Method and system for pay per use document transfer via computer network transfer protocols

• US 7,746,496 B2
• Filed: 03/30/2007
• Issued: 06/29/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 03/28/2000
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Advanced Messaging Technologies, Inc. (J2 Global, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Mongonet
• Inventors: Henry, Matthew K., Fortescue, Christopher L.
• Primary Examiner(s): Williams, Kimberly A
• Application Number:
  US11/694,636
• Publication Number:
  US 20070229889A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,187 Days
• Field of Search: 358/1.15, 358/402, 358/407, 358/440, 358/448, 382/317, 379/100.01, 379/100.06, 379/100.07, 379/100.08, 379/100.15, 379/100.17, 709/204, 709/224, 709/225, 709/206
• US Class Current: 358/1.15
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/00212 Attaching image data to computer messages, e.g. to e-mails
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/00214 details of transmission
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/0022 involving facsimile protocols or a combination of facsimile protocols and computer data transmission protocols
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/32042 with reading of job-marks on a page
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/32069 simultaneously to a plurality of destinations, e.g. multi-casting

Abstract

A system includes a portion for receiving a transmission comprising a digitized document including a digitized computer network destination associated with a recipient from a user using a facsimile device, a portion for determining a telephone number for the facsimile device, an OCR portion for determining the computer network destination for the recipient from the digitized computer network destination for the recipient, a portion for determining an attachment from the digitized document, and a portion for sending the attachment to the computer network destination for the recipient including a service provider name, wherein the transmission is associated a pay-per-use service charge that may be asserted against the telephone number associated with the facsimile transmission device.

Claims

1. A computer system comprising a processor comprises:

a receiving portion configured to receive a transmission comprising a digitized representation of a document including a digitized representation of a computer network destination associated with a recipient utilizing the processor from a user using a facsimile transmission device;

a capture portion configured to determine a telephone number associated with the facsimile transmission device utilizing the processor;

an optical character recognition portion coupled to the receiving portion, wherein the optical character recognition portion is configured to determine the computer network destination associated with the recipient utilizing the processor in response to the digitized representation of the computer network destination associated with the recipient;

a formatting portion coupled to the receiving portion, wherein the formatting portion is configured to determine an attachment utilizing the processor in response to the digitized representation of the document; and

a sending portion coupled to the formatting portion and to the optical character recognition portion, wherein the sending portion is configured to send the attachment addressed to the computer network destination associated with the recipient and comprising an indication of a service provider utilizing the processor;

a billing portion coupled to the receiving portion and to the capture portion, wherein the billing portion is configured to determine a pay-per-use service charge utilizing the processor in response to a characteristic of the transmission;

wherein the transmission is associated a pay-per-use service charge that may be asserted against the telephone number associated with the facsimile transmission device; and

wherein the digitized representation of the document also includes a digitized representation of an agreement of the user to be responsible for the pay-per-use service charge.

2. The computer system of claim 1 wherein the characteristic is selected from a group consisting of:

number of pages of the transmission, duration of the transmission, data size of the transmission, user-selected options for the transmission.

3. The computer system of claim 1 wherein the charge portion is also configured to provide at least the pay-per-use service charge and the telephone number associated with the facsimile transmission device to a telephone billing service.

4. The computer system of claim 3 wherein the telephone billing service is selected from a group consisting of:

local telephone company, local exchange company, IXC, CLEC, RBOC, telecommunications company and a billing intermediary.

5. The computer system of claim 1

wherein receiving telephone number over which the transmission is configured to be received is associated with a pay-per-use service;

and

wherein an area code associated with the receiving telephone number is selected from a group consisting of;

800, 888, 877, 866, 855, 844, 833, 822, DID area code.

6. The computer system of claim 5 further comprising a billing portion configured to determine whether the telephone number can be billed for the pay-per-use service charge.

