Source: http://www.google.com/patents/US6693729?dq=Arthur+M.+Dula
Timestamp: 2014-07-29 11:35:51
Document Index: 557918177

Matched Legal Cases: ['Application No. 60', 'Application No. 60', 'Application No. 08', 'Application No. 60', 'Application No. 08', 'Application No. 60', 'Application No. 60']

Patent US6693729 - Facsimile to E-mail communication system with local interface - Google PatentsSearch Images Maps Play YouTube News Gmail Drive More »Sign in<nobr>Advanced Patent Search</nobr>PatentsA fax to E-mail system and related method are shown, whereby a hardcopy document is sent via a fax device to its recipient via electronic mail through a data network (such as the Internet), and is delivered in such a manner that it can be retrieved by the recipient at an E-mail device, in the ordinary...http://www.google.com/patents/US6693729?utm_source=gb-gplus-sharePatent US6693729 - Facsimile to E-mail communication system with local interfaceAdvanced Patent SearchPublication numberUS6693729 B1Publication typeGrantApplication numberUS 09/235,566Publication dateFeb 17, 2004Filing dateJan 22, 1999Priority dateOct 15, 1996Fee statusPaidPublication number09235566, 235566, US 6693729 B1, US 6693729B1, US-B1-6693729, US6693729 B1, US6693729B1InventorsMark C. BloomfieldOriginal AssigneeMark C. BloomfieldExport CitationBiBTeX, EndNote, RefManPatent Citations (28), Non-Patent Citations (48), Referenced by (39), Classifications (26), Legal Events (7) External Links: USPTO, USPTO Assignment, EspacenetFacsimile to E-mail communication system with local interfaceUS 6693729 B1Abstract A fax to E-mail system and related method are shown, whereby a hardcopy document is sent via a fax device to its recipient via electronic mail through a data network (such as the Internet), and is delivered in such a manner that it can be retrieved by the recipient at an E-mail device, in the ordinary course of retrieving the E-mail, and displayed on the screen of the E-mail device. The invention provides for and accomplishes the delivery of a document, which begins as a hardcopy, as an electronic file retrieved through E-mail recipient's terminal and displayed on the computer screen of the E-mail recipient's terminal. The system and method also provides for an interface device which connects to a conventional fax device for communicating E-mail addresses and routing hardcopy documents to the E-mail network. The invention provides a means for embedding the functions of the interface device into conventional fax devices. The system can also be used in cooperation with Internet Web service for reporting, accounting, information services., and user interaction.
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION This application is a continuation of PCT/IB97/01455, filed Oct. 7, 1997 and designating the U.S. and published in English, which claims the benefits of U.S. Provisional Application No. 60/028,405, filed Oct. 15, 1996, and U.S. Provisional Application No. 60/048,064, filed May 30, 1997; and this application is a continuation-in-part of U.S. Application No. 08/839,655, filed Apr. 15, 1997 (now abandoned), which claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No. 60/028,405, filed Oct. 15, 1996; and this application is a continuation-in-part of U.S. Application No. 08/915,196, filed Aug. 20, 1997, (now U.S. Pat. No. 6,025,931), which claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No. 60/028,405, filed Oct. 15, 1996, and U.S. Provisional Application No. 60/048,064, May 30, 1997.
