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PlayStation has patented a wireless charger for DualSense Controller - Gaming Route

Sony recently patented a wireless charger for the DualSense Controller which states "A wireless charging adapter that can snap onto a computer game controller

gamingroute.com

Sony recently patented a wireless charger for the DualSense Controller which states “A wireless charging adapter that can snap onto a computer game controller can be inductively coupled to a charging base to wirelessly recharge a battery in the controller. The adapter also can include keys that mirror keys on the controller so that a gamer can remove the adapter with a controller from the charging base, keep the adapter on the controller, and use both the controller keys and adapter keys to control a computer game.”

This means you can wirelessly charge your DualSense controller, and there are “X” and “O” buttons on the back of the DualSense controller too if this image in the patent is to be taken seriously.

As you can see the controller has “X” and “O” buttons on it’s back too, which seems interesting since it’s the first time a PlayStation controller will have buttons on it’s back too.

The patent also states that “Accordingly, an assembly includes at least one game controller that includes a hand-holdable controller housing with at least one battery and plural control keys manipulable to input commands, including at least a first key manipulable to input a first command, to a computer game console. At least one adapter is mechanically engageable with the game controller and is electrically engageable with at least one electrical component in the controller housing. The adapter includes at least one adapter key manipulable to input the first command to the computer game console.”

This means that the DualSense controller will have a rechargeable battery, and you can charge it wirelessly too.

There will also be a USB C Port which can be used to charge the controller as we have seen in the DualSense official reveal.

 

[JareBear: Remastered]

Saw this in the Spec thread. Honestly, would be a pretty nice feature for sure.

 

[Captain Hero]

 

[longdi]

why not just use qi compatible battery? eveyone is qi, i can throw it on my charging pad, so can you.
i guess sony needs some proprietary money from this kit?

 

[SleepDoctor]

Needed something like this for the ds4. Its annoying swapping controls mid play session.

 

[a multicultural team of v]

I never really understood the need for wireless charging, but cool I guess?

 

[M1chl]

And like this is some pack which attaches to the back of the controller and contains some battery or what? Why wireless charing if it's clipped on the controller? Or this is a part which contains coils?

 

[CamHostage]

GOOD! I have been wanting wireless charging for console controllers since before it existed; the simple pin-chargeport feature of the PSP was to me a godsend, and I highly wish other controllers would have adapted it. Yes, you need a dock/charging station (and there are plenty of USB-port docks out there for every console,) but those little pins make charging effortless,

Not seeing "Wireless Charging" or Qi support in the DualSense or Xbox Series X announcements was a tiny little heartbreak for me after falling back in love with wireless charging on my phone. (Wireless charging actually saved one of my phones from the garbage heap. The USB port wore out a Samsung, almost making the phone a paperweight, but because it has Qi support, I was able to extend it another year, and I still use the phone as a remote or googling tool around the house.) This hint at wireless charging features has brightened my day.

 

[teezzy]

Series X also has wireless charging. It's called putting in two new AA's.

Your move, Cerny.

 

[LittleBigGamer]

I never really understood the need for wireless charging, but cool I guess?

Don't have to put a cable when you are playing. It makes sense for gaming.

It's just a patent though...
Most of them never become a thing.

 

[CamHostage]

why not just use qi compatible battery? eveyone is qi, i can throw it on my charging pad, so can you.
i guess sony needs some proprietary money from this kit?

Your everyday Qi charger would not be great for gamepads, though (as far as I know, from the nothing I know about the mysteries of wireless charging...?) Usually they build the coils flat on the device, and then you lie the flat device down on your flat wireless Qi charger and the charge jumps the few milimeters through plastic from coil to coil. A controller wireless charge feature would (I assume?) want to place the coils in proximity to the charging pad, and the gap for your hand grips and other curvy comforts make a gamepad difficult to get good induction charge proximity unless the charger was molded to conform to the controller.

An Xbox One and DualSense controller are more squared off than the grippy DS4, but there's still a reach to get up to a flat surface since the triggers and curves pop it up a few inches.

Needed something like this for the ds4. Its annoying swapping controls mid play session.

Agree, though I just learned recently that you can plug a standard cellphone PowerPack into your DS4 and keep playing, and that seems like the way to go. Granted, you're still "wired", but you're not wired all the way to the console, just down to your lap or pocket.

 

[a multicultural team of v]

Don't have to put a cable when you are playing. It makes sense for gaming.

It's just a patent though...
Most of them never become a thing.

How do you use a controller sitting on a wireless charging pad to play games?

 

[CamHostage]

How do you use a controller sitting on a wireless charging pad to play games?

Check the patent design: this is a battery pack that clips onto your controller to augment its battery life while you play.

