Sony patents its own version of the Wiimote and sensor bar

Well well well, what do we have here? We've just come across a new Sony patent for "an input device providing users with a pointing capability includes a sender portion and a receiver portion." The patent goes on to describe how it should be used, saying: "For example, if the target area is the screen of a television set and the typical user environment is a user's living room, then the sender portion 100 should disperse the pattern enough to cover one or more sensors of the receiver portion at distances from the target area typical for television viewing." That sounds an awful lot like the Wii bar and the Wiimote, wouldn't you say? However, this patent was filed on May 27, 2005, which may be what allows Sony to get around Nintendo's presumed prior art in this domain. But as usual, we're not lawyers, which means we really can't compete with professional attorneys in terms of their knowledge of patent law, not to mention absurdly vague rhetoric.

[Via digg]

[Farris @ Dec 7th 2006 2:28AM]

"...just come across a new Sony patent..."
"...this patent was filed on May 27, 2005..."

Is it me, or does this post seem a little... I don't know, Sony-bashatory? (Okay, I know that's not a word, but it's late, and I'm tired)

Not only that, but from what I read about it on Joystiq, it seems like it is backwards from the way the Wiimote works.
Wiimote: Signal goes from IR lamps->Wiimote->Wii
Sony thing: Signal goes from Sony-mote->Sensors->Whatever is being controlled

[trash-can @ Dec 7th 2006 2:41AM]

from what you quoted??? no it doesnt seem 'bashatory'

[Alexander @ Dec 7th 2006 9:40AM]

No! As explained before, the Sensorbar DOES NOTHING but allow a Point of Referance for the Wiimote to tell which way is up.

This is why sony's controller sucks, it always assumes that up on the controller is up. You flip over the wiimote, and it KNOWS because it knows which way is up and when you flipped it.

And I'm sick and tired of the whining, "Oh noes! You are casting Sony in a bad light! *Flames*"

Sony BLEW UP hundreds of computers with bad batteries that they KNEW were bad. Sony then proceeded to deny returns on said batterys from the people they sold them to, so the people they sold them to just started dumping them. Oh yea. Great. Li-Ion all over the place.

That's but ONE of the many reasons Sony as a company sucks.

[Farris @ Dec 7th 2006 2:42AM]

The quotes I put are directly from the Engadget article.

[idoublel2thac @ Dec 7th 2006 2:55AM]

Ha! I knew Sony had a couple tricks up their sleeve. I'm so glad that I got to see this because now I am going to get a PS3 once the next shipment comes in. All you Nintendo fans out there, I have one thing to say to you... Watch your back! lol

[LA Smog @ Dec 7th 2006 3:06AM]

Already existing prior art in multiple forms for this patent. One I happen to own:

http://www.vrealities.com/P5.html

The glove has IR transmitters around the knuckle area that are received by the base station to track position in relative space, plus orientation depending on angle.

[Ihar `Philips` Filipau @ Dec 7th 2006 8:06AM]

Wow.

[adrian @ Dec 7th 2006 3:20AM]

I just hope that we don't have to throw the controller anywhere, or else we'd have bigger problems with the PS3's controller.

[Othello @ Dec 7th 2006 3:39AM]

Just be glad they went back to the classic Playstation style we all know and love. The last thing anyone needs is to be hurling boomerangs around their house.

[Anonymous @ Dec 7th 2006 3:24AM]

Being almost 2 years old doesn't make it "new". Furthermore, I agree with Farris, this entry does come off as if it were bashing Sony.

[andy @ Dec 7th 2006 9:22AM]

"almost 2 years old"

Apps are published 18mos after filing, so it's newly available to the public.

[0liver @ Dec 7th 2006 3:28AM]

"Is it me, or does this post seem a little... I don't know, Sony-bashatory?"

errrr.....NO! But they deserve it for copying yet another Nintendo innovation!

"Ha! I knew Sony had a couple tricks up their sleeve. I'm so glad that I got to see this because now I am going to get a PS3 once the next shipment comes in. All you Nintendo fans out there, I have one thing to say to you... Watch your back! lol"

Yeah watch your backs otherwise you might get shot!

[Eallan @ Dec 7th 2006 5:06AM]

Ripping off nintendo back in 2005 huh?

[Loban @ Dec 7th 2006 10:13AM]

It's just too bad the Playstation controller design is probably the most uncomfortable controller every made.

[Decoy @ Dec 7th 2006 5:35AM]

0liver: You should at least TRY not to come off as a blatant Nintendo fanboy. "Copying", and "Innovation"? Give me a break. Motion sensing technology has been around long before Nintendo ever even had the idea of using it, so I don't think Nintendo deserves being called "innovative" in that sense. You might actually want to look up the definition of "innovation".

