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Nintendo files multiple Nintendo Switch patents (controller, dock, architecture*)

K

KingSnake

The Birthday Skeleton
Neoxon said:
Does this also confirm L/R buttons on the side of the Joy-Cons?
Click to expand...

Yes.

Edit: quote for new page:

L and R buttons on the Joy-cons (in horizontal position confirmed) - 65 and 66

As does the left controller 3, the right controller 4 also includes a second L button 65 and a second R button 66. As are the operation buttons 53 to 56, these buttons 65 and 66 are used to give instructions in accordance with various programs executed on the main unit 2.
Click to expand...
 
R

Retrobox

Member
And here I thought Switch would come with less control options than Wii U due to them distancing themselves from the Wii brand and anything that was associated with it....
 
Toadthemushroom

Toadthemushroom

Member
I'm pleased about the ambient light sensor, New 3DS had auto brightness which I keep on all the time, but it uses the front-facing camera and a co-processor to achieve it, and it sometimes doesn't do the job all that well. For example, if you're playing with the lights off in bed, it'll see the screen reflection on your face and think the room is brighter than it actually is.

But yeah, that's something every portable device in 2016 should have. Just hope it's implemented in a way that you pick a brightness and it moves it up/down from that mid-point, like on an iPhone.
 
T

Thraktor

Member
Don't have time to read through it right now, but aside from anything else I have to say I find this kind of stuff fascinating from a product design perspective, just for the amount of thought that goes into something as boring as slotting a joycon in the side of the Switch.

HMD is interesting, although I have a feeling it's more of a "just in case" part of the patent than something we should expect. One I actually read through it I'll be interested to see if there's any reference to the passive optical controller tech described in one of their prior patents.
 
L

LordKano

Member
So, if they sell joycons with different buttons layout, that would solve the problem of "how the fuck will we be able to play Wii Virtual Console with these pads".
 
J

jett

D-Member
KratosEnergyDrink said:
To be honest, the difference between something like PSVR and Cardboard VR is not big (or even neglible when using GearVR). Depends on the "Cardboard" you use and the phone.
Click to expand...

Most phones have a higher resolution than the Switch. I really wouldn't expect anything to come out of the VR part of the patents.
 
K

KHlover

Banned
moozoom said:
All those different types of Joycons designs means either they are covering all the possibilities in the patents with variations on the controls and placement of buttons...

OR they will sell different types of controllers to let us customise the experience and the controls depending on the games we play. Which I would be quite hyped for.
Click to expand...
Gotta have those GCN controls for Smash.
 
V

Vic

Please help me with my bad english
Wait hold on, the Joy Cons are perfect as controllers for VR.

The Nintendo Switch, it only does everything.
 
S

sir_bumble_bee

Member
Retrobox said:
And here I thought Switch would come with less control options than Wii U due to them distancing themselves from the Wii brand and anything that was associated with it....
Click to expand...

The difference here is that most of it will come out of the box


Any word on analog triggers? Or will that be a possibility with swappable joy-cons?
 
O

oti

Banned
LordKano said:
So, if they sell joycons with different buttons layout, that would solve the problem of "how the fuck will we be able to play Wii Virtual Console with these pads".
Click to expand...

Definitely. A Joy-Con with a traditional d-pad is a must-buy for me.

Vic said:
Wait hold on, the Joy Cons are perfect as controllers for VR.

The Nintendo Switch, it only does everything.
Click to expand...

Yeah, in the same way PlayStation Move is perfect for VR. They are nowhere near Oculus Touch of the Vive controllers tech wise.
 
moozoom

moozoom

Member
Scrawnton said:
My bet is they will have a separate joycon to buy at launch that has a traditional d pad.
Click to expand...

Fig. 50 even show the right Joycon with the analog stick on the top, and the buttons below like on the Wii U gamepad...

I guess its the best they can offer to put a stop on the usual button placement moaning - you choose your controls by switching the Joycons.
 
K

KratosEnergyDrink

Member
ShadyPenguin said:
So VR is possible, although at a low quality (assuming that the 720p are true) which means all you need to play in VR with the Switch is a head attachment.

The Switch is the most insane all-in-one Console i've ever seen.
Click to expand...

Even with 1080p VR would be no fun, its would be like PSVR (Rift and Hive resolution is a bit higher) and that is already very grainy. Perhaps a greater field of view (PSVR is narrow compared to competitors) would make the experience on Switch a bit more comfortable.
 