As far as why people like wireless charging, it's just a convenience. I hate the spaghetti of wires I have on my entertainment center, and I hate having to go track down missing cords when somebody (and "somebody" sometimes is "me") borrows a cord without returning it. Although USB-C should smooth out the connection, I've never found a charging dock that's doesn't require you to fiddle with the fitting and push it down into the dock. Even the Switch dock takes some fiddlefucking. PSP wasn't like that; it had little charging pins, and you just dropped it into the dock and walked away. Yes, wireless charging would probably mean more docks or charging pads littering the space of those wires, but I can deal with that.

And once you add a wireless charger into your life, it just feels nice and modern, almost space-age. There's still a little "Ahh..." feeling to dropping my Sonicare into the toothbrush charger, and wireless earbuds wouldn't exist if they had to find a way to get cords plugged into them somehow. It's not the same thing as having it in a home, but I couldn't imagine dealing with wires in my car anymore; I have BT and a wireless charging dock and I don't even have to look down to drop the phone in. And I'll never buy a phone without it, since a worn USB port almost left me stranded before a trip. (I even have a wireless Charging Case for my phone in my backpack, because too many times I've had a Power Pack but the cord fell off the phone in my pocket and I didn't notice it not charging.) I like cord inputs just fine (I don't want my headphone jack taken away) and do still find some conveniences and hacks around having a plug port, but wireless life is pretty great for me.

Imagine the simplicity if, after you were done playing a game, you and your kids/spouse/friends/whoever just laid the DualSense on top of the PS5 and walked away, and when you come back to play again, the thing is fully charged. You could see from across the room or while walking out the door, Oh, it's right there on the console, it's all good. That might not be a big deal for you (and it's a lot less of a big deal if these controllers had longer battery life,) but to me that's a dream come true...

 

[kingwingin]

So crappy stock battery life confirmed? Don't really want to buy a battery brick for a controller in 2020

 

[Brock2621]

I'm so down for this

 

[a multicultural team of v]

Check the patent design: this is a battery pack that clips onto your controller to augment its battery life while you play.

I thought what was being clipped to the controller is the wireless plate (meaning it has to be attached for the controller to have wireless charging), but it could be a battery pack or something.

 

[CamHostage]

I thought what was being clipped to the controller is the wireless plate (meaning it has to be attached for the controller to have wireless charging), but it could be a battery pack or something.

Oh, whoops... maybe I should check the patent?

I got lost in the text and the picture, but you're right, it's a clip-on induction pad, not a battery pack (though it could also include a battery pack, probably?) The design is weird though, it seems too flush and doesn't seem to have room on top for the USB-C port, and it seems to be really thick for just adding a charge pad. It is just a sketch, though.

 

[Fnord]

Why do patent illustrations always look like they were drawn by an eight year old with a nervous condition?

 

[Bryank75]

That will be slick, imagine the pad beside the console.

 

[CamHostage]

I'm a little surprised this hasn't been a thing for a while now. Never thought to search for it before, but there are PS4 and XBox One accessories that look essentially the same as this patent.

PS4 Gets Qi Compatible Inductive Wireless Charger to Help With Your DualShock 4's Battery

www.dualshockers.com

Amazon.com: Skywin Play and Charge Xbox ONE Wireless Qi Charging Adapter and Battery Pack for Xbox Controllers - Qi Charging adapter compatible with XBOX ONE Controller : Video Games

Amazon.com: Skywin Play and Charge Xbox ONE Wireless Qi Charging Adapter and Battery Pack for Xbox Controllers - Qi Charging adapter compatible with XBOX ONE Controller : Video Games

www.amazon.com

($25-45, which is still steep IMO)

Somebody modified a Nintendo Switch enclosure for Qi as well (rather cheaply as well; off-the-shelf USB-C induction coils are less than $5.) I'm not finding a Switch case that comes with it built in yet.

 

[RPS37]

It would be nice but my Xbox controllers already basically have a third party wireless charger. If this is just a super expensive third party accessory...whatever.

 

[LittleBigGamer]

How do you use a controller sitting on a wireless charging pad to play games?

Then it is indeed useless.

 

[Hendrick's]

I never really understood the need for wireless charging, but cool I guess?

It's like the difference between having to pull the seat up before you go or just walking up and letting go.

 

[Radical_3d]

GOOD! I have been wanting wireless charging for console controllers since before it existed; the simple pin-chargeport feature of the PSP was to me a godsend, and I highly wish other controllers would have adapted it. Yes, you need a dock/charging station (and there are plenty of USB-port docks out there for every console,) but those little pins make charging effortless,

Not seeing "Wireless Charging" or Qi support in the DualSense or Xbox Series X announcements was a tiny little heartbreak for me after falling back in love with wireless charging on my phone. (Wireless charging actually saved one of my phones from the garbage heap. The USB port wore out a Samsung, almost making the phone a paperweight, but because it has Qi support, I was able to extend it another year, and I still use the phone as a remote or googling tool around the house.) This hint at wireless charging features has brightened my day.

:0 I didn’t know that about my PSP.