Patent ID: 8189238

Claim:
A method of managing facsimile (fax) data in an integrated manner, the method comprising operations of: (a) receiving transmit fax data from a fax machine and capturing the transmit fax data; (b) transmitting the transmit fax data to a first fax device via a public switched telephone network (PSTN); (c) transmitting the captured transmit fax data and an identifier of the first fax device to an integrated fax server via Internet; (i) wherein the integrated fax server includes a controller, a manager/user interface unit, a fax data transceiver, a database managing unit and either an internal or external database; (ii) wherein the manager/user interface unit authenticates a user and a manager, and allows such user or manager to access the integrated fax servicer either directly or via Internet and to request fax data transmission, search stored fax data, or download searched fax data when necessary; (iii) wherein the managing unit manages fax data storage in the database, including but not limited to searching for stored data at the manager or user's request, using one or more of the search parameters including fax terminals, users, workplaces and durations; and (d) the integrated fax server communicates only with in-network machines and sends data via a server interface unit configured to transmit the captured transmit fax data and an identifier of the first fax device via Internet to either user or manager personal work stations.