CA2181251A1 - Modem control and communication arrangement - Google Patents
Modem control and communication arrangementInfo
- Publication number
- CA2181251A1 CA2181251A1 CA002181251A CA2181251A CA2181251A1 CA 2181251 A1 CA2181251 A1 CA 2181251A1 CA 002181251 A CA002181251 A CA 002181251A CA 2181251 A CA2181251 A CA 2181251A CA 2181251 A1 CA2181251 A1 CA 2181251A1
- Authority
- CA
- Canada
- Prior art keywords
- facsimile
- communication
- store
- computer
- software
- Prior art date
- Legal status (The legal status is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the status listed.)
- Abandoned
Links
Classifications
-
- H—ELECTRICITY
- H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
- H04N—PICTORIAL COMMUNICATION, e.g. TELEVISION
- H04N1/00—Scanning, transmission or reproduction of documents or the like, e.g. facsimile transmission; Details thereof
- H04N1/00127—Connection or combination of a still picture apparatus with another apparatus, e.g. for storage, processing or transmission of still picture signals or of information associated with a still picture
- H04N1/00204—Connection or combination of a still picture apparatus with another apparatus, e.g. for storage, processing or transmission of still picture signals or of information associated with a still picture with a digital computer or a digital computer system, e.g. an internet server
- H04N1/00209—Transmitting or receiving image data, e.g. facsimile data, via a computer, e.g. using e-mail, a computer network, the internet, I-fax
-
- H—ELECTRICITY
- H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
- H04M—TELEPHONIC COMMUNICATION
- H04M11/00—Telephonic communication systems specially adapted for combination with other electrical systems
- H04M11/06—Simultaneous speech and data transmission, e.g. telegraphic transmission over the same conductors
-
- H—ELECTRICITY
- H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
- H04N—PICTORIAL COMMUNICATION, e.g. TELEVISION
- H04N1/00—Scanning, transmission or reproduction of documents or the like, e.g. facsimile transmission; Details thereof
- H04N1/32—Circuits or arrangements for control or supervision between transmitter and receiver or between image input and image output device, e.g. between a still-image camera and its memory or between a still-image camera and a printer device
- H04N1/327—Initiating, continuing or ending a single-mode communication; Handshaking therefor
- H04N1/32765—Initiating a communication
- H04N1/32771—Initiating a communication in response to a request, e.g. for a particular document
-
- H—ELECTRICITY
- H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
- H04N—PICTORIAL COMMUNICATION, e.g. TELEVISION
- H04N1/00—Scanning, transmission or reproduction of documents or the like, e.g. facsimile transmission; Details thereof
- H04N1/32—Circuits or arrangements for control or supervision between transmitter and receiver or between image input and image output device, e.g. between a still-image camera and its memory or between a still-image camera and a printer device
- H04N1/327—Initiating, continuing or ending a single-mode communication; Handshaking therefor
- H04N1/32765—Initiating a communication
- H04N1/32771—Initiating a communication in response to a request, e.g. for a particular document
- H04N1/3278—Initiating a communication in response to a request, e.g. for a particular document using a protocol or handshaking signal, e.g. non-standard set-up [NSS]
Abstract
The present invention discloses a method and apparatus for retrieval of information from a remote computer by a PC equipped with a facsimile modem where the PC initiates the communication. The method and apparatus in a preferred embodiment take advantage of the standard fields associated with facsimile transmission for exchange of information. The invention also provides a simple arrangement for changing the transmit mode of a facsimile modem to a receive mode.
Description
W095l20288 !; ~ 2 1 8 1 2 5 1 PCTICA941~685 TITTF: MOD~ CONTROT A~D COMMUNICATION A~RA~G~FNT
FIFTn OF T~F INV~TION
The present invention relates to an automated method and apparatus for communicating information between a remote computer and a personal computer. In particular, the invention relates to control and interaction of a computer modem and a software program used to control the computer modem which interaction is modified for a specialized communication protocol with the remote computer.
R~CKGROUND OF T~F INVF~TION
A number of systems have been proposed for receiving and storing information at a remote computer with this information being available to an end user by accessing the computer using the Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN). Electronic mail systems have been proposed on this basis and more recently facsimile transmission arrangements have utilized this method. In addition, an automated retrieval arrangement is disclosed in United States Patent 4,713,837, United States Patent 4,905,273, United States Patent 4,922,518, United States Patent 4,942,599 and United States Patent 4,969,184, where it is possible to alert the destined receiver of a received facsimile by communicating therewith using a non-telephone signal whereafter the destined receiver completes a telephone communication with the remote computer and retrieves the received facsimile or other message type.
Many personal computers, in particular portable computers, are equipped with data or facsimile modems to accommodate transmission and reception of facsimiles.
Typically the facsimile modem is connected to the computer via an RS-232 port, a PCMCIA port, the computer bus, or a specialized modem port. The facsimile modem typically communicates with a communication software application in the computer using one of these connections.
; . ~ ., . .
SUBSTITUTE E;HEE~
There are many modem manuf~cture~s and the modem ha~dware v~ries and in-ludes d~'ferent capa~ s, A
spec'fic -ommur.ic2~icn sof-~zre zp?li~at-' o~ 1 s t~_ czlly used w~ the facs-m~le ~.Gd~m -o ccr.~~o 'ing ~he oFera_ion of _:~e ~edem. ~.e sG~twa-e 2~ ' c2.ion ~y?i-a'ly -'ntera_,s T~ . t:~.e modem and t~e c~m~uter àur~ng a da:z t~ar.sr~'ss~on or rece~t~on. The so ~wa_e ap?i~cati~n ~lows 'h- us2r to send, receiYe, ~iew, ~,od~'y, 2nnotate, m2nag6, list, an~
forwa~ facsimile mess2ges wl hin :ris PC.
lC ~n some c--c~ms_a~ces, ~_ 's deslrzble -o r:i-ia-e 2 telepho e com~un~cat~on wit:r. a remGte Co~?ut~r ro- the purp~se of retrie~ing -~-s~mi e messages. _n su-h circ~mst~ces, ~he 'C init_ates a com~urlicatior wi-h a re~ote compu-er a.d tne -e~.o~e ccmp~ter t:ans~uts 1~ ~n-onmatlon ~.cludina facsi~il~ m~ssaaes ~ac~ to the personal computer on t:-e same call. This is i~. contrast to the com~on practise where -he i~.itiatin~ ~C transmits facs~mile ~es~ages rat~er th~n receives ~acs~m~le ~essages.
Some mode~ and assocla~ed software do allow a separa~e 20 cn~n~ to orce ~he modem to a receive mode, wi,h s~ch software, t~.e user is able to -orce the ~odem into a recei~e mode after ha~in~ in~tiated cn out~ound cal}.
Other modems and so~tware do not allow th~s to be acco~plished a~d the ~odcm may d~sconnect the telephone com~unication should it ~e fo~ced i~o a recei~e mode after having initiated an outbo~nd call.
It would be desirable .o provide 2 s~mDle arrangement for allowing a c~mputer w~th a zcsim.ile ~odem -o ~r.it~ate ro~municatior w'th a remote computer via ~he mode~ ~d tc the~. place th~ modem in a r~ceive mode, regardless of ~he type of ~odem or t~De o~ facsimile sc~tware a~plic~tions.
Sll~ARY OF THF INVFNTIO~
The present Ln~renticn defines a par-ic la~
co~blnat on which includes a oersonal computer hav~ng an auxillary so~tware a~plica;ion, con~enticnal c~mm~lr;ca~ion scl=~a~e used in association w th the t~ansmitt~ng anc AMENDEû SllEEr . , .. . , . . . . .. , . _. . . .. __ .. ...... .. .
Ceiving of facsimile information ~ia 2 facsiml le mo~em associ~ted the-ewith and a stor2 and ,~o-wat~d com~uter accessible ~y telepho~e commur.ications. The a~xi~iary software applic~~ion, wher. ac~ ated, p o~ides ~?.s_~uctlons _o the facsimile modem tc in tia~e a teleshG~,e co~nunicat ~cn w -h a p-edete-mined .ele~:-lcne adc_ ess of the s,o-e and forward cem.pute-. Aft-r completiGr of th' s coIr~..un~'~ation, the auxlliary so-tware applica.ior. crea~es z~d transmits an act~ ~ation signa ~ ~o ~he cGnvsnti~n21 co~unication so ~twat e ' r~ic2tins a ~elephc~e C:G~ nunlcat~' on is ~eir.g ~eceived by the facslmil e ~.odem. Tris ca~ses -' e conventior.a: c3;nmunicat ior. s~ftwa~e to provide t:~.e nor;;lal ci~als for contr~lling the acsimile mo~em acc3-dlng tc _he st~n~ard protocol . ~ith t~- s arrznge!nent, the facsim- le moa~n ano. the c~nve~t' cnal comm~n_catlon softwa~ e zssu~ne a sta~e fo. .ece ?t o~ a commu-m c3~ion from t~e e a!ld -orward compu~er connected to the facsimil e rQodem, which connectlon ~as initiated ~;y the auxiliary software application.
It can be seen ~rom the above that ~he auxiiiary softw~re application ana the conventional comn~r.icaticn ~oftware each use the facslm~le mo~em and th~ aux' liary software ap~lication manlpulates the c.,".,..~ i ca~ion sof~ware to cause he facsi~nile modem and c~ ca~ion so rtware to 25 2ssum~ a state ~r receip~ of a transmiSsis:~n, even thou~h the ~odem is connected tC the s~,ore znd rc~ard compute-.
