| 摘要 |
A device and method for transmitting or receiving faxes via a packet-switched computer network to which the device connects itself via the public switched telephone network (PSTN). The device may be an interface connectable between a conventional fax machine and a telephone line, or it may be an integrated fax machine including a scanner, printer, keypad and other features of a conventional fax machine. The interface-type device generates signals that emulate the signals a conventional fax machine would receive via the telephone line. The user feeds a document into the fax machine in the conventional manner, and the device receives the fax data from the fax machine. The device establishes a telephone connection via the PSTN with a computer on the network, such as that of an on-line service provider. The device converts the fax data into a suitable email format, with a header that indicates the email address of the intended recipient and an image attachment representing the fax image data. The device then transmits the email message to the service provider. The service provider's computer may route the email message to the recipient via any packet-switched network to which its computer is connected. Via the Internet, the email message can be sent to any recipient having access to the Internet. At the recipient's site, a similar interface device receives the email message, removes the fax image attachment from the email message header, and provides the image data to a conventional facsimile machine.
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