7. The computer system of claim 6 wherein the sending portion is configured to send an e-mail message including the attachment addressed to the computer network destination associated with the recipient when it is determined that the telephone number can be billed for the pay-per-use service.

8. The computer system of claim 6 wherein the sending portion is configured to send a fax indicating that an e-mail message has not been sent, to the telephone number associated with the facsimile transmission device when it is determined that the telephone number can not be billed for the pay-per-use service.

9. A method for a computer system including a processor includes:

receiving a transmission comprising a digitized representation of a document including a digitized representation of an computer network destination associated with a recipient utilizing the processor from a user using a facsimile transmission device;

determining a telephone number associated with the facsimile transmission device utilizing the processor, wherein the telephone number is selected from a group consisting of;

bill-to-number, charge number ID, automatic number identification;

determining that the transmission is a pay-per-use service utilizing the processor;

using an optical character recognition engine to determine the computer network destination associated with the recipient utilizing the processor in response to the digitized representation of the computer network destination associated with the recipient;

determining an attachment utilizing the processor in response to the digitized representation of the document;

sending the attachment to the computer network destination associated with the recipient utilizing the processor, wherein the attachment includes an indication of a service provider; and

determining a pay-per-use service charge in response to a characteristic of the transmission;

wherein the digitized representation of the document also includes a digitized representation of an agreement by the user to be responsible for the pay-per-use service charge.

10. The method of claim 9 wherein the characteristic is selected from a group consisting of:

number of pages of the transmission, duration of the transmission, data size of the transmission, user-selected options for the transmission.

11. The method of claim 9 further comprising sending a fax to the telephone number associated with the facsimile transmission device confirming the pay-per-use service charge.

12. The method of claim 11 further comprising providing the pay-per-use service charge to a telephone billing entity, wherein the telephone billing entity is selected from a group consisting of:

a telephone company, local exchange company, and a billing intermediary, IXC, CLEC, RBOC.

13. The method of claim 9

wherein determining that the transmission is a pay-per-use service comprises:

determining that a receiving telephone number over which the transmission is received is associated with a pay-per-use service; and

wherein an area code associated with the receiving telephone number is selected from a group consisting of;

900, 800, 888, 877, 866, 855, 844, 833, 822, DID area code.

14. The method of claim 13 further comprising determining whether the telephone number can be billed for the pay-per-use service.

15. The method of claim 13 wherein sending the attachment comprises sending an e-mail message including the attachment addressed to the computer network destination associated with the recipient when it is determined that the telephone number can be billed for the pay-per-use service.

16. The method of claim 13 further comprising:

when it is determined that the telephone number can not be billed for the pay-per-use service, the method comprises sending an e-mail not including the attachment addressed to the computer network destination associated with the recipient that the attachment cannot be sent due to lack of a billing relationship.

17. A computer program product comprising computer-executable code resident on a tangible media for a computer system including a processor includes:

code that directs the processor to receive a transmission comprising a digitized representation of a document including a digitized representation of an computer network destination associated with a recipient from a user using a facsimile transmission device;

code that directs the processor to determine a telephone number associated with the facsimile transmission device;

code that directs the processor to determine that the transmission is a pay-per-use service;

optical character recognition engine code that directs the processor to determine the computer network destination associated with the recipient in response to the digitized representation of the computer network destination associated with the recipient;

code that directs the processor to determine an attachment in response to the digitized representation of the document; and

code that directs the processor to send the attachment to the computer network destination associated with the recipient, wherein the attachment includes an indication of a service provider;

code that directs the processor to determine a pay-per-use service charge in response to a characteristic of the transmission;

wherein the digitized representation of the document also includes a digitized representation of an agreement by the user to be responsible for the pay-per-use service charge.

18. The computer program product of claim 17 wherein the characteristic is selected from a group consisting of:

number of pages of the transmission, duration of the transmission, data size of the transmission, user-selected options for the transmission.

19. The computer program product of claim 17 further comprising code that directs the processor to send a fax to the telephone number associated with the facsimile transmission device confirming the pay-per-use service charge.