In a preferred aspec- of the in~rent ~ or., the aux~ liary sort~are appl icat~ on includes ~he capaDl_i~y o reCeive su~uTary ~ n orm2tian destir.ed f~r the personal ~0 computer and the capai~ y t~ sele-t any pcrt ion t:r~ereGf for trans~iss~ on to the ~personal computer v~ a the communication from the e~cre and forward com~llter prior tc creating and transmittinc the actlvation sigr.21 received ~-y t:~e con~ten~ or2l commur i cation soft~2-e.
FIFTn OF T~F INV~TION
The present invention relates to an automated method and apparatus for communicating information between a remote computer and a personal computer. In particular, the invention relates to control and interaction of a computer modem and a software program used to control the computer modem which interaction is modified for a specialized communication protocol with the remote computer.
R~CKGROUND OF T~F INVF~TION
A number of systems have been proposed for receiving and storing information at a remote computer with this information being available to an end user by accessing the computer using the Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN). Electronic mail systems have been proposed on this basis and more recently facsimile transmission arrangements have utilized this method. In addition, an automated retrieval arrangement is disclosed in United States Patent 4,713,837, United States Patent 4,905,273, United States Patent 4,922,518, United States Patent 4,942,599 and United States Patent 4,969,184, where it is possible to alert the destined receiver of a received facsimile by communicating therewith using a non-telephone signal whereafter the destined receiver completes a telephone communication with the remote computer and retrieves the received facsimile or other message type.
Many personal computers, in particular portable computers, are equipped with data or facsimile modems to accommodate transmission and reception of facsimiles.
Typically the facsimile modem is connected to the computer via an RS-232 port, a PCMCIA port, the computer bus, or a specialized modem port. The facsimile modem typically communicates with a communication software application in the computer using one of these connections.
; . ~ ., . .
SUBSTITUTE E;HEE~
There are many modem manuf~cture~s and the modem ha~dware v~ries and in-ludes d~'ferent capa~ s, A
spec'fic -ommur.ic2~icn sof-~zre zp?li~at-' o~ 1 s t~_ czlly used w~ the facs-m~le ~.Gd~m -o ccr.~~o 'ing ~he oFera_ion of _:~e ~edem. ~.e sG~twa-e 2~ ' c2.ion ~y?i-a'ly -'ntera_,s T~ . t:~.e modem and t~e c~m~uter àur~ng a da:z t~ar.sr~'ss~on or rece~t~on. The so ~wa_e ap?i~cati~n ~lows 'h- us2r to send, receiYe, ~iew, ~,od~'y, 2nnotate, m2nag6, list, an~
forwa~ facsimile mess2ges wl hin :ris PC.
lC ~n some c--c~ms_a~ces, ~_ 's deslrzble -o r:i-ia-e 2 telepho e com~un~cat~on wit:r. a remGte Co~?ut~r ro- the purp~se of retrie~ing -~-s~mi e messages. _n su-h circ~mst~ces, ~he 'C init_ates a com~urlicatior wi-h a re~ote compu-er a.d tne -e~.o~e ccmp~ter t:ans~uts 1~ ~n-onmatlon ~.cludina facsi~il~ m~ssaaes ~ac~ to the personal computer on t:-e same call. This is i~. contrast to the com~on practise where -he i~.itiatin~ ~C transmits facs~mile ~es~ages rat~er th~n receives ~acs~m~le ~essages.
Some mode~ and assocla~ed software do allow a separa~e 20 cn~n~ to orce ~he modem to a receive mode, wi,h s~ch software, t~.e user is able to -orce the ~odem into a recei~e mode after ha~in~ in~tiated cn out~ound cal}.
Other modems and so~tware do not allow th~s to be acco~plished a~d the ~odcm may d~sconnect the telephone com~unication should it ~e fo~ced i~o a recei~e mode after having initiated an outbo~nd call.
It would be desirable .o provide 2 s~mDle arrangement for allowing a c~mputer w~th a zcsim.ile ~odem -o ~r.it~ate ro~municatior w'th a remote computer via ~he mode~ ~d tc the~. place th~ modem in a r~ceive mode, regardless of ~he type of ~odem or t~De o~ facsimile sc~tware a~plic~tions.
Sll~ARY OF THF INVFNTIO~
The present Ln~renticn defines a par-ic la~
co~blnat on which includes a oersonal computer hav~ng an auxillary so~tware a~plica;ion, con~enticnal c~mm~lr;ca~ion scl=~a~e used in association w th the t~ansmitt~ng anc AMENDEû SllEEr . , .. . , . . . . .. , . _. . . .. __ .. ...... .. .
Ceiving of facsimile information ~ia 2 facsiml le mo~em associ~ted the-ewith and a stor2 and ,~o-wat~d com~uter accessible ~y telepho~e commur.ications. The a~xi~iary software applic~~ion, wher. ac~ ated, p o~ides ~?.s_~uctlons _o the facsimile modem tc in tia~e a teleshG~,e co~nunicat ~cn w -h a p-edete-mined .ele~:-lcne adc_ ess of the s,o-e and forward cem.pute-. Aft-r completiGr of th' s coIr~..un~'~ation, the auxlliary so-tware applica.ior. crea~es z~d transmits an act~ ~ation signa ~ ~o ~he cGnvsnti~n21 co~unication so ~twat e ' r~ic2tins a ~elephc~e C:G~ nunlcat~' on is ~eir.g ~eceived by the facslmil e ~.odem. Tris ca~ses -' e conventior.a: c3;nmunicat ior. s~ftwa~e to provide t:~.e nor;;lal ci~als for contr~lling the acsimile mo~em acc3-dlng tc _he st~n~ard protocol . ~ith t~- s arrznge!nent, the facsim- le moa~n ano. the c~nve~t' cnal comm~n_catlon softwa~ e zssu~ne a sta~e fo. .ece ?t o~ a commu-m c3~ion from t~e e a!ld -orward compu~er connected to the facsimil e rQodem, which connectlon ~as initiated ~;y the auxiliary software application.
It can be seen ~rom the above that ~he auxiiiary softw~re application ana the conventional comn~r.icaticn ~oftware each use the facslm~le mo~em and th~ aux' liary software ap~lication manlpulates the c.,".,..~ i ca~ion sof~ware to cause he facsi~nile modem and c~ ca~ion so rtware to 25 2ssum~ a state ~r receip~ of a transmiSsis:~n, even thou~h the ~odem is connected tC the s~,ore znd rc~ard compute-.
In a preferred aspec- of the in~rent ~ or., the aux~ liary sort~are appl icat~ on includes ~he capaDl_i~y o reCeive su~uTary ~ n orm2tian destir.ed f~r the personal ~0 computer and the capai~ y t~ sele-t any pcrt ion t:r~ereGf for trans~iss~ on to the ~personal computer v~ a the communication from the e~cre and forward com~llter prior tc creating and transmittinc the actlvation sigr.21 received ~-y t:~e con~ten~ or2l commur i cation soft~2-e.
3~ According tc a fur~he~ aspect of ~he invent on, the auxiliary so~tware application is ir.cluded as part o~ -he conventional ~o~ ication so~.war~.
~IIENCED S~
. ... . .................. ..... . . . . . . . ..
~ 21 81251 -According to a. further aspect of t~e in~ention, the aux~' liary software applica~ on includes 2n initia' sisr-on ~r~ced:~e to enroll the ~ers~n.21 com~ er wi_:-. the sto_e and f~rward eompute-.
S ~}~.e p_esent inveatio~. i 5 -'50 dl-ecte~l to 2 mel h.Cd cS -eceivi~g 'a_C~.il e t-~nsmlssions destined 'o~ z ~acsimile arra~gemen~ w~ ^h has been z.ssigned a t~lephone ^ac~i~nile addr~ss. The t~lephorle address, when ~sei, -esults ln a comununi~atior. w~ ~h a 'acsi~Lile ~Lai 1 box o~ a lC storC and fcrward co:r.pu_er wh~icr is a~ ~essible by telep~one '~or retrie~ g oS ~acsilr,il~s. T`s.e method comprises assig~.ins the facsimile ar-angement 2 telephone acsimi e add-ess, causi~g _he acstm~ le a--angement to originate a te' ephone commur ication w ' th the store and fo-ward c~mpu~er, a~.d _he store ~rld ~~rwa~d c~mputer tra s;r.its to the facsimile arrangement ~ summary of the c~ntents a~ the mail3Gx n a fieid of t~}~ handsha~c~ facsimile protocol.
The facs~mile ar_angement identi ~ies ~o the store ~ld forwar~l co~puter cer;ain information i~. the ~nailbox to be transmitted to the ~acsiInile arranger~e-~t and the_ea'ter aut~matically places the facsi~iie arrangeme:~t _n a recelve mode . The stcre ar d fc~rard COQ~pu~e~ then t-a~smits ~he iden-i~ied infcrlna~ion to the facsim~ le arrangemerlt prio~
~o ~ermi~.ation of -he telephone c~m~ cation sriginated by the -acs~i~ e a:rancetnent .
According to an aspect of the invention, the ~acsi~nile arrange;rlent, durlng the initi~1 handshake ~r~tocol, ct~m~ nicates its identi' y as well as a sec~-ity code to ~:e~e stare and ~orwa-c~ csmputer.
