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:
Mar. 11, 2003
Filed:
Feb. 29, 2000
Gary L. Gordon, Redmond, WA (US);
Microsoft Corporation, Redmond, WA (US);
Abstract
A haptic gaming device includes an integral internal power supply adapted to be connected directly to alternating current (AC) line power. The haptic gaming device, a disclosed example of which is a force feedback joystick, provides a feedback force to a user gripping a control handle of the device. The force on the control handle is produced by one or more electrical motors within the base of the device. Electrical power for the motors is provided by the integral internal power supply and is regulated to accommodate a relatively wide range of input AC line voltage. The power supply includes a pulse width modulated switching control that produces pulses of direct current (DC), which are applied to a first primary winding of a transformer in the power supply. A second primary winding in the transformer produces a feedback signal employed to control a pulse width modulated switching (PWM) control, which varies a width of the DC pulses applied to the first primary winding so that the voltage output from a secondary winding of the transformer remains within a desired range. Because the integral internal power supply is relatively compact and includes only a few components, it has a low cost and readily fits within the base of the joystick.