M

mourad louali

Member
OmegaSmash said:
So the split joy cons only have 2 shoulder buttons?
Click to expand...

confirmed!

The left controller 3 also includes a second L button 43 and a second R button 44. As are the other operation buttons 33 to 36, these buttons 43 and 44 are used to give instructions in accordance with various programs executed on the main unit 2. As shown in FIG. 5, the second L button 43 and the second R button 44 are provided on the engaging surface of the slider 40. The second L button 43 is provided on the engaging surface of the slider 40 above the center of the engaging surface with respect to the up-down direction (the y-axis direction shown in FIG. 1). The second R button 44 is provided on the engaging surface of the slider 40 below the center of the engaging surface with respect to the up-down direction. The second L button 43 and the second R button 44 are arranged at such positions that they cannot be pressed down with the left controller 3 attached to the main unit 2. That is, the second L button 43 and the second R button 44 are buttons that are used when the left controller 3 is detached from the main unit 2. For example, the second L button 43 and the second R button 44 are operated with the index finger or the middle finger of the left hand and the right hand of a user holding the left controller 3 detached from the main unit 2 (see FIG. 35).
Click to expand...

15178984-5cljyg.png
 
T

Turrican3

Member
The main unit 2 can also capture an image of a hand of a user (specifically, the vein pattern of the hand) by means of the infrared image-capturing section 123, to thereby authenticate (specifically, by vein authentication) a user based on the captured image. Moreover, the main unit 2 can also measure the pulse of a user by capturing an image of a hand of the user by means of the infrared image-capturing section 123. That is, where infrared light output onto and reflected by a hand of a user is detected by the infrared image-capturing section 123, the main unit 2 can calculate the pulse of the user based on changes in the reflected waves.
Click to expand...

Lol, is this the return of the Vitality Sensor?
 
K

KingSnake

The Birthday Skeleton
bytesized said:
Is the IR sensor number 68 in fig 6?
Click to expand...

A window portion 68 is provided in the lower side surface of the housing 51. The right controller 4 includes an infrared image-capturing section (an infrared image-capturing section 123 shown in FIG. 31), the details of which will be described later, to detect a hand movement and/or the gesture, etc., of the user by means of the infrared image-capturing section 123. The window portion 68 is provided so as to allow the camera of the infrared image-capturing section 123 arranged inside the housing 51 to capture an image around the right controller 4. The window portion 68 is provided for protecting the lens of the camera of the infrared image-capturing section 123, and is made of a material (e.g., a transparent material) that allows light of a wavelength to be detected by the camera to pass therethrough. Note that the window portion 68 may be a hole formed in the housing 51. Note that in the present embodiment, the infrared image-capturing section 123 itself has a filter member for suppressing the transmission therethrough of light of wavelengths other than the light (in the present embodiment, infrared light) to be detected by the camera. Note however that in other embodiments, the window portion may have a filter function.
Click to expand...

.
 
-shadow-

-shadow-

Member
Some really interesting titbits, most interesting is the VR headset. Nintendo and VR like this will be most interesting!
 
Y

yoonshik

Member
There it is.

[0556] In the present embodiment, in the portable mode, the operation of the cooling fan 96 is limited. Specifically, in the portable mode, the rotations per minute (rpm) at which the cooling fan 96 is allowed to operate (in other words, the fan speed) is limited to be lower than the highest rpm at which the cooling fan 96 is allowed to operate in the console mode. For example, in the portable mode, the cooling fan 96 is controlled to operate at a predetermined rpm or less, which is lower than the maximum rpm.

[0557] With the limitation (b) above, it is possible to reduce the operation noise of the cooling fan 96. In the portable mode, it is assumed that a user uses the main unit 2 close to the user. In view of this, in the present embodiment, since the operation noise of the cooling fan 96 can be reduced in the portable mode, it is possible to reduce the possibility that the user may feel the operation noise is too loud.

