United States Patent
`Medina
`
`119
`
`BEa
`"US005801842A
`
`HN
`
`[11]
`
`[45}
`
`Patent Number:
`
`Date of Patent:
`
`5,801,842
`*Sep. 1, 1998
`
`[54] TELEFACSIMILE MODULE CONNECTABLE
`TO TELEFACSIMILE MACHINES FOR
`TRANSMITTING DATA IN STANDARD OR
`HIGH SPEED MODES
`
`Primary Examiner—Thomas D. Lee
`Attorney, Agent, or Firm—Foley & Lardner
`
`[57]
`
`ABSTRACT
`
`[75]
`
`Inventor: Mitchell A. Medina, Essex Fells, N.J.
`
`[73] Assignee:
`
`International Patent Holdings Ltd.,
`Hamilton, Bermuda
`
`A telefacsimile module is connected between a conventional
`‘
`.
`telefacsimile machine (host telefacsimile unit) and a phone
`line interface. The module receives conventional fax output
`from its host unit and re-transmits them to a destination
`telefacsimile machine in one of standard and high speed
`[*] Notice: The term of this patent shall not extend©modes depending on the compatibility of the destination
`beyond the expiration date of Pat. No.
`_telefacsimile. The standard mode communication employs a
`5,274,474.
`conventional fax format for both text and graphics. The high
`speed mode distinguishes text from graphics and performs
`optical character recognition on suspected character infor-
`[21] Appl. No.: 364,181
`mation. When characters are successfully recognized, only a
`.
`code, e.g. ASCII, and the location oe theycharacteris
`[22} Filed:
`Dee. 27, 1994
`Wansmitted, realizing significant improvements in compres-
`[51] Unt, CS cececsssensecssssssesemeseseseneaHOIN 1/46
`Sion ratios over conventional facsimile coding. Graphics and
`[52] U.S. Ch. srsssnsasssseeense, 358/434; 358/462; 358/468;
`358/435; 379/100|unrecognizable characters are transmitted as bit-mapped
`[58] Field of Searchennennnnnnnnnn 358/468, 435,
`Pixels or in conventional compressed fax format. The tele-
`358/436, 438, 462, 439, 434; 379/100
`facsimile module is also capable of receiving incoming
`faxes from transmitting facsimile machines through the
`phone line interface in both the standard and high speed
`modes. Faxes sent and received in the high speed mode
`U.S. PATENT DOCUMENTS
`contain codes for text characters and bit-
`or com-
`.
`pressed pixels for graphics and unrecognized characters and
`$920368 51990 Gilwww BSA ES eg Srered serge meu Sac
`
`7/1995 Ishikawa woecssscssescesenneonneee 358/462
`5,436,981
`‘text characters are received as codes, any desired printing
`resolution can be selected for them.
`FOREIGN PATENT DOCUMENTS
`
`
`
`[56]
`
`References Cited
`
`
`
`60-182846—9/1985 Japan .....cseccsssecesscrensnscceerees SIOIAGZ 68 Claims, 12 Drawing Sheets
`
`
`
`ain
`
`
` 16|
`
`MEMORY
`
`PHONE LINE
`INTERFACE
`
`
`
`
`
`RECEIVE
`
`
`Commvault Ex. 1005
`Commvault v. Realtime
`
`US Patent No. 9,054,728
`
`Page1
`
`Page 1
`
`Commvault Ex. 1005
`Commvault v. Realtime
`US Patent No. 9,054,728
`
`

`

`U.S. Patent
`
`Sep. 1, 1998
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`U.S. Patent
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`Sep. 1, 1998
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`5,801,842
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`Sep. 1, 1998
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`U.S. Patent
`
`Sep. 1, 1998
`
`Sheet 4 of 12
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`5,801,842
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`U.S. Patent
`
`Sep. 1, 1998
`
`Sheet 5 of 12
`
`5,801,842
`
`
`
`venennnnneeec100a
`| STOREIN
`|
`| MODULE MEMORY}
`Le eeee
`c
`
`FIG. 4
`
`
` STANDARD
`
`OR HIGH-SPEED
`
`
`CHARACTER
`DATA PRESENT
`?
`
`
`
`COMPRESSDATA (MAY BE
`SKIPPED DEPENDING ON
`CHARACTERISTICS OF OCR
`ENGINE)
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`MORE
`PAGES TO BE
`PROCESSED
`
`Page 6
`
`Page 6
`
`

