Wireless Game Controller Player Identification via Console Indicator Lights
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing wireless gaming systems face challenges in efficiently and cost-effectively associating multiple controllers with player identities, often relying on wired connections, proprietary protocols, or complex display systems, which limit portability and interchangeability.
Innovation Solution
The use of colored or numbered indicator lights on both the game console and controllers to visually associate players with their corresponding controllers, allowing wireless communication using any desired protocol, eliminating the need for explicit numbering and wire connectors.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If wired controllers with numbered connectors are used to associate players with controllers, then player/controller association is reliable, but portability and ease of operation deteriorate due to tangled wires and limited movement distance
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces the mechanical wired connection system with an optical signaling system. Instead of using physical wires and connectors to associate players with controllers, the system uses indicator lights (optical signals) displayed on the game show screen to indicate which player is currently controlling the game. This substitution eliminates the need for physical connections while maintaining reliable player/controller association through visual feedback.
2Reliability
If wireless controllers with proprietary protocols are used to establish player/controller associations, then player identification is achieved, but device complexity increases and adaptability to non-proprietary systems deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces an intermediary signaling mechanism through the game show screen that mediates between the controller and the player association. Instead of using proprietary communication protocols directly between controller and console, the system uses visual indicator lights displayed on the screen as an intermediary to convey player identification information. This intermediary approach allows any wireless controller to be used without requiring proprietary protocols, thereby improving adaptability while maintaining reliable player identification.
3Reliability
If LCD displays and control circuits are embedded in each controller to show player numbers, then player identification is provided, but device complexity and manufacturing costs increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts the player identification display function from the controller device itself and relocates it to the game show screen. Instead of embedding LCD displays and control circuits in each controller, the system displays indicator lights showing which player is controlling the game on the main screen. This extraction eliminates the need for complex display components in each controller while maintaining reliable player identification through the external display system.
4Reliability
If controllers are physically preconfigured with different colored materials to identify player associations, then player identification is achieved, but manufacturing costs increase and controller interchangeability deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The patent uses a virtual copy of player identification information displayed on the game show screen instead of physical differentiation of controllers. Instead of manufacturing controllers with different colored materials, the system displays visual indicator lights on the screen that copy and represent the player association information. This virtual copying approach eliminates the need for costly physical modifications to controllers while maintaining reliable player identification and full controller interchangeability.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
This solution provides a flexible, cost-effective, and efficient method to identify players in wireless gaming systems, enhancing portability and reducing manufacturing costs by using light indicators for player association, while allowing compatibility with various game systems.
Implementation Method 1
a light indicator that provides a visual indication of an ordinal number of a player in a game that is associated with and controlled by the wireless game controller device
Data Source
AI summary
In a wireless gaming system, one or more game controllers may be visually associated with corresponding player identities by using colored indicator lights on the game controller(s) and game console to identify which player in a computer game is controlled by a given controller. Indicator lights on the controller are illuminated in response to control signals sent via Bluetooth wireless signals so as to match the indicator lights on the console. When multiple controllers are used with a multi-player computer game, a single wireless interface device at the game console is used to issue control signals to each controller so that each controller has a light indicator that is illuminated to identify which player is controlled by the controller.