Title of Invention	METHOD FOR OFFLINE CONFIGURATION AND REMOTE CONTROLLING OF FACSIMILE MACHINES OVER PSTN T.30 PROTOCOL USING CLIENT/SERVER ARCHITECTURE
Abstract	The present invention provides the facility for modifying and updating the configuration of the facsimile machine remotely and scheduling the configuration changes to the offline facsimile machine from a remote application in client/server architecture. According to the invention it is possible to upgrade the configuration of the device without requiring an online session with the device. The updated configuration can be used later for scheduling the configuration of one or more facsir:nile machines.

Title of Invention

METHOD FOR OFFLINE CONFIGURATION AND REMOTE CONTROLLING OF FACSIMILE MACHINES OVER PSTN T.30 PROTOCOL USING CLIENT/SERVER ARCHITECTURE

Abstract

The present invention provides the facility for modifying and updating the configuration of the facsimile machine remotely and scheduling the configuration changes to the offline facsimile machine from a remote application in client/server architecture. According to the invention it is possible to upgrade the configuration of the device without requiring an online session with the device. The updated configuration can be used later for scheduling the configuration of one or more facsir:nile machines.

Full Text	^ FIELD OF TECHNOLOGY This invention relates in general to the field of remote controlling technologies applied to facsimile devices. Further, this invention relates to a remote-control method for offline configuration of facsimile devices that communicate with a central control. More particularly, this invention relates to a method for offline configuration and, scheduling of facsimile machines over a network using client / server architecture. DESCRIPTION OF RELATED ART In the present scenario, remote control methods are widely employed for configuring, diagnosing and controlling facsimile machines with the help of remotely connected controlling devices. The panoptic adoption of remote controlling methods is due to exponential growth in the utilization of facsimile devices from businesses to homes and the requirement of prompt after-installation services. In the absence of remote controlling facilities, the service engineers must visit the location of the facsimile device to diagnose and repair the remote facsimile devices, thus causing higher service cost and longer service turn around time. Very sophisticated technologies are already available in the art for the efficient remote control and configuration of facsimile devices. US patent no. 5,226,074 (Han, July 6, 1993) titled "Remote control method of a facsimile device" discloses a method for interactively diagnosing and controlling a remote facsimile device using a center facsimile device of an after-service center. This method includes the steps of requesting entry of a telephone number of the remote facsimile and determining whether a remote diagnosis process, a name registration process, a telephone number registration process or an option reading process are selected for executing. However it has been proved that a computer based remote control mechanism with a central server communicating with the facsimile machine is more efficient than other controlling methods. The commands to be executed on the device are transferred from the server to the facsimile device over the PSTN T.30 protocol and are interpreted at the device end. In order to exemplify a client/server environment of the above-mentioned controlling mechanism, United States Patent No. 6,662,241 (Bauer, et ai, December 9, 2003) titled "Apparatus and method for controlling a peripheral device" is incorporated herein by reference. According to the invention described in the said patent, when a server application receives a request for execution of a peripheral device script from a client application, it retrieves the peripheral device script that is associated with the request and passes to a script interpreter. The script may include code for configuring the peripheral device, code for requesting information about the peripheral device or code for controlling the peripheral device. The script interpreter interprets the peripheral device script containing configuration commands into control signals that implement the configuration. A device interface sends control signals to a peripheral device and receives the information signal from the device. Even though the techniques applied in the above described arts achieve their purpose there are a number of drawbacks. It is apparent from the above description of the existing art that the client/server architecture based remote controlling and configuring 'applications' for a facsimile device are actuated and the settings applied only when the devices are online. Presently there is no provision in the prior art to modify and update the configuration setting of a facsimile machine so that the configuration change can be scheduled to off peak hours of network usage. In the light of the foregoing deficiencies in the prior art and the objects given above, the present invention proposes to provide the facility for updating the configuration remotely and scheduling the configuration changes to the offline facsimile machine from a remote application in client/server architecture. Therefore according to the present invention, it is possible to upgrade the configuration of the device without requiring an online session with the device. The updated configuration can be used later for scheduling the configuration of one or more facsimile machines at the off peak hours. