SEGA patents horrible controller idea

Someone sent this in to the boys over at UK:R, a patent issued on February 10, 2009. That is like almost going to be two years ago. Why is SEGA making weird controllers that look like a offspring from the NiGHTS Saturn controller?

I wonder what it is for? You can go tot he patent site and check out over 30 photos with detailed descriptions. Most likely has to do with an arcade machine, but I will accept a new console.