Game device and game system

Abstract

A main body apparatus as an example of this game device is attachable to and detachable from a controller. The main body apparatus comprises a housing and a magnet. The housing houses an electronic circuit. The magnet has electrical conductivity and magnetically attracts the controller so that the controller is mounted to the body device. The magnet is electrically connected to a ground of an electronic circuit. In a state in which the controller is mounted to the main body apparatus, the controller is attracted to the main body apparatus by the attraction force of the magnet.

Description

Game consoles and systems

[0001] The present invention relates to a game system including a controller and a game console that is detachable from the controller.

[0002] 2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, there are information processing systems in which a controller can be attached to and detached from a main unit (see, for example, Patent Document 1).

[0003] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2017-4523

[0004] Regarding an information processing system in which a controller can be detachably attached to a main unit, it is desired to realize an information processing system with a configuration not found in the past.

[0005] SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a gaming machine or gaming system with a novel configuration.

[0006] In order to solve the above problems, the present invention employs the following configurations (1) to (25).

[0007] (1) One example of the present invention is a game console that can be attached to and detached from a controller. The game console includes a housing and a first magnet. The housing houses an electronic circuit. The first magnet is conductive, and the controller is attached to the game console by being attracted to the controller by magnetic force. The first magnet is electrically connected to the ground of the electronic circuit.

[0008] (2) A first through hole may be formed through the housing. At least a portion of the first magnet may be disposed within the first through hole.

[0009] (3) A portion of the first magnet other than the portion disposed in the first through hole may be housed in the housing.

[0010] (4) The opening of the first through hole on the outside of the housing may be covered with an insulating member.

[0011] (5) The game machine may further include a yoke. The yoke is electrically conductive and forms a magnetic circuit with the first magnet. The yoke is electrically connected to the ground of the electronic circuit.

[0012] (6) The game machine may further include a yoke. The yoke is electrically conductive and forms a magnetic circuit with the first magnet. At least a portion of each of the first magnet and the yoke is disposed within the first through hole.

[0013] (7) When the direction from the opening of the first through hole on the inside of the housing to the opening of the first through hole on the outside of the housing is defined as the outward direction, the yoke may protrude further in the outward direction than the first magnet.

[0014] (8) The yoke may include a first portion and a second portion. At least a portion of the first portion is located within the first through hole. The second portion is located within the housing and is longer than an opening of the first through hole inside the housing when the yoke is disposed.

[0015] (9) The housing may have an area facing the first portion of the yoke and an area facing the second portion of the yoke made of an insulating material.

[0016] (10) The game machine may further include a pressing member that presses at least one of the first magnet and the yoke outward.

[0017] (11) The game machine may further include a first conductive member that is electrically conductive. The first conductive member is electrically connected to the first magnet and the yoke.

[0018] (12) The first conductive member may be sandwiched between the first magnet and the yoke and the pressing member in a direction parallel to the outward direction.

[0019] (13) The gaming machine may include a first yoke and a second yoke as yokes. The first yoke contacts one side of the first magnet. The second yoke contacts the other side of the first magnet. The gaming machine may further include a second conductive member. The second conductive member is sandwiched between the second yoke and a metal portion of the housing or a metal member within the housing that is connected to the ground of the electronic circuit, thereby electrically connecting the second yoke to the metal portion or metal member.

[0020] (14) A recess may be formed in the outer surface of the housing. A first through hole may be formed in the bottom of the recess.

[0021] (15) A second through-hole may be formed at the bottom of the recess, penetrating the housing. The game console may further include a second magnet and a game console terminal. At least a portion of the second magnet is disposed within the second through-hole, the second magnet is capable of being attracted to a controller attached to the game console by magnetic force, and the second magnet is conductive. The game console terminal is disposed between the first magnet and the second magnet when the recess is viewed from the opening side of the recess, and is connectable to a controller terminal provided on the controller.

[0022] (16) The predetermined surface of the housing may include a metal portion connected to the ground of the electronic circuit. The opening of the first through hole may be formed in the predetermined surface.

[0023] (17) The inner periphery of the first through hole may be made of an insulating material different from the metal portion.

[0024] (18) The predetermined surface may be a side surface connecting the front surface and the rear surface of the housing. The electronic circuit may be disposed within the housing at a position sandwiched between metal members in a direction from the front surface to the rear surface of the housing. The metal member may be at least one of a metal frame portion of the housing electrically connected to the ground of the electronic circuit and a metal frame housed within the housing electrically connected to the ground of the electronic circuit.

[0025] (19) The metal frame portion of the housing may be made of a non-magnetic metal.

[0026] (20) The controller may include a magnetic sensor. The game console may include a front surface, a rear surface opposite the front surface, a top surface, a bottom surface, and two side surfaces. The first magnet may be provided on an upper portion of one of the two side surfaces. The game console may further include a second magnet. The second magnet is located on a lower portion of one of the side surfaces, is magnetically attracted to a controller attached to the game console, and is conductive. The first magnet may be oriented such that the first polarity faces the front surface and the second polarity faces the rear surface. The second magnet may be oriented such that the second polarity faces the front surface and the first polarity faces the rear surface.

[0027] (21) The game machine may include a plurality of magnets including a first magnet as conductive magnets. The plurality of magnets are capable of being attracted to a controller attached to the game machine by magnetic force. The game machine may further include an antenna. Of the plurality of magnets, a magnet positioned closest to the antenna may not be electrically connected to the ground of the electronic circuit, and at least one of the other magnets different from the first magnet may be electrically connected to the ground of the electronic circuit.

[0028] (22) The game machine may include a plurality of magnets including a first magnet as conductive magnets. The plurality of magnets are capable of being attracted to a controller attached to the game machine by magnetic force. The game machine may include a plurality of antennas. Among combinations of one of the plurality of magnets and one of the plurality of antennas, a magnet included in a combination that provides the shortest distance between the magnet and the antenna may not be electrically connected to the ground of the electronic circuit, and at least one of the other magnets different from the first magnet may be electrically connected to the ground of the electronic circuit.

[0029] (23) The first magnet may be disposed so as to be exposed from a surface of the housing that faces the controller when the controller is attached to the game console, or so as to be embedded in the surface.

[0030] (24) The opposing surface may include a base surface and a protruding surface protruding from the base surface. The first magnet may be disposed so as to be exposed from the base surface or so as to be embedded in the base surface.

[0031] (25) The game machine may further include a second magnet having electrical conductivity. The second magnet is capable of being attracted to a controller attached to the game machine by magnetic force. The second magnet may be disposed so as to be exposed from the opposing surface or so as to be embedded in the opposing surface. The game machine may further include a game machine side terminal. The game machine side terminal is disposed between the first magnet and the second magnet on the opposing surface and is connectable to a controller side terminal provided on the controller.

[0032] Another example of the present invention may be a game system including the game machine and controller described in (1) to (25) above, or may be a controller described in (1) to (25) above.

[0033] According to the above game machine and game system, it is possible to provide a game machine or game system with a novel configuration.

[0034] FIG. 1 is an external view of an example of a game system; FIG. 2 is a view showing an example of a state in which each controller has been detached from the main unit; FIG. 3 is a view showing an example of a game system in which each controller is attached to the main unit and held by one user; FIG. 4 is a view showing an example of a state in which two users each hold one controller detached from the main unit; FIG. 5 is a view showing an example of a state in which one user holds each controller detached from the main unit; FIG. 6 is a view showing an example of a main unit configuration; A block diagram showing an example of the electrical configuration of the main unit. A six-sided view showing an example of the configuration of the right controller. A perspective view showing an example of the configuration of the right controller. A diagram showing an example of the configuration of the right side of the main unit and the left side of the right controller. An exploded perspective view of an example of the configuration of the convex part of the right controller. A cross-sectional view of an example of the configuration of the right controller at the position of the side upper button. A cross-sectional view of an example of the configuration of the first and second elastic deformation members. A cross-sectional view of an example of the configuration of the right controller at the position of the connector. A diagram showing an example of the arrangement of each terminal in the terminal group. A perspective view of an example of the rear of the right controller. A cross-sectional view of an example of the configuration of the right controller at the position of the pusher and pusher operation unit. A perspective view of an example of the configuration of the pusher operation unit. A perspective view of an example of the rear of the right controller when the pusher operation unit is operated.A cross-sectional view of an example of the configuration of the right controller at the positions of the pusher and pusher operation unit. A six-sided view showing an example of the configuration of the left controller. A block diagram showing an example of the electrical configuration of a game system. A diagram showing an example of a state during the operation of attaching the right controller to the main unit. A cross-sectional view of an example of the game system with the right controller attached to the main unit. A cross-sectional view of an example of the configuration of the game system at the positions of the upper right magnetic member and the side buttons when the right controller is attached to the main unit. A cross-sectional view of an example of the configuration of the game system at the positions of the upper right magnetic member and the side buttons when the right controller is attached to the main unit. A cross-sectional view of a game system 1 at the position of the connector when the right controller is attached to the main unit. A diagram showing an example of the positional relationship between the main unit and the right controller when attached. A diagram showing an example of the connection relationship between the terminals on the main unit and the terminals on the right controller. Figure showing an example of a game system in which the right controller and left controller are attached to the main unit in reverse; Figure showing an example of the connection relationship between the terminal group of the right connector of the main unit and the terminal group of the left controller in the second attachment mode; Figure showing an example of the configuration of the game system in a state in which the right controller is attached to the main unit; Figure showing an example of a game system 1 in a state in which the pusher operating unit is operated and the pusher protrudes from the convex portion; Figure showing an example of how the right controller is used as a mouse; Figure showing an example of how the right controller is placed on a placing surface; Figure showing an example of how the left controller is used as a mouse; Figure showing an example of an embodiment in which a magnet is provided on the bottom of the main unit; Figure showing an example of a main unit according to another modification of the above embodiment; Figure showing an example of a right controller according to another modification of the above embodiment; Figure showing an example of a right controller according to another modification of the above embodiment;

[0035] [1. Overview of the Game System] A game system according to an example of the present embodiment will be described below. FIG. 1 is an external view of the example game system. The game system 1 according to the present embodiment includes a main unit 2, a right controller 3, and a left controller 4. The main unit 2 is an example of a game machine and is a device that executes various processes (e.g., game processes) in the game system 1. In this embodiment, the main unit 2 functions as a game device main body. The right controller 3 and the left controller 4 are examples of operation devices that allow a user to perform operations (e.g., game operations) on the game system 1. Note that, below, the right controller 3 and the left controller 4 may be collectively referred to as the "controller." As will be described in detail later, the right controller 3 and the left controller 4 are capable of communicating with the main unit 2 and each transmits operation data indicating operations performed by the user on the main unit to the main unit 2. The main unit 2 executes information processing based on the operation data received from each of the controllers 3 and 4. In other words, the main unit 2 executes information processing using operations on each of the controllers 3 and 4 as input.

[0036] FIG. 1 shows a state in which the controllers 3 and 4 are attached to the main unit 2. Meanwhile, FIG. 2 shows an example of a state in which the controllers 3 and 4 are detached from the main unit 2. As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, in this embodiment, the controllers 3 and 4 are detachable from the main unit 2. When the controllers 3 and 4 are attached to the main unit 2, the right controller 3 and the left controller 4 are integrated with the main unit 2 (see FIG. 1). In this state, the game system 1 can be said to be an integrated game device (more specifically, a portable game device). On the other hand, when the controllers 3 and 4 are detached from the main unit 2, the right controller 3 and the left controller 4 are separate from the main unit 2 (see FIG. 2).

[0037] In this embodiment, the state in which the controller is attached to the main unit means that the main unit and the controller are integrated, i.e., when the user holds and moves one device, the other device also moves.

[0038] Fig. 3 is a diagram showing an example of one user holding the game system 1 with the controllers 3 and 4 attached to the main unit 2. Fig. 4 is a diagram showing an example of two users each holding the controllers 3 and 4 after they have been detached from the main unit 2. Fig. 5 is a diagram showing an example of one user holding the controllers 3 and 4 after they have been detached from the main unit 2. As shown in Figs. 3 to 5, a user can use the game system 1 as an integrated device by attaching the controllers 3 and 4 to the main unit 2, or can use the main unit 2 and the controllers 3 and 4 separately.

[0039] 4, when the controllers are detached from the main unit 2, the user can use one controller by holding it in both hands. This state can also be called a horizontally held state, since the controller is held with its longitudinal direction facing sideways when viewed from the user.

[0040] As shown in FIG. 5 , when the controllers are detached from the main unit 2, the user can hold one controller in one hand. Although not shown, when one controller is held in one hand, the user may hold the controller with their thumb on a shoulder button (described later) of the controller, unlike FIG. 5 . As described above, when one controller is held in one hand, the controller is held with its longitudinal direction oriented vertically as seen from the user, which can also be referred to as a vertically held state. While FIG. 5 shows a state in which one user holds two controllers 3 and 4 in each hand, the controllers can also be held vertically when one user uses one controller.

[0041] In this embodiment, the user can also use each controller as a mouse (see FIG. 42), which will be described in detail later. That is, the controller may be used while placed on a surface such as a desk.

[0042] As described above, in this embodiment, the controller can be used in at least four different ways: attached to the main unit 2, detached from the main unit 2 and held in both hands by the user, detached from the main unit 2 and held in one hand by the user, and detached from the main unit 2 and placed on a support surface.

[0043] [2. Configuration of the Main Unit] [2-1. Overview of the Configuration of the Main Unit] Next, the configuration of the main unit 2 will be described with reference to FIGS. 6 to 15. FIG. 6 is a six-sided view showing an example of the configuration of the main unit 2. As shown in FIG. 6, the main unit 2 includes a housing 11. The exterior shape of the housing 11 is generally horizontally elongated. The exterior shape of the housing 11 can also be described as plate-like. Note that plate-like does not necessarily mean a shape composed of a flat surface, but may also mean a shape with a curved or uneven surface. Note that the shape and size of the housing 11 are arbitrary. For example, in other embodiments, the housing 11 may have a protruding protrusion or a grip portion to make it easier for the user to grip the housing 11.

[0044] 6, in this embodiment, the display 12 is disposed on the main surface of the housing 11. The main surface of the housing 11 has a generally rectangular shape. More specifically, the main surface of the housing 11 has a rectangular shape in which one pair of opposing sides is longer than the other pair of opposing sides.

[0045] In the following description of the main unit 2 and the controllers 3 and 4 of the game system 1, when the controllers 3 and 4 are attached to the main unit 2, the direction perpendicular to the display 12 disposed on the main surface of the housing 11 is referred to as the front-to-rear direction, the longitudinal direction of the main surface is referred to as the left-to-right direction, and the lateral direction of the main surface is referred to as the up-to-down direction (see FIGS. 1 and 6 ). The side of the main unit 2 on which the display 12 is disposed is referred to as the front side of the game system 1, and the opposite side is referred to as the rear side of the game system 1 (see FIG. 6 ). The side on which the right controller 3 is attached to the main unit 2 is referred to as the right side, and the opposite side (i.e., the side on which the left controller 4 is attached to the main unit 2) is referred to as the left side. The housing 11 includes a front surface (i.e., the main surface), a rear surface, an upper surface, a lower surface, a right side surface, and a left side surface, and is shaped like a plate extending in the up-down and left-to-right directions, with the left-to-right length being longer than the up-to-down length.

[0046] The display 12 is a display device that displays images acquired or generated by the main device 2. The displayed images may be still images or moving images. In this embodiment, the display 12 is a liquid crystal display (LCD), but may be any type of display device, such as an organic electroluminescence (EL) display. The display 12 is attached to the housing 11 so that the display surface of the display 12 is exposed through an opening formed in the front surface of the housing 11.

[0047] As shown in FIG. 6 , the main unit 2 includes a touch panel 13 on the display surface of the display 12. The touch panel 13 detects a position on the display surface of the display 12 where a user makes an input as an input position. The touch panel 13 may detect the input pressure and / or other information related to the input in addition to the input position. The touch panel 13 may be of any type, and may be a type that allows multi-touch input (e.g., a capacitive type) or a type that allows single-touch input (e.g., a resistive type). In other embodiments, the main unit 2 may not include a display 12.

[0048] As shown in FIG. 6 , the main unit 2 includes a first slot 14. The first slot 14 is disposed, for example, on the top surface of the housing 11. The opening of the first slot 14 is covered by a slot cover 15. The first slot 14 has a shape that allows a predetermined type of storage medium to be attached thereto. The predetermined type of storage medium is, for example, a storage medium (e.g., a dedicated memory card) dedicated to the game system 1 and similar information processing systems. The predetermined type of storage medium is used, for example, to store data used by the main unit 2 (e.g., application save data, etc.) and / or programs executed by the main unit 2 (e.g., application programs, etc.).

[0049] 6 , the main unit 2 includes a power button 16. The power button 16 is located, for example, on the top surface of the housing 11. The power button 16 is a button that allows the user to instruct the main unit 2 to be turned on or off.

[0050] 6 , the main unit 2 includes a volume button 17. The volume button 17 is located, for example, on the top surface of the housing 11. The volume button 17 is a button that allows the user to issue an instruction to adjust the volume output by the main unit 2.

[0051] 6 , the main unit 2 includes an audio input / output connector (specifically, an earphone jack) 18. The audio input / output connector 18 is disposed, for example, on the top surface of the housing 11. The main unit 2 allows, for example, earphones to be attached to the audio input / output connector 18.

[0052] 6, the housing 11 is formed with intake and exhaust holes 19 and 20. In this embodiment, the intake and exhaust hole 19 is formed on the top surface of the housing 11, and the intake and exhaust hole 20 is formed on the lower part of the back surface of the housing 11. The intake and exhaust holes 19 and 20 are formed to exhaust (in other words, release) heat generated inside the housing 11 to the outside of the housing 11.

[0053] As shown in FIG. 6 , the main unit 2 includes a lower connector 21. The lower connector 21 is disposed on the lower surface of the housing 11. The lower connector 21 may be disposed at the center of the lower surface in the left-right direction. The lower connector 21 is a connector for electrically connecting the main unit 2 to an external device other than the main unit 2. The lower connector 21 is used, for example, to supply power to the main unit 2 and to perform communication. Specifically, the lower connector 21 may be a USB connector (more specifically, a female connector). Note that in this embodiment, the main unit 2 can be electrically connected to a cradle (not shown) via the lower connector 21.

[0054] As shown in Fig. 6, the main unit 2 includes a right connector 22. The right connector 22 is located on the right side surface of the housing 11. The right connector 22 is a connector for electrically connecting the right controller 3 to the main unit 2. The main unit 2 also includes a left connector 23. The left connector 23 is located on the left side surface of the housing 11. The left connector 23 is a connector for electrically connecting the left controller 4 to the main unit 2. Details of the right connector 22 and the left connector 23 will be described later.

[0055] As shown in Fig. 6, the main unit 2 includes a stand member 24. The stand member 24 is used to place the main unit 2 upright. The stand member 24 is disposed, for example, on the rear surface of the housing 11. The mechanism for placing the main unit 2 upright may have any configuration. Furthermore, the main unit 2 does not necessarily have to have a mechanism for placing the main unit 2 upright.

[0056] The shape, number, and position of each of the components (specifically, the display, touch panel, buttons, slots, connectors, air intake / exhaust holes, stand member, etc.) in the housing 11 described above are arbitrary. In other embodiments, the main unit 2 may be configured without some of the above components.

[0057] Next, an example of the internal configuration of the main unit 2 will be described with reference to Figures 7 and 8. Figure 7 is an exploded perspective view showing an example of the configuration inside the housing 11. Note that Figure 7 shows only the substrate 33 and the metal frame 34 of the components of the housing 11.

[0058] As shown in FIG. 7 , in this embodiment, the housing 11 includes a front housing 31 that forms the front surface of the housing 11 and a rear housing 32 that forms the rear surface of the housing 11. In this embodiment, the front housing 31 forms the front surface and left and right side surfaces of the housing 11. Specifically, the front housing 31 has a front portion 31a that is plate-shaped and extends in the up-down and left-right directions, and side portions 31b that extend in the front-rear direction from the left and right ends of the front housing 31. The rear housing 32 forms the rear surface and upper and lower side surfaces of the housing 11. In other words, the rear housing 32 has a rear portion 32a that is plate-shaped and extends in the up-down and left-right directions, and side portions 32b that extend in the front-rear direction from the top and bottom ends of the front housing 31. The front housing 31 and the rear housing 32 are fixed to each other, for example, by screws, to form a single, integrated housing 11. In this embodiment, the housing 11 is made up of two parts (i.e., a front housing 31 and a rear housing 32), but in other embodiments, the housing 11 may be made up of one part or three or more parts.

[0059] As shown in Figure 7, a board 33 is housed within the housing 11. The board 33 is plate-shaped and is disposed so as to extend in the up-down and left-right directions. The front housing 31 is disposed in front of the board 33, and the rear housing 32 is disposed behind the board 33. More specifically, the front portion 31a is disposed in front of the board 33, and the rear portion 32a is disposed behind the board 33. An electronic circuit such as a System-on-a-chip (SoC) is disposed on the board 33.

[0060] In this embodiment, the main unit 2 is configured such that metal components are disposed in front of and behind the circuit board 33, thereby reducing the influence of electromagnetic waves external to the main unit 2 on the electronic circuit on the circuit board 33. Specifically, a portion of the front housing 31 is made of metal. The metal portion of the front housing 31 (which may also be referred to as a metal frame portion) is electrically connected to the ground of the electronic circuit on the circuit board 33. This allows the metal portion of the front housing 31 to function as the ground for the electronic circuit on the circuit board 33. As will be described in detail later, in this embodiment, the front portion 31a and a portion of the side portion 31b of the front housing 31 are made of metal, and the other portion (e.g., a portion of the side portion 31b) is made of resin. In this embodiment, the front housing 31 is manufactured, for example, by insert molding, and has a configuration in which the metal portion and the resin portion are integrated. In other embodiments, the front housing 31 may not include a metal portion and may be made of resin. The front housing 31 may also be made of metal.

[0061] On the other hand, the rear housing 32 is made of resin. As shown in FIG. 7 , a metal frame 34 is disposed between the substrate 33 and the rear housing 32. The metal frame 34 is electrically connected to the ground of the electronic circuit on the substrate 33. The metal frame 34 is plate-shaped and disposed so as to extend in the up-down and left-right directions. In this embodiment, the rear housing 32 and the metal frame 34 are separate bodies. The rear housing 32 and the metal frame 34 may be partially fixed to each other by, for example, screws. In other embodiments, the rear housing 32 may be configured such that a metal portion and a resin portion are integrated together, similar to the front housing 31. The rear housing 32 may also be made of metal.

[0062] As described above, in this embodiment, the metal portion of the front housing 31 is disposed on the front side of the circuit board 33, and the metal frame 34 is disposed on the rear side of the circuit board 33. In this manner, the front and rear of the circuit board 33 are sandwiched between metal, and the metal portion of the front housing 31 and the metal frame 34 are electrically connected to the ground of the electronic circuit within the main unit 2. This configuration reduces the influence of electromagnetic waves external to the main unit 2 on the electronic components on the circuit board 33. The metal portion of the front housing 31 does not need to cover the entire front portion 31a of the front housing 31; only a portion of the front portion 31a may be metal. Furthermore, the metal frame 34 does not need to face the entire rear surface of the housing 11; the metal frame 34 may not be disposed in a portion facing a portion of the rear surface. For example, the metal portion of the front housing 31 and the metal frame 34 may not be disposed near the portion where the antenna (described later) is disposed.

[0063] In this embodiment, metal (i.e., the metal portion of the front housing 31 and the metal frame 34) is arranged in the front-rear and left-right directions of the substrate 33, but in other embodiments, metal may also be arranged in the top-bottom direction of the substrate 33. For example, in other embodiments, the metal frame 34 may be arranged to extend to positions above and below the substrate 33, thereby sandwiching the substrate 33 from above and below.

[0064] In this embodiment, the rear surface of the main unit 2 (i.e., the rear housing 32) is made of a material (specifically, resin) with lower thermal conductivity than the metal members (i.e., the metal portion of the front housing 31 and the metal frame 34) that sandwich the front and rear of the circuit board 33. On the other hand, by making a portion of the front housing 31 itself out of metal, it is possible to eliminate the need for a separate metal frame, thereby making it possible to make the main unit 2 thinner.

[0065] Since the metal portion of the front housing 31 is part of the housing 11, a material having a certain degree of rigidity may be selected. For example, the material of the metal portion of the front housing 31 may be magnesium, titanium alloy, or aluminum. On the other hand, since the metal frame 34 is housed within the housing 11, it does not need to be made of a rigid material, and may be made of a material with high heat dissipation properties (i.e., high thermal conductivity) to dissipate heat generated inside the main unit 2. For example, the material of the metal frame 34 may be aluminum.

[0066] Fig. 8 is a diagram showing an example of the configuration inside the housing 11. Fig. 8 is a diagram showing the main unit 2 from the rear side with the rear housing 32 and metal frame 34 removed. Fig. 8 shows only some of the components arranged inside the housing 11, such as the circuit board 33, antennas 44 to 46, and magnetic members 51 to 54, which are relevant to the following description.

[0067] 8, a SoC (System-on-a-chip) 41 including a CPU is attached to the board 33. Electronic components such as the connectors 21 to 23 may also be attached to the board 33. Furthermore, components such as a battery 42 and a cooling fan 43 are disposed within the housing 11.

[0068] 8, antennas are arranged inside the housing 11. In this embodiment, the main unit 2 includes three antennas: a first antenna 44, a second antenna 45, and a third antenna 46. Each of the antennas 44 to 46 is attached to the housing 11 in any manner.

[0069] When the main unit 2 is viewed from the front, the first antenna 44 is located in the upper left area of ​​the housing 11. When the main unit 2 is viewed from the front, the second antenna 45 is located in the upper area of ​​the housing 11. When the main unit 2 is viewed from the front, the third antenna 46 is located in the lower right area of ​​the housing 11. Each of the antennas 44 to 46 has a different function (for example, different transmission and reception frequency bands) and is used for wireless communication between the main unit 2 and other devices (for example, the controllers 3 and 4, a wireless LAN router device, etc.).

[0070] As shown in FIG. 8 , the main unit 2 includes magnetic members 51-54. Each of the magnetic members 51-54 includes a magnet and generates a magnetic field. In this embodiment, the magnetic members 51-54 are used to attach the controller to the main unit 2. That is, in this embodiment, the main unit 2 attaches the controller to the main unit 2 by using the magnetic force (specifically, attractive force) of the magnetic members 51-54 as an attractive force to attract the controller to the main unit 2.

[0071] In this embodiment, the controller is attached to the side of the housing 11 (see FIG. 1 ). Therefore, in order to effectively generate a magnetic field on the side of the housing 11, the magnetic members 51 to 54 are arranged near the side of the housing 11. Specifically, in this embodiment, two magnetic members 51 and 52 are arranged side by side on the right side of the housing 11 in the vertical direction, and two magnetic members 53 and 54 are arranged side by side on the left side of the housing 11 in the vertical direction. More specifically, on the right side of the housing 11, the upper right magnetic member 51 is arranged above the center of the right side in the vertical direction, and the lower right magnetic member 52 is arranged below that center. On the left side of the housing 11, the upper left magnetic member 53 is arranged above the center of the left side in the vertical direction, and the lower left magnetic member 54 is arranged below that center. Note that in other embodiments, the positions and number of magnetic members provided in the main unit 2 are arbitrary. For example, on the side surface of the housing 11, multiple magnetic members may be arranged above the center of the side surface in the vertical direction, and multiple magnetic members may be arranged below that center.Alternatively, for example, one magnetic member may be arranged either above or below the center in the vertical direction, and multiple magnetic members may be arranged on the other side.Alternatively, for example, on the side surface of the housing 11, one or more magnetic members may be arranged above the center of the side surface in the vertical direction, one or more magnetic members may be arranged below that center, and a magnetic member may be arranged at the center in the vertical direction.

[0072] 9 to 15, the configuration of the main unit 2 for attaching a controller to the main unit 2 will be described. Fig. 9 is an exploded perspective view of an example of the right side portion of the housing 11. Fig. 10 is a perspective view of an example of the right side portion of the housing 11.

[0073] As shown in FIG. 9 , the right side surface 60 of the housing 11 has a base surface 61 and a protruding surface 62 that protrudes from the base surface 61 to the right (e.g., away from the display). Thus, the right side surface 60 of the housing 11 includes two surfaces that are positioned at different levels in the left-right direction. From another perspective, a groove is formed in the right side surface 60 of the housing 11, and the groove is a groove that faces the protruding surface 62, which is the top surface, and includes the base surface 61, which is the bottom surface of the groove. The base surface 61 can be said to be an example of a surface of the housing 11 that faces the right controller 3 when the right controller 3 is attached to the main unit 2. In this embodiment, a cover 65 is attached to the base surface 61, and the base surface 61 is covered by the cover 65 (see FIGS. 9 and 10 ). Details will be described later.

[0074] In this embodiment, the base surface 61 and the protruding surface 62 are planes perpendicular to the left-right direction. However, in other embodiments, the base surface 61 and the protruding surface 62 do not have to be planes perpendicular to the left-right direction. Furthermore, the base surface 61 and the protruding surface 62 do not have to be flat. For example, the base surface 61 may be a curved surface whose central portion is recessed more than the peripheral portion. Furthermore, for example, the protruding surface 62 may be an inclined surface whose height (i.e., the length in the left-right direction from the base surface 61) increases as it approaches the outer periphery of the right side surface 60 of the housing 11.

[0075] The housing 11 has a wall 63 that surrounds the base surface 61. The wall 63 extends in a protruding direction (specifically, to the right) from the base surface 61. The right end surface of the wall 63 is a protruding surface 62. In this embodiment, the wall 63 is annular and surrounds the base surface 61. It can also be said that the wall 63 is arranged on four sides of the base surface 61: above, below, in front of, and behind the base surface 61. An inner circumferential surface 64 connecting the base surface 61 and the protruding surface 62 surrounds the base surface 61. From another perspective, when viewed from a direction perpendicular to the base surface 61 (specifically, from the right), the protruding surface 62 surrounds the base surface 61. Note that in other embodiments, the wall 63 does not have to be annular and does not have to surround the base surface 61 (see FIG. 46 ).

