Patent ID: 8279182

Claim:
A user input device in a mobile terminal having a touch screen, comprising: a user interface having a touch screen input panel for outputting a key signal corresponding to a user's input; an information display unit for displaying input data; a fingerprint recognition sensor for outputting fingerprint data corresponding to a fingerprint pattern of a finger that touches a surface of the fingerprint recognition sensor and fingerprint direction data including a detected cardinal direction corresponding to a fingerprint input trace generated by movement of the finger; a memory for storing a plurality of operation modes, a plurality of input patterns and a plurality of fingerprint data on the user's fingerprint patterns, wherein each of the plurality of fingerprint data corresponds to an operation mode, each of the plurality of operation modes corresponds to an input pattern, and each of the plurality of input patterns includes keys necessary to implement the corresponding operation mode; and a control unit for detecting the fingerprint data input from the fingerprint recognition sensor, confirming an upcoming operation mode corresponding to the input fingerprint data, reading from the memory a current input pattern corresponding to the upcoming operation mode, and displaying the current input pattern on the information display unit, wherein, if first fingerprint data corresponding to an operation mode is the same as second fingerprint data input from the fingerprint recognition sensor, the control unit implements the selected operation mode according to one of a character and a number later entered by the user.