Title of Invention

A METHOD AND SYSTEM FOR INITIATION OF PSTN CALL UPON FAILURE OF INTERNET FACSIMILE CALL

Abstract

The present invention proposes a method and system for initiation of a PSTN call upon failure of Internet facsimile call in any facsimile device that supports both PSTN and Internet fax. The sending machine maintains the information that is transmitted in the CSI control frame at the start of the Internet Fax session which contains the called specific identity of the called subscriber by its international telephone number. The same is used to automatically dial the PSTN number of the remote machine when a failure occurs during the Internet Fax.

Full Text

FIELD OF TECHNOLOGY This invention in general relates to the field of facsimile communication. Further this invention relates to facsimile devices which support both PSTN (Public Switch Telephone Networks) and Internet facsimile communication. More particularly this invention relates to a method and system for automatic initiation of a PSTN call upon failure of Internet facsimile call. DESCRIPTION OF RELATED ART In the present scenario, conventional fax devices which support both PSTN and Internet fax. Upon failure of an Internet fax, in order to transmit the document to the remote machine using the PSTN line, it is required that the user manually enters the PSTN fax number before the document is transmitted through the PSTN line. The United States Patent No 6,639,689, titled "Facsimile Apparatus" is an example of the present art where a facsimile apparatus capable of transmitting a broadcast distribution result report back to the instructing station through the use of Transmitting Subscriber Identification is described. In the said invention, in order to send the distribution result back to the instructing station, the relay apparatus retrieves the fax number from the TSI message that is transmitted by the sender, using which it dials and sends the report. LIMITATIONS The problem with the conventional system is that manual intervention is required and the user should have knowledge of the PSTN fax number of the called machine in order to switch to PSTN upon failure of Internet fax. OBJECT OF THE INVENTION The primary object of this invention is to invent a method and system for automatic initiation of a PSTN call upon failure of internet facsimile call which is unique. It is another object of the invention to invent a method for automatic initiation of a PSTN call upon failure of Internet facsimile call in any facsimile device that supports both PSTN and Internet fax. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention proposes a method and system for automatic initiation of a PSTN call upon failure of Internet facsimile call in any facsimile device that supports both PSTN and Internet fax. The concept of the present invention is to maintain and use the information that is transmitted in the CSI control frame at the start of the Internet Fax session which contains the called specific identity of the called subscriber by its international telephone number. The same is used to automatically dial the PSTN number of the remote machine when a failure occurs during the Internet Fax. Accordingly, the present invention comprises a method for automatic initiation of a PSTN call upon failure of Internet facsimile call in any facsimile device that supports both PSTN and Internet fax where the said method comprises the steps of: (a) initiating a call by the sending machine; (b) establishing a fax session with a remote end point; (c) sending the Called Subscriber Identification at the start of the call by the called party; (d) maintaining a table associating the recipient with its telephone number by the sending machine; (e) retrieving the recipient phone number from the table by the facsimile apparatus automatically; and (f) placing a PSTN call to transmit the document. Accordingly, the present invention further comprises a system for automatic initiation of a PSTN call upon failure of Internet facsimile call comprising: (a) a means for initiating a call by the sending machine to transmit a Fax document using the Internet Fax; (b) a means for establishing a fax session with a remote end point which is connected to the PSTN and IP networks either directly, when it is an Internet aware fax device or through a gateway when it is group 3 facsimile device; (c) a means for sending the Called Subscriber Identification at the start of the call by the called party which contains the specific identity of the called subscriber by its international telephone number; and (d) a table associating the recipient with its telephone number maintained by the sending machine. The other objects, features and advantages of the present invention will be apparent from the accompanying drawings and the detailed description as follows: BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE ACCOMPANYING DRAWINGS Figure 1 depicts the entire system of the present invention. The sending machine which is an Internet aware device is connected to both PSTN as well as IP network. The receiver can be another lAF (Internet Aware Facsimile) device or a G3FE to which call gets routed through a gateway. Upon failure of the Internet fax, the receiving machine is reached through the PSTN line by using the proposed method. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION A preferred embodiment of the present invention will now be explained with reference to the accompanying drawings. It should be understood however that the disclosed embodiment is merely exemplary of the invention, which may be embodied in various forms. The following description and drawings are not to be construed as limiting the invention and numerous specific details are described to provide a thorough understanding of the present invention, as the basis for the claims and as a basis for teaching one skilled in the art how to make and/or use the invention. However in certain instances, well-known or conventional details are not described in order not to unnecessarily obscure the present invention in detail. STRUCTURE OF THE INVENTION The present invention provides a method and system whereby the apparatus is able to, without any manual intervention, initiate a PSTN call upon failure of Internet fax. OPERATION OF THE INVENTION Following are the steps involved in the method proposed in the present invention: A call is