Method and apparatus for interfacing fax machines to digital communication networks
First Claim
Patent Images
1. A communication apparatus for use in connection with a facsimile machine comprising:
- means for establishing a telephone communication between the facsimile machine and the communication apparatus without routing a signal through a Central Office telephone switch;
a receiving means for receiving from the facsimile machine a modulated compressed facsimile communication;
a demodulating means for demodulating said modulated compressed communication to produce a demodulated compressed output;
a decompressing means for decompressing the demodulated compressed output to produce a decompressed output;
a compressing means for compressing the decompressed output to produce a re-compressed output; and
a transmitting means for transmitting, without a command from a user requesting such a transmission, the re-compressed output to a destination.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A method and apparatus for implementing facsimile transmission over data networks is disclosed. In accordance with the preferred embodiment, the invention receives a modulated compressed facsimile message, which is then demodulated, decompressed and stored as a file. Thereafter, it is compressed for data transmission and sent to a server for transmission over a data network. At the receiving end, the file is decompressed and then re-compressed and modulated for transmission to a receiving facsimile machine.
124 Citations
49 Claims
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1. A communication apparatus for use in connection with a facsimile machine comprising:
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means for establishing a telephone communication between the facsimile machine and the communication apparatus without routing a signal through a Central Office telephone switch; a receiving means for receiving from the facsimile machine a modulated compressed facsimile communication; a demodulating means for demodulating said modulated compressed communication to produce a demodulated compressed output; a decompressing means for decompressing the demodulated compressed output to produce a decompressed output; a compressing means for compressing the decompressed output to produce a re-compressed output; and a transmitting means for transmitting, without a command from a user requesting such a transmission, the re-compressed output to a destination. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15)
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16. A method of transmitting a facsimile communication from a sending facsimile machine to a device for receiving facsimile transmission comprising the steps of:
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establishing a telephone communication between the sending facsimile machine and a first communication apparatus without routing a signal through a Central Office telephone switch; receiving by the first communication apparatus a modulated compressed communication from the sending facsimile machine; demodulating said modulated compressed communication to produce a demodulated compressed output; decompressing the demodulated compressed output to produce a demodulated decompressed output; re-compressing the demodulated decompressed output to produce a compressed output; and transmitting, without a command from a user requesting such a transmission, the compressed output for delivery of the facsimile communication to the device for receiving facsimile transmission. - View Dependent Claims (17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22)
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23. A method of transmitting documents to remote locations comprising:
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establishing a telephone communication between a sending facsimile machine and a first communication apparatus without routing a signal through a Central Office telephone switch; receiving by the first communication apparatus a facsimile transmission of an image file of a document encoded in a first data format from the sending facsimile machine; converting the image file from the first data format to a second data format for digital transmission of the file as a data file over a computer network; determining routing information for transmitting the file to a remote location over the network; transmitting, without receiving a command from a user requesting such a transmission, the data file over the network to the remote location; and generating at the remote location a paper copy of the document on the basis of the image file. - View Dependent Claims (24, 25)
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26. A method of receiving documents from remote locations comprising:
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receiving from a called party over a packet switched computer network an image file representing a document; converting the file from a data format compatible with network communication of digital data to a different data format compatible with communication with a fax modem; establishing a telephone communication with a receiving facsimile machine without routing a signal through a Central Office telephone switch; transmitting the file to a fax modem of the receiving facsimile machine.
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27. A method of transmitting documents to remote locations using a computer associated with a calling party comprising:
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establishing a telephone communication between a transmitting facsimile machine and the computer without routing a signal through a Central Office telephone switch; receiving at the computer from the transmitting facsimile machine, data representing a facsimile of a document; storing the data representing the facsimile of a document at the computer as an image file; converting the image file to a data file having a different data format; and transmitting the data file over a network to the remote location; wherein the steps of converting and transmitting are performed without a command from a user to perform such conversion and transmission. - View Dependent Claims (28)
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29. A method of providing a document for character recognition at a remote location comprising:
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establishing a telephone communication between a transmitting facsimile machine and a first computer without routing a signal through a Central Office telephone switch; receiving data representing a facsimile of a document at the first computer from the transmitting facsimile machine; storing the data representing the facsimile of a document at the first computer as an image file; converting the image file to a data file having a different data format; and transmitting the data file over a network to a second computer at the remote location having a character recognition capability; wherein the steps of converting and transmitting are performed without a command from a user to perform such conversion and transmission.
