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Controller Patent Suit Won Against Sony
ivec writes "Immersion Corporation announced that the jury returned a verdict favorable to Immersion in its patent infringement suit against Sony Computer Entertainment. The jury found that Sony infringed all the asserted claims of U.S. Patent Nos. 6,275,213 and 6,424,333 and that those claims were valid.
I was surprised how recent these filings were (2000 and 2001). The patents cover 'vibrating devices' such as joysticks."
Information straight from the USPTO:
http://vsmca.tripod.com/sxd.pdf
If these don't count as prior art for vibrating joysticks, I don't know what does.
Source
Release Date: Jun 01, 1997
Yup, Starfox was released with the rumble pack in 1997. Equipped with the Rumble Pak, the Nintendo 64 Controller becomes a new implement for fun. Not only does the Rumble Pak provide force-feedback in response to the game action, the Controller's analog Control Stick gives you total, precise control of your vehicle, be it a sleek "Arwing" starfighter, an armored "Landmaster" tank, or the deep-diving "Blue-Marine" submersible.
Chewie does not get a medal. Come on, George. Can a Wookie get a medal?
As it turns out, Microsoft settled a similar lawsuit with Immersion to the tune $26 million, and can license the techology for their own PC and XBox gamepads. Immersion is required to repay some of that amount in the event of a victory in the Sony lawsuit.
Subsequent to the settlement, Microsoft bought a large number of shares in Immersion, and also obtained the rights to sub-license the technology to other parties, including Sony.
It's been used before in what I can only describe as haptic sensory feedback in a discreet, pleasure inducing, package. . .
Wired News carried the story
Actually, I researched this last night trying to figure out why Sony didn't pull the Rumble Pak as prior art, or why Nintendo has not been sued by Immersion. What I found only left me more confused.
Patent 6,200,253 is Nintendo's Rumble Pak patent, which came out over a year before the Immersion patent. The thing is, it specifically talks about being a detachable device. The GameCube controller's rumble is built in, so it would seem to fall under the Immersion patent. However, maybe they have some sort of private agreement not to sue since Immersion would likely lose their patent.
Patent 6,743,104 is Nintendo's patent for rumble in Game Boy cartridges. This patent references both their Rumble Pak patent as well as the Immersion patent.
It's also interesting to note that something like a dozen Immersion patents specifically reference the Nintendo Rumble Pak, Sony Dual Shock, and sometimes the Sega Jump Pack. Clearly Immersion was well aware of force feedback devices and who was actually using them. I'm not sure what took them so long to try to make a claim on it.
All that said, by the manner in which the Immersion patent in question reads, they pretty much patented every possible alternate configuration of a force feedback/rumble device (different housing, different actuators, different shaped eccentric mass, etc). In being so general however, you'd think that vibrators would be prior art as the first sentence of the patent reads "A man-machine interface which provides tactile feedback to various sensing body parts is disclosed."