Video Game Audio Controller with Summing Circuitry for Local Chat
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current video game audio controllers do not effectively allow multiple players to simultaneously hear game audio and chat with each other during gaming tournaments, limiting communication and gameplay experience.
Innovation Solution
A video game audio controller with a headset audio port, chat audio port, and game audio port, along with control circuitry that sums and combines voice signals, enabling direct communication between multiple controllers in a local chat audio network without latency, allowing players to hear both game and chat audio.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If players use standard audio controllers during gaming tournaments, then they can hear game audio, but they cannot simultaneously communicate with team members
Solution Approach 1:
The patent combines game audio reception and chat audio transmission functions into a single audio controller device. The controller includes a game audio port to receive game audio signals and a chat audio port to transmit and receive chat signals, allowing players to simultaneously access both game audio and team communication through one device rather than requiring separate headsets or controllers.
Solution Approach 2:
The audio controller is designed with multi-functionality to serve both as a game audio output device and a chat communication device. The control circuitry can process and route different audio signals (game audio from the console and chat audio from other players) through the same headset connection, making the controller adaptable to multiple audio functions simultaneously.
2Ease of operation
If multiple controllers are connected to enable team chat, then communication between players is improved, but audio signal routing complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
Each audio controller in the network automatically detects and establishes connections with other controllers without requiring manual configuration. The control circuitry autonomously manages signal routing between connected controllers, detecting which ports are connected and automatically configuring the audio signal paths to enable multi-player chat functionality.
Solution Approach 2:
The control circuitry acts as an intermediary that manages complex signal routing between multiple controllers. It receives game audio signals and chat audio signals, processes them through electronic switches and summing circuits, and routes the appropriate signals to the headset or to other controllers in the network, simplifying the overall system complexity.
3Ease of operation
If chat audio is routed through multiple controllers in sequence, then team communication is enabled, but audio latency increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the audio signal processing by providing direct chat audio ports on each controller that can connect directly to adjacent controllers. This segmentation allows chat audio signals to be transmitted directly between neighboring controllers without having to pass through all intermediate controllers in the network, reducing the total transmission path and minimizing latency.
Solution Approach 2:
The control circuitry is pre-configured with electronic switches and summing circuits that can immediately route chat audio signals through optimal paths when connections are established. The system prepares the signal routing infrastructure in advance so that when controllers are connected, audio signals can be routed with minimal processing delay rather than requiring dynamic configuration during audio transmission.
Data Source
AI summary
A video game audio controller includes a headset audio port configured to connect to an audio headset and receive a headset audio signal, a chat audio port configured to receive a chat audio signal from another controller, a game audio port configured to receive a game audio signal from a video game console, and control circuitry configured to sum the headset audio signal and the chat audio signal and to output the combined chat audio signal from the controller. A local chat audio gaming network can include a plurality of such video game audio controllers removably connectable with each other via one or more cables, wherein the combined chat audio signal is communicated in only one direction between the plurality of video game audio controllers.