Dynamic Dead Zone Calibration for Control Stick Precision
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Solution Overview
Problem
Control stick mechanisms in user input devices, such as gaming controllers, face challenges in precision and variability due to manufacturing inconsistencies and mechanical limitations, leading to unwanted user interface behaviors and reduced usable motion range, often requiring large dead zones to compensate for these issues.
Innovation Solution
A dynamically calibrated user input device that processes movement data using cardinality, centering, and scaling modules to determine and map movement data to a normalized space, reducing or eliminating dead zones and enhancing precision and range of motion.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If large dead zones are implemented to compensate for manufacturing inconsistencies, then reliability of control input is improved, but precision of user input control deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements dynamic dead zone adjustment where the dead zone parameters are not fixed but are dynamically adapted based on the specific control stick mechanism's characteristics. The system determines optimal dead zone boundaries through calibration procedures that account for manufacturing variations, allowing the dead zone to be precisely tailored to each device rather than using a universally large dead zone, thus maintaining reliability while improving precision.
Solution Approach 2:
The system changes the parameters of the dead zone based on measured movement data from the control stick. By analyzing the actual movement characteristics and variability of each control stick, the system adjusts the dead zone parameters (size, shape, position) to optimally compensate for manufacturing inconsistencies without unnecessarily restricting precision input ranges.
2Stability of the object's composition
If large dead zones are used to account for mechanical variability, then stability of control behavior is improved, but range of usable motion deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The patent dynamically adjusts dead zone parameters based on the measured movement characteristics of each control stick. By analyzing actual usage data and mechanical variability, the system optimizes the dead zone configuration to provide stable control behavior while maximizing the usable motion range, rather than applying a fixed large dead zone that unnecessarily restricts movement.
Solution Approach 2:
The system performs preliminary calibration and characterization of the control stick mechanism to determine optimal dead zone parameters before normal operation. This preliminary action allows the system to establish stable control boundaries that account for mechanical variability while preserving maximum usable motion range from the outset.
3Ease of manufacture
If traditional fixed dead zones are implemented, then ease of manufacture is improved, but precision and range of motion deteriorate
Solution Approach 1:
The control stick mechanism performs self-calibration and self-characterization by monitoring its own movement data during operation. The system automatically determines its own mechanical center, cardinal points, and optimal dead zone parameters without requiring manual calibration or complex manufacturing adjustments, thus maintaining ease of manufacture while achieving high precision and range of motion.
Solution Approach 2:
The system implements feedback loops that continuously monitor control stick movement data and use this information to refine dead zone parameters. By feeding back actual performance data to the calibration algorithm, the system automatically optimizes precision and range of motion while requiring no additional manufacturing complexity.
Data Source
AI summary
User input devices, such as gaming controllers, are provided herein. In one example, a user input device includes a control stick mechanism configured to receive user manipulation in one or more axes. The user input device includes control circuitry configured to process movement data representative of the user manipulation to determine mapped movement data over a normalized movement space according to at least one of a mechanical center associated with the control stick mechanism and cardinality data defining a measured movement space associated with the control stick mechanism. The control circuitry is configured to present the mapped movement data for use in controlling one or more user interface elements with the control stick mechanism.