Television-telephone apparatus having a message-keeping function and an automatic response transmission function

A television telephone apparatus, comprising:

• response message transmitting means for automatically commencing a response communication to a partner communication apparatus in response to a call received from the partner communication apparatus, and for transmitting a response message to the partner communication apparatus;
• storage means for storing an image message data and voice message data transmitted from the partner communication apparatus in response to the response communication transmitted from said television telephone apparatus to the partner communication apparatus by the response message transmitting means;
• request signal transmitting means for transmitting to the partner communication apparatus an image frame update request signal to identify an encoding mode used for encoding the image message;
• wherein said storage means stores the image message from the partner communication apparatus when the encoding mode, identified by the partner communication apparatus after transmission of the image frame update request signal by said request signal transmitting means, is identified as being a predetermined mode;
• communication time administration means for administrating the time for storage of the voice message data sent from the partner communication apparatus;
• and
• image message transmitting means for transmitting to the partner communication apparatus an image message in response to a signal from said communication time administration means.

A television telephone apparatus having an automatic transmission function for automatically commencing a response communication to a partner communication apparatus in response to a call received from the partner communication apparatus to transmit an encoded image message, said television telephone apparatus comprising:

• a first memory for storing, on a frame basis, an image message to be transmitted to a partner communication apparatus;
• a second memory for storing preset still image message data;
• writing means for writing, in an automatic transmitting mode of said apparatus, the preset still image message data stored in said second memory into said first memory;
• and
• transmitting means for transmitting the still image message data written in said first memory from said second memory by said writing means as a response communication to the partner communication apparatus.

An image receiving apparatus for use in an image communication system which transmits and receives image information after compression using an intra-frame encoding mode and an inter-frame encoding mode, said apparatus comprising:

• storage means for storing compressed image data received from a partner communication apparatus;
• reading means for reading compressed image data from said storage means;
• decoding means for decoding the compressed image data read from said storage means by said reading means and producing a restored image signal;
• detecting means for detecting, within the compressed image data read from said storage means, a frame in which the compressed image data has been fully intra-encoded;
• and
• control means for controlling an output reproduced from the restored image signal produced by said decoding means in accordance with a detection output of said detecting means.

An image receiving apparatus for use in an image communication system which transmits and receives image information after compression using an intra-frame encoding mode and an inter-frame encoding mode, said apparatus comprising:

• storage means for storing compressed image data received from a partner communication apparatus;
• detecting means for detecting, within the received image data, a frame in which the compressed image data has been fully intra-encoded;
• and
• control means for deleting, in accordance with an output of said detecting means, image data received before the frame of the received image data in which the compressed image data has been fully intra-encoded as detected by said detecting means.

An image transmitting apparatus, comprising:

• .gamma. correction means for effecting .gamma. correction of an image;
• transmitting means for transmitting an image output from said .gamma. correction means to a partner communication apparatus;
• control information receiving means for receiving .gamma. correction control information from the partner communication apparatus, the correction control information including information on the amount of .gamma. correction required to be performed by said image transmitting apparatus;
• and
• control means for controlling said .gamma. correction means in accordance with the .gamma. correction control information received by said control information receiving means.