Removable Paddle Accessory for Game Controller
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Solution Overview
Problem
Game controllers often require users to remove their thumbs from joysticks to access action buttons, leading to reduced control accuracy, and existing designs do not accommodate individual user preferences for control shape, size, and placement.
Innovation Solution
A paddle accessory that can be removably affixed to a game controller without tools, featuring a blade and sensor-activation feature, allowing users to translate touch forces into actuation forces for paddle-actuatable sensors, enabling customizable control configurations and accommodating different hand sizes.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If users manipulate action buttons on conventional controllers, then multiple controls can be accessed, but control accuracy decreases due to thumb removal from joysticks
Solution Approach 1:
The patent relocates action buttons from the traditional thumb-operated position to paddle controls positioned on the back of the controller, accessible to the user's fingers. This spatial reconfiguration allows thumbs to remain on joysticks while fingers operate paddles, enabling simultaneous control of multiple inputs without compromising joystick precision.
2Ease of manufacture
If conventional controllers use fixed control layouts, then manufacturing is simplified, but user preferences for control shape, size, and placement cannot be accommodated
Solution Approach 1:
The controller is divided into modular components with standardized mounting interfaces. Paddle controls can be independently attached or removed from the controller body, allowing users to customize their control configuration while maintaining simple manufacturing processes for each separate component.
Solution Approach 2:
The controller transitions from a static, fixed layout to a dynamic, reconfigurable system. Paddle controls can be positioned at different locations and orientations on the controller back, and can be added or removed based on user preference, while the base controller remains unchanged.
Data Source
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AI summary
A paddle accessory includes a blade, a sensor-activation feature extending from the blade, and a mounting interface spaced apart from the sensor-activation feature. The blade is sized and shaped for manual manipulation by a finger. The mounting interface is configured to selectively mate with a pivot of a game controller to removably affix the paddle accessory to the game controller. The paddle accessory is configured to rotate relative to the pivot to translate a touch force applied to the blade into an actuation force applied by the sensor-activation feature to a paddle-actuatable sensor interior an aperture of the game controller.