Patent ID: 8482810

Claim:
A facsimile system comprising: a scanning device to convert a hardcopy image into an electronic image; a print engine to create a hardcopy document from electronic data; a user interface to enable a user to input instructions and information; a controller, operatively connected to said scanning device, print engine and user interface, to control operations of said scanning device, print engine and user interface; a telephony based communication circuit, operatively connected to said controller, to provide a telephony based communication channel; and a network based communication circuit, operatively connected to said controller, to provide a network based communication channel; said controller converting electronic image data into facsimile-image digital data, the facsimile-image digital data being in a facsimile transmission ready format; said controller enabling addition of non-facsimile-communication-protocol/non-facsimile-image digital data facsimile-image digital data to be transmitted by said telephony based communication circuit, said non-facsimile-communication-protocol/non-facsimile-image digital data being renderable as dots with no specific purpose; said controller enabling detection of non-facsimile-communication-protocol/non-facsimile-image digital data within facsimile-image digital data received from another facsimile system transmitting the facsimile-image digital data based upon a telephony based communication protocol; said controller directing, by utilizing said network based communication circuit, the facsimile-image digital data received from another facsimile system transmitting the facsimile-image digital data based upon a telephony based communication protocol to a network based processing system, in response to detection of non-facsimile-communication-protocol/non-facsimile-image digital data within the facsimile-image digital data received from another facsimile system transmitting the facsimile-image digital data based upon a telephony based communication protocol; said controller directing the facsimile-image digital data received from another facsimile system transmitting the facsimile-image digital data based upon a telephony based communication protocol to said print engine, in response to an absence of non-facsimile-communication-protocol/non-facsimile-image digital data within the facsimile-image digital data received from another facsimile system transmitting the facsimile-image digital data based upon a telephony based communication protocol; said print engine producing a hardcopy document based upon the facsimile-image digital data directed thereto by said controller.