Method and system for storage and/or transmission of confidential facsimile documents

Claims

I claim:

1. A system for receiving and transmitting confidential facsimile documents, comprising:

digital means connected to a communication line for relaying information from and to said communication line;

memory means connected to said digital means for storing a facsimile document and identifying data being associated with said facsimile document; and

control means connected to said digital means and said memory means for determining whether a facsimile document is to be stored or if a facsimile document is to be forwarded, wherein when said control means determines that a facsimile document is to be stored, said control means directs said memory means to store said facsimile document only after having requested the sender to input an identification number and having received the identification number from the sender which is to be associated with said facsimile document, and when said control means determines that a previously stored facsimile document is to be forwarded, said control means directs said memory means to forward said previously stored facsimile document to a recipient only if an identification number supplied by a recipient matches the identification number created by the sender associated with said previously stored facsimile document and only if said previously stored facsimile document has not previously been forwarded to a recipient.

2. A system in accordance with claim 1, wherein said control means further includes purge means for purging each stored facsimile document which has been stored for more than a predetermined time period.

3. A system for receiving and transmitting confidential facsimile documents via communication lines systems, comprising:

digital means, connected to a communication line, for relaying information from and to said communication line;.

memory means, connected to said digital means, for storing facsimile documents and identification data which is associated with each said facsimile document;

control means, connected to said digital means and said memory means, for controlling the storing and forwarding of said facsimile documents, said control means including:

storage means for requesting the sender to input a security code number, obtaining the security code number inputted by the sender, receiving a facsimile document from the sender via said digital means and said communications line, obtaining a security delivery option for said facsimile document inputted by the sender, and directing said memory means to store said facsimile document and the associated security code number and security delivery option, and

forwarding means for requesting the recipient to input a security code number, obtaining the security code number inputted by the recipient, comparing that number to the security code numbers inputted by senders and stored by said memory means in association with facsimile documents, and, only if the security code number inputted by the recipient is the same as that stored in said memory means, directing said memory means to forward the stored facsimile document associated with said security code number to the recipient via said digital means and communication line.

4. A system in accordance with claim 3, wherein said control means further includes purge means for purging each stored facsimile document which has been stored for more than a predetermined time period.

5. A system in accordance with claim 3, wherein said control means further includes security means for preventing any said stored facsimile document from being transmitted more than once.

6. A system for receiving and transmitting confidential facsimile documents via communication lines systems, comprising:

digital means, connected to a communication line, for relaying information from and to said communication line;

memory means, connected to said digital means, for storing facsimile documents and identification data which is associated with each said facsimile document;

control means, connected to said digital means and said memory means, for controlling the storing and forwarding of said facsimile documents, said control means including:

storage means for obtaining a security code number inputted by the sender, receiving a facsimile document from the sender via said digital means and said communications line, obtaining from the sender a facsimile machine telephone number of the intended recipient of the facsimile document and directing said memory means to store said facsimile document and the associated security code number and facsimile machine telephone number, and

forwarding means for determining the telephone number from which the incoming call from the recipient was made, obtaining a security code number inputted by the recipient, comparing the inputted security code number to the security code numbers stored by said memory means in association with facsimile documents and facsimile machine telephone numbers, and, only if the security code number inputted by the recipient is the same as that stored in said memory means, and only if the telephone number from which said incoming call from the recipient was made is the same as the facsimile machine telephone number stored in said memory means in association with said stored facsimile document, directing said memory means to forward the stored facsimile document associated with said security code number to the recipient via said digital means and said communication line.

7. A system in accordance with claim 6, wherein said control means further includes purge means for purging each stored facsimile document which has been stored for more than a predetermined time period.

8. A system in accordance with claim 6, wherein said control means further includes security means for preventing any said stored facsimile document from being transmitted more than once.

9. A system in accordance with claim 6, wherein said forwarding means directs the stored facsimile document associated with said security code number to be forwarded to the recipient via said digital means and the communications line opened by the incoming call from the recipient.

