Patent ID: 8493334

Claim:
An optical input device having a display screen, a portion of the display screen being shielded from light by an operating member to implement input processing based on a plurality of input modes, the input device comprising: input detection means including a display unit configured to display predetermined input information, the input detection means detecting at least one of an area and brightness of a light- shielded portion formed on the display screen by the operating member by approaching the display unit; and control means for providing display control of the display unit and input control on the basis of the at least one of an area and brightness detected by the input detection means, wherein the control means compares the detected at least one of an area and brightness with a predetermined threshold value to select a desired input mode from among the plurality of input modes, and wherein the control means defines a detection area corresponding to a same piece of input information displayed on the input detection means for each of the plurality of input modes, and at least one of a size and a shape of the detection areas corresponding to the same piece of input information is different for each of the input modes, and wherein the same piece of input information displayed on the input detection means is an icon, and the control means defines a first detection area corresponding to and overlapping the icon in a first input mode as an edge portion of the icon, and defines a second detection area corresponding to and overlapping the icon in a second input mode as a center portion of the icon, wherein the input detection means displays adjacent icons, each of the adjacent icons having an edge portion of a respective icon as a detection area in the first input mode and having a center portion of the respective icon as a detection area in the second input mode, wherein a space between detection areas of the adjacent icons is larger in the second input mode than in the first input mode.