initiated by the sending machine to transmit a Fax document using the Internet Fax. A fax session is established with a remote end point which is connected to the PSTN and IP networks either directly, if it is an internet aware fax device or through a gateway if it is a group 3 facsimile device. At the start of the call, the called party sends the CSI (Called Subscriber Identification), which contains the specific identity of the called subscriber which identity may be its international telephone number. The sending machine maintains a table associating the recipient with its telephone number which is updated as and when the CSI information is received. When the Internet fax call fails to transmit data successfully, the facsimile apparatus automatically retrieves the recipient phone number from the said table and places a PSTN call to transmit the document. The present invention provides a system for automatic initiation of a PSTN call upon failure of Internet facsimile call and comprises a means for initiating a call by the sending machine to transmit a Fax document using the Internet Fax, means for transferring the call to a remote end point which is connected to the PSTN network either directly, when it is an Internet aware fax device or through a gateway when it is group 3 facsimile device, means for sending the Called Subscriber Identification at the start of the call by the called party which contains the specific identity of the called subscriber by its international telephone number and a table associating the recipient with its telephone number maintained by the sending machine through a User Interface the user can select whether he wants to automatically forward the fax to the PSTN or not. Figure 1 depicts the entire system of the present invention. Following are the components of the system. • lAF - Internet Aware Facsimile device which is connected to the IP network as well as the PSTN network. • G3FE - Group 3 Facsimile equipment which is connected to the PSTN network. • Gateway - A routing device which is connected to the IP network as well as the PSTN network. The gateway receives the fax commands and image over the PSTN line from the G3FE and forms T.38 fax packets and transmits to the lAF over the IP network. It also receives T.38 packets containing fax commands and image data from the lAF through IP network and after removing the T.38 headers transfers the same over PSTN line to the G3FE In the above depicted system an Internet fax can be sent between: • A G3FE and an lAF through a gateway, • Two lAF devices. When an Internet Fax call fails the PSTN phone number of the recipient is dialed by the suggested method and through the PSTN network a fax session is established and the required document is transmitted. The advantage of the present invention is that manual intervention in terms of knowing and entering the remote machine telephone number upon failure of Internet fax is eliminated. This method allows for a better system whereby upon failure of Internet fax, the document still gets transmitted to the recipient through PSTN line automatically. The foregoing description of a preferred embodiment of the invention has been presented for purposes of illustration and description. It is not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the invention to the precise form disclosed. Obvious modifications or variations are possible in light of the above teachings. Although the invention has been described with respect to specific embodiments thereof, these embodiments are merely illustrative, and not restrictive of the invention. For example, a receiver device can also include other elements such as copier, printer, disk drives etc. Memory also contains additional information such as applications programs, network, communication programs, operating system software data etc. Although the initiation of the call is done by using and maintaining the information that is transmitted in the CSI control frame at the start of the internet fax session as is described herein, it should be apparent that other methods and types of use and maintenance of CSI and initiation of the call can be provided. In the description herein, numerous specific details are provided, such as examples of components and/or methods, to provide a thorough understanding of embodiments of the present invention. One skilled in the relevant art will recognize. however, that an embodiment of the invention can be practiced without one or more of the specific details, or with other apparatus, systems, assemblies, methods, components, materials, parts, and/or the like. In other instances, well-known structures, materials, or operations are not specifically shown or described in detail to avoid obscuring aspects of embodiments of the present invention. A "processor" or "process" includes any human, hardware and/or software system, mechanism or component that processes data, signals or other information. A processor can include a system with a general-purpose central processing unit, multiple processing units, dedicated circuitry for achieving functionality, or other systems. Processing need not be limited to a geographic location, or have temporal limitations. For example, a processor can perform its functions in "real time," "offline," in a "batch mode," etc. Portions of processing can be performed at different times and at different locations, by different (or the same) processing systems. Embodiments of the invention may be implemented by using a programmed general purpose digital computer, by using application specific integrated circuits, programmable logic devices, field programmable gate arrays, optical, chemical, biological, quantum or nano-engineered systems, components and mechanisms may be used. In general, the functions of the present invention can be achieved by any means as is known in the art. Distributed or networked systems, components and circuits can be used. Communication or transfer, of data may be wired, wireless, or by any other means. It will also be appreciated that one or more of the elements depicted in the drawings/figures can also be implemented in a more separated or integrated manner, or even removed or rendered as inoperable in certain cases, as is useful in accordance with a particular application. It is also within the spirit and scope of the present invention to implement a program or code that can be stored in