Acco-ding to a fur~ncr aspect of the inv~ltion~ the method ln~olves controll~ng of a 'acsimile ar~ angement, which is a compute~ having saia f~csimile modem.
C~mm~ i c2tion s~ ware ~ s used .o Frocess the ~acsi,n~ le transmissior.s received by the ~nodem and auxiliar-~
;5 c5lnmllr ~ cat- or softwre is used to establisn, ~ia rhe facsimile modem, the initial communica~ion wl~h the store and ~orwa-d compute~.
~-a929/wo 2 1 8 1 2 5 1 ~ Accordir~g to a further aspect of t;~le invention, the auxiliarY co~nmurl~ cation software, afte~ communica~ion ~_th the store and for~ard ~rn~ut-r, ?-oduces a signal c~s ~ ~.g the c~ nlcatlzn so'~war~ to act as if a ~el2p:~0r~e communicat~io~ Deing receivec ~y the f~csimile modem ~rhile the ,acsimil^ modem is connectec 'c Ihe s~ore and -a-wa-d cor~uter. T:~e communication so-;ware rece_ves the de.,.iCie~ lnCorrlation as a facs~mlle transmiss~ ~n.
Irl a f ~r~ e~ aspe~t o~ th.e ir.ve .tlor., th~ auxilia-y communica_ior~ ~oft~are w~ites the messzge string "R" ~ N" "G" to the communi-atior. s~ftware to C~US- the co~mun c~tion sofrware l~ ac_ ~s ~ telephone cosmnun' cation i s bein~ received by the facsimile modem.
~ rEF ~E:SCRIPT ON OF TEJ.F ~:)RAwI~lGS
The prefer-~d embodiments of .he ' nvention a-e show_ng ~ n the drawin~, w:~lerei~:
Figure 1 sh~ws 2 schematic of the systam.
D~,TATT-~n DES~RTP~ION OF THF ~ n ~BODIMEN~S
A personal computer ~PC~ 2, as shown ln Figure 1, has a display screen 4 and co~nmunlcation sof~wa-e application 6 and auxiliary software apl~lication 10. The PC ~ s connec~ced ~y a con~unication ca~le 12 to facsimile mode~ 8. ~he facsim~ le modem 8 is conr.ecred to the teleohone ch~nn~ 14 which is par~ of ~h_ Publl c Switchec Telephone Network ~PST~) generally lndlca~e~ 2S '~ 6.
stGre and ~or~ar~ _omputer 18 is shown connected to the ~STN and this sto=e 2nd for~a_d computer 18 ir.cludes its own co~ icaiion ~rococo'~ indlcated as 20 ~hich provides . ~he ~.ecessary ~iar~àshaXe to communicate with facsim~ le e~, facsimile m:2~ch; nes, data ~oderns, an~ other such ~o~n~micatior~ dev~ ces and a specialized co~rununication wlch s.~c~ dev~ ces of a subscribe-.
In add~tlon, ;he pe~s;;nal computer 2 may incl~de a separate receiver 3 0 whic~ can receive a transmitted cornrnunicatior. signai 32 con~aining an identi.y si~al of the particula- persor21 c~rQp~t_r whe.rl reau~ red. The o recelpt of such a si5nal indicates a telephone co~;ununica_ion w~ th ~he Store and 'orward campute~ should be ni. ated when p^ssi~le .
The auxiliarY -~ur~i-atlQn so~tware a~lic2tion. 10 5 s advænta~eOuSlY us~d w--h p~r' 2b e Com?ute-s ~r. th2t these portab~ e cornpu~ers o-ten h2ve associatec the~ ewith fac~rlle ~Lodeme but are no_ zlw~ys co~necte~ to a ded~ cate~ telephone com~unicatior. channel }4 . ~ro~ time; o time, t:r~e facsi;nlle mo~em wi 1 be _onnected with a 1 Q teleph~r.e ch2nn~1 ~' but i~_ may r~t be a dedica~ ed line an~
i~ is not a telephone chann.el ~o which the pcrtable com:uter i s alwGys connect~d. I- order tc GlLow such 2 PC
te rece~ ve ~ae~sinllles and recei~7e -acslm les in what wouid be ccnsidered to be a more cr less~ nor~r,a~ anner, ,h_ s_ore anc 30rW2_C~ comDute- 18 _zr. receive t~ s~issions on Dehal f of the ~G_table compu;~r 2 and s_ore suc~h _acsi:ni}es under an address ccde or mai 1 box o that ?artic~lar portable comDu~e- 2, When the user of the portable con~puter makes a 20 connect~ on with the ~elephone channel ~ q, the auxiliary sof-ware appiicaticn 10 can be activa~ed to in~ tiate a spec~ alized communication ~ith the store and forwar~i computer p' atfor~ 18 . The a~xiLiary software application iC uses the facsim~ le modem to place a call over the ~STN
2~ to the s~ore ar~d ~orvtard cor~uter 18 and co~rununication protoc~l 20 exchanges ' nform~tion with the facsi.~nile modem in the ~ie~ ds of the facsimile h~ shake protocol normal1 y used to establish a commur. ._aticn between two .~odems. At t:rlat ~oir.t, the auxiliary software applicatiorl hzs ad~ised 3~ the user of a summa~ y listi!lg of nis particular ma~ lbox ar.d the user may hi~ve se~ e-ted and advised the store and f~rward computer of certain infor:r.etion to 1~ downlcaded - o the oc.
Ihe 2uxil' ary software t;~en produces a signal that 35 is received ~y the conununicztlon sortware lO lndicating an inc~ming telephone signal i5 ~eir.g received, eve~ though the connection ~ith the store and Co~warc~ ccmputer is beins ;~2 ntained. The com.~nunicaticn scftware i nstructs ~he modem ~NDEO S
` 2 1 8 1 2 5 1 - 8 ~o ~ece~ve the tr~cmiss~orl and thereby connect~ w~'th the ~tore and fo~ward computer and results in the download~ ng o f ~".e des i red in f o~mat i on .
~ach store ~-~d ~o~ard compute- has Direc- ' n-3 ai _, ~DTD~ '~k 1 in~s and ~.as ~he T-~ll owing ca~a~ ies:
1. Tc answer i~.com,- r.~ calls on -h- ~-D t_~nK, 2. T~ receiYe and process the ~_D digits t-ansmitted by the PSTNi 3, ~o unde--ake CL data ex~har.ge w~th the calling Q te~minal usir.s Duzl-Tor~e ~u ti-Fre~e-.cy (D~) or other info_mation si5~.alling means;
~IIENCED S~
. ... . .................. ..... . . . . . . . ..
~ 21 81251 -According to a. further aspect of t~e in~ention, the aux~' liary software applica~ on includes 2n initia' sisr-on ~r~ced:~e to enroll the ~ers~n.21 com~ er wi_:-. the sto_e and f~rward eompute-.
S ~}~.e p_esent inveatio~. i 5 -'50 dl-ecte~l to 2 mel h.Cd cS -eceivi~g 'a_C~.il e t-~nsmlssions destined 'o~ z ~acsimile arra~gemen~ w~ ^h has been z.ssigned a t~lephone ^ac~i~nile addr~ss. The t~lephorle address, when ~sei, -esults ln a comununi~atior. w~ ~h a 'acsi~Lile ~Lai 1 box o~ a lC storC and fcrward co:r.pu_er wh~icr is a~ ~essible by telep~one '~or retrie~ g oS ~acsilr,il~s. T`s.e method comprises assig~.ins the facsimile ar-angement 2 telephone acsimi e add-ess, causi~g _he acstm~ le a--angement to originate a te' ephone commur ication w ' th the store and fo-ward c~mpu~er, a~.d _he store ~rld ~~rwa~d c~mputer tra s;r.its to the facsimile arrangement ~ summary of the c~ntents a~ the mail3Gx n a fieid of t~}~ handsha~c~ facsimile protocol.
The facs~mile ar_angement identi ~ies ~o the store ~ld forwar~l co~puter cer;ain information i~. the ~nailbox to be transmitted to the ~acsiInile arranger~e-~t and the_ea'ter aut~matically places the facsi~iie arrangeme:~t _n a recelve mode . The stcre ar d fc~rard COQ~pu~e~ then t-a~smits ~he iden-i~ied infcrlna~ion to the facsim~ le arrangemerlt prio~
~o ~ermi~.ation of -he telephone c~m~ cation sriginated by the -acs~i~ e a:rancetnent .
According to an aspect of the invention, the ~acsi~nile arrange;rlent, durlng the initi~1 handshake ~r~tocol, ct~m~ nicates its identi' y as well as a sec~-ity code to ~:e~e stare and ~orwa-c~ csmputer.
Acco-ding to a fur~ncr aspect of the inv~ltion~ the method ln~olves controll~ng of a 'acsimile ar~ angement, which is a compute~ having saia f~csimile modem.
C~mm~ i c2tion s~ ware ~ s used .o Frocess the ~acsi,n~ le transmissior.s received by the ~nodem and auxiliar-~
;5 c5lnmllr ~ cat- or softwre is used to establisn, ~ia rhe facsimile modem, the initial communica~ion wl~h the store and ~orwa-d compute~.
