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Claims  |
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We claim:
1. A system for facilitating facsimile communications between a
transmitting facsimile machine and at least one intended receiving
facsimile machine, comprising at least one store and forward facility,
means coupling the at least one store and forward facility to the switched
telephone network for receiving transmissions from a transmitting
facsimile machine, said store and forward facility including computer
means for controlling its operation and including mass storage means for
storing facsimile transmissions together with information identifying the
transmitting facsimile machine and the at least one intended receiving
facsimile machine under control of said computer means, said store and
forward facility also including means coupling it to the switched
telephone network for transmitting facsimile messages stored in the mass
storage means to at least one intended receiving facsimile machine, and
wherein said mass storage means additionally includes mailboxes associated
with particular system subscribers and wherein facsimile messages received
and stored by the mass storage means and intended for receiving facsimile
machines associated with those subscribers are stored in the respective
mailboxes, said store and forward facility being responsive to
instructions received from a subscriber to transmit the facsimile messages
stored in that subscriber's mailbox to any particular facsimile machine
designated in the instructions by the subscriber, whereby a subscriber who
is traveling or otherwise away from the fixed location of his facsimile
machine may have facsimile messages intended for receipt by his facsimile
machine collected, and retrieve them from any location where any other
facsimile machine is situated.
2. A system for facilitating facsimile communications between a
transmitting facsimile machine and at least one intended receiving
facsimile machine, comprising a plurality of geographically separated
store and forward facilities, with a plurality of subscriber facsimile
machines in a particular geographic area being associated with one of said
store and forward facilities, means coupling each store and forward
facility to the switched telephone network for receiving transmissions
from any transmitting facsimile machine that is associated with each
respective store and forward facility, each of said store and forward
facilities including computer means for controlling its operation and
including mass storage means for storing facsimile transmissions together
with information identifying the transmitting facsimile machine and the at
least one intended receiving facsimile machine under control of said
computer means, said store and forward facility also including means
coupling it to the switched telephone network for directly transmitting a
facsimile message stored in the mass storage means to an intended
receiving facsimile machine if the intended receiving facsimile machine is
in the plurality of facsimile machines associated with that particular
store and forward facility, and for transmitting the stored facsimile
message to a particular another of the store and forward facilities when
the intended receiving facsimile machine is in the plurality of facsimile
machines associated with that particular another store and forward
facility and wherein said mass storage means of at least one of the store
and forward facilities additionally includes mailboxes associated with
particular system subscribers and wherein facsimile messages received and
stored by the mass storage means and intended for receiving facsimile
machines associated with those subscribers are stored in the respective
mailboxes, said store and forward facility being responsive to
instructions received from a subscriber to transmit the facsimile messages
stored in that subscriber's mailbox to any particular facsimile machine
designated in the instructions by the subscriber, whereby a subscriber who
is traveling or otherwise away from the fixed location of his facsimile
machine may have facsimile messages intended for receipt by his facsimile
machine collected, and retrieve them from any location where any other
facsimile machine is situated.
3. A method for facilitating facsimile communications between a
transmitting facsimile machine and at least one intended receiving
facsimile machine, comprising the step of providing at least one store and
forward facility having computer means for controlling its operation and
having mass storage means for storing facsimile messages, coupling the at
least one store and forward facility to the switched telephone network for
receiving facsimile messages from transmitting facsimile machines,
recording received facsimile messages in the mass storage means together
with information indicating the transmitting facsimile machine and the
intended receiving facsimile machine, and transmitting facsimile messages
stored in the mass storage means to intended receiving facsimile machines,
and including the step of defining mailboxes in the mass storage means
associated with particular system subscribers, and including the step of
storing facsimile messages intended for those particular system
subscribers in their respective mailboxes, and further including the step,
in response to instructions received from a system subscriber, of
transmitting facsimile messages stored in that subscriber's mailbox to a
facsimile machine designated by that subscriber in the instructions.