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30. A communication apparatus for use in connection with a facsimile machine comprising:
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a receiving means for receiving from the facsimile machine a modulated facsimile communication; a demodulating means for demodulating said modulated communication to produce a demodulated output; encrypting means for encrypting the demodulated output; a formatting means for formatting the demodulated encrypted output to produce a formatted output; and a transmitting means for transmitting the formatted output to a destination; wherein the transmitting step is performed automatically, without a command from a user to perform such a transmission. - View Dependent Claims (31, 32, 33, 34)
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35. A method of transmitting a facsimile communication from a first location to a second location comprising the steps of:
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receiving at the first location a modulated communication from a first facsimile machine for transmission to a second location; demodulating said modulated communication to produce a demodulated compressed output; encrypting the demodulated output to produce a demodulated encrypted output; formatting the encrypted demodulated output to produce a first signal; and transmitting the first signal to deliver the facsimile communication to the second location; wherein the transmitting step is performed without a command from a user to perform such a transmission. - View Dependent Claims (36, 37, 38, 39)
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40. A method of transmitting a facsimile communication from a first location to a second location comprising the steps of:
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receiving at a first location modulated communication from a first facsimile machine for transmission to the second location; demodulating said modulated communication to produce a demodulated output; formatting the demodulated output to produce formatted data; packetizing the formatted data for transmission over a packet switched computer network; and transmitting the packetized formatted data to the second location; wherein the transmitting step is performed without a command from a user to perform such a transmission. - View Dependent Claims (41, 42, 43, 44, 45)
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46. A method of transmitting documents to remote locations comprising:
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receiving at a first communication apparatus a facsimile transmission of an image file of a document encoded in a first data format from a sending facsimile machine, wherein the first communication apparatus is interfaced directly to a packet switched network; converting the image file from the first data format to a second data format for digital transmission of the file as a packetized data file over a packet switched network, wherein the step of converting includes packetizing data representing the image file; formatting and sending a message from the first communication apparatus to a central server wherein said message includes data that identify the remote location and that cause the central server to determine an address of a destination local server; and addressing and sending the packetized data file representing the received facsimile transmission to the local server at the address provided by the central server.
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47. A method of transmitting documents to remote locations comprising:
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receiving at a first communication apparatus a facsimile transmission of an image file of a document encoded in a first data format from a sending facsimile machine; converting the image file from the first data format to a second data format for digital transmission of the file as a data file over a computer network; transmitting the data file to a local server; transmitting the data file from the local server to a remote server; determining at the remote server whether a destination facsimile machine is interfaced to an apparatus for accepting data communication; and if the destination facsimile machine is not interfaced to an apparatus for receiving data communication, converting at the remote server the data file into a format compatible with the destination facsimile machine.
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48. A method of transmitting documents to remote locations comprising:
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receiving at a first communication apparatus a facsimile transmission of an image file of a document encoded in a first data format from a sending facsimile machine; converting the image file from the first data format to a second data format for digital transmission of the file as a data file over a computer network; transmitting, without receiving a command from a user requesting such a transmission, the data file over the network to a remote location; determining at the remote location whether the transmission was successful; and transmitting from the remote location to the first communication apparatus an acknowledgement indicating whether the transmission was successful.
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49. A communication apparatus for use in connection with a facsimile machine comprising:
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a receiving means for receiving from the facsimile machine a modulated compressed facsimile communication, wherein the receiving means comprises a timer which measures the time that the receiving means receives the communication; a demodulating means for demodulating said modulated compressed communication to produce a demodulated compressed output; a decompressing means for decompressing the demodulated compressed output to produce a decompressed output; a compressing means for compressing the decompressed output to produce a re-compressed output; and a transmitting means for transmitting, without a command from a user requesting such a transmission, the re-compressed output to a destination.
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Specification