So I'm taking a stroll around the internet when I discover Google has a database of U.S. Patents available to the public eye. As it followed, I decided to search for Nintendo's patents to see what they'd filed patents for.
Here are a few interesting tidbits I discovered.
- Most notably, it seems they usually used drawings of the Famicom in their US patents for some reason, rather than the NES. It's likely these drawings were left over from their Japanese patents, and since the design patent was a somewhat of a separate deal from the parts and function of the unit itself, they left the Famicom in the drawings.
- It appears they patented their Famicom Disk Cards here as well (link to document) (http://www.google.com/patents?id=xh06AAAAEBAJ&printsec=abstract&zoom=4#v=onepage&q=&f=false), shortly before the release of the FDS in Japan. Needless to say, plans to bring it to North America were scrapped. (The FM synthesis chip (http://www.google.com/patents?id=_JEuAAAAEBAJ&printsec=abstract&zoom=4#v=onepage&q=&f=false) was also patented.)
- The patent for the 10-NES chip (http://www.google.com/patents?id=81EWAAAAEBAJ&printsec=abstract&zoom=4#v=onepage&q=&f=false) suggests they planned to implement it on the American release of the FDS somehow as well.
- An official Nintendo-branded Famicom to NES adapter (http://www.google.com/patents?id=f2YnAAAAEBAJ&pg=PA3&source=gbs_selected_pages&cad=3#v=onepage&f=false) was patented. It appears (http://www.google.com/patents?id=OGw0AAAAEBAJ&printsec=abstract&zoom=4#v=onepage&q=&f=false) to use similar technology to the converter infamously found in Gyromite cartridges.
- The NES Satellite had a different design (http://www.google.com/patents?id=OeUpAAAAEBAJ&printsec=abstract&zoom=4#v=onepage&q=&f=false) at first.
- The Super Nintendo Game Pak (http://www.google.com/patents?id=FgWsAAAAEBAJ&printsec=abstract&zoom=4#v=onepage&q=&f=false) was originally patented under its Japanese design.
There's many more there, but at that point, they started to get scrambled down with third party accessory patents, so I stopped there. Quite interesting though!
That's awesome! I really love the converter they patented. More:
Light Ray Gun (http://www.google.com/patents?id=Jq4sAAAAEBAJ&printsec=abstract&zoom=4#v=onepage&q=&f=false)
Photosensitive Gun (http://www.google.com/patents?id=hCRwAAAAEBAJ&printsec=abstract&zoom=4#v=onepage&q=&f=false)
Photosensing Video Game Control System (http://www.google.com/patents?id=-tErAAAAEBAJ&printsec=abstract&zoom=4#v=onepage&q=&f=false)
Robot-like Game Apparatus (http://www.google.com/patents?id=aHgwAAAAEBAJ&printsec=abstract&zoom=4#v=onepage&q=&f=false)
Game Robot (http://www.google.com/patents?id=Dx49AAAAEBAJ&printsec=abstract&zoom=4#v=onepage&q=&f=false)
Memory Cartridge (http://www.google.com/patents?id=3EojAAAAEBAJ&printsec=abstract&zoom=4#v=onepage&q=&f=false)
And just for the heck of it:
Self-propelled Cleaning Device (http://www.google.com/patents?id=DWUvAAAAEBAJ&printsec=abstract&zoom=4#v=onepage&q=&f=false)
Quote from: JC on March 28, 2010, 12:34:29 am
Self-propelled Cleaning Device (http://www.google.com/patents?id=DWUvAAAAEBAJ&printsec=abstract&zoom=4#v=onepage&q=&f=false)
Ha! So Gunpei Yokoi invented the Roomba! ;D
Nice finds there :D
That robot-like game apparatus looks wild!!
Looks alot like an early stack-up robot :P
Very interesting, nice find!