~-a929/wo 2 1 8 1 2 5 1 ~ Accordir~g to a further aspect of t;~le invention, the auxiliarY co~nmurl~ cation software, afte~ communica~ion ~_th the store and for~ard ~rn~ut-r, ?-oduces a signal c~s ~ ~.g the c~ nlcatlzn so'~war~ to act as if a ~el2p:~0r~e communicat~io~ Deing receivec ~y the f~csimile modem ~rhile the ,acsimil^ modem is connectec 'c Ihe s~ore and -a-wa-d cor~uter. T:~e communication so-;ware rece_ves the de.,.iCie~ lnCorrlation as a facs~mlle transmiss~ ~n.
Irl a f ~r~ e~ aspe~t o~ th.e ir.ve .tlor., th~ auxilia-y communica_ior~ ~oft~are w~ites the messzge string "R" ~ N" "G" to the communi-atior. s~ftware to C~US- the co~mun c~tion sofrware l~ ac_ ~s ~ telephone cosmnun' cation i s bein~ received by the facsimile modem.
~ rEF ~E:SCRIPT ON OF TEJ.F ~:)RAwI~lGS
The prefer-~d embodiments of .he ' nvention a-e show_ng ~ n the drawin~, w:~lerei~:
Figure 1 sh~ws 2 schematic of the systam.
D~,TATT-~n DES~RTP~ION OF THF ~ n ~BODIMEN~S
A personal computer ~PC~ 2, as shown ln Figure 1, has a display screen 4 and co~nmunlcation sof~wa-e application 6 and auxiliary software apl~lication 10. The PC ~ s connec~ced ~y a con~unication ca~le 12 to facsimile mode~ 8. ~he facsim~ le modem 8 is conr.ecred to the teleohone ch~nn~ 14 which is par~ of ~h_ Publl c Switchec Telephone Network ~PST~) generally lndlca~e~ 2S '~ 6.
stGre and ~or~ar~ _omputer 18 is shown connected to the ~STN and this sto=e 2nd for~a_d computer 18 ir.cludes its own co~ icaiion ~rococo'~ indlcated as 20 ~hich provides . ~he ~.ecessary ~iar~àshaXe to communicate with facsim~ le e~, facsimile m:2~ch; nes, data ~oderns, an~ other such ~o~n~micatior~ dev~ ces and a specialized co~rununication wlch s.~c~ dev~ ces of a subscribe-.
In add~tlon, ;he pe~s;;nal computer 2 may incl~de a separate receiver 3 0 whic~ can receive a transmitted cornrnunicatior. signai 32 con~aining an identi.y si~al of the particula- persor21 c~rQp~t_r whe.rl reau~ red. The o recelpt of such a si5nal indicates a telephone co~;ununica_ion w~ th ~he Store and 'orward campute~ should be ni. ated when p^ssi~le .
The auxiliarY -~ur~i-atlQn so~tware a~lic2tion. 10 5 s advænta~eOuSlY us~d w--h p~r' 2b e Com?ute-s ~r. th2t these portab~ e cornpu~ers o-ten h2ve associatec the~ ewith fac~rlle ~Lodeme but are no_ zlw~ys co~necte~ to a ded~ cate~ telephone com~unicatior. channel }4 . ~ro~ time; o time, t:r~e facsi;nlle mo~em wi 1 be _onnected with a 1 Q teleph~r.e ch2nn~1 ~' but i~_ may r~t be a dedica~ ed line an~
i~ is not a telephone chann.el ~o which the pcrtable com:uter i s alwGys connect~d. I- order tc GlLow such 2 PC
te rece~ ve ~ae~sinllles and recei~7e -acslm les in what wouid be ccnsidered to be a more cr less~ nor~r,a~ anner, ,h_ s_ore anc 30rW2_C~ comDute- 18 _zr. receive t~ s~issions on Dehal f of the ~G_table compu;~r 2 and s_ore suc~h _acsi:ni}es under an address ccde or mai 1 box o that ?artic~lar portable comDu~e- 2, When the user of the portable con~puter makes a 20 connect~ on with the ~elephone channel ~ q, the auxiliary sof-ware appiicaticn 10 can be activa~ed to in~ tiate a spec~ alized communication ~ith the store and forwar~i computer p' atfor~ 18 . The a~xiLiary software application iC uses the facsim~ le modem to place a call over the ~STN
2~ to the s~ore ar~d ~orvtard cor~uter 18 and co~rununication protoc~l 20 exchanges ' nform~tion with the facsi.~nile modem in the ~ie~ ds of the facsimile h~ shake protocol normal1 y used to establish a commur. ._aticn between two .~odems. At t:rlat ~oir.t, the auxiliary software applicatiorl hzs ad~ised 3~ the user of a summa~ y listi!lg of nis particular ma~ lbox ar.d the user may hi~ve se~ e-ted and advised the store and f~rward computer of certain infor:r.etion to 1~ downlcaded - o the oc.
Ihe 2uxil' ary software t;~en produces a signal that 35 is received ~y the conununicztlon sortware lO lndicating an inc~ming telephone signal i5 ~eir.g received, eve~ though the connection ~ith the store and Co~warc~ ccmputer is beins ;~2 ntained. The com.~nunicaticn scftware i nstructs ~he modem ~NDEO S
` 2 1 8 1 2 5 1 - 8 ~o ~ece~ve the tr~cmiss~orl and thereby connect~ w~'th the ~tore and fo~ward computer and results in the download~ ng o f ~".e des i red in f o~mat i on .
~ach store ~-~d ~o~ard compute- has Direc- ' n-3 ai _, ~DTD~ '~k 1 in~s and ~.as ~he T-~ll owing ca~a~ ies:
1. Tc answer i~.com,- r.~ calls on -h- ~-D t_~nK, 2. T~ receiYe and process the ~_D digits t-ansmitted by the PSTNi 3, ~o unde--ake CL data ex~har.ge w~th the calling Q te~minal usir.s Duzl-Tor~e ~u ti-Fre~e-.cy (D~) or other info_mation si5~.alling means;
4. ~ ~ ece~e a facsi~ile f-om a ~e~ote facsi~Lile term- n~ ' whi-h has called the s~ore and forwar~ co~puter arld ~o sa~e t~e recei~red data ~:1 a specified facsin~ile mall3ax, where the mailbox is ;ypically a disk _ile znd the disk le is addressed by mezn~ o~ .he dial~d d~gits com"~llr.~ eated ~y .he ~STN or contained within a sub-adc~essing field forming part of ''O t~e facsl~ile cl~m~lnl ca~;ion ?rotocol; ar.d 5. ~o transmit a file zs a facs~mile ~c a -e~note facslmlle te~ n~ 1 w~ic~ hZ.S cailed inr~ the store and f orward computer .
The store anc: forward ccmpu~er i s able to proYide a 25 fixed telephone numbe- to each of a multipl iCily of facsimile-equippe~ ~C, and in con ,unction with the auxil'ary sof_ware applicGIisn lO in each ~C, t~.e store an~
f~-w~rd co.~puter is able _o àeli~er receivec -acsimiles tn.e~eto, re5ardless of the telephone acoQss point tQ which 3~ t~e PC ~s connected at ~he t'me.
~ he operation of the infcrmation exchange is generally as followe 1. Each facsim~le-equipped PC ~ ic ~ssigned 2 spec'fic number from the bloc.~ o~ D;D nu~e-s 19 which termina~e at the store ~d forward computer 18, or a sub-addressing field value that identifies the PC.
... . ~E~DED SHEET
~H-892g~O
- ~. The retrie~al Or a facsimile by tAe ~C first requires that the aux~liary software application ins,ruc- the ~acsi~ile modem tG
c~ll a speciric nu~e; that terminates a~ the ; - - store and 'orward computer 18.
3. The store and forwcrd computer accepts the inbound call a~d ident~ies that a facsi.~ile-equipped ~C s~eks to rom~ cate with the stor~ and forward computer 18. ~he auxiliary - - soft~are application l~ preferably sends, via the mode~, a unique identity and a PIN
~Personal Iden-ificati~n Num~e_) to ~he store and fcrward computer 1n one of the facsimile fields of _he handsha~e protocoi, or using 1~ DTMF signall~ng.
4. The store and ~orward compute- in one of the various fielcs associa~d with the n~ch~
protoco~ provides a summary Or ~acsimiles ~n the particular mailbox.
5. The auxiliary software application, i~ the user w~shes to review at1 or scme o, the files, then identifies the infcr~ation to be s~ and transmits this ~n one Or the facsi~ile han~-sh~ke fields. The al~x~ ry software appllcation, whi~_ the telephone chAnn^l is maintained, simulates a "~ng"
conditio~ to the c~mmunicaticn softwa_e o ~n the PC. ~he co.~unicaticn softwar~ acts as 7f a c~nvent~onal l~coming communication is ~e~ng received and places the ~.ode~ in a -eceive m~de.
The store anc: forward ccmpu~er i s able to proYide a 25 fixed telephone numbe- to each of a multipl iCily of facsimile-equippe~ ~C, and in con ,unction with the auxil'ary sof_ware applicGIisn lO in each ~C, t~.e store an~
f~-w~rd co.~puter is able _o àeli~er receivec -acsimiles tn.e~eto, re5ardless of the telephone acoQss point tQ which 3~ t~e PC ~s connected at ~he t'me.
~ he operation of the infcrmation exchange is generally as followe 1. Each facsim~le-equipped PC ~ ic ~ssigned 2 spec'fic number from the bloc.~ o~ D;D nu~e-s 19 which termina~e at the store ~d forward computer 18, or a sub-addressing field value that identifies the PC.