10. A system for receiving and transmitting confidential facsimile documents via communication lines systems, comprising:

digital means, connected to a communication line, for relaying information from and to said communication line;

memory means, connected to said digital means, for storing facsimile documents and identification data which is associated with each said facsimile document; and

control means, connected to said digital means and said memory means, for controlling the storing and forwarding of said facsimile documents, said control means including:

storage means for requesting the sender to input a security code number, obtaining the security code number inputted by the sender, receiving a facsimile document from the sender via said digital means and said communications line, and directing said memory means to store said facsimile document and the associated security code number without checking whether said security code number identifies a subscriber,

forwarding means for requesting the recipient to input a security code number, obtaining the security code number inputted by the recipient, comparing that number to the security code numbers inputted by senders and stored by said memory means in association with facsimile documents, and, only if the security code number inputted by the recipient is the same as that stored in said memory means, directing said memory means to forward the stored facsimile document associated with said security code number to the recipient via said digital means and communication line, and

security means for preventing any said stored facsimile document from being transmitted more than once.

11. A system for receiving and transmitting confidential facsimile documents, as claimed in claim 10, wherein said storage means is further for generating a message number for each said facsimile document and directing said memory means to store said message number with the associated facsimile document and security code number.

12. A system for receiving and transmitting confidential facsimile documents, as claimed in claim 11, wherein said storage means is further for communicating said message number to the sender.

13. A system for receiving and transmitting confidential facsimile documents, as claimed in claim 11, wherein said forwarding means is further for obtaining a message number inputted by the recipient in addition to the security code number, comparing that number to the message numbers stored by said memory means in association with a facsimile document, and, only if the message number and the security code number inputted by the recipient are the same as those stored in said memory means in association with a single facsimile document, directing said memory means to forward said stored facsimile document to the recipient via said digital means and said communications line.

14. A system in accordance with claim 11, wherein said control means further includes purge means for purging each stored facsimile document which has been stored for more than a predetermined time period.

15. A system in accordance with claim 11, wherein said control means further includes security means for preventing any said stored facsimile document from being transmitted more than once.

16. A system for receiving and transmitting confidential facsimile documents, as claimed in claim 10, further comprising:

voice generating means, connected to said control means, for generating voice instructions to either the sender or the recipient.

17. A system for receiving and transmitting confidential facsimile documents, as claimed in claim 10, wherein, said forwarding means is further for directing said memory means to forward the stored facsimile document only over a communications line opened by an incoming call from the recipient.

18. A system in accordance with claim 10, wherein said control means further includes purge means for purging each stored facsimile document which has been stored for more than a predetermined time period.

19. A system for receiving and transmitting confidential facsimile documents, as claimed in claim 10, wherein said storage means does not check to determine whether any number input by the sender identifies a subscriber recipient.

20. A method for storing confidential facsimile documents, comprising the steps of:

receiving a facsimile document from a sender;

requesting the sender of the facsimile document to input a security code number to be associated with the facsimile document;

storing the facsimile document and the associated security code number without checking whether said security code number identifies a subscriber; and

periodically checking the date and time of receipt of each stored facsimile document and purging each stored facsimile document which has been stored for more than a predetermined time period.

21. A method for storing confidential facsimile documents as claimed in claim 20, further comprising the steps of:

requesting the sender of the facsimile document to input a facsimile machine telephone number of the intended recipient and storing the facsimile machine telephone number with the associated facsimile document and security code number.

22. A method for storing confidential facsimile documents, as claimed in claim 20, wherein there is no step of checking to determine whether any number input by the sender identifies a subscriber.

23. A method for storing confidential facsimile documents, comprising the steps of:

receiving a facsimile document from a sender;

requesting the sender of the facsimile document to create a security code number to be associated with the facsimile document and to select a security delivery option for forwarding the stored facsimile document; and

storing the facsimile document and the associated security code number and security delivery option.

24. A method in accordance with claim 23, further including the step of periodically checking the date and time of receipt of each stored facsimile document and purging each stored facsimile document which has been stored for more than a predetermined time period.