FIG. 3. displays, in a block diagram representation, the E-mail Server 112 according to the preferred embodiment of the present invention. The E-mail Server comprises an E-mail network interface 200 which connects to the E-mail network 116 through a communication link 202 and to a bus 204 for interexchange of signals with other components of the E-mail Server 112. Preferably, the communication link 202 is a standard Ethernet communication link providing high-speed TCP/IP communication carrier services. The E-mail network interface 200 is capable of multiplexed, encoded communication exchanges to the E-mail network. The E-mail Server 112 is considered readily understood by those skilled in the art and performs, as is critical to the present invention, functions of receiving the addressed E-mail with attachment (the E-mail message 270) and routing the E-mail message to the appropriate network address along the E-mail network 116, using, for example, TCP/IP and appropriate domain addressing and domain name services. FIG. 3 further schematically depicts other basic components of a standard E-mail Server including a data network interface 224 through which the E-mail Server interacts with the data network 114, a central bus 204, CPU with RAM memory 206, mass storage 210, a video display 216, keyboard 220, and power supply 222�all of the foregoing components being configured and inter-operating in a manner that will be clearly understood by one skilled in the art. Though deemed unnecessary in light of the relevant skill in the art, the following are given by way of example as acceptable components of the E-mail Server 112: E-mail network interface 200 as a model 1400FXSA modem available from Practical Peripherals, Inc. of Thousand Oaks, Calif.; data network interface 224 as a model SMC9332DST available from Standard Microsystems Corporation of Hauppauge, N.Y. which is compatible with the 100BaseT Ethernet Standard and the TCP/IP protocol; and �Microsoft Exchange Mail� or �UNIX SENDMAIL� operating on the CPU 206. In alternate embodiments of the present invention, all or some of the E-mail functions of the gateway E-mail Server 112 are incorporated as part of and performed by the Fax-Server 110. Furthermore, in alternate embodiments, the data network 114 is simply the bus of a single PC which hosts the appropriate hardware and software of both the Fax-Server 110 and the E-mail Server 112, and the CPU/RAM, storage, video, keyboard and power supply are common, all as would be understood to one skilled in the art. Further explanation of the E-mail Server 112 is deemed not necessary as the appropriate hardware, software and operation thereof is considered well known to those skilled in the art.
As an example of the interaction between the Codec 321 and the DSP circuitry 322, consider a sender wishing to communicate a document to a desired recipient via fax/E-mail, in accordance with the preferred embodiment of the present invention. Reference may be had here to the process charts and description related to FIGS. 9A-9C. In response to the entry of the �GO� command at the fax interface device 102 by the sender, the fax interface device 102 and, hence, the DSP circuitry 322 (according to step 924 (FIG. 9B) of the preferred method described below) establishes a telephonic connection with the Fax-Server 110 by calling the Fax-Server via telephone line 107. To do so, the DSP circuitry 322 must monitor the signal bus 318 (which reflects the activity on accessory phone line 109, which is the extension of fax line 107) for the presence of an analog dial tone signal by analyzing digital representations (produced by the Codec 321 and communicated to the DSP circuitry 322 through Codec signal bus 316) of the analog signals. Upon receiving and identifying the dial tone signal, the DSP circuitry 322 responds in accordance with programming residing in memory portions of the DSP circuitry to generate DTMF digits corresponding to the telephone number of the Fax-Server 110. After receiving digital representations of the digits of the telephone number from the DSP 322 through Codec signal bus 316, the Codec 321 modulates the digital data to produce the appropriate DTMF digits for output, through signal bus 318, to the telephone circuitry 320 and, ultimately, to telephone line 107. Note that the Codec 321 and the DSP circuitry 322 cooperate in many other instances, using similar handshaking methods, to communicate signals to and from the PTN 108 via telephone line 107 (and accessory line 109) in order to provide the functionality necessary for the fax interface device 102 and, hence, the Fax/E-mail communication system 100, to communicate documents to E-mail recipients.
FIG. 8 displays an overview of a preferred method of the present invention and illustrates a plurality of steps which are necessary to communicate a hardcopy document (also referred to herein as a �document� and including any item which can be communicated by a fax device 106 or equivalent thereof) to a desired recipient using the Fax/E-mail communication system 100 disclosed herein. The individual steps of the method are performed by various elements, and combinations of elements, of the system 100 working in concert and are detailed by the figures that follow. After starting at step 800, the method proceeds to step 802 where the system 100 receives, from the sender of the document, an E-mail address which has been previously associated with, or assigned to, the desired recipient of the document and, optionally, saves the recipient's E-mail address for future use. According to the preferred embodiment of the present invention, the recipient's E-mail address is input, or recalled from memory storage, to the system 100, by the sender of the document through interaction with the telephone-style keypad 342 of the sender's fax interface device 102 connected to the PTN 108. Continuing at step 804, the system 100 receives and saves fax image data which is