... . ~E~DED SHEET
~H-892g~O
- ~. The retrie~al Or a facsimile by tAe ~C first requires that the aux~liary software application ins,ruc- the ~acsi~ile modem tG
c~ll a speciric nu~e; that terminates a~ the ; - - store and 'orward computer 18.
3. The store and forwcrd computer accepts the inbound call a~d ident~ies that a facsi.~ile-equipped ~C s~eks to rom~ cate with the stor~ and forward computer 18. ~he auxiliary - - soft~are application l~ preferably sends, via the mode~, a unique identity and a PIN
~Personal Iden-ificati~n Num~e_) to ~he store and fcrward computer 1n one of the facsimile fields of _he handsha~e protocoi, or using 1~ DTMF signall~ng.
4. The store and ~orward compute- in one of the various fielcs associa~d with the n~ch~
protoco~ provides a summary Or ~acsimiles ~n the particular mailbox.
5. The auxiliary software application, i~ the user w~shes to review at1 or scme o, the files, then identifies the infcr~ation to be s~ and transmits this ~n one Or the facsi~ile han~-sh~ke fields. The al~x~ ry software appllcation, whi~_ the telephone chAnn^l is maintained, simulates a "~ng"
conditio~ to the c~mmunicaticn softwa_e o ~n the PC. ~he co.~unicaticn softwar~ acts as 7f a c~nvent~onal l~coming communication is ~e~ng received and places the ~.ode~ in a -eceive m~de.
6. The store an~ forward computer 18 ~s then able to transmi~ the i~enti5ied data files to the facsi.~ile-ecuipped PC as an .nco~i.g ~acsi~ile tc ~he PC.
. Billing data is updated for the appr~priate account w~hin the s~ore and forwa~d computer.
~MENDED S~tEET
~ G~C~f ~v : 2~81251 Nhenever the facsi~Lile-ecIulppec~ PC calls into the stcre and forward com~uter 18, the PC .~ends identifying infor~tion and pr~ferably a sec.lr- ty code to the store and L on~ard co~puter 1~ . This i nformation allows the store ~nd 5 rorwar~ co~r~puter to i denti-y the =acsi~ile ~c i 1 30x which asC ' gned to ~e particular facsim~le-equipped PC, ar.d to transml~ ' n'ormation identifying the contents of the mailhox. This icentifying in~orma~ion cz,n be s~nt tO t:~le store 2nd forward cor~.pute~ in several dirferer~t forn~ats, 10inc "~din~; -1. W~ thin the Called Subscriber Identification (CSI) ~ield, which forms part of the data - interchanse between f~csimile terminzls prlor to the ~ctuzl tran.sml' ssion of the ~irst image l_ data, or 2. ~ithln a specified formatted data bloclc which adheres to standard facsimile ~o~rna~ for a graphic page image, but which contains informat' on other than a graphic image. This data ~lock, or ~rlc~ded Data Pago (EDE?), will - be accep~ed by facs,mile-compatible hardware or soft~are, ~ut its cont2nts will be intèrpreted by the rPceiver as speclfic ~ata fields, rather than a graphic i~nage.
~hese em~edded irl~o~mat ion fields ar~ used by the facsimi~ e-e~,l~ pped PC t~ t~ansm t to th~ store and forward computer informatio~ inc!ud~ ng: .
1. The unicrue identity of the facsl~nile-e~:ipped persona; computing de~ic_ ( f or ex~ple, i ts ~0 ac-cunt number and/or asslcned D~3 nu~e_ ~;
2. Security infor~aation, such as a dynamicaliy changing ldentifier cr Personal Identification ~u~er ~PIN), whicn helps assure that the racs ~ equipped PC seelcing to r2t rieYe from a part i cular ~acsimile mailbox is, in fac;, the legitimate .r~cipient;
3. Identificat~on o~ f2csimil e files to ~e sent from the sto; e ~r~d forward comput~ to the 2C.
-_ g _ ~JIENOE~ SHEET
. .
.
- Likew~ se, the sto~e and forward co~puter platforrn uses the facsimile-compat_ble data f1 elds to se~.d informatio.. to the Sacs i mile-ecruippec PC inct uding:
. A description o the ma t lbox cont ents, - incluc~i~g the numb~r Gf doc~merlts to be deLi~rered, the 1- nçr.h ~c typ~ o each document, 2nd t;~e CSI for eac~ d~cument.
Therefo-e, ~e~~re deliv~ery s.arts, the rec~ive~ C~:l sa' ec= which docume~ts he wishes - ~c ~etri~ve and ~hic~ can r~nain in the m~zllbox or ~e rorwarGed elsewhere; and 2. MisceLlaneou~ accoun~ infor;nation.
~e auxiliary soft~-are appl- cation wlthi~ ~he ~csimil_-eq_ipped PC is capablc of sending identi-ying lS ir.form~ti~n (such as assicned '~simile nu~ber, secu.i~y code) to the store and forward computer, ar.d of i;~terpretin~ i nformat o~ sen. ~o it by the s~ore and f~ward computer (such as mailhcx contents descrLption, account information ~ .
In the even~ ~kat such in~ormation is con.2ined with'n the CSI, the auxiliary s~tware ~pplica~ion of the PC creates a specif~c CSI when -etr~e~ ing '~rom the s~ore znd ~orwar~ computer ~typically c~ntaining ascigned r~rD
nu~aber, ac-ount number ar~d security code~. However, when transrritting facsim~ie-comDat~le datz frcm the facsLmile-ec~uipped PC -o a ~emote recip~ent, ~he conlm~n~catior.
so_tware a?clication ~n ~he ~2cs~mile-e~,li~ped personal co~puting de~ice will crea_e a CSI appropriate f~r ~lsplay cn the re~&te facsimile ~e~i~al (typic~lty cont2i~ing only the assig~ed DID number and~or sender ident'fier1-F~om the aDove, it is evident thzt the aux'liarysoftware applicaticn 10 o~erates ta c~nduct an l~ltial crJ~ ica;i~n with the stor2 and fc~ard -omputer 1~ via the facs~.ile modem 8 and wnile this -ommu~icatiG~ is 3c malntained, i.e. the telep~one ~h-nnel 14 r~malns ^pe~, the auxiliary sortware applicat~cn, simulates a sig~al to t~e communication sof~ware application ~ to cause ~t to ac' as c the lacsi~ile modem had indica~e~ .~at an inCo.~ing call ~MENDE~ S~
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~-8s2s/~o ~ is be~ng re~~eived where~y the communication so~wa-e then aces the facsimile modem in a recet ~e mo;ie and acts ir.
its n~rmal mar~er. Tne stcre and forward corapute- 15 can then do-~rnload the aesignzted file w;~ich is h~ndlea by the 5 facsi~rlle ~nodem soft-~-are 5 in the normal manner.
With t~is a-rangement the PC has _onducted a spe~' alized corr~nur.icati O? Wit n the store a~d forward computer platform ar.d ~changed ln.fonna_ic^. t~ere. The 2UX' liary sofrwa-e a~pl i cztion has c 1 so wo-kec ae an lC i n;e~mediary between t:!~.e comm~ cati~n softwa~e and ~he facsim le modem to allcw recei?t o~ i n~ormatio . when ~ n fzC- ~he ~acsim~le mcdem :~as been ~sed to originate a commllnl cation with the s_o~e ~rld fprward computer.
The syst2~n as cescribed ta~es ~d~rantage o^ ,,he 15 norlr.al facsimile fields tc c~m~nunlcate info~rL~tion !:etween t~e PC and the store ancl ~o~ard computer. The .ac, that each ~C ~7ust contact the store and forward comput~r aLlows the co~munication therebetween to depart from the standard pract~se and to trans~t information t~ere~etwee~ in a 20 nonconYentio~al ~n~ler w~thin con~entional ,ields of a facslmile transmlssio~.
It is also possible to ha~e the ~C transmi ~y 2 facsimile the ider~tificat7 on o~ information ir, its mailbox to be deli~ered prior to simulat i ng the ring cond~ tLon to 25 the com~m~n i cation scftware .
provement can b2 made to the system o' ''igure by ?roviding a recei-~Jer 3 0 which car. ~ec_i~re the ccrr~unicat ~ or. si~nal indi^ated as 32 . Such a clgnal ca~ be ~o~wa_ ded to the ~C when a facsimLle ha~ been received and 3~ t~us the receiver 3 0 carl then instruc~ or noti-y th~e PC to complete a tel~phone communica~ion a-~ soon as possible ar to alert ~he u~e_ of the ~C ~hat a f2csimile ;~as been received. ~his ar-ancement s also su~abla ~or conventional ec ' s wh~ c~ do not h ve z fixed o- dedicated 3~ tel phone channel 14. Th~:s they can share a relephone channel 14 and ~e~ely se' ,e the ~h~qnr~el 14 when the ' ine is available and wh~ ignal ~2 has beer. _ecei~e~ indicating that a ~acsilr,ile i s tC }: e ~et-~ eved.
~MIENDEo S~EEr .. . .. ... . . . _ . .. . , . ... ... _ .. . . _ .
