Facsimile telecommunications system and method
DCFirst Claim
1. A system for facilitating facsimile communications between a transmitting facsimile machine and at least one intended receiving facsimile machine, comprising at least one store and forward facility, means coupling the at least one store and forward facility to the switched telephone network for receiving transmissions from a transmitting facsimile machine, said store and forward facility including computer means for controlling its operation and including mass storage means for storing facsimile transmissions together with information identifying the transmitting facsimile machine and the at least one intended receiving facsimile machine under control of said computer means, said store and forward facility also including means coupling it to the switched telephone network for transmitting facsimile messages stored in the mass storage means to at least one intended receiving facsimile machine, and wherein said mass storage means additionally includes mailboxes associated with particular system subscribers and wherein facsimile messages received and stored by the mass storage means and intended for receiving facsimile machines associated with those subscribers are stored in the respective mailboxes, said store and forward facility being responsive to instructions received from a subscriber to transmit the facsimile messages stored in that subscriber'"'"'s mailbox to any particular facsimile machine designated in the instructions by the subscriber, whereby a subscriber who is traveling or otherwise away from the fixed location of his facsimile machine may have facsimile messages intended for receipt by his facsimile machine collected, and retrieve them from any location where any other facsimile machine is situated.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A system and method for facilitating facsimile transmissions has one or more store and forward facilities, each associated with a plurality of subscriber facsimile machines, typically coupled over the switched telephone network. The store and forward facilities include a computer for controlling operations and mass data storage equipment. A subscriber to the system delivers an outgoing facsimile message to the store and forward facility with which it is associated, which records the fax message together with data as to originating facsimile machine and destination facsimile machine. The store and forward facility then delivers the facsimile message to the intended receiver facsimile machine, either directly or through another store and forward facility. If unsuccessful on an initial attempt, the store and forward facility periodically retrys to send the facsimile message. The system also provides spooling of all facsimile messages for an intended receiver machine, which are all transmitted upon making connection with the receiver machine. Subscriber mailboxes are provided as part of the mass storage, which can be accessed by a subscriber to have his messages delivered to any facsimile machine he designates. Secure facsimile transmission is achieved through use of subscriber PIN numbers. Broadcasting, redirecting messages and cost accounting can also achieved by the system and method.
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Citations
39 Claims
- 1. A system for facilitating facsimile communications between a transmitting facsimile machine and at least one intended receiving facsimile machine, comprising at least one store and forward facility, means coupling the at least one store and forward facility to the switched telephone network for receiving transmissions from a transmitting facsimile machine, said store and forward facility including computer means for controlling its operation and including mass storage means for storing facsimile transmissions together with information identifying the transmitting facsimile machine and the at least one intended receiving facsimile machine under control of said computer means, said store and forward facility also including means coupling it to the switched telephone network for transmitting facsimile messages stored in the mass storage means to at least one intended receiving facsimile machine, and wherein said mass storage means additionally includes mailboxes associated with particular system subscribers and wherein facsimile messages received and stored by the mass storage means and intended for receiving facsimile machines associated with those subscribers are stored in the respective mailboxes, said store and forward facility being responsive to instructions received from a subscriber to transmit the facsimile messages stored in that subscriber'"'"'s mailbox to any particular facsimile machine designated in the instructions by the subscriber, whereby a subscriber who is traveling or otherwise away from the fixed location of his facsimile machine may have facsimile messages intended for receipt by his facsimile machine collected, and retrieve them from any location where any other facsimile machine is situated.