generated by the sender's fax device 106 and which represents the document to be communicated to the desired recipient via E-mail. The fax image data is, typically, created by a rasterizing process performed at the sender's fax device 106 by hardware, by software, or by cooperation between hardware and software and is, typically communicated in what is known as �G3 protocol�, all of which is well-known to those skilled in the art. Upon receiving and storing the fax image data, the system 100, at step 806, provides an optional confirmation (sender selectable) to the sender which indicates that the E-mail address and fax image data have been received by the system 100. The confirmation is, for example, in the form of a single page which is transmitted by the FEM-GATEWAY 104 for receipt by the sender's fax device 106 as if the confirmation were a conventional fax document received by the sender's fax device 106. An alternative manner of providing confirmation to the sender is to update the Web Server 111 in a manner that allows the sender of the original facsimile (who is a registered user of the communication system 100) to access information at the Web Server which will indicate the status of facsimile-to-E-mail messages which that sender has sent through the system. Still other alternative methods of sending confirmation are acceptable, such as, for example, providing a notice of the successful delivery to a registered sender's E-mail address. Advancing to step 808, the system 100 creates an E-mail message 270, addressed to the recipient at the previously received E-mail address, which includes a message portion 272 and an attached image data file 274 containing the previously received fax image data stored in an industry-standard format for storing graphical data. In accordance with the preferred embodiment, encoding of the attachment 274 is also performed at this step (as well as, optionally, the earlier mentioned image processing). The processes of attaching an image data file 274 to an E-mail message 270 (for example, compliant with MIME encoding), of storing graphical data in industry-standard formats and encoding the file are considered to be well-known to those skilled in the art. At step 810, the system 100 delivers the E-mail message 270 to an E-mail network 116, with its associated image data in attached, preferably encoded, image data file 274, for delivery to the E-mail address associated with the recipient and included in the message portion 272. Once the recipient receives the E-mail message 270, the recipient, at step 812, views the E-mail message 270, including its message portion 272. Viewing of the attached document (represented by the fax image data of the attached image data file 274), through conventional use of an appropriate computer program known as �browser�, �viewer�, or �e-mail reader� is accomplished, at least, by �clicking� on the file attachment located in the handle portion 298 located in the attachment portion 284 of the message portion 272. (See discussion above regarding FIG. 5). After viewing of the E-mail message 270 by the recipient, the method ends at step 814. In accordance with the preferred embodiment of the present invention, because the attachment 274 has been converted to a widely popular image format (e.g., TIFF) which is, desirably, compatible with a majority of browsers and E-mail readers in the then current market, and because the image data file is appropriately encoded, then, in accordance with the preferred embodiment of the present invention, viewing is accomplished by simply �clicking� on the file attachment handle portion 298 found in the attachment portion 284 of the message portion 272 of the E-mail. message 270). When the E-mail device 118 is operating a browser or E-mail reader which is not immediately compatible with the image data format/encoding into which the attachment has been converted/encoded, it is understood that additional user interaction will be necessary to appropriately decode the attachment prior to viewing.
According to the preferred method of the present invention and as previously noted, an E-mail address associated with a desired recipient is input by the sender (at step 842), using the telephone-style keypad 342 of the sender's fax interface device 102, after being prompted for the recipient's E-mail address on a first row (or line) (e.g, the bottom line 334 a) of display 344. Because the standard telephone keypad as represented by keypad 342 are restricted to 12 input keys 342 a, multiple alphanumeric characters must be associated with each one of the 12 available keys 342 a to provide all characters required to create a valid E-mail address. This is accomplished by associating characters with keys 342 a either in alphabetical, numeric, or common trait order such that a sender can �spell� an E-mail address using the reduced-set keypad 342 without limitation to the required character set. In accordance with the preferred embodiment of the present invention, the sender enters the recipient's E-mail address using the fax interface device's keypad 342 (FIG. 10A) and using the character association chart of FIG. 10 as a guide. FIG. 10 displays an association and sequence chart showing the available characters (Col. 1), the associated key (Col. 2), and the input sequence to advance to the desired character (Col. 3). In addition to singular characters being associated with a particular key 342 a, groups of characters commonly used in the creation of E-mail addresses are also associated with particular keys to simplify the steps required for user input, and in addition, certain other groups of characters such as, for example, email suffixes .com, net, .gov, org, .edu are stored in memory and associated with the EXT key 342 g. Frequently dialed domains, for example, aol.com. prodigy.com. netcom.com. worldnet.com are stored in memory and associated with the DOM key 342 e. To advance through the available characters associated