Connectable hand-held controllers for virtual-reality systems

1. A pair of hand-held controllers for a virtual-reality system, the pair of hand-held controllers comprising:

a first hand-held controller comprising:

a first user-input surface having a first user-input key;

a first grip;

a first cage having a ring shape that is coupled to the first user-input surface at first and second points, without the first grip being interposed between the cage and the first point, and without the first grip being interposed between the cage and the second point; and

a first connector coupled to an outer surface of the ring shape of the first cage; and

a second hand-held controller comprising:

a second user-input surface having a second user-input key; a second grip;

a second cage having a ring shape that is coupled to the second user-input surface at third and fourth points, without the second grip interposed between the cage and the third point, and without the second grip being interposed between the cage and the fourth point; and

a second connector coupled to an outer surface of the ring shape of the second cage, wherein the first and second connectors are configured to detachably couple the first cage to the second cage; and

wherein the first cage and the second cage each comprise a plurality of illumination sources on the outer surfaces of the first cage and the second cage respectively.

2. The pair of hand-held controllers of claim 1 , wherein the first and second connectors are configured to detachably couple the first cage to the second cage at a first position on the first cage and a corresponding second position on the second cage.

3. The pair of hand-held controllers of claim 2 , wherein the first and second connectors comprise first and second magnets to magnetically couple the first cage and the second cage to each other at the first and second positions.

4. The pair of hand-held controllers of claim 2 , wherein:

the first connector comprises a hook surface of a hook-and-loop fastener at the first position; and

the second connector comprises a loop surface of the hook-and-loop fastener at the second position.

5. The pair of hand-held controllers of claim 2 , wherein:

the first connector comprises a first disc at the first position, the first disc configured to have a protrusion protruding from a surface of the first connector;

the second connector comprises a second disc at the second position, the second disc configured to have a groove at a position on a surface of the second disc corresponding to a position of the protrusion on the first disc; and

the first cage and the second cage are coupled by insertion of the protrusion into the groove.

6. The pair of hand-held controllers of claim 5 , wherein the first and second connectors comprise snap fasteners.

7. The pair of hand-held controllers of claim 2 , wherein:

the first connector comprises an adhesive on a first surface of the first connector to couple the first connector to the first cage and an adhesive on a second surface of the first connector;

the second connector comprises an adhesive on a first surface of the second connector to couple the second connector to the second cage and an adhesive on a second surface of the second connector; and

the adhesives on the second surfaces of the first and second connectors are to detachably couple the first and second connectors.

8. The pair of hand-held controllers of claim 1 , wherein at least a portion of the plurality of illumination sources on each of the first and second cages are positioned to be visible to a forward-looking camera on a head-mounted display worn by a user when the user holds the first and second grips in a neutral position.

9. The pair of hand-held controllers of claim 1 , wherein the plurality of illumination sources on each of the first and second cages comprises a plurality of light-emitting diodes (LEDs).

10. The pair of hand-held controllers of claim 9 , wherein:

the first hand-held controller further comprises a first power source to supply power to the first user-input surface and the plurality of LEDs on the first cage; and

the second hand-held controller further comprises a second power source to supply power to the second user-input surface and the plurality of LEDs on the second cage.

11. The pair of hand-held controllers of claim 1 , wherein the plurality of illumination sources on each of the first and second cages comprises a plurality of passive reflectors.

12. The pair of hand-held controllers of claim 1 , further comprising a first structural web coupling the first cage to the first user-input surface and a second structural web coupling the second cage to the second user-input surface.

13. The pair of hand-held controllers of claim 12 , further comprising:

a third user-input key mounted on at least one of the first structural web and the first grip, and

a fourth user-input key mounted on at least one of the second structural web and the second grip,

wherein the third user-input key is a trigger positioned to be actuated by a middle finger of the user, and

the fourth user-input key is a trigger positioned to be actuated by another middle finger of the user.

14. The pair of hand-held controllers of claim 1 , wherein each of the first and second user-input keys is selected from the group consisting of a thumbstick, a button, a trigger, and a directional pad.

15. The pair of hand-held controllers of claim 1 , wherein:

the first user-input surface comprises a first plurality of user-input keys including the first user-input key;

the second user-input surface comprises a second plurality of user-input keys including the second user-input key; and

respective user-input keys of the first and second pluralities of user-input keys are selected from the group consisting of a thumbstick, a button, a trigger, and a directional pad.

16. The pair of hand-held controllers of claim 1 , wherein the first and second cages each comprise an over-molded rubber material or a hard plastic.

17. A first hand-held controller for a virtual-reality system, the first hand-held controller comprising:

a first user-input surface having a first user-input key;

a first grip;

a first cage having a ring shape that is coupled to the first user-input surface at first and second points, without the first grip being interposed between the cage and the first point, and without the first grip being interposed between the cage and the second point; and

a first connector coupled to an outer surface of the ring shape of the first cage;

wherein the first connector is configured to detachably couple to a second connector on a second cage of a second hand-held controller; and

wherein the first cage comprises a plurality of illumination sources on the outer surface of the first cage.