Patent ID: 8488207

Claim:
A communication system for communicating information, the communication system comprising: a first node in communication with a first communication network, the first node comprising— a facsimile generating and sending function; and an e-mail address receiving and sending function, wherein the e-mail address receiving and sending function includes memory to receive an e-mail address; and a second node in communication with a computer network and the first communication network, wherein the second node is configured to provide a communication link therebetween, and wherein the second node selectively operates in a facsimile-to-data mode in which the second node— receives, from the first node via the first communication network, facsimile information generated at the first node, and communicates data representative of the facsimile information without additional user input to a destination via the computer network, the second node further comprising a component configured to— convert the facsimile information generated at the first node to image data, create an information portion including, at least, delivery information and a comment to a desired recipient, and associate the image data with the information portion as an attachment, wherein the second node is responsive to commands received from the first node to initiate operation of the facsimile-to-data mode, and wherein the second node is programmed to interact with the first node to receive the e-mail address sent out of the memory of the first node.