with a particular key, the sender repeatedly presses the desired key, without pause (timeout). The character in sequence associated with the key will be displayed on a second line (e.g., the top line 344 b) of display 344. Once a time-out occurs, the fax interface device 102 will settle upon the selected character or group of characters, and will display the selected character and move to the next cursor position. This process permits multiple characters associated with the same key to be selected simply by pausing momentarily between key presses for greater than the allowable timeout period. For example, to enter an �A�, the sender presses the �ABC1� key one time. To enter a �C� the sender presses the �ABC1� key three times. To enter �AC� the sender presses the �ABC1� key one time, pauses one second, and presses the �ABC1� key three times. Continued pressing of a character key scrolls the characters in a endless-loop fashion. The BACK/CLR 342 b is character destructive key and deletes the last character input (or character group) and backspaces the cursor one position in sequence for each time the button is pressed. Pressing the BACK/CLR 342 b button for extended time (2 seconds or more) deletes an entire entry and returns the user to the idle state condition or can be used in deleting characters or groups of characters stored in memory. QDIAL button 342 c is used to store E-mail addresses which can be recalled rapidly from memory and eliminates the repetitive input of commonly used E-mail addresses during the addressing process. With the cursor at its first position on the display 344 of the fax interface device 102, the fax interface device begins accepting keypad entries and each time the sender waits more than the preset time (e.g., one second), the interface device records a �time-out�. If the sender presses a single key 342 a repeatedly before there is a time-out, then the fax interface device will select the respective character or character group from the chart of FIG. 10 corresponding to the number of times the key was pressed. The fax interface device will consider the address entry to be complete when the sender has pressed the �GO� button 342 d. Upon completion of the entry of the E-mail address, the sender presses the �GO� button 342 d on the keypad 342 to begin a process whereby the interface device 106 interacts with the Fax-Server 110 of the FEM-GATEWAY 104 to forward the received E-mail address and to pre-condition the FEM-GATEWAY system for delivery of the fax image data from the fax device 106. With further reference to FIGS. 9A-9C, once the �GO� command is received (see step 846), the interface device 102 goes off-hook and dials the FEM-GATEWAY 104 (step 924). To facilitate interaction between the Fax-Server 110 and the fax interface device 102, a process (see COMCON process 1020 of FIG. 11) executes on the Fax-Server 110 which is complimentary to the following process executing on the fax interface device 102 and the two processes communicate through the fax line 107 (and accessory line 109), public network 108, communication link 132 and a fax communication interface 130, as described below, to deliver to the Fax-Server 110 the E-mail address associated with the desired recipient. To that end, it can be seen that steps 924 through 950 of FIGS. 9B-9C are complimentary to and inter-communicate with steps 1026 through 1057 of FIG. 11.
The fax interface device 102 continues its processing at step 926 where the fax interface device monitors the communications with the Fax-Server 110 to determine whether or not an acknowledgment �ACK� as been received from the Fax-Server 110. If not, the process 830 branches to step 928 where the fax interface device 102 determines whether or not a time-out condition exists (i.e., the fax interface device 102 has been waiting for an �ACK� for an excessive period of time). If the fax interface device 102 has determined that a time-out condition exists, the fax interface device 102 goes on hook, at step 930, without communicating the recipient's E-mail address nor the fax image data to the Fax-Server 110. If the fax interface device 102 determines, at step 928, that a time-out condition does not exist, the front-end process 830 loops back to step 926. If, at step 926, the fax interface device 102 detects an �ACK�, the process 830 advances to step 932 where the fax interface device 102 sends a Fax-to-E-mail command to the Fax-Server 110. Then, the fax interface device 102 sends, at step 934, its unique identification code (ID) to the Fax-Server 110. Advancing to steps 936 and 938 of the front-end process 830, the fax interface device 102 sends the recipient E-mail address, received previously from the sender, optionally, the sender's ID, and a check sum to the Fax-Server 110. At step 940, the fax interface device 102 determines whether or not an �error-free ACK� has been received from the Fax-Server 110 on fax line 107. If so, the front-end process 830 continues at step 948 described below. If not, the process 830 branches to step 942 where the fax interface device 102 determines whether or not an �error ACK� has been received from the Fax-Server 110 on fax line 107 instead of an �error-free ACK�. If the fax interface device 102 determines that an �error ACK� has been received (i.e., indicating that the Fax-Server 110 is requesting that the fax interface device 102 re-send the fax-to-E-mail command, its own identification code, the recipient's E-mail address, and an associated check sum), the front-end process 830 loops back to step 932. If the fax interface device 102 determines that an �error ACK� has not been received, then the process 830 moves to step 944 where the fax interface device 102 determines whether or not a time-out condition has occurred. If not, the process 830 loops back to step 940 to continue waiting for an �ACK�. If so, the fax interface device 102 goes on-hook and the front-end process 830 returns to its �idle time�.