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2. A system for facilitating facsimile communications between a transmitting facsimile machine and at least one intended receiving facsimile machine, comprising a plurality of geographically separated store and forward facilities, with a plurality of subscriber facsimile machines in a particular geographic area being associated with one of said store and forward facilities, means coupling each store and forward facility to the switched telephone network for receiving transmissions from any transmitting facsimile machine that is associated with each respective store and forward facility, each of said store and forward facilities including computer means for controlling its operation and including mass storage means for storing facsimile transmissions together with information identifying the transmitting facsimile machine and the at least one intended receiving facsimile machine under control of said computer means, said store and forward facility also including means coupling it to the switched telephone network for directly transmitting a facsimile message stored in the mass storage means to an intended receiving facsimile machine if the intended receiving facsimile machine is in the plurality of facsimile machines associated with that particular store and forward facility, and for transmitting the stored facsimile message to a particular another of the store and forward facilities when the intended receiving facsimile machine is in the plurality of facsimile machines associated with that particular another store and forward facility and wherein said mass storage means of at least one of the store and forward facilities additionally includes mailboxes associated with particular system subscribers and wherein facsimile messages received and stored by the mass storage means and intended for receiving facsimile machines associated with those subscribers are stored in the respective mailboxes, said store and forward facility being responsive to instructions received from a subscriber to transmit the facsimile messages stored in that subscriber'"'"'s mailbox to any particular facsimile machine designated in the instructions by the subscriber, whereby a subscriber who is traveling or otherwise away from the fixed location of his facsimile machine may have facsimile messages intended for receipt by his facsimile machine collected, and retrieve them from any location where any other facsimile machine is situated.
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3. A method for facilitating facsimile communications between a transmitting facsimile machine and at least one intended receiving facsimile machine, comprising the step of providing at least one store and forward facility having computer means for controlling its operation and having mass storage means for storing facsimile messages, coupling the at least one store and forward facility to the switched telephone network for receiving facsimile messages from transmitting facsimile machines, recording received facsimile messages in the mass storage means together with information indicating the transmitting facsimile machine and the intended receiving facsimile machine, and transmitting facsimile messages stored in the mass storage means to intended receiving facsimile machines, and including the step of defining mailboxes in the mass storage means associated with particular system subscribers, and including the step of storing facsimile messages intended for those particular system subscribers in their respective mailboxes, and further including the step, in response to instructions received from a system subscriber, of transmitting facsimile messages stored in that subscriber'"'"'s mailbox to a facsimile machine designated by that subscriber in the instructions.
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4. A method for facilitating facsimile communications between a transmitting facsimile machine and at least one intended receiving facsimile machine, comprising the step of providing at least one store and forward facility having computer means for controlling its operation and having mass storage means for storing facsimile messages, coupling the at least one store and forward facility to the switched telephone network for receiving facsimile messages from transmitting facsimile machines, recording received facsimile messages in the mass storage means together with information indicating the transmitting facsimile machine and the intended receiving facsimile machine, and transmitting facsimile messages stored in the mass storage means to intended receiving facsimile machines, and including the step of providing subscribers with unique individual PIN numbers, storing the individual PIN numbers in the mass storage means, recognizing an incoming facsimile message from a transmitting facsimile machine which has been security coded, transmitting to the intended receiving facsimile machine for the security coded message a message indicating that the store and forward facility is holding a security coded message, and transmitting to the intended receiving facsimile machine the security coded message only after receipt by the store and forward facility from the intended receiving facsimile machine of the unique PIN number of a subscriber associated with that intended receiving facsimile machine.
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5. A method for facilitating facsimile communications between a transmitting facsimile machine and at least one intended receiving facsimile machine, comprising the steps of providing a plurality of store and forward facilities at geographically spaced locations each having computer means for controlling its operation and having mass storage means for storing facsimile messages, coupling each store and forward facility to the switched telephone network for both receiving from and transmitting to a plurality of facsimile machines associated with each store and forward facility facsimile messages, recording in the mass storage means each facsimile message transmitted from an associated facsimile machine together with information indicating the transmitting facsimile machine and the intended receiving facsimile machine, and transmitting facsimile messages stored in the mass storage means to intended receiving facsimile machines if those intended receiving facsimile machines are associated with the store and forward facility which received the facsimile message from a transmitting facsimile machine, or to another of the plurality of store and forward facilities if the intended receiving facsimile machine is associated with the another store and forward facility, including the step of providing subscribers with unique individual PIN numbers, storing the individual PIN number in the mass storage means of a store and forward facility associated with a particular subscriber, recognizing an incoming facsimile message from a transmitting facsimile machine which has been security coded, transmitting to the intended receiving facsimile machine for the security coded message a message indicating that the store and forward facility is holding a security coded message, and transmitting to the intended receiving facsimile machine the security coded message only after receipt by the store and forward facility from the intended receiving facsimile machine of the unique PIN number of a subscriber associated with that intended receiving facsimile machine.
