Facsimile transmission according to recipient preferences

• US 20040042034A1
• Filed: 09/03/2002
• Published: 03/04/2004
• Est. Priority Date: 09/03/2002
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P. (HP Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P. (HP Inc.)
• Inventors: Erickson, Mike, Wiley, Jeff, Tiffan, Jeff
• Application Number:
  US10/233,967
• Publication Number:
  US 20040042034A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 358/1.15
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/00127 Connection or combination of a still picture apparatus with another apparatus, e.g. for storage, processing or transmission of still picture signals or of information associated with a still picture
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/00204 with a digital computer or a digital computer system, e.g. an internet server programmed control between transmitter and receiver or between image input and image output device H04N1/32561
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/32037 Automation of particular transmitter jobs, e.g. multi-address calling, auto-dialing
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/33307 prior to start of transmission, input or output of the picture signal only
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/33376 according to characteristics or state of one of the communicating parties, e.g. available memory capacity
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 2201/0039 Connection via a network
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 2201/0065 Converting image data to a format usable by the connected apparatus or vice versa
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 2201/33378 Type or format of data, e.g. colour or B/W, halftone or binary, computer image file or facsimile data

Abstract

A communications device for distributing an image of a paper document to a plurality of recipients having a database comprising a preferred electronic format of each of the recipients and an imaging device for converting the paper document into the preferred electronic format for each recipient in the database prior to distribution of the document in the preferred electronic format.

Claims

1. A communications device for distributing an image of a paper document to a plurality of recipients, comprising:

a database comprising a preferred electronic format of each of the recipients; and

an imaging device for converting the paper document into the preferred electronic format for each recipient in the database prior to distribution of the document in the preferred electronic format.

2. The device recited in claim 1, wherein said preferred electronic format of each recipient comprises a predetermined file type.

3. The device recited in claim 1, wherein the preferred electronic format comprises a predetermined image resolution.

4. The device recited in claim 1, wherein the preferred electronic format comprises a file size limitation.

5. The device recited in claim 1, further comprising a local memory for storing the database.

6. The device recited in claim 5, wherein said preferred electronic format comprises attributes selected from the group consisting of a predetermined file type, image resolution, and file size limitation.

7. In a communications device of the type having a document scanner for distributing an image of a paper document to a plurality of recipients, the improvement comprising:

means for associating each recipient with a preferred electronic format; and

means for converting the image into the preferred electronic format for each recipient prior to distribution.

8. The device recited in claim 7 wherein the associating means further comprises a client for requesting the preferred electronic format for each recipient from a server.

9. The device recited in claim 8 wherein the associating means further comprises a server for responding to requests from the client.

10. The device recited in claim 9 wherein the server comprises a database of preferred electronic formats for each recipient.

11. The device recited in claim 10 wherein the preferred electronic format for each recipient comprises a predetermined file type.

12. The device recited in claim 11 wherein the preferred electronic format for each recipient further comprises a file size limitation.

13. The device recited in claim 12 wherein the preferred electronic format for each recipient further comprises an image resolution.

14. A communications method for distributing an image of a paper document to a plurality of recipients, the method comprising the steps of:

associating each recipient with a preferred electronic format for receiving the image; and

scanning the image according to the preferred electronic format for each recipient prior to distribution of the image.

15. The method recited in claim 14 wherein the scanning step further comprises the step of converting a scanned bitmap into the preferred electronic format.

16. The method recited in claim 15, the preferred electronic format comprises a predetermined file type.

17. The method recited in claim 16 wherein the preferred electronic format comprises a predetermined file size limitation.

18. The method recited in claim 14 wherein the preferred electronic format comprises a predetermined image resolution.

19. The method recited in claim 14 wherein the associating step further comprises the step of sending a request to a server.

20. The method recited in claim 19 wherein the associating step further comprises the step of querying a database arranged on the server.