U.S. patent application number 09/877240 was filed with the patent office on 2002-03-28 for method and apparatus for delivery of digital images over a computer network.
Invention is credited to Murphy, Frederick J..
Application Number | 20020036792 09/877240 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 24219094 |
Filed Date | 2002-03-28 |
United States Patent
Application |
20020036792 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Murphy, Frederick J. |
March 28, 2002 |
Method and apparatus for delivery of digital images over a computer
network
Abstract
A method and apparatus for transmitting data, such as class 1,
2, or 13 facsimile image data streams, over Internet Global Area
Networks. In one embodiment of the invention related to the
transmission of facsimile data, a first device converts local
facsimile image data streams into electronic data streams,
transmits the data stream over the network, to a second device at
the remote facsimile machine which reconverts the electronic data
to facsimile image data and prints it out on said remote facsimile
machine.
Inventors: |
Murphy, Frederick J.;
(Falmouth, MA) |
Correspondence
Address: |
BANNER & WITCOFF
1001 G STREET N W
SUITE 1100
WASHINGTON
DC
20001
US
|
Family ID: |
24219094 |
Appl. No.: |
09/877240 |
Filed: |
June 11, 2001 |
Related U.S. Patent Documents
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Application
Number |
Filing Date |
Patent Number |
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09877240 |
Jun 11, 2001 |
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09506925 |
Feb 18, 2000 |
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09506925 |
Feb 18, 2000 |
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09184972 |
Nov 3, 1998 |
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6028679 |
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09184972 |
Nov 3, 1998 |
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08555911 |
Nov 13, 1995 |
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Current U.S.
Class: |
358/1.15 ;
358/402; 358/407 |
Current CPC
Class: |
H04N 1/32411 20130101;
H04N 1/00212 20130101; H04L 9/40 20220501; H04L 65/1026 20130101;
H04N 1/00204 20130101; H04L 51/066 20130101; H04N 1/00209 20130101;
G06F 40/10 20200101; H04L 65/1036 20130101; H04N 1/32416 20130101;
H04N 1/00238 20130101; H04N 2201/0067 20130101; H04L 51/00
20130101; G06Q 10/06 20130101; H04N 2201/0093 20130101; H04L
65/1101 20220501; G06Q 10/107 20130101; H04N 2201/0068
20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
358/1.15 ;
358/402; 358/407 |
International
Class: |
H04N 001/00; H04N
001/32; G06F 013/00 |
Claims
I claim:
1. An apparatus for sending and receiving digital image data from a
computer network, wherein said digital image data carries an
electronic destination address and is transported over said
computer network in accordance with standard network transmission
protocols, said apparatus comprising: network interface means for
coupling said apparatus to said computer network; apparatus address
means for storing a unique electronic apparatus address for said
apparatus; signal recognition means for determining receive status
information; address receiver means coupled to said network
interface means for receiving said electronic destination address;
address comparison means coupled to said apparatus address means
and to said address receiver means for comparing said electronic
destination address to said unique apparatus address and providing
a match signal when said two addresses are the same; digital image
data receiver means coupled to said network interface means, said
address comparison means and to said signal recognition means for
receiving said digital image data when said match signal is
provided.
2. An apparatus according to claim 1 further including encryption
means connected to said conversion means and said electronic mail
agent for selectively encoding/decoding said converted electronic
mail data.
3. An apparatus according to claim 1 further including a
public/private key encryption means connected to said conversion
means and said electronic mail agent for selectively
encoding/decoding said converted electronic mail date.
4. An apparatus according to claim 1 further including a
public/private key encryption means which specifically utilizes the
Rijndael encryption/decryption algorithms connected to said
conversion means and said electronic mail agent for selectively
encoding/decoding said converted electronic mail data.
5. An apparatus according to claim 1 further including a secret key
encryption means connected to said conversion means and said
electronic mail agent for selectively encoding/decoding said
converted electronic mail data.
6. An apparatus according to claim 1 further including a secret key
encryption means which specifically utilizes encryption/decryption
algorithms derived from Vernam ciphers connected to said conversion
means and said electronic mail agent for selectively
encoding/decoding said converted electronic mail data.
7. An apparatus according to claim 2 further including a
public/private two key encryption/decryption means together with
means for accessing and retrieving a public key from a private
address book.
8. An apparatus according to claim 1 wherein said electronic mail
agent is a commercial mail agent and said mail server resident on
the internet global area networks is a commercial server for said
agent.
9. An apparatus according to claim 1 wherein said electronic mail
agent is a public mail agent and said mail server resident on the
internet global area network is a public server.
10. An apparatus according to claim 1 wherein said output means
includes store/dial/connect circuitry to operatively connect the
apparatus via said mail server resident on the internet global area
network to a remote mail agent connected via a remote mail server
to said Internet Global Area Network.
11. An apparatus according to claim 10 wherein said electronic
management means includes a keypad input device having at least
send/receive functions; fax and e-mail address functions; and mail
server, private address book, and fax machine query functions for
commanding operation of said apparatus.
12. An apparatus according to claim 11 further including an RJ 11
input terminal connected to said signal recognition means for
operatively connecting said apparatus to a class 1, 2, or 3
facsimile machine standard output terminal.
13. An apparatus according to claim 12 further including an RJ 11
output terminal connected to said output means for operatively
connecting said apparatus via a POTS line to said mail server
resident on the internet global area networks.