`

`U.S. Patent
`
`Sep. 1, 1998
`
`Sheet 6 of 12
`
`5,801,842
`
`FIG. 4a
`
`aec100a
`| STOREIN
`|
`| MODULE MEMORY|L-_-
`
`
`
`INSTRUCTIONS
`
`FROM RECEIVING FAX, USER
`
`
`101a
`
`OR PROTOCOL MEMORY,
` STANDARD
`
`
`
`CHARACTER SEPARATION SCAN CHARACTER
`AREAS FOR CHARACTER DATA
`
`
`
`OR HIGH-SPEED
`
`
`COMPRESSDATA(MAY BE SKIPPED
`DEPENDING ON CHARACTERISTICS
`OF OCR ENGINE)
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`STORE IN MEMORY
`
`YES|
`
`104c
`
`t_.--"]
`
`Page 7
`
`Page 7
`
`

`

`U.S. Patent
`
`Sep. 1, 1998
`
`Sheet 7 of 12
`
`5,801,842
`
`ONILNIWdYO
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`
`Page 8
`
`Page 8
`
`
`
`

`

`US. Patent
`
`Sep. 1, 1998
`
`Sheet 8 of 12
`
`5,801,842
`
`FIG. 6
`
`START
`
`?
`
`READ DATA FROM
`MEMORYOR PHONE LINE
`
`STANDARD
`OR HIGH-SPEED
`
`
`
`Page 9
`
`Page 9
`
`

`

`US. Patent
`
`Sep. 1, 1998
`
`Sheet 9 of 12
`
`5,801,842
`
`FIG. 6a
`
`READ DATA FROM
`MEMORY OR PHONE LINE
`
`
`
`?
`
`
`STANDARD
`
`OR HIGH-SPEED
`
`
`
`
` CHARACTER
`DATA OR GRAPHICS
`CHARACTER
`
`
` 132
`EXPANSION (OPTIONAL)
`
`
`
`FORMAT CHARACTER
`
`INFORMATION FOR PRINTING
`
`133
`
`COMPRESSION (OPTIONAL)
`
`133b
`
`SEND INFORMATION
`TO HOST UNIT
`
`134
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`Page 10
`
`Page 10
`
`

`

`U.S. Patent
`
`Sep. 1, 1998
`
`Sheet 10 of 12
`
`5,801,842
`
`140
`
`DIAL NUMBER
`
` CHECK
`
`
`
`Y
`
`PROTOCOL
`MEMORY
`?
`
`
`
`SEND HIGH-SPEED
`PROTOCOL QUERY
`
`HIGH-SPEED
`ACKNOWLEDGMENT
`
`STANDARD
`ACKNOWLEDGMENT
`
`
`
`
`
`RECEIVED
`RECEIVED.
`PROTOCOL
` Y
`
` PROTOCOL
`
`MEMORY,
`
`
`150
`
`LOCAL
`PRINT REQUIRED
`
`N
`
`Y
`
`151
`SEND DATA TO HOST UNIT OR OTHER PRINTER
`THROUGH M/H INTERFACE FOR PRINTING
`
`Page 11
`
`Page 11
`
`

