# US 5,353,406 A · Image communication apparatus

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- Number: US 5,353,406 A
- Document ID: US5353406A
- Status: Granted
- Kind: A
- Application number: 08/159,694
- Filed: 1993-12-01
- Granted: 1994-10-04
- Earliest claimed: 1989-07-31
- Assignees: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha
- Inventors: Makoto Mikuni
- Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US5353406A

## CPC

- H04N 1/32363: {at the transmitter or at the receiver}
- H04N 1/32379: {Functions of a still picture terminal memory associated with reception}
- H04N 1/32496: {Changing the task performed, e.g. reading and transmitting, receiving and reproducing, copying (facsimile mode changing H04N1/333)}
- H04N: PICTORIAL COMMUNICATION, e.g. TELEVISION

## Abstract

An image communication apparatus includes a recorder for recording image data on a page unit basis; a buffer memory for temporarily storing the image data to be recorded by the recorder; a reception unit for receiving the image data; and a controller for controlling to store the received image data or the image data to be recorded, in the buffer memory; wherein the controller selectively executes a first mode, for storing the image data to be recorded in the buffer memory or a second mode, for storing the received image data sequentially in the buffer memory.

## Claims

### Claim 1

An image communication apparatus comprising:
receiving means for receiving image data;
an image memory for storing the image data received by said receiving means;
a buffer memory for temporarily storing received image data of one page or more read out from said image memory;
recording means for recording received image data read out from said buffer memory, for each page;
detecting means for detecting whether or not said recording means is capable of recording the received image data; and
control means for controlling storage of the received image data in said image memory and said buffer memory, in accordance with a detection result obtained by said detecting means,
wherein, when said recording means is incapable of recording the received image data, said control means discriminates whether available memory capacity of said image memory has reached a predetermined amount, and causes said buffer memory to store therein the received image data of said image memory in accordance with a result of such discrimination.

### Claim 2 (depends on 1)

An image communication apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said buffer memory stores image data without processing of that image data before storage.

### Claim 3 (depends on 1)

An image communication apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said buffer memory stores image data encoded by a predetermined encoding scheme.

### Claim 4 (depends on 1)

An image communication apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising means for reading an image, said buffer memory storing image data read by said reading means.

### Claim 5 (depends on 1)

An image communication apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said control means discriminates whether or not unrecorded image data is stored in said buffer memory when the image data of said image memory is to be recorded, and if unrecorded image data is stored in said buffer memory, said control means causes said recording means to record the unrecorded image data and thereafter record the image data of said image memory provided through said buffer memory.

### Claim 6 (depends on 1)

An apparatus according to claim 1 further comprising decoding means for decoding image data being encoded, wherein said decoding means decodes the received image data read out from said image memory and said control means stores the thus decoded image data in said buffer memory.

### Claim 7

An image communication apparatus comprising:
reading means for reading an image;
receiving means for receiving image data;
recording means for recording image data on a page unit basis;
a buffer memory for temporarily storing any image data to be recorded by said recording means;
control means for controlling storage in said buffer memory,
wherein said control means operates in a first mode, in which any image data stored in said buffer memory is non-compressed image data, and in a second mode, in which any image data stored in said buffer memory is image data which has been encoded and compressed by a predetermined encoding scheme.

### Claim 8 (depends on 7)

An image communication apparatus according to claim 7, wherein, in recording image data read with said reading means, said read image data is stored in said buffer memory using said first mode.

### Claim 9 (depends on 7)

An image communication apparatus according to claim 7, wherein said second image data is stored in said buffer memory in said second mode.

### Claim 10 (depends on 9)

An image communication apparatus according to claim 9, further comprising means for decoding said image data stored in said buffer memory and outputting said decoded image data to said recording means.