14. An apparatus according to claim 13 wherein said apparatus is
powered by a separate DC voltage power supply operatively connected
thereto and adapted to be connected to a standard commercial AC
power source.
15. An apparatus according to claim 1 wherein said conversion means
includes electronic means for attaching/detaching native facsimile
images to the electronic mail format data created by said
conversion means for transmission/reception over the internet
global area networks.
16. An apparatus according to claim 15 wherein said electronic
means includes e-mail extender MIME protocol.
17. An apparatus according to claim 15 wherein said electronic
means includes direct e-mail Ip addressing.
18. An apparatus according to claim 17 wherein said direct e-mail
IP addressing is a standard unique IP address on the internet
global area networks.
19. An apparatus according to claim 17 wherein said direct e-mail
IP addressing is a pseudo IP address on the internet global area
networks.
20. An apparatus according to claim 1 wherein said unique apparatus
address is derived from the information embedded in the hardware of
the apparatus.
21. An apparatus according to claim 1 wherein said unique apparatus
address is derived from the information obtained from a global
positioning satellite network connected to the hardware of the
apparatus.
22. An apparatus according to claim 1 wherein said unique apparatus
address is derived from the information obtained from biometric
input connected to the hardware of the apparatus.
23. An apparatus according to claim 1 wherein said unique apparatus
address is derived from the information obtained from behavioral
input patterns connected to the hardware of the apparatus.
Description
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
[0001] This is a division of application Ser. No. 09/506,925 filed
Feb. 18, 2000 which is a division of application Ser. No.
09/184,972 filed Nov. 3, 1998, now U.S. Pat. No. 6,028,679, which
was a division of application Ser. No. 08/555,911 filed Nov. 13,
1995.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0002] The present invention is directed to a method and apparatus
for securely transforming and transmitting electronic information
from one protocol form to another protocol form for delivery over a
packet-switched network. The invention has particular application
where the information pertains to the visual perception of images,
and where the information must be delivered securely in an
environment where its receipt and authenticity can not be disputed
or repudiated.
[0003] The sending of visually perceptible images is well known in
the prior art, the earliest examples being those of the inventions
of the facsimile machine.
[0004] In recent years the facsimile machine has become a common
device in businesses both large and small and also in many homes.
In 1966 the so called Group or Class 1 standards where adopted and
with that came the start of the present popularity of the device.
Although it took about six minutes to transmit a single page and
the resolution was poor it was a big improvement over mail
especially for international communications. In 1978 Class 2
standards appeared followed in 1980 by the Class 3, which machines
were much faster and had much better resolution. These latter
machines take a bout 30 seconds to transmit a page of text.
[0005] Ubiquitous physical stand alone fax machines remain the norm
today for every day transmission of written documents and images
but lack the ability to directly connect to and send/receive such
documents across Internet global area packet switched networks. The
term "internet global area packet switched networks" is used herein
in the generic sense of interconnected regional, national and
international networks over which information in electronic form is
transmitted. The "Internet" currently is perhaps the best known of
these networks.
[0006] While fax machines are now thought of as universal all class
1, 2, and 3 machines are currently direct telephonic connection
devices and as such acquire toll charges for their use over the
telephone companies switches. This of course means that the sender
must pay intrastate and interstate long distance toll charges for
the time it takes to transmit the desired communication, which in a
busy office can amount to hundreds of dollars a month and in an
international company to many thousands of dollars. Todays common
fax machines cannot communicate directly over internet global area
packet switched networks nor can they send and receive electronic
mail or web page formats Security of internet global area networks
communications also is currently difficult to achieve and ensure.
The ability to definitively verify the identity of the sender of a
fax transmission is often difficult if not impossible to achieve.
Also if absolute security is required expensive
encryption/decryption devices must be employed to communicate by
fax over public telephone lines. Secure private lines can be used
but are expensive and limited in the addresses that can be
accessed.
[0007] The ability to choose when to receive fax transmissions and
to decide which ones to print and which ones to discard is not
readily available to the average fax user. Negotiating fax
transmissions, particularly on a multi use single telephone line,
often requires ancillary communications to achieve; i.e. telephone
call to agree on when to "turn on the fax machine", priority,
re-transmission on "busy", undeliverable, etc.
[0008] FIG. 10 is a block diagram of a conventional facsimile
machine as known in the art. The machine includes a transmit
section and a receive section. The transmit section is used for
transmitting image data from a scanned document to a remote
facsimile machine and the receive section is used for receiving
image data from a remote machine for printing at an internal print
station.
[0009] In state of the art facsimile machines, the transmitter
section 500 (see FIG. 10) typically includes a scanner device 501
which scans the page to be transmitted in accordance with a
predetermined format. Scanner device 501 is often formed of one or
more charge coupled devices (CCD) and produces an electrical signal
which correspond to the image on the page. The scanning process is
achieved by dividing the page into uniform lines of uniform pixel
elements.
[0010] In a black and white facsimile transmission, each pixel
represents a black or white dot on the page. The more pixels, per
line and the closer the lines are together, the higher the
resolution of the facsimile image which can be transmitted. In
Group 3 facsimile machines, for example, each line contains 1728
pixels. A typical page contains about 2200 scan lines. The actual
number of scan lines will depend, of course, on the length of the
page. The page is read by the scanning device moving line-by-line
down the page and providing a corresponding digital electrical
signal for the picture information native facsimile image data at
each of the pixel locations. In standard Group 3 Facsimile
equipment the picture information is 1 dimensionally compressed
using a modified Huffman run length coding scheme.
