Patent Application
20080007793
Various aspects and features of the invention will become more fully apparent from the following description and appended claims taken in conjunction with the foregoing drawings. In the drawings, like reference numerals indicate identical or functionally similar elements. In the following description, specific details are given to provide a thorough understanding of the disclosed methods and apparatus. However, it will be understood by one of ordinary skill in the art that the disclosed methods and apparatus may be practiced without these specific details. For example, electrical components may be shown in block diagrams in order not to obscure certain aspects in unnecessary detail. In other instances, such components, other structures and techniques may be shown in detail to further explain certain aspects.
It is also noted that certain aspects may be described as a process, which is depicted as a flowchart, a flow diagram, a structure diagram, or a block diagram. Although a flowchart may describe the operations as a sequential process, many of the operations can be performed in parallel or concurrently and the process can be repeated. In addition, the order of the operations may be re-arranged. A process is terminated when its operations are completed. A process may correspond to a method, a function, a procedure, a subroutine, a subprogram, etc. When a process corresponds to a function, its termination corresponds to a return of the function to the calling function or the main function.
In some applications, the device 12 needs to be connected to one or more computers for various purposes. In one embodiment, the device 12 is connected to a computer 14 via a wired connection such as a USB cable as shown in
The user input interface 126 and the display unit 122 are included to enable user interaction. The display unit 122 is used to communicate information, instructions, or data to a user. The user input interface 126 is configured to receive input data from a user such as a document to be faxed out and a phone number identifying the destination.
Both the display unit 122 and the user input interface 126 can be implemented in many forms and may contain multiple components. In one embodiment, the display unit 122 may be, for example, a LCD. The user input interface 126 may include a keypad or keyboard. The user input interface 126 may also include an interface compatible with a portable storage device provided by the user, such as a compact flash card, such that the device 12 can read data from the portable storage device via such an interface. In other embodiments, the user input interface 126 and the display unit 122 may be integrated together in one device such as a touch screen as incorporated in a panel of certain copy machines.
Both the display unit 122 and the user input interface 126 can be an integral part of, or an external device connected to, the device 12. In certain embodiments, both the display unit 122 and the user input interface 126 are connected to a computer which is connected to the device 12 through a communication link. The device 12 interacts with the user through the computer.
In the exemplary embodiment, the device 12 also includes a storage device 128 to store data, for example, certain settings limiting outgoing fax transmission and a software application which the control unit 124 runs to control the operation. The storage device 128 can be an integral part of, or an external device connected to, the device 12. In certain embodiments, the storage device 128 is configured to keep the data or its contents regardless if the power is turned off or if the storage device is moved to another computer. In one embodiment, the storage device 128 is an internal hard drive. In another embodiment, the storage device 128 can be any kind of flash storing media, for example, a compact flash card.
The control unit 124 controls the operation of the device 12. In one embodiment, the control unit 124 is a processor which may be any suitable general purpose single- or multi-chip microprocessor, or any suitable special purpose microprocessor such as a digital signal processor, microcontroller, or a programmable gate array. As is conventional, the processor may be configured to execute one or more software applications. In certain embodiments, the control unit 124 runs a software application in communication with the display unit 122, the user input interface 126, and the storage device 128, to realize user interaction and to save and retrieve data to and from the storage device.
In one embodiment, the processor is configured to i) check a request to send a facsimile to a destination at a scheduled time against one or more predetermined conditions, the conditions being based on the scheduled time and/or a phone number received via the input interface identifying the destination, and ii) to deny the request if the request fails to meet one of the one or more predetermined conditions.
The method begins at a block 32, where the device 12 receives a document to be faxed from a user. In one embodiment, the device 12 receives the document from a user via a user input interface 126 (see
Next at a block 34, the device 12 receives a destination phone number identifying the destination to which the document is to be facsimiled. In one embodiment, the device 12 receives the destination phone number via a user input interface 126. The user may input the destination phone number directly using a keypad. The user may also input the destination phone number by selecting a phone number from a list of phone numbers stored at the device 12. In another embodiment, the device 12 may receive the destination phone number via a communication link.
Moving to a block 36, the user receives a request to send the received document via facsimile at a scheduled time to the destination identified by the received phone number. In one embodiment, the device 12 receives the request via a user input interface 126. In another embodiment, the device 12 may receive the request via a communication link.
A user may request the document to be sent instantly or at a later time. If the request from the user does not specify a scheduled time explicitly, the device 12 may treat such a request as one to send the document via fax instantly subject to the availability of the device 13, i.e., a request to send the document at a scheduled time which is immediately after the request is received.
Next at a block 38, the device 12 checked the received request against one or more predetermined conditions for security purpose. These predetermined conditions are set by an authorized user and stored at the device 12. A request fails to pass the security check if the request fails to meet one of the predetermined conditions. block 28 will be described in detail below with reference to
Then at a block 42, the device 12 sends out the document via fax as requested if the request passes the security check. In case the scheduled time is substantially later than the time the request is received, the device 12 will save the request and send the document later at the scheduled time. The device 12 will not send out the document as requested if the request fails to pass the security check.