4. A method for facilitating facsimile communications between a
transmitting facsimile machine and at least one intended receiving
facsimile machine, comprising the step of providing at least one store and
forward facility having computer means for controlling its operation and
having mass storage means for storing facsimile messages, coupling the at
least one store and forward facility to the switched telephone network for
receiving facsimile messages from transmitting facsimile machines,
recording received facsimile messages in the mass storage means together
with information indicating the transmitting facsimile machine and the
intended receiving facsimile machine, and transmitting facsimile messages
stored in the mass storage means to intended receiving facsimile machines,
and including the step of providing subscribers with unique individual PIN
numbers, storing the individual PIN numbers in the mass storage means,
recognizing an incoming facsimile message from a transmitting facsimile
machine which has been security coded, transmitting to the intended
receiving facsimile machine for the security coded message a message
indicating that the store and forward facility is holding a security coded
message, and transmitting to the intended receiving facsimile machine the
security coded message only after receipt by the store and forward
facility from the intended receiving facsimile machine of the unique PIN
number of a subscriber associated with that intended receiving facsimile
machine.
5. A method for facilitating facsimile communications between a
transmitting facsimile machine and at least one intended receiving
facsimile machine, comprising the steps of providing a plurality of store
and forward facilities at geographically spaced locations each having
computer means for controlling its operation and having mass storage means
for storing facsimile messages, coupling each store and forward facility
to the switched telephone network for both receiving from and transmitting
to a plurality of facsimile machines associated with each store and
forward facility facsimile messages, recording in the mass storage means
each facsimile message transmitted from an associated facsimile machine
together with information indicating the transmitting facsimile machine
and the intended receiving facsimile machine, and transmitting facsimile
messages stored in the mass storage means to intended receiving facsimile
machines if those intended receiving facsimile machines are associated
with the store and forward facility which received the facsimile message
from a transmitting facsimile machine, or to another of the plurality of
store and forward facilities if the intended receiving facsimile machine
is associated with the another store and forward facility, including the
step of providing subscribers with unique individual PIN numbers, storing
the individual PIN number in the mass storage means of a store and forward
facility associated with a particular subscriber, recognizing an incoming
facsimile message from a transmitting facsimile machine which has been
security coded, transmitting to the intended receiving facsimile machine
for the security coded message a message indicating that the store and
forward facility is holding a security coded message, and transmitting to
the intended receiving facsimile machine the security coded message only
after receipt by the store and forward facility from the intended
receiving facsimile machine of the unique PIN number of a subscriber
associated with that intended receiving facsimile machine.
6. A system for facilitating facsimile communications between a
transmitting facsimile machine and at least one intended receiving
facsimile machine, comprising at least one store and forward facility,
means coupling the at least one store and forward facility to the switched
telephone network for receiving transmissions from a transmitting
facsimile machine, said store and forward facility including computer
means for controlling its operation and including mass storage means for
storing facsimile transmissions together with information identifying the
transmitting facsimile machine and the at least one intended receiving
facsimile machine under control of said computer means, said store and
forward facility also including means coupling it to the switched
telephone network for transmitting facsimile messages stored in the mass
storage means to at least one intended receiving facsimile machine, and
wherein individual subscribers may be provided with unique PIN numbers,
wherein individual subscriber PIN numbers are stored in the mass storage
means, and wherein the store and forward facility recognizes an incoming
facsimile message that is security coded by a transmitting facsimile
machine, and wherein the security coded facsimile message is sent to an
intended receiving facsimile machine only upon receipt from the intended
receiving facsimile machine of the appropriate subscriber PIN number.
7. A system in accordance with claim 6 where said computer means is
programmed such that, upon receipt by the store and forward facility of a
security coded facsimile message from a transmitting facsimile machine,
the store and forward facility sends a transmission to an intended
receiving facsimile machine indicating that the store and forward facility
is holding a security coded facsimile message, whereby a subscriber at the
intended receiving facsimile machine is prompted to input to the store and
forward facility his PIN in order to have the facsimile message
transmitted to the intended receiving facsimile machine.