`

`U.S. Patent
`
`Sep. 1, 1998
`
`Sheet 11 of 12
`
`5,801,842
`
`FIG. 7a
`
`140
`
`DIAL NUMBER
`
`
` CHECK
`PROTOCOL
`
`
`
`
`
`145
`
`N
`
`
`
`
`
`
`SELECT PRE-
`FORMATTED
`DOCUMENT
`FROM MEMORY
`
`
`
`
`312
`
`SELECT OTHER
`FORMAT
`
`
`
`
`
`
`300
`306
`xy
`[STORE NEW
`DOCN.
`Be PROTOCOL
`
`
`
`
`
`
` 50
`
`SET STANDARD
`FACSIMILE MODE
`
`
`Nyt
`LOCAL
`PRINT REQUIRED
`
`151
`SEND DATA TO HOST UNIT OR OTHER PRINTER
`THROUGH M/H INTERFACE FOR PRINTING
`
`N
`
`Page 12
`
`Page 12
`
`

`

`U.S. Patent
`
`Sep. 1, 1998
`
`Sheet 12 of 12
`
`5,801,842
`
`1G. 8
`
`160
`
`SEND ANSWER TONE
`
`161
`
`LISTEN FOR PROTOCOL TONE
`
`162
`
`STANDARD FACSIMILE
`
`168
`
`164
`
`
` TYPE OF
`
`
`PROTOCOL
`
`?
`
`163
`HIGH-SPEED
`167
`
`
`SEND HIGH-SPEED
`SEND STANDARD
`PROTOCOL ACKNOWLEDGMENT
`FACSIMILE ACKNOWLEDGMENT
`
`
`
`
`SEND HIGH-SPEED
`SEND STANDARD
`FACSIMILE MODE
`RECEIVE MODE
`
`
`165
`
`
`
`READ DATA FROM
`PHONE LINE
`
`180
`
`YES
`
`
`
`SEND DATA TO HOST
`
`
`UNIT OR OTHER PRINTER
`STORE IN MEMORY
`THROUGH M/H INTERFACE
`
`FOR PRINTING
`
`
`
`
`Page 13
`
`Page 13
`
`