[0011] With reference again to FIG. 10, the digital signal from
scanning device 501 is supplied to digital-to-analogue (D/A)
converter or modem 502. The D/A converter 502 converts the digital
signal to a corresponding analogue signal in the form of audio 450
Hz to 4950 Hz frequency tones. The audio tones are then transmitted
over telephone line 503 to the remote facsimile machine. The remote
facsimile machine contains a receiver section 510. Receiver section
510 receives the audio frequency tones from telephone line 503. The
tones are converted in to corresponding digital signals by
analogue-to-digital (A/D) converter or modem 511. The digital
output from A/D converter 511 is supplied to a print station 512
where the facsimile image is printed for the user to see.
[0012] In cases where security and privacy is required, the
facsimile transmission can be encrypted or scrambled. Encryption
techniques typically are used to secure digital signals while
scrambling techniques are used to secure analogue signals.
[0013] The advent of the computer age brought with it the need in
many instances to provide some mechanism for protecting the privacy
of information transferred electronically. The problem was
identified as early as the mid 1960s and one of the first cipher
codes to protect data emerged in 1971. The U.S. National Security
Agency (NSA), as well as others, recognized the need for a more
secure code which could withstand sophisticated crypto analytical
attacks. In response to this need, the Data Encryption Standard
(DES) was developed and became the official civilian cipher of the
U.S. government in June of 1977.
[0014] The DES specifies an algorithm to be implemented in
electronic hardware for the purpose of cryptographic protection of
computer data. The computer data may be cryptograhphically
protected using the DES algorithm in conjunction with a key. The
key is generated in such a way that each of the 56 bits used
directly by the algorithm are random and the 8 error-detection bits
are set to make the parity of each 8-bit byte of the key odd, i.e.,
there is an odd number of "1s" in each 8-bit byte. Each member of a
group of authorized users of encrypted computer data must have the
key that was used to encipher data in order to use the data. This
key, held by each member in common, is used to decipher any data
received in cipher form from other members of the group. The
encryption specified in the DES standard is commonly know among
those using the standard. The unique key chosen for use in a
particular application makes the results of encrypting data, using
the algorithm, unique. Selection of a different key causes the
cipher, which is produced for any given set of inputs, to be
different. The cryptographic security of the data depends on the
security and key length provided for the key that is used to
encipher and decipher the data.
[0015] Data can be recovered from a cipher only by using the exact
same key that was used to encipher it. Unauthorized recipients of
the cipher, who know the algorithm but do not have the correct key,
cannot easily derive the original data algorithmically. The more
secure the keys algorithm and the longer its bit length the more
difficult it becomes to "crack" the keys coding scheme. Use of "one
time pad" keys further deters unauthorized decryption of key
encoded messages. On the other hand, anyone who does have the key
and the algorithm can easily decipher the cipher and obtain the
original data. A standard algorithm, which is based on a
public/private key, thus provides a basis for exchanging encrypted
data and the known system, which is often identified in the art as
a Public Key Infrastructure, becomes a standard means of secure
data.
[0016] While various encryption techniques can be used to secure
digital signals, analogue signals are made secure by scrambling the
signal waveform. Scrambling approaches include inverting the wave
form, shifting the bias level of the signal, changing the time base
for a portion of the signal and reordering portions of the signal,
all in accordance with a predetermined scrambling format and
scrambling key. Descrambling is achieved by reversing the
scrambling process at the receiver end in accordance with the
scrambling key.
[0017] With reference again to FIG. 10, the transmitted facsimile
image data may be encrypted by encryption device 504 as explained
above while it is still in digital form. Alternatively, the image
data may be scrambled by scrambling device 505 after conversion to
analogue form by D/A converter 502. At the receiver end, the
process is reversed by descryption device 513 or descrambling
device 514 in accordance with the appropriate key.
[0018] In recognition of the growing demand for security and
privacy with respect to transmission of e-mail and secure web based
messages over the Internet, a number of secure e-mail and web based
standards have been developed. One proposed such standard is
"Secure/Multipurpose Internet Mail Extensions" (S/MIME). As its
name implies, S/MIME is an extension of the MIME standard and
provides secure transmission of e-mail messages in the MIME format.
Security is achieved by using digital signatures and an encryption
technique such as DES as explained above. Other secure e-mail
standards include "Privacy Enhanced Mail" (PEM), "Pretty Good
Privacy" (PGP) and "MIME Object Security Service" Secure Web based
security schemes SHTTP/SXML are also implemented in the present
invention.
OBJECTS AND SUMMARY OF INVENTION
[0019] Accordingly it is an object of the present invention to
provide a method and apparatus that overcomes these limitations of
the prior art.
[0020] It is another object of the present invention to provide a
method and apparatus for transmitting/receiving class 1, 2, and 3
fax images, optically scanned images and screen captures, over
global area packet switched networks.
[0021] It is another object of the present invention to provide a
method and apparatus for transmitting/receiving standard class 1,
2, and 3 fax images, optically scanned images and screen captures
over the Internet.
