Method and apparatus for sending secure facsimile transmissions and certified facsimile transmissions

A method for sending an original document from a first site to a second site, said method comprising the steps of:

• acquiring the original document as a first series of digital data values at a first site;
• encrypting the first series of digital data values to create an encrypted set of data;
• formatting the encrypted set of data into at least one data box having a plurality of contiguous rows and a plurality of contiguous columns of pixels, wherein the step of formatting includes framing said at least one data box with alternating pixels along at least two opposite sides for identifying vertical separations between the plurality of rows of data and having pixels in corners in the frame to determine horizontal spacing between pixels within said at least one data box;
• sending the encrypted set of data over a communications network to the second site;
• printing the encrypted set of data at the second site on a piece of paper to produce an encrypted representation of the original document;
• and
• decrypting the encrypted representation to produced a second series of digital data values;
• and
• fixing the second series of digital data values in a tangible medium to create a reconstructed version of the original document at the second site.

A method for sending an original document from a first site to a second site, said method comprising the steps of:

• scanning the original document into a first series of digital data values at a first site;
• sending the series of digital data values over a communications network to the second site;
• encrypting the first series of digital data values to create an encrypted set of data;
• formatting the encrypted set of data into at least one data box having a plurality of contiguous rows and a plurality of contiguous columns of pixels, wherein the step of formatting comprises framing said at least one data box with alternating pixels along at least two opposite sides for identifying vertical separations between the plurality of rows of data and having pixels in corners in the frame to determine horizontal spacing between pixels within said at least one data box;
• printing the encrypted set of data at the second site on a piece of paper to produce an encrypted representation of the original document;
• and
• decrypting the encrypted representation of the original document to produce a second series of digital data values;
• and
• fixing the second series of digital data values in a tangible medium to create a reconstructed version of the original document.

A method for sending an original document from a first site to a second site, said method comprising the steps of:

• scanning the original document into a series of digital data values at a first site, wherein the step of scanning comprises formatting said series of digital data values into at least one data box having a plurality of contiguous rows and a plurality of contiguous columns of pixels of encrypted data, and framed with alternating pixels along at least two opposite sides for identifying vertical separations between the plurality of rows of data and having pixels in corners in the frame to determine horizontal spacing between pixels within said at least one data box;
• sending the series of digital data values over a communications network to the second site;
• printing the encrypted set of data at the second site onto a piece of paper to produce an encrypted representation of the original document;
• and
• decrypting the encrypted representation of the original document to produce a first series of digital data values;
• and
• fixing the second series of digital data values in a tangible medium to create a reconstructed version of the original document.

A facsimile transmission system for securely transmitting a facsimile of an original document, said system comprising:

• a communications channel;
• a first facsimile machine coupled to the communications channel, wherein the first facsimile machine comprises
• a scanner to scan the original document to produce a first plurality of data values,
• an encryption mechanism coupled to receive the first plurality of data values to encrypt the first plurality of data values into a second plurality of data values,
• a formatter coupled to receive and format the second plurality of data values into at least one data box containing a plurality of contiguous rows and a plurality of contiguous columns of pixels an said at least one data box having a frame with alternating pixels along at least two opposite sides and with pixels in corners in the frame to determine vertical and horizontal spacing between rows and columns of pixels within said at least one data box,
• a transmitter for transmitting the second plurality of data values on the communications channel once formatted;
• a second facsimile machine coupled to the communications channel, wherein the said facsimile machine receives the second plurality of data values and prints the second plurality of data values onto a first piece of paper;
• and
• a third facsimile machine configured to receive and scan the first piece of paper to reproduce the second plurality of data values, wherein the third facsimile machine includes a decryption mechanism to decrpyt the second plurality of data values into the first plurality of data values, said third facsimile machine printing the first plurality of data values onto a second piece of paper.

A facsimile transmission machine comprising:

• a scanner;
• a storage device coupled to the scanner, wherein the scanner scans in documents that are stored in the storage location;
• a channel port coupled to a communications channel for receiving and sending of data from and to the communications channel respectively, wherein the channel port stores data received from the communications channel in the storage location or sends data that is stored in the storage location over the communications channel;
• a printer coupled to the storage device for printing data stored in the storage device;
• a controller coupled to the scanner, channel port, storage location and the printer to provide control to the scanner, storage location and printer;
• an encryption mechanism coupled to the controller and to the storage location for providing encryption to documents being input for transmission by the facsimile machine, wherein the controller controls the scanner to produce a series of digital data values that are encrypted by the encryption mechanism;
• and
• a formatter coupled to the encryption mechanism to format each series of digital data values into at least one data box containing a plurality of contiguous rows and a plurality of contiguous columns of pixels an said at least one data box having a frame with alternating pixels along at least two opposite sides and with pixels in corners in the frame to determine vertical and horizontal spacing between rows and columns of pixels within said at least one data box, which are then sent over the channel when performing a facsimile transmission.

A method for producing a reconstructed version of an original document from a previously transmitted encrypted copy of the original document comprising the steps of:

• scanning the previously transmitted encrypted copy into a series of digital data values using a scanner of a facsimile machine;
• entering a first key;
• the facsimile machine sending an indication to a location designated by the encrypted copy in response to the first key;
• and
• decrypting the encrypted copy to produce the reconstructed version of the original document.

A method for producing a reconstructed version of an original document from a previously transmitted encrypted copy of the original document comprising the steps of:

• scanning the previously transmitted encrypted copy into a series of digital data values using a scanner of a facsimile machine;
• entering a first key into the facsimile machine;
• the facsimile machine generating a request to a location designated by the encrypted copy in response to entering the first key;
• receiving a decryption key from the location in response to the request;
• decrypting the series of digital data values using the decryption key to generate the reconstructed version of the original document.

A method for transmitting a document from a first site to a second site, said method comprising the steps of:

• digitizing the document at the first site into a first series of digital data values;
• encrypting at least a portion of the first series of digital data values to produce a second series of digital data values;
• transferring the second series of digital data values to the second site;
• and decrypting at least a portion of the second series of digital data values to generate the reconstructed version of the document, and further wherein the step of decrypting comprises sending an indication to a location designated in the series of digital data values.