20. The computer program product of claim 19 further comprising code that directs the processor to provide the pay-per-use service charge to a telephone billing entity,

wherein the telephone billing entity is selected from a group consisting of:

a telephone company, a local exchange company, IXC, CLEC, RBOC, and a billing intermediary.

21. The computer program product of claim 17

wherein code that directs the processor to determining that the transmission is a pay-per-use service comprises code that directs the processor to determine that a receiving telephone number over which the transmission is received is associated with a pay-per-use service;

and

wherein an area code associated with the receiving telephone number is selected from a group consisting of;

900, 800, 888, 877, 866, 855, 844, 833, 822, conventional area code.

22. The computer program product of claim 17 further comprises code that directs the processor to determine whether the telephone number can be billed for the pay-per-use service,

wherein the telephone number is selected from a group consisting of:

BTN, Charge number ID, Automatic Numbering ID.

23. The computer program product of claim 17 wherein code that directs the processor to send the attachment comprises code that directs the processor to send an e-mail message including the attachment addressed to the computer network destination associated with the recipient when it is determined that the telephone number can be billed for the pay-per-use service.

24. The computer program product of claim 17 further comprising:

code that directs the processor to send a fax to the telephone number associated with the facsimile transmission device indicating that an e-mail message cannot be sent when it is determined that the telephone number can not be billed for the pay-per-use service.

35. The method of claim 24 wherein the digitized representation of the document also includes a digitized representation of an agreement by the user to be responsible for the pay-per-use service charge.

25. A computer system comprising a processor comprises:

a receiving portion configured to receive a transmission comprising a digitized representation of a document including a digitized representation of a computer network destination associated with a recipient utilizing the processor from a user using a facsimile transmission device;

a capture portion configured to determine a telephone number associated with the facsimile transmission device utilizing the processor;

an optical character recognition portion coupled to the receiving portion, wherein the optical character recognition portion is configured to determine the computer network destination associated with the recipient utilizing the processor in response to the digitized representation of the computer network destination associated with the recipient;

a formatting portion coupled to the receiving portion, wherein the formatting portion is configured to determine an attachment utilizing the processor in response to the digitized representation of the document; and

a sending portion coupled to the formatting portion and to the optical character recognition portion, wherein the sending portion is configured to send the attachment addressed to the computer network destination associated with the recipient and comprising an indication of a service provider utilizing the processor;

a billing portion configured to determine whether the telephone number can be billed for a pay-per-use service charge;

wherein the transmission is associated the pay-per-use service charge that may be asserted against the telephone number associated with the facsimile transmission device;

wherein receiving telephone number over which the transmission is configured to be received is associated with a pay-per-use service; and

wherein an area code associated with the receiving telephone number is selected from a group consisting of;

800, 888, 877, 866, 855, 844, 833, 822, DID area code.

26. The computer system of claim 25 wherein the sending portion is configured to send an e-mail message including the attachment addressed to the computer network destination associated with the recipient when it is determined that the telephone number can be billed for the pay-per-use service.

27. The computer system of claim 25 wherein the sending portion is configured to send a fax indicating that an e-mail message has not been sent, to the telephone number associated with the facsimile transmission device when it is determined that the telephone number can not be billed for the pay-per-use service.

28. The computer system of claim 25

a billing portion coupled to the receiving portion and to the capture portion, wherein the billing portion is configured to determine a pay-per-use service charge utilizing the processor in response to a characteristic of the transmission;

wherein the characteristic is selected from a group consisting of;

number of pages of the transmission, duration of the transmission, data size of the transmission, user-selected options for the transmission.

29. The computer system of claim 25 wherein the charge portion is also configured to provide at least the pay-per-use service charge and the telephone number associated with the facsimile transmission device to a telephone billing service.