[0022] It is another object of the present invention to provide a
method and apparatus for transmitting/receiving class 1, 2, and 3
fax images, optically scanned images and screen captures in a
highly secure and private manner.
[0023] It is another object of the present invention to provide a
method and apparatus for transmitting/receiving class 1, 2, and 3
fax images, optically scanned images and screen captures from a
verifiable known spatial location.
[0024] It is another object of the present invention to provide a
method and apparatus for transmitting/receiving class 1, 2, and 3
fax images, optically scanned images and screen captures from a
biometrically verifiable person.
[0025] It is a further object of the present invention to provide
an economical device that can be easily connected to present class
1, 2, and 3 fax machines, optical scanners and screen capture
methods and that will enable them to communicate over internet
global area packet switched networks.
[0026] It is a further object of the present invention to provide
an economical device that can be easily connected to present class
1, 2, and 3 fax machines, optical scanners and screen capture
methods that provides a built in electronic mail agent and means
for 2 dimensionally compressing and selectively transforming the
image data stream into at least the following Protocols; IPv4 and
IPv6, e-mail protocols SMTP/POP3/MIME, World Wide Web Protocols
HTTP/HTML/XML, File Format protocols TIFF/TIFF-FX/JPEG/JPEG2000/MPG
and Tcp and UDP formats and PKI security encryption protocols
Rijndael/DES/S-MIME/PGP/RSA/SET and web based security protocols
S-HTTP/SXML/ for transmission/reception over the internet global
area packet switched networks.
[0027] It is a further object of the present invention to provide a
device that can easily be connected to class 1, 2, and 3 fax
machines that allows standard non-facsimile e-mail to be printed
out thereon.
[0028] It is a further object of the present invention to provide a
device that can easily be connected to class 1, 2, and 3 fax
machines that allows standard non-facsimile web pages to be printed
out thereon.
[0029] It is a still further object of the present invention to
provide a device that can be easily connected to standard class 1,
2, and 3 fax machines, optical scanners and screen capture methods
to convert the image data stream to MIME enabled e-mail format for
transmission/reception with similarly equipped fax machines and
e-mail capable computer terminals over the Internet. It is a still
further object of the present invention to provide a device that
can be easily connected to standard class 1, 2, and 3 fax machines,
optical scanners and screen capture methods to convert the image
data stream to TCP and UDP enabled format for direct IP address
transmission/reception with similarly equipped fax machines,
printers, image rendering machines and capable computer terminals
over the Internet.
[0030] It is a still further object of the present invention to
provide a device that can be easily connected to standard class 1,
2, and 3 fax machines, optical scanners and screen capture methods
to convert the image data stream to HTTP enabled Web Based format
for transmission/reception with similarly equipped fax machines,
printers, image rendering machines and Web capable computer
terminals over the Internet.
[0031] It is a still further object of the present invention to
provide a device that can be easily connected to standard class 1,
2, and 3 fax machines, optical scanners and screen capture methods
to convert the image data stream to XML enabled Web Based format
for transmission/reception with similarly equipped fax machines
with similarly equipped fax machines, printers, image rendering
machines and Web capable computer terminals over the Internet.
[0032] It is another object of the present invention to provide a
method and apparatus for uniquely identifying the geo centric
location of the sending and receiving apparatus It is another
object of the present invention to provide a method and apparatus
for uniquely identifying the biometrics of the sending and
receiving parties.
[0033] It is another object of the present invention to provide a
method and apparatus for transforming electronic data from one
transmission specification to another for sending over a computer
network.
[0034] It is a further object of the present invention to provide a
method and apparatus for transforming electronic data from one
transmission specification to another for sending over a computer
network, wherein the transformation is accomplished in a network
router.
[0035] It is a further object of the present invention to provide a
method and apparatus for transforming electronic data from one
transmission specification to another for sending over a computer
network, wherein the transformation is accomplished in a network
server.
[0036] It is another object of the present invention to provide a
method and apparatus for transforming electronic data from one
transmission specification to another for sending over a computer
network, wherein the transformation is accomplished in a network
device.
[0037] It is a still further object of the present invention to
provide a method and apparatus for implementing the present
invention over land line as well as wireless network
architectures.
[0038] These and other and further objects of the present invention
are accomplished in one embodiment of the present invention by a
device having signal recognition means, a data store and forward
buffer, protocol conversion means, an electronic mail agent,
management and output means, compression/decompression means,
encryption/decryption means, and software for accomplishing the
desired transmission of fax images, optically scanned images and
screen captures over internet global area packet switched
networks.
[0039] These and other and further objects of the present invention
are accomplished in another embodiment of the present invention by
a device having signal recognition means, a data store and forward
buffer, protocol conversion means to TCP and UDP, a Direct IP
addressing means, management and output means,
compression/decompression means, encryption/decryption means, and
software for accomplishing the desired transmission of fax images,
optically scanned images and screen captures over internet global
area packet switched networks.
[0040] These and other and further objects of the present invention
are also accomplished in another embodiment of the present
invention by a device having signal recognition means, a data store
and forward buffer, protocol conversion means, an Web Based user
agent, management and output means, compression/decompression
means, encryption/decryption means, and software for accomplishing
the desired transmission of fax images, optically scanned images
and screen captures over internet global area packet switched
networks.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0041] FIG. 1 is a flow chart illustrating the operation of various
embodiments of the present invention;
[0042] FIG. 2 is a pictorial view of a system according to the
present invention;
[0043] FIG. 3 is a functional block diagram of the system of FIG.
