System, method, and apparatus for an interactive virtual fax machine

• US 9,007,604 B2
• Filed: 06/30/2011
• Issued: 04/14/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 06/30/2010
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Open Text Holdings, Inc. (Open Text Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Xpedite Systems LLC (Open Text Corporation)
• Inventors: Toscano, Francis
• Primary Examiner(s): Guillermety, Fred
• Assistant Examiner(s): SHIFERAW, HENOK ASRES
• Application Number:
  US13/135,319
• Publication Number:
  US 20120057178A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,384 Days
• US Class Current: 358/1.13
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/1296 Printer job scheduling or printer resource handling
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/00206 Transmitting or receiving computer data via an image communication device, e.g. a facsimile transceiver H04N1/00236 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/00209 Transmitting or receiving image data, e.g. facsimile data, via a computer, e.g. using e-mail, a computer network, the internet, I-fax
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/00212 Attaching image data to computer messages, e.g. to e-mails
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/00244 with a server, e.g. an internet server fax-servers or the like for store and forward H04N1/324
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/00392 Other manual input means, e.g. digitisers or writing tablets
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/00464 using browsers, i.e. interfaces based on mark-up languages
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/00482 outputting a plurality of job set-up options, e.g. number of copies, paper size or resolution
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 2201/001 Sharing resources, e.g. processing power or memory, with a connected apparatus or enhancing the capability of the still picture apparatus
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 2201/0067 Converting to still picture data
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 2201/0093 Facsimile machine H04N2201/0094 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 2201/0094 Multifunctional device, i.e. a device capable of all of reading, reproducing, copying, facsimile transception, file transception

Abstract

A system, method, and apparatus for a virtual fax machine are provided. In one embodiment, a system for a virtual fax machine is provided including a computer configured to display a virtual fax machine based on a script, a server configured to receive at least one electronic document associated with a fax to be sent using the virtual fax machine, and a traditional facsimile machine configured to receive the fax to be sent. In another embodiment, an apparatus for a virtual fax machine is provided including a computer configured to locate and execute a script associated with a virtual fax machine, display the virtual fax machine, associate at least one electronic document with a fax to be sent, encode the at least one electronic document to a form suitable for communication over a network, and transmit the encoded electronic document over the network as the fax to be sent.

Claims

1. A system, comprising:

a virtual fax machine embodied on a computer coupled to a packet-switched data network and including a memory, the computer executing a network browser application having a script engine configured to interpret one or more scripts associated with the virtual fax machine that simulates a physical fax machine, the one or more scripts hosted by a server on the packet-switched data network, embedded in a web page hosted by the server, or stored in the memory of the computer, wherein the virtual fax machine includes a receive paper tray representation having a received faxes button, the virtual fax machine configured to;

responsive to a user at the computer selecting the received faxes button on the virtual fax machine and as directed by the one or more scripts associated with the virtual fax machine, open a received fax dialog box on the computer;

responsive to the user selecting one or more received fax entries displayed in the received fax dialog box, transmit a request for image data associated with the one or more received fax entries to the server;

receive the image data, a link associated with the image data or an email with the image data attached thereto; and

display the image data on the computer.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein the script engine running on the computer is further configured to interpret, execute, and display the virtual fax machine within the network browser application.

3. The system of claim 1, wherein the virtual fax machine includes a representation of a send paper tray, and wherein the script engine is further configured to, based on the one or more scripts associated with the virtual fax machine, associate the at least one electronic document to the fax to be sent to a traditional facsimile machine when a representation of the at least one electronic document is dragged and dropped upon the representation of the send paper tray of the virtual fax machine.

4. The system of claim 1, wherein the computer further includes a first processor, and wherein the script engine executing on the first processor is further configured to interpret, execute, and display a functional version of the virtual fax machine based on the one or more scripts associated with the virtual fax machine.

5. The system of claim 1, wherein the virtual fax machine is configured to provide visual and audible simulations of the physical fax machine.

