Patent ID: 8559650

Claim:
An apparatus for detecting an earphone in a portable terminal, the apparatus comprising: an earjack for outputting a signal informing whether an earphone is inserted, for providing a signal input from a third pole of the inserted earphone to a first switch, and for providing a signal input from a fourth pole to a second switch; the first switch for outputting a signal provided from the earjack to one of a comparator and a ground depending on an input control signal; the second switch for outputting a signal provided from the earjack to one of the comparator and the ground depending on the input control signal; the comparator for comparing a voltage of a signal provided from one of the first switch and the second switch with a reference voltage to output a signal representing a comparison result; and a main chip for outputting the control signal depending on the signal informing whether the earphone is inserted, and for one of changing and maintaining the control signal depending on an output signal of the comparator.