`

`5,801,842
`
`1
`TELEFACSIMILE MODULE CONNECTABLE
`TO TELEFACSIMILE MACHINES FOR
`TRANSMITTING DATA IN STANDARD OR
`HIGH SPEED MODES
`
`BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
`1. Field of the Invention
`This invention relates generally to a telefacsimile module
`connectable to conventional telefacsimile machines. More
`particularly, the invention relates to a telefacsimile module
`connected between a conventional telefacsimile source (also
`referred to as a host telefacsimile unit) and a phone line
`interface. The telefacsimile module has the ability to distin-
`guish recognizable characters from unknown graphics, and
`to transmit codes for the recognizable characters with less
`data than that required by bit maps employed in conven-
`tional telefacsimile devices.
`2. Related Art
`Conventional telefacsimile or fax machines scan a docu-
`ment to produce pixel data. This pixel data is then com-
`pressed and sent over communications media such as tele-
`phonelines to a receiving fax machine. A problem with such
`telefacsimile machines is the absence of maximal data
`compression for characters due to the lack ofefficient coding
`for character data.
`U.S. Pat. No. 4,410,916 issued to Pratt discloses a dual
`mode telefacsimile compression technique, wherein spa-
`tially isolated black and white pixel patterns expected to
`tecur in a documentare extracted and coded by a matching
`process.A trial block area around a block pixel is examined
`to isolate symbols. Isolated. symbols are labeled anda set of
`measured features is used to build a library. Each symbol
`subsequently found in trial blocks of the scan is compared to
`the features of the blocks to eliminate unworthy symbols
`from a template matching process.If the matchingerror falls
`below a threshold, the identification of the matching library
`number is stored for later coding. If no symbol is found
`within a trial block, the block is encoded as residue using a
`modified relative address code and processed separately. The
`symbols’ library identification codes and residue codes and
`the codes of unsuccessfully compared symbols are trans-
`mitted to receivers. The specialized coding in Pratt is quite
`slow due to the need to perform extensive template matching
`for each character. Pratt does not distinguish text from
`graphics, and fails to provide flexible operation in other
`modes, such as transmission of bit maps, so that communi-
`cation is only possible among similarly equipped units.
`U.S. Pat. No. 4,566,127 to Sekiya discloses a telefac-
`simile having an optical character reader and a central
`processing unit which provide coding character information
`and a telefacsimile mode. However, Sekiya is limited to
`operation with documents of a predetermined format in
`which character groups having predetermined attributes are
`disposed in a first location of the document and images
`having predetermined attributes are disposed in a predeter-
`mined secondlocation.
`
`USS.Pat. No. 4,922,545 to Endo discloses a telefacsimile
`image coding method in which an input image pattern which
`occurs once is sequentially scanned and conventionally
`encoded. Patterns appearing twice or more, according to a
`matching pattern, are encoded by position coordinates and a
`library identification code is added at the time the pattern is
`registered in a library. This system is primarily a handwrit-
`ing recognition system, and there is no provision for fiexible
`operation with units not similarly equipped.
`SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
`
`An objective of this invention is to provide a telefacsimile
`module, connectable to millions of conventional telefac-
`
`10
`
`15
`
`35
`
`45
`
`55
`
`2
`simile machines or sources currently in use, which provides
`quicker transmission of documents and a higher quality
`printout than conventional facsimile devices.
`Another object of the invention is to provide a telefac-
`simile module, connectable to conventional telefacsimile
`machines or sources, which permits transmission of docu-
`ments in either a high speed mode or a standard mode.
`A still further object of the invention is to provide a
`telefacsimile module, connectable to conventional telefac-
`simile devices, which transmits documents in either a high
`speed mode or a standard mode directly or indirectly.
`A still further object of the invention is to provide a
`telefacsimile module, connectable to conventional telefac-
`simile devices which, while providing the above advantages
`when communicating with other suitably equipped telefac-
`simile devices, is still capable of communicating with con-
`ventional telefacsimile machines.
`
`A telefacsimile module, according to this invention, has
`the capability of recognizing characters on a document.
`Characters are converted by an optical character recognition
`(OCR) means to produce character codes for recognizable
`ASCH or the like. Any unrecognizable characters and areas
`of the document which are graphics or other non-character
`information are coded according to standard telefacsimile
`methods. The coding of both character and non-character
`information includes means for enabling data from both
`coding modes to be reproduced in its original spatial rela-
`tionship at a destination facsimile device. The documentis
`then transmitted as a combination of character codes, such
`as ASCII codes, and standard telefacsimile codes. This
`results in higher compression ratios for documents contain-
`ing a number of recognizable characters and therefore
`allows reducing the transmission time of a document.
`A telefacsimile module according to the invention may
`operate in either a standard telefacsimile mode or in the
`described high speed mode. The module receives input from
`a conventional fax source to which it is connected and is
`capable of expanding conventionally compressed fax data to
`a format compatible with its OCR engine, if such engine
`cannot process compressed fax data. The module would
`typically query or otherwise determine whether a receiving
`telefacsimile machine (or a conventional device equipped
`with a similar module) can process the high speed mode
`containing character and telefacsimile data or whether the
`receiving machine can only process standard telefacsimile
`data. The transmitting module may automatically switch
`modes between the described high speed mode or the
`standard telefacsimile mode according to whether the
`receiving machine can process the high speed mode.
`Therefore, a telefacsimile module according to this inven-
`tion is capable of communicating with existing telefacsimile
`devices.
`Tn the high speed mode, since character codes, in ASCII
`or other defined character sets, are sent and then received by
`the receiving telefacsimile machine, characters may be
`printed as fully formed characters rather than as low reso-
`lution pixel data. Therefore, documents sent using this
`telefacsimile module can be more legible in the character
`areas than documents sent by conventional telefacsimile
`machines.
`
`BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
`
`FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a telefacsimile coding
`transmission and reception system.
`FIG. 2 is a typical conventional scanner interface.
`FIG. 2a is a block diagram of the telefacsimile module
`connected between a host unit and a phoneline interface.
`
`Page 14
`
`Page 14
`
`