[0076] As described above, in this embodiment, the base surface 61 and the inner circumferential surface 64 form a groove 60a on the right side surface 60 of the housing 11 that is recessed relative to the protruding surface 62 (see FIG. 9 ). That is, the right side surface 60 of the housing 11 has a shape that includes the groove 60a. As will be described in detail later, in this embodiment, a cover 65 is attached to the bottom surface of the groove 60a. Therefore, the cover 65 and the inner circumferential surface 64 form a groove 2a on the main unit 2 that is recessed relative to the protruding surface 62 (see FIG. 10 ). As will be described in detail later, in this embodiment, the right controller 3 is attached to the main unit 2 with the protrusion of the right controller 3 fitted into the groove 2a on the right side surface 60 of the main unit 2. By fitting the protrusion into the groove 2a, the right controller 3 attached to the main unit 2 is positioned relative to the main unit 2 in the up-down and front-to-back directions.

[0077] In this embodiment, the groove 2a is formed to extend in the vertical direction (see FIG. 10 ). The right side surface 60 of the housing 11 is elongated in the vertical direction (more specifically, the vertical length is longer than the front-to-rear length), and the groove 2a is elongated in the vertical direction to match the shape of the right side surface 60. This allows the proportion of the groove 2a to the entire right side surface 60 of the housing 11 to be increased. This makes it easier for the user to insert the protrusion of the right controller 3 into the groove 2a when attaching the right controller 3 to the main unit 2. Note that in this specification, the phrase "a component extending in a certain direction" does not necessarily mean that the component extends strictly parallel to that direction, but also means that the component extends in substantially the same direction as that direction.

[0078] In this embodiment, the width (i.e., the length in the front-to-rear direction) of the groove 2a is greater than half the width of the right side surface 60 of the housing 11. The width (i.e., the length in the front-to-rear direction) of the groove 2a is greater than the width of the protruding surface 62. The length (i.e., the length in the up-down direction) of the groove 2a is greater than half the length of the right side surface 60 of the housing 11. This configuration also makes it possible to increase the proportion of the groove 2a to the entire right side surface 60 of the housing 11.

[0079] The shape and position of the groove 2a are arbitrary. For example, in this embodiment, when the right side surface 60 of the housing 11 is viewed from the right side, the longitudinal end of the groove 2a has a rounded shape. However, in other embodiments, the end may not have a rounded shape. For example, when the right side surface 60 of the housing 11 is viewed from the right side, the shape of the groove 2a may have corners (e.g., a rectangle). Furthermore, in this embodiment, the width of the groove 2a is constant except for the rounded portion at the end of the groove 2a. However, in other embodiments, the width does not have to be constant. For example, the width of the groove 2a may gradually narrow or widen as it moves away from the center in the vertical direction.

[0080] In this embodiment, the inner circumferential surface 64 of the wall portion 63 is not perpendicular to the base surface 61 but is slightly inclined. Specifically, the inner circumferential surface 64 widens as it moves away from the base surface 61 (i.e., toward the right). From another perspective, the inner circumferential surface 64 is formed so that it can be seen when the groove 2a is viewed from the opening side (i.e., the right side). Specifically, the inclination angle θ1 (see FIG. 9 ) of the inner circumferential surface 64 with respect to the base surface 61 is an angle smaller than 90° (more specifically, 80°<θ1<90°). This inclination of the inner circumferential surface 64 makes it easier for the user to insert the protrusion of the right controller 3 into the groove 2a.

[0081] As shown in Fig. 9 , an upper right magnetic member 51 and a lower right magnetic member 52 are attached to a base surface 61 of the housing 11. In this embodiment, through holes 61a and 61b are formed in the base surface 61, penetrating from the outside to the inside of the housing 11 (see Fig. 9 ). The magnetic members 51 and 52 are arranged so that a portion of each is located within the through holes 61a and 61b, respectively. As shown in Fig. 9 , when the cover 65 is not attached, the magnetic members 51 and 52 are exposed from the through holes 61a and 61b, respectively. Note that the magnetic members 51 and 52 may also be arranged so that their entirety is located within the through holes 61a and 61b, respectively.

[0082] As described above, in this embodiment, the upper right magnetic member 51 and the lower right magnetic member 52 are disposed at the bottom of the groove 2a formed in the main unit 2. This reduces the possibility that an object other than the main unit 2 will come into contact with the cover 65, and reduces the possibility that the object will come into contact with the cover 65 and cause an impact to the upper right magnetic member 51 and the lower right magnetic member 52.

[0083] As shown in FIGS. 9 and 10 , in this embodiment, the main device 2 includes a cover 65. The cover 65 has a plate-like shape. Since the cover 65 is thin, it can also be considered to have a sheet-like shape. The cover 65 is attached to the base surface 61. Any method for attaching the cover 65 to the base surface 61 may be used. For example, the cover 65 may be attached to the base surface 61 using adhesive or double-sided tape. In this embodiment, the cover 65 is attached to the housing 11 so as to cover the base surface 61 and the magnetic members 51 and 52, thereby preventing the magnetic members 51 and 52 from being exposed to the outside. In this embodiment, the cover 65 has substantially the same shape as the base surface 61. Therefore, the cover 65 covers the entire base surface 61 (excluding a portion of the right connector 22 protruding from the base surface 61, which will be described later). The cover 65 covers the through-holes 61a and 61b (more specifically, the openings of the through-holes on the outside of the housing 11) through which the magnetic members 51 and 52 are disposed, thereby preventing dust and other foreign matter from entering the housing 11 through the through-holes 61a and 61b. Furthermore, the cover 65 covers the magnetic members 51 and 52, thereby protecting the magnets of the magnetic members 51 and 52 from impact. As will be described in detail later, the cover 65 also prevents the magnetic members 51 and 52 from being electrically connected to the right controller 3 when the right controller 3 is attached to the main unit 2. The cover 65 may have any shape and need not be the same shape as the base surface 61. For example, the cover 65 may have a shape that covers the magnetic members 51 and 52 while only covering a portion of the base surface 61. For example, the cover 65 may have a shape that exposes a portion of the magnetic members 51 and 52 to the outside. In other embodiments, the main unit 2 may not have the cover 65.

[0084] From the above, in this embodiment, it can be said that the cover 65 is the bottom surface of the groove 2a formed on the right side surface 60 of the main unit 2. If the main unit 2 does not have the cover 65, the groove portion 60a on the right side surface 60 of the housing 11 is the groove 2a of the main unit 2, and therefore the base surface 61 of the housing 11 is the bottom surface of the groove 2a.

[0085] In this embodiment, the thickness of the cover 65 is thinner than, for example, the thickness of the portion that constitutes the base surface 61 of the housing 11 (i.e., the thickness of the wall of the base surface 61). This makes it possible to prevent the distance between the right controller 3 attached to the main unit 2 and the magnetic members 51 and 52 from becoming too large, and allows an attractive force sufficient to maintain the attached state of the right controller 3 to be generated between the right controller 3 and the magnetic members 51 and 52. The thickness of the cover 65 is optional, and may be equal to or greater than the thickness of the portion that constitutes the base surface 61 of the housing 11.

[0086] In this embodiment, the cover 65 is made of resin. The cover 65 may be made of any material, but for example, an insulating material is selected. Specifically, a material with a relative permeability close to 1 (more specifically, a relative permeability that is approximately 1) is selected. The reason for this will be described later.

[0087] 9 and 10, the right connector 22 is attached to the base surface 61 of the housing 11. Details of the right connector 22 will be described later.

[0088] 11 is a diagram showing an example of the configuration of the upper right magnetic member 51. In this embodiment, all four magnetic members 51 to 54 have the same configuration, so the detailed configuration of the magnetic members will be described below using the upper right magnetic member 51 as an example, and detailed description of the other magnetic members 52 to 54 will be omitted.

[0089] 11, the upper right magnetic member 51 has a magnet 71. In this embodiment, the magnet 71 is a conductive permanent magnet, such as a neodymium magnet.

[0090] In this embodiment, the magnet 71 is a rectangular parallelepiped that is long in the vertical direction. That is, the vertical length of the magnet 71 is longer than the horizontal and front-to-rear lengths. Note that some of the sides of the magnet 71 may be chamfered.

[0091] The magnet 71 is arranged so that one of the north and south poles (the north pole in FIG. 11) faces forward and the other faces backward.

[0092] The upper right magnetic member 51 includes a pair of yokes 72 and 73. The yokes 72 and 73 are made of a ferromagnetic material, such as iron, cobalt, nickel, alloys thereof, or ferrite. Each yoke 72 and 73 has a plate-like shape extending in the vertical and horizontal directions. Similar to the magnet 71, each yoke 72 and 73 has a shape in which the vertical length is longer than the horizontal length. Each yoke 72 and 73 is attached to the magnet 71 so as to sandwich the magnet 71. Specifically, each yoke 72 and 73 is attached to a position that sandwiches the magnet 71 from the front to the rear. That is, the first yoke 72 is attached to one polarity side of the magnet 71 (the north pole side in FIG. 11 , which can also be considered the front side), and the second yoke 73 is attached to the other polarity side of the magnet 71. In this embodiment, the first yoke 72 and the second yoke 73 have the same shape and size and are attached to the magnet 71 so that they overlap when viewed from the front to the rear.

[0093] In this embodiment, the magnet 71 and the yokes 72 and 73 are bonded together using a non-conductive adhesive. Using a non-conductive adhesive makes it easier to select an adhesive with high adhesive strength, thereby achieving a strong bond. While details will be described later, in this embodiment, the lower-right magnetic member 51 is connected to the ground of the electronic circuit within the main unit 2. If the magnet 71 and the yokes 72 and 73 were bonded together using a conductive adhesive, the resistance or impedance would increase, preventing the desired ground potential from being achieved and potentially making the ground potential unstable in response to external noise. Therefore, in this embodiment, the magnet 71 and the yokes 72 and 73 are bonded together using a non-conductive adhesive and electrically connected together using a conductive member 81 (described later), thereby reducing this possibility. The yokes 72 and 73 may be attached to the magnet 71 using any method. For example, in other embodiments, the two may be bonded together using a conductive adhesive.

[0094] 11 , each of the yokes 72 and 73 has a shape and size that covers the magnet 71 when viewed from the front-to-back direction. From another perspective, when the upper right magnetic member 51 is viewed from the front-to-back direction, the magnet 71 is hidden from view by the yoke 72 or 73. By arranging each of the yokes 72 as described above, the magnetic flux passing through the front and rear surfaces of the magnet 71 passes through each of the yokes 72 and 73, thereby increasing the magnetic flux density within each of the yokes 72 and 73 and increasing the attractive force of the upper right magnetic member 51.

[0095] FIG. 12 is a schematic diagram showing the upper-right magnetic member 51, a cover 65 arranged to cover the upper-right magnetic member 51, and the housing 11. FIG. 12 is a cross-sectional view perpendicular to the up-down direction at the position of the upper-right magnetic member 51. In this embodiment, the upper-right magnetic member 51 generates a magnetic flux extending from the end of one of the yokes 72 and 73 to the end of the other yoke, generating a magnetic field in the area outside the cover 65 (i.e., the right side when the game system 1 is oriented). Note that the magnetic flux is indicated by dotted lines in FIG. 12. As will be described in detail later, in this embodiment, when the right controller 3 is attached to the main unit 2, it is located in the area outside the cover 65, and is attracted to the main unit 2 by the attractive force of the magnetic field in that area.

[0096] 12, in this embodiment, the magnet 71 is sandwiched between the yokes 72 and 73, which increases the magnetic flux density at the ends of the yokes 72 and 73, making it possible to generate a strong magnetic field in the area outside the cover 65. This increases the attractive force generated by the right controller 3 when it is attached to the main unit 2.

[0097] 11 and 12 , in this embodiment, each of the yokes 72 and 73 protrudes beyond the magnet 71 in the direction toward the outside of the housing 11. That is, of the left-right ends of each of the yokes 72 and 73, the end closest to the outside of the housing 11 (i.e., the end closest to the cover 65) is positioned so as to protrude beyond the magnet 71. This allows the ends of each of the yokes 72 and 73, which have a high magnetic flux density, to be positioned close to the cover 65, thereby generating a strong magnetic field on the cover 65. For example, in this embodiment, the right controller 3 is positioned so that the ends contact the cover 65.

[0098] The positional relationship of each of the yokes 72 and 73 with respect to the magnet 71 is arbitrary and is not limited to the above. For example, in another embodiment, the outer end of the magnet 71 and the outer end of each of the yokes 72 and 73 may be configured to be in the same position.

[0099] In this embodiment, the yokes 72 and 73 are in contact with the cover 65, but in other embodiments, the yokes 72 and 73 may not be in contact with the cover 65. In this embodiment, the yokes 72 and 73 are in contact with the cover 65, but the magnet 71 is not in contact with the cover 65. However, in other embodiments, both the yokes 72 and 73 and the magnet 71 may be in contact with the cover 65.

[0100] 12, by orienting the magnetic poles of the magnets in a direction parallel to the cover 65 (specifically, in the front-to-back direction) and arranging the yokes so that the magnets are sandwiched in this direction, it is possible to position each end of each yoke, where the magnetic flux density is high, in a position close to the cover 65. This makes it possible to generate a strong magnetic field on the cover 65.

[0101] In other embodiments, the orientation of the magnetic members is arbitrary and may be other than the orientation shown in Fig. 12. The polarity of the magnetic members is also arbitrary and may be other than the orientation shown in Fig. 12.

[0102] Next, a configuration for attaching the upper right magnetic member 51 to the housing 11 will be described. As shown in Fig. 11 , the first yoke 72 has an inner portion 72a and an outer portion 72b. The inner portion 72a is the portion of the first yoke 72 that is located on the inward side of the housing 11 (i.e., on the left side when the orientation of the game system 1 is used as the reference) when the first yoke 72 is attached to the housing 11. The outer portion 72b is the portion of the first yoke 72 that is located on the outward side of the housing 11 when the first yoke 72 is attached to the housing 11.

[0103] As shown in FIG. 11 , the length of the inner portion 72a of the first yoke 72 is longer than the length of the outer portion 72b in the up-down direction. From another perspective, the first yoke 72 has a shape in which the upper and lower ends of the inner portion 72a protrude in the up-down direction beyond the upper and lower ends of the outer portion 72b. Specifically, the length of the inner portion 72a of the first yoke 72 is longer than the length of the through-hole 61a formed in the base surface 61 of the right side surface 60 of the housing 11, and the length of the outer portion 72b of the first yoke 72 is shorter than the length of the through-hole 61a. Therefore, when the upper right magnetic member 51 is inserted into the through-hole 61a from the outer tip of the outer portion 72b (i.e., the right side when the orientation of the game system 1 is used as the reference), the outer portion 72b is inserted into the through-hole 61a, and the inner portion 72a is not inserted into the through-hole 61a.

[0104] In this embodiment, the second yoke 73 has the same shape as the first yoke 72. In this embodiment, the magnet 71 is a rectangular parallelepiped as described above, but in other embodiments, like the yokes 72 and 73, the magnet 71 may have a shape in which the vertical length of the inner portion is longer than the vertical length of the outer portion.

[0105] In the following description, the portion of the upper right magnetic member 51 corresponding to the inner portion 72a of the first yoke 72 will be referred to as the inner portion of the upper right magnetic member 51, and the portion corresponding to the outer portion 72b of the first yoke 72 will be referred to as the outer portion of the upper right magnetic member 51. The "portion corresponding to the inner portion 72a of the first yoke 72" refers to the portion that overlaps with the inner portion 72a of the first yoke 72 when the upper right magnetic member 51 is viewed from the front-to-rear direction. The "portion corresponding to the outer portion 72b of the first yoke 72" refers to the portion that overlaps with the outer portion 72b of the first yoke 72 when the upper right magnetic member 51 is viewed from the front-to-rear direction. The inner portion is an example of a first portion, at least a portion of which is located within the through-hole 61a. The outer portion is an example of a second portion that is located within the housing 11 and is longer than the opening of the through-hole 61a inside the housing 11 when the yokes 71 and 72 are arranged.

[0106] Fig. 13 is a diagram showing an example of the interior of the housing 11 in which the upper right magnetic member 51 is disposed. Fig. 13 is a perspective view of the upper right magnetic member 51 attached to the through-hole 61a formed in the front housing 31, as viewed from the inside of the front housing 31. Note that in Fig. 13, a first conductive member and a holder, which will be described later, are not shown in order to make the upper right magnetic member 51 easier to see.

[0107] 13 , the upper right magnetic member 51 is positioned so that its outer portion is located within the through-hole 61a and its inner portion is located outside the through-hole 61a. That is, the upper right magnetic member 51 is positioned so that its inner portion is located within the housing 11 and its outer portion is inserted into the through-hole 61a. For example, the upper right magnetic member 51 is attached to the housing 11 by being inserted into the through-hole 61a from inside the housing 11. Here, as described above, the vertical length of the inner portion of the upper right magnetic member 51 is greater than the vertical length of the through-hole 61a. Therefore, when the upper right magnetic member 51 is positioned so that its outer portion is inserted into the through-hole 61a, it is possible to prevent the upper right magnetic member 51 from slipping out of the housing 11.

[0108] The cross-sectional shape of the outer portion of the upper right magnetic member 51 in a plane parallel to the base surface 61 and the cross-sectional shape of the through-hole 61a in the same plane are substantially the same shape and size. In this case, the upper right magnetic member 51 attached to the housing 11 can be positioned in the up-down and front-to-back directions by the through-hole 61a. However, the through-hole 61a only needs to have a shape and size that allows the upper right magnetic member 51 to be inserted with its longitudinal direction facing the up-down direction. The through-hole 61a may or may not be in contact with the upper right magnetic member 51 when inserted into the through-hole 61a.

[0109] In the present embodiment, the upper right magnetic member 51 is disposed so that the outer tip portion of the upper right magnetic member 51 (i.e., the tip portion on the right side when the orientation of the game system 1 is used as the reference) protrudes beyond the base surface 61. Note that in the present embodiment, as described above, the outer tip portions of the yokes 72 and 73 are disposed so as to protrude beyond the magnet 71 (see FIG. 12 ). In the present embodiment, the tip portions of the yokes 72 and 73 are disposed so as to protrude beyond the base surface 61.

[0110] If the tip portion were positioned inside the base surface 61 (i.e., on the left side when the orientation of the game system 1 is used as the reference), a gap would be created between the tip portion and the cover 65. As a result, the distance between the right controller 3 and the upper right magnetic member 51 when attached to the main unit 2 would be greater than when the tip portion and the cover 65 are in contact with each other, which could reduce the magnetic attraction of the upper right magnetic member 51. In contrast, in the present embodiment, the tip portion is positioned to protrude beyond the base surface 61, which prevents a gap from being created between the tip portion and the cover 65 and thus reduces the reduction in the magnetic attraction of the upper right magnetic member 51. Note that in other embodiments, the tip portion may be positioned flush with the base surface 61. In other embodiments, the upper right magnetic member 51 may be positioned such that the outer tip portion of the upper right magnetic member 51 (i.e., the right tip portion when the orientation of the game system 1 is used as the reference) is accommodated within the through-hole 61a (specifically, so as not to protrude beyond the base surface 61).

[0111] When the tip portion is positioned to protrude beyond the base surface 61, the portion of the cover 65 attached to the base surface 61 that abuts the tip portion will be slightly raised. The amount of protrusion of the tip portion may be slight. For example, the amount of protrusion of the tip portion may be such that the cover 65 attached to the base surface 61 appears substantially flat. In this embodiment, the amount of protrusion is such that the cover 65 appears substantially flat, and the cover 65 is shown as flat in the drawings. Even if the amount of protrusion is slight, it is possible to prevent a gap from occurring between the tip portion and the cover 65, thereby suppressing a decrease in the magnetic attraction force of the upper right magnetic member 51.

[0112] 9 and 13 , in this embodiment, the base surface 61 on the right side surface 60 of the housing 11 is elongated in the vertical direction, and the upper-right magnetic member 51 is arranged so that the yokes 72 and 73 extend in the vertical direction. That is, the upper-right magnetic member 51 is arranged so that the yokes 72 and 73 extend in the same direction as the longitudinal direction of the base surface 61. This increases the number of locations on the cover 65 where the magnetic flux density is high (i.e., locations corresponding to the outer ends of the yokes 72 and 73) compared to, for example, when the upper-right magnetic member 51 is arranged so that the yokes 72 and 73 extend in the same direction as the lateral direction of the base surface 61. This increases the attractive force of the upper-right magnetic member 51.

[0113] As described above, in this embodiment, the front housing 31 includes a metal portion and a resin portion. In FIG. 13 , the resin portion of the front housing 31 is indicated by diagonal lines. As shown in FIG. 13 , in this embodiment, a portion of the side portion 31b of the front housing 31 is a metal portion, and another portion is a resin portion. Specifically, the portion of the front housing 31 that comes into contact with the upper right magnetic member 51 is made of resin. From another perspective, the through hole 61a is formed in the resin portion of the front housing 31, which is made of an insulating material. More specifically, the portion of the front housing 31 that forms the inner circumferential surface of the through hole 61a is made of resin. Furthermore, the portion of the inner wall of the front housing 31 surrounding the opening of the through hole 61a is made of resin (see FIG. 13 ).

[0114] In this embodiment, the magnetic members (i.e., the magnets and yokes) are conductive. If the magnetic members were to come into direct contact with the metal portions of the front housing 31, the electrical connection between the magnetic members, which are connected to the ground potential within the main unit 2, and the metal portions could result in inductance and impedance components that could unintentionally affect electronic components such as antennas (antennas 44-46 in this embodiment). In contrast, in this embodiment, an insulating resin member is disposed between the magnetic members and the metal portions of the front housing 31, which reduces the likelihood of inductance and impedance components being generated by the electrical path between the magnetic members and the metal portions of the front housing 31, thereby preventing the magnetic members from becoming a noise source and unintentionally affecting electronic components. In other embodiments, the main unit 2 may be configured so that the magnetic members come into direct contact with the metal portions of the front housing 31.

[0115] In this embodiment, the metal portion of the front housing 31 is made of a non-magnetic metal (specifically, the above-mentioned magnesium, etc.), which prevents the metal portion of the front housing 31 from being affected by the magnetic field generated by the magnetic member.

[0116] As shown in FIG. 13 , in this embodiment, an opening 75, which is the opening of the through hole 61 a in the inner wall of the front housing 31, is made of resin. As shown in FIG. 13 , the opening 75 abuts against the yokes 72 and 73 of the upper right magnetic member 51. Specifically, the surface of the opening 75 facing the inside of the housing 11 (referred to as the "abutment surface") abuts against the surfaces of the inner portions of the yokes 72 and 73 facing the outside of the housing 11. The lower edge of the opening 75 abuts against the lower portions of the inner portions of the yokes 72 and 73. The upper edge of the opening 75 abuts against the upper portions of the inner portions of the yokes 72 and 73. In other words, the upper right magnetic member 51 abuts against the abutment surfaces 75 at four locations: two abutment surfaces on the inner portion of the first yoke 72 and two abutment surfaces on the inner portion of the second yoke 73. In this embodiment, the opening 75 is formed by protruding from the inner wall of the front housing 31 around the opening 75 (specifically, by protruding toward the inside of the housing 11). This reduces the possibility that the lower right magnetic member 51 will come into contact with metal parts of the inner wall of the front housing 31 other than the opening 75. As described above, the opening 75 is formed by protruding from the inner wall of the front housing 31 around the opening 75. Therefore, strictly speaking, part of the outer part of the lower right magnetic member 51 (specifically, part closer to the inner part) will not fit inside the through-hole 61a.

[0117] In this embodiment, the contact surface of the opening 75 (i.e., the surface that contacts the upper-right magnetic member 51) is parallel to the base surface 61. From another perspective, the contact surface is perpendicular to the left-right direction. If the contact surface is not parallel to the base surface 61, the upper-right magnetic member 51 will be disposed at an angle relative to the base surface 61, which could reduce the magnetic attraction of the upper-right magnetic member 51. In contrast, by making the contact surface parallel to the base surface 61, the possibility of the upper-right magnetic member 51 being disposed at an angle relative to the base surface 61 can be reduced, and the possibility of the magnetic attraction of the upper-right magnetic member 51 being reduced can be reduced.

[0118] In this embodiment, the opening 75 is made of resin. Here, in this embodiment, the front housing 31 is manufactured by insert molding, and the mold is removed in the rearward direction. In this case, if the opening 75 were made of metal, it would be difficult to make the abutment surface parallel to the base surface 61 (i.e., parallel to the removal direction) because it is generally difficult to make the draft angle small for metal parts. In contrast, in this embodiment, the opening 75 is made of resin, and it is easier to make the draft angle small for resin parts compared to metal parts, so it is easier to make the abutment surface parallel to the base surface 61 (i.e., parallel to the removal direction).

[0119] Fig. 14 is a cross-sectional view of an example of the main device 2 at a position where the upper right magnetic member 51 is disposed. Fig. 14 is a cross-sectional view taken along a plane parallel to the front-rear and left-right directions. Note that in Fig. 14, in order to clearly show the arrangement of the components to be described (specifically, the upper right magnetic member 51, the first conductive member, the holder, and the second conductive member), components other than the components to be described that are disposed within the housing 11 are omitted.

[0120] As shown in FIG. 14 , the main unit 2 includes a first conductive member 81. The first conductive member 81 is disposed on the inner surface (i.e., the left side when the orientation of the game system 1 is taken as the reference) of the upper-right magnetic member 51. The first conductive member 81 is, for example, a sheet-like component made of a conductive material. The first conductive member 81 is disposed so as to contact each component of the upper-right magnetic member 51 (i.e., the magnet 71 and each of the yokes 72 and 73). Specifically, the outward surface of the first conductive member 81 contacts the inward surfaces of the magnet 71 and each of the yokes 72 and 73. The first conductive member 81 electrically connects each component of the upper-right magnetic member 51. As will be described in detail later, in this embodiment, the second yoke 73 and the first conductive member 81 are electrically connected to the ground of the electronic circuit of the main unit 2 by the second conductive member 83. Therefore, the electrical connection of each component of the upper-right magnetic member 51 by the first conductive member 81 electrically connects each component of the upper-right magnetic member 51 to the ground of the electronic circuit of the main unit 2. The outward surface of first conductive member 81 may be connected via a conductive adhesive to the inward surfaces of magnet 71 and each of yokes 72 and 73. This configuration makes it less likely that the positional relationship between first conductive member 81 and magnet 71 and each of yokes 72 and 73 will shift.

[0121] As shown in FIG. 14 , the main unit 2 includes a holder 82 for holding the magnetic member 51. The holder 82 is an example of a pressing member that presses at least one of the magnet 71 and the yokes 72 and 73 outward from the housing 11. The holder 82 is disposed so as to contact the inner side of the first conductive member 81. The holder 82 includes, for example, a first portion 82a including a contact surface perpendicular to the left-right direction and a second portion 82b for attaching the holder 82 to the front housing 31. The holder 82 is attached to the front housing 31 with the contact surface of the holder 82 contacting the inner surface of the first conductive member 81 (i.e., the surface opposite the surface that contacts the upper right magnetic member 51), which is disposed along the inner surface of the upper right magnetic member 51. In other words, the first conductive member 81 is sandwiched between the upper right magnetic member 51 and the holder 82. The holder 82 may be attached to the front housing 31 by any method. In this embodiment, the holder 82 is fixed to the front housing 31 by, for example, screwing a screw hole formed in the second portion 82b. The specific shape of the holder 82 is arbitrary, and may be set to a shape that corresponds to the shape of the housing 11 around the holder 82. For example, the holders used to attach the magnetic members 52 to 54 other than the upper right magnetic member 51 may have a different shape from the holder 82 used to attach the upper right magnetic member 51. Furthermore, the holder 82 is attached to the front portion 31a of the front housing 31 of the housing 11, but the position on the housing 11 to which the holder 82 is attached is arbitrary. In other embodiments, the member to which the holder 82 is attached is not limited to the housing 11, and for example, the holder 82 may be configured to be attached to the board 33.

[0122] In the present embodiment, the holder 82 is attached so as to press the upper right magnetic member 51 and the first conductive member 81 outward from the housing 11 (i.e., toward the right when the orientation of the game system 1 is used as the reference). Specifically, when the upper right magnetic member 51, the first conductive member 81, and the holder 82 are attached to the front housing 31, the holder 82 presses the upper right magnetic member 51 outward via the first conductive member 81, and the upper right magnetic member 51 is pressed against the inner wall of the front housing 31 (specifically, the opening 75). In the above state, the upper right magnetic member 51 is fixed to the housing 11 by the holder 82.

[0123] As described above, the holder 82 presses the inner surface of the upper right magnetic member 51 facing the inside of the housing 11 toward the outside of the housing 11. This sandwiches the upper right magnetic member 51 between the holder 82 and the inner wall of the housing 11, thereby suppressing rattle of the upper right magnetic member 51 in the left-right direction. Furthermore, the frictional force generated by sandwiching the upper right magnetic member 51 between the holder 82 and the inner wall of the housing 11 also secures the upper right magnetic member 51 in the front-to-rear and up-down directions. As described above, in this embodiment, the upper right magnetic member 51 can be fixed to the housing 11 while suppressing rattle. Note that if the position of the upper right magnetic member 51 shifts relative to the housing 11, the magnetic force of the upper right magnetic member 51 on the right controller 3 when attached to the main unit 2 may decrease. According to this embodiment, by firmly fixing the upper right magnetic member 51 to the housing 11, a decrease in the magnetic force due to a shift in the position of the upper right magnetic member 51 can be suppressed.

