Damping-adjustable stick assembly and game controller

Abstract

An adjustable damping stick assembly and game controller are disclosed. [Solution] The stick portion is rotatably attached to the base portion and has a stick 21 that is movable relative to the base portion, a first space 211 is formed in the stick 21, an adjustment plate 3 is movably connected to the base portion, an adjustment knob 4 is a housing structure located outside the stick portion and rotatably connected to the adjustment plate 3 and is configured to move the adjustment plate 3 toward or away from the stick 21 when turned, an adjustment seat 5 has a sliding portion 51 and a rotating portion 52 connected to the sliding portion 51, the sliding portion 51 and the stick 21 are engaged with each other in an extendable and slidable manner, the upper end surface of the adjustment plate 3 abuts against the rotating portion 52, a first spring 6 is fitted around the sliding portion 51 and is at least partially accommodated in the first space 211, and both ends of the first spring 6 abut against the rotating portion 52 and the stick 21, respectively.

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to the technical field of sticks, and in particular to adjustable damping stick assemblies and game controllers. [Background technology]

[0002] Currently, mainstream game controllers on the market are equipped with a stick, a push button, and a trigger button. The stick can be tilted and rotated, and a spring is provided so that it can automatically return to a neutral position. A player inputs directional information to a device such as a game machine or a computer by tilting and rotating the stick to operate the game, and the elastic force that automatically returns the stick to a neutral position is called damping. Different players have different preferences for the magnitude of damping. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] JP 2017-168305 A Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] The present invention provides a stick assembly and a game controller with adjustable damping that allows players to adjust the damping of the stick according to their own damping preferences in order to obtain a better gaming experience, and also allows disabled people to adjust the damping and play games in the same way as normal people. [Means for solving the problem]

[0005] For this purpose, the present invention proposes a damping adjustable stick assembly comprising a base portion, a stick portion, an adjustment knob, an adjustment plate, an adjustment seat, and a first spring, the stick portion being rotatably attached to the base portion and comprising a stick movable relative to the base portion, a first space being formed in the stick, the adjustment plate being movably connected to the base portion, the adjustment knob being a housing structure located outside the stick portion and rotatably connected to the adjustment plate, configured to move the adjustment plate toward or away from the stick when rotated, the adjustment seat comprising a sliding portion and a rotating portion connected to the sliding portion, the sliding portion and the stick being telescopically and slidably engaged with each other, the upper end surface of the adjustment plate being abutted against the rotating portion, the first spring being fitted onto the sliding portion and at least partially accommodated in the first space, and both ends of the first spring being abutted against the rotating portion and the stick, respectively.

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

[0007] Furthermore, in some embodiments, the adjustment knob has an internal thread formed on an inner wall thereof, and the adjustment plate has an external thread formed on an outer periphery thereof which corresponds to the internal thread.

[0008] Additionally, in some embodiments, the adjustment knob has a greater number of female threads than the adjustment plate has male threads.

[0009] In some embodiments, the damping adjustable stick assembly further includes a second spring, the second spring having opposite ends abutting against a lower end surface of the adjustment plate and the base portion, respectively.

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

[0011] In some embodiments, the adjustment plate is formed with a plurality of positioning holes, and the base portion is formed with a plurality of positioning posts corresponding to the plurality of positioning holes, and the positioning posts pass through the positioning holes to limit the rotation of the adjustment plate relative to the base portion.

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

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

[0014] In some embodiments, an adjustment ring is formed on an upper end of the adjustment knob, and the adjustment ring has a plurality of protrusions formed thereon.

[0015] In some embodiments, the top end of the adjustment knob is provided with an indicator arrow and / or indicator letters that are used to indicate the direction of rotation of the adjustment knob.

[0016] The present invention further proposes a game controller comprising a controller housing and a damping adjustable stick assembly described in any one of the above claims, wherein a mounting opening is formed in the controller housing, an adjustment knob of the damping adjustable stick assembly is rotatably attached to the game controller, a base portion of the damping adjustable stick assembly is fixedly attached to the game controller, and at least a portion of the structure of the upper end of the adjustment knob protrudes from the mounting opening to the outer surface of the controller housing.

