HANDHELD CONTROLLER WITH THUMBSTICK GUARD

[0001] This application claims priority to U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 62/273,427, filed Dec. 30, 2015, entitled “Handheld Controller with Thumbstick Guard” which is incorporated in its entirety by reference thereto.

[0002] This patent application is directed to handheld controllers and, more specifically, to virtual reality handheld controllers.

[0003] In a virtual reality system, a user wears a head-mounted display that presents a selected virtual reality (VR) environment in front of the user's eyes. In some VR systems, a user can manipulate items in the virtual environment with handheld controllers that typically include a control member configured to rotate and/or pivot within an opening in the controller housing. Conventional controllers typically include a rigid dome-shaped element extending outwardly from the base of the control member to cover a portion of the opening to block dust, dirt, and other debris from passing through the opening and into an interior of the controller. However, traditional controllers utilizing these dome-shaped elements require an additional rigid, spherically-shaped element positioned within the controller housing over which the dome-shaped element can slide as the user rotates or pivots the control member. Such dome- and spherically-shaped elements are bulky and take up valuable space in the controller housing.

[0013] The headings provided herein are for convenience only and do not necessarily affect the scope or meaning of the claimed embodiments. Further, the drawings have not necessarily been drawn to scale. For example, the dimensions of some of the elements in the figures may be expanded or reduced to help improve the understanding of the embodiments. Moreover, while the disclosed technology is amenable to various modifications and alternative forms, specific embodiments have been shown by way of example in the drawings and are described in detail below. The intention, however, is not to limit the embodiments described. On the contrary, the embodiments are intended to cover all modifications, equivalents, and alternatives falling within the scope of the embodiments as defined by the appended claims.

[0014] A flexible thumbstick guard for use with a handheld controller having a thumbstick or other pivotal control member is disclosed. The flexible guard has a tubular neck that sealably connects to a shaft portion of the thumbstick, and a skirt that sealably connects to an interior portion of the handheld controller around the control opening. The guard has a flexible joint portion interconnecting the neck and the skirt to allow the neck to move relative to the skirt upon pivoting the control member relative to the body.

[0015] In at least one embodiment, a handheld controller comprises a body with a control opening, and a control member pivotally coupled to the body in the control opening. A flexible guard is connected to the body and the control member. The guard has a tubular neck with a top region connected to the control member, and a skirt extending outwardly from a bottom region of the neck and away from a central longitudinal axis of the neck. An outer circumference of the skirt is sealably connected to an interior portion of the handheld controller around the control opening. The guard has a flexible joint portion extending around the circumference of the bottom region of the neck, wherein the joint portion connects the neck to the skirt and is configured to bend to allow the neck to move relative to the skirt upon pivoting the control member relative to the body.

[0016] In another embodiment, a handheld controller comprises a main body with a thumb surface having an opening, and a thumbstick extending through the opening. The thumbstick is configured to pivot within the opening. A flexible guard is connected to the main body around the opening. The flexible guard has a tubular neck coupled to at least a portion the thumbstick, and a skirt extending outwardly from a bottom portion of the neck away from a longitudinal axis of the neck. A periphery of the skirt is sealably positioned under the thumb surface. The guard has an annular joint between the tubular beck and the skirt. When the neck is coupled to the thumbstick and the thumbstick is moved in a direction, the neck bends about the annular joint towards the direction and the relative to the skirt.

[0017] Various examples of the devices introduced above will now be described in further detail. The following description provides specific details for a thorough understanding and enabling description of these examples. One skilled in the relevant art will understand, however, that the techniques discussed herein may be practiced without many of these details. Likewise, one skilled in the relevant art will also understand that the technology can include many other features not described in detail herein. Additionally, some well-known structures or functions may not be shown or described in detail below so as to avoid unnecessarily obscuring the relevant description.

[0018] The terminology used below is to be interpreted in its broadest reasonable manner, even though it is being used in conjunction with a detailed description of some specific examples of the embodiments. Indeed, some terms may even be emphasized below; however, any terminology intended to be interpreted in any restricted manner will be overtly and specifically defined as such in this section.