a machine-readable medium to permit a computer to perform any of the methods described above. Additionally, any signal arrows in the drawings/Figures should be considered only as exemplary, and not limiting, unless otherwise specifically noted. Furthermore, the term "or" as used herein is generally intended to mean "and/or" unless otherwise indicated. Combinations of components or steps will also be considered as being noted, where terminology is foreseen as rendering the ability to separate or combine is unclear. As used in the description herein and throughout the claims that follow, "a", "an", and "the" includes plural references unless the context clearly dictates otherwise. Also, as used in the description herein and throughout the claims that follow, the meaning of "in" includes "in" and "on" unless the context clearly dictates othenA/ise. The foregoing description of illustrated embodiments of the present invention, including what is described in the Abstract, is not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the invention to the precise forms disclosed herein. While specific embodiments of, and examples for, the invention are described herein for illustrative purposes only, various equivalent modifications are possible within the spirit and scope of the present invention, as those skilled in the relevant art will recognize and appreciate. As indicated, these modifications may be made to the present invention in light of the foregoing description of illustrated embodiments of the present invention and are to be included within the spirit and scope of the present invention. Thus, while the present invention has been described herein with reference to particular embodiments thereof, a latitude of modification, various changes and substitutions are intended in the foregoing disclosures, and it will be appreciated that in some instances some features of embodiments of the invention will be employed without a corresponding use of other features without departing from the scope and spirit of the invention as set forth. Therefore, many modifications may be made to adapt a particular situation or material to the essential scope and spirit of the present invention. It is intended that the invention not be limited to the particular terms used in following claims and/or to the particular embodiment disclosed as the best mode contemplated for carrying out this invention, but that the invention will include any and all embodiments and equivalents falling within the scope of the appended claims. GLOSSARY OF TERMS AND THEIR DEFINITIONS CSl: This signal is used to provide the specific identity of the called subscriber by its international telephone number. Facsimile: A process by which fixed graphic material including pictures, text, or images is scanned and the information converted into electrical signals which are transmitted via telephone to produce a paper copy of the graphics on the receiving fax machine. lAF: Internet Aware Fax device. PSTN: Public switch telephone networks. WE CLAIM 1. A method for automatic initiation of a PSTN call upon failure of Internet facsimile call in any facsimile device that supports both PSTN and Internet fax where the said method comprises the steps of: (a) initiating a call by the sending machine; (b) establishing a fax session with a remote end point; (c) sending the Called Subscriber Identification at the start of the call by the called party; (d) maintaining a table associating the recipient with its telephone number by the sending machine; (e) retrieving the recipient phone number from the table by the facsimile apparatus automatically; and (f) placing a PSTN call to transmit the document. 2. A method as claimed in claim 1, wherein initiating a call by the sending machine is done to transmit a Fax document using the Internet Fax. 3. A method as claimed in claim 1, wherein the end point to transfer the call is connected to the PSTN and IP networks directly, when the said end point is an Internet aware fax device. 4. A method as claimed in claim 1, wherein the end point to transfer the call is connected through a gateway when the said end point is a group 3 facsimile device. 5. A method as claimed in claim 1, wherein the Called Subscriber Identification contains the specific identity of the called subscriber by its international telephone number. 6. A method as claimed in claim 1, wherein automatically retrieving the recipient phone number from the table by the facsimile apparatus is done when the Internet fax call fails to transmit data successfully. 7. A method as claimed in claim 1, wherein placing a PSTN call to transmit the document can be done through a User Interface. 8. A system for automatic initiation of a PSTN call upon failure of Internet facsimile call comprising: (a) a means for initiating a call by the sending machine to transmit a Fax document using the Internet Fax; (b) a means for transferring the call to a remote end point which is connected to the PSTN and IP networks either directly, when it is an Internet aware fax device or through a gateway when it is group 3 facsimile device; (c) a means for sending the Called Subscriber Identification at the start of the call by the called party which contains the specific identity of the called subscriber by its international telephone number; and (d) a table associating the recipient with its telephone number maintained by the sending machine. 9. A system as claimed in claim 8, wherein the facsimile apparatus has an interface to both PSTN and Internet. 10. A method for automatic initiation of a PSTN call upon failure of Internet facsimile call in any facsimile devise that supports both PSTN and Internet fax such as herein substantially described particularly with reference to the accompanying drawings. 11. A system for automatic initiation of a PSTN call upon failure of Internet facsimile call in any facsimile devise that supports both PSTN and Internet fax such as herein substantially described particularly with reference to the accompanying drawings.

Documents:

973-che-2004-abstract.pdf

973-che-2004-claims faild.pdf

973-che-2004-claims grand.pdf

973-che-2004-correspondnece-others.pdf

973-che-2004-correspondnece-po.pdf

973-che-2004-description(complete) faild.pdf

973-che-2004-description(complete) grand.pdf

973-che-2004-drawings.pdf

973-che-2004-form 1.pdf

973-che-2004-form 19.pdf

973-che-2004-form 26.pdf