Patent Document ID: 7665042
Application ID: 10369581

Base Claim:
1. An input apparatus for inputting an input item selected by a user from a plurality of two-dimensional tables, each of the two-dimensional tables including a plurality of two-dimensionally arranged candidate input items wherein only one of the plurality of candidate input items is displayed on a display screen at one time, comprising: an indicating position detecting part detecting an indicating position on the display screen; a candidate input item replacing part replacing a currently displayed input item with a target input item to be displayed; and an input item determining part determining the target input item by conducting a coordinate determination operation based on combinations of whether vertical and/or horizontal shift amounts between a start indicating position and an end indicating position detected by the indicating position detecting part are non-negative and/or non-positive, wherein the coordinate determination operation determines a movement direction of the position and one of the plurality of two-dimensional tables based on a first combination of whether the vertical and/or horizontal shift amounts are non-negative or non-positive and further determines a manipulation stage of the user based on a second combination of whether the vertical and/or horizontal shift amounts are non-negative or non-positive, and wherein the manipulation stage includes a manipulation continuation phase, a manipulation completion phase and an error phase, and wherein if the coordinate determination operation determines that the manipulation stage is in the manipulation continuation phase, the coordinate determination operation stores coordinate data of the end indicating position, and if the coordinate determination operation determines that the manipulation stage is in the manipulation completion phase or the error phase, the coordinate determination operation clears the stored coordinate data of the end indicating position.

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Claim 4:
4. The input apparatus as claimed in claim 1 , wherein said input item is for starting an application.