[0019] FIG. 1 illustrates a pair of handheld controllers 100 according to a representative embodiment. The pair of handheld controllers 100 includes a right-hand controller 102 and a left-hand controller 104. The primary structure of the right-hand controller 102 and the left-hand controller 104 when held adjacent to each other in a similar orientation, as illustrated, are substantially symmetric with respect to each other. Both controllers 102/104 are described herein with respect to the right-hand controller 102, as both controllers include the same or similar features, albeit in mirror image. The right-hand controller 102 includes a main body 106 and a handle 108 extending from the main body 106. In some embodiments, a surrounding ring portion 110 extends from the main body 106. The controllers 102/104 can be part of a VR system 1, such as the Rift™ available from Oculus™. Each of the controllers 102/104 includes a plurality of tracking features positioned in a corresponding tracking pattern, such as the right-hand controller's tracking pattern 112. The tracking features in the tracking patterns are configured to be accurately tracked by a tracking camera 3 to determine the motion, orientation, and/or spatial position of the controller for reproduction in a virtual environment. The tracking features can include, for example, fiducial markers or light emitting diodes (LED).

[0020] As shown in FIG. 2A, the handle 108 of the right-hand controller 102 is grasped by a user's right hand 5. When the controller 102 is grasped, the user's thumb 7 (Le., the user's first finger) is positioned above the main body 106 and rests on a thumbstick 114. The user's second or index finger 9 is positioned on a trigger button 116. The user's third or middle finger 11 is positioned to contact a third finger button 118 on the handle portion 108. The controllers 102 and 104 are configured to detect a user's hand and/or finger gestures, such as a thumbs-up gesture as shown in FIG. 2B. As described more fully below, a thumbs-up gesture is indicated when the user removes his or her thumb 7 from the thumbstick 114 for a threshold period of time without touching the same or another button. Although the various embodiments are described with respect to a thumbs-up gesture, other hand and/or finger gestures can be detected with the disclosed technology. For example, a pointing gesture can be detected with the trigger button 116. A hand or finger gesture, such as an open hand, can be detected with the third finger button 118. The presence of a gesture can be a signal to the VR system to initiate a command or to include the gesture in a corresponding apparition or avatar.

[0021] With further reference to FIG. 3, the main body 106 of the right-hand controller 102 includes a thumb surface 120 having an opening 150 through which the thumbstick 114 extends, and a flexible guard 300 positioned around a bottom portion of the thumbstick 114. In the representative embodiment, the guard 300 spans the opening 150 between the thumbstick 114 and the thumb surface 120 to inhibit dirt, dust, liquid, and/or other unwanted material from moving through the opening to an interior region of the controller 102. The guard 300 is described in greater detail below with reference to FIGS. 4A-5.

[0022] As shown in FIG, 3, the thumbstick 114 can include a thumb sensor 122 to detect the presence of the user's thumb or other finger. The presence of a finger can include touching the sensor or hovering over the sensor within a selected distance. In some embodiments, the thumb sensor 122 can be a capacitive touch sensor. The thumb surface 120 can include a capacitive-touch sensor area 124 positioned next to the thumbstick 114 in order to detect when a user is resting their thumb on the thumb surface 120. In some embodiments, the entire thumb surface 120 is a capacitive touch sensor. The thumb surface 120 may include additional buttons 126, 130, and 134, each of which may include a capacitive touch sensor 128, 132, and 136, respectively. A hand gesture, such as a thumbs-up gesture, can be detected when the user lifts their thumb off of a first sensor, such as the thumb sensor 122, and does not place it on the first sensor or a second sensor, such as the sensor area 124, for a selected threshold period of time. It should be understood that a touch sensor can comprise either a capacitive touch sensor or a push button, such as one of the buttons 126, 130, and 134. In some embodiments, the trigger button 116 (see FIG. 2A) and the third finger button 118 can each include a capacitive touch sensor to facilitate finger and gesture detection according to the disclosed techniques.

[0023] In other embodiments, the controller 102 can include pressure sensors, and/or proximity sensors to detect the presence or spatial movement of the user's hands or fingers relative to the thumb surface, the controls, or the handle. Further explanation of finger and/or movement detection can be found, for example, in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 14/939,431, titled “HANDHELD CONTROLLER WITH THIRD FINGER GRIP DETECTION,” filed Nov. 12, 2015, and U.S. patent application Ser. No. 14/939,470, titled “METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR DETECTING HAND GESTURES WITH A HANDHELD CONTROLLER,” filed Nov. 12, 2015, and U.S. patent application Ser. No. 14/975,049, titled “HANDHELD CONTROLLER WITH ACTIVATION SENSORS,” filed Dec. 18, 2015, and U.S. patent application Ser. No. ______ (Attorney Docket No. 60406-8360.US01), titled “ HANDHELD CONTROLLER WITH HAND DETECTION SENSORS.” The foregoing patent applications are hereby incorporated by reference in their entireties.