[0124] The holder 82 may be made of an elastic material. The holder 82 may directly press both the magnet 71 and the yokes 72 and 73 of the upper right magnetic member 51 without using the first conductive member 81. In other words, the main unit 2 does not need to include the first conductive member 81. The holder 82 may also be made of an electrically conductive material and may be electrically connected to the ground potential within the main unit 2. For example, the holder 82 may be electrically connected to the ground potential of the housing 11 or the circuit board 33. In this way, by having the holder 82 function both to hold the lower right magnetic member 51 and to connect the lower right magnetic member 51 to ground, the number of components in the main unit 2 can be reduced, thereby saving space.

[0125] In this embodiment, the holder 82 presses both the magnet 71 in the upper right magnetic member 51 and each of the yokes 72 and 73, but in other embodiments, the holder 82 may press at least one of the magnet 71, the first yoke 72, and the second yoke 73.

[0126] In this embodiment, the first conductive member 81 is made of an elastic material. The material of the first conductive member 81 may be, for example, conductive silicone rubber, black rubber, polyethylene, urethane foam, or acrylic foam. When the upper right magnetic member 51 is fixed by the holder 82, the first conductive member 81 is sandwiched between the holder 82 and the upper right magnetic member 51 and is deformed. By making the first conductive member 81 of an elastic material, rattle of the upper right magnetic member 51 can be suppressed. Note that, in other embodiments, the material of the first conductive member 81 is arbitrary and may be a non-elastic material.

[0127] As described above, in this embodiment, the first conductive member 81 functions to electrically connect the magnet 71 to the yokes 72 and 73 and also functions as a cushion to prevent the upper-right magnetic member 51 from rattling. This reduces the number of components in the main unit 2 and saves space. In other embodiments, the main unit 2 may include a component that electrically connects the magnet 71 to the yokes 72 and 73 and a component that prevents the upper-right magnetic member 51 from rattling. For example, as described above, the magnet 71 and the yokes 72 and 73 may be bonded together with a conductive adhesive. In this configuration, no components are required to electrically connect the magnet 71 to the yokes 72 and 73. Therefore, an insulating member may be used instead of the first conductive member 81, or neither the first conductive member 81 nor the insulating member may be used. Note that conductive adhesives generally have low conductivity and therefore have high resistance values. In contrast, when using the first conductive member, it is easier to select a material with higher conductivity than when using a conductive adhesive, thereby reducing resistance loss.

[0128] As shown in FIG. 14 , the main unit 2 includes a second conductive member 83. The second conductive member 83 is disposed between the front housing 31 and the upper-right magnetic member 51. Specifically, the second conductive member 83 is disposed so as to contact the front housing 31 and the second yoke 73, which is disposed on the front side of the yokes 72 and 73 of the upper-right magnetic member 51. As described above, the front housing 31 includes a metal portion 31c and a resin portion 31d. The right side surface of the housing 11 is formed by the resin portion 31d. As shown in FIG. 14 , the second conductive member 83 is disposed so as to contact the metal portion 31c of the front housing 31 (specifically, the metal portion of the front portion 31a) and the second yoke 73 and the first conductive member 81. For example, the second conductive member 83 is adhered to the front housing 31, the second yoke 73, and the first conductive member 81 with a conductive adhesive.

[0129] As described above, in this embodiment, the second conductive member 83 electrically connects the upper right magnetic member 51 and the metal portion of the housing 11. The second conductive member 83 may be an elastically deformable member, and may be attached in a deformed state by being pressed by the front housing 31 and the second yoke 73. This increases the contact area between the second conductive member 83 and the front housing 31 and the second yoke 73, thereby ensuring more reliable contact between the second conductive member 83 and the front housing 31 and the second yoke 73. In other embodiments, the second conductive member 83 does not have to be an elastically deformable member.

[0130] In this embodiment, as described above, the metal portion of the front housing 31 is electrically connected to the ground of the electronic circuitry included in the main unit 2. Therefore, in this embodiment, the upper right magnetic member 51 is electrically connected to the ground of the electronic circuitry via the first conductive member 81 and the second conductive member 83. That is, in this embodiment, the first conductive member 81 electrically connects each of the yokes 72 and 73 to the magnet 71, and the electrically connected upper right magnetic member 51 is connected to the metal portion of the housing via the second conductive member 82. This configuration allows the upper right magnetic member 51 to be stably positioned (in a structural sense) on the metal portion of the housing 11, while also ensuring a stable ground connection (in terms of potential) between the magnet and the yoke. In this embodiment, the upper right magnetic member 51 is positioned near the surface of the housing 11 to increase the adhesive force required to maintain the right controller 3 attached to the main unit 2. Therefore, by connecting the upper right magnetic member 51 to the ground of the electronic circuit of the main unit 2, it is possible to shield electromagnetic waves from outside the main unit 2, and to prevent noise such as radiation from being transmitted to electronic components inside the main unit 2 (e.g., antenna, SoC, etc.).

[0131] The specific configuration for connecting the upper right magnetic member 51 to the ground of the electronic circuit of the main unit 2 is not limited to the above and may be any configuration. For example, although the holder 82 is made of an insulating material in this embodiment, the holder 82 may be made of a conductive material. In this configuration, the upper right magnetic member 51 is electrically connected to the metal portion of the front housing 31 via the first conductive member 81 and the holder 82, thereby being connected to ground. In this configuration, the second conductive member 83 may not be necessary. In other embodiments, the portion of the front housing 31 that comes into contact with the upper right magnetic member 51 may be made of metal, thereby directly connecting the upper right magnetic member 51 to the metal portion of the front housing 31.

[0132] It should be noted that some of the magnetic members 51 to 54 included in the main unit 2 may not be connected to ground. In other embodiments, all of the magnetic members 51 to 54 may not be connected to ground. Details of the magnetic members that are not connected to ground will be described later.

[0133] In this embodiment, the lower-right magnetic member 52 is attached to the base surface 61 on the right side surface 60 of the housing 11 using a configuration similar to that of the upper-right magnetic member 51 (see FIG. 9 ). That is, the configuration for attaching the lower-right magnetic member 52 to the housing 11 is the same as that of the upper-right magnetic member 51. Specifically, the lower-right magnetic member 52 is fixed to the housing 11 by being pressed from inside the housing 11 by a holder via the first conductive member, with the outer portion of the lower-right magnetic member 52 inserted into a through-hole 61b formed on the underside of the base surface 61.

[0134] However, in this embodiment, the lower-right magnetic member 52 is attached to the housing 11 so that its polarity is opposite to that of the upper-right magnetic member 51. For example, if the upper-right magnetic member 51 is positioned so that its north pole is at the front and its south pole is at the rear, the lower-right magnetic member 52 is positioned so that its south pole is at the front and its north pole is at the rear. In this embodiment, the right controller 3 is equipped with a magnetic sensor (magnetic sensor 406 in FIG. 30 , described later). For example, the magnetic sensor is located inside the housing of the right controller 3 (for example, near the center of the housing, or between the upper side button 208 and the lower side button 209, described later, in the vertical direction). Therefore, when the right controller 3 is attached to the main unit 2, the magnetic sensor may be affected by the magnetic fields of the magnetic members 51 and 52 of the main unit 2, which may reduce the detection accuracy of the magnetic sensor. In this regard, in this embodiment, by opposing the polarities of the two magnetic members 51 and 52, the magnetic fields of the two magnetic members cancel each other out at the magnetic sensor, thereby reducing the effect on the magnetic sensor. This makes it possible to suppress a decrease in the detection accuracy of the magnetic sensor.

[0135] Two magnetic members 53 and 54 are attached to the left side surface of the housing 11 in the same manner as the right side surface 60. That is, the configuration for attaching the upper-left magnetic member 53 and the lower-left magnetic member 54 to the housing 11 on the left side surface of the housing 11 is the same as the configuration for attaching the upper-right magnetic member 51 and the lower-right magnetic member 52 to the housing 11 on the right side surface 60 of the housing 11. Furthermore, in this embodiment, the shape of the left side surface of the housing 11 is symmetrical to the shape of the right side surface 60 with respect to a plane that passes through the center of the housing 11 and is perpendicular to the left-right direction. Therefore, the upper-left magnetic member 53 is located at the same position as the upper-right magnetic member 51 in the up-down and front-to-back directions. Furthermore, the lower-left magnetic member 54 is located at the same position as the lower-right magnetic member 52 in the up-down and front-to-back directions.

[0136] Similarly to the magnetic members 51 and 52 arranged on the right side 60, the magnetic members 53 and 54 arranged on the left side of the housing 11 are attached to the housing 11 with their polarities facing opposite directions. The upper right magnetic member 51 and the upper left magnetic member 53, and the lower right magnetic member 52 and the lower left magnetic member 54 may also be attached to the housing 11 with their polarities facing opposite directions. This reduces the effect of the magnetic members 51 to 54 on the magnetic sensors provided in the main unit 2 and the controllers 3 and 4.

[0137] As described above, in this embodiment, the method for attaching the four magnetic members 51 to 54 to the housing 11 is the same. However, in this embodiment, the upper-left magnetic member 53 is not connected to the ground potential within the main unit 2. For example, the upper-left magnetic member 53 does not use a member equivalent to the second conductive member 83 described above for the upper-right magnetic member 51. In other words, the upper-left magnetic member 53 does not have a conductive member sandwiched between the upper-left magnetic member 53 and the metal portion of the front housing 31. Therefore, the upper-left magnetic member 53 is not electrically connected to the metal portion of the front housing 31 and is not connected to ground. The reason for this is explained below.

[0138] In this embodiment, the first antenna 44 is disposed near the upper left magnetic member 53 (see FIG. 8 ). When an antenna is disposed near a magnetic member in this manner, connecting the magnetic member to the ground of the electronic circuit of the main unit 2 may significantly affect the characteristics of the nearby antenna due to the inductance in the path from the magnetic member to the metal portion of the front housing 31. Therefore, if the above-mentioned effect is expected to be greater than the effect of noise generated by a magnetic member that is not grounded, it may be possible to consider not grounding the magnetic member. In this embodiment, the upper left magnetic member 53 disposed near the first antenna 44 is not grounded because it is positioned closest to the antenna, and therefore the above-mentioned effect is expected to be greater. This reduces the effect of the magnetic member on the antenna.

[0139] In this embodiment, the magnetic member is electrically connected to the metal portion of the front housing 31 by the second conductive member. Therefore, whether or not the magnetic member is connected to the ground of the electronic circuit of the main unit 2 can be determined simply by whether or not the second conductive member is provided, making it easy to change the design to determine whether or not the magnetic member is connected to ground.

[0140] As described above, in this embodiment, among the combinations (here, 12 combinations) of one of the magnetic members 51-54 and one of the antennas 44-46, the combination that results in the shortest distance between the magnetic member and the antenna (i.e., the combination of the upper-left magnetic member 53 and the first antenna 44) is configured so that the upper-left magnetic member 53 is not grounded. However, in other embodiments, other magnetic members may not be grounded. For example, in other embodiments, magnetic members whose distance from the antenna is less than a predetermined distance may not be grounded. Furthermore, the criteria for determining whether to connect the magnetic member to the ground of the electronic circuit of the main unit 2 are not limited to the distance between the antenna and the magnetic member and may include other factors. For example, in other embodiments, the performance, characteristics, and / or type of the antenna may be taken into consideration in addition to (or instead of) the distance between the antenna and the magnetic member when determining whether to ground the magnetic member.

[0141] [2-3. Configuration Related to Electrical Connection with Controller] Next, the configuration for electrically connecting the main unit and the controller will be described. As shown in FIG. 9 , the right connector 22 is disposed on a base surface 61 on the right side surface 60 of the housing. In this embodiment, the right connector 22 is disposed at the center of the base surface 61 in the up-down and front-rear directions. The position of the right connector 22 is between the two magnetic members 51 and 52 when the base surface 61 is viewed from the outside of the main unit 2 in a plan view.

[0142] As shown in FIG. 9 , in this embodiment, the right connector 22 has a support portion 66 and a tongue body 67. The support portion 66 is plate-shaped. The tongue body 67 is plate-shaped and protrudes from one surface of the support portion 66 in a direction perpendicular to that surface. The right connector 22 also has a terminal group 68. As will be described in detail later, in this embodiment, the right connector 22 has the terminal group 68 consisting of nine terminals. Note that the number of terminals included in the right connector 22 is arbitrary. The terminal group 68 is arranged on one surface of the tongue body 67 in a direction perpendicular to the direction in which the tongue body 67 protrudes from the support portion 66. Furthermore, each terminal constituting the terminal group 68 extends on the surface of the tongue body 67 to the tip of the tongue body 67 (specifically, the tip in the direction in which the tongue body 67 protrudes). Note that although the above terminals are leaf spring-shaped, the shape of the terminals is arbitrary, and the terminals may be pin-shaped, for example.

[0143] In this embodiment, the right connector 22 is attached to the housing 11 by attaching the support portion 66 to the front housing 31. As shown in FIG. 9 , in this embodiment, a recess 61c for attaching the support portion 66 is formed in the base surface 61. The support portion 66 is attached to the front housing 31 with the support portion 66 fitting into the recess 61c. A through-hole 61d is formed in the bottom surface of the recess 61c. A transmission line such as an FPC (Flexible Printed Circuit) that electrically connects each terminal constituting the terminal group 68 to the electronic circuit inside the housing 11 extends from the inward-facing surface of the support portion 66 (i.e., the surface behind the surface from which the tongue body 67 protrudes) through the through-hole 61d into the interior of the housing 11.

[0144] As shown in FIG. 9 , the support portion 66 is attached to the front housing 31 so that the tongue 67 protrudes from the base surface 61 toward the outside of the housing 11 (i.e., toward the right when the orientation of the game system 1 is used as the reference) and so that the support portion 66 is parallel to the base surface 61. When the support portion 66 is attached to the front housing 31, the surface of the support portion 66 from which the tongue 67 protrudes is substantially flush with the base surface 61, and the tongue 67 protrudes from the base surface 61. When the support portion 66 is attached to the front housing 31, the surface of the tongue 67 on which the terminal group 68 is arranged is oriented perpendicular to the front-to-rear direction. Specifically, the support portion 66 is attached to the front housing 31 so that the terminal group 68 faces rearward. Therefore, the terminals included in the terminal group 68 face rearward and are aligned vertically. As described above, each terminal is positioned to extend to the tip of the tongue 67 (i.e., the right end when the orientation of the game system 1 is used as the reference), and therefore each terminal is positioned so that part of it is visible when the right controller 3 is viewed from the right side. This makes it easier for the terminals of the right controller 3 to come into contact with the terminals of the right connector 22 of the main unit 2 when the right controller 3 is attached to the main unit 2.

[0145] In this embodiment, the terminal group 68 is located inside the protruding surface 62 on the right side surface 60 of the front housing 31 (i.e., on the left side when the orientation of the game system 1 is used as a reference). Specifically, the tip of the tongue body 67 is located inside the protruding surface 62 on the right side surface 60 of the front housing 31. That is, in terms of the protruding direction from the base surface 61 (i.e., the left-right direction), the length from the base surface 61 to the tip of the tongue body 67 is shorter than the length from the base surface 61 to the protruding surface 62. From another perspective, the amount of protrusion of the tongue body from the base surface 61 is smaller than the amount of protrusion of the wall portion 63 from the base surface 61. As a result, the terminal group 68 is located within the space inside the groove 2a formed on the right side surface 60 of the main unit 2. As described above, the possibility of an object other than the main unit 2 unintentionally coming into contact with the tongue body 67 is reduced, thereby protecting the terminals arranged on the tongue body 67.

[0146] In this embodiment, the support portion 66 is attached to the front housing 31 by screws. For example, the support portion 66 is screwed to the tongue 67 at two locations, one on each side in the vertical direction. In this embodiment, the support portion 66 is attached to the front housing 31 so as to be movable relative to the front housing 31. Specifically, the support portion 66 is screwed to the front housing 31 by shoulder screws 69, allowing it to move slightly relative to the front housing 31. The support portion 66 may be movable in any of the vertical, front-rear, and left-right directions. Furthermore, because the support portion 66 is screwed to the front housing 31 at two locations by the two shoulder screws 69, it may be rotatable. For example, the support portion 66 may be configured to be rotatable about an axis in the vertical direction so that the surface on which the terminal group 68 is arranged is slightly tilted relative to the base surface 61.

[0147] As described above, in the present embodiment, the right connector 22 can be said to be a floating connector. This makes it easier to maintain the connection between the connectors even if the right controller 3 moves slightly relative to the main unit 2 while attached to the main unit 2 (i.e., the right controller 3 is misaligned relative to the main unit 2). Note that the structure of the floating connector may be different from that of the present embodiment, and may be any structure that moves up and down or back and forth and adjusts for connection errors that occur relative to each other between the connectors.

[0148] In this embodiment, the tongue 67 is positioned at the center of the base surface 61 in the up-down and front-to-back directions. As will be described in detail below, this allows the tongue 67 to be inserted into a predetermined area of ​​the controller (a storage area, described below) even when the controller is attached to the main unit 2 in a manner different from the normal wearing manner (see FIG. 1 ), such as when the right controller 3 is attached to the main unit 2 upside down and upside down, or when the left controller 4 is attached to the right side surface 60 of the main unit 2. Note that in other embodiments, the tongue 67 does not have to be positioned at the center of the base surface 61 in the up-down and front-to-back directions.

[0149] As described above, in this embodiment, the cover 65 is attached to the base surface 61 (see FIGS. 9 and 10 ). As shown in FIG. 10 , the cover 65 has a through hole 65a formed in a region corresponding to the tongue 67 of the right connector 22 attached to the front housing 31. The cover 65 is attached to the base surface 61 with the tongue 67 passing through the through hole 65a. The through hole 65a has substantially the same shape and size as the cross-sectional shape of the tongue 67 in a cross section perpendicular to the left-right direction. The cover 65 covers the shoulder screw 69 of the right connector 22 (see FIG. 10 ). The cover 65 also covers the boundary between the base surface 61 and the support portion 66. This prevents foreign matter such as dust from entering the housing 11 through the screw hole formed in the support portion 66 or the gap between the base surface 61 and the support portion 66.

[0150] The left connector 23 is attached to the left side surface of the housing 11 in the same manner as the right side surface 60. That is, the configuration for attaching the left connector 23 to the housing 11 on the left side surface of the housing 11 is the same as the configuration for attaching the right connector 22 to the housing 11 on the right side surface 60 of the housing 11. Furthermore, the position and configuration of the left connector 23 are symmetrical to the position and configuration of the right connector 22 with respect to a plane that passes through the center of the housing 11 and is perpendicular to the left-right direction. That is, the shape of the left connector 23 is plane-symmetrical to the shape of the right connector 22 with respect to the above-mentioned plane. Furthermore, the left connector 23 is disposed at the same position as the right connector 22 with respect to the up-down and front-rear directions.

[0151] 15 is a block diagram showing an example of the electrical configuration of the main unit 2. In addition to the configuration shown in Figures 6 to 14, the main unit 2 includes components 101 to 117 shown in Figure 15. Some of these components 101 to 117 may be mounted on the board 33 as electronic components and housed in the housing 11.

[0152] (Configuration Related to Execution of Information Processing) The main unit 2 includes a CPU (Central Processing Unit) 101. The CPU 101 is an information processing unit that executes various types of information processing executed in the main unit 2. The CPU 101 executes various types of information processing by executing an information processing program stored in a storage unit that it can access (specifically, an internal storage medium such as a flash memory 102, or an external storage medium inserted into each slot, etc.). For example, the CPU 101 executes game processing by executing a game program.

[0153] The main device 2 includes, as examples of internal storage media built into the main device 2, a flash memory 102 and a dynamic random access memory (DRAM) 103. The flash memory 102 and the DRAM 103 are electrically connected to the CPU 101. The flash memory 102 is a memory used primarily to store various data (which may be programs) saved in the main device 2. The DRAM 103 is a memory used to temporarily store various data used in information processing.

[0154] The main unit 2 includes a first slot interface (hereinafter abbreviated as "I / F") 104. The first slot I / F 104 is electrically connected to the first slot 14 and the CPU 101, and reads and writes data from and to a storage medium (e.g., a dedicated memory card) inserted in the first slot 14 in response to instructions from the CPU 101.

[0155] The main unit 2 includes a second slot 105. For example, the second slot 105 is located on the rear surface of the housing 11, inside the stand member 24. The second slot 105 has a shape that allows a storage medium of a different type to be attached to the storage medium that can be attached to the first slot 14. The storage medium that can be attached to the second slot 105 may be a general-purpose storage medium, such as an SD card. The storage medium that can be attached to the second slot 105 is used, for example, to store data used by the main unit 2 (e.g., application save data, etc.) and / or programs executed by the main unit 2 (e.g., application programs, etc.).

[0156] The main unit 2 includes a second slot I / F 106. The second slot I / F 106 is electrically connected to the second slot 105 and the CPU 101, and reads and writes data from and to a storage medium (e.g., an SD card) inserted in the second slot 105 in response to instructions from the CPU 101.

[0157] The CPU 101 executes the above information processing by appropriately reading and writing data from and to the memories 102 and 103 and the above storage media.

[0158] (Configuration Related to Communication) The main unit 2 includes a network communication unit 107. The network communication unit 107 is electrically connected to the CPU 101. The network communication unit 107 communicates with an external device via a network (specifically, wireless communication). In this embodiment, the network communication unit 107 is, for example, a Wi-Fi authenticated communication module, and communicates with the external device via a wireless LAN using one of the antennas 44 to 46. Note that in other embodiments, the main unit 2 may have a function to connect to a mobile communication network (in other words, a mobile phone communication network) and communicate in addition to (or instead of) the function to connect to a wireless LAN and communicate.

[0159] The main unit 2 includes a controller communication unit 108. The controller communication unit 108 is electrically connected to the CPU 101. The controller communication unit 108 uses any of the antennas 44 to 46 to wirelessly communicate with each of the controllers 3 and / or 4. While any communication method may be used between the main unit 2 and each controller, in this embodiment, the controller communication unit 108 communicates with each controller in accordance with the Bluetooth (registered trademark) standard.

[0160] The CPU 101 is electrically connected to the above-mentioned lower connector 21, right connector 22, and left connector 23. When performing wired communication with the right controller 3, the CPU 101 transmits and receives data to and from the right controller 3 via the right connector 22. When performing wired communication with the left controller 4, the CPU 101 transmits and receives data to and from the left controller 4 via the left connector 23. When communicating with an external device (e.g., a cradle) electrically connected via the lower connector 21, the CPU 101 transmits and receives data to and from the external device via the lower connector 21.

[0161] Thus, in this embodiment, the main unit 2 can perform both wired and wireless communication between the left and right controllers 3 and 4.

[0162] The main unit 2 can also communicate with multiple left controllers simultaneously (in other words, in parallel). The main unit 2 can also communicate with multiple right controllers simultaneously (in other words, in parallel). This allows the user to make inputs to the game system 1 using multiple left controllers and multiple right controllers.

[0163] (Configuration Related to Input / Output to / from Main Unit 2) Main unit 2 includes touch panel controller 109, which is a circuit that controls touch panel 13. Touch panel controller 109 is electrically connected to touch panel 13 and CPU 101. Based on a signal from touch panel 13, touch panel controller 109 generates data indicating, for example, the position where a touch input has been made, and outputs the data to CPU 101.

[0164] The display 12 is electrically connected to the CPU 101. The CPU 101 displays on the display 12, for example, an image generated by executing the information processing and / or an image acquired from the outside.

[0165] The main unit 2 includes a codec circuit 110 and a speaker 111. The codec circuit 110 is electrically connected to the speaker 111 and the audio input / output connector 18, and is also electrically connected to the CPU 101. The codec circuit 110 is a circuit that controls the input and output of audio data to and from the speaker 111 and the audio input / output connector 18.

[0166] The volume button 17 is electrically connected to the CPU 101. Based on an input to the volume button 17, the CPU 101 controls the volume output from the speaker 111 or an audio output unit such as an earphone electrically connected to the audio input / output connector 18.

[0167] Main unit 2 includes acceleration sensor 112 and angular velocity sensor 113. The detection results of acceleration sensor 112 and angular velocity sensor 113 are output to CPU 101. CPU 101 can calculate information related to the movement and / or attitude of main unit 2 based on the detection results of acceleration sensor 112 and angular velocity sensor 113.

[0168] The main unit 2 includes a magnetic sensor 114 that detects the strength and / or direction of a magnetic field. The magnetic sensor 114 is electrically connected to the CPU 101, and the detection result of the magnetic sensor 114 is output to the CPU 101. For example, the attitude of the main unit 2 can be calculated with high accuracy by correcting the attitude of the main unit 2, which is calculated based on the detection result of the acceleration sensor 112, based on the detection result of the magnetic sensor 114.

[0169] (Configuration Related to Power) The main unit 2 includes a power control unit 115 and a battery 42. The power control unit 115 is electrically connected to the battery 42 and the CPU 101. Although not shown, the power control unit 115 is also electrically connected to each unit of the main unit 2 (specifically, each unit that receives power from the battery 42, the right connector 22, and the left connector 23). The power control unit 115 controls the power supply from the battery 42 to each of the above units based on instructions from the CPU 101. The power control unit 115 also controls the power supply to each of the above units based on input to the power button 16.

[0170] Furthermore, the battery 42 is electrically connected to the lower connector 21. When an external charging device (e.g., a cradle) is electrically connected to the lower connector 21 and power is supplied to the main unit 2 via the lower connector 21, the supplied power is charged into the battery 42.

[0171] [3. Controller Configuration] Next, the configuration of each controller 3 and 4 will be described with reference to FIGS. 16 to 30. FIG. 16 is a six-sided view showing an example of the configuration of the right controller 3. As shown in FIG. 16, the right controller 3 includes a housing 201. In this embodiment, the housing 201 has a vertically elongated shape, with the vertical length being longer than the horizontal length. The vertical length of the housing 201 is approximately the same as the vertical length of the main unit 2 (see FIG. 1). The housing 201 includes a front, rear, right side, left side, top, and bottom. In this embodiment, the front of the housing 201 is roughly rectangular. In this embodiment, the two right corners of the front of the housing 201 are more rounded than the two left corners. The housing 201 contains a circuit board on which the communication control unit 401 and memory 402 (described below) are mounted, a battery, and the like.

[0172] An input unit that can be operated by the user is arranged on the front surface of the housing 201. Specifically, the right controller 3 has four buttons 202. The four buttons 202 are arranged in a cross shape on the front surface of the housing 201. The four buttons 202 are arranged on the front surface of the housing 201 above the center of the front surface.

[0173] The right controller 3 also includes an analog stick 203. The analog stick 203 is located on the front surface of the housing 201, and more specifically, is located below the four buttons 202. The analog stick 203 is located so that the center of the analog stick 203 is located below the center of the front surface of the housing 201. The analog stick 203 is an example of a direction input unit that can input a direction. In this embodiment, the analog stick 203 is a type that can be pressed down. In other words, the user can input by pressing down the stick member of the analog stick 203. In this way, in this embodiment, the analog stick 203 is an input unit that can input a direction and magnitude corresponding to the tilt direction and tilt amount of the stick member, and can also input by pressing down the stick member. Note that the analog stick 203 may be a type that cannot be used for pressing down input.

[0174] In this embodiment, the four buttons 202 and the analog stick 203 are adjacent to each other. In terms of the left-right direction, the center of the analog stick 203 is located between the leftmost and rightmost buttons of the four buttons 202. In addition, the topmost and bottommost buttons of the four buttons 202 are located in the same position in the left-right direction, and the analog stick 203 is located on a straight line connecting these buttons.

[0175] The right controller 3 has a + button (pronounced "plus button") 204. The + button 204 is located on the front surface of the housing 201, more specifically, in the upper left region of the front surface. The + button 204 is located above the four buttons 202.

[0176] The right controller 3 includes a first function button 205. The first function button 205 is located on the front surface of the housing 201, more specifically, in the lower left region of the front surface. The first function button 205 is located below the analog stick 203. As described above, in this embodiment, the front surface of the right controller 3 is arranged, from top to bottom, with the + plus button 204, the four buttons 202, the analog stick 203, and the first function button 205.

[0177] The right controller 3 has a right front shoulder button 206 on the top surface of the housing 201. In this embodiment, the housing 201 has a rounded shape at the boundary between the right side surface and the top surface, and the key top of the right front shoulder button 206 is formed with a curved surface that corresponds to the roundness of the housing 201.

[0178] The right controller 3 has a right rear shoulder button 207 on the top surface of the housing 201. The right rear shoulder button 207 is located further rearward than the right front shoulder button 206. The key top of the right rear shoulder button 207 is formed with a curved surface that corresponds to the curvature of the housing 201.

[0179] The right controller 3 is equipped with an upper side button 208 and a lower side button 209 on the left side of the housing 201. As will be described in detail later, in this embodiment, the left side of the housing 201 includes a base surface and a protruding surface that protrudes from the base surface. The upper side button 208 and the lower side button 209 are arranged on the protruding surface. The upper side button 208 is arranged on the protruding surface above the center of the left side of the housing 201. The lower side button 209 is arranged on the protruding surface below the center of the left side of the housing 201. Details of the upper side button 208 and the lower side button 209 will be described later.

[0180] The right front shoulder button 206 and right rear shoulder button 207 are used, for example, when the right controller 3 is attached to the main unit 2 (see FIG. 3 ) and when the right controller 3 is detached from the main unit 2 and held in one hand by the user (see FIG. 5 ). On the other hand, the side upper button 208 and side lower button 209 are used, for example, when the right controller 3 is detached from the main unit 2 and held in both hands by the user (see FIG. 4 ).

[0181] The right controller 3 includes a second function button 210. The second function button 210 is located on the left side surface of the housing 201 (more specifically, the protruding surface).