According to the preferred method of the present invention, and as seen in FIG. 9C, the fax interface device 102, at step 948, receives a message from the FEM-GATEWAY 104 to display the message �PRESS SEND ON FAX DEVICE NOW�, and the message is displayed (see step 950) at the fax interface device's display 344. Next, at step 952, the front-end process 830 determines if there is a drop or absence of CO line current. For example, in the preferred embodiment where the fax interface device 102 is connected by line 109 to the accessory phone RJ-11 jack on the fax device 106, then, in accordance with standard functioning procedures, the connection of the fax line 107 to the accessory line 109 will be �locked out� and the accessory line 109 will �go dead��this is the �absence of CO line current� to be determined at step 952. If no CO line current is detected, the process returns to �idle time�. Alternately, for example, in an embodiment where the connection between accessory line 109 and fax line 107 is not automatically locked-out by activation of the fax device 106 SEND command (e.g., connection of accessory line 109′ at line splitter 117), then step 952 is, for example, replaced by the decision step of �detect fax tones?�, and, if fax tones are detected, the fax device 102 is placed on-hook and the process 830 returns to �idle time� at step 834 As mentioned above, a process referred to herein as the COMCON process 1020 (see FIG. 11) executes on the Fax-Server 110; and, in accordance with preferred embodiments of the invention, a separate COMCON process 1020 services each fax communication channel of a fax communication interface 130 (see FIG. 2) of the Fax-Server 110 by communicating, in a hand-shaking manner, with a front-end process 830 (see FIGS. 9B, 9C) of a fax interface device 102 when a sender attempts to communicate a document via E-mail to a recipient.
In accordance with an alternate, preferred embodiment of the present invention, as depicted in FIG. 13, the fax interface device 102″ is placed in what might be termed a �series relationship� on communication link 107 between the fax device 106 and the public network 108 (as opposed to the configuration of the above-described embodiments for which I have used the term �parallel relationship�). An exemplary fax interface device 102″ used in accordance with this in-series embodiment of FIG. 13 is depicted in FIG. 14 in schematic fashion. The telephony circuitry 320″ of this fax interface device 102″ connects through a phone line surge protector and phone line coupler to the public network 108 along phone line 107, and connects through a fax phone line coupler to the fax device 106 along phone line 107′. The DSP circuitry 322″ is provided with enhanced processing capability whereby the fax interface device receives and processes signals generated by keystroke entry made at the fax device keypad 105 (thus eliminating the need for a separate keypad at the fax interface device) and whereby the fax interface device 102″ acts as an intermediary between the fax device 106 and the public network 108 to separately process signals from each, to electively pass signals from one to the other, and to separately interact with each of the fax device and public network. The operation of this alternate embodiment of FIG. 13 is in accordance with the process outline in connection with FIG. 8 of the previous embodiments. However, in the detailed processing, the fax interface device 102″ takes control of the interaction between the fax device 106 and the public network 108 to eliminate the need for user monitoring of the �SEND� function. For example, with reference to FIG. 9A, the fax interface device 102″, at step 836, monitors the fax side communication line 107′ for activity at the fax device keypad 105, which activity is, for example, in the form of a pre-established entry which alerts the fax interface device 102″ that the user at the fax device desires to send a fax-to-e-mail (for example, by entry of the keystrokes �*4�). Absent such fax-to-e-mail alerting entry, the fax interface device 102″ would, for example, simply pass communications between the public network 108 and the fax device 106 directly through its telephony circuitry, for example, not interfering with the communication. Once the fax-to-e-mail entry is received, the fax interface device 102″ begins with the user similar steps 840 and 842 of FIG. 9A. Furthermore, preferred embodiments of the in-series system 100″ maintain control at step 948 (FIG. 9C) such that, rather than receiving a user prompt from the FEM-GATEWAY at step 948 (step 1057 of FIG. 11B), the FEM-GATEWAY sends and the fax interface device 102″ receives an acknowledgment signal, in response to which the fax interface device 102″ connects a communication channel within its telephony circuitry between the telephone line 107 and the fax phone line 107′, and communicates fax tones from the fax server 110 through the communication channel to the fax device. By standard handshaking and delivery techniques, the fax device 106 then delivers its fax data along communication lines 107′ and 107, through the fax interface device telephone, circuitry, to the fax server 110. When the fax has been completed, the fax interface device 102 detects the end-of-fax signal and communicates the same to the fax-server 110, disconnects communication channel, and awaits a future fax-to-e-mail signal from the fax device 106.