`

`5,801,842
`
`3
`FIG. 3 is a host-to-module interface according to the
`invention.
`
`FIG. 4 is a flow chart of the operation of the host-to-
`module interface.
`
`FIG. 4a illustrates optional features and an alternative
`embodiment of the host-to-module interface.
`FIG.§ is a block diagram of the module-to-hostinterface.
`FIG.6 is a flow chart of the operation of the module-to-
`host interface.
`
`FIG.6c is a flow chart of another mode of operation ofthe
`module-to-host interface.
`
`FIG. 7 is a flow chart of the operation of document
`transmission.
`
`FIG.7a illustrates the integration of optional features in
`FIG. 4a with an alternative method of document transmis-
`sion.
`
`1a
`
`15
`
`FIG. 8 is a flow chart of the operation of document
`reception.
`
`DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE
`PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
`
`U.S. Pat. No. 5,274,474 issued to Medina discloses an
`integrated telefacsimile device and method for telefaxing
`documents in standard and high speed modes and is herein
`incorporated by reference.
`FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a telefacsimile coding
`transmission and reception system. A scanner 1@ converts a
`document into bit-mapped pixels and sends them through
`the scanner interface 12 to the memory 14 or directly to the
`transmit section 16. The scanner interface 12 (otherwise
`referred to as a scanner control and data interface) controls
`the scanner 10 and processes the pixel data which is sent
`from the scanner 10 to the memory 14 or sent directly to the
`transmit section 16. After the pixel data has been processed
`by the scanner interface 12, the transmit section 16 sends
`this data through a phonelineinterface 18 and over a phone
`line 20 to a receiving fax machine.
`In the reception mode data comes in over the phone line
`20 through a phone line interface 18 and is placed in
`memory 14 by the receiving block 22, or else is sent directly
`to the printer interface 24. Printer interface 24 reads this
`received data from memory 14, or directly from the receiv-
`ing block 22, processes this data, and sends it to a printer 26
`to be printed as a received document. A controller 28
`containing, for example, a programmed microprocessor,
`sequences the operation of the telefacsimile machine.
`A conventional telefacsimile scanner and telefacsimile
`scanner interface is shown in FIG. 2. Scanner 30 converts
`the documentinto bit-mapped pixels which are fed through
`scanner control and data interface 32 to memory 33. This
`pixel data, coded in standard telefacsimile format by graph-
`ics processor 34, is compressed using standardtelefacsimile
`methods by compression block 36 and placed in memory 33
`in preparation for transmission.
`FIG. 2a is a block diagram of the telefacsimile module
`600 connected between a host unit 500, such as a conven-
`tional telefax machine, and a phoneline interface 18. The
`host unit 500 is the same as that shown in phantom in FIG.
`1, though any conventional facsimile source could be used.
`The telefacsimile module 600 receives data from its host
`unit 500 through the host unit’s transmitting section 16. A
`host-to-module (H/M)interface 601 controls the reception
`and processes the conventional fax data to a memory 613 or
`sends it directly to a transmit section 616. After the con-
`ventional fax data has been processed by the H/M interface
`
`35
`
`45
`
`55
`
`4
`601, the transmit section 616 sends this data through the
`phone line interface 18 and over the phone line 20 to a
`receiving fax device.
`In the reception mode, fax data comes in over the phone
`line 2¢ through a phone line interface 18 and is placed in
`memory 614 by the receiving block 622, or else is sent
`directly to the module-to-host (M/H)interface 602. The M/H
`interface 602 reads this received data from memory 614,or
`directly from the receiving block 622, processes this data,
`and sends it to the receiving block 22 of the host unit 500 for
`printing.
`The mode determiner 90 queries the receiving fax device
`to determineif the receiving device can process data sent in
`the high speed mode. Alternatively, the mode determiner 90
`may optionally consult a protocol memory 80 (shown in
`FIG. 3) of stored destination fax numbers and their
`capabilities, and/or request or receive user instructions 81
`(shown in FIG. 3) prior to or in place of querying the
`destination machine. If the receiving machine is not
`equipped with a telefacsimile module according to this
`inventionand is not a similarly equipped device, such as the
`device in U.S. Pat. No. 5,274,474, capable of handling data
`transmitted in the high speed mode, data is sent in the
`standard mode. In the standard mode, the telefacsimiic
`module 600 merely retransmits the data it receives from the