~a-as29iwo ` - 2 1 8 1 25 1 - - The ~anner in which the aux~llary ~oftwarr ~pplicatio~ iO simulates an in~ound ring signal ~o the ~r~al co~mun~cat-on software ca~. be acco~pllsr.~d ln many difLerent ways. The aux lia-y software car. place ~he m~dem 5 or -he p~s -si-21 port ~ 2 state where~y ~ t wiil ecno characters back, and can w~ite -haracters ~o the ac~ al physiczl po~t to wnicn the moàem 's connec~ed. Wilh t~is ~proac:~, the additicnal software writes characte~s to the ?o~t, which are ~he characters 'ha~ the modem so~lware rec~onizes as indlcatins an inbound ring s~gnal on a telephone channel. The mocem G- port ech~s thesP
~;naracter5 back to the normal so tware, w:~ich t:~ereby assumes ;hat an inbound rin~ signal has been recelved. The addi'ional software can also force~sta~s bits and interrupts in the physic~ ~ port to beha~e as if an - noound ring signal was detected on - he telephone char~el to which the modem-is connected. This same ef~ect can be accompiished by the auxiliary software plac ng the physical port hardware in a loopback condi~ion in which characte~s written ta the port are echoed back, regaraless of the staté of the connected ~odem.
The most ~m~on app~oach is f~r the aux~llary software application 10 to si~ul~te an inbound -ing signal by writing the message stri~g "R", "I", "N", "G" repeated to the no~mal communication so'tware program which will react exactly as if an in~ound call had occ~r-ed on the tele~hone cha~ne~ conr.ected t~ the modem. Any ather message string which achie~res this result can _e ~sed.
The system ~r E`i~ure 1 without optional e~v~ ce 40, 30 operates satisfacrorily wlth mar.y OL, he ~r~o~;rmc now offered i ~ the marketplace. Howe~rer, there are a nunu~e_ of snodems which due to ~he configura~ion o~ the facs~mile modem ~o on-hcok ~nd drop the telephone channel when manlpul2.t~d ln the ~n~nner discussed. w~ ~h such a sy~tem it ~ s pcssible to 35 'nc'ude device 40, which is intermediate tne facsimile modem 8 and the teleph~ne cc>mmun~cat~ on chan~el 1~ . Thi~
device ser~res 'o ~aintain the telephone channel 1~ when t~e facs~ ile modem 8 goes cn-;~.ook and will on.ly d~ op the call ~EN~E13 S~
. _.. . . . . .. ._ _ ._ .... . ..... .... __ .. .;
~--~9Z 3~0 _ after the modem has been on-hook for a certain predeter~ined time period (typically less thæ~. one second).
This allows .he auxiLiary softwa~e appl~cation ~G to produce a s~g~al ~hat sl~ulate~ to the comm~ 'cation S so-~ware application 6 _hat an ~ncoming call ;-zs ~en received and _hen allow ;he modem sortware to interac. with ~ he facs mile modern and de~rice 40 to ma~nt2_n ~che connec~ion between the facsimile modem to the telephone char~ne! ' 4 . The device ~0 ser~es to ~aintair. the telephone 10 CIJ,I~ ; cat~on cha~nel 1~ ln 2n off-hook state for c p~edeter~ined ~i~e period, e~. though the facsimile ~odem has br~e~ly entered a~ on-hook state and thi~ de~ice can s;mvl~te to the PSTN the off-hoo~ state. Wl~h this a~rangement .he telephone cha~nel 14 is main~ained while the auxil-'ary com~ur.ic2tion softwzre iO manipulates ;:~e co~ml~icat~or. softw2re zpplica.ion 6 and the facsimile mode~ 8 to allow c~nnectio~ agaln to the chznnel 14 and in a state to receiYe a se~ecte~ .ile from the store and forward co~puter 18.
The applicatlon has also been descri~ed wlth respéct t~ the actuation s~gnal wh~ch can be -ece ~ed by receiver 30. This ac~uation si~nal can be received over any medium, including cable televlsion networks, powe~ line carrier, local area networks, c6llular telephones, personal 2S c~m~ ication systems, paging services, radio station side channels, telepho~e channels, tele~ision scan !ines or any other hroadcast transpor~. medium. Pre~era~ly, this signal is received over a broadcas. ~ediu~ which merelv provides the address of the partlcular perscnal computer ~n the 3~ b~o~r~t slgnal. The recei~er ~hen receives the signal and monitorg tlle signal for its address. This ar-angement works part~ cularly well with free air ~rQadczst signals, but the ot~er ap~roaches a_e also acceptabl~.
The in~ention has a~ so been descri~ed w- th respect 3S ~o the user making the decision to retrie-~e ~hsa information at diffarent point~ in time, ~owever, the auxiliary software application, once the personal computer is activa~ed, can include an automatic retrieval ~unctio~
~E~DE~ S~
;~
9Z 9 r~
2 1 8 1 2~5 1 . whieh would-be-acti~atéd whenever an actuat~on signal ls received by recel~rer 30 . Th~ s could crlly be enzbled o_ fully functional when the persona~ computer is connected to a telephone channel 14.
~elephone channel 14 can include cor.nection to the ~ST~, cellular, PCs, or any othe~ switched c~mmunication service.
. The auxiliary SOL.Ware ZPP~ lcation 10 allows a sl~p'e arrangement fcr providi~g a speclaLlzed communication with a known sto-e and forward computer.
Thus it can be speciali2ed for this particular appllcat~on without rewriting the traditional communication software 6.
- Thls auxiliary software application ~r subprogram can 2ctivate the c~mmllnication software and cause i, to forcP
the ~acsimlle m~dem to assume a recei~e ~ode.
- This auxiliary software Applicaticn ca~ a}so include instructions and forms fo~ simplifyina si~ning o~to this service and to simplify the eomm~ln;cation steps for contacting the appropriate s~ore and for~ard computer.
It can b~ appreciatsd th~ s -additional prog~ram ~an be included as z s~ec~ alized co~unic~tion f~nction o~ the facsim~le ~ode~ software, if dPsired. The rewr~ ting of the p~G~ could take advantage of any ~apability to cause to ~acsimil~ modem hardware to assume the recei~re mode Althougb various preferred e~bodi~nents of the p~ese~t i~rention ha~re been described herein in detail, it will be apprec~ated ~y tho~e skilled in the art, that ~aria~ icns may be ~ade thereto without departi~s from the spirit of the in~rention or the scope OL the ~ A~d 30 rl A~m .~ENDEO S~Er . ~
. Billing data is updated for the appr~priate account w~hin the s~ore and forwa~d computer.
~MENDED S~tEET
~ G~C~f ~v : 2~81251 Nhenever the facsi~Lile-ecIulppec~ PC calls into the stcre and forward com~uter 18, the PC .~ends identifying infor~tion and pr~ferably a sec.lr- ty code to the store and L on~ard co~puter 1~ . This i nformation allows the store ~nd 5 rorwar~ co~r~puter to i denti-y the =acsi~ile ~c i 1 30x which asC ' gned to ~e particular facsim~le-equipped PC, ar.d to transml~ ' n'ormation identifying the contents of the mailhox. This icentifying in~orma~ion cz,n be s~nt tO t:~le store 2nd forward cor~.pute~ in several dirferer~t forn~ats, 10inc "~din~; -1. W~ thin the Called Subscriber Identification (CSI) ~ield, which forms part of the data - interchanse between f~csimile terminzls prlor to the ~ctuzl tran.sml' ssion of the ~irst image l_ data, or 2. ~ithln a specified formatted data bloclc which adheres to standard facsimile ~o~rna~ for a graphic page image, but which contains informat' on other than a graphic image. This data ~lock, or ~rlc~ded Data Pago (EDE?), will - be accep~ed by facs,mile-compatible hardware or soft~are, ~ut its cont2nts will be intèrpreted by the rPceiver as speclfic ~ata fields, rather than a graphic i~nage.
~hese em~edded irl~o~mat ion fields ar~ used by the facsimi~ e-e~,l~ pped PC t~ t~ansm t to th~ store and forward computer informatio~ inc!ud~ ng: .
1. The unicrue identity of the facsl~nile-e~:ipped persona; computing de~ic_ ( f or ex~ple, i ts ~0 ac-cunt number and/or asslcned D~3 nu~e_ ~;
2. Security infor~aation, such as a dynamicaliy changing ldentifier cr Personal Identification ~u~er ~PIN), whicn helps assure that the racs ~ equipped PC seelcing to r2t rieYe from a part i cular ~acsimile mailbox is, in fac;, the legitimate .r~cipient;
3. Identificat~on o~ f2csimil e files to ~e sent from the sto; e ~r~d forward comput~ to the 2C.
-_ g _ ~JIENOE~ SHEET
. .
.
- Likew~ se, the sto~e and forward co~puter platforrn uses the facsimile-compat_ble data f1 elds to se~.d informatio.. to the Sacs i mile-ecruippec PC inct uding:
. A description o the ma t lbox cont ents, - incluc~i~g the numb~r Gf doc~merlts to be deLi~rered, the 1- nçr.h ~c typ~ o each document, 2nd t;~e CSI for eac~ d~cument.
Therefo-e, ~e~~re deliv~ery s.arts, the rec~ive~ C~:l sa' ec= which docume~ts he wishes - ~c ~etri~ve and ~hic~ can r~nain in the m~zllbox or ~e rorwarGed elsewhere; and 2. MisceLlaneou~ accoun~ infor;nation.
~e auxiliary soft~-are appl- cation wlthi~ ~he ~csimil_-eq_ipped PC is capablc of sending identi-ying lS ir.form~ti~n (such as assicned '~simile nu~ber, secu.i~y code) to the store and forward computer, ar.d of i;~terpretin~ i nformat o~ sen. ~o it by the s~ore and f~ward computer (such as mailhcx contents descrLption, account information ~ .