8. A method for facilitating facsimile communications between a
transmitting facsimile machine and at least one intended receiving
facsimile machine, comprising the steps of providing a plurality of store
and forward facilities at geographically spaced locations each having
computer means for controlling its operation and having mass storage means
for storing facsimile messages, coupling each store and forward facility
to the switched telephone network for both receiving from and transmitting
to a plurality of facsimile machines associated with each store and
forward facility facsimile messages, recording in the mass storage means
each facsimile message transmitted from an associated facsimile machine
together with information indicating the transmitting facsimile machine
and the intended receiving facsimile machine, and transmitting facsimile
messages stored in the mass storage means to intended receiving facsimile
machines if those intended receiving facsimile machines are associated
with the store and forward facility which received the facsimile message
from a transmitting facsimile machine, or to another of the plurality of
store and forward facilities if the intended receiving facsimile machine
is associated with the another store and forward facility, including the
step of defining mailboxes in the mass storage systems of each store and
forward facility associated with particular system subscribers associated
with particular store and forward facilities, and including the step of
storing facsimile messages intended for those particular system
subscribers in their respective mailboxes, and further including the step,
in response to instructions received from a system subscriber, of
transmitting facsimile messages stored in that subscriber's mailbox to a
facsimile machine designated by that subscriber in the instructions.
9. A method in accordance with claim 8 including the step of retaining
facsimile messages in the mass storage means for a predetermined time
period after successful delivery of the facsimile messages to intended
receiving facsimile machines, and, in response to instructions received
from either the transmitting or receiving facsimile machines with respect
to a particular facsimile message, the step of retransmitting that
particular facsimile message to additional intended receiving facsimile
machines.
10. A system for facilitating facsimile communications between a
transmitting facsimile machine and at least one intended receiving
facsimile machine, comprising a plurality of geographically separated
store and forward facilities, with a plurality of subscriber facsimile
machines in a particular geographic area being associated with one of said
store and forward facilities, means coupling each store and forward
facility to the switched telephone network for receiving transmissions
from any transmitting facsimile machine that is associated with each
respective store and forward facility, each of said store and forward
facilities including computer means for controlling its operation and
including mass storage means for storing facsimile transmissions together
with information identifying the transmitting facsimile machine and the at
least one intended receiving facsimile machine under control of said
computer means, said store and forward facility also including means
coupling it to the switched telephone network for directly transmitting a
facsimile message stored in the mass storage means to an intended
receiving facsimile machine if the intended receiving facsimile machine is
in the plurality of facsimile machines associated with that particular
store and forward facility, and for transmitting the stored facsimile
message to a particular another of the store and forward facilities when
the intended receiving facsimile machine is in the plurality of facsimile
machines associated with that particular another store and forward
facility and wherein individual subscribers may be provided with unique
PIN numbers, wherein individual subscriber PIN numbers are stored in the
mass storage means of the store and forward facility having the facsimile
machines of those individual subscribers associated therewith, and wherein
the store and forward facility recognizes an incoming facsimile message
that is security coded by a transmitting facsimile machine, and wherein
the security coded facsimile message is sent to an intended receiving
facsimile machine only upon receipt from the intended receiving facsimile
machine of the appropriate subscriber PIN number.
11. A system in accordance with claim 10 where said computer means is
programmed such that, upon receipt by the store and forward facility of a
security coded facsimile message from a transmitting facsimile machine,
the store and forward facility sends a transmission to an intended
receiving facsimile machine either directly or through another store and
forward facility indicating that the store and forward facility is holding
a security coded facsimile message, whereby a subscriber at the intended
receiving facsimile machine is prompted to input to the store and forward
facility his PIN in order to have the facsimile message transmitted to the
intended receiving facsimile machine.
12. A system for facilitating facsimile communications between a
transmitting facsimile machine and at least one intended receiving
facsimile machine, comprising at least one store and forward facility,
means coupling the at least one store and forward facility to the switched
telephone network for receiving transmissions from a transmitting
facsimile machine, said store and forward facility including computer
means for controlling its operation and including mass storage means for
storing facsimile transmissions together with information identifying the
transmitting facsimile machine and the at least one intended receiving
facsimile machine under control of said computer means, said store and
forward facility also including means coupling it to the switched
telephone network for transmitting facsimile messages stored in the mass
storage means to at least one intended receiving facsimile machine, and
wherein said computer means of said at least one store and forward
facility is programmed, upon being unsuccessful in making a transmission
to an intended receiving facsimile machine, to transmit a message to the
transmitting facsimile machine indicating that the message has been
entered into the mass storage means at the store and forward facility, and
at least also indicating the reason for a delay in transmitting the
message to the intended receiving facsimile machine.
