Image display apparatus for displaying an image corresponding to an image state at the transmitting end

• US 5,760,752 A
• Filed: 01/29/1997
• Issued: 06/02/1998
• Est. Priority Date: 07/15/1993
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Coltera LLC
• Original Assignee: NEC Corporation
• Inventors: Kanba, Tomonari
• Primary Examiner(s): BRIER, JEFFERY A
• Application Number:
  US08/791,067
• Time in Patent Office: 489 Days
• Field of Search: 345/1, 345/2, 345/112, 345/329, 345/330, 345/331, 273/433-438, 434/323, 340/825.17, 340/870.44, 395/152, 395/329, 395/330, 395/331, 348/14, 348/18, 463/40, 463/41, 364/185, 364/188
• US Class Current: 345/2.2
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/14 Digital output to display device ; Cooperation and interconnection of the display device with other functional units
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/141 between two video terminals, e.g. videophone telephonic communication systems combined with television receiver for reception of entertainment or information matter H04M11/085

Abstract

An image display apparatus for causing a receiving end to display, in a form of an image, a state of a transmitting end, which is transmitted through a communication line whose transmission amount is limited, includes a converting unit and a control unit. The converting unit receives a state signal from the transmitting end at the receiving end and converts the state signal into a control signal. The control unit reads out and displays stored image information at the receiving end in accordance with the control signal.

Claims

1. An image display apparatus for displaying a state of a transmitting end in a form of an image at a receiving end, comprising:

image information storage means for storing image information for a plurality of images representing a plurality of states;

state signal detecting means for detecting and converting a state signal supplied from a communication line into a control signal for designating an image representing the state;

display frame determining means for obtaining a present frame number from said control signal, said present frame number corresponding to an image to be displayed at a given time, said display frame determining means also for obtaining a next frame number of an image to be displayed next in accordance with the given frame number;

image reproducing means for reproducing a stored image from said image storage means on the basis of the frame number calculated by said display frame determining means; and

image display means for displaying said stored image reproduced by said image reproducing means, wherein

each of said plurality of states corresponds to a condition at said transmitting end.

2. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said image reproducing means includes means for selecting, on the basis of the control signal, a set of appropriate frame numbers from an image stored in said image storage means, the set being continuously reproduced by said image reproducing means.

3. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said image reproducing means reproduces the image by outputting the frame number or the set of frame numbers designated in advance when the control signal is not present for not less than a predetermined period of time.

4. The apparatus according to claim 1,

further comprising character/graphics reproducing means for generating at least one of a character image and a graphics image in accordance with the control signal, and

wherein said image display means displays the image reproduced by said image reproducing means and an output from said character/graphics reproducing means in a superposed manner.