We've already seen patent the beyond-bizarre spectacle of an inflatable horse controller for the Wii, and now we witness an American housing for the Wiimote.

The 'ball' in question is basically just another vehicle for the Wiimote, and presumably Nintendo would like to see it used with special versions of and the like.

The idea is that you can throw the ball-controller, but quite how this would work playing an American football video game in the comfort of your presumably quite breakable lounge is anyones guess.

Details are scant, but a diagram does hint at how the controller might work, as filed as part of the patent. We'll bring you more on this.

By Luke Guttridge