 3 can only move within the base portion. A male screw 31 is formed on the outer periphery of the adjusting dish 3, and a female screw 41 corresponding to the male screw 31 is formed on the inner wall of the adjusting knob 4. By the fitting of the male screw 31 and the female screw 41, when the adjusting knob 4 rotates, the adjusting dish 3 is relative to the base portion By moving it, the adjustment seat 5 can be moved closer to or away from the stick 21, changing the initial compression amount of the first spring 6 when the stick 21 is in the neutral position, and thus adjusting the damping of the stick assembly 100. When the stick is in the neutral position, the closer the adjustment seat 5 is to the stick 21, that is, the larger the initial compression amount of the first spring 6, the greater the force the player must apply when moving and tilting the stick 21 with a finger, and as a result, the greater the damping. On the other hand, the farther the adjustment seat 5 is from the stick 21, that is, the smaller the initial compression amount of the first spring 6, the smaller the force the player must apply when moving and tilting the stick 21 with a finger, and the smaller the damping. In this way, the player can adjust the damping of the stick assembly 100 according to their preference by simply turning the adjustment knob 4 outside the stick portion 2.

[0031] Of course, in other embodiments, a plurality of protrusions may be formed on the inner wall of the adjustment knob 4, and a concave groove extending spirally along its outer periphery may be formed on the adjustment dish 3. The plurality of protrusions enter the concave groove, and by the fitting of the protrusions and the concave groove, the adjustment knob 4 is rotatably connected to the adjustment dish 3. Similarly, by turning the adjustment knob 4 to move the adjustment seat 5, the effect of adjusting the damping can be obtained. Also, in other embodiments, a male thread may be formed on the outer wall of the adjustment knob 4, and a cylindrical structure surrounding the outer wall of the adjustment knob 4 may be formed on the adjustment dish 3. A female thread corresponding to the male thread 31 may be formed on the inner wall of the cylindrical structure. In this case as well the adjustment knob 4 can be rotatably connected to the adjustment dish 3 by a screw structure. Similarly, in other embodiments, a positioning hole 32 may be formed in the base portion, and a positioning post 11 may be formed on the adjustment dish 3. In this case as well, the adjustment dish 3 can be movably connected to the base portion.

[0032] In particular, in this embodiment, by making the number of threads of the female thread 41 of the adjustment knob 4 greater than the number of threads of the male thread 31 of the adjustment plate 3, a larger adjustment range can be achieved. Of course, the present invention is not limited to this, and the number of threads of the female thread 41 and the number of threads of the male thread 31 may be adaptively adjusted according to actual adjustment requirements (pitch, adjustment range, etc.).

[0033] Referring to FIGS. 2, 5 and 6, in this embodiment, the stick assembly 100 further includes a second spring 7. Both ends of the second spring 7 are respectively abutted against the lower end surface of the adjustment plate 3 and the base portion, so as to support the adjustment plate 3 and function to balance the load. This makes the operation of the adjustment knob 4 by the player smoother and a better feel can be obtained. In order to maintain better structural stability, in this embodiment, the second spring 7 is a conical coil spring. Of course, the present invention is not limited to this. In other embodiments, the stick assembly 100 may not include the second spring 7, and even so, the basic damping adjustment effect can still be achieved.

[0034] Referring to FIGS. 1 and 2, in this embodiment, the stick assembly 100 further includes a stick cap 8 that is used to support the user's finger and facilitate the operation of the stick by the player. Of course, in other embodiments, the stick assembly 100 may not include the stick cap 8, and the player may attach a stick cap 8 of his own preference according to his own needs.

[0035] Referring to FIG. 4, in this embodiment, a plurality of sliding ridges 511 are formed on the outer periphery of the sliding rod. Since the plurality of sliding ridges 511 can slide on the inner wall of the second space 212, the contact area between the sliding rod and the inner wall of the second space 212 is reduced, improving the smoothness of the stick operation. Of course, in other embodiments, the sliding ridges 511 may not be formed on the outer periphery of the sliding rod.

