US20080220865A1

US20080220865A1 - Interactive playstation controller

Info

Publication number: US20080220865A1
Application number: US11/714,183
Authority: US
Inventors: Wei Hsu
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 2007-03-06
Filing date: 2007-03-06
Publication date: 2008-09-11

Abstract

An interactive playstation controller includes a housing; a linear button set, a mode-switching digital button set, a battery pack, a cable connector and a physiological reaction sensing button set disposed on an exterior of the housing; and an integrated circuit embedded in the housing. The physiological reaction sensing button set includes a heartbeat signal sensor, a humidity sensor, a grip strength sensor and a voice sensor so as to momentarily sense body and physiological condition variations of a player when he or she is playing a game, and the sensed variations are fed back to a game host. Then, a program in the host properly responds with the sensed variations so as to achieve the object and the effect of man-machine interaction.

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

(1) Field of the Invention
The invention relates to an improvement of a playstation controller, and more particularly to an interactive playstation controller.
(2) Description of the Prior Art
In either the mainstream playstation or the non-mainstream playstation available in the market, the wonderful story line development and the body movement of the protagonist in the game or even various man-machine interaction procedures of exchanges of the properties are progressed through a controller connected to the playstation. A player may use his/her hand to control each function key so that the intention of the player is transferred to a host program, which generates different results after judgement and comparison. Thus, the playstation without the controller is like a vehicle, which only has an engine but has no wheel and steering wheel and cannot go anywhere. So, the controller is very important.
As for the playstation, which is often available in the market, the controller therefor is connected to the playstation through the wired connection, for many years. Thus, the function of the controller is not advanced, and the exterior of the controller is not modified. Even if some manufacturers try to improve the controller, only the original wired transmission between the playstation and the controller is changed to the wireless transmission. In particular, the design of the controller is changed from the simple exterior to the colorful exterior, from the simple function to the complicated function, and from the unidirectional message transfer to the bidirectional message transfer. However, these changes are made according to the story line of the game program, wherein the more difficult story line has to match with the more precise playstation and controller. However, the controller seldom considers the mood or the body condition of the player who is playing the game. According to the conclusion of the experience, the game software may automatically consider the physiological reaction of the player and properly correct the program according to the physiological reaction in the future. So, some mechanism for dealing with the compromise between the game software and the player may be generated. The design concept of this feedback between the software and the physiological condition will become a trend.
In view of this, the present inventor has successfully designed an interactive playstation controller according to the technology and the professional experience in the field of the joy stick for many years, and this controller has been experimented so that the utility thereof may be further enhanced.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

It is therefore an object of the invention to provide an interactive playstation controller having an embedded integrated circuit and a physiological reaction sensing button set, such as a heartbeat sensor, a humidity sensor, a grip strength sensor and a voice sensor, disposed on a surface of the controller. Thus, the information of the player who is playing the game may be fed back to a game host and the game host responds with the information using a program so that the interactive effect during the game playing process may be enhanced, wherein the information includes the condition of the excitement of emotion, such as the heartbeat speed, the palm perspiring extent, the hand grip strength, and the voice.
To achieve the above-identified object, a controller is configured to include: a housing; a linear button set, which includes function keys, a mini steering wheel and two mini joy sticks, a mode-switching digital button set, a battery pack, a cable connector and a physiological reaction sensing button set disposed on an exterior of the housing; and an integrated circuit embedded in the housing. The physiological reaction sensing button set includes a heartbeat signal sensor, a humidity sensor, a grip strength sensor and a voice sensor so as to sense physiological condition variations of a player momentarily when the player is playing a game using the controller, and to feed the sensed variations back to a game host so that a program of the host properly responds with the sensed variations to achieve an object and an effect of man-machine interaction.
Further aspects, objects, and desirable features of the invention will be better understood from the detailed description and drawings that follow in which various embodiments of the disclosed invention are illustrated by way of examples.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 shows a circuit structure of an interactive playstation controller according to a preferred embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 2 shows an exterior structure of the interactive playstation controller according to the preferred embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 3 shows an exterior structure of the interactive playstation controller according to another preferred embodiment of the invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