[0182] The buttons 202, 204 to 210 on the right controller 3 described above are used by the user to give instructions to the main unit 2. For example, the first function button 205 may be used to give an instruction to display a menu screen of the main unit 2 while an application is running on the main unit 2. The second function button 210 may be used, for example, to give an instruction to perform setting processing related to wireless communication between the right controller 3 and the main unit 2 (e.g., pairing setting processing), or to give an instruction to reset the right controller 3. The other buttons 202, 204, 206 to 209 may be used to give instructions corresponding to various programs (e.g., OS programs and application programs) running on the main unit 2.

[0183] The input units described above are merely examples, and the shape, number, and installation location of the input units included in the right controller 3 are arbitrary. Furthermore, the right controller 3 does not need to include all of the input units described above, and may also include input means other than the input units described above. For example, the right controller 3 may include an input unit such as a touchpad or a pressure sensor. Furthermore, for example, the right controller 3 may include a cross key, four buttons arranged in a cross shape, a slide stick, or the like as a directional input unit instead of or in addition to the analog stick 203.

[0184] Next, we will explain the details of the configuration of the left side surface of the right controller 3, which is the side surface that is attached to the main unit 2. As will be explained below, the right controller 3 has a configuration on the left side surface that allows the right controller 3 to be attached to the main unit 2.

[0185] [3-1. Protrusion] FIG. 17 is a perspective view showing an example of the configuration of the right controller 3. As shown in FIG. 16, the right controller 3 includes a protrusion 212 on the left side surface 211 of the housing 201. The protrusion 212 can be considered an example of an insertion portion that is sized to be insertable into the space surrounded by the wall portion 63 of the main unit 2 (i.e., the space inside the groove 2a). As shown in FIG. 17, the protrusion 212 protrudes from a base surface 213 on the left side surface of the housing 201. The protrusion 212 includes a protruding surface 214 and an outer peripheral surface 215. The protruding surface 214 faces substantially the same direction as the base surface 213 and is located at a position protruding from the base surface 213 (i.e., a position to the left of the base surface 213). The protruding surface 214 can be considered an example of an opposing surface that faces the bottom of the groove 2a of the main unit 2 when the protrusion 212 is inserted into the space in the main unit 2. As will be described in detail later, the protruding surface 214 has projections and recesses and includes multiple surfaces that have different heights (i.e., lengths in the left-right direction) from the base surface 213. Note that the protruding surface 214 may be flat. The protruding portion 212 is disposed in a position surrounded by the base surface 213. In other words, the base surface 213 is disposed in a ring shape around the protruding portion 212 when viewed from the left side. The outer peripheral surface 215 is a surface that connects the base surface 213 and the protruding surface 214, and extends in a direction that protrudes from the base surface 213 (i.e., toward the left). The protruding portion 212 extends along the longitudinal direction of the left side surface 211 (i.e., the up-and-down direction).

[0186] FIG. 18 is a diagram showing an example of the configuration of the right side surface of the main unit 2 and the left side surface of the right controller 3. As shown in FIG. 18 , the convex portion 212 on the left side surface 211 of the right controller 3 has a shape and size that allows it to fit into the groove 2a formed on the right side surface 60 of the main unit 2. In other words, the shape of the convex portion 212 is configured to match the shape of the groove 2a of the main unit 2. When the base surface 61 on the right side surface 60 of the main unit 2 is projected from the left side onto the left side surface 211 of the right controller 3, the convex portion 212 is positioned so that the protruding surface 214 is located within a projection area onto which the base surface 61 is projected on the left side surface 211. In this embodiment, the convex portion 212 is positioned so that it extends along the longitudinal direction (i.e., the up-down direction) of the left side surface 211 within the projection area. In this embodiment, the shape and size of the protruding surface 214 of the convex portion 212 when the right controller 3 is viewed from the left side are substantially the same as the shape and size of the base surface 61 when the main unit 2 is viewed from the right side. In other embodiments, the shape and size of the convex portion 212 do not have to be the same as the shape and size of the groove 2a of the main body device 2. For example, the protruding surface 214 does not have to occupy the entire projection area, and the convex portion 212 may be arranged so that the protruding surface 214 occupies a part of the projection area.

[0187] As described above, in this embodiment, the protrusion 212 is configured to fit into the groove 2a of the main unit 2 (specifically, to fit into the groove 2a from the front direction). From another perspective, the shapes of the protruding surface 214 and the outer peripheral surface 215 of the protrusion 212 of the right controller 3 are compatible with the shapes of the bottom surface (i.e., the surface of the cover 65) and inner peripheral surface (i.e., the inner peripheral surface 64 of the wall portion 63) of the groove 2a of the main unit 2. Therefore, when the right controller 3 is attached to the main unit 2, the protrusion 212 fits into the groove 2a of the main unit 2, thereby preventing the right controller 3 from shifting in the up-down and front-back directions. For example, even if a force is applied to the right controller 3 in the front-back or up-down directions by a user's operation input while the right controller 3 is attached to the main unit 2, the right controller 3 is prevented from shifting significantly in position relative to the main unit 2.

[0188] The phrase "the protrusion fits into the groove" refers to a state in which, when the protrusion is inserted into the groove, the protrusion is positioned in a direction perpendicular to the insertion direction. However, the positioning of the protrusion by the groove is not limited to the strict immobility of the protrusion in a direction perpendicular to the insertion direction. For example, the size of the protrusion and the size of the groove do not need to be exactly the same, and there may be some rattle when the protrusion is fitted into the groove. Furthermore, for example, there may be a gap between the protrusion and the groove when the protrusion is fitted into the groove. Therefore, the shape of the protrusion and the shape of the groove do not need to be the same. For example, in this embodiment, the protrusion 212 may have a shape in which the tips of the semicircular portions at the top and bottom ends are removed. Even with such a shape, the protrusion 212 is positioned in a direction perpendicular to the insertion direction when inserted into the groove 2a of the main device 2, so it can still be said that the protrusion "fits into the groove." In this embodiment, the right controller 3 is attracted to the main unit 2 by magnetic force, so even if the position of the right controller 3 shifts slightly in a direction perpendicular to the insertion direction, the right controller 3 can remain attached to the main unit 2.

[0189] In this embodiment, the maximum height of the protruding surface 214 is greater than the depth of the groove 2a of the main unit 2. Here, the maximum height of the protruding surface 214 refers to the height at which the height (i.e., the length in the left-right direction) from the base surface 213 is greatest among the positions of the protruding surface 214 and the components arranged on the protruding surface 214 (excluding the movable upper side button 208 and lower side button 209). The depth of the groove 2a of the main unit 2 refers to the length in the left-right direction from the protruding surface 62 of the wall 63 of the main unit 2 to the cover 65. When the right controller 3 is attached to the main unit 2, some of the components arranged on the protruding surface 214 contact the cover 65 on the base surface 61 of the main unit 2, while the protruding surface 62 of the wall 63 of the main unit 2 does not contact the base surface 213 of the right controller 3. Thus, the phrase "the protruding portion fits into the groove" does not necessarily mean that the entire protruding portion is completely inserted into the groove.

[0190] 18 , the positional relationship between the left side surface 211 and the protruding surface 214 when the right controller 3 is viewed from the left side is substantially the same as the positional relationship between the right side surface 60 and the base surface 61 when the main unit 2 is viewed from the right side. That is, in the front-to-rear direction, the length X1 from the front end of the left side surface 211 of the right controller 3 to the front end of the protruding surface 214 is substantially the same as the length Y1 from the front end of the right side surface 60 of the main unit 2 to the front end of the base surface 61, and the length X2 from the rear end of the left side surface 211 of the right controller 3 to the rear end of the protruding surface 214 is substantially the same as the length Y2 from the rear end of the right side surface 60 of the main unit 2 to the rear end of the base surface 61. Furthermore, in the vertical direction, the length X3 from the top of the left side surface 211 of the right controller 3 to the top of the protruding surface 214 is substantially the same as the length Y3 from the top of the right side surface 60 of the main unit 2 to the top of the base surface 61, and the length X4 from the bottom of the left side surface 211 of the right controller 3 to the bottom of the protruding surface 214 is substantially the same as the length Y4 from the bottom of the right side surface 60 of the main unit 2 to the bottom of the base surface 61. As described above, when the right controller 3 is attached to the main unit 2, the front, rear, top, and bottom surfaces of the main unit 2 are aligned with the front, rear, top, and bottom surfaces of the right controller 3, respectively. This gives the main unit 2 and the right controller 3 a unified appearance. Furthermore, because there is no (or almost no) step at the boundary between the main unit 2 and the right controller 3, it is possible to reduce the possibility that an object other than the game system 1 will get caught on the step and apply a force in a direction that would cause the right controller 3 to come off the main unit 2.

[0191] As described above, in this embodiment, the protrusion 212 has a shape that fits into the groove 2a of the main unit 2. Specifically, as shown in FIGS. 16 to 18 , the protrusion 212 extends along the longitudinal direction (i.e., the up-down direction) of the left side surface 211. In other words, the protrusion 212 has a shape that is long in the up-down direction. As a result, the proportion of the area of ​​the protrusion 212 to the entire left side surface 211 of the right controller 3 can be increased. This makes it easier for the user to insert the protrusion 212 of the right controller 3 into the groove 2a of the main unit 2 when attaching the right controller 3 to the main unit 2. Furthermore, by increasing the volume of the protrusion 212, it becomes easier to arrange many components (e.g., the above-mentioned buttons 208 to 210, the connector described below, etc.) within the protrusion 212.

[0192] For example, the vertical length of the protrusion 212 (i.e., the longitudinal length of the protrusion 212) may be two or more times the length of the protrusion 212 in the front-to-rear direction, or five or more times the length. The vertical length of the protrusion 212 may be 25 or less times the length of the protrusion 212 in the front-to-rear direction, or 15 or less times the length of the protrusion 212 in the front-to-rear direction. The vertical length of the protrusion 212 may be 50% or more of the length of the left side surface 211 in the vertical direction, or may be 70% or more of the length of the left side surface 211 in the vertical direction. Furthermore, the vertical length of the protrusion 212 may be 50% or more of the length of the left side surface 211 in the front-to-rear direction, or may be 70% or more of the length of the left side surface 211 in the front-to-rear direction.

[0193] As shown in FIGS. 16 to 18 , the protrusion 212 has rounded longitudinal ends. That is, the portion of the protrusion 212 including the vertical end has a shape in which the width (i.e., the length in the front-to-rear direction) decreases toward the tip. From another perspective, the protruding surface 214 is elongated in the vertical direction, and the portion of the protrusion 212 including the vertical end has a shape in which the width decreases toward the tip. Based on the above, when attaching the right controller 3 to the main unit 2, the user inserts the narrower end of the protrusion 212 into the groove 2a of the main unit 2 first, thereby making it easier to attach the right controller 3 to the main unit 2. Note that in other embodiments, the shape of the protrusion 212 is arbitrary. For example, the protrusion 212 may include a portion whose width increases toward the longitudinal end. Furthermore, only one of the longitudinal ends of the protrusion 212 may have a rounded shape. In this embodiment, the longitudinal ends of the grooves 2a of the main body 2 are rounded, and the ends of the convex portions 212 are rounded corresponding to the rounded shapes. However, even if the longitudinal ends of the grooves 2a of the main body 2 are not rounded, the ends of the convex portions 212 may be rounded.

[0194] In this embodiment, the cross-sectional area of ​​the convex portion 212, taken along a cross section perpendicular to the left-right direction, decreases from the base surface 213 toward the protruding surface 214. From another perspective, the outer circumferential surface 215 is formed so that it is visible when the convex portion 212 is viewed from the protruding surface 214 side (i.e., the left side). Specifically, the inclination angle θ2 (see FIG. 17 ) of the outer circumferential surface 215 relative to the base surface 213 is less than 90° (more specifically, 80°<θ2<90°). This inclination of the outer circumferential surface 215 makes it easier for the user to insert the convex portion 212 of the right controller 3 into the groove 2a of the main unit 2. Note that in other embodiments, the outer circumferential surface 215 may be substantially perpendicular to the base surface 213 and the protruding surface 214.

[0195] Furthermore, in this embodiment, the inclination angle θ1 of the inner circumferential surface 64 of the wall portion 63 relative to the base surface 61 in the main unit 2 and the inclination angle θ2 of the outer circumferential surface 215 of the convex portion 212 relative to the base surface 213 in the right controller 3 are different in magnitude. Specifically, the inclination angle θ2 of the outer circumferential surface 215 of the convex portion 212 relative to the base surface 213 is greater (i.e., steeper) than the inclination angle θ1 of the inner circumferential surface 64 of the wall portion 63 relative to the base surface 61. This creates clearance when fitting the convex portion 212 into the groove 2a of the main unit 2, which allows for a more flexible approach angle when attaching the right controller 3 to the main unit 2, making attachment easier. Note that in other embodiments, the inclination angle θ2 of the outer circumferential surface 215 of the convex portion 212 relative to the base surface 213 may be the same as the inclination angle θ1 of the inner circumferential surface 64 of the wall portion 63 relative to the base surface 61. When the right controller 3 is attached to the main unit 2, the inner surface 64 of the wall portion 63 of the main unit 2 and the outer surface 215 of the protrusion 212 of the right controller 3 may not be in contact, may be in partial contact, or may be in complete contact.

[0196] FIG. 19 is an exploded perspective view of an example of the configuration of the protrusion 212 of the right controller 3. As shown in FIG. 19 , the right controller 3 includes a protrusion housing 221. The protrusion housing 221 is a part of the housing 201 and constitutes the protrusion 212. The protrusion housing 221 has a first portion 222 including the protruding surface 214 and a second portion 223 including the outer circumferential surface 215. The first portion 222 has a plate-like shape extending in the up-down and front-rear directions. The second portion 223 has a shape extending rightward from the outer periphery of the first portion 222. The second portion 223 has an annular shape that follows the outer periphery of the first portion 222. The protrusion housing 221 also has a third portion 224 that extends from the right end of the second portion 223 to the outside of the annular second portion 223.

[0197] 17 , the right controller 3 includes a main housing 225. The main housing 225 includes the front, rear, right side, top, and bottom surfaces of the right controller 3, as well as the base surface 213 on the left side. In this embodiment, the main housing 225 has a front housing 226 that forms the front portion of the main housing 225, and a rear housing 227 that forms the rear portion. The front housing 226 and rear housing 227 are fixed together, for example, by screws.

[0198] An opening is formed on the left side surface of the main housing 225 in an area corresponding to the protrusion 212. The protrusion housing 221 is attached to the main housing 225 so that the first portion 222 and the second portion 223 protrude outward from the left side surface of the main housing 225 through the opening, and the third portion 224 is located inside the main housing 225. The portion of the protrusion housing 221 exposed from the opening constitutes the protrusion 212. The third portion 224 has a shape that extends outward from the annular second portion 223 and cannot pass through the opening. From another perspective, the opening formed on the left side surface of the main housing 225 is shaped so that the first portion 222 and the second portion 223 can pass through but the third portion 224 cannot. Therefore, the third portion 224 can prevent the protrusion housing 221 from slipping out of the opening of the main housing.

[0199] As described above, in this embodiment, the housing of the right controller 3 is composed of the protrusion housing 221 that constitutes the protrusion 212 and the main housing 225 that constitutes the front surface of the right controller 3, and the main housing 225 is composed of the front housing 226 and the rear housing 227. However, in other embodiments, the housing of the right controller 3 may be composed of any number of parts, for example, one part or four or more parts. Also, in this embodiment, the housing of the protrusion 212 is composed of one part (i.e., the protrusion housing 221), but in other embodiments, it may be composed of multiple parts.

[0200] 17, the upper side button 208 and the lower side button 209 are arranged on the protruding surface 214. As shown in FIG. 19, in this embodiment, the protruding surface 214 includes five surfaces, namely, a first surface 231, a second surface 232, a third surface 233, a fourth surface 234, and a fifth surface 235, in order from the top. The upper side button 208 is arranged on the second surface 232, and the lower side button 209 is arranged on the fourth surface 234. The second surface 232 and the fourth surface 234 are the surfaces with the shortest height (i.e., length in the left-right direction) from the base surface 213 among the first to fifth surfaces 231 to 235. In this embodiment, the height from the base surface 213 to the second surface 232 is the same as the height from the base surface 213 to the fourth surface 234, but the two may be different.

[0201] In this embodiment, the first to fifth surfaces 231 to 235 are continuous by being connected by inclined surfaces, but in other embodiments, the first to fifth surfaces 231 to 235 do not have to be connected by inclined surfaces. That is, the first to fifth surfaces 231 to 235 may be connected by wall surfaces extending perpendicular to the base surface 213. Furthermore, in this embodiment, the protruding surface 214 includes multiple surfaces (specifically, five surfaces) that are at different heights from the base surface 213, but in other embodiments, the protruding surface 214 may be configured as a single plane.

[0202] 19 , a through-hole 232a is formed in the second surface 232. The upper side button 208 is disposed so as to be exposed through the through-hole 232a. Furthermore, a through-hole 234a is formed in the fourth surface 234. The lower side button 209 is disposed so as to be exposed through the through-hole 234a.

[0203] In this embodiment, the second surface 232 and the fourth surface 234 on which the buttons 208 and 209 are arranged are longer in the vertical direction than the first surface 231 and the fifth surface 235, which are positioned outward in the vertical direction from the second surface 232 and the fourth surface 234 (see FIG. 19 ). When a user holds the right controller 3 with both hands, for example, the index finger of the user's right hand will straddle the first surface 231 and touch the upper side button 208 on the second surface 232, and the index finger of the user's left hand will straddle the fifth surface 235 and touch the lower side button 209 on the fourth surface 234 (see FIG. 4 ). Therefore, by making the second surface 232 and the fourth surface 234 longer than the first surface 231 and the fifth surface 235 as described above, the user's fingers can easily reach the upper side button 208 or the lower side button 209, and the size of the upper side button 208 or the lower side button 209 can be increased, making it easier for the user to operate each button 208 and 209.

[0204] In this embodiment, the second surface 232 and the fourth surface 234 extend from the front end to the rear end in the front-rear direction of the protruding surface 214 (see FIG. 19 ). This makes it less likely that the protruding surface 214 will get in the way when the user operates the buttons 208 and 209, making it easier for the user to operate the buttons 208 and 209.

[0205] The detailed configuration of the upper side button 208 will be described below. Figure 20 is a cross-sectional view of an example of the configuration of the right controller 3 at the position of the upper side button 208. Figure 20 is a cross-sectional view of a section perpendicular to the front-to-rear direction (specifically, a cross-sectional view taken along line A-A shown in Figure 17). As shown in Figures 19 and 20, the upper side button 208 has an operation surface portion 241, a wall portion 242, a flange portion 243, a first protrusion portion 244, and a second protrusion portion 245.

[0206] The operation surface portion 241 has a plate-like shape and is disposed so as to extend in the up-down and front-to-back directions. The operation surface portion 241 is a portion of the upper side button 208 that includes the operation surface. The operation surface is the surface operated by the user, and specifically, the surface that is exposed through the through-hole 232a of the second surface 232 of the protruding surface 214 and faces left. In this embodiment, the operation surface portion 241 has a rectangular plate-like shape. The operation surface portion 241 is disposed so that its longitudinal direction faces the up-down direction. From another perspective, the longitudinal direction of the operation surface coincides with the longitudinal direction of the convex portion 212. The vertical length of the operation surface may be 10% or more, or 20% or more, of the vertical length of the protruding surface 214. Furthermore, the vertical length of the operation surface may be 10% or more, or 20% or more, of the vertical length of the left side surface of the right controller 3.

[0207] As shown in FIGS. 19 and 20 , the wall portion 242 extends from the outer edge of the surface of the operation surface portion 241 facing the inside of the protruding housing 221 toward the inside of the protruding housing 221. Hereinafter, the direction from the opening 232 a toward the inside of the protruding housing 221 (i.e., the rightward direction based on the orientation of the game system 1) will be referred to as the "inward direction of the protruding housing 221." Here, the "inward direction of the protruding housing 221" refers to the direction from the through-hole 232 a toward the inside of the protruding housing 221. The wall portion 242 is annular and extends along the outer periphery of the operation surface portion 241. The wall portion 242 is composed of two first portions extending from the two long sides of the operation surface portion 241, respectively, and two second portions extending from the two short sides of the operation surface portion 241, respectively.

[0208] 19 and 20 , the flange portion 243 extends from the end of the two second portions of the wall portion 242, opposite the end connected to the operation surface portion 241. The flange portion 243 extends to the outside of the annular wall portion 242. That is, the flange portion 243 extending from the lower second portion of the wall portion 242 extends downward, and the flange portion 243 extending from the upper second portion of the wall portion 242 extends upward.

[0209] The side button 208 is sized so that the operation surface portion 241 passes through the through-hole 232a of the protruding surface 214, and the vertical length of the entire side button 208 including the flange portion 243 is longer than the vertical length of the through-hole 232a (see FIG. 20 ). This allows the operation surface portion 241 to be exposed from the through-hole 232a, and also prevents the side button 208 from slipping out of the through-hole 232a.

[0210] The first protrusion 244 is rod-shaped and extends from the rear surface of the operation panel 241 toward the inside of the protruding housing 221 (see FIG. 20 ). As shown in FIGS. 19 and 20 , the right controller 3 includes a tactile switch 246. The tip of the tactile switch 246 is formed of a leaf spring and is positioned so that the tip faces outward from the protruding housing 221 (i.e., leftward relative to the orientation of the game system 1). The tactile switch 246 is positioned inside the protruding housing 221 to the right of the upper side button 208. Specifically, the tactile switch 246 is positioned so that the tip of the first protrusion 244 (specifically, the right tip) contacts the tip of the tactile switch 246. As will be described in detail below, when the upper side button 208 is pressed, the tactile switch 246 biases the upper side button 208 in the direction opposite to the pressing direction. In other words, the tactile switch 246 can be said to be an example of a biasing unit that biases the upper side button 208 in the direction opposite to the pressing direction. As shown in FIGS. 19 and 20 , the right controller 3 includes, for example, a flexible printed circuit (hereinafter referred to as "FPC") 250. The FPC 250 is disposed within the protruding housing 221, and the tactile switch 246 is attached to the FPC 250. The electronic circuit included in the right controller 3 may be any type of board other than an FPC. The electronic circuit included in the right controller 3 may be, for example, a rigid board or other commonly used board.

[0211] The second protrusion 245 has a rod-like shape and extends from the rear surface of the operation surface of the operation surface portion 241 toward the inside of the convex housing 221 (see FIG. 20 ). In this embodiment, the upper side button 208 has two second protrusions 245, which are arranged to sandwich the first protrusion 244. Specifically, one second protrusion 245 is arranged above the first protrusion 244, and the other second protrusion 245 is arranged below the first protrusion 244.

[0212] As shown in Figures 19 and 20 , the right controller 3 has two coil springs 247. One end of each coil spring 247 is attached to the FPC 250, and the other end is positioned so that it abuts against the operation surface 241. The lower end of each coil spring 247 is fixed to the FPC 250, and the upper end of each coil spring 247 is fixed to the upper side button 208. Therefore, when the upper side button 208 moves in a direction in which the coil spring 247 is longer than its natural length, the upper side button 208 is biased by the coil spring 247 in the direction opposite to that direction, and when the upper side button 208 moves in a direction in which the coil spring 247 is shorter than its natural length, the upper side button 208 is biased by the coil spring 247 in the direction opposite to that direction. Each coil spring 247 is positioned so that the second protrusion 245 is inserted into the inner region of the coil spring 247. This prevents the position of the coil spring 247 from shifting relative to the operation surface portion 241 .

[0213] As shown in FIGS. 19 and 20 , the right controller 3 includes a first elastic deformation member 248 and a second elastic deformation member 249. Each elastic deformation member 248 and 249 is sandwiched between a surface of the flange 243 facing outward from the convex housing 221 (i.e., the left side relative to the orientation of the game system 1) and a portion of the inner wall of the convex housing 221 that faces the outer surface. Specifically, the first elastic deformation member 248 is disposed between a portion of the flange 243 positioned above the operation surface 241 and the inner wall of the convex housing 221, and the second elastic deformation member 249 is disposed between a portion of the flange 243 positioned below the operation surface 241 and the inner wall of the convex housing 221. The elastic deformation members 248 and 249 are attached to the inner wall of the convex housing 221 by, for example, adhesive. The material of the elastic deformation members 248 and 249 is not limited, and may be, for example, rubber. As described above, when the elastic deformation members 248 and 249 are pressed by the flange portion 243, they elastically deform, and their restoring force urges the upper side button 208 toward the inside of the protruding housing 221 (i.e., toward the right when the orientation of the game system 1 is used as the reference). In this embodiment, the elastic deformation members 248 and 249 are not fixed to the flange portion 243. However, in other embodiments, the elastic deformation members 248 and 249 may be fixed to the flange portion 243 by, for example, bonding with an adhesive.

[0214] In this embodiment, the elastic deformation members 248 and 249 are spaced apart from the wall portion 242 (see FIG. 20 ). In this embodiment, the protruding housing 221 includes an inner surface 221a extending inward from a position near the opening of the through-hole 232a (see FIG. 20 ). Each of the elastic deformation members 248 and 249 is disposed between the inner surface 221a and the wall portion 242. Each of the elastic deformation members 248 and 249 is disposed so that the distance between the elastic deformation member and the wall portion 242 is greater than the distance between the elastic deformation member and the inner surface 221a. When the elastic deformation members 248 and 249 are compressed in the left-right direction by the flange portion 243, they elastically deform, increasing their length in the up-down direction perpendicular to the left-right direction. If the elastic deformation members 248 and 249 come into contact with the wall portion 242, this could impede the movement of the side button 208. In contrast, by arranging each elastic deformation member 248 and 249 as described above, the possibility of each elastic deformation member 248 and 249 coming into contact with the wall portion 242 in the above state can be reduced, and the possibility of the movement of the side button 208 being obstructed can be suppressed.

[0215] In this embodiment, when the upper side button 208 is in the reference position, the coil spring 247 biases the upper side button 208 outward from the protruding housing 221, and the elastic deformation members 248 and 249 bias the upper side button 208 inward from the protruding housing 221. Here, the reference position of the upper side button 208 is a state in which the upper side button 208 is not pressed and is not subjected to magnetic attraction (for example, a state in which the right controller 3 is not attached to the main unit 2). In the reference position, the upper side button 208 is at a position where the biasing force of the coil spring 247 and the biasing forces of the elastic deformation members 248 and 249 are balanced. Note that in the reference position, the upper side button 208 may be biased outward from the protruding housing 221 only by the tactile switch 246, or may be biased outward from the protruding housing 221 by both the tactile switch 246 and the coil spring 247. In another embodiment, when the side button 208 is in the reference position, the side button 208 is not biased by the coil spring 247 and the elastic deformation members 248 and 249, and may be configured to receive a biasing force from either the coil spring 247 or the elastic deformation members 248 and 249 when moved from the reference position.

[0216] As described above, in this embodiment, the upper side button 208 is configured to be movable from a reference position in the direction in which the operation surface is pressed (i.e., to the right), and also movable in the opposite direction. As will be described in detail below, this configuration allows the upper side button 208 to be moved to a position closer to the upper right magnetic member 51 of the main unit 2 when the right controller 3 is attached to the main unit 2, thereby increasing the attractive force applied to the right controller 3 by the magnetic force of the upper right magnetic member 51. On the other hand, when the right controller 3 is detached from the main unit 2, the amount of protrusion of the upper side button 208 can be reduced.

[0217] In other embodiments, the upper side button 208 may be configured not to move in the direction opposite to the direction in which the operation surface is pressed. For example, the right controller 3 may not include the elastic deformation members 248 and 249, and may be configured so that when the upper side button 208 is in the reference position, the outward-facing surface of the flange portion 243 of the upper side button 208 directly contacts the inner wall of the protruding portion housing 221.

[0218] In this embodiment, the reference position is a position where the operation surface of the upper side button 208 does not protrude beyond the first surface 231 and the fifth surface 235 of the protruding surface 214. That is, the reference position is a position where the operation surface of the upper side button 208 is to the right of the first surface 231 and the fifth surface 235 of the protruding surface 214 in the left-right direction. The reference position can also be described as a position where the operation surface does not protrude beyond the mouse soles (described below) that are disposed on the first surface 231 and the fifth surface 235. This makes it less likely that the operation surface of the upper side button 208 will come into contact with other objects when the right controller 3 is removed from the main unit 2 (for example, when the protruding surface 214 of the right controller 3 is placed facing the placement surface). More specifically, the reference position is a position where the operation surface of the upper side button 208 does not protrude beyond the third surface 233 of the protruding surface 214. That is, the reference position is a position in the left-right direction where the operation surface of the upper side button 208 is to the right of the third surface 233 on the protruding surface 214. This further reduces the possibility that the operation surface of the upper side button 208 will come into contact with another object when the right controller 3 is detached from the main unit 2.

[0219] When the operation surface portion 241 is pressed inward of the protruding housing 221 while the upper side button 208 is in the reference position, the upper side button 208 moves inward from the reference position, and the first protrusion 244 presses the tip of the tactile switch 246. This deforms the tip of the tactile switch 246, turning on the switch inside the tactile switch 246. The game system 1 can detect the pressing of the upper side button 208 by detecting the switching on of the tactile switch 246. When the upper side button 208 is no longer pressed, the biasing force of the coil spring 247 and the restoration of the tactile switch 246 move the upper side button 208 to the reference position.

[0220] The configuration for detecting that the upper side button 208 has been pressed is arbitrary. For example, in another embodiment, the upper side button 208 may be separated from the tactile switch 246 when in the reference position. Furthermore, the right controller 3 may be configured to include a different type of switch, such as a rubber switch, instead of the tactile switch 246.