6. The system of claim 1, wherein the virtual fax machine is further configured to receive a fax directly from a traditional facsimile machine over a public switched telephone network (PSTN).

7. The system of claim 1, wherein the one or more scripts are retrieved from the server and stored on a memory of the computer such that the virtual fax machine is able to function via the network browser application executing on the computer without the server.

8. A computer program product comprising at least one non-transitory computer readable medium storing computer instructions that, when executed by an arithmetic processor of a computer, direct the computer to:

interpret one or more scripts associated with a virtual fax machine that operates within a network browser application executing on the computer and that simulates a physical fax machine, the one or more scripts hosted by a server on a packet-switched data network, embedded in a web page hosted by the server, or stored in the memory of the computer, wherein the virtual fax machine includes a receive paper tray representation having a received faxes button;

responsive to a user at the computer selecting the received faxes button on the virtual fax machine and as directed by the one or more scripts associated with the virtual fax machine, open a received fax dialog box on the computer;

responsive to the user selecting one or more received fax entries displayed in the received fax dialog box, transmit a request for image data associated with the one or more received fax entries to the server;

receive the image data, a link associated with the image data or an email with the image data attached thereto; and

display the image data on the computer.

9. The computer program product of claim 8, wherein the computer instructions when executed by the arithmetic processor of the computer further direct the computer to perform:

directing the network browser application running on the computer to request the one or more scripts associated with the virtual fax machine from the server over the packet-switched data network.

10. The computer program product of claim 8, wherein the encoding is performed by the computer when a representation of the at least one electronic document is dragged and dropped upon a representation of a send paper tray of the virtual fax machine.

11. The computer program product of claim 8, wherein the computer instructions when executed by the arithmetic processor of the computer further direct the computer to perform:

providing the virtual fax machine with visual and audible simulations of the physical fax machine.

12. The computer program product of claim 8, wherein the computer instructions when executed by the arithmetic processor of the computer further direct the computer to perform:

receiving, by the virtual fax machine, a fax directly from a traditional facsimile machine over a public switched telephone network (PSTN).

13. A method for an interactive client-side scripted virtual fax machine, comprising:

interpreting, by a computer having a processor and a memory, one or more scripts associated with a virtual fax machine that operates within a network browser application executing on the computer and that simulates a physical fax machine, the one or more scripts hosted by a server on a packet-switched data network, embedded in a web page hosted by the server, or stored in the memory of the computer, wherein the virtual fax machine includes a receive paper tray representation having a received faxes button;

opening a received fax dialog box on the computer, by the computer responsive to a user at the computer selecting the received faxes button on the virtual fax machine and as directed by the one or more scripts associated with the virtual fax machine;

responsive to the user selecting one or more received fax entries displayed in the received fax dialog box, transmitting, by the computer, a request for image data associated with the one or more received fax entries to the server;

receiving the image data, a link associated with the image data or an email with the image data attached thereto; and

displaying the image data on the computer.

14. The method of claim 13, further comprising:

directing the network browser application running on the computer to request the one or more scripts associated with the virtual fax machine from the server over the packet-switched data network.

15. The method of claim 13, wherein the encoding is performed by the computer when a representation of the at least one electronic document is dragged and dropped upon a representation of a send paper tray of the virtual fax machine.

16. The method of claim 13, further comprising:

associating, by the computer based on the one or more scripts associated with the virtual fax machine, the at least one electronic document to the fax to be sent to a traditional facsimile machine.

17. The method of claim 13, further comprising:

providing the virtual fax machine with visual and audible simulations of the physical fax machine.

18. The method of claim 13, further comprising:

receiving, by the computer based on the one or more scripts associated with the virtual fax machine, a fax directly from a traditional facsimile machine over a public switched telephone network (PSTN).

19. The method of claim 13, further comprising:

storing the one or more scripts on the memory of the computer such that the virtual fax machine is able to function based at least in part on the one or more scripts and without the server.