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SonyGranted patentGames & mediaInterest 6/10

Sony patents controller that changes button functions based on how you move it

Sony has been granted a patent for a game controller that uses motion sensors to change what buttons do. When the controller moves in a specific pattern, the system automatically switches the function of one button to act like another.

Why it mattersThis could make gaming controllers more responsive by allowing players to switch actions quickly without pressing multiple buttons, though it is unclear if this will appear in future hardware.

In the filing’s own words

Disclosed are an entertainment device, a method and a computer program. The entertainment device includes receiver circuitry and processing circuitry. The receiver circuitry receives, from a controller, input actuation information and associated motion detection information, where the input actuation information is indicative of detected actuation of at least one manual actuation input of the controller and the associated motion detection information is indicative of detected motion of the controller. The processing circuitry processes a game state of a game and, in at least a first mode of operation, selects, from amongst a plurality of interpretations, an interpretation of the input actuation information in dependence on the associated motion detection information and updates the processing of the game state in dependence on the selected interpretation of the input actuation information.

What exactly they claim (claim 1)

1. A computer-implemented method comprising: receiving, from a controller, (i) control actuation information that is indicative of detected actuation of one or more controls of the controller, and (ii) motion detection information that is indicative of detected motion of the controller; comparing the detected motion with a predetermined pattern of motion; entering into a first operation mode to remap a detected actuation of a first control of the controller to an undetected actuation of a second control of the controller based on the detected motion matching the predetermined pattern of motion; and providing the second control to a computer simulation.

Facts

Company
Sony (Sony Interactive Entertainment Inc.)
Official title
Selecting an interpretation of input actuation information received from a controller
Patent number
US12741209B2
Application number
18353280
Filed
Jul 17, 2023
Granted
Sep 22, 2026
Inventors
2
Claims
20

Classified under

A63F 13/428 Human necessitiesA63F 13/211 Human necessities

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Summaries are simplified from the filing’s own abstract and first claim. A patent filing is not a product announcement.
Patent data and drawings: U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO). Nebula is not affiliated with or endorsed by the USPTO.