The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document.
The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge covers the following: Patent number, Date patent was issued, Date patent was filed, Title of the patent, Applicant, Inventor, Assignee, Attorney firm, Primary examiner, Assistant examiner, CPCs, and Abstract. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document (in Adobe Acrobat format, aka pdf). To download or print any patent click here.
Patent No.:
Date of Patent:
Jan. 12, 2021
Filed:
Nov. 27, 2018
Valve Corporation, Bellevue, WA (US);
Austin Palmer, Seattle, WA (US);
Cheang Tad Yoo, Bothell, WA (US);
Brian David Hensley, Seattle, WA (US);
Michael J. Goerz, Snohomish, WA (US);
Scott Dalton, Seattle, WA (US);
Ian Campbell, Seattle, WA (US);
Christopher Lee Bjordhal, Snoqualmie Pass, WA (US);
Jeffrey Peter Bellinghausen, Kirkland, WA (US);
Valve Corporation, Bellevue, WA (US);
Abstract
Described herein are, among other things, handheld controllers that include one or more touchpads (i.e., touch-sensitive controls) configured to detachably couple to one or more overlays that effectively transform the respective touchpad into a different control. For instance, one example handheld controller may include a circular trackpad that is configured to detect a position of a finger on a top surface of the trackpad. This position may be used to control a cursor or avatar, for scrolling, or for any other type of command. In general, most or all of the top surface may be usable by a user for providing input to the controller and/or a remote system coupled to the controller. As described herein, however, one or more different overlays may detachably couple to a housing of the controller and/or the trackpad itself to effectively change the use of the trackpad.