Patent ID: 7728819

Claim:
An input apparatus for performing an input operation on a front surface of a panel, comprising: input detection means for detecting an input operation performed on the front surface of the panel, and for determining whether the input operation is a pressing operation or a touching operation by determining whether a signal from the panel becomes stable for at least a predetermined period of time, the signal from the panel being generated based on the input operation; waveform generation means for generating a first signal waveform having a first amplitude while the input detection means detects that the input operation is being performed, and generating a second signal waveform having a second amplitude which is larger than the first amplitude based on a determination by the input detection means that the signal from the panel has become stable for at least the predetermined period of time, thus indicating the input operation is the pressing operation; and panel deforming means for deforming the panel based on the signal waveforms generated by the waveform generation means.