Importance

Loading Importance Indicators...

Abstract

A computer driven video game accessory having a steering wheel or yoke coupled to a steering shaft, and having the steering shaft mounted in a frame. The steering torque applied by a player is opposed by non-linear torques created by a crank coupled to the steering shaft and a special kind of double acting pneumatic/hydraulic cylinder. The preferred embodiment includes an electric motor coupled by a clockwork to the steering shaft to superpose additional torques to simulate operation of boats, airplanes, cars, trucks, and the like. The player experiences an opposing torque which is composed of several torques, thus giving a richer, more complex driving experience. One major object of the invention is that a player who is physically strong and thus turns the wheel quickly will encounter more instantaneous opposing torque than would a weak player who turns the wheel slowly. Another object is to minimize the size of the electric motor without introducing large amplification of the inertia of the electric motor as a result of a large ratio of speed reduction in the clockwork.

Loading the Abstract Image...

First Claim