1;
[0044] FIG. 4 is a detailed block diagram of the "user ecom" block
of FIG. 2;
[0045] FIGS. 5-8 are flow diagrams of the various operational modes
of the present invention;
[0046] FIG. 9 is a detailed block diagram of an embodiment of the
present invention showing the functional components thereof;
and
[0047] FIG. 10 is a view of a keypad for controlling and operating
the present invention;
[0048] FIG. 11 is a block diagram of a the transmitter/receiver
sections of a conventional facsimile machine;
[0049] FIG. 12 is a further block diagram of the system of the
present invention;
[0050] FIGS. 13-16 are block diagrams of various implementations of
electronic document transmission over of computer network in
accordance with the present invention;
[0051] FIGS. 17-28 illustrate various embodiments of devices for
the sending of documents over a computer network;
[0052] FIGS. 29-30 illustrate keyboard arrangements which may be
used in apparatus which implement the present invention;
[0053] FIG. 31-34 are further pictorial views of various
embodiments of the present invention; and
[0054] FIGS. 35-47 illustrate the present invention in a
gateway.
DESCRIPTION OF INVENTION
[0055] Referring now to FIG. 1 there is shown a system 10 for
transmitting/receiving a fax over the internet global area networks
12. A local fax machine 14 is connected by line 15 to a signal
manipulation device 16 which is in turn connected to a plain old
telephone (POTS) line 18 which is terminated in an electronic mail
agent server 20 such as a commercial or public server which in turn
is connected to or resident on the internet global area network 12.
A remote electronic mail agent server 22 resident on the internet
global area networks 12 at a remote location is connected over a
POTS line 24 to another device 16 which in turn is connected to a
remote fax machine 26 by another line 15. Fax machines 14 and 26
can be any class 1, 2, or 3 fax machines currently available on the
market and are connected to the usual domestic power source at 28.
Devices 16 have their own power supplies 30 which convert the usual
AC power to the appropriate voltages to power the various
components within the devices 16 as will be described in detail
herein.
[0056] FIG. 2 shows in block diagram form the system of FIG. 1
along with a privately accessible address book of public encryption
keys 32 which may be accessed by direct dial up phone lines 34. In
addition to the remote device 16 and fax machine 26 the remote
agent server 22 may be connected by POTS line 36 to a modem 38 and
computer 40 which can store and display the data stream available
in the agent server 22.
[0057] Referring now to FIG. 3 the signal manipulation device 16 is
shown in detailed block diagram form. As will be described herein
device 16 takes the fax image data stream, removes the 1
dimensional compression scheme, compresses the now native facsimile
image data with any number of 2 dimensional table compression
schemes, for example Lempel-Ziv-Welch or other multi dimensional
compression schemes such as harmonic matrix multiplication and
wavelet transforms for Besov spaces and converts it into an e-mail
or retains the T30 data stream and encapsulates in TCP and UDP
compatible format for transmission over the internet global area
network 12. Device 16 will henceforth be called `ecom` 16. This,
along with the necessary management of the entire procedure, is
accomplished in one embodiment by the device of FIG. 3.
[0058] When fax machine 14 initiates a call the ecom 16 responds as
if it were the remote fax machine called by fax 14. The usual
handshake and identification information is exchanged by
recognition box 42 and when confirmed passed to the store and
forward buffer 44. From here the data stream will be sent to the
various other function within ecom 16 in accordance with the
instructions in box 42. Data compression/decompressio- n is usually
accomplished while the data is in buffer 44 also. Next the native
facsimile data stream is converted into electronic mail (e-mail)
format in box 46 and phone number to e-mail address header
conversion are accomplished. Image compression including JPEG, GIF,
and LZW TIFF-F and TIFF-FX; audio and video compression such as
MPEG; and e-mail extender such as MIME/S-MIME are also
accomplished, at this time. If encryption is indicated the
converted data stream is directed to encryption/decryption block 48
for coding as will be described later. If coding is not indicated
the data stream is passed to electronic mail agent 50 which
performs store/send user/password identification functions as
necessary to interface with the selected server 20. Electronic mail
agent 50 preferably is a commercial mail agent but it may be any
public or private mail agent. In one embodiment both commercial and
public electronic mail agents are provided.
[0059] As may be seen in FIGS. 8 and 9, a keypad 52 is provided to
input special instructions, address information and status
information such as "e-mail waiting" and the like. From box 52 the
converted and formatted data stream is passed to box 54 for final
mail agent server phone number, send/receive and connect signal
functions. The data stream is then ready to be sent dynamically to
the selected local agent server 20 resident on the internet global
area packet switched networks 12 over a POTS line 18.
[0060] From this point on the data stream is under the control of
the usual global networks servers, managers, and providers until it
reaches its destination at the remote ecom 16 connected to the
addressed remote fax machine 26. The flow diagram shown in FIG. 4
illustrates this sequence of operations.
[0061] While I have shown the ecom 16 connected to the server 20 by
a telephone line, to include DSL, any transport mechanism can be
used to transmit the data stream to/from the internet global area
networks server 20 such as cellular, satellite, microwave,
cable,broadcast and photonic.