`host unit 500. Likewise, if data is received in the standard
`mode,the telefacsimile module 600 merely retransmits the
`data it receives to the host unit 500.
`
`FIG. 3 is a biock diagram of the H/M interface 601
`according to the present invention. The telefacsimile module
`operates in either a standard or a high speed mode, depend-
`ing on the capability of the receiving fax machine. A mode
`determiner 90 has a mode query signal generator 93 which
`transmits a mode query signal along line 91to the receiving
`or destination fax machine, for example through multiplexer
`92, and analyzes the response.If detector 94 determinesthat
`the destination fax has responded with a predetermined
`signal, the high speed mode is set by the facsimile module.
`If the facsimile module detects a signal other than the
`predetermined signal or if no response is detected within a
`predetermined time measured by timer 95, the facsimile
`module sets the standard mode.
`A host telefacsimile device 500 converts a documentinto
`conventional fax information and transmits this information
`to control 640. Depending on the characteristics and capa-
`bilities of the OCR engine 60, the conventional fax data may
`be expanded before being placed in memory 613. The H/M
`interface 601 may analyze the document separating it into
`character areas and graphics areas, code this information,
`compress this information and place it back into memory
`613. Alternatively,
`the information could be provided
`directly to transmit section 16 without intermediate storage
`in memory 613.
`Oneportion of the H/M interface 601 is dedicated solely
`to control as indicated in block 640. One function of the
`control 640 is to command the H/M interface 601 to retrans-
`mit data through the transmit section 616 upon receiving a
`standard mode response from the receiving fax device, the
`protocol memory 8@ or user instructions 81. In addition,
`optionally, a page analyzer 50 may analyze a page of a
`documentor, alternatively, a section of a page, such as “% to
`4 of a page at a time and separates the document or portion
`of the document into character areas and graphics areas.
`Portions identified as character areas are sent to the optical
`character recognition block 60. Recognizable characters are
`sent as character codes in ASCII orthelike to a compression
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`5,801,842
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`5
`block 70 and then sent to memory 613, or sent directly to
`transmit section 616. Unrecognizable pixel patterns and,
`optionally, entire areas identified as graphics areas by the
`page analyzer 50, are sent to a graphics processing block 72
`to be processed into a standard telefacsimile data format
`through the compressor 70, and then sent to memory 613, or
`directly to transmit section 616 without intermediate storage
`in memory 613.
`Inside the page analyzer 50 a page segmentation proces-
`sor 52 analyzes the pixels of a compressed or expanded
`conventional fax page to identify interline spaces. Other
`methods of distinguishing character and non-character infor-
`mation may be used, as for example, segmentation of pages
`into sectors for analysis, comparison with predefined docu-
`ment templates stored in memory, within the facsimile
`module itself or in a computer peripheral
`to the fax
`assembly, etc. Horizontal areas of low pixel density might
`indicate spaces betweenlines of text if these horizontal lines
`are repetitive and evenly spaced. Horizontal spaces which
`are not evenly spaced may indicate borders between graph-
`ics areas. Areas of low pixel density which run vertically
`may indicate spaces between columns of text or graphics
`areas. Areas of a document which are tentatively identified
`as containing character information by the page segmenta-
`tion processor 52 are sent to block 54 so that these character
`areas can be further identified and mapped in preparation for
`optical character recognition by block 60. Areas of a docu-
`ment which are tentatively identified by the page segmen-
`tation processor 52 as being composed of unrecognizable
`character, non-character or graphics information are sent to
`block 56 to further map and identify these areas of the
`document. The information is then sent to the graphics
`processing block 72 to be processed as standard telefac-
`simile data.
`Potential character data which is sent to the OCR block 60
`is first analyzed by character separation block 62. Character
`separation block 62 separates a line into individual charac-
`ters. These characters are then compared against those
`contained in a character library 64 which contains a set of
`standard ASCII characters or another or a variety of defined