[0024] In some embodiments, the controller 102 includes an inertial measurement unit (IMU) 142 to monitor rotation and orientation of the controller. Thus, if the user makes, for example, a thumbs-up gesture and the IMU 142 determines that the user's hand has been rotated, then the registered hand gesture can be modified to represent a thumbs-down gesture, for example. In some embodiments, the controller 102 includes a processor or microcontroller 140 to perform the timing and monitoring of the buttons (114, 116, 118, 126, 130, 134), sensors (122, 124, 128, 132, 136), and IMU 142. In other embodiments, a computer included in the VR system 1 (see FIG. 1) can be used to monitor the buttons, sensors, and IMU 142 and to determine the hand gesture indicated by the sensors and buttons. In some embodiments, the rotation and orientation of the handheld controller is determined by the IMU 142 and/or by monitoring the tracking pattern 112 with the tracking camera 3 (see FIG. 1).

[0025] FIG. 4A is an isometric view of the guard 300 shown in FIG. 3 isolated from the rest of the right-hand controller 102 and as viewed from the top of the guard 300. FIG. 4B is a side view of the guard 300, and FIG. 4C is a cross-sectional view of the guard 300 taken along line 4C-4C in FIG. 4A. Referring to FIGS. 4A-4C together, the guard 300 includes a tubular neck 302 having a central longitudinal axis C (FIGS. 4B-4C), an annular joint portion 303 at the base or bottom portion of the neck 302, and a skirt 304 coupled to the neck 302 at the joint portion 303. The skirt 304 extends outwardly from the neck 302 away from its central longitudinal axis C. In the illustrated embodiment, the guard 300 comprises a single component such that the neck 302 is integral with the skirt 304. In other embodiments, the neck 302 and the skirt 304 are separate, interconnected components. As described in greater detail below with reference to FIG. 5, the neck 302 is configured to be coupled to a bottom portion of the thumbstick 114 (FIG. 3) while at least an outer circumference of the skirt 304 is sealably attached or otherwise securely positioned under the portion of the thumb surface 120 (FIG. 3) defining the opening 150 (FIG. 3). As such, the guard 300 spans the opening 150 (FIG. 3) between the thumbstick 114 and the thumb surface 120, thereby inhibiting the movement of unwanted material (e.g., dust, dirt, liquid, etc.) through the opening 150 and into an interior region of the controller 102 (FIG. 3).

[0026] As shown in FIGS. 4A-4C, the neck 302 includes a generally tubular sidewall that extends upwardly from the annular joint portion 303 and defines a lumen 306 therethrough. The lumen 306 is configured to receive a portion of the thumbstick 114 (FIG. 3). A top portion of the neck 302 includes an annular flange 316 (not visible in FIG. 4B) extending into the lumen 306 from an inner surface of the sidewall. In some embodiments, the flange 316 is configured to engage an annular recess along an outer surface of the thumbstick 114, thereby coupling a top portion of the guard 300 and/or neck 302 to the thumbstick 114. In other embodiments, the thumbstick 114 and/or guard 300 can include other suitable coupling means. For example, in some embodiments, the neck 302 includes an annular recess along its outer surface configured to receive an annular flange of the thumbstick 114 and/or the neck 302 is configured to be positioned within a lumen of the thumbstick 114.

[0027] In the embodiment shown in FIGS. 4A-4C, the skirt 304 has a circular shape (as viewed from above) and extends away from the joint portion 303 and/or the base of the neck 302 within a plane generally perpendicular to the central longitudinal axis C of the neck 302 (FIGS. 4B-4C). In some embodiments, the skirt 304 has a stepped portion 314 around its circumference configured to receive a wear ring 400, as discussed in greater detail below with reference to FIG. 5. In other embodiments, the skirt 304 can have other suitable configurations depending on the shape, size, and/or configuration of the thumbstick 114 (FIG. 3), thumb surface 120 (FIG. 3), and/or opening 150 (FIG. 3) in the thumb surface 120 (FIG. 3). For example, in some embodiments, the skirt 304 can curve downwardly or upwardly as it extends away from the neck 302. Additionally, in some embodiments the skirt 304 remains generally flat across its width and does not include a stepped portion.