25. A method for storing confidential facsimile documents, comprising the steps of:

receiving a facsimile document from a sender;

requesting the sender of the facsimile document to input a security code number to be associated with the facsimile document;

creating a message number for the facsimile document received from the sender; and

storing the facsimile document and the associated security code number and message number.

26. A method in accordance with claim 25, further including the step of periodically checking the date and time of receipt of each stored facsimile document and purging each stored facsimile document which has been stored for more than a predetermined time period.

27. A method for forwarding a confidential facsimile document which has been stored with an associated security code number created by the sender of the facsimile document, comprising the steps of:

requesting a recipient to input a security code number;

checking the security code number with security code numbers stored with associated facsimile documents;

checking to determine whether the facsimile document associated with the security code has been previously forwarded to any recipient; and

forwarding the facsimile document if the security code number matches the security code number associated therewith and if the facsimile document has not been previously forwarded to any recipient.

28. A method in accordance with claim 27, further including the step of periodically checking the date and time of receipt of each stored facsimile document and purging each stored facsimile document which has been stored for more than a predetermined time period.

29. A method for forwarding a confidential facsimile document as claimed in claim 27, wherein said forwarding step comprises:

forwarding the facsimile document only over a communications line opened by an incoming call from the recipient.

30. A method for storing confidential facsimile documents, comprising:

receiving facsimile documents from senders;

requesting the sender of each facsimile document to create a security code number to be associated with that specific document and, optionally, to input other identifying information;

optionally creating a message number for each facsimile document, whereby said security code, alone or in combination with one or more of said other identifying information and said message number, is an identifier which uniquely identifies a single associated facsimile document; and

storing each facsimile document in conjunction with the security code and any other identifying information and any message number associated therewith.

31. A method in accordance with claim 30 and further including the step of periodically checking the date and time of receipt of each stored facsimile document and purging each stored facsimile document which has been stored for more than a predetermined time period.

32. A method in accordance with claim 30, further including the step of purging the facsimile document from storage once it has been forwarded to a recipient.

33. A method in accordance with claim 30, further including the step, prior to said snoring step, of checking the identifier of each incoming facsimile document against the identifiers of all snored facsimile documents to ensure that the incoming identifier is unique and, only if said identifier is not unique, requesting the sender to create a new security code or to input other identifying information so as to create a new identifier for the incoming facsimile document, and then repeating said checking step.

34. A method in accordance with claim 33, further including the step of purging the facsimile document from storage once it has been forwarded to a recipient.

35. A method for receiving, storing and transmitting confidential facsimile documents, comprising the steps of:

receiving facsimile documents from senders;

requesting the sender of each facsimile document to create a security code number to be associated with that specific document and, optionally, to input other identifying information;

optionally creating a message number for each facsimile document, whereby said security code, alone or in combination with one or more of said other identifying information and said message number, is an identifier which uniquely identifies a single associated facsimile document;

storing each facsimile document in conjunction with the security code and any other identifying information and any message number associated therewith;

receiving requests for facsimile documents from recipients;

receiving an identifier, including the security code created by the sender of that facsimile document, from a recipient for each facsimile document requested by a recipient; and

forwarding the facsimile document which had been stored in association with said identifier only if the recipient inputs the correct identifier.

36. A method in accordance with claim 35, further including the step, prior to said forwarding step, of checking to determine whether the facsimile document associated with said identifier has been previously forwarded to any recipient, and wherein said forwarding step comprises forwarding the facsimile document which had been stored in association with said identifier only if the recipient inputs the correct identifier and only if the facsimile document has not been previously forwarded to any recipient.

37. A method in accordance with claim 36, wherein the request from the recipient is made from a communication line to which a facsimile machine is attached and the facsimile document is sent to the recipient over the open communication line initiated by the recipient.

38. A method in accordance with claim 36, further including the step of billing each sender for services with respect to each said facsimile document with no charges being made to recipients.

39. A method in accordance with claim 35, further including the step of periodically checking the date and time of receipt of each stored facsimile document and purging each stored facsimile document which has been stored for more than a predetermined time period.