[0017] In some embodiments, the game controller further comprises 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, an outer diameter of an upper end of the adjustment knob gradually decreases in its extension direction, a lower end of the adjustment knob is adjacent to the mounting seat, and the upper end of the adjustment knob is adjacent to an edge of the mounting opening.

[0018] In the technical solution of the present invention, the base part is for being fixedly attached to an input device such as a game controller, etc. The stick part is rotatably attached to the base part, and the stick part further includes a stick that is movable relative to the base part, so that the stick can be tilted and rotated by being moved by a player's finger. The adjustment seat has a sliding part and a rotating part connected to the sliding part, the sliding part and the stick are engaged with each other so as to be extendable and slidable, a first spring is fitted onto the sliding part and is at least partially contained in a first space of the stick, both ends of the first spring abut against the rotating part and the stick, respectively, an adjustment plate is movably connected to the base part, an adjustment knob is located outside the stick part and rotatably connected to the adjustment plate, and an upper end surface of the adjustment plate abuts against the rotating part, and when the adjustment knob is turned, it moves the adjustment plate so as to move closer to or away from the stick, thereby moving the adjustment seat closer to or away from the stick, and further makes it possible to adjust the compression amount of the first spring, both ends of which abut against the stick and the adjustment seat, respectively, thereby achieving the purpose of adjusting the damping of the stick.

[0019] In order to more clearly describe the embodiments of the present invention and the technical solutions of the related art, the following will briefly describe the accompanying drawings required for the description of the embodiments or related art. It is clear 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] FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram of the three-dimensional structure of one embodiment of a damping adjustable stick assembly provided by the present invention. [Diagram 2] FIG. 2 is an exploded schematic view of FIG. 1. [Diagram 3] FIG. 3 is an exploded schematic view of the stick portion of FIG. 2. [Figure 4] FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram showing the structure of the accommodation seat in FIG. 2. [Diagram 5] FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of the stick assembly of FIG. 1 with the stick cap removed. [Figure 6] 2 is another cross-sectional view of the stick assembly of FIG. 1 with the stick cap removed. [Figure 7] 2 is an exploded schematic view of the base portion and the adjustment plate in FIG. 1. [Figure 8] 1 is a schematic diagram of one embodiment of a game controller provided by the present invention. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

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

[0022] In the following, the technical solutions in the embodiments of the present invention will be clearly and completely described in combination with the accompanying drawings in the embodiments of the present invention. It is clear that the described embodiments are not all the embodiments of the present invention, but only some embodiments of the present invention. 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 of protection of the present invention.

[0023] In addition, all directional indications (e.g., up, down, left, right, front, back, etc.) in the embodiments of the present invention are used only to explain the relative positional relationships, movement conditions, etc. between each part in a certain specific posture (as shown in the attached drawings), and when the specific posture changes, the directional indications also change accordingly.

[0024] In addition, the descriptions of "first", "second", etc. in the embodiments of the present invention are used for explanation only, and should not be understood as indicating or implying the relative importance thereof, or as implicitly specifying the number of technical features presented. Therefore, a feature limited to "first" or "second" may include at least one of the features, either explicitly or implicitly. In addition, "and / or" appearing in the whole text means including three parallel proposals. Taking "A and / or B" as an example, it includes proposal A, or proposal B, or a proposal in which A and B are simultaneously satisfied. In addition, the technical proposals in each embodiment can be combined with each other as far as it can be realized by a person skilled in the art. If a combination of technical proposals causes a contradiction or cannot be realized, it should be understood that such a combination of technical proposals does not exist and is not within the scope of the present invention.

[0025] One embodiment of the present invention provides an adjustable damping stick assembly.