In the even~ ~kat such in~ormation is con.2ined with'n the CSI, the auxiliary s~tware ~pplica~ion of the PC creates a specif~c CSI when -etr~e~ ing '~rom the s~ore znd ~orwar~ computer ~typically c~ntaining ascigned r~rD
nu~aber, ac-ount number ar~d security code~. However, when transrritting facsim~ie-comDat~le datz frcm the facsLmile-ec~uipped PC -o a ~emote recip~ent, ~he conlm~n~catior.
so_tware a?clication ~n ~he ~2cs~mile-e~,li~ped personal co~puting de~ice will crea_e a CSI appropriate f~r ~lsplay cn the re~&te facsimile ~e~i~al (typic~lty cont2i~ing only the assig~ed DID number and~or sender ident'fier1-F~om the aDove, it is evident thzt the aux'liarysoftware applicaticn 10 o~erates ta c~nduct an l~ltial crJ~ ica;i~n with the stor2 and fc~ard -omputer 1~ via the facs~.ile modem 8 and wnile this -ommu~icatiG~ is 3c malntained, i.e. the telep~one ~h-nnel 14 r~malns ^pe~, the auxiliary sortware applicat~cn, simulates a sig~al to t~e communication sof~ware application ~ to cause ~t to ac' as c the lacsi~ile modem had indica~e~ .~at an inCo.~ing call ~MENDE~ S~
.. .. . . ....... .. _ . . .. . . .. ...... . . .. .
~-8s2s/~o ~ is be~ng re~~eived where~y the communication so~wa-e then aces the facsimile modem in a recet ~e mo;ie and acts ir.
its n~rmal mar~er. Tne stcre and forward corapute- 15 can then do-~rnload the aesignzted file w;~ich is h~ndlea by the 5 facsi~rlle ~nodem soft-~-are 5 in the normal manner.
With t~is a-rangement the PC has _onducted a spe~' alized corr~nur.icati O? Wit n the store a~d forward computer platform ar.d ~changed ln.fonna_ic^. t~ere. The 2UX' liary sofrwa-e a~pl i cztion has c 1 so wo-kec ae an lC i n;e~mediary between t:!~.e comm~ cati~n softwa~e and ~he facsim le modem to allcw recei?t o~ i n~ormatio . when ~ n fzC- ~he ~acsim~le mcdem :~as been ~sed to originate a commllnl cation with the s_o~e ~rld fprward computer.
The syst2~n as cescribed ta~es ~d~rantage o^ ,,he 15 norlr.al facsimile fields tc c~m~nunlcate info~rL~tion !:etween t~e PC and the store ancl ~o~ard computer. The .ac, that each ~C ~7ust contact the store and forward comput~r aLlows the co~munication therebetween to depart from the standard pract~se and to trans~t information t~ere~etwee~ in a 20 nonconYentio~al ~n~ler w~thin con~entional ,ields of a facslmile transmlssio~.
It is also possible to ha~e the ~C transmi ~y 2 facsimile the ider~tificat7 on o~ information ir, its mailbox to be deli~ered prior to simulat i ng the ring cond~ tLon to 25 the com~m~n i cation scftware .
provement can b2 made to the system o' ''igure by ?roviding a recei-~Jer 3 0 which car. ~ec_i~re the ccrr~unicat ~ or. si~nal indi^ated as 32 . Such a clgnal ca~ be ~o~wa_ ded to the ~C when a facsimLle ha~ been received and 3~ t~us the receiver 3 0 carl then instruc~ or noti-y th~e PC to complete a tel~phone communica~ion a-~ soon as possible ar to alert ~he u~e_ of the ~C ~hat a f2csimile ;~as been received. ~his ar-ancement s also su~abla ~or conventional ec ' s wh~ c~ do not h ve z fixed o- dedicated 3~ tel phone channel 14. Th~:s they can share a relephone channel 14 and ~e~ely se' ,e the ~h~qnr~el 14 when the ' ine is available and wh~ ignal ~2 has beer. _ecei~e~ indicating that a ~acsilr,ile i s tC }: e ~et-~ eved.
~MIENDEo S~EEr .. . .. ... . . . _ . .. . , . ... ... _ .. . . _ .
~a-as29iwo ` - 2 1 8 1 25 1 - - The ~anner in which the aux~llary ~oftwarr ~pplicatio~ iO simulates an in~ound ring signal ~o the ~r~al co~mun~cat-on software ca~. be acco~pllsr.~d ln many difLerent ways. The aux lia-y software car. place ~he m~dem 5 or -he p~s -si-21 port ~ 2 state where~y ~ t wiil ecno characters back, and can w~ite -haracters ~o the ac~ al physiczl po~t to wnicn the moàem 's connec~ed. Wilh t~is ~proac:~, the additicnal software writes characte~s to the ?o~t, which are ~he characters 'ha~ the modem so~lware rec~onizes as indlcatins an inbound ring s~gnal on a telephone channel. The mocem G- port ech~s thesP
~;naracter5 back to the normal so tware, w:~ich t:~ereby assumes ;hat an inbound rin~ signal has been recelved. The addi'ional software can also force~sta~s bits and interrupts in the physic~ ~ port to beha~e as if an - noound ring signal was detected on - he telephone char~el to which the modem-is connected. This same ef~ect can be accompiished by the auxiliary software plac ng the physical port hardware in a loopback condi~ion in which characte~s written ta the port are echoed back, regaraless of the staté of the connected ~odem.
The most ~m~on app~oach is f~r the aux~llary software application 10 to si~ul~te an inbound -ing signal by writing the message stri~g "R", "I", "N", "G" repeated to the no~mal communication so'tware program which will react exactly as if an in~ound call had occ~r-ed on the tele~hone cha~ne~ conr.ected t~ the modem. Any ather message string which achie~res this result can _e ~sed.
The system ~r E`i~ure 1 without optional e~v~ ce 40, 30 operates satisfacrorily wlth mar.y OL, he ~r~o~;rmc now offered i ~ the marketplace. Howe~rer, there are a nunu~e_ of snodems which due to ~he configura~ion o~ the facs~mile modem ~o on-hcok ~nd drop the telephone channel when manlpul2.t~d ln the ~n~nner discussed. w~ ~h such a sy~tem it ~ s pcssible to 35 'nc'ude device 40, which is intermediate tne facsimile modem 8 and the teleph~ne cc>mmun~cat~ on chan~el 1~ . Thi~
device ser~res 'o ~aintain the telephone channel 1~ when t~e facs~ ile modem 8 goes cn-;~.ook and will on.ly d~ op the call ~EN~E13 S~
. _.. . . . . .. ._ _ ._ .... . ..... .... __ .. .;
~--~9Z 3~0 _ after the modem has been on-hook for a certain predeter~ined time period (typically less thæ~. one second).
This allows .he auxiLiary softwa~e appl~cation ~G to produce a s~g~al ~hat sl~ulate~ to the comm~ 'cation S so-~ware application 6 _hat an ~ncoming call ;-zs ~en received and _hen allow ;he modem sortware to interac. with ~ he facs mile modern and de~rice 40 to ma~nt2_n ~che connec~ion between the facsimile modem to the telephone char~ne! ' 4 . The device ~0 ser~es to ~aintair. the telephone 10 CIJ,I~ ; cat~on cha~nel 1~ ln 2n off-hook state for c p~edeter~ined ~i~e period, e~. though the facsimile ~odem has br~e~ly entered a~ on-hook state and thi~ de~ice can s;mvl~te to the PSTN the off-hoo~ state. Wl~h this a~rangement .he telephone cha~nel 14 is main~ained while the auxil-'ary com~ur.ic2tion softwzre iO manipulates ;:~e co~ml~icat~or. softw2re zpplica.ion 6 and the facsimile mode~ 8 to allow c~nnectio~ agaln to the chznnel 14 and in a state to receiYe a se~ecte~ .ile from the store and forward co~puter 18.
The applicatlon has also been descri~ed wlth respéct t~ the actuation s~gnal wh~ch can be -ece ~ed by receiver 30. This ac~uation si~nal can be received over any medium, including cable televlsion networks, powe~ line carrier, local area networks, c6llular telephones, personal 2S c~m~ ication systems, paging services, radio station side channels, telepho~e channels, tele~ision scan !ines or any other hroadcast transpor~. medium. Pre~era~ly, this signal is received over a broadcas. ~ediu~ which merelv provides the address of the partlcular perscnal computer ~n the 3~ b~o~r~t slgnal. The recei~er ~hen receives the signal and monitorg tlle signal for its address. This ar-angement works part~ cularly well with free air ~rQadczst signals, but the ot~er ap~roaches a_e also acceptabl~.
The in~ention has a~ so been descri~ed w- th respect 3S ~o the user making the decision to retrie-~e ~hsa information at diffarent point~ in time, ~owever, the auxiliary software application, once the personal computer is activa~ed, can include an automatic retrieval ~unctio~
~E~DE~ S~
;~
9Z 9 r~
2 1 8 1 2~5 1 . whieh would-be-acti~atéd whenever an actuat~on signal ls received by recel~rer 30 . Th~ s could crlly be enzbled o_ fully functional when the persona~ computer is connected to a telephone channel 14.
~elephone channel 14 can include cor.nection to the ~ST~, cellular, PCs, or any othe~ switched c~mmunication service.
