Patent ID: 8810548

Claim:
A mobile terminal comprising: a case; a display within the case for displaying visual information; a sensing unit comprising a proximity sensor for detecting an object in proximity of the display, the proximity sensor having a light receiving device and a plurality of light emitting devices arranged in a circular pattern around the light receiving device; and a controller configured to: control the plurality of light emitting devices to emit light such that each of the plurality of light emitting devices emits light in a sequential order in a clockwise or counterclockwise direction, one light emitting device emitting the light at a time; control the sensing unit to detect the object's location and movement when at least first light emitted by a first one of the plurality of light emitting devices and second light emitted by a second one of the plurality of light emitting devices are sequentially reflected by the object and the reflected light is received by the light receiving device; and generate a signal corresponding to an input based on the detected location and movement of the object.