US-20260124528-A1 - GUITAR VIDEOGAME CONTROLLERS HAVING HALL EFFECT BUTTONS AND ACTUATORS

US20260124528A1US 20260124528 A1US20260124528 A1US 20260124528A1US-20260124528-A1

Abstract

A guitar videogame controller in accordance with the present disclosure may be configured to be utilized to play videogames that involve simulating the playing of a guitar, such as Guitar Hero®, Rock Band®, Fortnite Festival®, etc. The guitar videogame controller includes one or more hall effect buttons that are configured to facilitate a user setting a desired trigger point for the hall effect button, e.g., to what extent the user is required to actuate or move (e.g., rotate or linearly translate) the hall effect button, in order for the controller to register actuation of the button. For example, the guitar videogame controller may include a hall-effect whammy bar, hall-effect strum bar, and/or one or more hall-effect fret buttons.

Inventors

Lee Guinchard
Jared Chan

Assignees

Embracer Freemode Inc.

Dates

Publication Date: 20260507
Application Date: 20250731

Claims (20)

1 . A guitar videogame controller, comprising: a housing including a housing body, an elongate neck extending outward from the housing body, and a fretboard disposed on the elongate neck; a hall effect button operatively coupled to the housing and configured to be selectively moved relative to the housing to actuate the hall effect button, wherein the hall effect button includes a magnet; a hall effect sensor fixed relative to the housing, wherein the hall effect sensor is configured to detect a magnitude of a magnetic field of the magnet at the hall effect sensor and to generate an output signal indicating the magnitude of the magnetic field; and a controller including processing logic configured to register when the hall effect button is actuated based on the output signal and to output one or more control signals to a videogame console indicating actuation of the hall effect button.
2 . The guitar videogame controller of claim 1 , wherein the controller is configured to register actuation of the hall effect button in response to the output signal indicating the magnitude of the magnetic field exceeds a threshold level.
3 . The guitar videogame controller of claim 2 , wherein the threshold level is selected from a plurality of preset discrete value threshold levels stored in a memory of the controller, wherein each of the plurality of preset discrete value threshold levels corresponds to a respective actuation distance that hall effect button is required to be moved in order for the controller to register actuation of the hall effect button.
4 . The guitar videogame controller of claim 1 , wherein the hall effect button comprises a strum bar operatively coupled to the housing body and configured to be selectively rotated relative to the housing body about a strum-bar axis of rotation to actuate the strum bar.
5 . The guitar videogame controller of claim 4 , wherein rotating the strum bar rotates the magnet relative to the hall effect sensor, such that the magnitude of the magnetic field detected by the hall effect sensor varies as the strum bar is rotated.
6 . The guitar videogame controller of claim 1 , wherein the hall effect button comprises a whammy bar operatively coupled to the housing body and configured to be selectively rotated relative to the housing body about a whammy-bar axis of rotation to actuate the whammy bar.
7 . The guitar videogame controller of claim 6 , wherein rotating the whammy bar rotates the magnet relative to the hall effect sensor, such that the magnitude of the magnetic field varies as the whammy bar is rotated.
8 . The guitar videogame controller of claim 1 , wherein the hall effect button comprises a fret button operatively coupled to the fretboard.
9 . The guitar videogame controller of claim 8 , wherein the fret button comprises a push button configured to be pushed downward to actuate the fret button.
10 . The guitar videogame controller of claim 9 , wherein pushing the fret button downward to actuate the fret button moves the magnet relative to the hall effect sensor, such that the magnitude of the magnetic field detected by the hall effect sensor varies as the fret button is pushed downward.
11 . The guitar videogame controller of claim 1 , further comprising a plurality of the hall effect buttons including a hall-effect strum bar, a hall-effect whammy bar, and one or more hall-effect fret buttons.
12 . The guitar videogame controller of claim 1 , wherein the hall effect sensor is configured to generate the output signal using pulse-width modulation.
13 . The guitar videogame controller of claim 1 , wherein the hall effect sensor includes an analog signal generator configured to generate the output signal.
14 . A guitar videogame controller, comprising: a housing including a housing body, an elongate neck extending outward from the housing body, and a fretboard disposed on the elongate neck; a hall effect button supported by the housing, the hall effect button including: a button body configured to be selectively moved relative to the housing to actuate the hall effect button; a magnet operatively coupled to the button body, such that the magnet is configured to be selectively moved relative to the housing with the button body; and a hall effect sensor fixed relative to the housing, wherein the hall effect sensor is configured to detect a component of a magnetic field of the magnet and to generate an output signal indicating a magnitude of the component of the magnetic field; and a controller including processing logic configured to register actuation of the hall effect button based on the output signal, wherein the processing logic is configured to output one or more control signals to a videogame console indicating actuation of the hall effect button in response to registering actuation of the hall effect button.
15 . The guitar videogame controller of claim 14 , wherein the controller is configured to register actuation of the hall effect button in response to the output signal indicating the magnitude of the component of the magnetic field exceeds a threshold level.
16 . The guitar videogame controller of claim 15 , wherein the threshold level is selected from a plurality of preset discrete value threshold levels stored in a memory of the controller, wherein each of the plurality of preset discrete value threshold levels corresponds to a respective actuation distance that the button body is required to be moved in order for the controller to register actuation of the hall effect button.
17 . The guitar videogame controller of claim 14 , wherein the hall effect button comprises a strum bar, wherein the button body of the strum bar is configured to be selectively rotated relative to the housing body about a strum-bar axis of rotation to actuate the strum bar.
18 . The guitar videogame controller of claim 14 , wherein the hall effect button comprises a whammy bar, wherein the button body of the whammy bar is configured to be selectively rotated relative to the housing body about a whammy-bar axis of rotation to actuate the whammy bar.
19 . The guitar videogame controller of claim 14 , wherein the hall effect button comprises a fret button operatively coupled to the fretboard, wherein the button body of the fret button is configured to be selectively pushed downward relative to the fretboard to actuate the fret button.
20 . The guitar videogame controller of claim 14 , further comprising a plurality of the hall effect buttons including a hall-effect strum bar supported by the housing body, a hall-effect whammy bar supported by the housing body, and one or more hall-effect fret buttons supported by the fretboard.

