1. Field of the Invention
This invention pertains to a controller for human interaction in video games with any video game machine system.
2. Description of the Prior Art
The controller for the Nintendo Entertainment System is described under U.S. Pat. No. 4,687,200. This controller is one example of the features present in most prior art video game controller inventions. The buttons that come in contact with the skin are hard plastic projections. These projections have rough hard edges that can cause injury to the skin due to collision during video game playing. The four directional control buttons consist of a cross shaped button projection which pivots on the center axis. The cross shaped button has harsh corners, edges and arrow symbols embedded in the plastic. A directional change during video game playing involves the thumb of the left hand. As the thumb moves from the left button it drags across with downward pressure to the right side button which pivots the cross shaped button and changes the direction. This technique is true for changing from any one direction to another. The downward pressure necessary to engage the directional buttons in conjunction with the dragging of the thumb causes blisters on the skin and physically stresses the tendons and muscles of the hand. Another disadvantage to the controller is that the buttons are not engaged until they are displaced a distance inward. The time to depress a button is minute; however, today's advanced video games require split second timing on the pan of the video game player to engage a certain button at a certain time and if that is not accomplished it can result in the end of the game. The short time period of switch engagement although minute, if reduced, can result in the difference of winning instead of losing a video game.
The U.S. Pat. No. 5,207,426 is a controller for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System. This patented invention is a slight improvement on the old version of the Nintendo controller. The design of the controller reduces the harshness of the touchable surfaces by rounding edges and using softer materials for the button projections. This design only diminishes the blistering effect on the skin. The stress on the tendons and muscles of the hands has not been decreased by this design because the buttons still require pressure to be engaged. The buttons for the Super Nintendo controller must be depressed inward which reduces the player's reaction time. Occasionally with this type of controller design, the buttons are not depressed hard enough to engage the switches; as a result this can cause the end of the game and give frustration to the player.
The Human-Machine Interface Apparatus invention of U.S. Pat. No. 4,071,691 and the Video Game Apparatus and Method invention of U.S. Pat. No. 4,302,011 are slightly similar in the rough concept notion to the Touch Sensitive Video Game Controller invention, but differ in many respects such as objective, intent, design, limitations and appearance. The objective of these patented inventions are to eliminate projecting knobs and buttons by transferring them all to one uniformly smooth surface which prevents injury from collision with knobs or levers, enhancing the esthetic appeal, and protecting devices used by the public from vandalism. The intent of these inventions is to allow natural and convenient two-axis motions without the mental translation required to use two separate knobs or levers. The designs use various frequencies and/or phase differences which electronically is an analog form of processing information. One limitation of such information processing is the physical design must be precisely constructed with high quality control standards to strictly small tolerance discrepancies in fulfillment of a linear resistance across the x and y coordinates of the inventions. The circuits use analog frequencies which must be finely tuned to each other and the phase sensor surface causing another limitation; this must be done for each individual controller constructed. The analog output signals must be converted into a digital form that computer systems can recognize. Also consider this limitation, some information loss occurs during the process of an analog to digital conversion, and can not be converted at the same exact voltages for replicas of the controller; this is due to the variance within tolerances of electronic components. The appearance of the latter patent mentioned is a flat dull looking device; that must be looked upon in order to see what section of the controller the finger is touching. This is a great disadvantage in video game playing for when the eyes look away from the viewing screen an error in game execution may occur due to the fast-paced nature of current video game systems.
One objective of the game controller of this invention is to eliminate the pushing down of buttons by using touch sensitive circuitry. Another objective of this invention is to keep the electrical conductive contact points as smooth and/or soft as possible. The intent of this invention is to reduce stress on the tendons and muscles of the hands including skin blisters, increase reaction time of the engagement of the switches by the player, and have the touch sensitive buttons projecting out of the controller so that the player can distinguish between the various buttons with the sense of touch. The design of this invention is a digital form of processing information. This design is a combination of electronic circuits joined in this manner to create a new video game controller. The appearance of the invention has smooth buttons, and is small enough to fit comfortably within the palms of the two hands.