Facsimile to E-mail communication system with local interface

Claim 1

A method of communicating information comprising the steps of: receiving dial tone at a fax device and at a fax interface device from a common, first communication path connected to a first network; sending an instruction from the fax interface device to a server instructing the server to enter a fax-to-data mode in which the server will receive a fax image firm the fax device and will transmit a fax image to an e-mail address destination via a second network; receiving at the interface device an e-mail address associated with a routing scheme of a second network; conveying the e-mail address via the first communication path and at least the first network to the server; generating at the fax device a fax image in a first format from a hard copy image; transmitting the fax image to the server along the first communication path and at least the first network; converting at the server the fax image in a first format to image data in a second format; transmitting the image data in the second format from the server to the second network and to the received and conveyed e-mail address destination; accessing using an e-mail browser a mailbox associated with the e-mail address destination in a manner intended to download electronic mail within the mailbox; downloading from the mailbox the image data in the second format; and displaying on a computer screens using the aforementioned e-mail browser, the image data in the second format, whereby an image representative of the hard copy image originally placed in the fax device is displayed.

Claim 2

A method of communicating information comprising the steps of: receiving dial tone at a fax device and at a fax interface device from a common, first communication path connected to a first network; sending an instruction from the fax interface device to a server instructing the server to enter a fax-to-data mode in which the server will receive a fax image firm the fax device and will transmit a fax image to an e-mail address destination via a second network; receiving at the interface device an e-mail address associated with a routing scheme of a second network; conveying the e-mail address via the first communication path and at least the first network to the server; generating at the fax device a fax image in a first format from a hard copy image; transmitting the fax image to the server along the first communication path and at least the first network; converting at the server the fax image in a first format to image data in a second format; transmitting the image data in the second format from the server to the second network and to the received and conveyed e-mail address destination; accessing using an e-mail browser a mailbox associated with the e-mail address destination in a manner intended to download electronic mail within the mailbox; downloading from the mailbox the image data in the second format; and displaying on a computer screens using the aforementioned e-mail browser, the image data in the second format, whereby an image representative of the hard copy image originally placed in the fax device is displayed.