[0221] In this embodiment, the upper side button 208 is made of a material that is attracted to the upper right magnetic member 51. As an example, in this embodiment, the upper side button 208 is made of a ferromagnetic material, such as iron. For example, the upper side button 208 may be made of cold-rolled steel plate (SPCC). Furthermore, for example, the upper side button 208 may be made of iron to which silicon and / or nickel have been added.

[0222] As will be described in detail later, in this embodiment, the upper side button 208 is positioned opposite the upper right magnetic member 51 via the cover 65 when the right controller 3 is attached to the main unit 2. Therefore, the upper side button 208 is attracted to the upper right magnetic member 51, thereby maintaining the right controller 3 attached to the main unit 2. In other words, in this embodiment, the upper side button 208 not only functions as an input unit, but also as a mechanism for attaching the right controller 3 to the main unit 2 (specifically, maintaining the attached state). This allows for a reduction in the number of components of the right controller 3. Furthermore, since the number of components arranged within the protruding housing 221 can be reduced, the design freedom regarding the position and size of the components arranged within the protruding housing 221 can be improved. For example, increasing the operating surface of the upper side button 208 makes it easier to improve the operability of the right controller 3. Furthermore, for example, it becomes easier to freely design the arrangement of components other than the upper side button 208.

[0223] In this embodiment, the entire side button 208 is made of a ferromagnetic material. However, in other embodiments, only a portion of the side button 208 may be made of a ferromagnetic material. For example, the portion of the side button 208 exposed from the protruding surface 214 may be made of a ferromagnetic material, or the portion of the side button 208 that forms the operation surface may be made of a ferromagnetic material. Also, as an example, the side button 208 may be a single component in which a resin is molded around a ferromagnetic material, or may be made of a ferromagnetic material whose surface is coated with a metal (e.g., plated).

[0224] Furthermore, in this embodiment, the components 241 to 245 constituting the side button 208 are a single component. However, in other embodiments, the components may be composed of multiple components. When the side button 208 is composed of multiple components, each component may be made of a ferromagnetic material, or at least some of the multiple components may be made of a ferromagnetic material. The multiple components are fixed to each other by, for example, adhesive or crimping, and move as a single unit. For example, the component exposed from the protruding surface 214 may be made of a ferromagnetic material, or the component forming the operation surface may be made of a ferromagnetic material. As another example, a component made of a ferromagnetic material may be disposed on the back side of the component exposed from the protruding surface 214 or the component forming the operation surface, and these two components may move as a single unit. Note that in the above other examples, the component exposed from the protruding surface 214 and the component forming the operation surface do not have to be made of a ferromagnetic material.

[0225] The operation surface of the side button 208 may be covered with a sheet or the like, or may be coated with a paint. The sheet or the paint does not have to be magnetic.

[0226] In all of the above examples, the upper side button 208 contains a ferromagnetic material, and therefore when the right controller 3 is attached to the main unit 2, the upper side button 208 is attracted to the upper right magnetic member 51, and as a result, the right controller 3 can be maintained attached to the main unit 2.

[0227] Furthermore, in this embodiment, the upper side button 208 includes a soft magnetic material. For example, if the upper side button 208 is made of a soft magnetic material and does not include a hard magnetic material (e.g., a magnet), the upper side button 208 itself will not attract objects that are attracted to magnets, and therefore, when the right controller 3 is detached from the main unit 2, it is possible to prevent other objects from being unintentionally attracted to the right controller 3.

[0228] In other embodiments, a magnet may be used instead of or in addition to a soft magnetic material as the material for the side button 208 to generate a magnetic attraction force between the main unit 2, as will be described in more detail later.

[0229] As described above, in this embodiment, the upper side button 208 is made of iron or the like and is therefore conductive. Therefore, if a charged object comes into contact with the upper side button 208, the potential of the upper side button 208 changes, which could affect the electronic components inside the housing 201 of the right controller 3. Therefore, in this embodiment, the upper side button 208 is configured to be connected to the ground potential of the electronic circuitry in the right controller 3, thereby reducing the possibility of the electronic components being affected even if a charged object comes into contact with the upper side button 208. Note that in other embodiments, the upper side button 208 may not be connected to the ground potential of the electronic circuitry in the right controller 3. Alternatively, any or all of the side buttons on the right controller 3 and left controller 4 (i.e., the upper side button and the lower side button) may be connected to the ground potential of the controller ground.

[0230] Specifically, in this embodiment, a ground electrode is provided on the FPC 250, and the coil spring 247 is electrically connected to this ground electrode. The coil spring 247 and the ground electrode can be connected by any method; for example, the coil spring 247 may be fixed to the ground electrode by soldering. The coil spring 247 is made of a conductive material, such as iron. Therefore, the upper side button 208 that contacts the coil spring 247 on the operation surface 241 and the second protrusion 245 is electrically connected to the ground electrode via the coil spring 247. In this manner, in this embodiment, the coil spring 247 functions as a ground connection portion that connects the upper side button 208 to the ground electrode. Note that in this embodiment, the coil spring 247 has two functions: biasing the upper side button 208, which moves up and down, in a direction that causes the coil spring 247 to return to its natural length, and connecting the upper side button 208 to the ground electrode. However, in other embodiments, the coil spring 247 may have only one of these functions. In this case, the right controller 3 does not need to have the other function.

[0231] The coil spring 247 may be configured to always be in contact with the side button 208 even if the side button 208 moves. For example, the coil spring 247 may be attached in a compressed state so as to bias the side button 208 outward from the protruding housing 221 regardless of the position of the side button 208. In another embodiment, the coil spring 247 may be fixed to the side button 208 with, for example, an adhesive.

[0232] Fig. 21 is a cross-sectional view of an example of the configuration of the first and second elastic deformation members 248 and 249. Fig. 21 is a cross-sectional view taken along a plane perpendicular to the left-right direction and passing through each of the elastic deformation members 248 and 249. Fig. 21 shows only the portion of the protrusion housing 221 that constitutes the outer circumferential surface 215 and each of the elastic deformation members 248 and 249, and omits other components.

[0233] As shown in FIGS. 19 and 21 , a notch 223a is formed in the second portion 223 of the protruding portion housing 221. The notch 223a is formed in the rear-facing surface of the outer circumferential surface 215 of the protruding portion 212. When the protruding portion housing 221 is attached to the main housing 225, a portion of the notch 223a is blocked by the main housing 225, thereby forming a through-hole in the protruding portion 212. As shown in FIG. 21 , the first elastic deformation member 248 is disposed so that a portion of it passes through the through-hole and protrudes from the outer circumferential surface 215. Note that, as shown in FIG. 16 , the through-hole is formed at the right end of the outer circumferential surface 215 (i.e., the end on the side that contacts the base surface 213 of the right controller 3), and therefore the first elastic deformation member 248 protrudes from the outer circumferential surface 215 at the right end of the outer circumferential surface 215. 16 and 21 , the first elastic deformation member 248 protrudes from the rear-facing surface of the outer circumferential surface 215 of the convex portion 212. This allows the first elastic deformation member 248 to be positioned in a position that is difficult to see from a user holding the right controller 3. Note that the position at which the first elastic deformation member 248 protrudes from the outer circumferential surface 215 is arbitrary and is not limited to the above-mentioned position. For example, the first elastic deformation member 248 may protrude from the front, upper, or lower-facing surface of the outer circumferential surface 215.

[0234] As will be described in detail later, when the right controller 3 is attached to the main unit 2, the portion of the first elastic deformation member 248 that protrudes from the outer circumferential surface 215 abuts against the inner circumferential surface 64 of the wall portion 63 of the main unit 2. This makes it possible to suppress rattling of the right controller 3 attached to the main unit 2.

[0235] As described above, in this embodiment, the first elastic deformation member 248 has the function of biasing the upper side button 208 and the function of suppressing rattle of the right controller 3 attached to the main unit 2. In this way, by realizing two functions with a single component, the number of components can be reduced.

[0236] In other embodiments, the right controller 3 may include a component that activates the upper side button 208 and a component that suppresses rattle of the right controller 3 attached to the main unit 2. In this case, the two components may be made of different materials. In other embodiments, the right controller 3 may not have one or both of the two functions.

[0237] 21 , the second elastic deformation member 249 is disposed inside the convex housing 221 and does not have a portion that protrudes outside the convex housing 221. In other embodiments, the second elastic deformation member 249 may also have a portion that protrudes outside the convex housing 221, similar to the first elastic deformation member 248.

[0238] Like the above-described upper side button 208, the lower side button 209 is mounted on the protrusion 212 so as to be movable left and right from a reference position. As shown in FIG. 19 , the configuration for setting the lower side button 209 on the protrusion 212 is the same as that of the upper side button 208. That is, the lower side button 209 has the same shape as the upper side button, and is biased outward from the protrusion housing 221 (i.e., leftward from the orientation of the game system 1) by a coil spring 251 attached to the FPC 250, and is also biased outward from the protrusion housing 221 by a third elastic deformation member 252 and a fourth elastic deformation member 253. The right controller 3 also includes a tactile switch 254, which is attached to the FPC 250 so that the first protrusion 244 of the lower side button 209 contacts the tip of the tactile switch 254. When the lower side button 209 is pressed, the lower side button 209 moves outward from the protruding housing 221, and a switch is turned on inside the tactile switch 254. The game system 1 can detect that the lower side button 209 has been pressed by detecting that the tactile switch 254 has been switched on.

[0239] Of the third elastic deformation member 252 and the fourth elastic deformation member 253, the third elastic deformation member 252 arranged on the lower side protrudes from the rear-facing surface of the outer circumferential surface 215 of the convex portion 212, similar to the first elastic deformation member 248 (see FIG. 16 ). In other words, the third elastic deformation member 252 has the same function as the first elastic deformation member 248.

[0240] 16, the right controller 3 is equipped with a connector 261. The connector 261 is a connector that allows the right controller 3 to communicate with the main unit 2 when the right controller 3 is attached to the main unit 2. As will be described below, when the right controller 3 is attached to the main unit 2, the connector 261 is electrically connected to the right connector 22 of the main unit 2.

[0241] 16 and 17 , the connector 261 is positioned so as to be exposed from the protruding surface 214 of the convex portion 212. The connector 261 is positioned so as to come into contact with the right connector 22 of the main unit 2 when the right controller 3 is attached to the main unit 2. Specifically, the connector 261 is positioned so that the terminal group of the connector 261 comes into contact with the terminal group 68 of the right connector 22 of the main unit 2 when the right controller 3 is attached to the main unit 2. In this embodiment, since the right connector 22 of the main unit 2 is positioned at the center of the right side surface of the main unit 2, the connector 261 is positioned at the center of the left side surface of the right controller 3.

[0242] Furthermore, the connector 261 is positioned between the upper side button 208 and the lower side button 209 (see FIG. 17 ). When a user holds the right controller 3 with both hands, the connector 261 is positioned such that it is difficult for the user's fingers to touch it (see FIG. 4 ). In other words, by positioning the connector 261 as described above, it is possible to prevent the user's fingers from touching the connector 261 in the above-described cases. Note that the position of the connector 261 is arbitrary, and it does not have to be positioned between the upper side button 208 and the lower side button 209.

[0243] 19 , the connector 261 is disposed so as to be exposed on the third surface 233 of the protruding surface 214 of the convex portion 212. Specifically, a through hole 233a is formed in the third surface 233. The connector 261 is disposed inside the convex portion housing 221 so as to be exposed from the through hole 233a.

[0244] In this embodiment, the third surface 233 is located higher (i.e., further from the base surface 213 in the left-right direction) than the second surface 232 and the fourth surface 234 on which the buttons 208 and 209 are arranged (see FIG. 19 ). That is, the length from the base surface 213 to the third surface 233 in the left-right direction is longer than the length from the base surface 213 to the second surface 232 or the fourth surface 234. This makes it less likely that the user's fingers will come into contact with the connector 261 arranged on the third surface 233 when the user holds the right controller 3 with both hands, thereby further reducing the possibility that the user will come into contact with the connector 261.

[0245] FIG. 22 is a cross-sectional view of an example of the configuration of the right controller 3 at the position of the connector 261. FIG. 22 is a cross-sectional view of a section perpendicular to the up-down direction (specifically, a cross-sectional view taken along line B-B in FIG. 17 ). As shown in FIGS. 19 and 22 , the connector 261 has a socket 262. The socket 262 is roughly shaped like a rectangular parallelepiped with one side open, and has four plate-like side surfaces and a bottom surface. The socket 262 is disposed inside the protruding housing 221 so that the opening faces outward from the protruding housing 221 (i.e., the left side when the orientation of the game system 1 is used as the reference). The socket 262 is also disposed inside the protruding housing 221 so that the opening is connected to the through-hole 233 a. Specifically, the socket 262 is disposed in a position where the side and bottom surfaces of the socket 262 are visible through the through-hole 233 a when the right controller 3 is viewed from the left side. In this embodiment, the through hole 233a is rectangular, and the longitudinal direction of the through hole 232a coincides with the longitudinal direction of the protrusion 212. The socket 262 is arranged so that the longitudinal direction of the opening and the longitudinal direction of the through hole 233a are oriented in the same direction.

[0246] As described above, in this embodiment, a space surrounded by the four side surfaces of the socket 262 is formed in the area inside the protruding housing 221 that communicates with the through-hole 232a. As will be described in detail later, when the right controller 3 is attached to the main unit 2, the tongue 67 of the main unit 2 is accommodated in this spatial area (area 263 shown in FIG. 22 ). Hereinafter, this area will be referred to as the "accommodation area."

[0247] In this embodiment, a portion of the side surface of the socket 262 facing the front-rear direction (specifically, a portion on the side closer to the through-hole 233a) is inclined with respect to the protruding surface 214 so that the cross-sectional area of ​​the accommodating region 263 decreases from the opening toward the inside of the protruding housing 221. In this way, each side surface of the socket 262 may be inclined with respect to the protruding surface 214 so that the cross-sectional area of ​​the accommodating region 263 decreases from the opening toward the inside of the protruding housing 221.

[0248] The connector 261 has a terminal group 264. As will be described in detail later, in this embodiment, the terminal group 264 has the same number of terminals as the number of terminals included in the right connector 22 of the main unit 2. The terminal group 264 is arranged on one side surface 265 of the four side surfaces of the socket 262 (see FIG. 22 ). In this embodiment, the side surface 265 on which the terminal group 264 is arranged is one of the two side surfaces that include the long side of the rectangular opening. Specifically, the side surface 265 on which the terminal group 264 is arranged is the side surface that is located on the rear side of the four side surfaces.

[0249] Slits 265a are formed in the side surface portion 265 along a direction from the inside to the outside of the protruding housing 221 (i.e., the left-right direction when the orientation of the game system 1 is used as the reference). The number of slits 265a is the same as the number of terminals in the terminal group 264. The terminal group 264 is arranged so that one terminal is located in one slit 265a and each terminal is exposed from each slit 265a. In this embodiment, each terminal is arranged so that a portion of the terminal protrudes from the inner circumferential surface of the socket 262 formed by the side surface portion 265 (see FIG. 22 ). This makes it easier for the terminal group 68 on the tongue body 67 of the main unit 2 inserted into the housing area 263 to come into contact with the terminal group 264 of the right controller 3 when the right controller 3 is attached to the main unit 2. Note that each terminal in the terminal group 264 may be a leaf spring. The shape of each terminal is arbitrary, and may be, for example, a pin shape.

[0250] In the present embodiment, the right connector 22 of the main unit 2 is a male connector, and the connector 261 of the right controller 3 is a female connector, but the shapes of the connectors are arbitrary. For example, in other embodiments, the right connector 22 of the main unit 2 may be a female connector, and the connector 261 of the right controller 3 may be a male connector.

[0251] As described above, in this embodiment, the terminal group 264 is disposed at a position inside the protruding surface 214 of the protruding housing 221 (see FIG. 22 ). This makes it possible to prevent the user from touching the terminal group 264.

[0252] In this embodiment, the accommodation area 263 is formed by the socket 262, but in other embodiments, the accommodation area may be formed by the protruding housing 221 instead of the socket 262. That is, the protruding housing 221 may be formed with a recess that opens in the area of ​​the through hole 233a, and the accommodation area may be formed by this recess. In this case, the terminal group 264 may be arranged on the inner circumferential surface of the recess.

[0253] As described above, in this embodiment, the recess for inserting the tongue 67 of the main unit 2 (i.e., the recess that forms the storage area 263) is formed in the protrusion 212. In this manner, in this embodiment, the recess is formed in the protrusion 212 that protrudes from the base surface 213 of the right controller 3, so that the space within the protrusion 212 can be used effectively.

[0254] FIG. 23 is a diagram showing an example of the arrangement of each terminal in the terminal group 264. FIG. 23 is a cross-sectional view of the connector 261 taken along a plane perpendicular to the front-rear direction. As shown in FIG. 23, the terminal group 264 includes nine terminals 264a to 264i. The terminals 264a to 264i are arranged in a vertical line. In this embodiment, of the nine terminals 264a to 264i, the first terminal 264a, which is located at the top, and the ninth terminal 264i, which is located at the bottom, protrude outward from the protruding housing 221 (i.e., to the left when the orientation of the game system 1 is used as the reference) compared to the second to eighth terminals 264b to 264h, which are located between these terminals 264a and 264i (see FIG. 23). In other words, the first terminal 264a and the ninth terminal 264i extend to positions closer to the outside of the protruding housing 221 compared to the second to eighth terminals 264b to 264h. The function of each terminal 264a to 264i will be described later, but in this embodiment, the first terminal 264a and the ninth terminal 264i are ground terminals. Therefore, in this embodiment, the ground terminal can be configured to be electrically connected first when the right controller 3 is attached to the main unit 2. Note that in other embodiments, the position and length of each terminal 264a to 264i are arbitrary, and each terminal 264a to 264i may be arranged so that the tip of each terminal 264a to 264i is in the same position relative to the outside of the protruding housing 221.

[0255] [3-4. Indicators] As shown in FIG. 16 , the right controller 3 is equipped with an indicator 271. The indicator 271 is an example of a light-emitting unit that emits light. The indicator 271 is used to notify the user of predetermined information. For example, when the main unit 2 communicates with multiple controllers, the indicator 271 may be used to notify information identifying each controller (e.g., a number assigned to each controller), or the indicator 271 may be used to notify the status of communication between the right controller 3 and the main unit 2. In this embodiment, the indicator 271 is used when the right controller 3 is detached from the main unit 2. In this embodiment, the right controller 3 is equipped with four indicators 271, and information is notified by a combination of illuminated indicators 271. The number and size of the indicators 271 included in the right controller 3 are arbitrary.

[0256] 16 and 17 , the indicator 271 is located on the protrusion 212. In this way, the indicator 271 is located in a position that is not visible when the right controller 3 is attached to the main unit 2. This allows the user to concentrate on playing the game.

[0257] More specifically, the indicator 271 is disposed on the front side of the outer circumferential surface 215 of the protrusion 212 (see FIG. 17 ). This allows the indicator 271 to be easily visible to the user when the user holds and uses the right controller 3 ( FIGS. 4 and 5 ), since the surface on which the indicator 271 is disposed faces the user directly. Furthermore, when the user holds the right controller 3 laterally (see FIG. 4 ), the user's fingers operating the upper side button 208 and the lower side button 209 are unlikely to come into contact with the outer circumferential surface 215, making it difficult for the user's fingers to obscure the indicator 271. This improves the visibility of the indicator 271.

[0258] Furthermore, the indicator 271 is disposed between the upper side button 208 and the lower side button 209 in the up-down direction. More specifically, like the connector 261, the indicator 271 is disposed at the center of the right controller 3 in the up-down direction (which can also be said to be the center of the convex portion 212). It can also be said that the indicator 271 is disposed between the second function button 210 and a mouse sensor 281 (described later) in the up-down direction. This also makes it less likely that the user's fingers will come into contact with the indicator 271 when holding the right controller 3 laterally, thereby improving the visibility of the indicator 271.

[0259] In other embodiments, the position of the indicator 271 is arbitrary. For example, the indicator 271 may be located on the rear side of the outer peripheral surface 215 of the protrusion 212. Also, for example, the indicator 271 may be located in a position different from the protrusion 212 (for example, on the base surface 213 on the left side of the right controller 3).

[0260] 22 , a through-hole 223b is formed in the second portion 223 of the protrusion housing 221. At least a portion of the indicator 271 is disposed inside the protrusion housing 221 so that light is emitted from the through-hole 223b to the outside of the protrusion housing 221.

[0261] 22 , in this embodiment, the indicator 271 has a light-emitting element 272 and a lens 273. The light-emitting element 272 is, for example, a light-emitting diode (LED). The color of light emitted by the light-emitting element 272 is arbitrary. The light-emitting element 272 is mounted on the FPC 250.

[0262] The lens 273 is disposed between the light-emitting element 272 and the through-hole 223b. Specifically, the lens 273 is disposed so that one surface of the lens 273 faces the light-emitting element 272 and a portion of the lens 273 is inserted into the through-hole 223b. In this embodiment, the lens 273 has a shape with a protruding portion on its outer surface, and the protruding portion is inserted into the through-hole 223b, and the lens 273 is disposed so that the inner surface opposite the outer surface faces the light-emitting element 272. The lens 273 is fixed to the convex housing 221 by being adhered to the inner wall of the convex housing 221 with, for example, double-sided tape 274. With the above configuration, light from the light-emitting element 272 enters the inner surface of the lens 273 and exits from the tip of the protruding portion. As a result, the light from the light-emitting element 272 is emitted to the outside of the convex housing 221. Note that while FIG. 22 shows the configuration of one indicator 271, the other three indicators 271 in this embodiment have the same configuration. In this embodiment, the lenses of the four indicators 271 are integrated, but in other embodiments, they may be separate.

[0263] In other embodiments, the indicator 271 may not include a lens. For example, the light-emitting element 272 may be disposed inside the protruding portion housing 221, and light from the light-emitting element 272 may be emitted directly from the through-hole 223b. Alternatively, for example, the protruding portion housing 221 may not have a through-hole, and the light-emitting element may be disposed on the outer circumferential surface 215 of the protruding portion 212.

[0264] In this embodiment, the components that make up the indicator 271 (i.e., the light-emitting element 272 and the lens 273) are arranged inside the convex portion 212, which makes effective use of the space inside the convex portion 212 and allows the indicator 271 to be arranged without taking up space inside the main housing 225 of the right controller 3. In other embodiments, the position of the indicator 271 is arbitrary, and it may be arranged inside the main housing 225.

[0265] 22 , in this embodiment, the indicator 271 is positioned so as to overlap the connector 261 in the vertical direction. Here, the terminal group 264 of the connector 261 is positioned rearward of the accommodating area 263, while the indicator 271 is positioned forward of the accommodating area 263 (see FIG. 22 ). From another perspective, the indicator 271 is positioned on the reverse side of the surface of the socket 262 that faces the surface on which the terminal group 264 is positioned. This allows space to be secured around the terminal group 264 on the side on which the terminal group 264 is positioned relative to the accommodating area 263. For example, when the right controller 3 is attached to the main unit 2, the terminal group 264 may come into contact with the terminal group 68 of the right connector 22 of the main unit 2 and be pushed by the terminal group 68, thereby moving rearward. In this embodiment, since space can be secured around the terminal group 264 as described above, the terminal group 264 can be prevented from coming into contact with other components even when it moves rearward. According to the above, the indicator 271 can be disposed while ensuring sufficient space around the terminal group 264, and therefore the space within the protrusion 212 can be used effectively.

[0266] 17 and 19, the second function button 210 is disposed on the third surface 233 of the protruding surface 214 of the convex portion 212. It can also be said that the second function button 210 is disposed between the upper side button 208 and the lower side button 209 in the up-down direction. This ensures that when a user holds the right controller 3 with both hands and operates the upper side button 208 and the lower side button 209 (see FIG. 4), the second function button 210 is positioned so that it is difficult for the user's fingers to reach it, thereby reducing the possibility that the user will unintentionally operate the second function button 210. In this embodiment, the second function button 210 is disposed below the connector 261 on the third surface 233. It can also be said that the second function button 210 is disposed between the connector 261 and the lower side button 209 in the up-down direction.

[0267] As described above, in this embodiment, the third surface 233 on which the second function button 210 is arranged is located higher (i.e., at a greater distance from the base surface 213 in the left-right direction) than the second surface 232 and the fourth surface 234 on which the buttons 208 and 209 are arranged (see FIG. 19 ). This also makes it difficult for the user's fingers to touch the second function button 210 arranged on the third surface 233 when the user holds the right controller 3 with both hands, thereby reducing the possibility that the user will unintentionally operate the second function button 210.

[0268] As shown in FIG. 19 , a through-hole 233b is formed in the third surface 233, and the second function button 210 is disposed inside the protruding housing 221 so that its operation surface is exposed through the through-hole 233b. In this embodiment, the area of ​​the third surface 233 surrounding the through-hole 233b is recessed relative to other areas. Specifically, the area surrounding the through-hole 233b is formed so that it is lower the closer it is to the through-hole 233b (i.e., closer to the right when the orientation of the game system 1 is used as a reference). Furthermore, the operation surface of the second function button 210 is disposed in a position recessed relative to the third surface 233 (more specifically, the area of ​​the third surface 233 other than the area surrounding the through-hole 233b). From another perspective, the length from the base surface 213 to the operation surface of the second function button 210 in the left-right direction is shorter than the length from the base surface 213 to the other areas. According to the above, since it becomes difficult to press the operation surface of the second function button 210, it is possible to reduce the possibility that the user will operate the second function button 210 unintentionally.

[0269] In this embodiment, the second function button 210 does not include a soft magnetic material or a magnet. In other words, the second function button 210 does not have the function of attaching the right controller 3 to the main unit 2. However, in other embodiments, the second function button 210 may also be configured to include a soft magnetic material and / or a magnet, similar to the upper side button 208 and the lower side button 209.

[0270] 16 and 17 , the right controller 3 includes a mouse sensor 281 as a component for implementing a mouse function (e.g., the function of instructing the movement of a cursor displayed on the screen). The mouse sensor 281 may be, for example, an optical sensor using an LED or the like, similar to the sensors used in conventional mice. The mouse sensor may also be, for example, a sensor using laser light or an infrared sensor. In this embodiment, the mouse sensor 281 is disposed within the housing 201 at a position exposed to the outside through a through-hole formed in the protruding surface 214 of the convex portion 212. With the right controller 3 placed on the placement surface with the protruding surface 214 facing the placement surface, the mouse sensor 281 irradiates light onto the placement surface and detects the light reflected from the placement surface. Based on the detection result of the reflected light, the game system 1 calculates parameters related to the movement of the right controller 3 on the placement surface (e.g., the direction of movement and the distance of movement). The calculation of the above parameters may be performed by the right controller 3, or by the main unit 2 that receives information regarding the detection results of reflected light from the right controller 3.

[0271] As shown in Figures 17 and 19, in this embodiment, a through hole 233c is formed in the third surface 233, and the mouse sensor 281 is arranged inside the convex housing 221 so that light is emitted from the through hole 233c.

[0272] As described above, in this embodiment, the through-hole 233c through which the mouse sensor 281 emits light is formed in the third surface 233 located at the center of the left side surface of the right controller 3. By locating the through-hole 233c in a position close to the center, the deviation between the movement direction and movement distance detected by the mouse sensor 281 and the user's perception of the movement direction and movement distance is reduced, allowing the game system 1 to achieve mouse operation that is in line with the user's intentions.

[0273] It can also be said that the mouse sensor 281 is disposed between the upper side button 208 and the lower side button 209 in the up-down direction. With this, when a user holds the right controller 3 with both hands and operates the upper side button 208 and the lower side button 209 (see FIG. 4 ), the through-hole 233c through which the mouse sensor 281 emits light is located in a position that is difficult for the user's fingers to touch, thereby reducing the possibility that the user's fingers will come into contact with the mouse sensor 281. In this embodiment, the through-hole 233c is located above the connector 261 on the third surface 233. It can also be said that the mouse sensor 281 is disposed between the connector 261 and the upper side button 208 in the up-down direction.

[0274] Furthermore, the mouse sensor 281 is disposed on the opposite side of the second function button 210 in the up-down direction with the connector 261 as the reference. In other words, the mouse sensor 281 is disposed on the opposite side of the second function button 210 in the up-down direction with the center of the left side of the right controller 3 as the reference. This makes it difficult for the user's finger to touch the mouse sensor 281 when operating the second function button 210, thereby reducing the possibility that the user's finger will come into contact with the mouse sensor 281.

[0275] In this embodiment, the vertical length of the third surface 233 of the protruding surface 214 is longer than the vertical lengths of the second surface 232 and the fourth surface 234. This makes it easier to arrange multiple components (specifically, the connector 261, the second function button 210, and the through-hole 233c through which the mouse sensor 281 emits light) on the third surface 233. Note that in this embodiment, the vertical length of the third surface 233 of the protruding surface 214 is shorter than twice the vertical lengths of the second surface 232 and the fourth surface 234.

[0276] As shown in FIGS. 17 and 19 , the right controller 3 has two mouse soles (also called mouse skates) 282 and 283 on the protruding surface 214 of the convex portion 212. The upper mouse sole 282 is located on the upper part of the protruding surface 214, and the lower mouse sole 283 is located on the lower part of the protruding surface 214. As described below, in this embodiment, when the right controller 3 is used as a mouse and placed on a surface with the protruding surface 214 facing the surface, the mouse soles 282 and 283 come into contact with the surface, while other parts of the right controller 3 do not. Each of the mouse soles 282 and 283 can be considered an example of a protruding member that protrudes further than the upper side button 208, which is in the reference position, in the height direction perpendicular to the protruding surface 214. The mouse soles may be made of any material, including the same material as conventional mouse soles.

[0277] In this embodiment, the upper mouse sole 282 is disposed on the first surface 231 of the protruding surface 214. The lower mouse sole 283 is disposed on the fifth surface 235 of the protruding surface 214. The mouse soles 282 and 283 protrude from the first surface 231 and the fifth surface 235, respectively. The method for attaching the mouse soles 282 and 283 to the protruding surface 214 is arbitrary, and they may be adhered to the protruding surface 214 with an adhesive, for example.

