System for communicating facsimile and audio information in standard e-mail attachment format
First Claim
Patent Images
1. A facsimile machine for communicating with a computer network, comprising:
- an optical scanner for generating image data;
an input device for receiving recipient-identifying information, said recipient-identifying information being associated with a recipient and a telephone number;
a communication interface configured to transmit and receive data; and
a processor coupled with said input device and configured for receiving said recipient-identifying information from said input device, converting said recipient-identifying information to a destination address representing a destination computer on said computer network, associating said image data with said destination address, and controlling transmission of said image data and associated destination address to said communication interface in the form of an e-mail message with image attachment.
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Abstract
A device and method for transmitting or receiving faxes via a packet-switched computer network to which the device connects itself via the public switched telephone network (PSTN). The device may be an interface connectable between a conventional fax machine and a telephone line, or it may be an integrated fax machine including a scanner, printer, keypad and other features of a conventional fax machine. The interface-type device generates signals that emulate the signals a conventional fax machine would receive via the telephone line.
54 Citations
5 Claims
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1. A facsimile machine for communicating with a computer network, comprising:
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an optical scanner for generating image data;
an input device for receiving recipient-identifying information, said recipient-identifying information being associated with a recipient and a telephone number;
a communication interface configured to transmit and receive data; and
a processor coupled with said input device and configured for receiving said recipient-identifying information from said input device, converting said recipient-identifying information to a destination address representing a destination computer on said computer network, associating said image data with said destination address, and controlling transmission of said image data and associated destination address to said communication interface in the form of an e-mail message with image attachment. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3)
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4. A method for transmitting facsimile machine information to a computer network, comprising:
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producing a digitized image;
generating a destination address corresponding to a destination computer on said computer network;
associating said digitized image with said destination address in the form of an e-mail message with image attachment;
establishing a connection with a computer network;
transmitting said e-mail message with image attachment to said destination computer; and
transmitting facsimile data to a remote facsimile machine.
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5. A method for receiving facsimile machine information from a remote computer on a computer network, comprising:
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establishing a connection with a computer network;
receiving attachment data and an associated destination address from said computer network via said connection in the form of an e-mail message with image attachment;
separating said e-mail message with image attachment into an image attachment representing a digitized image and an e-mail body having a destination address; and
receiving facsimile data from a remote facsimile machine via a public switched telephone network.
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Specification