Whereas the present invention has been depicted and described in relationship to embodiments in which the fax interface device 102 and the fax device 106 are embodied in separate chassis interconnected by an accessory communication line 109, alternate embodiments of the facsimile-to-electronic mail communication system 100 of the present invention comprise a combined unit fax/fax-to E-mail sending device (hereinafter also identified as the �combined unit 358�) which incorporates within a single chassis the functionality of both the fax interface device 102 and the fax device 106, with necessary component parts. In a first embodiment of such combined unit 102/106′, the fax interface device 102 of the embodiment of FIG. 1 hereof, is simply physically embodied within a single chassis with the fax device 106 of the embodiment of FIG. 1, and necessary external modifications are made to the chassis in order to acquire access to the necessary keypads to effect operation of the two combined devices within the combined unit. In a preferred embodiment of the combined unit sending device, however, the functionality of the fax interface device 102 and the fax device 106 of the embodiment of FIG. 1 hereof are embodied within a single chassis and components which perform duplicate functions are eliminated to provide an efficiency of structure. With reference to FIG. 15, this preferred embodiment of the combined unit fax/fax-to-E-mail sending divice 358 comprises a single keypad 360 and single display 361, which replace the two keypads and two displays of the fax interface device 102 and fax device 106 The keypad 360 of the combined unit 358 acts as a dual function keypad which accepts user input and interfaces with software logic 364 to alternately perform the functions of a standard fax device keypad or the functions of the fax interface device keypad 342. Preferably, the dual function keypad 342 includes all of the dial and function keys necessary to effect the functions of the fax device 106 and the fax interface device 102. A physical button (or command key) 362 which is software-enabled selectively switches the combined unit sending device 358 between a fax mode (during which the device functions as a standard fax machine delivering information from a hard copy document to a remote recipient fax machine) and a fax-to-E-mail mode (during which the information from a hard copy document is sent to its recipient via electronic mail, in accordance with previously discussed processes of the present invention). When switched to the fax mode, the dual function keypad 360 and display 361 receive and display keypad entries as a standard fax machine, and when the device 358 is in the fax-to-E-mail mode, the dual function keypad 360 and the display device 361 receive and display user keypad entries in a manner described previously in connection with the fax interface device 102. In the drawing of FIG. 15, the number 366 schematically represents the combined hardware/software functionality of the combined unit sending device 358 divided schematically into a fax interface device function 366 a and a fax device function 366 b. These functions are shown in this schematic manner to represent their separate functionality but their sharing of certain operational components. A user desiring to use the combined unit sending device 358 as a standard fax machine, depresses the command key button 362 to place the sending device in the fax mode, after which the user will enter digits at the keypad 360 which will be interpreted as standard facsimile machine keypad entries, resulting in the receipt and display of a telephone number which number will be sent (through operation of the combined units fax device function 36 b) along communication line 107 to the public telephone network 108 to effect a telephone connection with a remote fax machine for fax-to-fax delivery of the hard copy information placed in the device. Other features and functionalities which are standard to typical prior art fax machines are acceptably provided. When the user desires to send a hard copy document to a recipient via electronic mail, the user depresses the command key button 362, to switch the combined unit sending device 358 to the fax-to-E-mail mode, in which mode the user entries at the dual function keypad 360 are interpreted in accordance with the prior described scheme of the present invention to input and display alphanumeric E-mail addresses. With reference to the prior disclosure, the combined unit sending device 358 operating through its fax interface device functionality 366 a communicates with the FEM-GATEWAY 104 in a manner similar to the process described in connection with FIGS. 9A-9C previously. Once the �SEND� key is depressed on the keypad of the combined unit sending device 358 in response to the prompt at step 950 of FIG. 9C, the combined unit sending device switches to the fax device functionality 366 b to deliver the fax image data along communication line 107 to the FEM-GATEWAY 104. The structure and functionality of the FEM-GATEWAY 104 is substantially similar to that previously described in connection with FIGS. 1-12 and the interactive processes of FIGS. 11A-11C are substantially as described previously. Furthermore, the remaining components (E-mail network 116, E-mail Server 120 and E-mail device 118) of the facsimile-to-E-mail communication system 100′″ are substantially similar to those described in connection with the embodiment of FIGS. 1-12. Further explanation of the hardware and software components of this combined unit fax/fax-to-E-mail sending device 358 is deemed unnecessary, as it will be readily understood by those skilled in the art having reference to the previous detailed descriptions of this specification.