[0278] In this embodiment, a through-hole 231a is formed in the first surface 231 of the protruding surface 214 (see FIG. 19 ). The upper mouse sole 282 is annular and is disposed on the protruding surface 214 so that the hole in the upper mouse sole 282 is connected to the through-hole 231a. As will be described in detail later, in this embodiment, a pusher (described later) is configured to protrude from the through-hole 231a and the hole in the mouse sole 282. This allows the upper mouse sole 282 and the pusher to be positioned by effectively utilizing the space on the protruding surface 214. In other embodiments, the shape, number, and position of each of the mouse soles 282 and 283 are arbitrary. For example, the lower mouse sole 283 may also be annular. Furthermore, neither the upper mouse sole 282 nor the lower mouse sole 283 need be annular.

[0279] In this embodiment, the mouse soles 282 and 283 protrude furthest from the base surface 213 on the left side of the right controller 3. In other words, when the upper side button 208 and the lower side button 209 are in their reference positions, the left ends of the mouse soles 282 and 283 are to the left of any position on the protruding surface 214. From another perspective, in the above state, the length from the base surface 213 to the left ends of the mouse soles 282 and 283 in the left-right direction is longer than the length from the base surface 213 to any position on the protruding surface 214 in the left-right direction. As a result, when the right controller 3 is placed on a mounting surface, the mouse soles 282 and 283 come into contact with the mounting surface, and other parts do not come into contact with the mounting surface.

[0280] In this embodiment, the left end of the upper mouse sole 282 and the left end of the lower mouse sole 283 are located at the same position in the left-right direction, but in other embodiments, they may be located at different positions in the left-right direction. Also, in this embodiment, when viewed from the front-to-back direction, the entire protruding surface 214 can be said to be configured to be located to the right of the line connecting the left end of the upper mouse sole 282 and the left end of the lower mouse sole 283. This also allows the mouse soles 282 and 283 to come into contact with the surface when the right controller 3 is placed on the placement surface, while other portions do not come into contact with the placement surface. Also, in other embodiments, the protruding surface 214 may include portions that are located at the same position as the left ends of the mouse soles 282 and 283 in the left-right direction, or may include portions that are located to the left of the left ends of the mouse soles 282 and 283.

[0281] In this embodiment, the first surface 231 and the fifth surface 235 of the protruding surface 214, on which the mouse soles 282 and 283 are arranged, protrude further than the second surface 232, the third surface 233, and the fourth surface 234. That is, the first surface 231 and the fifth surface 235 are to the left of the second surface 232, the third surface 233, and the fourth surface 234. From another perspective, the length from the base surface 213 to the first surface 231 or the fifth surface 235 in the left-right direction is longer than any of the lengths from the base surface 213 to the second surface 232, the third surface 233, and the fourth surface 234 in the left-right direction. As a result, when the right controller 3 is placed on a mounting surface, parts other than the mouse soles 282 and 283 can be more reliably prevented from contacting the mounting surface. For example, even if the mouse soles 282 and 283 wear down due to use, the other parts can be prevented from contacting the mounting surface.

[0282] In this embodiment, the first surface 231 and the fifth surface 235 are located at the same position in the left-right direction, but in other embodiments, they may be located at different positions in the left-right direction. Furthermore, in other embodiments, the protruding surface 214 may be configured such that the entire second surface 232, the third surface 233, and the fourth surface 234 are located to the right of the line connecting the first surface 231 and the fifth surface 235 when viewed from the front-to-back direction. This also allows the mouse soles 282 and 283 to come into contact with the placement surface while other portions do not come into contact with the placement surface when the right controller 3 is placed on the placement surface. Furthermore, in other embodiments, the second surface 232, the third surface 233, and the fourth surface 234 may include portions that are located at the same positions as the first surface 231 and the fifth surface 235 in the left-right direction, or may include portions that are located to the left of the first surface 231 and the fifth surface 235.

[0283] In other embodiments, the mouse sensor 281 may be arranged so as to be exposed from another surface of the right controller 3, for example, the rear surface. In this case, the mouse sensor 281 may be arranged inside the main housing 225 of the right controller 3. As described above, the user can perform mouse operations using the right controller 3 by placing the right controller 3 on a placement surface with the rear surface of the right controller 3 facing the placement surface. In the above, the mouse sole may also be arranged so as to protrude from the rear surface.

[0284] In other embodiments, the right controller 3 may not have a configuration for implementing a mouse function, i.e., the mouse sensor 281. In this case, the right controller 3 may not have the mouse soles 282 and 283. On the other hand, even if the right controller 3 does not have the mouse sensor 281, it may have cushioning materials at the positions of the mouse soles 282 and 283. These cushioning materials may be made of the same material as the mouse soles 282 and 283. In other words, even if the right controller 3 does not have the mouse sensor 281, the right controller 3 may have the mouse soles 282 and 283 as cushioning materials. The cushioning materials can reduce stress that occurs in the convex portion 212 when the right controller 3 is attached to the main unit 2. It can be said that the mouse soles 282 and 283 in this embodiment also reduce stress that occurs in the convex portion 212 when the right controller 3 is attached to the main unit 2.

[0285] [3-7. Removal Mechanism] In this embodiment, the right controller 3 is equipped with a removal mechanism to assist the user in removing the right controller 3 attached to the main unit 2 from the main unit 2. FIG. 24 is a perspective view showing an example of the rear of the right controller 3. As shown in FIG. 24, the right controller 3 is equipped with a pusher 291 and a pusher operating unit 292. As will be described in detail below, in this embodiment, in response to a user operating the pusher operating unit 292, the pusher 291 arranged on the convex portion 212 moves so as to protrude from the protruding surface 214 of the convex portion 212. When the right controller 3 is attached to the main unit 2, the pusher 291 presses the cover 65 on the base surface 61 of the main unit 2 in response to an operation on the pusher operating unit 292. This increases the distance between the convex portion 212 and the base surface 61, thereby reducing the magnetic attractive force. This makes it easier for the user to remove the right controller 3 from the main unit 2. The removal mechanism is described in detail below.

[0286] FIG. 25 is a cross-sectional view of an example of the configuration of the right controller 3 at the positions of the pusher 291 and the pusher operation unit 292. FIG. 25 is a cross-sectional view taken along a plane perpendicular to the up-down direction. FIG. 26 is a perspective view of an example of the configuration of the pusher operation unit 292. As shown in FIGS. 25 and 26 , the pusher operation unit 292 has an operation surface 294, a rotation shaft 295, and an actuation unit 296. The operation surface 294 includes an operation surface 294a that is operated by the user. The rotation shaft 295 is connected to one end of the operation surface 294 and has a rod-like shape. The actuation unit 296 is connected to the rotation shaft 295 in an area on the opposite side of the operation surface 294a relative to the rotation shaft 295. With the above configuration, when the pusher operation unit 292 rotates around the rotation shaft 295, the operation surface 294 and the actuation unit 296 move in opposite directions.

[0287] In this embodiment, the pusher operating unit 292 is attached to the housing 201 so as to be rotatable about a rotation shaft 295. Also, in this embodiment, the housing 201 has a protrusion 297 that protrudes rearward on its rear surface (see FIG. 24 ). A through-hole 297a is formed in the left surface of the protrusion 297. When the pusher operating unit 292 is not being operated, the pusher operating unit 292 is positioned such that a portion of the operating surface portion 294, including the operating surface 294a, passes through the through-hole 297a and protrudes to the outside of the housing 201.

[0288] 26 , the actuation portion 296 includes an abutment surface 296a. When the pusher operation portion 292 is not operated, the abutment surface 296a is arranged to abut against the pusher 291. Note that in other embodiments, the abutment surface 296a does not need to be in constant contact with the pusher 291. The pusher operation portion 292 may be arranged not to abut against the pusher 291 when the pusher operation portion 292 is not operated, but to abut against the pusher 291 when the pusher operation portion 292 is operated by a predetermined amount or more.

[0289] The pusher 291 is rod-shaped and extends in the left-right direction (see FIG. 25 ). The pusher 291 is positioned so that its right end contacts the abutment surface 296a of the actuation unit 296. As described above, in this embodiment, a through-hole 231a is formed in the first surface 231 of the protruding surface 214, and the upper mouse sole 282 is positioned on the protruding surface 214 so that the hole in the upper mouse sole 282 is connected to the through-hole 231a. When the pusher operating unit 292 is not operated, the left end of the pusher 291 is positioned so that it does not protrude from the hole in the upper mouse sole 282. More specifically, in the above state, the left end of the pusher 291 is positioned within the hole in the upper mouse sole 282. In this way, the pusher 291 is disposed within a through-hole formed in the convex portion 212 (specifically, the upper mouse sole 282 and the convex portion housing 221), and is disposed so that the left end of the pusher 291 does not protrude beyond the convex portion 212 when the pusher operating unit 292 is not being operated. Therefore, when the pusher operating unit 292 is not being operated, the pusher 291 does not come into contact with objects outside the right controller 3. Note that in other embodiments, in the above state, the left end of the pusher 291 may be located further inside the convex portion housing 221 than the upper mouse sole 282.

[0290] In this embodiment, the right controller 3 includes a coil spring 298. The coil spring 298 is an example of a biasing portion that biases the pusher 291 toward the inside of the protruding housing 221 (i.e., toward the right when the orientation of the game system 1 is used as the reference). The coil spring 298 is disposed in a compressed state so that one end abuts against the inner wall behind the protruding surface 214 of the protruding housing 221 and the other end abuts against the surface of the pusher 291 that faces outward from the protruding housing 221 (i.e., toward the left when the orientation of the game system 1 is used as the reference). This keeps the pusher 291 from protruding from the protruding portion 212 when the pusher operating portion 292 is not being operated. This prevents the pusher 291 from protruding from the protruding portion 212 when the user is not operating the pusher operating portion 292.

[0291] When the pusher operating unit 292 is not being operated (see FIG. 24), the pusher operating unit 292 is in a state in which the operating surface portion 294 passes through the through-hole 297a and protrudes to the most outside of the housing 201 (i.e., the operating surface 294a abuts against the edge of the through-hole 297a and does not protrude any further).

[0292] Figure 27 is a perspective view showing an example of the rear surface of the right controller 3 in a state where the pusher operation unit 292 is operated. Also, Figure 28 is a cross-sectional view of an example of the configuration of the right controller 3 in a state where the pusher 291 and the pusher operation unit 292 are positioned in a state where the pusher operation unit 292 is operated. Figure 27 shows a state where the pusher operation unit 292 has been operated from the state shown in Figure 24, and Figure 28 shows a state where the pusher operation unit 292 has been operated from the state shown in Figure 25.

[0293] As shown in Figures 27 and 28 , when the pusher operating unit 292 is operated by a user, the pusher operating unit 292 rotates so that the operating surface 294a moves to the right (more precisely, so that it moves to the right while also moving slightly forward) (see the arrow in Figure 28 ). At this time, the operating unit 296 rotates so that it moves to the left (more precisely, so that it moves to the left while also moving slightly backward). Therefore, the contact surface 296a of the operating unit 296 pushes the pusher 291 to the left, and the pusher 291 moves leftward, thereby protruding from the convex portion 212 (see Figure 28 ). As described above, the user can cause the pusher 291 to protrude from the convex portion 212 by pushing the operating surface 294 to the right.

[0294] The pusher 291 may protrude below the pusher operating portion 292 in the longitudinal direction (i.e., the up-down direction) of the convex portion 212. The center of the pusher 291 may be located above the center of the pusher operating portion 292 in the longitudinal direction of the convex portion 212. The pusher 291 may protrude above the first elastic deformation body 248 in the longitudinal direction of the convex portion 212. The center of the pusher 291 may be located above the center of the first elastic deformation body 5248 in the longitudinal direction of the convex portion 212.

[0295] Furthermore, in this embodiment, the pusher operation unit 292 is configured so that operation beyond a predetermined amount is restricted. Specifically, when the operation surface unit 294 is pressed down a predetermined amount, the operation surface 294a approaches the protrusion 297, making it difficult for the user to press the operation surface 294a any further. Note that in other embodiments, when the operation surface unit 294 is pressed down a predetermined amount, any portion of the pusher operation unit 292 may come into contact with the housing 201, preventing further rotation. As will be described in more detail below, this allows the user to smoothly remove the right controller 3 from the main unit after operating the pusher operation unit 292.

[0296] In this embodiment, the right rear shoulder button 207 is disposed on the upper portion of the protrusion 297 on which the operation surface 294 is disposed. That is, a through-hole is formed in the upper portion of the protrusion 297, and the right rear shoulder button 207 is disposed so as to be exposed through the through-hole. In this manner, in this embodiment, the protrusion 297 also functions to dispose of the right rear shoulder button 207. In this embodiment, the operation surface 294 is disposed on such a protrusion 297. That is, in this embodiment, the space for movement of the operation surface 294 is secured by the space created by the protrusion 297 on which the right rear shoulder button 207 is disposed. This allows for space savings compared to when a separate space is secured for movement of the operation surface 294, and allows for the right controller 3 to be made smaller.

[0297] In this embodiment, the height of the operation surface 294 from the flat portion on the rear surface of the housing 201 (i.e., the length from the flat portion to the rear end of the operation surface 294 in the front-to-rear direction) is shorter than the height of the protruding portion 297 from the flat portion. Therefore, when the right controller 3 (or the game system 1 in which the right controller 3 is attached to the main unit 2) is placed on a placing surface with the rear surface of the housing 201 facing the placing surface, the protruding portion 297 comes into contact with the placing surface, thereby preventing the operation surface 294 from contacting the placing surface. This prevents the pusher operation unit 292 from being unintentionally operated, causing the pusher 291 to protrude from the convex portion 212.

[0298] 26 , in this embodiment, in the radial direction of the rotating shaft 295, a length L1 from the rotating shaft 295 to an end of the operation surface unit 294 (specifically, the end opposite the end connected to the rotating shaft 295) is longer than a length L2 from the rotating shaft 295 to an end of the actuating unit 296 (specifically, the end opposite the end connected to the rotating shaft 295). This makes it possible to increase the torque of the actuating unit 296 that causes the pusher 291 to protrude, and allows the user to operate the pusher operating unit 292 with less force.

[0299] Furthermore, in this embodiment, the length (referred to as the "arm length") in the radial direction of the rotating shaft 295 from the position where the actuating unit 296 and the pusher 291 abut against each other to the rotating shaft 295 is short when the pusher operating unit 292 is not operated (see FIG. 25), and is long when the pusher operating unit 292 is operated (see FIG. 28). Thus, in this embodiment, the arm length is configured to increase as the amount of operation of the pusher operating unit 292 increases. In other words, the arm length is shorter when the amount of protrusion of the pusher 291 is small than when the amount of protrusion of the pusher 291 is large.

[0300] Here, when the pusher 291 does not protrude and the right controller 3 is attached to the main unit 2, the magnetic force exerts a strong attractive force on the right controller 3. In this case, in this embodiment, the arm length is shortened, so the acting force of the actuator 296 can be made greater relative to the force on the operation surface 294, allowing the user to operate the controller with less force. On the other hand, when the pusher 291 protrudes to a certain extent and the protruding surface 214 of the right controller 3 is separated to a certain extent from the base surface 61 of the main unit 2, the magnetic force exerts a weaker attractive force on the right controller 3. In this case, in this embodiment, the arm length is lengthened, so the acting force is reduced while the amount of movement of the actuator 296 relative to the amount of rotation of the rotation shaft 295 can be increased, allowing the pusher 291 to protrude further. In this way, in this embodiment, the acting force exerted on the pusher 291 and the amount of protrusion of the pusher 291 can be changed depending on the protruding state of the pusher 291, making it easier to remove the right controller 3.

[0301] As described above, in this embodiment, the pusher 291 is positioned above the upper side button 208 in the longitudinal direction of the protrusion 212 (i.e., the up-down direction relative to the orientation of the game system 1) (see FIG. 17 ). When the pusher 291 protrudes from the protrusion 212 to remove the right controller 3 from the main unit 2, the end of the protrusion 212 opposite the end on which the pusher 291 is positioned in the longitudinal direction (i.e., the lower end) serves as a fulcrum (see FIG. 31 , described later). Therefore, by positioning the pusher 291 above the upper side button 208, the distance between the pusher 291 and the fulcrum can be increased, allowing the right controller 3 to be removed from the main unit 2 with less force. Note that in other embodiments, the pusher 291 may be positioned below the lower side button 209 in the longitudinal direction of the protrusion 212 (i.e., the up-down direction relative to the orientation of the game system 1). For example, the lower mouse sole 283 may be arranged in a ring shape, and the pusher 291 may be arranged inside the lower mouse sole 283 when viewed from the left and right. This also makes it possible to increase the distance between the pusher 291 and the fulcrum, as in this embodiment.

[0302] Furthermore, as described above, in this embodiment, the pusher 291 is disposed so as to protrude from the first surface 231, which is located at the most protruding position of the protruding surface 214 (i.e., the leftmost position when the orientation of the game system 1 is used as the reference). This allows the amount of protrusion of the pusher 291 from the convex portion 212 until it comes into contact with the main unit 2 when the right controller 3 is attached to the main unit 2 to be smaller than when the pusher 291 protrudes from the second surface 232, the third surface 233, or the fourth surface 234. This reduces the amount of operation required by the user to operate the pusher operating unit 292. Furthermore, the pusher 291 can be made smaller.

[0303] Note that the specific mechanism for causing the pusher 291 to protrude from the convex portion 212 in response to a user operation is arbitrary and is not limited to the above. For example, in other embodiments, the pusher operation unit may move parallel to the screen in response to a user operation. Furthermore, for example, the pusher 291 may be configured to protrude from the convex portion 212 by an electrical mechanism. For example, the pusher 291 may protrude from the convex portion 212 in response to operation of a predetermined input unit of the right controller 3 (e.g., any button arranged on the right controller 3), or may protrude from the convex portion 212 in response to a command from the main unit 2 to the right controller 3.

[0304] 16, a first engagement hole 212a and a second engagement hole 212b are formed in the protrusion 212. The first engagement hole 212a is formed at the upper end of the protrusion 212. The second engagement hole 212b is formed at the lower end of the protrusion 212. The engagement holes 212a and 212b are used to attach another device, different from the main unit 2, to the right controller 3. The other device is a peripheral device for the right controller 3, such as a strap attachment that includes a strap that the user wraps around their wrist when using the right controller 3 and a housing to which the strap is connected.

[0305] The peripheral device has a groove similar to the groove 2a formed on the right side surface of the main unit 2. The peripheral device also has a first engaging element corresponding to the first engaging hole 212a and a second engaging element corresponding to the second engaging hole 212b. These engaging elements are, for example, protrusions protruding from the inner circumferential surfaces of the grooves. The first engaging element has a shape that allows it to engage with the first engaging hole 212a. The second engaging element has a shape that allows it to engage with the second engaging hole 212b. The first engaging element protrudes at a position corresponding to the first engaging hole 212a (i.e., a position that engages with the first engaging hole 212a) when the protrusion 212 of the right controller 3 is fitted into the groove of the peripheral device. The second engaging element protrudes at a position corresponding to the second engaging hole 212b when the protrusion 212 of the right controller 3 is inserted into the groove of the peripheral device.

[0306] According to the above configuration, a peripheral device can be attached to the left side of the right controller 3. That is, when attaching a peripheral device to the right controller 3, the user fits the convex portion 212 of the right controller 3 into the groove of the peripheral device, and then engages the first engaging element with the first engaging hole 212a and the second engaging element with the second engaging hole 212b. This allows the peripheral device to be attached to the right controller 3.

[0307] As described above, the attachment state between the right controller 3 and the peripheral device is maintained by the engagement piece and engagement hole, so the peripheral device does not need to include the same magnetic material as the main unit 2. The peripheral device may include the same magnetic material as the main unit 2, in which case the peripheral device can be attached to the right controller 3 more firmly.

[0308] As described above, the engagement holes 212a and 212b are formed at the longitudinal ends of the protrusion 212. Therefore, when attaching a peripheral device to the right controller 3, the user first inserts one longitudinal end of the protrusion 212 into one end of the groove of the peripheral device, engaging the engagement element with the engagement hole at that end, and then further inserts the protrusion 212 into the groove of the peripheral device and engages the engagement element with the engagement hole at the other end, thereby easily performing the attachment operation. Note that, as described above, in this embodiment, the longitudinal ends of the protrusion 212 are rounded, making it easier for the user to insert the end into the groove of the peripheral device.

[0309] Furthermore, in this embodiment, the shape and size of the first engagement hole 212a are different from the shape and size of the second engagement hole 212b. Note that in other embodiments, only one of the shapes or sizes of the first engagement hole 212a and the second engagement hole 212b may be different. By making the shape or size of the first engagement hole 212a different from the shape or size of the second engagement hole 212b, it is possible to ensure that the first engagement element of the peripheral device does not engage with the second engagement hole 212b, or that the second engagement element of the peripheral device does not engage with the first engagement hole 212a, or both. Note that in this embodiment, the second engagement element of the peripheral device does not engage with the first engagement hole 212a. As a result of the above, it is possible to ensure that the peripheral device can only be attached to the right controller 3 in a predetermined orientation (or that it is difficult to attach the peripheral device in any orientation other than the predetermined orientation).

[0310] In other embodiments, the main unit 2 may have an engaging element similar to that of the peripheral device described above. This allows the right controller 3 to be more securely attached to the main unit 2. It may also be possible to make it so that the right controller 3 can only be attached to the main unit 2 in a specific orientation (or it may be difficult to attach it in any orientation other than the specific orientation).

[0311] In other embodiments, the above-described engagement holes 212a and 212b may not be formed in the right controller 3. Furthermore, the right controller 3 may be provided with other mechanical means instead of engagement holes as means for maintaining the attachment state between the peripheral device and the right controller 3. For example, the right controller 3 may be provided with a pressing member that protrudes in the direction of the outer peripheral surface of the convex portion 212 and presses against the inner peripheral surface of the groove of the peripheral device when the convex portion 212 is fitted.

[0312] 29, the configuration of the left controller 4 will be described. Note that the left controller 4 will be described mainly focusing on the differences from the right controller 3, and detailed description of the configuration that is the same as the right controller 3 will be omitted.

[0313] FIG. 29 is a six-sided view showing an example of the configuration of the left controller 4. As shown in FIG. 29 , the left controller 4 includes a housing 301. The housing 301 of the left controller 4 has a shape that is bilaterally symmetrical to the housing 201 of the right controller 3 (i.e., a shape that is plane-symmetrical with respect to a plane perpendicular to the left-right direction). In other words, the housing 301 of the left controller 4 has a shape that has a protrusion 312 on the right side. However, because the arrangement of components such as buttons on the front surface differs between the right controller 3 and the left controller 4, the positions of the through-holes formed on the front surface of the housing for these components are not symmetrical between the housing 301 of the left controller 4 and the housing 201 of the right controller 3.

[0314] An input unit that can be operated by the user is arranged on the front surface of the housing 301. Specifically, the left controller 4 has four buttons 302 that have the same configuration as the four buttons 202 on the right controller 3. The left controller 4 also has an analog stick 303 that has the same configuration as the analog stick 203 on the right controller 3. The analog stick 303 is arranged on the front surface of the housing 301, above the center of the front surface. The four buttons 302 are arranged on the front surface of the housing 301, below the analog stick 303.

[0315] As described above, the positional relationship between the four buttons and the analog stick is reversed in the longitudinal direction (i.e., the up-down direction) of the controllers on the right controller 3 and the left controller 4. Furthermore, when two users each hold the controllers 3 and 4 horizontally (more specifically, with the convex part facing the back as seen from the user), the analog stick will be located on the left side and the four buttons will be located on the right side for both controllers (see FIG. 4 ).

[0316] The left controller 4 has a - button (pronounced "minus button") 304. The - button 304 is located on the front surface of the housing 301, more specifically, in the upper right region of the front surface. The - button 304 is located above the analog stick 303. The - button 304 is used to issue instructions in accordance with various programs (e.g., OS programs and application programs) executed on the main unit 2.

[0317] The left controller 4 includes a third function button 305. The third function button 305 is located on the front surface of the housing 301, more specifically, in the lower right region of the front surface. The third function button 305 is located below the four buttons 302. As described above, in this embodiment, the front surface of the left controller 4 is arranged, from top to bottom, with a minus button 304, an analog stick 303, the four buttons 302, and the third function button 305. The third function button 305 is used, for example, to issue a command to save an image displayed on the display 12 while an application is running on the main unit 2.

[0318] The left controller 4 is equipped with a left front shoulder button 306 similar to the right front shoulder button 206 of the right controller 3. The shape and arrangement of the left front shoulder button 306 are bilaterally symmetrical to the right front shoulder button 206. The left controller 4 is also equipped with a left rear shoulder button 307 similar to the right rear shoulder button 207 of the right controller 3. The shape and arrangement of the left rear shoulder button 307 are bilaterally symmetrical to the right rear shoulder button 207.

[0319] The left controller 4 has an upper side button 308 and a lower side button 309 on the right side of the housing 301. The upper side button 308 and the lower side button 309 have the same configuration as the upper side button 208 and the lower side button 209 of the right controller 3. Therefore, with regard to the left controller 4, the upper side button 308 and the lower side button 309 function as a mechanism for attaching the left controller 4 to the main unit 2 (specifically, for maintaining the attached state).

[0320] Furthermore, the left controller 4 has a protrusion 312 that is similar to the configuration of the protrusion 212 of the right controller 3. That is, a connector 361, a fourth function button 310, a mouse sensor 381, an upper mouse sole 382, ​​and a lower mouse sole 383 are arranged on the protruding surface of the protrusion 312. The connector 361 is a connector that enables the left controller 4 to communicate with the main unit 2 when the left controller 4 is attached to the main unit 2. The fourth function button 310 is used, for example, to issue instructions similar to those of the second function button on the right controller 3. Furthermore, the same number of indicators 371 (four in this case) as the indicators 271 on the right controller 3 are arranged on the outer peripheral surface of the protrusion 312. Note that the protrusion 312 of the left controller 4 and the components arranged on the protrusion 312 are bilaterally symmetrical to the protrusion 212 of the right controller 3 and the components arranged on the protrusion 212.

[0321] The left controller 4 has a similar mechanism to the right controller 3 as a removal mechanism for facilitating the operation of removing the left controller 4 attached to the main unit 2 from the main unit 2. That is, the left controller 4 has a pusher 391 arranged on the convex portion 312 and a pusher operation unit 392 arranged on the rear surface of the housing 301. The pusher 391 and pusher operation unit 392 of the left controller 4 are bilaterally symmetrical to the pusher 291 and pusher operation unit 292 of the right controller 3.

[0322] Furthermore, the protrusion 312 of the left controller 4 is formed with a first engagement hole 312a and a second engagement hole 312b similar to the engagement holes 212a and 212b formed in the protrusion 212 of the right controller 3. Therefore, in this embodiment, the above-mentioned peripheral devices that can be attached to the right controller 3 can also be attached to the left controller 4.

[0323] As described above, in this embodiment, the left controller 4 has the same configuration as the right controller 3 with respect to the configuration for attaching it to the main unit 2, except that they are bilaterally symmetrical. Therefore, the user can attach the left controller 4 to the main unit 2 in the same manner as the right controller 3. However, in other embodiments, the configurations of the right controller 3 and the left controller 4 do not have to be the same. For example, in other embodiments, the shape of the convex portion 312 of the left controller 4 may be different from the shape of the convex portion 212 of the right controller 3.

[0324] [3-10. Electrical Configuration of Each Controller] Fig. 30 is a block diagram showing an example of the electrical configuration of the game system 1. Note that details of the electrical configuration of the main unit 2 of the game system 1 are shown in Fig. 15 and are therefore omitted from Fig. 30.

[0325] (Configuration Related to Communication) The right controller 3 is equipped with a communication control unit 401 that communicates with the main unit 2. As shown in FIG. 30 , the communication control unit 401 is electrically connected to each component, including the connector 261 described above (see FIG. 30 ). In this embodiment, the communication control unit 401 is capable of communicating with the main unit 2 both via wired communication via the connector 261 and via wireless communication without the connector 261. The communication control unit 401 controls the communication method used by the right controller 3 with the main unit 2. That is, when the right controller 3 is attached to the main unit 2, the communication control unit 401 communicates with the main unit 2 via the connector 261. Furthermore, when the right controller 3 is detached from the main unit 2, the communication control unit 401 uses an antenna (not shown) to perform wireless communication with the main unit 2 (specifically, the controller communication unit 108). Wireless communication between the controller communication unit 108 and the communication control unit 401 is performed in accordance with, for example, the Bluetooth (registered trademark) standard.

[0326] The right controller 3 also includes a memory 402, such as a flash memory. The communication control unit 401 is configured, for example, by a microcomputer (also called a microprocessor), and executes firmware stored in the memory 402 to perform various processes.

[0327] (Configuration Related to Input) The right controller 3 includes buttons 403 (specifically, the above-mentioned buttons 202, 204 to 210) and an analog stick 203 (referred to as "stick" in FIG. 30). Each button 403 and analog stick 203 repeatedly outputs information related to operations performed on them to the communication control unit 401 at appropriate timing.

[0328] The right controller 3 is equipped with an acceleration sensor 404. In this embodiment, the acceleration sensor 404 detects the magnitude of linear acceleration along three predetermined axial directions. Note that the acceleration sensor 404 may also detect acceleration along one axial direction or two axial directions.

[0329] The right controller 3 is equipped with an angular velocity sensor 405. In this embodiment, the angular velocity sensor 405 detects angular velocities around three predetermined axes. Note that the angular velocity sensor 405 may also detect angular velocities around one axis or two axes.