At a block 382, the device 12 checks whether the request meets a condition that the destination phone number is in a list of valid destination phone numbers. In one embodiment, the list of valid destination phone numbers may comprise an entry specifying a range identified by a first phone number and a last phone number. The destination phone number is determined to be in the list of valid destination phone numbers if it falls between the first and last phone number. If the device 12 finds that the request fails to meet the condition in block 382, the method then moves to a block 392 where the device concludes that the request fails to pass the security check.
The method moves to a block 384 if the device 12 finds that the request meets the condition in block 382. At block 384, the device 12 checks whether the request meets a condition that the destination phone number is not in a list of excluded destination phone numbers. In one embodiment, the list of excluded destination phone numbers may comprise an entry specifying a range identified by a first phone number and a last phone number. The destination phone number is determined to be in the list of excluded destination phone numbers if it falls between the first and last phone number. If the device 12 finds that the request fails to meet the condition in block 384, the method then moves to block 392 where the device concludes that the request fails to pass the security check. If the device 12 finds that the request meets the condition in block 384, the method then moves to a block 386.
Now at block 386, the device 12 checks whether the scheduled time is valid. In certain embodiments, the scheduled time is valid if the scheduled time to send the fax is in a list of valid time intervals during which users are allowed to make transmission by fax. In one embodiment, the device 12 may further require that the user is authorized to save a document for a later delivery via fax, if the scheduled time is substantially later than the time the request is received. In that embodiment, the scheduled time is valid only if both conditions are met. One way to check whether a user is authorized to save a document for a later delivery via fax is to request authentication data from the user and check the authentication data against a database stored at the device 12. The database can be created and updated by an authorized user to grant or deny users access to various features including saving a document for a later delivery via fax.
If the device 12 finds that the request fails to meet the condition in block 386, the device then moves to block 392 where the device concludes that the request fails to pass the security check. If the device 12 finds that the request meets the condition in block 386, the method then moves to a block 388 where the device concludes that the request passes the security check.
The exemplary embodiment comprises blocks 382, 384, and 386, each of which checks the request to send a document via fax against a different predetermined condition for the purpose of security check. The device 12 concludes that the request does not pass the security check if one of the conditions is not met. It will be appreciated that blocks 382, 384, and 386 can be rearranged in order without changing the function of this method. In certain embodiments, the method may comprise only one or two blocks out of blocks 382, 384, and 386.
The method starts at a block 52, where the device 12 receives authentication data from a user. In the exemplary embodiment, the authentication data may comprise a password or a PIN number. The authentication data may also comprise other information about the user including an identification code or number, for example, a username which conforms to a variation of a person's name.
In certain embodiments, the device 12 may receive the authentication data via the user input interface 126 (see
In other embodiments, the device 12 may receive the authentication data via a communication link. In one embodiment, the device 12 is connected to the Internet as illustrated in
Moving to a block 54, the device 12 logs into a secure mode based on the received authentication data. The control unit 124 may contain a software application, which manages and maintains user profiles saved on the storage device 128. As discussed above, the storage device 128 may be integrated within the device 12 or attached to the device 12 remotely. In either case, the control unit 124 is in data communication with the storage device 128. By reading data stored at the storage device 128 such as user profile, the control unit 124 is able to check the received authentication data, and log into a secure mode if the received authentication data is correct. Once logging into the secure mode, the device is able to receive data from the user to update one or more predetermined conditions for the purpose of security check.
Next at a block 56, the device 12, while being in the secure mode, receives a list of valid destination phone numbers from the user and stores the same. As discussed before, if the transmission is valid over a range of phone numbers, such as within a department or company, the valid destinations may be entered by specifying a range of numbers defined by a first phone number and a last phone number.
Moving to a block 58, the device 12, while being in the secure mode, receives a list of excluded destination phone numbers from the user and stores the same.
Next at a block 62, the device 12, while being in the secure mode, receives a list of valid time intervals when fax transmissions can be made and stores the same. In one embodiment of the block 62, the device 12 may further receive data from the user to update a database stored at the device so as to grant or deny certain users' access to various features including saving a document for a later delivery via fax.
Similar to the above discussion in block 52, the device 12 may receive data via the user input interface 126 or via a communication link in blocks 56, 58, and 62.
The exemplary embodiment comprises blocks 56, 58, and 62, each of which is used to configure a different predetermined condition for the purpose of security check. It will be appreciated that blocks 56, 58, and 62 can be rearranged in order without changing the function of this method. In certain embodiments, the method may comprise only one or two blocks out of blocks 56, 58, and 62.
In certain embodiments, the device 12 with a facsimile capability supports the feature of sending fax transmission to an email box identified by an email address. Typically, the device 12 will convert the document into a PDF file and send the PDF file to the email box as an attachment. Embodiments of methods and systems discussed above can be easily applied herein since the only difference between these embodiments and the embodiments discussed above is that the destination of the fax transmission is now identified by an email address and/or a phone number instead of a phone number.
The foregoing description details certain embodiments of the invention. It will be appreciated, however, that no matter how detailed the foregoing appears in text, the invention can be practiced in many ways. It should be noted that the use of particular terminology when describing certain features or aspects of the invention should not be taken to imply that the terminology is being re-defined herein to be restricted to including any specific characteristics of the features or aspects of the invention with which that terminology is associated.