13. A system in accordance with claim 12 wherein said at least one store
and forward facility is programmed, upon being unsuccessful in making a
transmission to an intended receiving facsimile machine, to accept and
carry out alternate delivery instructions from a subscriber associated
with the transmitting facsimile machine including but not limited to
re-try delivery of the message to the original intended receiving
facsimile machine, re-direct the message to an alternate intended
receiving facsimile machine, or delete the message.
14. A system for facilitating facsimile communications between a
transmitting facsimile machine and at least one intended receiving
facsimile machine, comprising at least one store and forward facility,
means coupling the at least one store and forward facility to the switched
telephone network for receiving transmissions from a transmitting
facsimile machine, said store and forward facility including computer
means for controlling its operation and including mass storage means for
storing facsimile transmissions together with information identifying the
transmitting facsimile machine and the at least one intended receiving
facsimile machine under control of said computer means, said store and
forward facility also including means coupling it to the switched
telephone network for transmitting facsimile messages stored in the mass
storage means to at least one intended receiving facsimile machine, and
wherein said computer means of said at least one store and is programmed
to establish a linked queue in said mass storage means spooling all stored
facsimile messages intended for a particular receiving facsimile machine,
and transmitting all the spooled facsimile messages intended for that
particular receiving facsimile machine upon successfully making contact
with the intended receiving facsimile machine, and wherein said computer
means is programmed to periodically transmit to an intended receiving
facsimile machine a queue report as to the number of messages waiting in
said linked queue and the identification of the transmitting facsimile
machines from which the messages in the queue originated.
15. A system in accordance with claim 14 wherein said computer means is
programmed to accept instructions from a subscriber associated with an
intended receiving facsimile machine as to manipulate or change the order
of delivery of messages in the linked message queue associated with that
intended receiving facsimile machine.
16. A system in accordance with claim 15 wherein said transmitting
facsimile machine can insert a priority code in a message, and said
computer means is responsive to said priority code to determine placement
of the priority coded message in the message queue for the intended
receiving facsimile machine.
17. A system for facilitating facsimile communications between a
transmitting facsimile machine and at least one intended receiving
facsimile machine, comprising at least one store and forward facility,
means coupling the at least one store and forward facility to a switched
telephone network for receiving transmissions from a transmitting
facsimile machine, said store and forward facility including computer
means for controlling its operation and including mass storage means for
storing facsimile transmissions together with information identifying the
transmitting facsimile machine and the at least one intended receiving
facsimile machine under control of said computer means, said store and
forward facility also including means coupling it to the switched
telephone network for transmitting facsimile messages stored in the mass
storage means to at least one intended receiving facsimile machine, said
computer means being programmed such that if the at least one intended
receiving facsimile machine is busy or otherwise unable to receive a
transmission at the time the store and forward facility attempts to
transmit a facsimile message stored in the mass storage means, the store
and forward facility periodically retries transmitting the facsimile
message to the at least one intended receiving facsimile machine, said
computer means being further programmed, upon successful completion of a
facsimile transmission to an intended receiving facsimile machine, to
transmit a message to the transmitting facsimile machine confirmed
delivery of the transmission to the intended receiving facsimile machine.
18. The system of claim 1 wherein said computer means is additionally
programmed to establish a linked queue in said mass storage means spooling
all stored facsimile messages intended for a particular receiving
facsimile machine, and transmitting all the spooled facsimile messages
intended for that particular receiving facsimile machine upon successfully
making contact with the intended receiving facsimile machine.
19. The system of claim 1 wherein said computer means of said at least one
store and forward facility is programmed, upon being unsuccessful in
making a transmission to an intended receiving facsimile machine, to
transmit a message to the transmitting facsimile machine indicating that
the message has been entered into the mass storage means at the store and
forward facility, and at least also indicating the reason for a delay in
transmitting the message to the intended receiving facsimile machine.