[0330] The right controller 3 is equipped with a magnetic sensor 406. The magnetic sensor 406 detects the strength and / or direction of a magnetic field. For example, the attitude of the right controller 3 can be calculated with high accuracy by correcting the attitude of the right controller 3 calculated based on the detection results of the acceleration sensor 404 based on the detection results of the magnetic sensor 406.

[0331] The right controller 3 also includes the above-mentioned mouse sensor 281. The detection results of the above-mentioned sensors 404 to 406 and 281 are repeatedly output to the communication control unit 401 at appropriate timing.

[0332] The communication control unit 401 is electrically connected to each input unit (specifically, each button 403, analog stick 203, and each sensor 281, 404 to 406) and acquires information related to the input (specifically, information related to the operation or the detection results of the sensor) from each input unit. The communication control unit 401 transmits operation data including the acquired information (or information obtained by performing predetermined processing on the acquired information) to the main unit 2. The operation data is repeatedly transmitted once every predetermined time. The interval at which the information related to the input is transmitted to the main unit 2 may or may not be the same for each input unit.

[0333] By transmitting the operation data to the main unit 2, the main unit 2 can learn the inputs made to the right controller 3. That is, the main unit 2 can determine the operations made to the buttons 403 and analog stick 203 based on the operation data. The main unit 2 can also calculate information about the movement and / or posture of the right controller 3 based on the operation data (specifically, the detection results of the sensors 281, 404 to 406).

[0334] (Configuration Related to Output) The indicator 271 described above is electrically connected to the communication control unit 401. In this embodiment, the indicator 271 is controlled by a command from the main unit 2. That is, upon receiving the command from the main unit 2, the communication control unit 401 outputs a control signal to the indicator 271 that controls the lighting of the indicator 271 in accordance with the command.

[0335] (Configuration Related to Power) The right controller 3 is equipped with a power supply unit 407. In this embodiment, the power supply unit 407 has a battery and a power control circuit. Although not shown, the power control circuit is electrically connected to the battery and to each part of the right controller 3 (specifically, each part that receives power from the battery). The power control circuit controls the supply of power from the battery to each of the above parts. The battery is also electrically connected to the connector 261. In this embodiment, when the right controller 3 is attached to the main unit 2, the battery is charged by power supplied from the main unit 2 via the connector 261 under predetermined conditions.

[0336] 30 , the left controller 4 has the same configuration as the right controller 3. That is, the left controller 4 has a communication control unit 411 and memory 412, and executes the same information processing as the right controller 3. Similarly to the right controller 3, the left controller 4 also has an acceleration sensor 414, an angular velocity sensor 415, and a magnetic sensor 416. Similarly to the right controller 3, the left controller 4 also has a power supply unit 417.

[0337] The configurations of the controllers 3 and 4 described above are merely examples and are not limited to the above. For example, in addition to the configuration shown in FIG. 30 , each of the controllers 3 and 4 may be equipped with a vibrator for vibrating the controller itself. Furthermore, the configuration of the right controller 3 and the configuration of the left controller 4 do not have to be the same. For example, the right controller 3 may be equipped with an NFC communication unit that performs short-range wireless communication based on the NFC (Near Field Communication) standard, and may have the functionality of a so-called NFC reader / writer. Furthermore, for example, the right controller 3 may be equipped with an infrared camera that captures images of the area around the right controller 3.

[0338] 4. Usage of the Game System 4-1. Attaching the Controllers to the Main Unit In this embodiment, as described above, the controllers 3 and 4 can be attached to the main unit 2. The following describes the operations performed when the user attaches the right controller 3 to the main unit 2.

[0339] FIG. 31 is a diagram showing an example of a state during the operation of attaching the right controller 3 to the main unit 2. In this embodiment, the user first inserts one longitudinal end (the lower end in FIG. 31 ) of the protrusion 212 of the right controller 3 into the groove 2a on the right side of the main unit 2 (see FIG. 31 ). Next, the user further inserts the protrusion 212 into the groove 2a until the protrusion 212 fits into the groove 2a. This allows the right controller 3 to be attached to the main unit 2. In this embodiment, because the groove 2a of the main unit 2 is long, the user can insert one end of the protrusion 212 of the right controller 3 into a desired position in the groove 2a, and then slide the inserted portion as necessary to further insert the protrusion 212 into the groove 2a, thereby easily fitting the protrusion 212 into the groove 2a.

[0340] Furthermore, in this embodiment, the end of the protrusion 212 is rounded, which makes it easier to insert one longitudinal end of the protrusion 212 of the right controller 3 into the groove 2a of the main unit 2. As described above, in this embodiment, the inner circumferential surface 64 of the groove 2a of the main unit 2 widens as it moves away from the base surface 61 of the main unit 2, which also makes it easier to perform the insertion operation. In this embodiment, the outer circumferential surface 215 of the protrusion 212 of the right controller 3 narrows as it moves away from the base surface 213 of the right controller 3, which also makes it easier to perform the insertion operation. Furthermore, in this embodiment, the inclination angle θ2 of the outer circumferential surface 215 of the protrusion 212 relative to the base surface 213 of the right controller 3 is greater than the inclination angle θ1 of the inner circumferential surface 64 of the wall portion 63 relative to the base surface 61 of the main unit 2. This makes it easier to perform the insertion operation.

[0341] When fitting the convex portion 212 of the right controller 3 into the groove 2a of the main unit 2, if the distance between the upper side button 208 of the right controller 3 and the upper right magnetic member 51 of the main unit 2, or the distance between the lower side button 209 of the right controller 3 and the lower right magnetic member 52 of the main unit 2, becomes small enough, the attractive force that attracts the button due to the magnetic force of the magnetic members becomes large. Therefore, the operation of fitting the convex portion 212 of the right controller 3 into the groove 2a of the main unit 2 is supported by the attractive force, making it easier for the user to perform the operation.

[0342] In this embodiment, assuming that the upper side button 208 and the lower side button 209 are in their reference positions, the most protruding components arranged on the protruding surface 214 of the convex portion 212 of the right controller 3 are the mouse soles 282 and 283. Therefore, when the right controller 3 is attached to the main unit 2, the mouse soles 282 and 283 of the convex portion 212 are in contact with the cover 65, which is the bottom surface of the groove 2a of the main unit 2.

[0343] Figure 32 is a cross-sectional view of an example of the game system 1 with the right controller 3 attached to the main unit 2. Figure 32 is a cross-sectional view taken along a plane perpendicular to the front-rear direction and including the position of the right connector 22 of the main unit 2. Note that Figure 32 shows the components arranged on the right side surface of the main unit 2 and the components arranged on the protrusion 212 of the right controller 3, and omits other components.

[0344] 32 , when the right controller 3 is attached to the main unit 2, the upper right magnetic member 51 of the main unit 2 and the upper side button 208 of the right controller 3 face each other with the cover 65 in between, and the lower right magnetic member 52 of the main unit 2 and the lower side button 209 of the right controller 3 face each other with the cover 65 in between. In this way, the magnetic members 51 and 52 of the main unit 2 and the buttons 208 and 209, which are ferromagnetic materials, are in close proximity to each other, which generates a sufficient magnetic attraction force, and the right controller 3 remains attached to the main unit 2.

[0345] As described above, in this embodiment, the upper side button 208 is located at a position corresponding to the upper right magnetic member 51 of the main unit 2 when the right controller 3 is attached to the main unit 2. That is, in this embodiment, the upper side button 208 is located at a position facing the upper right magnetic member 51 via the cover 65 when the right controller 3 is attached to the main unit 2. Note that the above configuration includes at least three modes when viewed from the left and right in the above state: (a) the entire facing surface of the upper right magnetic member 51 (i.e., the surface of the lower right magnetic member 51 facing the outside of the housing 11) is located inside the operation surface of the upper side button 208; (b) the center position of at least one of the facing surface of the lower right magnetic member 51 and the operation surface of the upper side button 208 is located inside the other; and (c) at least a portion of the facing surface of the upper right magnetic member 51 overlaps with at least a portion of the operation surface of the upper side button 208. This embodiment can be said to be any of modes (a) to (c) above. According to the above configuration, in the above state, the adhesive force can be made greater than when the upper side button 208 is positioned so as not to face the upper right magnetic member 51 via the cover 65. Note that in other embodiments, the facing surface of the upper right magnetic member 51 may be larger than the operating surface of the upper side button 208. In this case, it can be said that the above configuration includes an embodiment in which the entire operating surface of the upper side button 208 is located inside the facing surface of the upper right magnetic member 51 when viewed from the left and right in the above state. Note that in this embodiment, the lower side button 209 is positioned at a position corresponding to the lower right magnetic member 52 when the right controller 3 is attached to the main unit 2.

[0346] In this embodiment, the main unit 2 has two magnetic members 51 and 52 on its right side, and the right controller 3 has two ferromagnetic bodies (i.e., the buttons 208 and 209) on the protrusion 212. Therefore, when the right controller 3 is attached to the main unit 2, an adhesive force is generated in two places, allowing for a more secure attachment than if an adhesive force were generated in only one place. Furthermore, because the right controller 3 is attached to the main unit 2 at two different places, it is possible to prevent the right controller 3 from rotating and becoming misaligned with respect to the main unit 2.

[0347] Furthermore, in this embodiment, in the main unit 2, the right connector 22 is disposed between the upper right magnetic member 51 and the lower right magnetic member 52. Furthermore, in the right controller 3, the connector 261 is disposed between the upper side button 208 and the lower side button 209. Therefore, when the right controller 3 is attached to the main unit 2, the magnetic members 51 and 52 are attracted to the buttons 208 and 209, making it less likely that misalignment will occur between the right connector 22 of the main unit 2 and the connector 261 of the right controller 3.

[0348] 33 and 34 are cross-sectional views of an example of the configuration of the game system 1 at the positions of the upper right magnetic member 51 and the upper side button 208 when the right controller 3 is attached to the main unit 2. Fig. 33 is an enlarged view of the dotted line area C shown in Fig. 32, and is a cross-sectional view taken on a plane perpendicular to the front-to-rear direction. Fig. 34 is a cross-sectional view taken on a plane perpendicular to the front-to-rear direction.

[0349] When the right controller 3 is attached to the main unit 2, the upper side button 208 is subjected to an attractive force (i.e., an adhesive force) due to the magnetic force of the upper right magnetic member 51. Furthermore, as described above, in this embodiment, the upper side button 208 can be moved in a direction that protrudes from its reference position (i.e., toward the left). In this embodiment, when the right controller 3 is attached to the main unit 2, the upper side button 208 moves to a position where it contacts the main unit 2 (specifically, where it contacts the cover 65 of the main unit 2), as shown in FIGS. 33 and 34 . Therefore, in this state, the mouse soles 282 and 283, the upper side button 208, and the lower side button 209 of the right controller 3 contact the cover 65, which is the bottom surface of the groove 2a of the main unit 2. As described above, when the upper side button 208 moves to the above position, the distance between the upper right magnetic member 51 and the upper side button 208 becomes shorter, and the attractive force acting on them increases. This effectively generates an attractive force due to the magnetic force of the upper right magnetic member 51, allowing the right controller 3 to be firmly attached to the main unit 2.

[0350] In this embodiment, the operation surface of the upper side button 208 can be moved to a position that protrudes further than the protruding surface 214 of the convex portion 212 and the most protruding portion (referred to as the "most protruding portion") of the components arranged on the protruding surface 214. The protruding direction of the upper side button 208 refers to the direction opposite to the direction in which the upper side button 208 is pressed, specifically, the leftward direction relative to the orientation of the game system 1. In this embodiment, the most protruding portion is each of the mouse soles 282 and 283. As described above, when the right controller 3 is attached to the main unit 2, the upper side button 208 moves to a position where it abuts against the cover 65 of the main unit 2, thereby increasing the magnetic attraction force of the upper right magnetic member 51. The upper side button 208 does not have to be movable to a position that protrudes further than the most protruding portion, and may be movable to the same position as the most protruding portion.

[0351] In another embodiment, the upper side button 208 may be configured to be movable in a direction that protrudes from the reference position, but not to be movable to a position that protrudes beyond the maximum protrusion. In other words, when the right controller 3 is attached to the main unit 2, the upper side button 208 may move closer to the cover 65 from the reference position, but there may be a gap between the upper side button 208 and the cover 65. Even with the above configuration, the upper side button 208 moves closer to the upper right magnetic member 51 in the above state, so the attractive force applied to the upper side button 208 by the magnetic force of the upper right magnetic member 51 can be made greater than when the upper side button 208 does not move from the reference position.

[0352] In this specification, "adhesion" means that two components (e.g., the upper right magnetic member 51 and the upper side button 208) are attracted to each other, regardless of whether or not another object (e.g., the cover 65) is present between them. In other words, as shown in Figures 33 and 34, even when the upper right magnetic member 51 and the upper side button 208 are attracted to each other with the cover 65 present between them, it can also be said that "the upper right magnetic member 51 and the upper side button 208 are attracted to each other."

[0353] In other embodiments, the main unit 2 may not have a cover 65, and when the right controller 3 is attached to the main unit 2, the upper right magnetic member 51 and the upper side button 208 may be in direct contact with each other.

[0354] In this embodiment, the cover 65 is made of a material whose relative permeability is close to 1 (more specifically, whose relative permeability is approximately 1). This allows the magnetic flux from the upper right magnetic member 51 that passes through the cover 65 to be increased, and the attractive force of the upper right magnetic member 51 to be increased.

[0355] Furthermore, in this embodiment, the cover 65 may be made of an insulating material. Here, in this embodiment, the upper side button 208 is conductive, but the cover 65 is made of an insulating material, so that when the right controller 3 is attached to the main unit 2, the upper right magnetic member 51 and the upper side button 208 are not electrically connected. This makes it possible to stabilize the potential of the upper right magnetic member 51 (i.e., the ground potential in the main unit 2).

[0356] The elastic deformation members 248 and 249, which bias the upper side button 208 in the direction opposite to the protruding direction, deform so as to be compressed in the direction of movement of the upper side button 208 when the right controller 3 is attached to the main unit 2. In other words, the elastic deformation members 248 and 249 are made of a material and have a shape that allows them to deform to the extent that, in the attached state, the attractive force that the upper side button 208 receives from the upper right magnetic member 51 moves the upper side button 208 to a position where it abuts against the cover 65. Furthermore, as described above, even when the elastic deformation members 248 and 249 deform in the attached state, they do not come into contact with the wall portion 242 of the upper side button 208. This reduces the possibility that the movement of the upper side button 208 will be hindered by the elastic deformation members 248 and 249 coming into contact with the upper side button 208.

[0357] As described above, in this embodiment, the right controller 3 is maintained attached to the main unit 2 by the magnetic attraction force of the upper right magnetic member 51 and the lower right magnetic member 52 of the main unit 2. Here, the attraction force generated by the main unit 2 and the right controller 3 may be, for example, strong enough to prevent the right controller 3 from detaching from the main unit 2 and falling when the right controller 3 is hanging from the main unit 2. In other words, the attraction force may be stronger than the force of gravity acting on the right controller 3. This reduces the possibility of the right controller 3 becoming detached when the user holds only the main unit 2 without touching it.

[0358] Furthermore, the adhesive force may be strong enough to prevent the main unit 2 from detaching from the right controller 3 and falling when the main unit 2 is hanging from the right controller 3. In other words, the adhesive force may be stronger than gravity acting on the main unit 2. This reduces the possibility of the attached state coming undone when the user holds only the right controller 3 without touching the main unit 2.

[0359] Furthermore, the adhesive force may be strong enough to prevent the left controller 4 and the main unit 2 from coming off the right controller 3 and falling when the main unit 2 with the left controller 4 attached is hanging from the right controller 3. In other words, the adhesive force may be stronger than gravity acting on the main unit 2 and the left controller 4. This reduces the possibility of the controllers 3 and 4 being released from their attached state when the user holds only the right controller 3 without touching the main unit 2 and left controller 4 while the controllers 3 and 4 are attached to the main unit 2.

[0360] 33 , in this embodiment, in the vertical direction, the length W2 of the upper side button 208 is longer than the length W1 of the upper right magnetic member 51. Furthermore, when the right controller 3 is attached to the main unit 2, the upper end of the upper right magnetic member 51 is lower than the upper end of the upper side button 208, and the lower end of the upper right magnetic member 51 is lower than the lower end of the upper side button 208. This allows more of the magnetic flux passing through the upper side button 208 out of the magnetic flux passing through the tip surface of the upper right magnetic member 51 (i.e., the surface facing the upper side button 208), and therefore the adhesive force acting on the upper side button 208 can be increased.

[0361] 34 , in this embodiment, in the front-to-rear direction, the length W4 of the upper side button 208 is longer than the length W3 of the upper right magnetic member 51. Furthermore, when the right controller 3 is attached to the main unit 2, the front end of the upper right magnetic member 51 is forward of the front end of the upper side button 208, and the rear end of the upper right magnetic member 51 is rearward of the rear end of the upper side button 208. This allows more of the magnetic flux passing through the tip surface of the upper right magnetic member 51 to pass through the upper side button 208, thereby increasing the adhesive force acting on the upper side button 208.

[0362] As described above, in this embodiment, when the right controller 3 is attached to the main unit 2, the upper right magnetic member 51 and the upper side button 208 are positioned such that the entire upper right magnetic member 51 overlaps the upper side button 208 when viewed from the left and right. That is, in the above state, the entire tip surface of the upper right magnetic member 51 faces the operation surface of the upper side button 208, with the cover 65 sandwiched between them. This allows the magnetic flux passing through the tip surface of the upper right magnetic member 51 to pass through the upper side button 208 efficiently, thereby increasing the adhesive force acting on the upper side button 208 compared to when some of the magnetic flux passing through the tip surface does not pass through the upper side button 208. Note that the center of the tip surface of the upper right magnetic member 51 and the center of the operation surface of the upper side button 208 do not need to coincide in the up-down or left-right directions.

[0363] It should be noted that the components of the right controller 3 that are attached to the magnetic member of the main unit 2 have a greater adhesive force the larger the surface that faces the magnetic member when the right controller 3 is attached to the main unit 2. In this embodiment, the upper side button 208 and the lower side button 209 are used as these components, and the operation surfaces of each button 208 and 209 are the "surfaces that face the magnetic member." Therefore, in this embodiment, by enlarging the operation surfaces of the upper side button 208 and the lower side button 209, it is possible to make each button 208 and 209 easier to operate and increase the adhesive force.

[0364] Note that when the right controller 3 is attached to the main unit 2, the user cannot operate the upper side button 208 and the lower side button 209. In other words, in this embodiment, it can be said that the buttons on the right controller 3 that are not used when the right controller 3 is attached to the main unit 2 have the function of being attached to the main unit 2. Note that the right controller 3 is equipped with a right front shoulder button 206 and a right rear shoulder button 207, and the left controller 4 is equipped with a left front shoulder button 306 and a left rear shoulder button 307. Therefore, when the right controller 3 is attached to the main unit 2, the user can operate the shoulder buttons 206, 207, 306, and 307 instead of the upper side button 208 and the lower side button 209. As described above, in this embodiment, the right controller 3 can be attached to the main unit 2 using the buttons without causing any operational inconvenience to the user.

[0365] 34 , in this embodiment, the height H2 of the convex portion 212 of the right controller 3 is greater than the depth H1 of the groove 2a of the main unit 2. Here, the height H2 of the convex portion 212 refers to the length of the convex portion 212 in the left-right direction when the orientation of the game system 1 is used as the reference, and the depth H1 of the groove 2a refers to the length of the groove 2a in the left-right direction (see FIG. 34 ). Therefore, when the right controller 3 is attached to the main unit 2, the protruding surface 62 of the main unit 2 does not contact the base surface 213 of the right controller 3. In the above state, the distance between the protruding surface 62 and the base surface 213 may be, for example, 0.05 mm or greater.

[0366] Here, if the protruding surface 62 and the base surface 213 are in contact with each other while the right controller 3 is attached to the main unit 2, and a force is applied that twists the right controller 3 in the up-down or back-and-forth direction, the contact point between the protruding surface 62 and the base surface 213 will act as a fulcrum, and a relatively large force may be applied that detaches the right controller 3 from the main unit 2. In contrast, in this embodiment, the protruding surface 62 and the base surface 213 are separated, and the contact point between the protruding surface 62 and the base surface 213 will act as a fulcrum, reducing the possibility of the above-mentioned force being applied.

[0367] As described above, in this embodiment, the inclination angle θ2 of the outer peripheral surface 215 of the convex portion 212 relative to the base surface 213 of the right controller 3 is greater (i.e., steeper) than the inclination angle θ1 of the inner peripheral surface 64 of the wall portion 63 relative to the base surface 61 of the main unit 2. Therefore, when the right controller 3 is attached to the main unit 2, a gap is generated between the inner peripheral surface 64 and the outer peripheral surface 215. Here, in this embodiment, the first elastic deformation member 248 and the third elastic deformation member 252 are disposed on the outer peripheral surface 215 (see FIG. 16 ). Note that the protrusion amounts of the elastic deformation members 248 and 252 from the outer peripheral surface 215 are greater than the gap between the inner peripheral surface 64 and the outer peripheral surface 215. Therefore, when the right controller 3 is attached to the main unit 2, the elastic deformation members 248 and 252 abut against the inner peripheral surface 64. Furthermore, since the elastic deformation members 248 and 252 are disposed on the rear side of the outer peripheral surface 215, in the above-described state, the rear side of the outer peripheral surface 215 abuts against the inner peripheral surface 64, and the front side of the outer peripheral surface 215 abuts against the inner peripheral surface 64 (see FIG. 34 ). As a result, rattling of the right controller 3 when attached to the main unit 2 can be suppressed.

[0368] Furthermore, in this embodiment, the elastic deformation members 248 and 252 are disposed on the end of the outer circumferential surface 215 that is closer to the base surface 213 of the right controller 3 (i.e., on the right side when the orientation of the game system 1 is used as the reference). Therefore, when the user attaches the right controller 3 to the main unit 2, the left portion of the convex portion 212 of the right controller 3 is inserted into the groove 2a of the main unit 2, and then the elastic deformation members 248 and 252 come into contact with the inner circumferential surface 64 of the groove 2a. In other words, no friction occurs between the elastic deformation members 248 and 252 and the inner circumferential surface 64 until the convex portion 212 is inserted into the groove 2a to a certain extent, thereby improving the operability of the attachment operation.

[0369] Note that in this embodiment, the points described above regarding the state in which the controller and the main unit 2 are attached are the same as those for the combination of the upper right magnetic member 51 and the upper side button 208 for combinations other than the combination of the upper right magnetic member 51 and the upper side button 208. Therefore, the combination of the lower right magnetic member 52 and the lower side button 209, the combination of the upper left magnetic member 53 and the upper side button 308 of the left controller 4, and the combination of the lower left magnetic member 54 and the lower side button 309 of the left controller 4 can also achieve the same effect as that achieved by the upper right magnetic member 51 and the upper side button 208. Furthermore, the attachment of the left controller 4 to the main unit 2 can also achieve the same effect as that achieved by the attachment of the right controller 3 to the main unit 2.

[0370] 35 is a cross-sectional view of an example of the game system 1 at the position of the connector 261 when the right controller 3 is attached to the main unit 2. FIG. 35 is a cross-sectional view taken along a plane perpendicular to the up-down direction. As shown in FIG. 35 , when the right controller 3 is attached to the main unit 2, the tongue 67 of the right connector 22 of the main unit 2 is inserted into the housing area 263 formed by the socket 262 of the connector 261 of the right controller 3. At this time, the terminal group 68 of the main unit 2 arranged on the tongue 67 comes into contact with the terminal group 264 of the right controller 3, and the two are electrically connected. Specifically, the portions of the terminals of the terminal group 264 of the right controller 3 that protrude from the slits 265 a of the socket 262 toward the housing area 263 come into contact with the terminals of the terminal group 68 of the main unit 2.

[0371] Figure 36 is a diagram showing an example of the positional relationship between the main unit 2 and the right controller 3 when they are attached. Figure 36 shows a configuration in which the terminal groups of the main unit 2 and the right controller 3 are arranged on the front side, and a configuration in which the terminal groups are arranged on the rear side. The former configuration is a configuration in which the terminal group 68 of the main unit 2 is arranged on the front side of the tongue body 67, and the terminal group 264 of the right controller 3 is arranged on the front side of the socket 262 (see (a) in Figure 36). The latter configuration is a configuration in which the terminal group 68 of the main unit 2 is arranged on the rear side of the tongue body 67, and the terminal group 264 of the right controller 3 is arranged on the rear side of the socket 262 (i.e., the configuration in this embodiment) (see (b) in Figure 36).

[0372] Here, when a user holds the game system 1 with the controllers attached to the main unit 2 with the front facing up, it is conceivable that the user will hold only one of the controllers, or will hold the other controller with only one hand supporting the weight of the game system 1. In this case, it is also conceivable that the user will hold the right controller 3 portion of the game system 1 with one hand. In such a case, while the attachment state of the right controller 3 is maintained, the main unit 2 may, due to its own weight, tilt slightly with the front portion of the protruding surface 214 on the right side in a direction away from the base surface 213 of the right controller 3 (see (c) and (d) in FIG. 36 ).

[0373] If the game system 1 were configured such that the terminal groups of the main unit 2 and the right controller 3 were located on the front side, when the main unit 2 was tilted as described above, the misalignment between the terminal group 68 of the main unit 2 and the terminal group 264 of the right controller 3 would be large (see (c) in FIG. 36 ). This could result in the connection between the terminals being released. In contrast, in this embodiment, the terminal groups of the main unit 2 and the right controller 3 are located on the rear side, so when the main unit 2 is tilted as described above, the misalignment between the terminal group 68 of the main unit 2 and the terminal group 264 of the right controller 3 is not so large (see (d) in FIG. 36 ). This reduces the possibility of the connection between the terminals being released.

[0374] Figure 37 is a diagram showing an example of the connection relationship between the terminal group 68 of the main unit 2 and the terminal group 264 of the right controller 3. In this embodiment, the terminal group 68 of the main unit 2 and the terminal group 264 of the right controller 3 each include nine terminals. In Figure 37, the nine terminals of the main unit 2 are referred to as the first terminal 68a to the ninth terminal 68i from the top, and the nine terminals of the right controller 3 are referred to as the first terminal 264a to the ninth terminal 264i from the top. When the right controller 3 is attached to the main unit 2, the nth terminal (n is a natural number from 1 to 9) of the main unit 2 is electrically connected to the nth terminal of the right controller 3 (see the dotted arrow in Figure 37).

[0375] In this embodiment, the functions of the first through ninth terminals of the main unit 2 and the right controller 3 are set as follows: 1st terminal: Ground 2nd terminal: Connection detection from one side to the other 3rd terminal: Signal 4th terminal: Power supply from one side to the other 5th terminal: Vacant 6th terminal: Power supply from the other side to the one side 7th terminal: Signal 8th terminal: Connection detection from the other side to the one side 9th terminal: Ground As described above, in this embodiment, the functions of each of the nine terminals are set symmetrically in the vertical direction. Note that the functions of the nine terminals on the left connector 23 of the main unit 2 and the nine terminals on the left controller 4 are also similar to those described above. Note that the functions of each terminal on the main unit 2 and each of the controllers 3 and 4 are arbitrary and are not limited to those described above. In other embodiments, the functions of each terminal do not have to be set symmetrically in the vertical direction.

[0376] Figure 38 shows an example of a game system 1 in which the right controller 3 and the left controller 4 are attached in reverse to the main unit 2. Note that, hereinafter, the attachment mode of the controllers 3 and 4 to the main unit 2 shown in Figure 1 will be referred to as the first attachment mode, and the attachment mode shown in Figure 38 will be referred to as the second attachment mode. Note that, in the following explanation, as with the above, the directions of the main unit 2 and the controllers 3 and 4 will be indicated using up / down, left / right, and front / back directions with the game system 1 as the reference.

[0377] In the second mounting mode, the right controller 3 is mounted on the left side of the main unit 2, and the left controller 4 is mounted on the right side of the main unit 2. In this embodiment, the shape of the groove formed on the right side of the main unit 2 when viewed from the right side is the same as the shape of the groove formed on the left side when viewed from the left side, and these shapes are line-symmetrical in the up-down direction. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 38 , the right controller 3 can be mounted on the left side of the main unit 2 by reversing the up-down orientation of the right controller 3 and inserting the protrusion 212 of the right controller 3 into the groove on the left side of the main unit 2. Furthermore, the left controller 4 can be mounted on the right side of the main unit 2 by reversing the up-down orientation of the left controller 4 and inserting the protrusion 312 of the left controller 4 into the groove 2a on the right side of the main unit 2.

[0378] In this embodiment, the upper right magnetic member 51 and the lower right magnetic member 52 of the main unit 2 are arranged symmetrically in the up-down direction, and the upper left magnetic member 53 and the lower left magnetic member 54 of the main unit 2 are arranged in the same position in the up-down direction as the upper right magnetic member 51 and the lower right magnetic member 52. Furthermore, the upper side button 208 and the lower side button 209 of the right controller 3 are arranged symmetrically in the up-down direction, and the upper side button 308 and the lower side button 309 of the left controller 4 are arranged in the same position in the up-down direction as the upper side button 208 and the lower side button 209 of the right controller 3. Therefore, when the controllers 3 and 4 are attached to the main unit 2 in the second attachment mode, the buttons 208, 209, 308, and 309 of each controller are positioned opposite the magnetic members of the main unit 2 via the covers, and the attachment state of the controllers 3 and 4 to the main unit 2 can be maintained by the adhesive force generated between the magnetic members and the buttons.

[0379] Furthermore, in this embodiment, the right connector 22 and the left connector 23 of the main unit 2 are each positioned at the center of the bottom surface of the groove, and the connectors 261 and 361 of each of the controllers 3 and 4 are each positioned at the center of the protruding surface. Therefore, when the main unit 2 and each of the controllers 3 and 4 are attached in the second attachment mode, the tongue body of the left connector 23 of the main unit 2 is housed in the accommodation area 263 of the connector 261 of the right controller 3, and the tongue body 67 of the right connector 22 of the main unit 2 is housed in the accommodation area of ​​the connector 361 of the left controller 4.

