Anna previously highlighted the Patent Database with a post on a patent by Eddie Van Halen. Our picture of the week originates from the same database and is a patent for a joystick by Atari. If you grew up in the late 1970s or early 1980s, you probably remember playing Combat on an Atari 2600. The 2600 was not the first home video game console, but it was the most popular of its era. This image is Atari’s patent for the joystick that appears to be the one that came with the 2600.
You can find more patents that list Atari as the assignee, including some designs that did not make it into production, by clicking here. This page contains some tips on how to search this database. If you come across any interesting patents, please let us know in the comments.