[0026] 1 and 2, the stick assembly 100 proposed in this embodiment includes a base portion, a stick portion 2, an adjustment knob 4, an adjustment plate 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 plate 3 is movably connected to the base portion. The adjustment knob 4 is a housing structure and is located outside the stick portion 2. The adjustment seat 5 is rotatably connected to the adjustment plate 3 and configured to move the adjustment plate 3 toward or away from the stick 21 when rotated, the adjustment seat 5 has a sliding part 51 and a rotating part 52 connected to the sliding part 51, the sliding part 51 and the stick 21 are engaged with each other in an extendable and slidable manner, the upper end surface of the adjustment plate 3 abuts against the rotating part 52, the first spring 6 is fitted around the sliding part 51 and is at least partially contained in the first space 211, and both ends of the first spring 6 abut against the rotating part 52 and the stick 21, respectively.

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

[0028] 3, in this embodiment, the stick part 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 electric circuit board 24 mounted on the substrate 25, and a metal dome 242 and a hole integrated circuit 243 mounted on the flexible electric circuit board 24. The upper rocker arm 22 and the lower rocker arm 23 are rotatably mounted on the base part, and the stick 21 is limited in position within a rotation 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. The flexible electric circuit board 24 and the substrate 25 are formed with a through hole 241 for allowing the adjustment seat 5 to escape. The pressing seat 232 is moved by the lower rocker arm 23 to press down the metal dome 242, thereby realizing the 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 electric circuit board 24, and the rotation information of the upper rocker arm 22 and the lower rocker arm 23 can be converted into an electric signal and outputted via the flexible electric circuit board 24. Note that detailed explanations of how the stick part 2 is attached and rotated and how the magnetic field change information is converted into an electric signal have already been disclosed in detail in the related patent documents and are well known to those skilled in the art, so explanations will be omitted here.

[0029] 5 and 6, in this embodiment, a second space 212 is formed in the stick 21, and the sliding part 51 of the adjustment base 5 is a sliding rod that is inserted into the second space 212 and slidably fitted into the inner wall of the second space 212. Since the rotating part 52 of the adjustment base 5 and the adjustment plate 3 have a certain contact area, and the fulcrum of rotation between the adjustment base 5 and the stick 21 is not located at the axial position shown in the figures, when the player moves the stick 21 with his / her finger to tilt it, the relative distance between the adjustment base 5 and the stick 21 becomes smaller, and the first spring 6 that is in contact with the stick 21 and the rotating part 52 of the adjustment base 5 is compressed, and the stick 21 is also returned to the neutral position. In other embodiments, a sliding rod may be formed on the stick 21, and a space may be formed in the sliding part 51 of the adjustment seat 5 to accommodate the sliding rod and slidably engage with the sliding rod, thereby achieving the effect of the sliding part 51 and the stick 21 being extendable, expandable, and slidably engaged with each other.

[0030] In particular, referring to Figures 5 to 7, in this embodiment, a plurality of positioning holes 32 are formed in the adjustment 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 part. The positioning posts 11 pass through the positioning holes 32 and restrict the rotation of the adjustment dish 3 relative to the base part, so that the adjustment dish 3 can move only within the base part. A male screw 31 is formed on the outer periphery of the adjustment dish 3, and a female screw 41 corresponding to the male screw 31 is formed on the inner wall of the adjustment knob 4. The male screw 31 is engaged with the female screw 41 to rotate the adjustment dish 3 relative to the base part. By moving the adjustment seat 5, it is possible to move the adjustment seat 5 closer to or away from the stick 21, thereby 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, i.e., the greater the initial compression amount of the first spring 6, the greater the force that the player must apply when moving the stick 21 with his / her finger to tilt it, and as a result, the greater the damping. On the other hand, the farther the adjustment seat 5 is from the stick 21, i.e., the smaller the initial compression amount of the first spring 6, the greater the force that the player must apply when moving the stick 21 with his / her finger to tilt it, and as a result, the greater the damping. The force that the player must apply when tilting is also reduced, and the damping is also reduced. Thus, the player can adjust the damping of the stick assembly 100 to suit his or her preference, simply by turning the adjustment knob 4 on the outside of the stick portion 2.