30. The computer system of claim 29 wherein the telephone billing service is selected from a group consisting of:

local telephone company, local exchange company, IXC, CLEC, RBOC, telecommunications company and a billing intermediary.

31. A method for a computer system including a processor includes:

receiving a transmission comprising a digitized representation of a document including a digitized representation of an computer network destination associated with a recipient utilizing the processor from a user using a facsimile transmission device;

determining a telephone number associated with the facsimile transmission device utilizing the processor, wherein the telephone number is selected from a group consisting of;

bill-to-number, charge number ID, automatic number identification;

determining that the transmission is a pay-per-use service utilizing the processor comprising determining that a receiving telephone number over which the transmission is received is associated with a pay-per-use service;

using an optical character recognition engine to determine the computer network destination associated with the recipient utilizing the processor in response to the digitized representation of the computer network destination associated with the recipient;

determining an attachment utilizing the processor in response to the digitized representation of the document;

determining whether the telephone number can be billed for the pay-per-use service; and

sending the attachment to the computer network destination associated with the recipient utilizing the processor, wherein the attachment includes an indication of a service provider;

wherein an area code associated with the receiving telephone number is selected from a group consisting of;

900, 800, 888, 877, 866, 855, 844, 833, 822, DID area code.

32. The method of claim 31 wherein sending the attachment comprises sending an e-mail message including the attachment addressed to the computer network destination associated with the recipient when it is determined that the telephone number can be billed for the pay-per-use service.

33. The method of claim 31 further comprising:

when it is determined that the telephone number can not be billed for the pay-per-use service, the method comprises sending an e-mail not including the attachment addressed to the computer network destination associated with the recipient that the attachment cannot be sent due to lack of a billing relationship.

34. The method of claim 31 further comprising determining a pay-per-use service charge in response to a characteristic of the transmission;

wherein the characteristic is selected from a group consisting of;

number of pages of the transmission, duration of the transmission, data size of the transmission, user-selected options for the transmission.

36. The method of claim 34 further comprising sending a fax to the telephone number associated with the facsimile transmission device confirming the pay-per-use service charge.

37. The method of claim 34 further comprising providing the pay-per-use service charge to a telephone billing entity, wherein the telephone billing entity is selected from a group consisting of:

a telephone company, local exchange company, and a billing intermediary, IXC, CLEC, RBOC.

38. A computer program product comprising computer-executable code resident on a tangible media for a computer system including a processor includes:

code that directs the processor to receive a transmission comprising a digitized representation of a document including a digitized representation of an computer network destination associated with a recipient from a user using a facsimile transmission device;

code that directs the processor to determine a telephone number associated with the facsimile transmission device;

code that directs the processor to determine that the transmission is a pay-per-use service comprising code that directs the processor to determine that a receiving telephone number over which the transmission is received is associated with a pay-per-use service;

optical character recognition engine code that directs the processor to determine the computer network destination associated with the recipient in response to the digitized representation of the computer network destination associated with the recipient;

code that directs the processor to determine an attachment in response to the digitized representation of the document;

code that directs the processor to determine whether the telephone number can be billed for the pay-per-use service; and

code that directs the processor to send the attachment to the computer network destination associated with the recipient, wherein the attachment includes an indication of a service provider;

wherein an area code associated with the receiving telephone number is selected from a group consisting of;

900, 800, 888, 877, 866, 855, 844, 833, 822, conventional area code;

wherein the telephone number is selected from a group consisting of;

BTN, Charge number ID, Automatic Numbering ID.

39. The computer program product of claim 38 wherein code that directs the processor to send the attachment comprises code that directs the processor to send an e-mail message including the attachment addressed to the computer network destination associated with the recipient when it is determined that the telephone number can be billed for the pay-per-use service.

40. The computer program product of claim 38 further comprising:

code that directs the processor to send a fax to the telephone number associated with the facsimile transmission device indicating that an e-mail message cannot be sent when it is determined that the telephone number can not be billed for the pay-per-use service.