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The primary object of the present invention is to invent a method for offline configuration and remote controlling of facsimile machines over PSTN T.30 protocol (ITU Recommendation) using client/server architecture. It is another object of this invention to provide a method to remotely configure the facsimile machine without actually dialing the machine while setting the configuration. It is another object of the invention to save the configuration of the facsimile machine by remote configuration so that the saved configuration can later be scheduled for application on facsimile machine thereby avoiding its usage during the peak hours. It is a further object of the invention to provide the facility to transfer the saved configuration to any other facsimile machine, which has capability of remote upgradation of the configuration of the facsimile machine. It is also an object of the invention to confer feature for duplicating the settings of one facsimile machine to another facsimile machine by applying the saved configuration. The facsimile machine could be same or of different model. The server compares the model with configuration of the facsimile machine before making the relevant changes in the configuration. Accordingly, the invention explains a method for offline configuration and scheduling of facsimile machines over a network using client / server architecture, the method comprising the steps of: (a) selecting a facsimile machine through a user interface of a client machine; (b) retrieving a pre-stored profile of the selected facsimile machine from a web server; (c) re-configuhng the existing profile for altering the settings of the facsimile machine; (d) optionally replacing the existing profile with a new profile; (e) updating the changes in the server and scheduling a configuration action; and (f) dialing the specific facsimile machine by the server and applying the configuration to the facsimile machine based on the schedule, where the said application of the configuration to the facsimile machine is carried out offline. These and other objects, features and advantages of the present invention will become more readily apparent from a reading of the following detailed description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE ACCOMPANYING DRAWINGS Figure 1 is the functional block diagram of proposed system implementing the invented method. Figure 2 is the component diagram of the present invention. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The preferred embodiments of the present invention will now be explained with reference to the accompanying drawings. It should be understood however that the disclosed embodiments are merely exemplary of the invention, which may be embodied in various forms. The following description and drawings are not to be construed as limiting the invention and numerous specific details are deschbed to provide a thorough understanding of the present invention, as the basis for the claims and as a basis for teaching one skilled in the art how to make and/or use the invention. However in certain instances, well-known or conventional details are not described in order not to unnecessarily obscure the present invention in detail. The client will have the user intervention to select the machines, which are currently offline but are to be configured. Figure 1 represents a facsimile communication system according to the invention. It shows two facsimile devices of different make (models "Model X" and "Model Y") supported by the process running at the server, which dial up to the facsimile machines through fax modems over the PSTN. The server updates or retrieves the files/profiles for the offline configuration of facsimile machines whereas the client communicating with the server edits and saves the files/profiles or schedules the saved files/profiles for offline configuration of the devices. The commands and responses between the server component and facsimile machine are exchanged overT.30 protocol. As apparent from the foregoing description, the present invention includes two major components viz. - Client Component and Server Component. The client component acts as the window for facsimile machine configuration and has the capability to make request to the server component for retrieving, saving and scheduling the configuration of the facsimile machines. The Server machine (component) listens to the requests for dialing and retrieving the configuration from the facsimile machines or saving the configuration and scheduling the configuration from the client(s) using any network protocol. The server machine also stores the repository of the saved configurations that can be used by client on various facsimile machines. In addition the server component has the capability to dial the facsimile machine using T.30 protocol over the PSTN whenever the communication with the device is required. Therefore, it is understood from the above that the server maintains the connection to facsimile machines and holds the repository of the configuration and the blueprints of the facsimile machines. The functioning of the invention for achieving the offline configuration of facsimile devices is explained with reference to Figure 1. According to the present invention, the user interface in the client side provides the option to select facsimile machines from the list of machines supported by the server. Consequently the interface will be generated for the selected machine based on the already saved blueprint files/profiles in the server. The client retrieves the profile of the offline facsimile machine from the server. The device configurations for the user interface may show the last used configuration value of the facsimile machine or the default value when the former is