`character sets. This is accomplished using well-known char-
`acter recognition techniques which can identify a large
`variety of fonts accurately, or using omnifoat OCR if
`sufficient reliability can be obtained. Characters which are
`positively identified are coded as characters and sent to the
`compression block 70. Unrecognizable characters or graph-
`ics areas are sent by the character separation block 62 to
`graphics processing block 72 to be coded as standard
`telefacsimile data. The standard telefacsimile data from 72 is
`also sent to block 70 for compression (compression may be
`skipped if the data from the hostunit has not been previously
`expanded) and to be concatenated and/or merged with the
`compressed recognizable characters and placed into
`memory 613,or alternately, this data may be sent directly to
`transmit section 616.
`The H/M module interface 601 operates efficiently by
`using standard character recognition and page segmentation
`techniques. Repetitive matching techniques such as those
`described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,410,916 or 4,922,545 may also
`be used. The invention is, however, not limited to any fixed
`algorithm or method for character recognition as it is envi-
`sioned that improved character recognition algorithms will
`be developed in the future which would be equally appli-
`cable in performing the invention. Even present day tech-
`niques offer high gains in coding efficiency over standard
`telefacsimile techniques thus allowing a telefacsimile page
`to be transmitted in less time and, therefore, at less cost for
`
`6
`telephone line usage then in a standard telefacsimile. Accu-
`rate recognition is important for correctly encoding and
`transmitting a document. Therefore, any characters which
`cannot be positively identified with a high degree of cer-
`tainty by character separation block 62 are sent to block 72
`to be processed as standard telefacsimile data.
`FIG.4 is a flow chart of the operation of the H/M interface
`601. In step 100 conventional facsimile data is received from
`the host unit 500, and in step 100a may optionally be stored
`in memory 613 (FIG. 3) prior to further processing. In step
`101, a page or other suitable unit of conventional facsimile
`data is spooled in either from the host unit or memory 613.
`In step 102 the H/M interface 601 decides whether the
`document is to be transmitted in standard or high speed
`mode. The determination is based on the capability of the
`receiving fax machine. As previously discussed this can be
`determined by transmitting a signal and looking for a
`predetermined response from the receiver. This can either be
`done in a brief querying telephone call which is discon-
`nected prior to document processing, or else the line may be
`held open while processing begins immediately.
`Alternatively, as previously discussed, a memory or direc-
`tory of stored protocol information relating to individual fax
`numbers may be consulted, either automatically, or manu-
`ally by the user, who would then input such information. If
`the document is to be transmitted in the standard mode,
`control skips to step 105. In step 105, the H/M interface 601
`decides whether there are more pages to be received from
`the host facsimile unit. If so, control is passed back to step
`101.
`
`If step 102 decides that a documentis to be transmitted in
`the high speed mode, control is passed to step 102a, where
`the conventional fax data from the host facsimile unit 500
`may be optionally expanded if required for the subsequent
`steps of page segmentation and/or character recognition. In
`the optional page segmentation of step 106, a page is
`separated into potential character areas or graphics areas.
`Areas that are to be encoded as graphics are sentto step 103
`for processing in standard telefacsimile data format. Areas
`which are to be processed as characters are sent to step 107
`for character separation, whether page segmentation has
`been performed or not. In step 107 individual characters are
`isolated. A potential character is then processed in step 108
`which recognizes whether an actual ASCII or other codable
`character is present. If the isolated character cannot be
`recognized, it is sent to step 103 where it is placed in
`standard telefacsimile data format. If the isolated. character
`can be recognized, then in step 109 a character code for the
`identified character is placed in memory according to a
`method which enables reproduction of the location of that
`character at a destination facsimile device. Possible methods
`for achieving this purpose include identifying position coor-
`dinates for each character, and creating text files capable of
`cooperating with and/or being merged with overlayfiles for
`non-character or non-recognized character information.