[0558] On the other hand, the console mode is a mode in which the information processing device 1 is used as a console-type device. In the console mode, images obtained or produced by the information processing device 1 are displayed on the TV 6. The sound obtained or produced by the information processing device 1 is output from the speaker of the TV 6. In the console mode, the function suppressions in the portable mode are lifted. That is, in the console mode, the limitations (a) and (b) described above are lifted. Therefore, in the console mode, a program running on the information processing device 1 can make better use of the processing power of the CPU 81. The information processing device 1 can display, on the TV 6, images of a higher resolution than in the portable mode. The information processing device 1 can be cooled by the cooling fan 96 more effectively than in the portable mode.
Click to expand...
 
S

Skittzo0413

Member
So this document is massive, and I'm a slow ass reader. I'm reading from paragraph 521 onwards as it describes the docking process in enormous detail. Things I've learned:

- You cannot display to the TV without the Switch being docked and connected to a power supply (and the dock being an official Nintendo dock, no third party product) EDIT: Nevermind, this is covered in other embodiments

- They describe two modes for the Switch: console mode and portable mode (we were so close with "docked mode" and "portable mode") where portable mode has less capability than docked mode
 
M

Metal B

Member
OmegaSmash said:
So the split joy cons only have 2 shoulder buttons?
Click to expand...
Yes and no. Technically there are only two real shoulder buttons, but there are still the two normal shoulder buttons on the side. Those could be used for not common function of a game, since they are hard to reach or could get in the way. But they exists.
 
T

Turrican3

Member
Neoxon said:
Don't get your hopes up too high, it's likely more for replicating touch controls than for Wii-like aiming.
Click to expand...
[0479] In addition to (or instead of) identifying a gesture input, the infrared image-capturing section 123 may be used to calculate the position and/or the orientation of the right controller 4 with respect to a predetermined marker. For example, a user may place a marker at an intended position (e.g., around the display 12 or around the TV 6), and perform an operation of moving the right controller 4 within such a range that the infrared camera can capture an image of the marker. Note that the marker may be made of a material that reflects infrared light, for example. Then, the information processing device 1 can calculate the position and/or the orientation of the right controller 4 with respect to the marker based on the image-capturing results from the infrared image-capturing section 123. Moreover, the information processing device 1 can execute an information process by using the calculated information as a user's operation input.
Click to expand...
Well, there is hope I think. :)
 
Z

Zalman

Member
The individual joycons having L and R buttons is freakin' cool. I get that they're not ideal controllers, but the fact that they have them makes them functional for a lot of games.
 
ArtHands

ArtHands

Thinks buying more servers can fix a bad patch
Rösti;226639580 said:
It's true that the application does not mention VR, but I don't see what else Nintendo would do with an HMD.
Click to expand...

Maybe its just something to let them strap it to the eyes due to not having a flat surface around to place the Switch

but either way this has gone too deep and there's no return now. Too many people in this thread jumping to conclusion that its for VR
 
C

correojon

Member
So touchscreen confirmed? Super Mario Maker Switch yay!!!

It´s amazing the amount of thought that´s gone into the system, as someone said some pages before it´s like the culmination of all Nintendo consoles since the DS. This however makes me worry a bit that the price will be higher than expected...
 
F

forknknife

Banned
KingSnake said:
Yes.

Edit: quote for new page:

L and R buttons on the Joy-cons (in horizontal position confirmed) - 65 and 66
Click to expand...

Awesome! Really worried about the hand cramps we will all get playing with those tiny controllers. And amazing how they could for all of that in such a small space!
 
1

13ruce

Banned
Looks like it can do VR... Wich means all in one console. No surprise if they reveal VR a few years after Switch launch, play Zelda BotW etc in VR! That would be epic.

Guess they are waiting it out and see how VR is performing it's still selling in Niche/Cult classic numbers.
 
M

McNum

Member
That is a lot of information.

I wonder what they could do with that HMD, but VR isn't a major selling point for me. I mean, if it's there, I might try it, but like the 3D on the 3DS, I don't expect to make much use of it unless there's a really good reason to.
 
N

Nintenleo

Member
The patent tells about a temperature sensor and a magnetic force sensor. Could be a reference to a possible sensor bar under the bezel of the screen?
 
E

Enduin

No bald cap? Lies!
So there are definitely 4 air intake holes at the bottom left and right of the device and then one large center air outtake hole at the top with a fan to move it around. With the fan being limited in its rotations when in portable mode.

Doesn't seem to be anything about a fan unit in the dock or exchange of air/cooling from there. But per yoonshik's excerpt there definitely is a docked mode and portable mode.
 
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