[0062] In the event encryption is indicated the converted data
stream is routed through box 48 from box 46 and then to electronic
mail agent 50. The flow diagram in FIG. 5 illustrates this
sequence.
[0063] Referring now to FIGS. 2 & 6 there is shown another
embodiment of the present invention where the local fax machine 14
can transmit an image to a remote computer. In this configuration
since the converted data stream received at server 22 is in e-mail
format it can be sent directly to a computer 40 which with the
proper modem can store, display and print out the transmitted
document.
[0064] FIG. 7 is a flow diagram of a still further embodiment of
the present invention in which it is only desired to encrypt a
conventional fax transmission. In this configuration the ecom 16
processes, and encrypts the data stream but then bypasses the mail
agent and sends the signal directly to the POTS line which is also
connected to the remote ecom 16 and fax machine 26 via standard
telephone number addressing. The data stream is received by the
remote ecom which automatically decrypts it and prints it out on
the remote fax machine.
[0065] FIG. 8 is a schematic block diagram of the ecom 16 showing
the general layout and interconnection of the various components
making up the ecom 16. Lines 15 from the physical stand alone fax
machines 14 and 26 are connected to the bus 60 in ecom 16. Bus 60
connects all of the components together and to the output POTS
lines 18 or 24. Modems 62 and 84 serve as input and output modems
during transmission and the reverse for reception of data. CPU 72
contains the instruction sets needed to run the ecom and may be any
CISC or RISC micro processor. ASIC chip 64 along with programable
flash EPROM 68 contain the software instruction sets for the CPU
and the TCP/IP, SMTP, MTA, POP, UDP and HUDP protocols and the
algorithms for attaching the class 1, 2, and 3 fax data stream
(Phase C data) to MIME enabled commercial and/or public electronic
mail format. EPROM 70 is a mail user agent that contains the
commercial and/or public mail boxes and EPROM 66 is a flash EPROM
containing the encryption/decryption algorithms. RAMS 74, 76, and
78 provide for storing and forwarding data to the ASIC and CPU
chips and to the facsimile and e-mail data streams. D/A block 88 is
an analog to digital converter which encapsulates the fax image
data stream into MIME e-mail digital format and vice versa. Block
80 provides compression/decompression operations on the data
streams. USART block 90 is a universal asynchronous
transmitter/receiver chip for transferring the keypad 52 entered
commands to the foregoing components and to the displays 94 and 96.
which indicate system status. A voice processor chip 92 and speaker
98 and auxiliary port 102 may also be provided. The fax machine and
POTS lines are connected through standard RJ11 connectors. The
power supply 30, which may be housed within ecom 16 if desired as
shown in FIG. 8, takes standard AC power and converts it to the
necessary line tone/ring generator, DC and other voltages necessary
for running the ecom 16. An on/off switch 100 turns the ecom on and
off.
[0066] Referring now to FIG. 9 the keypad 52 has the usual QWERTY
keyboard and the usual numerals 1 through 0. In addition there are
provided special function keys that combine several key stroke
commands of the usual computer into single stroke keys for the
particular functions. Thus the @ key, the Dot key, for addressing
e-mail; COM for commercial, NET for network, EDU for education, ORG
for other organizations, MIL for military, and GOV for government,
provide quick accurate domain addressing; SEND MAIL, GET MAIL,
PREVIEW MAIL, DELETE MAIL, PRINT, for the obvious operations and
PRIVATE for coding transmissions are also provided.
[0067] To send a fax from a local to a remote fax machine over the
internet global area networks according to the present invention
the following dynamic sequence takes place:
[0068] The facsimile goes "off hook" raising the voltage on the
line that is connected to the system. The system detects the raised
voltage on the line and custom software stored within RAM 202
and/or ROM 203 instructs the system to generate a line tone
consistent with specific country telephony voltage requirements and
simulates a "live" connection to a telephone central office telco
switch.
[0069] Upon receipt of the facsimile transmission the remote system
stores all of the facsimiles in RAM 202. Each page of the facsimile
is "de huffmanized" to remove all "inferior" data compression. Each
line of each page of the facsimile is then un-encoded from its Run
Length Encoding (RLE) or Modified Relative Address Designate
(READ), resulting in uncompressed binary machine code (logic "1s"
and "0s") that represent each bit (including white spaces) of the
entire original native facsimile image data that was scanned by the
facsimile machine The uncompressed binary code is then compressed
using 2 dimensional or other advanced compression algorithms that
are stored in ROM 203. If the facsimile message is to be encrypted,
the compressed binary is encrypted. The encryption algorithm can be
any public or secret key encryption algorithm that is stored in ROM
203 and includes, for example, S-MIME, S-HTTP, SXML, SET, Rijndael,
PGP, DES Vernam ciphers and RSA. Additionally the multi dimensional
codecs of the harmonic matrix multiplication compression schemes
available in this invention can be adapted to perform
non-recoverable-disappearing key encryption. The transformed
original facsimile is stored in RAM 202 and is inserted and
identified, via the e-mail header, as a MIME compliant message and
is sent to the e-mail recipient identified in the to: field of the
MUA header.