[0028] In the representative embodiment, the neck 302 and/or skirt 304 are formed of a flexible, elastomeric material (e.g., silicone rubber) such that (1) the neck 302 and/or skirt 304 can bend relative to one another, and (2) the guard 300 can bend or flex relative to the thumbstick 114. For example, FIG. 5 is an enlarged, cross-sectional side view of a portion of the right-hand controller 102 taken along line 5-5 in FIG. 3. As shown in FIG. 5, when the right-hand controller 102 is assembled, the neck 302 of the guard 300 surrounds and contacts a bottom portion of the thumbstick 114 while an outer circumference of the skirt 304 is sealably positioned under a portion of the thumb surface 120 (i.e., the thumb surface 120 overlaps the skirt 304 around the entire circumference of the skirt 304). When a user pivots or rotates the thumbstick 114 within or around the opening 150 (for example, in the direction of arrow A1), the thumbstick 114 pulls on the neck 302 and causes the neck 302 to bend or flex about the annular joint portion 303 (for example, as indicated by arrow B1) in the direction of the movement of the thumbstick 114.

[0029] Depending on the extent the user pivots the thumbstick 114 and the corresponding forces exerted on the neck 302, bending or flexing of the neck 302 can push the near side of the skirt 304 in the direction of the movement of the thumbstick 114 (indicated by arrow C1) and pull the far side of the skirt 304 in the same direction (indicated by arrow D1). As such, bending or flexing the neck 302 about the annular joint portion 303 can shift or translate the entire skirt 304 in the direction of the movement of the thumbstick 114. Although the skirt 304 is made of a flexible material, the skirt 304 can be sufficiently rigid such that the bending or flexing of the neck 302 does not affect the generally linear profile of the skirt 304. In other words, when the neck 302 bends or flexes and the skirt 304 slides relative to the thumb surface 120, a portion of the top surface of the skirt 304 remains in contact with or in close proximity to an underside of the thumb surface 120. Such a configuration reduces the likelihood of unwanted material getting through the opening 150 and into the interior of the controller 102 (FIG. 3) when the user pivots or rotates the thumbstick 114. As previously mentioned, in some embodiments the controller 102 can include a wear ring 400 positioned around the circumference of the skirt 304 and configured to absorb the contact forces between the an inner surface of the thumb surface 120 and a top portion of the skirt 304.

[0030] Remarks

[0031] The techniques introduced here can be embodied as special-purpose hardware (e.g., circuitry), as programmable circuitry appropriately programmed with software and/or firmware, or as a combination of special-purpose and programmable circuitry. Hence, embodiments may include a machine-readable medium having stored thereon instructions which may be used to program a computer, a microprocessor, processor, and/or microcontroller (or other electronic devices) to perform a process. The machine-readable medium may include, but is not limited to, optical disks, compact disc read-only memories (CD-ROMs), magneto-optical disks, ROMs, random access memories (RAMs), erasable programmable read-only memories (EPROMs), electrically erasable programmable read-only memories (EEPROMs), magnetic or optical cards, flash memory, or other type of media/machine-readable medium suitable for storing electronic instructions.

[0032] The above description and drawings are illustrative and are not to be construed as limiting. Numerous specific details are described to provide a thorough understanding of the disclosure. However, in some instances, well-known details are not described in order to avoid obscuring the description. Further, various modifications may be made without deviating from the scope of the embodiments. For example, although the guard 300 is described above with reference to the thumbstick 114, the guard 300 can be used with any button and/or control stick. Accordingly, the embodiments are not limited except as by the appended claims.

[0033] Reference in this specification to “one embodiment” or “an embodiment” means that a particular feature, structure, or characteristic described in connection with the embodiment is included in at least one embodiment of the disclosure. The appearances of the phrase “in one embodiment” in various places in the specification are not necessarily all referring to the same embodiment, nor are separate or alternative embodiments mutually exclusive of other embodiments. Moreover, various features are described which may be exhibited by some embodiments and not by others. Similarly, various requirements are described which may be requirements for some embodiments but not for other embodiments.

[0034] The terms used in this specification generally have their ordinary meanings in the art, within the context of the disclosure, and in the specific context where each term is used. It will be appreciated that the same thing can be said in more than one way. Consequently, alternative language and synonyms may be used for any one or more of the terms discussed herein, and any special significance is not to be placed upon whether or not a term is elaborated or discussed herein. Synonyms for some terms are provided. A recital of one or more synonyms does not exclude the use of other synonyms. The use of examples anywhere in this specification, including examples of any term discussed herein, is illustrative only and is not intended to further limit the scope and meaning of the disclosure or of any exemplified term. Likewise, the disclosure is not limited to various embodiments given in this specification. Unless otherwise defined, all technical and scientific terms used herein have the same meaning as commonly understood by one of ordinary skill in the art to which this disclosure pertains. In the case of conflict, the present document, including definitions, will control.