[0036] Referring to FIG. 1, in this embodiment, an adjustment ring 42 is formed at the upper end of the adjustment knob 4, and a plurality of protrusions are formed on the adjustment ring 42 for the player to move with a finger to make it easier to turn the adjustment knob 4. In this embodiment, an indication arrow 43 used to indicate the rotation direction of the adjustment knob 4 is further provided at the upper end of the adjustment knob 4. Further, indication characters 44 may be provided at the upper end of the adjustment knob 4 to indicate in which direction turning the adjustment knob 4 will increase the attenuation and in which direction turning it will decrease the attenuation.

[0037] Note that although the adjustment plate 3 in this embodiment is disc-shaped, the present invention is not limited thereto. In other embodiments, the adjustment plate 3 may be semi-circular, elliptical, square, with two sides of the square being arc-shaped, and male threads may be provided on the outer periphery of the arc. Similarly, although the adjustment knob 4 in this embodiment has a columnar housing structure, the present invention is not limited thereto, and it is sufficient if it can be turned to move the adjustment plate 3.

[0038] The stick portion 2 in this embodiment includes a substrate 25, a flexible printed circuit board 24, a Hall integrated circuit 243, a first magnet 221, a second magnet 231, a pressing seat 232, and a metal dome 242, but the present invention is not limited thereto. In other embodiments, instead of the stick portion 2 in this embodiment, a stick assembly with a potentiometer may be used. In some special cases, the stick portion 2 may only include a stick, an upper rocker arm 22, and a lower rocker arm 23. In this case, the stick assembly 100 may be used only for adjusting the operating feel of the stick assembly 100 by the test operator without outputting an electrical signal. All of the above are considered to be included in the protection scope of the present invention.

[0039] One embodiment of the present invention further proposes a game controller 200, the game controller 200 comprising a controller housing 201 and any one of the above attenuation-adjustable stick assemblies 100, an attachment opening being formed in the controller housing 201, an adjustment knob 4 of the attenuation-adjustable stick assembly 100 being rotatably attached to the game controller 200, a base portion of the attenuation-adjustable stick assembly 100 being fixedly attached to the game controller 200, and at least a part of the structure (for example, an adjustment ring 42) at the upper end of the adjustment knob 4 protruding from the attachment opening to the outer surface of the controller housing 201. Thereby, the user can adjust the attenuation of the stick assembly 100 by easily operating the adjustment knob 4 with a finger.

[0040] Theoretically, as long as the adjustment knob 4 of the stick assembly 100 is rotatably attached to the game controller 200 and the base portion is fixedly attached to the game controller 200, the rotation of the adjustment knob 4 can be converted into the movement of the adjustment plate 3. In this case, a positioning groove may be formed in a side wall of the attachment opening of the controller housing 201, and a positioning engaging convex portion may be correspondingly formed on an outer wall of the adjustment knob 4. The adjustment knob 4 is rotatably attached to the game controller 200 by the fitting of the positioning groove and the positioning engaging convex portion, and the base portion is fixed to the game controller 200 by a fastening member (soldering, screw, etc.).

[0041] Referring to FIG. 8, in this embodiment, the game controller 200 further comprises a mounting seat 202 provided in the controller housing 201, the base portion being fixedly attached to the mounting seat 202 by screws, the adjustment knob 4 having a columnar housing structure, and an outer diameter of an upper end of the adjustment knob 4 gradually decreasing in its extending direction. A lower end of the adjustment knob 4 is adjacent to the mounting seat 202, and an upper end of the adjustment knob 4 is adjacent to an edge of the attachment opening. Thereby, the degree of freedom of movement of the adjustment knob 4 in the vertical direction is restricted by the mounting seat 202 and the edge of the attachment opening, and the rotation of the adjustment knob 4 can be converted into the movement of the adjustment plate 3, and the structure The structure is simple and easy to assemble.

[0042] What has been described above is only a preferred embodiment of the present invention, and it does not limit the scope of the present invention accordingly. Under the inventive concept of the present invention, equivalent structural conversions made by using the content of the specification and the attached drawings of the present invention, or direct / indirect applications to other related technical fields, are all included in the protection scope of the present invention.

