Methods and apparatus for facsimile transmissions to electronic storage destinations including embedded barcode fonts

• US 7,826,100 B2
• Filed: 08/20/2007
• Issued: 11/02/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 03/28/2000
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: j2 Cloud Services, LLC (Consensus Cloud Solutions, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Mongonet
• Inventors: Henry, Matthew K., Fortescue, Christopher L.
• Primary Examiner(s): Williams, Kimberly A
• Application Number:
  US11/894,816
• Publication Number:
  US 20090059310A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,170 Days
• Field of Search: 358/402, 358/407, 358/440, 358/448, 358/1.15, 382/317, 379/100.01, 379/100.06, 379/100.07, 379/100.08, 379/100.15, 379/100.17
• US Class Current: 358/402
• 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 1/0036 Alphanumeric symbols
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/00363 Bar codes or the like
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/00366 Marks in boxes or the like, e.g. crosses or blacking out H04N1/0036 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/00379 Means for enabling correct scanning of a mark sheet or area, e.g. registration or timing marks
• 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
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/34 for coin-freed systems ; Pay systems
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 2201/3218 of a confirmation, acknowledgement or receipt
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 2201/325 Modified version of the image, e.g. part of the image, image reduced in size or resolution, thumbnail or screennail
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 2201/3278 Transmission

Abstract

A method for a computer includes determining a call-in fax telephone number called by a facsimile transmission device, receiving the facsimile transmission from a facsimile transmission device including a digitized representation of a transmission page including an optical representation of data associated with an e-mail address, determining the data optically, which is independent of the call-in number, determining a graphics template associated with the call-in number, combining a digitized representation of the transmission page with the graphics template to form a digitized representation of a composite page, formatting the digitized representation of the composite page into a second format, determining additional service provider data in response to the facsimile or the scanned image, and transmitting the additional service provider data and the digitized representation of the composite page in the second format to the electronic destination address.

Claims

1. A method comprising:

opening, by a computer system, a template page including an embedded font;

receiving, by the computer system, a plurality of data from a user, wherein the plurality of data comprises an e-mail address;

determining, by the computer system, bar code data from the plurality of data; and

rendering, by the computer system, the plurality of data and the bar code data on the template page to form a filled-in transmission instruction page, wherein the bar code data is rendered based upon the embedded font.

2. The method of claim 1 wherein the filled-in transmission instruction page is faxed as part of a facsimile to a facsimile server, wherein the facsimile server converts the facsimile into an e-mail attachment, wherein the facsimile server optically derives the e-mail address from the transmission instruction page of the facsimile, and wherein the facsimile server need not know the e-mail address prior to receiving the facsimile.

3. The method of claim 2 wherein the facsimile server optically derives the e-mail address from the transmission instruction page of the facsimile in response to the bar code data.

4. The method of claim 1 wherein the embedded font includes less than twenty characters, each character corresponding to a distinct pattern for representing a portion of a bar code.

5. The method of claim 4 wherein the embedded font includes sixteen characters.

6. A computer system comprising:

a memory configured to store a template page including an embedded font, and a template page handling program; and

a processor configured to open the template page with the handling program, wherein the processor is configured to receive a plurality of data from a user, wherein the plurality of data comprises an e-mail address, wherein the processor is configured to determine bar code data from the plurality of data, wherein the processor is configured to render the plurality of data and the bar code data on the template page to form a filled-in transmission instruction page, and wherein the bar code data is rendered based upon the embedded font.

7. The computer system of claim 6 wherein the filled-in transmission instruction page is faxed as part of a facsimile to a facsimile server, wherein the facsimile server converts the facsimile into an e-mail attachment, wherein the facsimile server optically derives the e-mail address from the transmission instruction page of the facsimile, and wherein the facsimile server need not know the e-mail address prior to receiving the facsimile.

8. The computer system of claim 6 wherein the embedded font includes less than twenty characters, each character corresponding to a distinct pattern for representing a portion of a bar code.

9. The computer system of claim 8 wherein the embedded font includes sixteen characters.

10. A computer-readable storage medium having stored thereon program code executable by a computer system, the program code comprising:

code that causes the computer system to open a template page including an embedded font;

code that causes the computer system to receive a plurality of data from a user, wherein the plurality of data comprises an e-mail address;

code that causes the computer system to determine bar code data from the plurality of data; and

code that causes the computer system to render the plurality of data and the bar code data on the template page to form a filled-in transmission instruction page, wherein the bar code data is rendered based upon the embedded font.

11. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 10 wherein the filled-in transmission instruction page is faxed as part of a facsimile to a facsimile server, wherein the facsimile server converts the facsimile into an e-mail attachment, wherein the facsimile server optically derives the e-mail address from the transmission instruction page of the facsimile, and wherein the facsimile server need not know the e-mail address prior to receiving the facsimile.

12. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 10 wherein the embedded font includes less than twenty characters, each character corresponding to a distinct pattern for representing a portion of a bar code.

13. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 12 wherein the embedded font includes sixteen characters.