[0380] Furthermore, when the main unit 2 and the controllers 3 and 4 are attached in the second attachment mode, the terminal group of the left connector 23 of the main unit 2 faces and contacts the terminal group 264 of the connector 261 of the right controller 3, so that the two are electrically connected. Also, the terminal group of the right connector 22 of the main unit 2 faces and contacts the terminal group of the connector 361 of the left controller 4, so that the two are electrically connected.

[0381] Figure 39 shows an example of the connection relationship between the terminal group of the right connector 22 of the main unit 2 and the terminal group of the left controller 4 in the second mounting mode. In the second mounting mode, the controllers 3 and 4 are upside down compared to the first mounting mode, so the first through ninth terminals 364a through 364i of the terminal group 364 of the left controller 4 are electrically connected upside down to the first through ninth terminals 68a through 68i of the main unit 2 (see Figure 39). Thus, in the second mounting mode, the nth terminal of each of the connectors 22 and 23 of the main unit 2 is electrically connected to the (10-n)th terminal of each of the connectors 261 and 361 of the controllers 3 and 4 (n is a natural number from 1 to 9). In this embodiment, as described above, the functions of the terminals of the connectors 22, 23, 261, and 361 of the main unit 2 and the controllers 3 and 4 are set symmetrically in the up-down direction. 38 , power supply and communication can be performed between the main unit 2 and each of the controllers 3 and 4. In the second mounting mode, the third terminal of the main unit 2 is electrically connected to the seventh terminal of the controller, and the seventh terminal of the main unit 2 is electrically connected to the third terminal of the controller, so the main unit 2 may recognize a signal received by its own third terminal as a signal from the seventh terminal of the controller, and may recognize a signal received by its own seventh terminal as a signal from the third terminal of the controller.

[0382] As described above, in this embodiment, the user can use the game system 1 by attaching the right controller 3 and the left controller 4 to the main unit 2 in reverse. This allows the user to use the game system 1 by reversing the top and bottom of the main unit 2. Therefore, if the arrangement of components such as buttons and connectors differs between the top and bottom of the main unit 2, the user can use the game system 1 with the components arranged as desired by reversing the top and bottom of the main unit 2. For example, in this embodiment, the user can use the game system 1 by reversing the top and bottom of the main unit 2 so that the audio input / output connector 18, which is located on the top surface of the main unit 2, is located on the bottom side of the main unit 2. In other words, the user can insert earphones into the audio input / output connector 18 from a preferred direction.

[0383] The main device 2 may reverse the top and bottom of the image displayed on the display 12 depending on whether the main device 2 is in the first wearing mode or the second wearing mode. That is, in the second wearing mode, the main device 2 may display the image on the display 12 upside down compared to the first wearing mode.

[0384] Furthermore, in this embodiment, the groove formed on the right side of the main unit 2 has the same shape as the groove formed on the left side as viewed from the right side, and these shapes are line-symmetrical in the front-to-rear direction. Therefore, the right controller 3 can be attached to the left side of the main unit 2 by reversing the front-to-rear orientation of the right controller 3 and inserting the protrusion 212 of the right controller 3 into the groove on the left side of the main unit 2. Furthermore, the left controller 4 can be attached to the left side of the main unit 2 by reversing the front-to-rear orientation of the left controller 4 and inserting the protrusion 312 of the left controller 4 into the groove 2a on the right side of the main unit 2. Hereinafter, this type of attachment mode will be referred to as the third attachment mode. In the third attachment mode, as in the second attachment mode, the buttons 208, 209, 308, and 309 of each controller are positioned opposite the magnetic member of the main unit 2 via the cover. Therefore, the attachment state of the controllers 3 and 4 to the main unit 2 can be maintained by the adhesive force generated between the magnetic member and the button.

[0385] As described above, in this embodiment, the controller can be inserted into the groove of the main unit 2 with its top-to-bottom orientation reversed, and the controller can also be inserted into the groove of the main unit 2 with its front-to-back orientation reversed. Therefore, in this embodiment, by reversing the top-to-bottom and front-to-back orientations of the right controller 3 and inserting the protrusion 212 of the right controller 3 into the groove 2a on the right side of the main unit 2, it is possible to attach the right controller 3 to the right side of the main unit 2 in an orientation different from the first wearing mode. Furthermore, by reversing the top-to-bottom and front-to-back orientations of the left controller 4 and inserting the protrusion 312 of the left controller 4 into the groove on the left side of the main unit 2, it is possible to attach the left controller 4 to the left side of the main unit 2 in an orientation different from the first wearing mode. Hereinafter, this type of wearing mode will be referred to as the fourth wearing mode.

[0386] In the third and fourth wearing modes, the tongues of the connectors 22 and 23 of the main unit 2 are accommodated in the connector accommodation areas of the controllers 3 and 4, but the terminals of the main unit 2 are not positioned opposite the terminals of the controllers 3 and 4. Therefore, in the third and fourth wearing modes, no wired communication takes place between the main unit 2 and the controllers 3 and 4. In other embodiments, the terminals may be positioned on the rear-facing surfaces of the tongues of the connectors 22 and 23 of the main unit 2. In this case, wired communication may take place between the main unit 2 and the controllers 3 and 4 in the third and fourth wearing modes.

[0387] [4-2. Removing the Controller from the Main Unit] Next, we will explain the operation when removing a controller that is attached to the main unit 2. In this embodiment, the user can remove the right controller 3 from the main unit 2 using the pusher 291 described above.

[0388] Figure 40 is a diagram showing an example of the configuration of the game system 1 with the right controller 3 attached to the main unit 2. When removing the right controller 3 from the main unit 2, the user first operates the pusher operation unit 292 of the right controller 3. Specifically, the user operates the operation surface 294 of the pusher operation unit 292 so as to press down to the right (strictly speaking, to the right and slightly forward) (see the arrow shown in Figure 40). Note that, as shown in Figure 40, before the pusher operation unit 292 is operated, the pusher 291 is inside the protrusion 212 of the right controller 3 and does not protrude from the protrusion 212.

[0389] In this embodiment, the operation surface 294 of the pusher operation unit 292 is located above the center in the up-down direction on the rear surface of the housing 201. The operation surface 294 is operated to the right. Therefore, the user can operate the operation surface 294 by gripping the game system 1 with the index finger and middle finger of their right hand, which are located on the rear surface of the housing 201. This makes it easier to operate the pusher operation unit 292.

[0390] FIG. 41 shows an example of the game system 1 in a state in which the pusher operating unit 292 is operated and the pusher 291 protrudes from the protrusion 212. When the pusher operating unit 292 is operated, as shown in FIG. 41 , the pusher 291 protrudes from the protrusion 212 and presses against the bottom surface of the groove 2a of the main unit 2, causing the protrusion 212 to move away from the bottom surface of the groove 2a of the main unit 2. Specifically, the right controller 3 moves so as to rotate around the end of the protrusion 212 opposite the end on which the pusher 291 is located in the up-down direction (i.e., the lower end). As a result, the upper right magnetic member 51 of the main unit 2 and the upper side button 208 of the right controller 3 are spaced apart more than when the controller is attached, and the lower right magnetic member 52 of the main unit 2 and the lower side button 209 of the right controller 3 are spaced apart more than when the controller is attached. Therefore, the attractive force between the magnetic members 51 and 52 and the buttons 208 and 209 is reduced, making it easier for the user to remove the right controller 3 from the main unit 2 in the state shown in Fig. 41 . Specifically, from the state shown in Fig. 41 , the user can remove the right controller 3 from the main unit 2 by moving the right controller 3 to the right (see the arrow in Fig. 41 ). Note that in other embodiments, when the pusher 291 protrudes, the lower-right magnetic member 52 of the main unit 2 and the lower side button 209 of the right controller 3 may not be as far apart as they are in the attached state.

[0391] Note that when the pusher 291 is in its most protruding state and the tip of the pusher 291 is in contact with the main unit 2, the attractive force acting between the right controller 3 and the main unit 2 may be large enough to cause the main unit 2 to fall due to its own weight. In other words, the attractive force in the above state may be smaller than the force of gravity acting on the main unit 2. This allows the user to more easily detach the right controller 3 from the main unit 2. In other embodiments, the attractive force in the above state may be large enough to prevent the main unit 2 from falling due to its own weight. In other words, the attractive force in the above state may be larger than the force of gravity acting on the main unit 2. This reduces the possibility of the right controller 3 detaching from the main unit 2 simply by operating the pusher operating unit 292.

[0392] As described above, in this embodiment, the user can easily remove the right controller 3 from the main unit 2 by first operating the pusher operation unit 292 and then moving the right controller 3 in the direction to remove it from the main unit 2. Here, in this embodiment, the operation direction of the pusher operation unit 292 has the same component as the direction to remove the right controller 3 from the main unit 2 (i.e., a rightward component). In other words, the user can perform the removal operation by operating the pusher operation unit 292 to the right and then moving the right controller 3 in the same direction (see FIGS. 40 and 41 ). In this way, in this embodiment, the controller can be removed using an intuitive and easy-to-understand operation.

[0393] Furthermore, in this embodiment, as described above, the pusher operation unit 292 is configured so that operation beyond a predetermined amount is restricted. Therefore, when the user operates the pusher operation unit 292 to the right, the movement of the pusher operation unit 292 is restricted after it moves a predetermined amount. If the user continues to apply force in the rightward direction, the right controller 3 itself will move rightward. This allows the user to perform the operation on the pusher operation unit 292 and the subsequent operation to move the right controller 3 as a series of operations applying force in the same direction. This allows the user to perform the removal operation more smoothly. Furthermore, with the movement of the pusher operation unit 292 restricted, the user can place their fingers on the operation surface 294 or the protrusion 297 (see FIG. 27 ) around the operation surface 294, thereby reliably moving the right controller 3 without their fingers slipping.

[0394] In this embodiment, the operation surfaces of the upper side button 208 and the lower side button 209 can be moved to positions that protrude further than the maximum protrusion of the buttons 208 and 209. Therefore, when the right controller 3 is removed from the main unit 2, if the right controller 3 is moved in the direction of separation from the main unit 2, the housing 201 moves within the range of movement of the buttons 208 and 209. Meanwhile, the elastic deformation members 248, 249, 253, and 254 sandwiched between the inner wall of the housing 201 and the buttons 208 and 209 deform, causing the buttons 208 and 209 to remain in contact with the main unit 2 and maintain their adhesive force. Therefore, in this embodiment, a stickiness or resistance can be created when the right controller 3 is removed from the main unit 2. This prevents the right controller 3 from suddenly coming off the main unit 2. For example, if the right controller 3 collides with another object and a force is temporarily applied to the right controller 3 in a direction that causes it to separate from the main unit 2, it is possible to prevent the right controller 3 from unintentionally detaching from the main unit 2.

[0395] In this embodiment, the amount by which the upper side button 208 and the lower side button 209 can move beyond their maximum protrusion in the direction in which they protrude is set to be smaller than the amount by which the pusher 291 protrudes to its maximum. In other words, the horizontal length from the operation surface to the maximum protrusion of each of the fully protruding buttons 208 and 209 is shorter than the horizontal length from the tip of the fully protruding pusher 291 to the tip of the mouse sole 282. This makes it easier for the upper side button 208 and the lower side button 209 to not come into contact with the main unit 2 when the pusher 291 is fully protruding. Therefore, operating the pusher operation unit makes it easier to reduce the attractive force between the right controller 3 and the main unit 2.

[0396] Furthermore, the amount of protrusion of the pusher 291 may be such that the operation surface 214 of the upper side button 208 is separated from the surface of the cover 65 that forms the bottom of the groove 2a. From another perspective, the amount of protrusion of the pusher 291 may be such that the operation surface 214 of the upper side button 208 is separated from the surface of the cover 65 that forms the bottom of the groove 2a, even when the upper side button 208 is attracted to the magnetic member 51 and moves to the left as far as possible. This allows the right controller 3 to be easily removed from the main unit 2. Note that the amount of protrusion of the pusher 291 may be such that at least a portion of the operation surface of the lower side button 209 does not separate from the surface of the cover 65. This prevents the right controller 3 from being suddenly removed from the main unit 2.

[0397] 41 , the amount of protrusion of the pusher 291 may be such that the upper end of the protruding surface 214 of the convex portion 212 is exposed from the opening of the groove 2a. The amount of protrusion of the pusher 291 may be such that the upper end of the protruding surface 214 is not exposed from the opening of the groove 2a even when the pusher 291 protrudes. The amount of protrusion of the pusher 291 may be such that the entire first elastic deformation member 248 exposed from the outer peripheral surface 215 of the convex portion 212 is exposed from the opening of the groove 2a. On the other hand, only a portion of the second elastic deformation member 249 exposed from the outer peripheral surface 215 may be exposed from the opening of the groove 2a. The amount of protrusion of the pusher 291 may be such that the through-hole 223b provided in the outer peripheral surface 215 is not exposed from the opening of the groove 2a even when the pusher 291 protrudes. The amount of protrusion of the pusher 291 may be such that the upper end of the base surface 213 (the end in the upward direction in FIG. 41 ) and the upper end of the inner circumferential surface of the groove 2 a of the main unit 2 are separated by a distance of, for example, 0.5 mm to 1 cm. The distance between them may be, for example, 1 mm to 5 mm. The distance between them may also be, for example, 2 mm.

[0398] In this embodiment, the left controller 4 has a similar configuration to the right controller 3 as a removal mechanism for facilitating the user's operation of removing the left controller 4 from the main unit 2. Therefore, the user can easily remove the left controller 4 from the main unit 2 by operating the pusher operation unit 392 for the left controller 4, just as with the right controller 3.

[0399] Note that the method of removing a controller from the main unit 2 is not limited to operating the pusher operation unit 392. The user can remove the controller from the main unit 2 by applying a force greater than the adhesive force between the main unit 2 and the controller in a direction that causes the controller to detach from the main unit 2. For example, the user can remove the controller from the main unit 2 by applying a pulling force to the controller in a direction that causes the controller to detach from the main unit 2 (i.e., left / right). Alternatively, the user can remove the controller from the main unit 2 by applying a force to the controller attached to the main unit 2 in a rotational direction around the forward / backward or up / down direction.

[0400] 4-3. When the Controller is Used as a Mouse Next, the operation when the controller is used as a mouse will be described. In this embodiment, the user can remove the controller from the main unit 2 and place it on a surface to use it as a mouse.

[0401] Figure 42 is a diagram showing an example of how the right controller 3 is used as a mouse. Figure 43 is a diagram showing an example of how the right controller 3 is placed on a mounting surface. As shown in Figure 43, when the right controller 3 is used as a mouse, the right controller 3 is placed so that the protruding surface 214 of the convex portion 212 faces the mounting surface F. At this time, the mouse sensor 281 irradiates light onto the mounting surface F and detects the light reflected by the mounting surface F. This allows the game system 1 to detect the movement of the right controller 3 on the mounting surface F, and the right controller 3 functions as a mouse.

[0402] In the example shown in Fig. 42 , the user operates the right controller 3 with their right hand. The user's palm is placed so as to cover the right side of the right controller 3. The user's thumb is placed on the front of the right controller 3 and can operate input units placed on the front, such as the analog stick 203 and buttons 202. The user's index finger is placed on the right front shoulder button 206 and can operate this button. The user's middle finger is placed on the right rear shoulder button 207 and can operate this button.

[0403] 42 , the user can perform pointing operations with a mouse by moving the right controller 3 on the placement surface F. In addition, a right-click operation can be performed by pressing the right front shoulder button 206, and a left-click operation can be performed by pressing the right rear shoulder button 207. In this way, in this embodiment, operations using a typical mouse are possible with the right controller 3. In addition, in this embodiment, the user can perform additional operations by operating the input unit located on the front of the right controller 3.

[0404] 43 , when the right controller 3 is placed on the placing surface F with the protruding surface 214 facing the placing surface F, the right controller 3 comes into contact with the placing surface F at the mouse soles 282 and 283. For example, the thickness of the mouse soles 282 and 283 (i.e., the length in the left-right direction from the protruding surface 214 to the left end of the mouse sole 282) is 0.2 mm.

[0405] In the above case, the upper side button 208 and the lower side button 209 do not come into contact with the mounting surface F. As described above, the buttons 208 and 209 can move in a direction that protrudes from the protruding surface 214, and can move to a position that protrudes further than the mouse soles 282 and 283. However, when the right controller 3 is placed on the mounting surface F, no adhesive force is generated in the buttons 208 and 209, and therefore the buttons 208 and 209 do not move from their reference positions due to the biasing forces of the elastic deformation members 248, 249, 252, and 253 (or move slightly but hardly at all due to their own weight). In other words, in this embodiment, the buttons 208 and 209 are configured so that they do not move in a direction that protrudes from the protruding surface 214 due to their own weight. This prevents the buttons 208 and 209 from interfering with movement operations when the right controller 3 is used as a mouse. The distance in the left-right direction between the placement surface F and the button 208 or 209 is, for example, 0.3 mm.

[0406] In this embodiment, the left controller 4 has the same configuration as the right controller 3 for implementing mouse functions. Therefore, the left controller 4 can also be used as a mouse, just like the right controller 3. FIG. 44 is a diagram showing an example of how the left controller 4 is used as a mouse. In the example shown in FIG. 44 , the user operates the left controller 4 with their left hand. As shown in FIG. 44 , the user can perform mouse pointing operations by moving the left controller 4 on a placement surface. Furthermore, the left rear shoulder button 307 can be pressed with, for example, the middle finger, and the left front shoulder button 306 can be pressed with, for example, the index finger. Furthermore, the user can perform additional operations by operating input units such as the buttons 302 and analog stick 303 located on the front of the left controller 4 with, for example, their thumb.

[0407] As described above, in this embodiment, both the right controller 3 and the left controller 4 can be used as a mouse, so that the user can operate the input section located on the front of the controller with their thumbs whether performing mouse operation with their right hand or their left hand.

[0408] Although the above description has been given as an example of a case where the right controller 3 is operated with the user's right hand and the left controller 4 is operated with the user's left hand, the right controller 3 may be operated with the user's left hand, or the left controller 4 may be operated with the user's right hand. Also, the user can operate the controllers 3 and 4 one by one with their right hand and left hand, thereby performing mouse operations using both controllers 3 and 4 at the same time.

[0409] When the controllers 3 and 4 are attached to the main unit 2, the convex portions 212 and 312 of the controllers 3 and 4 fit into the grooves of the main unit 2, so the mouse sensors 281 and 381 are not exposed. Therefore, when the controllers 3 and 4 are not being used as a mouse, the mouse sensors 281 and 381 are prevented from being unnecessarily touched by the user.

[0410] [5. Effects of the Present Embodiment] (1-1) As described above, in the above embodiment, the game console that is detachable from the controller comprises the following components: A housing that houses an electronic circuit A first magnet that is conductive and that magnetically attracts the controller, thereby attaching the controller to the game console Furthermore, the first magnet is electrically connected to the ground of the electronic circuit.

[0411] The above (1-1) configuration provides a novel game machine in which the controller is attached to the game machine by magnetic attraction, and also prevents electromagnetic waves from entering from outside the controller via the magnet, thereby preventing noise from being transmitted to the electronic circuits within the controller.

[0412] Note that "the magnet is electrically connected to the ground of the electronic circuit" means both a case in which the magnet is directly connected to the ground electrode of the electronic circuit, and a case in which the magnet is indirectly connected to the ground electrode via a conductive member, as in the above embodiment.

[0413] In the above embodiment, the configuration of (1-1) above can be further configured as follows (1-2) to (1-21).

[0414] (1-2) In the configuration of (1-1) above, a first through hole is formed through the housing, and at least a portion of the first magnet is disposed in the first through hole (see FIG. 14).

[0415] According to the above configuration (1-2), the first magnet can be placed closer to the controller than when the first magnet is placed only inside the housing, thereby increasing the attractive force between the game console and the controller. Also, compared to when the first magnet is placed only outside the housing, the first magnet can be more easily connected to the ground of the electronic circuit.

[0416] (1-3) In the above embodiment, in the configuration of (1-2) above, the first magnet is housed in the housing except for the part disposed in the first through hole.

[0417] According to the configuration (1-3) above, the first magnet can be more easily connected to the ground of the electronic circuit than when the first magnet is disposed outside the housing. Furthermore, even if a portion of the first magnet is disposed outside the housing, if the attachment member for attaching the first magnet to the housing is disposed outside the housing, the attachment member may get in the way of the controller when it is attached to the game console. Thus, if a portion of the first magnet is disposed outside the housing, the appearance of the controller may be restricted to avoid the attachment member, which may affect the appearance of the controller. In contrast, according to the configuration (1-3) above, the above-mentioned risk is eliminated, and the possibility of restrictions being placed on the appearance of the controller can be reduced.

[0418] (1-4) In the above embodiment, in the configuration of (1-2) or (1-3), the opening of the first through hole on the outside of the housing is covered with an insulating member (FIG. 9).

[0419] According to the configuration (1-4), the first magnet can be protected from impact. Furthermore, even when the controller is attached to the game console, the first magnet can be prevented from being electrically connected to the controller. Therefore, even if a part of the game console that comes into contact with the first magnet or a part located near the first magnet has a potential, the potential of the first magnet (i.e., ground potential) can be stabilized.

[0420] (1-5) In the configurations (1-1) to (1-4) above, the game machine further includes a yoke that is conductive and forms a magnetic circuit together with the first magnet. The yoke is electrically connected to the ground of the electronic circuit.

[0421] The configuration (1-5) above increases the magnetic attraction force, allowing the controller to be attached more firmly to the game console, and also prevents electromagnetic waves from entering from outside the controller through the yoke and transmitting noise to the electronic circuits within the controller.

[0422] (1-6) In the configuration of (1-2) above, the game machine further includes a yoke that is conductive and forms a magnetic circuit with the first magnet, and at least a portion of each of the first magnet and the yoke is disposed within the first through-hole (see FIG. 14).

[0423] According to the above configuration (1-6), the chucking force can be increased, and the yoke can be easily connected to the ground of the electronic circuit.

[0424] (1-7) In the configuration of (1-6) above, when the direction from the opening of the first through hole on the inside of the housing to the opening of the first through hole on the outside of the housing is defined as the outward direction, the yoke protrudes further outward than the first magnet (see Figure 11).

[0425] According to the above configuration (1-7), the magnetic field in the area outside the housing relative to the first magnet can be strengthened, and the attractive force can be increased.

[0426] (1-8) In the configuration of (1-6) or (1-7) above, the yoke includes a first portion, at least a portion of which is located within the first through-hole, and a second portion, which is located within the housing and is longer than the opening of the first thr...

Claims

1. A game console with a detachable controller, A housing that contains electronic circuits, The device comprises a first magnet which is conductive and is attracted to the magnetic material of the controller by magnetic force, thereby attaching the controller to the game console, and which is not electrically connected to the magnetic material of the attached controller, The first magnet is electrically connected to the ground of the electronic circuit in the game console.

2. A game console with a controller that can be attached to and detached, A housing that contains electronic circuits, A first magnet that is conductive and is attracted to the magnetic material of the controller by magnetic force, thereby attaching the controller to the game console, The controller, which is mounted, comprises an insulating member located between the magnetic material and the first magnet, The first magnet is electrically connected to the ground of the electronic circuit in the game console.

3. A first through-hole is formed that penetrates the housing, At least a portion of the first magnet is placed in the first through hole. A game console according to claim 1 or claim 2.

4. Of the first magnet, the portion other than the part placed in the first through-hole is housed in the housing. The game console according to claim 3.

5. The opening of the first through hole on the outside of the housing is covered with an insulating material. The game console according to claim 3.

6. The yoke further comprises a conductive material that forms a magnetic circuit with the first magnet, The yoke is electrically connected to the ground of the electronic circuit. A game console according to claim 1 or claim 2.

7. The yoke further comprises a conductive material that forms a magnetic circuit with the first magnet, At least a portion of the first magnet and the yoke are placed within the first through hole. The game console according to claim 3.

8. When the direction from the opening of the first through-hole on the inside of the housing to the opening of the first through-hole on the outside of the housing is defined as the outward direction, the yoke protrudes more than the first magnet in that outward direction. The game console according to claim 7.

9. The aforementioned yoke is A first portion, at least a part of which is located within the first through hole, A second portion located within the housing and, in the state in which the yoke is positioned, is longer than the opening of the first through-hole on the inside of the housing, The game console according to claim 7.

10. Of the housing, the region facing the first portion of the yoke and the region facing the second portion are made of an insulating material. The game console according to claim 9.

11. Further comprising a first yoke and a second yoke, each having conductivity, with the first magnet positioned between them and forming a magnetic circuit with the first magnet, The first magnet is a rectangular parallelepiped, The first yoke and the second yoke each have a first portion shorter than the opening of the first through-hole and a second portion longer than the opening of the first through-hole, with respect to a first direction perpendicular to the direction in which the yoke and the first magnet overlap. At least a portion of the first magnet and at least a portion of the first portion of each of the first yoke and the second yoke are located within the first through hole. The second part is located within the housing, The game console according to claim 3.

12. A yoke having conductivity and forming a magnetic circuit with the first magnet, The housing further comprises a pressing member that presses at least one of the first magnet and the yoke in the outward direction, when the direction from the opening of the first through-hole on the inside of the housing to the opening of the first through-hole on the outside of the housing is defined as the outward direction, At least a portion of the first magnet and the yoke are placed within the first through hole. The game console according to claim 3.

13. The device further comprises a conductive first conductive member that is electrically connected to the first magnet and the yoke. The game console according to claim 12.

14. The first conductive member is sandwiched between the first magnet and the yoke and the pressing member in a direction parallel to the outward direction. The game console according to claim 13.

15. The game machine comprises a first yoke that contacts one side of the first magnet and a second yoke that contacts the other side of the first magnet, The aforementioned game console is The present invention further comprises a conductive second conductive member that is sandwiched between the second yoke and a metal portion of the housing or a metal member within the housing, which is connected to the ground of the electronic circuit, thereby electrically connecting the second yoke and the metal portion or metal member. The game console according to claim 13.

16. A recess is formed on the outer surface of the housing. The first through hole is formed at the bottom of the recess. The game console according to claim 3.

17. A second through-hole is formed at the bottom of the recess, penetrating the housing. A second magnet, which is conductive and at least a portion of which is disposed within the second through-hole, and which is magnetically attracted to the controller attached to the game console, The game console further comprises a game console-side terminal, which is positioned between the first magnet and the second magnet when the recess is viewed from the opening side of the recess, and is connectable to a controller-side terminal of the controller. The game console according to claim 16.

18. A predetermined surface of the housing includes a metal portion that is connected to the ground of the electronic circuit. The opening of the first through hole is formed on the predetermined surface. The game console according to claim 3.

19. The inner circumference of the first through hole is made of an insulating material different from the metal portion. The game console according to claim 18.

20. The predetermined surface is a side surface that connects the front and rear surfaces of the housing. The electronic circuit is positioned within the housing, sandwiched between metal members in the direction from the front to the rear of the housing. The metal member is at least one of the following: a metal frame portion of the housing that is electrically connected to the ground of the electronic circuit, and a metal frame housed within the housing that is electrically connected to the ground of the electronic circuit. The game console according to claim 18.

21. The game machine according to claim 20, wherein the metal frame portion of the housing is made of a non-magnetic metal.

22. The game machine according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the housing includes a first portion made of metal and connected to the ground of the electronic circuit, and a second portion made of an insulating material, and the portion of the housing in contact with the first magnet is the second portion.

23. The controller is equipped with a magnetic sensor, The game machine includes a front, a rear, a top, a bottom, and two sides. The first magnet is provided on the upper portion of one of the two sides, The aforementioned game console is The device further comprises a second conductive magnet, which is positioned on the lower portion of one of the aforementioned sides and is magnetically attracted to the controller attached to the game console, The first magnet is provided with the first polarity facing the front side and the second polarity facing the rear side. The second magnet is provided with the second polarity facing the front side and the first polarity facing the rear side. A game console according to claim 1 or claim 2.

24. The game console is equipped with a plurality of magnets, including the first magnet, which are conductive magnets that can be attracted to the controller attached to the game console by magnetic force. The aforementioned game console is further equipped with an antenna, Of the plurality of magnets, the magnet positioned closest to the antenna is not electrically connected to the ground of the electronic circuit, while at least one of the other magnets, different from this magnet, is electrically connected to the ground of the electronic circuit. A game console according to claim 1 or claim 2.

25. The game console is equipped with a plurality of magnets, including the first magnet, which are conductive magnets that can be attracted to the controller attached to the game console by magnetic force. The aforementioned game console is equipped with multiple antennas, Among the combinations of one of the plurality of magnets and one of the plurality of antennas, the magnet included in the combination that results in the shortest distance between the magnet and the antenna is not electrically connected to the ground of the electronic circuit, and at least one of the other magnets different from the said magnet is electrically connected to the ground of the electronic circuit. A game console according to claim 1 or claim 2.

26. The first magnet is embedded in the housing on the opposing surface facing the controller when the controller is attached to the game console. A game console according to claim 1 or claim 2.

27. The aforementioned opposing surface is, Base surface and, Including a protruding surface that protrudes from the base surface, The first magnet is embedded and arranged in the base surface. The game console according to claim 26.

28. The game console further comprises a second conductive magnet that is magnetically attracted to the controller attached to the game console, The second magnet is embedded in the opposing surface, The game console further comprises a game console-side terminal positioned between the first magnet and the second magnet on the opposing surface, and which is connectable to a controller-side terminal provided on the controller. The game console according to claim 26.

29. A game system comprising the game console and controller described in Claim 1.

30. A game system comprising the game console and controller according to Claim 2.