20. The system of claim 1 wherein the at least one store and forward
facility includes means for receiving broadcast instructions from a user
at a transmitting facsimile machine and associating those broadcast
instructions with a facsimile message received from the transmitting
facsimile machine and stored in the mass storage means, and for
transmitting the stored facsimile message to a plurality of receiving
facsimile machines in accordance with the broadcast instructions.
21. A system in accordance with claim 1 wherein said computer means of said
at least one store and forward facility is programmed to retain a
facsimile message in the mass storage means for a predetermined time
period even after successful transmission of the facsimile message to an
intended receiving facsimile machine, and wherein the store and forward
facility is responsive to instructions received from either originating or
receiving subscribers to retransmit the facsimile message to another
intended receiving facsimile machine.
22. A system for facilitating facsimile communications between a
transmitting facsimile machine and at least one intended receiving
facsimile machine, comprising a plurality of geographically separated
store and forward facilities, with a plurality of subscriber facsimile
machines in a particular geographic area being associated with one of said
store and forward facilities, means coupling each store and forward
facility to the switched telephone network for receiving transmissions
from any transmitting facsimile machine that is associated with each
respective store and forward facility, each of said store and forward
facilities including computer means for controlling its operation and
including mass storage means for storing facsimile transmissions together
with information identifying the transmitting facsimile machine and the at
least one intended receiving facsimile machine under control of said
computer means, said store and forward facility also including means
coupling it to the switched telephone network for directly transmitting a
facsimile message stored in the mass storage means to an intended
receiving facsimile machine if the intended receiving facsimile machine is
in the plurality of facsimile machines associated with that particular
store and forward facility, and for transmitting the stored facsimile
message to a particular another of the store and forward facilities when
the intended receiving facsimile machine is in the plurality of facsimile
machines associated with that particular another store and forward
facility, and wherein the computer means of each store and forward
facility is programmed such that with respect to facsimile messages
received and stored in its mass storage means if the at least one intended
receiving facsimile machine is busy or otherwise unable to receive a
transmission at the time the store and forward facility attempts to
transmit a facsimile message stored in its mass storage means, the store
and forward facility periodically retries transmitting the facsimile
message to the at least one intended receiving facsimile machine, and,
upon successful completion of a facsimile transmission to an intended
receiving facsimile machine, to transmit a message to the transmitting
facsimile machine or to another store and forward facility having the
transmitting facsimile machine associated therewith for passing the
message to the transmitting facsimile machine, indicating that the message
has been entered into the mass storage means at the store and forward
facility, and at least also indicating the reason for a delay in
transmitting the message to the intended receiving facsimile machine.
23. The system of claim 22 wherein the computer means of each store and
forward facility is additionally programmed to establish a linked queue in
its mass storage means spooling all stored facsimile messages intended for
a particular receiving facsimile machine, and transmitting all the spooled
facsimile messages intended for that particular receiving facsimile
machine upon successfully making contact with the intended receiving
facsimile machine.
24. The system of claim 22 wherein the computer means of each store and
forward facility is programmed, upon being unsuccessful in making a
transmission to an intended receiving facsimile machine, to transmit a
message to the transmitting facsimile machine or to another store and
forward facility having the transmitting facsimile machine associated
therewith for passing the message to the transmitting facsimile machine,
indicating that the message has been entered into the mass storage means
at the store and forward facility, and at least also indicating the reason
for a delay in transmitting the message to the intended receiving
facsimile machine.
25. The system of claim 22 wherein each store and forward facility includes
means for receiving broadcast instructions from a user at a transmitting
facsimile machine and associating those broadcast instructions with a
facsimile message received from the transmitting facsimile machine and
stored in the mass storage means, and for transmitting the stored
facsimile message to a plurality of receiving facsimile machines, either
directly or through other store and forward facilities having the intended
receiving facsimile machines associated therewith, in accordance with the
broadcast instructions.
26. A system in accordance with claim 25 wherein the computer means of each
store and forward facility is programmed to retain a facsimile message in
its mass storage means for a predetermined time period even after
successful transmission of the facsimile message to an intended receiving
facsimile machine, and wherein the store and forward facility is
responsive to instructions received from either originating or receiving
subscribers to retransmit the facsimile message to another intended
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