[0031] Of course, in other embodiments, multiple protrusions may be formed on the inner wall of the adjustment knob 4, and a spiral groove may be formed on the adjustment plate 3 along its outer periphery, with multiple protrusions entering the groove, and the adjustment knob 4 being rotatably connected to the adjustment plate 3 by the engagement of the protrusions with the groove, and similarly, the effect of adjusting damping can be obtained by turning the adjustment knob 4 and moving the adjustment seat 5. Also, in other embodiments, the adjustment knob 4 may have a male thread formed on its outer wall, and the adjustment plate 3 may have a cylindrical structure formed around the outer wall of the adjustment knob 4, with a female thread formed on the inner wall of the cylindrical structure corresponding to the male thread 31, and in this case as well In addition, the adjustment knob 4 can be rotatably connected to the adjustment plate 3 by a screw structure. Similarly, in other embodiments, the base part may be formed with a positioning hole 32, and the adjustment plate 3 may be formed with a positioning post 11, in which case, the adjustment plate 3 can also be movably connected to the base part.

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

[0033] 2, 5 and 6, in this embodiment, the stick assembly 100 further includes a second spring 7, both ends of which are abutted against the lower end surface of the adjustment plate 3 and the base portion, respectively, to support the adjustment plate 3 and balance the load, allowing the player to operate the adjustment knob 4 more smoothly and to obtain a better response. 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 thereto, and in other embodiments, the stick assembly 100 does not include the second spring 7. However, the basic effect of damping adjustment can also be achieved.

[0034] 1 and 2, in this embodiment, the stick assembly 100 further includes a stick cap 8, which is used to support the user's fingers and facilitate the player's operation of the stick. Of course, in other embodiments, the stick assembly 100 may not include the stick cap 8, and the player may wear a stick cap 8 of his / her own preference according to his / her needs.

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

[0036] 1, in this embodiment, an adjustment ring 42 is formed on the upper end of the adjustment knob 4, and a plurality of protrusions are formed on the adjustment ring 42 to facilitate the player's movement with his / her finger to turn the adjustment knob 4. In this embodiment, an indication arrow 43 is further provided on the upper end of the adjustment knob 4, which is used to indicate the rotation direction of the adjustment knob 4. Furthermore, the upper end of the adjustment knob 4 may be provided with indication characters 44, which are used to indicate in which direction the adjustment knob 4 should be turned to increase damping and in which direction the adjustment knob 4 should be turned to decrease damping.

[0037] In this embodiment, the adjustment plate 3 is disk-shaped, but the present invention is not limited to this. In other embodiments, the adjustment plate 3 may be semicircular, elliptical, or rectangular, with two sides of the rectangle being arc-shaped, and a male screw may be provided on the outer periphery of the arc. Similarly, in this embodiment, the adjustment knob 4 has a columnar housing structure, but the present invention is not limited to this as long as it can be turned to move the adjustment plate 3.

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

[0039] An embodiment of the present invention further provides a game controller 200, which includes a controller housing 201 and any one of the above-mentioned adjustable damping stick assemblies 100, in which a mounting opening is formed in the controller housing 201, an adjustment knob 4 of the adjustable damping stick assembly 100 is rotatably mounted to the game controller 200, a base portion of the adjustable damping stick assembly 100 is fixedly mounted to the game controller 200, and at least a portion of a structure (e.g., an adjustment ring 42) at an upper end of the adjustment knob 4 protrudes from the mounting opening to the outer surface of the controller housing 201. Thus, a user can adjust the damping 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, the controller housing 201 may have a positioning groove formed on the side wall of its mounting opening and a positioning and engagement protrusion formed correspondingly on the outer wall of the adjustment knob 4, and the adjustment knob 4 is rotatably attached to the game controller 200 by fitting the positioning groove into the positioning and engagement protrusion, and the base portion is fixed to the game controller 200 by a fastening member (soldering, screws, etc.).

[0041] 8, in this embodiment, the game controller 200 further includes a mounting seat 202 provided in the controller housing 201, the base portion is fixed to the mounting seat 202 by a screw, and the adjustment knob 4 has a columnar housing structure, and the outer diameter of the upper end of the adjustment knob 4 gradually decreases in the extending direction. The lower end of the adjustment knob 4 is adjacent to the mounting seat 202, and the upper end of the adjustment knob 4 is adjacent to the edge of the mounting opening. As a result, the degree of freedom of movement of the adjustment knob 4 in the vertical direction is limited by the mounting seat 202 and the edge of the mounting 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 assembly is easy.