40. A method in accordance with claim 35, including the step of generating a message number for each facsimile document, whereby said security code, in combination with said message number, is said identifier which uniquely identifies a single associated facsimile document, and further including the steps of:

receiving from the sender of each facsimile document the facsimile number of the intended recipient; and

for each facsimile document, transmitting to the facsimile number of the intended recipient notification that a facsimile document has been stored and including the message number which had been generated with respect to said facsimile document;

wherein said forwarding step only takes place if the identifier provided by the recipient includes both the message number generated in said generating step and transmitted to the intended recipient, as well as the security code created by the sender.

41. A method in accordance with claim 40, wherein said message number is a telephone number and the recipient inputs the message number by initially dialling said telephone number.

42. A method in accordance with claim 35, further including the step of requesting the sender to input other identifying information along with said security code number, whereby said security code, in combination with said other identifying information, is said identifier which uniquely identifies a single associated facsimile document, and wherein said forwarding step only takes place if the intended recipient inputs an identifier which includes both the security code created by the sender as well as the other identifying information stored in conjunction with said facsimile document.

43. A method in accordance with claim 42, further including the step, prior to said forwarding step, of checking to determine whether the facsimile document associated with said identifier has been previously forwarded to any recipient, and wherein said forwarding step comprises forwarding the facsimile document which had been stored in association with said identifier only if the recipient inputs the correct identifier and only if the facsimile document has not been previously forwarded to any recipient.

44. A method in accordance with claim 42, wherein said other identifying information input by the sender is a telephone number of the recipient and wherein the recipient inputs said other identifying information by calling from said telephone number, the correct said other identifying information being identified by automatic number identification.

45. A method in accordance with claim 44, wherein said telephone number is a facsimile number and the facsimile is sent over the open line initiated by the recipient.

46. A method in accordance with claim 35, wherein the request from the recipient is made from a communication line to which a facsimile machine is attached and the facsimile document is sent to the recipient over the open communication line initiated by the recipient.

47. A method in accordance with claim 35, further including the step of billing each sender for services with respect to each said facsimile document with no charges being made to recipients.

48. A method in accordance with claim 47, wherein said billing step comprises billing each sender on the telephone bill of the sender for the communication line on which the original facsimile document was received from the sender.

49. A method in accordance with claim 35, further including the step of requesting the sender of each facsimile document to designate which of a plurality of optional security levels is to be used before the document may be transmitted to the recipient.

50. A method in accordance with claim 49, wherein the optional security levels which the sender is requested to designate include two or more of the following:

(a) the sender creates a security code number and the facsimile document is forwarded as long as the intended recipient knows said security code number;

(b) the sender provides other identifying information and the facsimile document is forwarded to the recipient only if the recipient inputs both the security code number and the other identifying information;

(c) a message number is generated and transmitted to the facsimile number of the recipient and the facsimile document is forwarded to the facsimile number of the recipient only if the recipient first calls from any telephone and inputs both said security code number and said message number;

(d) a message number is generated and transmitted to the facsimile number of the recipient and the facsimile document is forwarded to the recipient only if the recipient calls from a communication line attached to a facsimile machine and correctly inputs the security code number and the message number, after which the message is only forwarded to the recipient over the open communications line initiated by the recipient; and

(e) the sender inputs the facsimile number of the recipient and the facsimile document is forwarded to the recipient only if the recipient calls from that facsimile machine number, as identified by automatic number identification, and correctly inputs the security code created by the sender.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to a method and system for transmission of confidential documents and the like via facsimile machines. More specifically, the system includes a security code-responsive, computer-controlled store and forward facility (SAFF) for receiving and transmitting documents between two remote facsimile machines. A security code number is provided by the sender (originator) of the fax for each document transmission. Thus, the number does not identify a subscriber or a mailbox but identifies a fax message. Various degrees of security may be provided.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The electronic transmission of documents by way of facsimile (fax) systems employing public and private switched telephone networks has become both commonplace and, often, an essential component in many business activities. It is estimated that the current number of facsimile machines in the United States is over 12 million and the number is expected to grow to over 25 million by 1995. In view of the large amount of facsimile documents sent each day, a number of these facsimiles may be erroneously sent or received by unintended parties. This can lead to serious repercussions if the document being transmitted was of a sensitive or confidential nature. Documented facsimile transmission errors which may lead to the compromise of sensitive documents include: (i) dialing the wrong facsimile number or punching the wrong button on a pre-programmed automatic dialer, or (ii) sending the facsimile to the right number, but having an unintended party pick up the facsimile on the receiving end.

