Patent ID: 8055305

Claim:
A method of inputting a function of a mobile terminal, the method comprising: recognizing a grip posture of a user gripping the mobile terminal, wherein the recognized grip posture is one of a plurality of grip postures; and detecting a function corresponding to the recognized grip posture, wherein the recognizing a grip posture comprises: receiving output signals from a plurality of touch sensors on the mobile terminal; and recognizing the grip posture using the output signals from the touch sensors, wherein the recognizing the grip posture using the output signals comprises: dividing the surface of the mobile terminal into a plurality of portions; detecting a number of contact points, a contact width of each detected contact point, and a distance between adjacent contact points in each portion of the mobile terminal using the sensor output signals; and determining the user's grip posture using the detected number of contact points, the contact width of each detected contact point, and the distance between adjacent contact points in each portion of the mobile terminal, wherein the method is performed using at least one computer system, and wherein the recognized grip posture changes function and display orientation of a screen of the mobile terminal.