It is understood that new and various communications techniques and systems are available and becoming available which communications techniques and systems are acceptably utilized to provide the �communication links� (e.g., link 132, link 202 , link 203, link 205) of the previously described preferred embodiments. By way of example, FIG. 16 depicts schematically an acceptable alternative communication link system 132′ utilized as an acceptable communication link 132 between the PSTN 108 and the FEM-GATEWAY 104. The communication link system 132″ includes what is commonly termed an �Internet Telephony Gateway� 400 and a computer network 116′ (which is acceptably, though not necessarily, that same computer network described herein as the e-mail network 116) The Internet Telephony Gateway 400 is, for example, based on a gateway model currently developed by Dialogic Corporation of Parsippany, N.J. and VocalTec Communications. This Internet Telephony Gateway 400 functions, utilizing for example the developing protocol known as Voice Over Internet Protocol (VoIP), to bridge the circuit-switched PSTN 108 with the regional or global computer network 116′ to which the FEM-SERVER 110 (FEM-GATEWAY 104) is connected as a server, and to, thereby, provide real time communication across the computer network 116′ (e.g., the Internet) between the fax locale (e.g., devices 102, 106�generically depicted in FIG. 16) and the FEM-SERVER. Thus, the standard telephone and standard fax signals are communicated by the fax device 106 and/or fax interface device 102 (in accordance with one or more of the preferred embodiments discussed above) to the PSTN 108, which passes the signals to the Internet Telephony Gateway 400, which gateway digitizes the telephony signal, compresses it, packetizes it for the computer network (for example, the Internet using Internet Protocol), and routs it to the FEM-SERVER 110 over the computer network (e.g., Internet) 116′. The operation is reversed for packets being communicated from the FEM-SERVER 110 (in accordance with the above described preferred embodiments of the present invention) to the fax locale. Within the context of the broader scope of the present invention, the PSTN 108 and communication link system 132′ (e.g., gateway 400 and computer network 116′) function as a first communication network through which the fax locale (devices 102, 106) and the FEM-GATEWAY 104′ communicate.
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H04L12/58C2, H04N1/00C3, H04N1/00C3GLegal EventsDateCodeEventDescriptionJul 21, 2011FPAYFee paymentYear of fee payment: 8Jul 14, 2009CCCertificate of correctionJun 29, 2009ASAssignmentOwner name: ANTOPHOLI SOFTWARE, LLC, DELAWAREFree format text: ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNORS INTEREST;ASSIGNOR:CATCH CURVE, INC.;REEL/FRAME:022892/0558Effective date: 20090611Aug 1, 2007FPAYFee paymentYear of fee payment: 4Apr 4, 2005ASAssignmentOwner name: AUDIOFAX IP, LLC, GEORGIAFree format text: ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNORS INTEREST;ASSIGNOR:BLOOMFIELD ENTERPRISES, L.L.C.;REEL/FRAME:015851/0161Effective date: 20050217Owner name: CATCH CURVE, INC., GEORGIAFree format text: ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNORS INTEREST;ASSIGNOR:AUDIOFAX IP, LLC;REEL/FRAME:015851/0182Owner name: AUDIOFAX IP, LLC 1180 W. 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