Description of Reference Numerals

[0043] 100 Stick assembly 1a Upper housing 1b Lower housing 11 Positioning post 2 Stick part 21 Stick 211 First space 212 Second space 22 Upper rocker arm 221 First magnet 23 Lower rocker arm 231 Second magnet 232 Pressing seat 24 Flexible printed circuit board 241 Through hole 242 Metal dome 243 Hall integrated circuit 25 Substrate 3 Adjusting dish 31 Male screw 32 Positioning hole 4 Adjusting knob 41 Female screw 42 Adjusting ring 43 Indicator arrow 44 Indicator character 5 Adjusting seat 51 Sliding part 511 Sliding ridge 52 Rotating part 6 First spring 7 Second spring 8 Stick cap 200 Game controller 201 Controller housing 202 Mounting seat

Claims

1. A base part, A stick part rotatably attached to the base part, comprising a stick movable relative to the base part, and having a first space formed in the stick; An adjustment dish movably connected to the base part; A housing structure located outside the stick part, rotatably connected to the adjustment dish, and configured to move the adjustment dish closer to or away from the stick when rotated; An adjustment seat comprising a sliding part and a rotating part connected to the sliding part, wherein the sliding part and the stick are telescopically and slidably fitted, and the upper end surface of the adjustment dish abuts against the rotating part; A first spring externally fitted to the sliding part and at least partially housed in the first space, with both ends thereof abutting against the rotating part and the stick respectively; A stick assembly with adjustable damping, characterized by comprising the above components.

2. The adjustment knob is rotatably connected to the adjustment dish by a screw. The stick assembly with adjustable damping according to Claim 1, characterized by the above.

3. An internal thread is formed on the inner wall of the adjustment knob, and an external thread corresponding to the internal thread is formed on the outer periphery of the adjustment dish. The stick assembly with adjustable damping according to Claim 2, characterized by the above.

4. Further comprising a second spring, Both ends of the second spring abut against the lower end surface of the adjustment dish and the base part respectively. The stick assembly with adjustable damping according to Claim 1, characterized by the above.

5. A plurality of positioning holes are formed in the adjustment dish, and a plurality of positioning posts are formed on the base part corresponding to the plurality of positioning holes. The positioning posts pass through the positioning holes to limit the rotation of the adjustment dish relative to the base part. The stick assembly with adjustable damping according to Claim 1, characterized by the above.

6. A second space is further formed in the stick, The sliding part is a sliding rod inserted into the second space and slidably fitted to the inner wall of the second space. The stick assembly with adjustable damping according to Claim 1, characterized by the above.

7. A plurality of sliding ridges are formed on the outer periphery of the sliding rod, and the plurality of sliding ridges are slidably fitted to the inner wall of the second space. The stick assembly with adjustable damping according to Claim 6, characterized by the above.

8. An adjustment ring is formed at the upper end of the adjustment knob, and a plurality of protrusions are formed on the adjustment ring, and / or An indication arrow and / or indication characters used to indicate the rotation direction of the adjustment knob are provided at the upper end of the adjustment knob. The attenuator-adjustable stick assembly according to claim 1, characterized in that.

9. A game controller, A controller housing having a mounting opening formed therein, An attenuator-adjustable stick assembly according to any one of claims 1 to 8, comprising: The adjustment knob of the attenuator-adjustable stick assembly is rotatably attached to the game controller, the base portion of the attenuator-adjustable stick assembly is fixedly attached to the game controller, and at least a part of the structure of the upper end of the adjustment knob protrudes from the mounting opening to the outer surface of the controller housing. The game controller, characterized in that.

10. The game controller further includes a mounting seat provided in the controller housing, the base portion is fixedly attached to the mounting seat, the adjustment knob has a columnar housing structure, the outer diameter of the upper end of the adjustment knob gradually decreases in its extending direction, the lower end of the adjustment knob is adjacent to the mounting seat, and the upper end of the adjustment knob is adjacent to the edge of the mounting opening. The game controller according to claim 9, characterized in that.

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