There are many businesses, such as CPA firms, banks, stockbrokers, etc., as well as many personal situations, where confidentiality of facsimiles may be important. The risks of an improper or misdirected facsimile transmission are of particular concern to attorneys. Sending a sensitive document to the wrong facsimile number may breach an attorney's ethical duty to maintain the confidentiality of his client. Since the ethical code extends the duty of confidentiality to an attorney's employees, this risk is broadened each time an attorney delegates the responsibility for faxing a document to another party. Aside from the ethical consideration, a misdirected or errant fax may also forfeit the attorney-client privilege. Since a privileged communication must be intended as confidential, a wayward fax sent to the wrong number or to a third person may destroy this privilege. In addition, the risk of a carelessly sent fax may result in legal malpractice or the loss of clients. Additionally, many documents sent to a recipient may not be privileged, but contain highly sensitive information the recipient does not want revealed to anyone except himself and any authorized person(s).

Pre-programming frequently used telephone numbers into a fax machine's automatic dialer may help eliminate misdialing, but hitting the wrong button can also create severe problems. If an otherwise privileged fax communication is inadvertently communicated to an unauthorized third person, the situation may be analogous to that of an eavesdropper.

Even if a fax is sent to the right party, problems of confidentiality still may occur when the receiving party is not physically present at the time of transmission or an unauthorized party retrieves the document. This is often a problem, especially in a busy office or where a machine is nominally unattended during the transmission, in that the originator has no control over who may be standing by the machine when the document prints out or who may leaf through a stack of faxes piled up in a hopper right after lunch.

This security problem is exacerbated when it is desired to deliver fax documents to a recipient who is not currently available through a known machine (e.g., a person on a business trip). This is a very inconvenient situation in that it requires that the paper documents be held until the traveler phones in from a remote machine. It further requires that the document be sent to a non-secured site, such as the front desk of a hotel. This leaves many opportunities for the confidential fax to be seen by unauthorized eyes.

Careless and misdirected fax transmissions can mean loss of dollars for interested parties and possible claims of legal malpractice for attorneys.

There are products and methods currently available to reduce the risk of misdirected facsimiles. One method is to require that a responsible person directly monitor the sending of a facsimile, while a person at the other end simultaneously monitors the receipt of the facsimile. This can be administratively burdensome and in some cases not practical for the user or recipient.

Specialized secure facsimile machines are currently available that scramble outgoing fax signals and unscramble incoming ones. One of the benefits of such scramblers is that if an operator misdials or misroutes a fax, the message is not sent. Among the drawbacks are the fact that such machines are expensive, with an average price tag of over $1,000, and they work only if the other party has the same brand of scrambler.

Another security method uses message authentication codes by means of a calculator equipped with a special chip that assembles and disassembles the codes to verify faxes.

Various communication systems which address some of the above concerns are known in the facsimile art. The patent to Gordon et al., U.S. Pat. No. 4,994,926, discloses a system and method for facilitating facsimile transmissions which includes a store-and-forward facility. The originator sends a fax to the store-and-forward facility and advises the facility of the destination fax number. The store-and-forward facility then spools all faxes for the intended machine and forwards the fax messages to the destination machine. Gordon specifically addresses the security problem of faxes and includes a feature by which the originator may designate a particular fax transmission as being a secure transmission. In this case, the store-and-forward facility notifies the intended recipient that a secure fax is waiting in his "Mailbox". The intended recipient must then telephone the store-and-forward facility and enter his personal identification number (PIN) before the store-and-forward facility will send the fax to the recipient's fax machine. The secret PIN number is assigned by the store-and-forward facility to each individual recipient subscriber. The number does not identify a message but identifies the subscriber. Thus, all recipients must be subscribers to the system and there is only one security code per subscriber.