[0042] The above is merely a preferred embodiment of the present invention, and does not limit the scope of the present invention. Any equivalent structural transformation made by utilizing the contents of the specification and accompanying drawings of the present invention under the concept of the present invention, or direct / indirect application to other related technical fields, are all within the protection scope of the present invention. [Explanation of symbols]

[0043] 100 Stick assembly 1a Upper housing 1b Lower housing 11 Positioning pillar 2 Stick section 21 Stick 211 The First Space 212 The Second Space 22 Upper rocker arm 221 First Magnet 23 Lower rocker arm 231 Second Magnet 232 Pressure seat 24 Flexible Electric Circuit Board 241 Through hole 242 Metal Dome 243 Hall Integrated Circuit 25 Substrate 3 Adjustment plate 31 Male thread 32 Positioning hole 4 Adjustment knob 41 Female thread 42 Adjustment Ring 43 Directional Arrow 44 Instruction characters 5 Adjustment seat 51 Sliding part 511 Sliding Edge 52 Rotating section 6 First Spring 7 Second Spring 8 Stick Cap 200 Game Controllers 201 Controller housing 202 Mounting seat

Claims

1. A base portion; a stick portion rotatably attached to the base portion, the stick portion including a stick movable relative to the base portion, the stick portion having a first space formed therein; an adjustment tray movably connected to the base; an adjustment knob, a housing structure located outside the stick portion, rotatably connected to the adjustment plate and configured to move the adjustment plate toward or away from the stick when turned; an adjustment seat including a sliding part and a rotating part connected to the sliding part, the sliding part and the stick being fitted together in a extendable and slidable manner, and an upper end surface of the adjustment plate being in contact with the rotating part; a first spring fitted onto the sliding portion and at least partially accommodated in the first space, both ends of which are in contact with the rotating portion and the stick, respectively; 1. An adjustable damping stick assembly comprising:

2. The adjustment knob is rotatably connected to the adjustment plate by a screw.

2. The adjustable damping stick assembly of claim 1.

3. 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.

3. The adjustable damping stick assembly of claim 2.

4. further comprising a second spring; Both ends of the second spring are in contact with the lower end surface of the adjustment plate and the base portion, respectively.

2. The adjustable damping stick assembly of claim 1.

5. A plurality of positioning holes are formed in the adjustment plate, and a plurality of positioning posts are formed in the base portion corresponding to the plurality of positioning holes, and the positioning posts pass through the positioning holes to limit the rotation of the adjustment plate relative to the base portion.

2. The adjustable damping stick assembly of claim 1.

6. A second space is further formed in the stick; The sliding portion is a sliding rod that is inserted into the second space and slidably fitted to the inner wall of the second space.

2. The adjustable damping stick assembly of claim 1.

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.

7. The adjustable damping stick assembly of claim 6.

8. An adjustment ring is formed on the upper end of the adjustment knob, and a number of protrusions are formed on the adjustment ring; and / or The upper end of the adjustment knob is provided with an indication arrow and / or indication letters that are used to indicate the direction of rotation of the adjustment knob.

2. The adjustable damping stick assembly of claim 1.

9. A game controller, a controller housing having a mounting opening; and an adjustable damping stick assembly according to any one of claims 1 to 8, An adjustment knob of the adjustable damping stick assembly is rotatably attached to the game controller, a base portion of the adjustable damping stick assembly is fixedly attached to the game controller, and at least a portion of the structure of an upper end of the adjustment knob protrudes from the mounting opening to an outer surface of the controller housing. A game controller comprising:

10. The game controller further includes a mounting seat provided in the controller housing, the base portion is fixed to the mounting seat, the adjustment knob has a columnar housing structure, an outer diameter of an upper end of the adjustment knob gradually decreases in an extension direction thereof, a lower end of the adjustment knob is adjacent to the mounting seat, and the upper end of the adjustment knob is adjacent to an edge of the mounting opening.

10. The game controller of claim 9.

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