SYSTEM AND PROCESS FOR TRANSMITTING ELECTRONIC MAIL USING A CONVENTIONAL FACSIMILE DEVICE

• US 20100002260A1
• Filed: 08/28/2009
• Published: 01/07/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 11/06/1998
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: j2 Cloud Services, LLC (Consensus Cloud Solutions, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: J2 Global, Inc.
• Inventors: Naylor, Joe G., Mailman, Josh A., Prince, Edward R. III
• Granted Patent: US 8,838,704 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 358/1.15
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/00 User-to-user messaging in packet-switching networks, transmitted according to store-and-forward or real-time protocols, e.g. e-mail
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/066 Format adaptation, e.g. format conversion or compression
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/08 Annexed information, e.g. attachments
• 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 1/32411 Handling instructions for routing or relaying
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 2201/0093 Facsimile machine H04N2201/0094 takes precedence

Abstract

This invention relates to a system for combining an electronic mail (email) address or addresses and/or facsimile telephone numbers into a fax message, so that when received by a server the fax document is processed and transmitted as an email attachment to the email addresses or a fax message to the telephone numbers of the intended fax recipients. This allows the user to be able to send faxes and emails from a conventional fax machine or personal computer without having an Internet connection.

Claims

1-11. -11. (canceled)

12. A system for transferring data received from a fax device over a telephone line, comprising:

a telephone line interface to receive an incoming fax transmission sent with data demarcated by tags;

a fax processor to convert the fax transmission into a fax image; and

a computing device to execute a program that includes a function which converts the fax image into a computer-readable format, a function which reads the tagged data received with the fax transmission, a function that causes a portion of the fax image to be routed, in said computer-readable format, via an email message to a plurality of email addresses, and a function that accesses one or more memory locations, containing a listing of the plurality of email addresses, that are designated by an indicator in the fax transmission.

13. The system of claim 12 wherein the computing device is to execute a further function which includes a decoding viewer in an email transmission to a recipient of said message, to facilitate viewing of said message.

14. The system of claim 13 wherein the computing device is to send the decoding viewer only if the computing device determines that the recipient is a first-time recipient.

15. The system of claim 12 wherein information from the tagged data is to be inserted into a from-field of the email message.

16. The system of claim 15 wherein the information inserted into the from-field of the email message is a return email address of a sender of said fax transmission.

17. A system for transferring data received from a fax device over telephone line, comprising:

a telephone line interface to receive an incoming fax transmission;

a fax processor to convert the fax transmission into a fax image; and

a computing device to execute a program that includes a function which converts the fax image into a computer-readable format, a function which extracts header information from the fax image, a function that accesses a stored mailing list of a plurality of email addresses in response to an indicator received in the fax transmission, and a function that causes a portion of the fax image to be routed, in said computer-readable format, to the plurality email addresses.

18. The system of claim 17 wherein the incoming fax transmission has a data field, and the computing device is to insert information from the data field into a from-field of an email message in which said portion of the fax image is to be routed.

19. The system of claim 17 wherein the information inserted into the from-field of the email message is a return email address of a sender of said fax transmission.

20. A system for transferring data received from a fax device over a telephone line, comprising:

a telephone line interface to receive an incoming fax transmission including a data field from a sender;

a fax processor to convert the fax transmission into a fax image; and

a computing device to execute a program that includes a function which converts the fax image into a computer-readable format, a function which reads the data field received with the fax transmission, and a function that causes a portion of the fax image to be routed, in said computer-readable format, to an email address via an email message, wherein the email address is read from a stored mailing list of a plurality of email addresses, wherein the stored mailing list is designated by an indicator in the fax transmission, and wherein the sender'"'"'s telephone number taken from the data field is to be inserted into the email message.

21. The system of claim 20 wherein the computing device is to execute a further function that includes a decoding viewer in an email transmission to a recipient of said message, to facilitate viewing of said message.

22. The system of claim 21 wherein the computing device is to send the decoding viewer only if the computing device determines that the recipient is a first-time recipient.

23. The system of claim 20 wherein the telephone line interface is to receive the incoming fax transmission from a sending fax device, and the computing device is to execute a program that includes the function which reads the field data received with the fax transmission, after the fax transmission has been received and a connection to the sending fax device has been disconnected.

24. The system of claim 20 wherein the telephone line interface is to receive the incoming fax transmission including the data field as part of a file transfer from the sender.