1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to portable terminals. More particularly, the present invention relates to an apparatus and method that can identify which type of external device is connected to a portable terminal, and can control operations according to the path.
2. Description of the Related Art
In recent years, portable terminals have been developed that are capable of storing a variety of application programs, thereby increasing their versatility. One example of a portable terminal is a mobile communication terminal that can provide communication services. Since its introduction, the mobile communication terminal and its corresponding communication services have increased rapidly in popularity.
Historically, the portable terminals were relatively heavy in weight and large in size in order to accommodate the battery and electronic parts installed therein. However, the trend has been to reduce the weight, size, and thickness of the portable terminals as technology related to electronic parts and batteries develops.
Portable terminals have a recharging mode and a communication mode. They recharge their battery in recharging mode and perform data communication in a communication mode. They allow for the connection of a terminal adapter to be operated in a recharging mode. They can also be connected to external devices and thus communicated therewith in a communication mode.
The portable terminals can be connected, via a data cable, with the terminal adaptor to charge their battery or with external devices to perform data communication. To this end, the portable terminals are equipped with a connector interface unit for connecting to the data cable. The connector interface unit is connected to the terminal adaptor and supports Universal Serial Bus (USB) communication.
The connector interface unit of the portable terminal includes a limited number of pins. On the other hand, external devices are increasing in type, which are intended to be connected to the portable terminal via the connector interface unit. Therefore, cases frequently occur where the different types of external devices use the same alignment of pins allocated to the connector interface unit so that they may be connected to the portable terminal.
Although the portable terminal must operate differently according to the type of external device connected thereto, the portable terminal is connected to different types of external devices via the same alignment of pins allocated to its connector interface unit. The use of the same alignment of pins may, however, cause a serious problem to the control circuit of the portable terminal or the external devices. Therefore, a method and apparatus is required to correctly identify the type of external device connected to a portable terminal and, accordingly, control the portable terminal based on the identified external device.