Description

CROSS-REFERENCES The following applications and materials are incorporated herein by reference, in their entireties, for all purposes: U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 63/717,186, filed Nov. 6, 2024. FIELD This disclosure relates to systems and methods for videogame controllers. More specifically, the disclosed embodiments relate to guitar videogame controllers. INTRODUCTION Many music-based videogames exist which simulate playing a musical instrument for a user, such as Guitar Hero®, Rock Band®, and Fortnite Festival®. Some such music-based videogames have corresponding controllers which are designed similarly to the musical instruments that are simulated in the gameplay, such as guitars, drums, microphones, etc. SUMMARY The present disclosure provides systems, apparatuses, and methods relating to guitar videogame controllers for music-based videogames. In some examples, a guitar videogame controller comprises: a housing including a housing body, an elongate neck extending outward from the housing body, and a fretboard disposed on the elongate neck; a hall effect button operatively coupled to the housing and configured to be selectively moved relative to the housing to actuate the hall effect button, wherein the hall effect button includes a magnet; a hall effect sensor fixed relative to the housing, wherein the hall effect sensor is configured to detect a magnitude of a magnetic field of the magnet at the hall effect sensor and to generate an output signal indicating the magnitude of the magnetic field; and a controller including processing logic configured to register when the hall effect button is actuated based on the output signal and to output one or more control signals to a videogame console indicating actuation of the hall effect button. In some examples, a guitar videogame controller comprises: a housing including a housing body, an elongate neck extending outward from the housing body, and a fretboard disposed on the elongate neck; a hall effect button supported by the housing, the hall effect button including: a button body configured to be selectively moved relative to the housing to actuate the hall effect button; a magnet operatively coupled to the button body, such that the magnet is configured to be selectively moved relative to the housing with the button body; and a hall effect sensor fixed relative to the housing, wherein the hall effect sensor is configured to detect a component of a magnetic field of the magnet and to generate an output signal indicating a magnitude of the component of the magnetic field; and a controller including processing logic configured to register actuation of the hall effect button based on the output signal, wherein the processing logic is configured to output one or more control signals to a videogame console indicating actuation of the hall effect button in response to registering actuation of the hall effect button. Features, functions, and advantages may be achieved independently in various embodiments of the present disclosure, or may be combined in yet other embodiments, further details of which can be seen with reference to the following description and drawings. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a front isometric view of an illustrative guitar videogame controller in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure. FIG. 2 is a rear isometric view of the guitar videogame controller of FIG. 1. FIG. 3 is a partially exploded view of the guitar videogame controller of FIGS. 1 and 2. FIG. 4 is an isometric view of a body of the guitar videogame controller of FIGS. 1 and 2 with a front housing removed. FIG. 5 is an isometric view of an elongate neck of the guitar videogame controller of FIGS. 1 and 2 with a front housing removed. FIG. 6 is a front isometric view of a mounting plate, strum bar, whammy bar, and internal electronic components of the guitar videogame controller of FIGS. 1 and 2. FIG. 7 is a rear isometric view of the mounting plate, strum bar, whammy bar, and internal electronic components of the guitar videogame controller of FIGS. 1 and 2. FIG. 8 is a rear isometric view of a rotating base of a hall effect whammy bar of the guitar videogame controller of FIGS. 1 and 2. FIG. 9 is a rear isometric view of a hall effect strum bar of the guitar videogame controller of FIGS. 1 and 2. FIG. 10 is a partial rear isometric of the hall effect strum bar of FIG. 9 illustrating a strum-bar hall effect sensor and strum-bar magnet. FIG. 11 is a schematic illustration of a hall effect fret button of the guitar videogame controller of FIGS. 1 and 2. FIG. 12 is a schematic illustration of an example control system of the guitar videogame controller of FIGS. 1 and 2. FIG. 13 is an isometric view of a dongle and dongle compartment of the guitar videogame controller of FIGS. 1 and 2 FIG. 14 is an isometric view of a connection mode selection dial of the guitar videogame controller of FIGS. 1 and 2. DETAILED DESCRIPTION Various aspects and