[0070] The user inputs or retrieves the IP e-mail address, that is
associated with the intended recipients phone number of the
selected remote fax machine via the keypad 52 or remotely from the
flash eprom or remote data base. The LCD 94 displays, via the USART
90 this information. The apparatus defaults or the user then
depresses the SEND MAIL key. If native fax data is present in the
memory buffer the CPU instruction set begins conversion of the data
together with the ASIC 64 into packet formats. If no native fax
data is present in memory then the LCD 94 displays a "waiting for
fax" default message. The native fax image data data is compressed
via box 80 and the CPU checks to see if encryption is indicated. If
encryption is required the CPU instructs the ASIC 64 with EPROM 70
to perform the encryption and stores the result in memory. The mail
user agent and MIME type generator is then invoked by the CPU from
instructions stored in eprom<s>. The LCD 94 then indicates
"mail is ready for delivery". The user then depresses the send mail
key or the device by default executes the send mail commands. The
device connects to a packet switched network via the modem and
sends the converted facsimile as e-mail that was stored in the
memory buffer and maintains the buffer for a specified time length.
Upon receipt of proper server Message Delivery Notification return
codes that the message has been received the CPU instructs the
modem 84 to close and the ecom is returned to ready for further
traffic. If additional receipt notification codes have been
requested the ecom device remains open until the recipient codes
are returned or a specified default time has elapsed. If either MDN
or specified return codes are not received in a timely manner the
ecom device will report that the transmission should be considered
failed.
[0071] At the receiving end after transmitting the internet global
area packet switched networks the data manipulation sequence in the
remote ecom is essentially the reverse of that just described. In
addition a user of the ecom can query its mail server to see if
there is fax e-mail waiting that could not be delivered previously.
Also standard or encrypted e-mail other than converted fax image
data can be printed out on a fax machine attached to an ecom
device. The user presses GET MAIL which displays the command on LCD
94 and then the CPU instructs the appropriate EPROM to retrieve the
appropriate server location and to contact same via the modem 86.
Upon proper user identification by the server if there is mail the
server will send it to the MUA EPROM 70 and the CPU will then send
it to memory buffer and terminate connection to the server. The
usual "preview mail" capability can also be included in ecom 16 if
desired. The ecom device is also capable of being a "direct
delivery" mail box such that a ecom converted message can be sent
directly to the device. One such example is where the e-mail
address of the recipient is a special ecom mail address that
includes both the recipients phone number and unique ecom device
email user identity ie.50854045lldevicepenelope@ecom.net In order
to provide structure and compatibility to the format of e-mails
sent across the Internet, the Simple Mail Transfer Protocol (SMTP)
was developed and adopted in August of 1982. A full description of
the SMTP standard can found in RFC-821 and RFC-822 available at
many sites on the Internet.
[0072] In summary, the SMTP standard breaks an e-mail message into
two parts, a "header" and a "body". The header contains fields of
control information which e-mail software can examine and use to
accomplish their tasks in routing the e-mail. The body contains the
text of the message for the end recipient. In accordance with the
SMTP standard, all data transferred must be 7-bit US-ASCII and be
divided into lines of 1000 characters or less. The message may also
not exceed a certain length.
[0073] If e-mail software written for the SMTP standard encounters
a field which it does not understand, the field is ignored. This
attribute allows the SMTP standard to be extended by adding
additional fields in order to provide more e-mail capabilities.
[0074] While the SMTP standard was considered state-of-the-art at
the time of its adoption in 1982, the wide spread use of e-mail
over the Internet as a communication mechanism for various types of
information lead to the need for a more robust and comprehensive
standard. Thus, the SMTP standard was extended by the adoption of
the Multipurpose Internet Mail Extensions (MIME) adopted in June of
1992. MIME extends the SMTP by adding additional fields for mail
message headers that describe new types of content and organization
for messages. The MIME standard is fully describe in RFC-1521,
which also is available at many sites on the Internet.
[0075] In summary, the MIME standard allows a message to
contain:
[0076] Multiple objects in a single message;
[0077] Text of unlimited line and overall length;
[0078] Character sets other than US-ASCII;
[0079] Multi-font messages;
[0080] Binary or application specific fields; and
[0081] Images, audio, video and multi-media messages.
[0082] In order to accomplish the above message content, the MIME
standard defines the following new header fields:
[0083] 1. MIME-Version header field--This field uses a version
number to declare that a message conforms to the MIME standard;
[0084] 2. Content-Type header field--This field is used to specify
the type and subtype of the data in the body of the message and
defines any encoding of the data. The content type can be:
[0085] a. text--textual information;
[0086] b. multi part--several body parts are combined into a single
message;
[0087] c. application--application data or binary data;
[0088] d. message--encapsulating a mail message;
[0089] e. image--still image data;
[0090] f. audio--audio or voice data; and
[0091] g. video--video or moving image data.
[0092] 3. Content-Transfer-Encoding header field--This field is
used to specify how the data is encoded to allow it to pass through
mail transports having data or character set limitations;
[0093] 4. Content-ID header field--This field is used to further
identify the data in the message body; and
[0094] 5. Content-Description header field--This field is used to
further describe the data in the message body.
[0095] Thus, a plain text, ASCII e-mail message in accordance with
the MIME standard would might have the following header field
entries:
[0096] MIME-Version: MIME:Version 1.0
[0097] Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"
[0098] Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit
[0099] Content-ID: blank
[0100] Content-Description: blank
[0101] In addition to these standard MIME headers MIME X header
fields may be used to extend this inventions capabilities. The
method and apparatus for sending and receiving facsimile
transmissions via e-mail over the Internet will now be further
explained with reference to FIG. 11.