FIG. 1 shows a circuit structure of an interactive playstation controller according to a preferred embodiment of the invention. Referring to FIG. 1, the interactive playstation controller includes: a central processing unit 10; a first input/output port 11 connected to an external mode-switching digital button set 21 and the internal central processing unit 10; a program storage 12, which is connected to the central processing unit 10 and is for storing application programs and procedures associated with this system; a power circuit 13, which is connected to an external battery pack 22, a cable connector 23 and the internal central processing unit 10, and provides the sufficient power; a communication protocol generator 14 for providing a specific communication mechanism between the central processing unit 10 and a game host through the cable connector 23; a linear/digital converter 15, which is connected to a second input/output port 16 and the central processing unit 10 and sequentially converts the information into digital signals, which are transferred to the host in a wired or wireless manner, according to the procedures previously stored in the program storage 12; and the second input/output port 16, which is connected to the internal central processing unit 10, the linear/digital converter 15 and an external linear button set 200. The interactive playstation controller further includes a heartbeat signal sensor 241, a humidity sensor 242, a grip strength sensor 243 and a voice sensor 244. Thus, when the player is using a controller 1 to play a game, the heartbeat signal sensor 241, the humidity sensor 242, the grip strength sensor 243 and the voice sensor 244 can momentarily sense the physiological condition variations of the player, and feed the sensed variations back to the game host. Then, the program of the host system properly responds with the sensed variations to achieve the object and effect of man-machine interaction.
FIG. 2 shows an exterior structure of the interactive playstation controller according to the preferred embodiment of the invention. As shown in FIG. 2, the exterior of the interactive playstation controller of the invention has been disclosed and the interactive playstation controller may be connected to the game host in a wired or wireless manner in order to facilitate the proceeding of the game. The controller 1 has a housing 20. A linear button set 200, similar to the prior art, including a function key 201, a mini steering wheel 202 and two mini joy sticks 203 is disposed on the exterior surface of the housing 20. A mode-switching digital button set 21, a battery pack 22, a cable connector 23 and a physiological reaction sensing button set 24 including a heartbeat signal sensor 241, a humidity sensor 242, a grip strength sensor 243 and a voice sensor 244 are also disposed on the exterior surface of the housing 20. The heartbeat signal sensor 241, the humidity sensor 242, the grip strength sensor 243 and the voice sensor 244 may be thin metal sheets attached to the exterior surface of the housing 20 and electrically connected to the second input/output port 16. Also, the controller 1 has the exterior, which satisfies the human engineering design and can be conveniently and conformably held by the hands of the player. The hand holding portions of the controller 1 are properly distributed with the heartbeat signal sensor 241, the humidity sensor 242, the grip strength sensor 243 and the voice sensor 244. Thus, when the player is playing the game, the body and physiological reactions of the player can be precisely transferred and inputted to the central processing unit 10 of the controller 1 through the effective and complete contacts between the thin metal sheets and the hands holding the physiological reaction sensing button set 24 of the controller 1. Then, the body and physiological reactions of the player are converted, according to various signal combining procedures, into signals to be transferred to the host in the wired or wireless manner. Thus, the feedback of the host can provide the interactive and interesting properties in the game.
When the above-mentioned interactive playstation controller is being operated in practice and the player is controlling the program of the game host, the player controls various reactions of the targets on the screen through the mode-switching digital button set 21 and the linear button set 200 on the controller 1. When the player holds the physiological reaction sensing button set 24 with his/her two hands, the heartbeat signal sensor 241, the humidity sensor 242, the grip strength sensor 243 and the voice sensor 244 immediately sense the above-mentioned variations of the player, such as the information of the speeding up of the heartbeat, the change of the palm perspiring extent, the change of the hand grip strength and the change of the voice, and feed the variations back to the game host through the second input/output port 16. The linear/digital converter 15 converts the variations into digital signals according to the programs stored in the program storage 12, and transfers the digital signals to the specific communication protocol generator 14, which generates the signal mode enabling the communication between the game host and the controller 1 so as to facilitate the information exchange to feed the signals back to the game host.
FIG. 3 shows an exterior structure of the interactive playstation controller according to another preferred embodiment of the invention. As shown in FIG. 3, the connection between the controller 1 and the game host may also be achieved in a wireless manner. In practice, a wireless transceiver module 17 is disposed in the housing and a wireless transceiver adapter that can be connected to a port of the game host is disposed on the exterior of the housing. Thus, when the player is using the controller 1, he or she can achieve the objects of sensing the body and physiological condition variations of the player momentarily and feeding the sensed variations back to the game host through the controller 1 with the wireless communication and transmission function. Then, the program of the host properly responds with the sensed variations to achieve the object and the effect of man-machine interaction.
As for the power supply, if the game host performs the transmission through the cable connector 23 in the wired manner, the power of the controller 1 is supplied from the game host. On the contrary, if the wireless transceiver module 17 is utilized for connection and transmission, the battery pack 22 in the controller 1 supplies the power.
In summary, the interactive playstation controller of the invention can indeed achieve the predetermined object to have the improved utility function, and is a great break in the technology of the controller.
New characteristics and advantages of the invention covered by this document have been set forth in the foregoing description. It is to be expressly understood, however, that the drawings are for the purpose of illustration only and are not intended as a definition of the limits of the invention. Changes in methods, shapes, structures or devices may be made in details without exceeding the scope of the invention by those who are skilled in the art. The scope of the invention is, of course, defined in the language in which the appended claims are expressed.

Claims

1. An interactive playstation controller, comprising:

a housing;

a linear button set comprising function keys, a mini steering wheel and two mini joy sticks, a mode-switching digital button set, a battery pack, a cable connector and a physiological reaction sensing button set disposed on an exterior of the housing; and

an integrated circuit embedded in the housing, wherein the physiological reaction sensing button set comprises a heartbeat signal sensor, a humidity sensor, a grip strength sensor and a voice sensor so as to sense physiological condition variations of a player momentarily when the player is playing a game using the controller, and to feed the sensed variations back to a game host so that a program of the host properly responds with the sensed variations to achieve an object and an effect of man-machine interaction.

2. The interactive playstation controller according to claim 1, wherein the integrated circuit comprises a central processing unit, a first input/output port, a program storage, a power circuit, a communication protocol generator, a linear/digital converter and a second input/output port.

3. The interactive playstation controller according to claim 1, wherein the integrated circuit comprises a wireless transceiver module for transferring a message in conjunction with a wireless transceiver adapter on the game host.