Controller and expansion unit for controller

A controller connectable to an electronic device wherein the controller transmits instruction signals to the connected electronic device in response to a user's operation, said controller comprising:

• a plurality of button switches disposed on an upper face of said controller;
• a first direction key disposed on said upper face, said first direction key being arranged so as to give signals indicative of preset discrete directions;
• a second direction key disposed on said upper face, said second direction key being arranged so as to give signals indicative of arbitrary directions over 360 degrees;
• and
• a switching means which selectively switches transmission of data to a first mode of data and a second mode of data, wherein when said first mode is selected, transmission of data indicative of said second direction key is disabled, and data compatible to data to be generated by a conventional controller is transmitted, wherein when said second mode is selected, data including data indicative of signals given by the direction key of arbitrary directions over 360 degrees is transmitted.

A controller connectable to an electronic device wherein the controller transmits instruction signals to the electronic device in response to a user's operation, said controller comprising:

• a plurality of button switches disposed on a right part of an upper face of said controller so as to be manipulated by a thumb of the user's right hand which holds a right periphery or a right grip of the controller;
• a first direction key arranged so as to give signals indicative of preset discrete directions;
• a second direction key arranged so as to give signals indicative of arbitrary directions over 360 degrees;
• a signal generating means which generates a first mode of data and a second mode of data, said first mode of data being compatible with data to be generated by conventional controllers, said second mode of data including data indicative of the signals given by the second direction key;
• and
• a switching means which suspends and activates transmission of said signals given by said second direction key.

An electronic device which is controlled in response to data signals transmitted from a manipulation controller,

• wherein said controller comprises a plurality of button switches disposed on an upper face of said controller, a first direction key disposed on said upper face and arranged so as to give signals indicative of preset discrete directions, a second direction key disposed on said upper face and arranged so as to give signals indicative of arbitrary directions over 360 degrees, and a signal generating means which generates a first and a second modes of data, wherein, in said first mode, data compatible with data to be generated by a conventional controller is transmitted, wherein, in said second mode, data including data indicative of signals given by the first and second direction keys and by the plurality of button switches is transmitted,
• said electronic device comprising:
• a selection means which selectively employs one of said first and second modes of data when data signals are received from said controller;
• and
• a game executing means which executes a game in accordance with the selected mode.

An electronic device which is controlled in response to data signals transmitted from a manipulation controller,

• wherein said controller comprises a plurality of button switches disposed at a right part of an upper face of said controller so as to be manipulated by a thumb of a user's right hand which holds a right periphery or a right grip of the controller, a first direction key arranged so as to give signals indicative of preset discrete directions, a second direction key arranged so as to give signals indicative of arbitrary directions over 360 degrees, wherein both of said first and second direction keys are disposed at a left part of the upper face so that both of said first and second direction keys may be manipulated by a thumb of the user's left hand, which holds a left periphery or a left grip of the controller when the controller is held by both hands of the user with the left periphery or the left grip of the controller held by the user's left hand and with the right periphery or the right grip of the controller held by the user's right hand, and signal generating means which generates a first and a second modes of data, said first mode of data being generated in response to manipulation of said first direction key and said plurality of button switches, said second mode of data including data generated in response to manipulation of said second direction key,
• said electronic device comprising:
• a selection means which selectively employs one of said first and second modes of data in response to the transmission of data signals from said controller;
• and
• a game executing means which executes a game in accordance with the selected mode.

An input device connectable to an electronic device which executes a game in response to various instruction data transmitted from the input device, said input device comprising:

• a plurality of button switches disposed at right portions of the input device so as to be manipulated by a thumb of an operator's right hand which holds a right periphery or a right grip of the input device;
• a first direction key which generates signals indicative of preset four or eight discrete directions;
• a second direction key which generates signals indicative of arbitrary directions;
• a signal generating means which generates a first mode of data and a second mode of data, said first mode of data including data generated in response to a manipulation of said first direction key, said second mode of data including data generated in response to manipulation of said second direction key;
• and
• a switching means which activates and de-activates a function of said second direction key.