Input apparatus

An input apparatus separate from and coupled to a predetermined apparatus including a display, the input apparatus comprising:

• a manipulation device including a manipulation surface manipulated by a manipulator;
• a detector configured to detect a manipulation state of a manipulating body with respect to the manipulation surface;
• a driver configured to vibrate the manipulation surface;
• and
• a controller configured to control the driver to vibrate the manipulation surface and perform an input to the predetermined apparatus according to the manipulation state detected by the detector, wherein the display in the predetermined apparatus is configured to display a plurality of manipulation buttons, and wherein any one of the manipulation buttons is selected as a selection position on the display and a change in the selection position is associated with a change in a coordinate position that is a position of the manipulating body on the manipulation surface,
• wherein:
• in response to determining that the selection position on the display has started to move from a first manipulation button of the manipulation buttons toward a second manipulation button of the manipulation buttons due to a start of movement of the manipulating body on the manipulation surface, regardless of the coordinate position of the manipulating body on the manipulation surface, the controller is further configured to perform, using the driver, a first low friction control to cause the manipulation surface to be in a first low friction state for a predetermined time, the first low friction state being where a first low frictional force between the manipulation surface and the manipulating body is provided due to generation of a predetermined first vibration on the manipulation surface, and the first low frictional force being smaller than a non-vibration frictional force between the manipulation surface and the manipulating body in a non-vibration state where no vibration is generated on the manipulation surface;
• and
• under a state where a contact of the manipulating body on the manipulation surface is detected by the detector while the first manipulation button is selected as the selection position on the display, the controller is further configured to perform, before the movement of the manipulating body on the manipulation surface and using the driver, a second low friction control to cause the manipulation surface to be in a second low friction state, the second low friction state being where a second low frictional force between the manipulation surface and the manipulating body is provided due to generation of a predetermined second vibration on the manipulation surface, and the second low frictional force being smaller than the non-vibration frictional force in the non-vibration state where no vibration is generated on the manipulation surface, and larger than the first low frictional force in the first low friction state, and wherein
• the controller is further configured to control the driver so that the second low friction state, the first low friction state, and the non-vibration state are performed sequentially wherein the controller is further configured to set sizes of the plurality of manipulation buttons to be smaller in response to a moving speed of the manipulating body on the manipulation surface increasing.