US 5115326

In a detailed analysis of United States Patent 5,115,326, the following information has been compiled based on USPTO records and a review of the patent documentation.

Title: Method of encoding an e-mail address in a fax message and routing the fax message to a destination on a network

Assignee: Hewlett-Packard Company

Inventors: Ken L. Burgess, John S. Marvin

Filing Date: June 26, 1990

Issue Date: May 19, 1992

Abstract:
A fax message transmitted by a facsimile transmitter includes bar coded headers in its first page. At least one of these headers contains the name of an addressee that is also a user on a network. A fax server receiving the incoming fax message inspects the first page of the incoming facsimile to locate the bar coded headers. If a TO: header is found it is used to determine the corresponding E-mail address, and the fax is automatically routed as E-mail on the network to the addressee. Any other headers, such as a FROM: or SUBJECT: header have their bar coded content converted to ASCII and attached as ASCII strings to the first page for easy inspection. An asymmetrical nature of the bar code used allows the fax server to determine which of a left-to-right or right-to-left scanning direction produces valid bar code. This in turn indicates whether the headers for the first page are right side up or upside down. By implication, this determines the orientation for the entire fax document. If the document is found to be upside down the fax server erects the document before mailing it to the addressee. The fax server or some other application running on a computer served by the network may be the addressee, and if the incoming fax is a request for information (whether by further bar code or check marks in predefined fields) the information may simply be sent by return fax to the sender, perhaps as part of the same phone call.

Independent Claims Overview:

This patent contains four independent claims. In plain language, they cover the following methods:

• Claim 1: Describes a method for a fax server to automatically route a fax message. The process involves receiving a fax, inspecting the first page for a bar-coded destination address, converting this bar code into a destination address on a network, and then sending the fax message to that network address.

• Claim 5: Outlines a method to determine the correct orientation of a received fax document. This is achieved by including an asymmetrical bar code on the first page. The fax server attempts to read this bar code from two opposing directions (e.g., left-to-right and right-to-left). Whichever direction successfully decodes the bar code reveals whether the page is right-side-up or upside-down, allowing the server to reorient the document if necessary before forwarding it.

• Claim 7: Details a method for a user to request information via fax and receive an automated response. A user sends a fax containing a bar-coded message that is a request for specific information. A fax server receives this request, interprets the bar code, and automatically takes action in response to the request.

• Claim 9: This claim describes a method for sending a document from a fax machine to a recipient on a computer network. This involves creating a cover page with the recipient's network address encoded in bar code, followed by the document pages. This entire package is then sent from a standard fax machine.

A search of the CAFC (Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit) dockets for the year 2026 for litigation involving patent 5,115,326 yielded no results.