The Gordon system suffers the deficiency that a recipient must be a subscriber before he can receive such faxes. It would be desirable to have a system which could be used by anyone, regardless of whether or not he or she is a subscriber. Furthermore, by assigning one security code per subscriber, if an unauthorized person obtains a subscriber's security code by covert means, that person can retrieve all confidential messages of that subscriber.

U.S. Pat. No. 4,935,955 to Neudorfer discloses a facsimile PBX system employing a security feature which allows only the authorized recipient of a message to access the incoming facsimile transmission. Access can be achieved by entering a password at the designated recipient's facsimile terminal, and only the messages designated for that particular recipient can be accessed from storage in an interface unit. This type of security is similar to that of Gordon, in that the password is unique for each designated recipient, not for each message. Furthermore, the password is generated by the recipient, whose office owns the facsimile PBX system.

The patent to Scherk et al., U.S Pat. No. 5,068,888, discloses an information delivery system for automatically delivering information from a control information storage facility by means of facsimile transmission to a facsimile machine positioned at a remote location. The particular information requested must be identified by appropriate identification codes. A caller desiring to access information from the information delivery system (such as a library) calls the system, gives at least an identification code for the documents selected for delivery and a telephone number of the user's facsimile machine. The system may verify that the user is authorized to access the requested documents. Thus, specific passwords may be used to access special documents. However, this is not a system for delivery of fax messages from a sender to a recipient. Furthermore, it is not intended for individual documents. Thus, Scherk does not solve the confidentiality problems discussed above.

Kurokawa U.S. Pat. No. 4,607,289 discloses a transceiver having a data storing and relaying function in which data and facsimile data transmitted thereto from a remote facsimile station is stored and then transmitted to a second remote facsimile station which is designated by the first remote station. The transceiver accepts a data reading request from the first remote station only when registered identification data coincides with identification data which is included in a control signal transmitted to the intermediate transceiver from the first remote station. This system is also in the nature of a facsimile mailbox system and does not solve the problems discussed above for a sender who desires to send a confidential fax to a recipient who is not a subscriber of the system.

Misholi U.S. Pat. No. 5,008,926 discloses a message management system comprising a system for producing a multi-media message, including a visual sensible portion and an aurally sensible portion. This patent is similar to the previously mentioned Gordon et al patent, U.S. Pat. No. 4,994,926, in that the system comprises a mailbox for a subscriber to receive either voice or fax messages. The system further gives the subscriber the ability to forward some, if not all, of the messages to another subscriber or to another designated number.

Wantanabe et al U.S. Pat. No. 5,170,428 discloses a data communication system having memory for storing data which is to be sent to multiple reception stations.

Furthermore, the following publications relate to facsimile communication transmission systems: "ITT Inaugurates FAXPAK," Business Communications Review, November-December, 1979, pp. 29-31; "Flexible Facsimile Transmission [FAXPAK]," Telecommunications, March, 1980, pp. 39-42.

None of the systems presently available adequately solves the important problem of preventing a sensitive fax document from inadvertently falling into the wrong hands due to the vagaries of facsimile transmission.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to resolve the deficiencies of the prior art.

It is another object of the present invention to provide a facsimile transmission system which can be used by any originator to send a document for which security provisions are desired to any recipient, with the knowledge that adequate precautions will have been taken to ensure that the desired degree of security is in place.

It is a further object of the present invention to provide such a facsimile transmission system in which each document to be transmitted is assigned a security code by the sender and with the provision that the document cannot be forwarded until the intended recipient provides that security number, wherein the intended recipient can only learn that security number from the sender.

It is still another object of the present invention to provide such a security transmission system in which, after the recipient provides the correct security code, the system will only forward the document to a destination facsimile telephone number which has been provided by the sender.

It is yet a further object of the present invention to provide such a facsimile transmission system in which the intended recipient must telephone the system from a facsimile machine and provide the security code by voice from that telephone and in which the message can only be forwarded to that facsimi