Patent ID: 7747868
Filing Date: 2010-06-29
Classification: G06F,H04L,H04M,H04W

Abstract:
1. A mobile communication terminal providing secure password input, the mobile communication terminal comprising: a display for displaying information to a user; a key input unit including a plurality of keys, each of the plurality of keys being assigned at least one character for character entry on the display; a password character table including a plurality of special password characters, which are other than language characters, corresponding respectively to a number of key presses for any of the plurality of keys, such that a same number of presses of any of the plurality of keys will correspond to a same special password character among the plurality of special password characters; and a control unit for, during a password entry, counting a number of times that one of the plurality of keys is pressed, searching the password character table for a special password character corresponding to the counted number of times that the one of the plurality of keys is pressed, and displaying the searched special password character on the display instead of the at least one character corresponding to the one of the plurality of keys that was pressed, wherein, during password entry, a first special password character is displayed when a first key among the plurality of keys is pressed, and the displayed first special password character changes as the first key among the plurality of keys is successively inputted before a second key different from the first key among the plurality of keys is pressed, wherein identical special password characters are displayed when the first key or the second key is pressed, if the number of presses of the first key and the second key are equal, and wherein different special password characters are displayed when the first key or second key is pressed, if the number of presses of the first key and the second key are not equal.