. The auxiliary SOL.Ware ZPP~ lcation 10 allows a sl~p'e arrangement fcr providi~g a speclaLlzed communication with a known sto-e and forward computer.
Thus it can be speciali2ed for this particular appllcat~on without rewriting the traditional communication software 6.
- Thls auxiliary software application ~r subprogram can 2ctivate the c~mmllnication software and cause i, to forcP
the ~acsimlle m~dem to assume a recei~e ~ode.
- This auxiliary software Applicaticn ca~ a}so include instructions and forms fo~ simplifyina si~ning o~to this service and to simplify the eomm~ln;cation steps for contacting the appropriate s~ore and for~ard computer.
It can b~ appreciatsd th~ s -additional prog~ram ~an be included as z s~ec~ alized co~unic~tion f~nction o~ the facsim~le ~ode~ software, if dPsired. The rewr~ ting of the p~G~ could take advantage of any ~apability to cause to ~acsimil~ modem hardware to assume the recei~re mode Althougb various preferred e~bodi~nents of the p~ese~t i~rention ha~re been described herein in detail, it will be apprec~ated ~y tho~e skilled in the art, that ~aria~ icns may be ~ade thereto without departi~s from the spirit of the in~rention or the scope OL the ~ A~d 30 rl A~m .~ENDEO S~Er . ~
Claims (14)
OR PRIVILEGE IS CLAIMED ARE DEFINED AS FOLLOWS:
1. In combination a personal computer (2) having an auxiliary software application (10), conventional communication software (6) used in association with transmission and receiving of facsimile information via a facsimile modem (8) associated therewith, and a store and forward computer (18) accessible by telephone communications; said auxiliary software application (10), when activated, providing instructions to said facsimile modem (8) to initiate a telephone communication with a predetermined telephone address of said store and forward computer (18), and after completion thereof, said auxiliary software application(10) creates and transmits an activation signal to said conventional communication software (6), indicating a telephone communication is being received by the facsimile modem (8), whereafter said conventional communication software (6) provides the normal signals for controlling the facsimile modem (8) according tothe standard protocol, whereby the facsimile modem (8) and said conventional communication software (6) assume a state for receipt of a communication from the store and forward computer (18) connected to thee facsimile modem (8), which connection was initiated by said auxiliary software application (10).
2. In combination as claimed in claim 1, said auxiliary application software (10) including the capability to receive summary information of information destined for the personal computer (2) and the capability to select any portion thereof for transmission to the personal computer (2) via the communication from the store and forward computer (18) prior to creating and transmitting the activation signal received by the conventional communication software (6) indicating a telephone communication is being received.
3. In combination as claimed in claim 1 wherein said auxiliary software application (10) is included as part of said conventional communication software(6).
4. In combination as claimed in claim 1 wherein said auxiliary software application (10) includes an initial sign on procedure to enroll the personal computer (2) with said store and forward computer (18).
5. In combination as claimed in claim 1 wherein said auxiliary software application (10) includes a personal computer identification procedure at the start of a communication between said auxiliary software application (10) and said store and forward computer (18) which includes communication of a PIN (Personal Identification Number) which PIN when properly matched with a reference code maintained by said store and forward computer (18) allows review of the file of the user.
6. In combination as claimed in claim 1 wherein said auxiliary software application (10) uses the fields of a facsimile handshake protocol to identify the personal computer (2) to the store and forward computer (18) and said store and forward computer (18) provides a summary of facsimiles received by the computer (18) destined for the personal computer (2) in a field of the handshake protocol.
7. In combination as claimed in claim 1 wherein said auxiliary software application (10) produces the message string "R" "I" "N" "G" or "R" "I" "N" "G"
(repeated) as said activation signal to said conventional communication software(6).
(repeated) as said activation signal to said conventional communication software(6).
8. In combination as claimed in claim 7 wherein said message string is echoed by the facsimile modem (8) and subsequently received by communication software (6) associated with the facsimile modem (8).
9. A method receiving a facsimile transmission destined for a facsimile arrangement which has been assigned a telephone facsimile address, said telephone address when used results in a communication with a facsimile mailbox of a store and forward computer which is accessible by telephone for retrieving facsimiles, comprising assigning the facsimile arrangement a telephone facsimileaddress, causing said facsimile arrangement to originate a telephone communication with the store and forward computer, said store and forward computer transmitting to said facsimile arrangement a summary of the contents ofthe mailbox in a field of the handshake facsimile protocol, said facsimile arrangement identifying to said store and forward computer certain information in the mailbox to be transmitted to the facsimile arrangement and thereafter automatically placing said facsimile arrangement in a receive mode, said store and forward platform then transmitting the identified information in the mailbox to the facsimile arrangement prior to termination of the telephone communication originated by the the facsimile arrangement.
10. A method as claimed in claim 9 wherein said facsimile arrangement during the handshake protocol communicates its identity as well as a security code.
11. A method as claimed in claim 9 wherein said facsimile arrangement is a computer having a facsimile modem, communication software used to process facsimile transmissions received by the modem, and auxiliary communication software; said auxiliary communication software establishing via the facsimile modem the initial communication with store and forward computer.
12. A method as claimed in claim 9 wherein said auxiliary communication software after communication with the store and forward computer produces a signal causing said communication software to act as if a telephone communication is being received by the facsimile modem while the facsimile modem is connected to the store and forward computer and said communication software receives the identified information as a received facsimile transmission.
13. A method as claimed in claim 9 wherein said auxiliary communication software writes the message string "R" "I" "N" "G" to the communication software to cause the communication software to act as if a telephone communication is being received by the facsimile modem.
14. A method as claimed in claim 9 wherein said auxiliary communication software writes the message string "R" "I" "N" "G" repeated to the communication software to cause the communication software to act as if a telephone communication is being received by the facsimile modem.
Applications Claiming Priority (2)
| Application Number | Priority Date | Filing Date | Title |
|---|---|---|---|
| US08/183,935 US5619725A (en) | 1994-01-21 | 1994-01-21 | Method for auxiliary software providing instruction for facsimile modem to simulate a telephone communication while connecting to store and forward computer to receive communication |
| US08/183,935 | 1994-01-21 |
Publications (1)
| Publication Number | Publication Date |
|---|---|
| CA2181251A1 true CA2181251A1 (en) | 1995-07-27 |
Family
ID=22674910
Family Applications (1)
| Application Number | Title | Priority Date | Filing Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| CA002181251A Abandoned CA2181251A1 (en) | 1994-01-21 | 1994-12-14 | Modem control and communication arrangement |
Country Status (4)
| Country | Link |
|---|---|
| US (1) | US5619725A (en) |
| AU (1) | AU1189795A (en) |
| CA (1) | CA2181251A1 (en) |
| WO (1) | WO1995020288A1 (en) |
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| US8451825B2 (en) | 2007-02-22 | 2013-05-28 | Utbk, Llc | Systems and methods to confirm initiation of a callback |
| US9277019B2 (en) * | 2007-06-18 | 2016-03-01 | Yellowpages.Com Llc | Systems and methods to provide communication references to connect people for real time communications |
| US8897432B2 (en) | 2010-07-01 | 2014-11-25 | Etherfax, Llc | System and method of remote fax interconnect technology |
Family Cites Families (10)
| Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| US4882674A (en) * | 1985-03-05 | 1989-11-21 | Wang Laboratories, Inc. | Apparatus and method for control of one computer system by another computer system |
| US4994926C1 (en) * | 1988-09-22 | 2001-07-03 | Audiofax Ip L L C | Facsimile telecommunications system and method |
| JPH0817428B2 (en) * | 1988-11-22 | 1996-02-21 | 株式会社日立製作所 | Modulator / demodulator |
| US5065427A (en) * | 1989-10-31 | 1991-11-12 | Vishwas Godbole | Fax/data call receiving system and method |
| US5146472A (en) * | 1990-03-28 | 1992-09-08 | General Datacomm, Inc. | Method for imbedding information in modem handshake procedure and modems incorporating the same |
| GB2254525B (en) * | 1991-04-03 | 1995-06-28 | Robert Gordon Thomson | Information storage and retrieval using facsimile transmission |
| JPH05244311A (en) * | 1991-05-30 | 1993-09-21 | Schwaderer Helen B | Fax server device |
| US5333266A (en) * | 1992-03-27 | 1994-07-26 | International Business Machines Corporation | Method and apparatus for message handling in computer systems |
| US5452289A (en) * | 1993-01-08 | 1995-09-19 | Multi-Tech Systems, Inc. | Computer-based multifunction personal communications system |
| AU7488694A (en) * | 1993-08-26 | 1995-03-21 | Alphanet Telecom Inc. | Facsimile systems for personal computing devices |
-
1994
- 1994-01-21 US US08/183,935 patent/US5619725A/en not_active Expired - Fee Related
- 1994-12-14 CA CA002181251A patent/CA2181251A1/en not_active Abandoned
- 1994-12-14 WO PCT/CA1994/000685 patent/WO1995020288A1/en active Application Filing
- 1994-12-14 AU AU11897/95A patent/AU1189795A/en not_active Abandoned
Also Published As
| Publication number | Publication date |
|---|---|
| AU1189795A (en) | 1995-08-08 |
| WO1995020288A1 (en) | 1995-07-27 |
| US5619725A (en) | 1997-04-08 |
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Legal Events
| Date | Code | Title | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| EEER | Examination request | ||
| FZDE | Discontinued |