[0102] FIG. 11 is a block diagram illustrating the basic
construction of the computer system which controls the operation of
Applicant's invention. As FIG. 11 shows, the system includes a
number of interrelated elements all operationally connected by a
buss 201. The system includes RAM memory 202 and ROM memory 203
where instructions and temporary data storage areas of a computer
program reside ane where in rom the ecom device unique identity may
be stored in firmware. The system also includes a display 204 and a
keyboard 205 so that the various functions of the system and be
initiated and observed. Display 205 can be formed of a number of
different devices including a liquid crystal display, a cathode ray
tube display and an LED display. In addition, a number of different
configurations for keyboard 205 can be used. FIG. 12 illustrates
one embodiment of a keyboard configuration in accordance with the
present invention.
[0103] The system further includes mass storage device 216 which
allow the system to store data to and receive programming
instructions from such devices as magnetic floppy disks and tape
units.
[0104] A PCMCIA "Personal Computer Memory Card International
Association" card slot 206 also is provided. Slot 206 defines a
68-pin interface in accordance with current JEIDA PCMCIA standards
with respect to physical and electrical specifications. Thus, Type
I, Type II and Type III PCMCIA cards can be used with the present
invention. Such cards include flash memory, RAM, and ROM, modem
devices, LAN adapters, cellular telephone communication devices and
mass storage devices such as miniature hard disk drives.
[0105] A smart card slot 207 also is provided. The ability to use
smart cards allows the system to be automatically configured in a
particular way for a particular installation.
[0106] Also connected to buss 201 are various input/output (I/O)
peripherals 208 which allow the system to communicate with the user
and with the outside world through such devices as printer 209,
microphone 210, serial port 211, parallel port 212, speaker 213,
modem 214 and auxiliary port 215. Printer 209 may be selected from
a number of conventional printers known in the prior art. In
addition, serial and parallel ports 211 and 212 conform to
conventional port standards, also known in the art.
[0107] Microphone 210 can be used to provide verbal commands to the
system as well as permit the system to be used in a "telephone"
mode in conjunction with speaker 213 and voice processor <?>.
Modem 214 serves as the interface between the system and the
telephone line.
[0108] Auxiliary port 215 permits other equipment to be easily
connected to the I/O port interface. Such equipment includes
additional printers, modems, a video camera and image scanners and
the like.
[0109] The heart of the system is central processing unit (CPU) 200
which supervises the flow of information between the various
elements of the system and which perform logic calculations and
other functions based on instructions in the computer program
stored in RAM 202, ROM 203, a PCMCIA card inserted in PCMCIA slot
206 or a smart card inserted in smart card slot 207 and data
associated with the program.
[0110] The system also includes a number of other features such as
RJ11 and RJ45 connectors and cellular, cable and satellyte
communication cababilities.
[0111] As the system illustrated in FIG. 11 provides all of the
capability of a computer system, it can be easily programmed as
such to provide multimedia recording through microphone 210 and a
video camera connected to auxiliary port 215 and play back on
display 204 and speaker 213. The system may also be used in a video
conferencing mode. In so doing, the system has the ability to use
any one of a number of compression/decompression algorithms
(codecs). A codec is a system for removing or restructuring data to
decrease the size of a file. Codecs includes
[0112] Cinepak
[0113] Intel Indeo Video R3.2
[0114] Intel Indeo Video Raw
[0115] Microsoft Video 1
[0116] Microsoft RLE
[0117] QuickTime
[0118] In accordance with the present invention, a standard class
1, 2, or 3 facsimile machine is directly connected to the system
via one of the above described RJ11 telephone connectors. The user
places a document in the facsimile machine and dials a key code
number. The key code number identifies to the system which
telecommunications form the transmission of the document will take,
i.e., direct dial to a remote system of the invention, direct dial
to a remote facsimile machine or transformation to MIME compliant
e-mail and can be expanded to include IPv6 addressing, thus
enabling "old" facsimile machines to become IP directly
addressable. In the direct IP embodiment of the invention a
"virtual telephony circuit" is established between the devices and
the modulated tones generated by the originating fax machine are
first stored in a memory buffer a session based TCP connection is
established between the 2 devices and T30 facsimile data types are
encapsulated to identify which modulations were used to generate
the data and contain the phase C data that was obtained by the ecom
device in its inventive operation. Once the "virtual circuit has
been established and capabilities exchanged the "buffered" data is
sent to the receiving ecom device which "directly passes" facsimile
image data to the connected facsimile machine. One skilled in the
art will readily appreciate that the cpu, memory and asic
capabilities of the invention can be embedded in a facsimile
machine removing the need for a separate ecom device.
[0119] While there are given above certain specific examples of
this invention and its application in practical use, it should be
understood that they are not intended to be exhaustive or to be
limiting of the invention. On the contrary, these illustrations and
explanations herein are given in order to acquaint others skilled
in the art with this invention and the principles thereof and a
suitable manner of its application in practical use, so that others
skilled in the art may be enabled to modify the invention and to
adapt and apply it in numerous forms each as may be best suited to
the requirement of a particular use.
* * * * *