`Other methods are possible and may be used by those skilled
`in the art. The character data is then optionally compressed
`in step 164. Step 105 decides whether there are more pages
`to be processed and, if so, control is passed back to step 101.
`In FIG. 4a, a number of optional features and alternative
`embodiments are illustrated. In one alterative embodiment,
`the decision in step 102 could be delayed and a document
`stored in a memory in both the standard and high speed
`formats. Upon an indication from the receiving fax of its
`capability, transmission could be performed in the corre-
`sponding format.
`In another slightly different embodiment, the transmitting
`module could maintain a preprogrammedor built up list of
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`5,801,842
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`7
`destination machine capabilities. For example, whena tele-
`facsimile number is dialed for the first time the compatible
`formatindicated by the destination machine could be stored
`and subsequenttransmission to that destination provided in
`the indicated format without inquiry. Based on such stored
`protocol information (or on instructions from the receiving
`machine or the user), as shown in step 101a, character and
`graphics information may be merged (steps 1016 and 101c)
`and sent to a receiver equipped to receive such information.
`However, such a merge is preferably implemented by a
`suitably equipped receiving module or device prior to or
`during the printing process, as illustrated in FIG. 6a. As
`shown in step 101, if the merge is performed at
`the
`receiving machine, step 1@1c is bypassed. In addition, as
`shown in step 10dc, information correctly formatted for
`printing or display can also be stored in a memory.
`FIG.5 is a block diagram of the M/H interface 602. When
`a document is sent from a transmitting facsimile over the
`phone line, that information is read from memory 614 or
`directly from the phone line, processed by the M/H interface
`602 and sent to the host unit 500 for printing. In the M/H
`interface 602, the received data from the memory 614 or
`phoneline is routed by control 119. If data is received in the
`standard mode,it is retransmitted to the host unit 560 for
`printing. If it is received in the high speed mode, it is
`decompressed or expanded in block 120, interpreted as
`character or graphics data in block 122, formatted as char-
`acter codes or graphics codes for printing in block 124,
`compressed in block 126 and sent to the host unit 500 for
`printing. By decoding character data codes, the M/H inter-
`face 602 does not simply reproduce a received compressed.
`or uncompressed bit map. Instead, the M/H interface 602
`independently reproduces the character based on the coded
`information. One advantage of this is that character infor-
`mation may be formatted for printing at a higher resolution.
`This is because a character which is scanned at, for example,
`300 dots per inch and identified as, for instance, an A, is
`transmitted as the character code for an A in ASCH or the
`like. The M/H interface 602 at the receiving end recognizes
`this character code is the letter A. Depending on the char-
`acteristics of a character-library-type OCR engine,if such is
`employed, it is possible to reproduce font, points, and pitch
`for a variety of commontypestyles, if desired. Since only the
`character code is needed, a printer can be set to print the
`characters at least at a different resolution, for instance 1200
`dots per inch. Conventional facsimile data can be reformat-
`ted to fit this standard, or printed as scanned in conjunction
`with higher-resolution character data by using a two-pass
`printing process, or a printer with dual printheads.
`Therefore, a document which is sent using this telefacsimile
`module and which is composed mainly of text could be
`much more legible than a document sent using conventional
`telefacsimile machines. In addition, lower resolution print-
`ing could be selected to speed the printing process.
`A flow chart of the operation of the M/H interface 602 is
`shown in FIG.6. In step 130 the data to be printed is read
`from memory or directly from the phone line. In step 130a,
`the M/H interface 602 decides whether the data is received
`in the standard or high speed mode. In the standard mode,
`control passes to step 134. In the high speed mode another
`determination is made at step 131 to whether the information
`to be printed is coded and/or compressed character data, or
`else compressed graphics data. If the information is char-
`acter data, control passes to optional step 132, which
`expands the character data if necessary for preparation for
`step 133. The character information is put in the correct
`format for printin