Portable communication terminal with image transmission function

• US 7,085,538 B2
• Filed: 10/11/2001
• Issued: 08/01/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 10/12/2000
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Lenovo Innovations Ltd Hong Kong (Lenovo Group Ltd.)
• Original Assignee: NEC Corporation
• Inventors: Motohashi, Teruyuki
• Primary Examiner(s): Vuong, Quochien B.
• Assistant Examiner(s): DAO, MINH D
• Application Number:
  US09/975,233
• Publication Number:
  US 20020055372A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,755 Days
• Field of Search: 455/67.11, 455/67.7, 455/67.14, 455/226.1, 455/226.2, 455/226.4, 455/556.1, 455/566, 455/567, 348/14.02
• US Class Current: 455/67.11
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/576 associated with a pictorial or graphical representation
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/72439 for image or video messaging
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 2007/145 Handheld terminals
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/142 Constructional details of the terminal equipment, e.g. arrangements of the camera and the display

Abstract

The invention provides a portable communication terminal with an image transmission function which can convey a reception electric field intensity state of and generation of a communication quality alarm in the portable communication terminal itself in the form of an image to the opposite party of communication. A control section controls a display section to display a reception electric field intensity of the portable communication terminal in accordance with an electric field intensity information signal from a radio communication function section. During image communication, an electric field intensity display image is transmitted as a transmission image together with an image picked up by an image pickup section. If a communication quality alarm is generated by the control section because of deterioration of the circuit quality during the communication, then an alarm image stored in advance in a memory is transmitted together with or in place of the image picked up by the image pickup section.

Claims

1. A portable communication terminal with an image transmission function for transmitting an image, comprising:

reception electric field intensity detection means for detecting a reception electric field intensity of said portable communication terminal;

reception electric field intensity image transmission means for transmitting a reception electric field intensity image representative of the detected reception electric field intensity to the opposite party of communication; and

an image pickup section for picking up an image, and wherein said reception electric field intensity image transmission means transmits the reception electric field intensity image together with an image picked up by said image pickup section.

2. A portable communication terminal with an image transmission function as claimed in claim 1, further comprising reception electric field intensity transmission setting means for setting whether or not the reception electric field intensity image should be transmitted.

3. A portable communication terminal with an image transmission function as claimed in claim 1, further comprising communication quality alarm image transmission means for transmitting a communication quality alarm image to the opposite party of communication when a communication quality alarm is generated in said portable communication terminal.

4. A portable communication terminal with an image transmission function as claimed in claim 3, further comprising communication quality alarm transmission setting means for setting whether or not a communication quality alarm image should be transmitted.

5. A portable communication terminal with an image transmission function as claimed in claim 1, wherein said image pickup section is removably and externally provided on a body of said portable communication terminal.

6. A portable communication terminal with an image transmission function as claimed in claim 1, wherein said image pickup section is provided separately from a body of said portable communication terminal and includes a radio communication function section which communicates by radio with a radio communication function section of said body of said portable communication terminal.

7. A portable communication terminal with an image transmission function as claimed in claim 1, wherein a body of said portable communication terminal has a visual telephone function and said image pickup section has a display section capable of displaying an image received from the opposite party by said body of said portable communication terminal when said visual telephone function is operative.