- 6. A system for facilitating facsimile communications between a transmitting facsimile machine and at least one intended receiving facsimile machine, comprising at least one store and forward facility, means coupling the at least one store and forward facility to the switched telephone network for receiving transmissions from a transmitting facsimile machine, said store and forward facility including computer means for controlling its operation and including mass storage means for storing facsimile transmissions together with information identifying the transmitting facsimile machine and the at least one intended receiving facsimile machine under control of said computer means, said store and forward facility also including means coupling it to the switched telephone network for transmitting facsimile messages stored in the mass storage means to at least one intended receiving facsimile machine, and wherein individual subscribers may be provided with unique PIN numbers, wherein individual subscriber PIN numbers are stored in the mass storage means, and wherein the store and forward facility recognizes an incoming facsimile message that is security coded by a transmitting facsimile machine, and wherein the security coded facsimile message is sent to an intended receiving facsimile machine only upon receipt from the intended receiving facsimile machine of the appropriate subscriber PIN number.
- 8. A method for facilitating facsimile communications between a transmitting facsimile machine and at least one intended receiving facsimile machine, comprising the steps of providing a plurality of store and forward facilities at geographically spaced locations each having computer means for controlling its operation and having mass storage means for storing facsimile messages, coupling each store and forward facility to the switched telephone network for both receiving from and transmitting to a plurality of facsimile machines associated with each store and forward facility facsimile messages, recording in the mass storage means each facsimile message transmitted from an associated facsimile machine together with information indicating the transmitting facsimile machine and the intended receiving facsimile machine, and transmitting facsimile messages stored in the mass storage means to intended receiving facsimile machines if those intended receiving facsimile machines are associated with the store and forward facility which received the facsimile message from a transmitting facsimile machine, or to another of the plurality of store and forward facilities if the intended receiving facsimile machine is associated with the another store and forward facility, including the step of defining mailboxes in the mass storage systems of each store and forward facility associated with particular system subscribers associated with particular store and forward facilities, and including the step of storing facsimile messages intended for those particular system subscribers in their respective mailboxes, and further including the step, in response to instructions received from a system subscriber, of transmitting facsimile messages stored in that subscriber'"'"'s mailbox to a facsimile machine designated by that subscriber in the instructions.
- 10. A system for facilitating facsimile communications between a transmitting facsimile machine and at least one intended receiving facsimile machine, comprising a plurality of geographically separated store and forward facilities, with a plurality of subscriber facsimile machines in a particular geographic area being associated with one of said store and forward facilities, means coupling each store and forward facility to the switched telephone network for receiving transmissions from any transmitting facsimile machine that is associated with each respective store and forward facility, each of said store and forward facilities including computer means for controlling its operation and including mass storage means for storing facsimile transmissions together with information identifying the transmitting facsimile machine and the at least one intended receiving facsimile machine under control of said computer means, said store and forward facility also including means coupling it to the switched telephone network for directly transmitting a facsimile message stored in the mass storage means to an intended receiving facsimile machine if the intended receiving facsimile machine is in the plurality of facsimile machines associated with that particular store and forward facility, and for transmitting the stored facsimile message to a particular another of the store and forward facilities when the intended receiving facsimile machine is in the plurality of facsimile machines associated with that particular another store and forward facility and wherein individual subscribers may be provided with unique PIN numbers, wherein individual subscriber PIN numbers are stored in the mass storage means of the store and forward facility having the facsimile machines of those individual subscribers associated therewith, and wherein the store and forward facility recognizes an incoming facsimile message that is security coded by a transmitting facsimile machine, and wherein the security coded facsimile message is sent to an intended receiving facsimile machine only upon receipt from the intended receiving facsimile machine of the appropriate subscriber PIN number.
