GAME CONTROLLER WITH AUDIO SIGNAL OUTPUT DEVICE

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

This Application claims priority of Taiwan Patent Application No. 097117390, filed on May 12, 2008, the entirety of which is incorporated by reference herein.

1. Field of the Invention

The invention relates to a game controller with an audio signal output device, and more particularly to a game controller for driving games on a personal computer.

2. Description of the Related Art

Conventionally, when games are played on a personal computer, a unit similar to a joystick of a video game console is necessary for many games. Buttons on this kind of unit with respect to a corresponding game application are provided for facilitating game driving.

Moreover, for playing games on a personal computer, a speaker or a headphone is required to be connected to an audio output device on the personal computer for audio output. Usually, the audio output device is an audio sound card embedded or external to the motherboard. Analog or digital signals for audio output are transmitted to the speaker or the headphone and subsequently broadcasted therethrough.

Therefore, an audio sound card is additionally required for playing games. Further, most output terminals of the audio sound card are in the back of a personal computer case, such that it is inconvenient when switching a speaker or a headphone. Thus, there is a need for solving the aforementioned inconvenience.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

One objective of the invention provides a game controller with an audio signal output device for driving games on a personal computer. The game controller comprises a connector terminal coupled to the personal computer for transmitting an audio signal and a control command signal to the personal computer, a control unit coupled to the connector terminal for receiving the audio signal and the control command signal, a control command receiving unit for receiving a game control command and outputting the control command signal, and an audio signal output terminal for receiving an audio signal and outputting the audio signal, wherein the control unit is used for simultaneously receiving the audio signal from the connector terminal, outputting the audio signal to the personal computer, receiving the control command signal from the control command receiving unit, and outputting the control command signal to the connector terminal.

A detailed description is given in the following embodiments with reference to the accompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The invention can be more fully understood by reading the subsequent detailed description and examples with references made to the accompanying drawings, wherein:

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a game controller with an audio signal output device according to an embodiment of the invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

The following description is of the best-contemplated mode of carrying out the invention. This description is made for the purpose of illustrating the general principles of the invention and should not be taken in a limiting sense. The scope of the invention is best determined by reference to the appended claims.

Please refer to FIG. 1. FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a game controller with an audio signal output device according to a preferred embodiment of the invention. As shown in FIG. 1, the game controller 1 comprises a connector terminal 11, a control unit 12, a control command receiving unit 13, and an audio signal output terminal 14, wherein the connector terminal 11 communicates with a personal computer 2 via a universal serial bus (USB), receives a audio signal via the universal serial bus from the personal computer 2, transmits the audio signal to the control unit 12. After the audio signal is received by the control unit 12, the audio signal is further transmitted to the audio signal output terminal 14 therefrom. The audio signal is then outputted to an external headphone or a speaker by the audio signal output terminal 14. Note that the connector of the audio signal output terminal 14 may be, but is not limited to, a USB connector or an audio signal connector.

The game controller 1 further comprises a plurality of controlling buttons (not shown), wherein the plurality of controlling buttons are used for generating game control commands by pressing or vibrating manually. The control command receiving unit 13 is used for receiving the game control commands and outputting the control command signal to the control unit 12 according to the game control commands. The control unit 12 processes and transmits the control command signal to the personal computer 12 via the output terminal 11 so as to driving games.

As mentioned above, it is necessary for the control unit 12 to simultaneously receive the audio signal from the personal computer 2 and the control command signal outputted by the control command receiving unit 13. Further, the control unit 12 simultaneously outputs the audio signal to the audio signal output terminal 14 and transmits the control command signal to the personal computer 2 via the output terminal 11 so as to drive games. Accordingly, the control unit 12 is required to process bidirectional communication of two different signals.

While the invention has been described by way of example and in terms of preferred embodiment, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited thereto. To the contrary, it is intended to cover various modifications and similar arrangements (as would be apparent to those skilled in the art). Therefore, the scope of the appended claims should be accorded the broadest interpretation so as to encompass all such modifications and similar arrangements.