U.S. Pat. No. 7,837,559

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

Referring toFIGS. 1 to 3of the drawings, a game controller according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention is illustrated, wherein the game controller is adapted to operatively connect to a game console through wire or wireless connection. Accordingly, the game controller comprises a control unit10and a control housing20.

The control unit10comprises a circuit board11and a plurality of functional controls12, wherein each of the functional controls12has a movable control end and a signal end operatively coupling with the circuit board11. According to the preferred embodiment, each of the functional controls12can be a control button121depressably mounted on the circuit board11, a joystick122pivotally mounted on the circuit board11, and/or a trigger lever123movably mounted on the circuit board11.

The control housing20comprises an outer casing21and an internal enclosure22received in the outer casing21. The outer casing21has a receiving cavity211receiving the circuit board11therein and a plurality of control holes212for the control ends of the functional controls12extending out of the receiving cavity211. The internal enclosure, which is received in the receiving cavity211of the outer casing21, has a sealing cavity221for the circuit board11supporting therein to form a double-wall structure to protect the circuit board11and a plurality of guiding slots222aligned with the control holes212of the outer casing21respectively to guide the functional controls12extending to the control holes212through the guiding slots222respectively.

As shown inFIG. 2, the outer casing21comprises an upper casing body213and a lower casing body214detachably coupling with the upper casing body213edge-to-edge to define the receiving cavity211between the upper and lower casing bodies213,214for enclosing the internal enclosure22. Accordingly, the shape, size, and sculpture of the outer casing21can be different from the shape, size, and sculpture of the internal enclosure22such that the game controller of the present invention can be manufactured in any design or style different from the conventional universal input device.

In particularly, the upper casing body213is snap fitted to the lower casing body214in a tool-less manner. Accordingly, a plurality of snap hooks are spacedly extended from the edge of the upper casing body213and a plurality of snap recesses are spacedly provided at the edge of the lower casing body214such that when the snap hooks are detachably engaged with the snap recesses respectively, the upper casing body213is detachably coupled with the lower casing body214to form the outer casing21. In other words, the player is able to interchange from one of the outer casings21with another outer casing21via the snap fit in a tool-less manner. It is worth to mention that the player is able to change the outer casing21with a size corresponding to the hand size of the player such that the player having a bigger hand size is able to use the larger outer casing21for better control. For example, the player is able to change an oversized outer casing21instead of using the conventional input device having a standard size.

Furthermore, the outer casing21is made of see-through material, which can be transparent material or translucent material such as ABS plastic, to house the internal enclosure22such that when the internal enclosure22is enclosed within the outer casing21, the internal enclosure is adapted to be seen through the outer casing21to enhance the an aesthetic appearance of the control housing20.

According to the preferred embodiment, the internal enclosure22, which is preferably made of PVC plastic, comprises an upper internal bracket223and a lower internal bracket224sealing and affixing to the upper internal bracket223to define the sealing cavity221between the upper and lower internal brackets223,224for sealing the circuit board11. As shown inFIG. 2, the upper internal bracket223is affixed to the lower internal bracket224edge-to-edge to seal the sealing cavity221so as to protect the circuit board11therein. In other words, when the internal enclosure22is enclosed within the outer casing21, the internal enclosure22will not be physically interfaced by human contact. Thus, the outer casing21can protect the internal enclosure22and the circuit board11to prevent dust or liquid entering into the internal enclosure22.

As shown inFIG. 3, the internal enclosure22further contains a plurality of sculptural characters225integrally protruded from the internal enclosure22towards the outer casing21such that the sculptural characters225are adapted to be seen through when the outer casing21is made of see-through material, so as to further enhance the aesthetic appearance of the control housing20. Accordingly, the sculptural characters225can be configured as the game character to enhance the personalization of the game controller of the present invention. Preferably, the sculptural characters225are outwardly protruded from the upper internal bracket223to provide a visual impression of the game controller.

Each of the guiding slots222contains a guiding channel2221extended from the internal enclosure22towards the outer casing21to communicate the sealing cavity221with the respective control hole212such that each of the functional controls12is secured and guided to extend through the respective guiding channel2221to the outer casing21. Accordingly, each of the functional controls12has a neck portion defining between the control end and the signal end wherein the neck portion of each of the functional controls12is guided along the respective guiding channel2221.

Each of the guiding channel2221has a predetermine configuration corresponding to a movement of the respective functional control12so as to guide the movement of the functional control12along the guiding channel2221. As it is mentioned above, the control button121is depressably mounted on the circuit board11such that the corresponding guiding channel2221is configured to have an elongated tubular structure to guide the depressing movement of the control button121. When the joystick122is pivotally mounted on the circuit board11, the corresponding guiding channel2221is configured to have a corresponding structure to guide the pivotal movement of the joystick122. When the trigger lever123is movably mounted on the circuit board11, the corresponding guiding channel2221is configured to have a corresponding structure to guide the particular movement of the trigger lever123. In other words, the guiding slots222of the internal enclosure22are adapted to limit the operating range of the functional controls22for preventing any unwanted movement of the functional controls12and to prevent any excess force exerted at the functional controls12.

As shown inFIG. 4, the internal enclosure22is spacedly enclosed within the outer casing to define an air chamber220between an inner side of the outer casing21and an outer side of the internal enclosure22for absorbing an external impact force on the outer casing21. Air is considered as one of the best elements to absorb the impact force. Therefore, when the air chamber220is formed between the internal enclosure22and the outer casing21, the air within the air chamber220is adapted to evenly distribute the external impact force at the outer casing21so as to prevent the external impact directly exerting to the circuit board11through the internal enclosure22.

Alternatively, the internal enclosure22′ is overlappingly enclosed within the outer casing21′, as shown inFIG. 5, at a position that the inner side of the outer casing21′ is overlapped on the outer side of the internal enclosure22′ for enhancing a rigid structure of the control housing20′. Therefore, the inner sides of the upper casing body213′ and the lower casing body214′ are overlapped on the outer sides of the upper internal bracket223′ and the lower internal bracket224′ respectively. In other words, the internal enclosure21′ and the outer casing21′ form the double-wall structure to protect the circuit board11therewithin.

As shown inFIGS. 2 and 4, the game controller further comprises a character layer30replaceably disposed between the inner side of the outer casing21and the outer side of the internal enclosure22for enhancing a personalization of the control housing20. Accordingly, the character layer30can be selectively replaced by the player by simply detaching the outer casing21from the internal enclosure22and can be seen through the outer casing21. The character layer30can be a film printed with a desired character corresponding to the video game to enhance the personalization and visual impression of the game controller of the present invention.

As shown inFIG. 6, the game controller of the present invention, which can be embodied as a hand held game device, further comprises a game screen50formed on the internal enclosure22wherein the outer casing21has a window215aligned with the game screen50. In other words, the control housing20of the game controller of the present invention is adapted to use as the video input device to connect to the game console and as the hand held game device.

One skilled in the art will understand that the embodiment of the present invention as shown in the drawings and described above is exemplary only and not intended to be limiting.

It will thus be seen that the objects of the present invention have been fully and effectively accomplished. It embodiments have been shown and described for the purposes of illustrating the functional and structural principles of the present invention and is subject to change without departure from such principles. Therefore, this invention includes all modifications encompassed within the spirit and scope of the following claims.