Patent ID: 8692805

Claim:
A coordinate input apparatus for making an input by bringing a pointing device into contact with an input area of an apparatus main body, said pointing device comprising: a timer configured to generate a transmission cycle by timekeeping; a detection unit configured to detect the presence/absence of an input instruction according to the presence/absence of contact of said pointing device with the input area; and a transmission unit configured to transmit information including the input instruction to the apparatus main body via an optical communication in accordance with the transmission cycle generated by said timer when said detection unit detects the presence of the input instruction, and to skip transmission to the apparatus main body when said detection unit detects the absence of the input instruction, wherein when said detection unit detects the absence of the input instruction, after having detected the presence of the input instruction, said timer continues timekeeping of the transmission cycle for a predetermined holding period, and when said detection unit detects a presence of the input instruction within the holding period after having detected the absence of the input instruction, said transmission unit performs transmission according to the transmission cycle generated based on timekeeping continued by said timer.