US 9,794,427 B2Granted

Transmission of facsimiles via internet protocol over public networks

AssigneeBiscom Inc.

InventorsS. K. Ho, G. William Agudelo

Life of this patent

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Abstract

A computer system maps unique addresses to the conventional fax numbers of conventional fax devices (such as conventional fax machines and computing devices having conventional fax capabilities). A transmitting user who is connected to the Internet may send an IP fax to a receiving user who is also connected to the Internet by addressing the receiving user using the receiving user's unique address, even if the sending user and receiving user are not within the same local network. A server outside of the receiving user's local network mediates the transmission of the IP fax from the transmitting user to the receiving user. The server may select a preferred transmission method of the recipient (e.g., conventional fax, IP fax, email, or secure document delivery) and transmit the fax to the receiving user using that preferred transmission method. Transmitted faxes may be in color and/or contain high-definition content.

Claims12

Dependent claims

A method performed by at least one computer processor, the method comprising:

(A) receiving, at a server over the Internet, a request to transmit an electronic package from a device of a transmitting user to a device of a receiving user, wherein the request is addressed to an address of the server on the Internet, wherein the address of the server is outside a local network of the device of the transmitting user;
(B) at the server, identifying an Internet Protocol (IP) fax address of the receiving user based on data in the request;
and
(C) at the server, transmitting the electronic package to the device of the receiving user over the Internet only via an IP fax protocol at the identified IP fax address, wherein the identified IP fax address is outside a local network of the server, comprising transmitting the electronic package to the device of the receiving user at an IP address that is behind a firewall of a local network to which the device of the receiving user is connected;
and wherein (C) comprises:
(C)(1) attempting to transmit the electronic package to the device of the receiving user via a transmission method other than IP fax, wherein the transmission method other than IP fax is one of conventional fax, secure document delivery, email, and text message;
(C)(2) determining that the attempt to transmit the electronic package to the device of the receiving user failed;
and
(C)(3) in response to the determination in (C)(2), transmitting the electronic package to the device of the receiving user via the IP fax protocol at the identified IP fax number.

6 more elements

A system comprising at least one non-transitory computer-readable medium containing computer program instructions, wherein the computer program instructions are executable by at least one computer processor to perform a method, the method comprising:

(A) receiving, at a server over the Internet, a request to transmit an electronic package from a device of a transmitting user to a device of a receiving user, wherein the request is addressed to an address of the server on the Internet, wherein the address of the server is outside a local network of the device of the transmitting user;
(B) at the server, identifying an Internet Protocol (IP) fax address of the receiving user based on data in the request;
and
(C) at the server, transmitting the electronic package to the device of the receiving user over the Internet only via an IP fax protocol at the identified IP fax address, wherein the identified IP fax address is outside a local network of the server, comprising
transmitting the electronic package to the device of the receiving user at an IP address that is behind a firewall of a local network to which the device of the receiving user is connected;
wherein (C) comprises:
(C)(1) attempting to transmit the electronic package to the device of the receiving user via a transmission method other than IP fax, wherein the transmission method other than IP fax is one of conventional fax, secure document delivery, email, and text message;
(C)(2) determining that the attempt to transmit the electronic package to the device of the receiving user failed;
and
(C)(3) in response to the determination in (C)(2), transmitting the electronic package to the device of the receiving user via the IP fax protocol at the identified IP fax number.

7 more elements

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.

Facts

Application: 14/877,493Filed 7 Oct 2015 · continuation
Priority: 15 Mar 2013
Published: US 2016/0028903 A128 Jan 2016
Granted: 17 Oct 2017
Term ends: Not estimatedThe source records don’t support an estimate.

Classification6 codes

H04N 1/00209
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…
H04N 1/32432
Intermediate the transmitter and receiver terminals, e.g. at an exchange: in a particular memory file for retrieval by the user, e.g. in a…
H04N 1/32771
Initiating a communication: in response to a request, e.g. for a particular document
H04N 2201/0039
Topological details of the connection: connection via a network

Family

Application61/789,348Us provisional application · filed 15 Mar 2013
Application14/165,952Parent of this continuation · filed 28 Jan 2014
US 2016/0028903 A1Pre-grant publication · published 28 Jan 2016
US 2014/0268219 A1Published application
US 9,794,427 B2This patent

From the US filing history. Foreign family members aren’t listed.