- 12. A system for facilitating facsimile communications between a transmitting facsimile machine and at least one intended receiving facsimile machine, comprising at least one store and forward facility, means coupling the at least one store and forward facility to the switched telephone network for receiving transmissions from a transmitting facsimile machine, said store and forward facility including computer means for controlling its operation and including mass storage means for storing facsimile transmissions together with information identifying the transmitting facsimile machine and the at least one intended receiving facsimile machine under control of said computer means, said store and forward facility also including means coupling it to the switched telephone network for transmitting facsimile messages stored in the mass storage means to at least one intended receiving facsimile machine, and wherein said computer means of said at least one store and forward facility is programmed, upon being unsuccessful in making a transmission to an intended receiving facsimile machine, to transmit a message to the transmitting facsimile machine indicating that the message has been entered into the mass storage means at the store and forward facility, and at least also indicating the reason for a delay in transmitting the message to the intended receiving facsimile machine.
- 14. A system for facilitating facsimile communications between a transmitting facsimile machine and at least one intended receiving facsimile machine, comprising at least one store and forward facility, means coupling the at least one store and forward facility to the switched telephone network for receiving transmissions from a transmitting facsimile machine, said store and forward facility including computer means for controlling its operation and including mass storage means for storing facsimile transmissions together with information identifying the transmitting facsimile machine and the at least one intended receiving facsimile machine under control of said computer means, said store and forward facility also including means coupling it to the switched telephone network for transmitting facsimile messages stored in the mass storage means to at least one intended receiving facsimile machine, and wherein said computer means of said at least one store and is programmed to establish a linked queue in said mass storage means spooling all stored facsimile messages intended for a particular receiving facsimile machine, and transmitting all the spooled facsimile messages intended for that particular receiving facsimile machine upon successfully making contact with the intended receiving facsimile machine, and wherein said computer means is programmed to periodically transmit to an intended receiving facsimile machine a queue report as to the number of messages waiting in said linked queue and the identification of the transmitting facsimile machines from which the messages in the queue originated.
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17. A system for facilitating facsimile communications between a transmitting facsimile machine and at least one intended receiving facsimile machine, comprising at least one store and forward facility, means coupling the at least one store and forward facility to a switched telephone network for receiving transmissions from a transmitting facsimile machine, said store and forward facility including computer means for controlling its operation and including mass storage means for storing facsimile transmissions together with information identifying the transmitting facsimile machine and the at least one intended receiving facsimile machine under control of said computer means, said store and forward facility also including means coupling it to the switched telephone network for transmitting facsimile messages stored in the mass storage means to at least one intended receiving facsimile machine, said computer means being programmed such that if the at least one intended receiving facsimile machine is busy or otherwise unable to receive a transmission at the time the store and forward facility attempts to transmit a facsimile message stored in the mass storage means, the store and forward facility periodically retries transmitting the facsimile message to the at least one intended receiving facsimile machine, said computer means being further programmed, upon successful completion of a facsimile transmission to an intended receiving facsimile machine, to transmit a message to the transmitting facsimile machine confirmed delivery of the transmission to the intended receiving facsimile machine.
