Fax message system
AssigneeBrooktrout Technology, Inc.
InventorsEric R. Giler, David W. Duehren
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
At least a fax message is sent via a telephone system to a telephone receiving station. From that receiving station, the fax message is routed through a multinode computer network to a prespecified network location. A telephone call by which the fax message is transmitted is initiated by dialing a telephone number such as a DID number. Part of the telephone address signal is received at the receiving station and used to establish a connection to a network location such that a fax message may be sent to or from the network location. The network location may be a mailbox associated with an intended recipient. The DID receiver may initiate a call to a second receiver using a ringing signal with routing information communicated through a separate data link.
Claims6
A method for causing information including at least a fax message sent via a telephone system to be routed through a multinode computer network between a telephone receiving station and a prespecified network location, the method comprising:
- initiating a telephone call via the telephone system to the receiving station by dialing a telephone number enabling the telephone call to be routed through a telephone network to the receiving station which is coupled to the telephone system and the computer network, said telephone number also being sufficient to indicate a computer network location;
- passing said telephone number through the telephone system in the form of a telephone address signal as part of the call initiation process by which a telephone connection to the receiving station is established;
- directing the telephone call being initiated to the receiving station, based on the telephone address signal;
- answering the telephone call at the receiving station, and receiving at the receiving station at least part of the telephone address signal;
- storing computer network location information which associates computer network locations with telephone address signals;
- and
- when the connection has been established, sending a fax message between the receiving station and the computer network location based on the telephone address signal.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.