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AssigneeNone recorded
InventorsHoward K. Johnson, Jr., Luis Ayala, Steve Conklin, Andrew Smith
Estimating the term…
A fax interface unit provides a novel way of sending and receiving a fax over a global computer network such as the internet. The fax interface unit is coupled to a legacy fax machine on one side and to both a local area network and the telephone network on the other side. When a first location transmits a fax document to a second location having an email address capable of receiving the fax document, the telephone network is bypassed and the transmitted fax document arrives as email at the second location, thereby reducing telephone cost and providing the second location with an archived document.
A method of communicating information from a local fax machine, comprising the steps of:
A fax interface apparatus for communicating information from a local fax machine, comprising:
A fax interface apparatus, comprising:
A fax interface apparatus, comprising:
A fax interface method, comprising the steps of:
A fax interface method for communicating information from a local fax machine, comprising the steps of:
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.
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From the US filing history. Foreign family members aren’t listed.
Transmitting or receiving image data, e.g. facsimile data, via a computer, e.g. using e-mail, a computer network, the internet, I-fax: attaching…
With a digital computer or a digital computer system, e.g. an internet server: transmitting or receiving image data, e.g. facsimile data, via a…
With a telecommunication apparatus, e.g. a switched network of teleprinters for the distribution of text-based information, a selective call…
Automation of particular transmitter jobs, e.g. multi-address calling, auto-dialing: according to the called number
Term ended 15 May 2018 (estimated)
USPTO file history isn’t available for this patent, so only indexed dates are shown.
Facsimile (fax) machines are routinely used to transmit and receive paper documents. Communication by fax has become widely accepted as a fast, efficient alternative to delivery of paper documents, such as by mail or courier.
One drawback to conventional faxing is the requirement of dedicated telephone lines connecting a source fax machine to a destination fax machine. In addition when sending a fax across long distances, the sender typically pays a toll charge for use of a long-distance telephone line. Also, transmitting a large number of pages by fax may require that phone lines be dedicated solely to transmitting a fax for long periods of time, making the phone line unavailable for other uses such as regular phone calls or perhaps a short urgent fax. Although fax transmission as currently used has some drawbacks, the fax has become an integral part of doing business.
Another drawback to conventional faxing is a reliance on paper documents. A paper document is fed into the source fax machine, and a paper document is printed by the destination fax machine. Once the fax is printed by the destination fax machine, the paper document must be routed to the intended recipient. If the routing system has flaws, the intended recipient might not receive the paper document in a timely manner. If the intended recipient is busy and cannot review the fax immediately, the paper document may get misplaced or lost. If the intended recipient is absent or otherwise away from the fax machine, the fax may have to be redirected to the recipient's temporary location resulting in additional cost.
FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a conventional fax transmission system;
FIG. 2 is a block diagram of a fax transmission system in accordance with the present invention;
FIG. 3 is a block diagram of a fax transmission system having a plurality of communication channels in accordance with the present invention;
Several non-traditional methods of sending and receiving fax have been described in the U.S. Patents summarized below. None of the known existing methods allow for transfer of fax documents over a computer network using the elements of the present invention. In addition the user of a fax machine in accordance with the present invention is typically unaware of the path taken by the received or transmitted document.
The process of converting and formatting data from one form to another form for transport over a communication channel is well known to those skilled in the art. The internet, a global computer network, currently transports video files, text files, graphic files and other types of files by converting and formatting data from one form into another form.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,479,411 issued to Robert M. Klein on Dec. 6, 1995 illustrates a method of integrating multimedia sources of information, such as voice and fax into an email message. The email message is sent over the internet or other computer networks and separated at the receiving end in accordance to the teachings of Klein. Klein does not have preassigned identifiers corresponding to an email address nor a line emulator coupled to a fax machine. Klein combines a fax signal and a voice signal forming an analog multimedia signal then uses a communication channel to transport the analog multimedia signal.