Patent ID: 7893920

Claim:
An operation input device comprising: position detection means for detecting the three-dimensional position of an object in a space; pointing device recognizing means for recognizing whether an object in the pointing space, which is detected by the position detection means, is a predetermined pointing device; pointing space setting means for setting a virtual pointing space of a shape defined by connecting an area of a display screen as a base of the pointing space and a predetermined reference point which is located at a position spaced apart from the display screen as an apex of the pointing space; coordinate detection means for detecting a coordinate position of an objective point on the display screen using a mapping relation based on the position in the pointing space of the object which is recognized as the pointing device by the pointing device recognizing means; movement detection means for detecting the three-dimensional movement in the pointing space of the object which is recognized as the pointing device by the pointing device recognizing means; and determination means for determining the contents of the operation input based on the coordinate position of the objective point on the display screen, which is detected by the coordinate detection means, and the three-dimensional movement of the object detected by the movement detection means and generating a corresponding operation instruction; wherein when the pointing device moves toward the display screen at a speed faster than a predetermined speed within a range of a predetermined coordinate position of the display screen in the pointing space, the determination means determines that a pointing start action is performed.