Furthermore, as I mentioned, Nintendo didn't create the idea of motion detection, therefore, Sony isn't copying Nintendo.

[riggs @ Dec 7th 2006 5:49AM]

especially not since it was patented in '05

[Jason @ Dec 7th 2006 6:25AM]

The article's not bashing Sony. This is new information because the patent was recently released, even though it was filed in 2005.

[steverl22 @ Dec 7th 2006 7:24AM]

Sony BASHING on engadget.......That cant be.

[Ihar `Philips` Filipau @ Dec 7th 2006 8:05AM]

Seems to me like positive news for the folks in PS3 camp. All the bashing aside, it is definitely good news.

Also notice, that Nintendo might have patented its wiimote in Japan - and the in article goes to USPTO.

I haven't touched wiimote yet - it is still about 20 hours before EU launch - but already cannot imaging playing FPS with something else.

Commodization of FPS controller - is good news anyway you look at it.

[Earl @ Dec 7th 2006 8:13AM]

Oh look, here is the "gimmick" control schemes all the Sony fanboys are screaming about for the Wii. Why is it a "gimmick" for the Wii, when Sony already has it ripped off?
Analog stick, rumble pack anyone? PSP2 with touch screen? Gotta love the innovators! They invent and all others will fall in line to copy the "gimmick."

[Dignan17 @ Dec 7th 2006 8:15AM]

I don't know what the Sony OR Nintendo fanboys are getting so worked up over. First, as someone already pointed out, the Wiimote doesn't work like this. The sensor bar isn't a receiver in any way. Besides, what you're looking at is not a copy of the Wiimote, it's apatent for the similar technology of the *pointing* function of the Wiimote. It doesn't say anything about motion control in this one.

And I don't know where you get the Sony bashing in the article. They're printing the facts. This story seemed far less editorial than average for Engadget.

[Avi @ Dec 7th 2006 9:05AM]

This is NOT a patent. It's a patent application publication. All that means is that Sony filed for a patent. Anyone can do that. It will probably be a few years before someone at the USPTO even looks at it.

[Nash @ Dec 7th 2006 10:59AM]

Actually, the original XBox controller is the most uncomfortable controller ever made (unless you're Shaq). And Nintendo didn't innovate anything. Arcade machines have been doing the same thing for YEARS, as well as those stupid motion sensing games that you can find at a kiosk in the mall. Nintendo just "pretty-fied" it in a little console. This is not news. Companys patent crap all the time so that if they ever just happen to feel like doing something (SIXAXIS), they have a patent that allows them to do it. I hate fanboys.

[suntiger @ Dec 7th 2006 2:50PM]

The GameCube is the most uncomfortable controller ever. The DualShock is the second worst. But that still makes it pretty damn bad.

I'm glad *someone* agrees with me on that at least...

[Loban @ Dec 7th 2006 10:33AM]

Who cares?? Sony has been copying Nintendo's controller ideas for years, we're all used to it by now. By the time Sony actually gets around to producing this thing Nintendo will have come up with something completely new for Sony to copy. That's the way it goes, Nintendo comes up with a cool idea and the rest of the industry copies them all the while Nintendo is coming up with something new.

[Ben @ Dec 7th 2006 10:54AM]

How funny your fanboys are and how quickly you all forget about the Nintendo vs. Sega wars back in the Genesis and SNES days. Don't forget Nintendo fans that in an effort to steal from/stay competitive with Sega and the SegaCD add-on Nintendo partnered with Sony to make the SNES Playstation CD add-on... so you guys really only have yourselves to blame.

[Greg Forrest @ Dec 7th 2006 3:20PM]

First off, there is a significant difference between Patent and Patent Applications. These are simply applications. They are not enforcable against anyone until they become issued patents.

The link this article provides to the patent application is incorrect. I believe you should be linking to Patent Application numbers:
20060267935
20060277571

Searchable through this link: http://appft1.uspto.gov/netahtml/PTO/srchnum.html

[Nelg @ Dec 8th 2006 2:18AM]

To the line "[..]knowledge of patent law, not to mention absurdly vague rhetoric.":

"That modest secrecy is exploited by reporters who dig through patent applications related to the company, hoping to find nuggets that might shed light on its future products. Unfortunately, these patent reports are rarely very useful in proving clear clues to [X]'s next batch of products, because patent applications are purposely written to be as broad and generalized as possible."

This from http://tinyurl.com/yj7os9

[Mike @ Dec 10th 2006 1:29AM]

What I dont understand is how a bunch of people are like, "this makes the ps3 better" or "now I am going to spend money on a ps3". Where does it say anything about it being for the ps3? Just because it was filed in 2005 means nothing as to when or if it will even come out. We might not see anything using this until ps4 or later.