- 22. A system for facilitating facsimile communications between a transmitting facsimile machine and at least one intended receiving facsimile machine, comprising a plurality of geographically separated store and forward facilities, with a plurality of subscriber facsimile machines in a particular geographic area being associated with one of said store and forward facilities, means coupling each store and forward facility to the switched telephone network for receiving transmissions from any transmitting facsimile machine that is associated with each respective store and forward facility, each of said store and forward facilities including computer means for controlling its operation and including mass storage means for storing facsimile transmissions together with information identifying the transmitting facsimile machine and the at least one intended receiving facsimile machine under control of said computer means, said store and forward facility also including means coupling it to the switched telephone network for directly transmitting a facsimile message stored in the mass storage means to an intended receiving facsimile machine if the intended receiving facsimile machine is in the plurality of facsimile machines associated with that particular store and forward facility, and for transmitting the stored facsimile message to a particular another of the store and forward facilities when the intended receiving facsimile machine is in the plurality of facsimile machines associated with that particular another store and forward facility, and wherein the computer means of each store and forward facility is programmed such that with respect to facsimile messages received and stored in its mass storage means if the at least one intended receiving facsimile machine is busy or otherwise unable to receive a transmission at the time the store and forward facility attempts to transmit a facsimile message stored in its mass storage means, the store and forward facility periodically retries transmitting the facsimile message to the at least one intended receiving facsimile machine, and, upon successful completion of a facsimile transmission to an intended receiving facsimile machine, to transmit a message to the transmitting facsimile machine or to another store and forward facility having the transmitting facsimile machine associated therewith for passing the message to the transmitting facsimile machine, indicating that the message has been entered into the mass storage means at the store and forward facility, and at least also indicating the reason for a delay in transmitting the message to the intended receiving facsimile machine.
- 28. A method for facilitating facsimile communications between a transmitting facsimile machine and at least one intended receiving facsimile machine, comprising the step of providing at least one store and forward facility having computer means for controlling its operation and having mass storage means for storing facsimile messages, coupling the at least one store and forward facility to the switched telephone network for receiving facsimile messages from transmitting facsimile machines, recording received facsimile messages in the mass storage means together with information indicating the transmitting facsimile machine and the intended receiving facsimile machine, and transmitting facsimile messages stored in the mass storage means to intended receiving facsimile machines, and including the step that if an intended receiving facsimile machine is busy or otherwise unavailable to receive at the time the at least one store and forward facility attempts contact to transmit a facsimile message, of periodically retrying to transmit the facsimile message to the intended receiving facsimile machine, and the step, upon successful completion of a facsimile transmission to an intended receiving facsimile machine, of transmitting a message to the transmitting facsimile machine confirming delivery of the transmission to the intended receiving facsimile machine.
- 33. A method for facilitating facsimile communications between a transmitting facsimile machine and at least one intended receiving facsimile machine, comprising the steps of providing a plurality of store and forward facilities at geographically spaced locations each having computer means for controlling its operation and having mass storage means for storing facsimile messages, coupling each store and forward facility to the switched telephone network for both receiving from and transmitting to a plurality of facsimile machines associated with each store and forward facility facsimile messages, recording in the mass storage means each facsimile message transmitted from an associated facsimile machine together with information indicating the transmitting facsimile machine and the intended receiving facsimile machine, and transmitting facsimile messages stored in the mass storage means to intended receiving facsimile machines if those intended receiving facsimile machines are associated with the store and forward facility which received the facsimile message from a transmitting facsimile machine, or to another of the plurality of store and forward facilities if the intended receiving facsimile machine is associated with the another store and forward facility, including the step that if an intended receiving facsimile machine is busy or otherwise unavailable to receive at the time a store and forward facility attempts contact to transmit a facsimile message, of periodically retrying to transmit the facsimile message to the intended receiving facsimile machine, and including the step, upon successful completion of a facsimile transmission to an intended receiving facsimile machine, of transmitting a message to the transmitting facsimile machine, either directly or through another store and forward facility associated with that particular transmitting facsimile machine, confirming delivery of the transmission to the intended receiving facsimile machine.
Specification