unavailable with the server. Then the client can select and edit any existing configuration file/profile from the server. These saved files/profiles will be scheduled for application to facsimile machines at any off peak hour. The server manages the scheduler and the saved file/profile will be parsed and formatted to be sent over the T.30 protocols as commands to set the configurations on the facsimile machine when they are dialed up as per schedule. It is also evident that the invention is also helpful for copying the settings of one facsimile machine to another. Details pertaining to various components in the web server: Client will only need a web browser to communicate with the web server. Web server will have following components: 1. Fax Machine DB (Database): This database will store the repository of facsimile machines and contact number to be dialed for each facsimile machine. 2. Fax M/c Model Profile DB: Facsimile Machine Model Profile Database will have the model specific list of supported feature used to generate the offline configuration Ul. 3. Script File Storage: This will provide the location to store and retrieve the last saved configuration of the facsimile device. 4. Scheduler: This will keep track of the scheduling of the configuration. Like this could be a schedule to configure facsimile machines during off-peak hours. 5. Script Interpreter will be used to parse the schpt file and translate the script into commands for the device. 6. ITU-T T.30/T.31 Engine: This will support the standard communication with the device over PSTN. Please refer the figure 2 for the component diagram. The web client obtains information about the facsimile machine from the web server. The web client configures the data so obtained and pass it back to the web server. The script interpreter which is contained in the web server converts the data into control signals which gets scheduled to configure the facsimile machine. A web server which contains script interpreter, fax machine data base, fax machine model profile data base, script file storage, scheduler and ITU-TT 30/T 31 engine sends the control signals to the facsimile machine through fax modem in a PSTN network. The web server also receives configuration information from the facsimile device and forwards the information to the web client on request. The script file includes information about configuring the facsimile device, requesting information about the facsimile device, installation, controlling and diagnostic information about the facsimile device. The main advantage of the invention is that there is no need to engage the facsimile machine at the busy hours, as it is possible to configure the machine that is currently not connected to the server. It is also a major attraction that it enables to remotely copy the configuration of one facsimile machine to other facsimile machine. It will also be obvious to those skilled in the art that other control methods and apparatuses can be derived from the combinations of the various methods and apparatuses of the present invention as taught by the description and the accompanying drawings and these shall also be considered within the scope of the present invention. Further, description of such combinations and variations is therefore omitted above. It should also be noted that the host for storing the applications include but not limited to a computer, printer or a multi function device. Although the present invention has been fully described in connection with the preferred embodiments thereof with reference to the accompanying drawings, it is to be noted that various changes and modifications are possible and are apparent to those skilled in the art. Such changes and modifications are to be understood as included within the scope of the present invention as defined by the appended claims unless they depart therefrom. WE CLAIM 1. A method for offline configuration and scheduling of facsimile machines over a network using client/server architecture, the method comprising the steps of: a) selecting a facsimile machine through a user interface of a client machine; b) retrieving a pre- stored profile of the selected facsimile machine from a web server; c) re-configuring the existing profile for altering the settings of the facsimile machine; d) optionally replacing the existing profile with a new profile; e) updating the changes in the server and scheduling a configuration action; and f) dialing the specific facsimile machine by the server and applying the configuration to the facsimile machine based on the schedule, where the said application of the configuration to the facsimile machine is carried out offline. 2. The method as claimed in claim 1 wherein the profile of a first facsimile machine is copied to a second facsimile machine by retrieving the configuration from the first and then applying to the second facsimile machine over the network. 3. The method as claimed in claims 1 and 2 wherein the server dials the facsimile machine through a fax modem for applying the configuration. 4. A method for offline configuration and scheduling of facsimile machines over a network using client / server architecture, substantially as herein above described and illustrated with reference to the accompanying drawings.

Full Text

^ FIELD OF TECHNOLOGY
This invention relates in general to the field of remote controlling technologies applied to facsimile devices. Further, this invention relates to a remote-control method for offline configuration of facsimile devices that communicate with a central control. More particularly, this invention relates to a method for offline configuration and, scheduling of facsimile machines over a network using client / server architecture.
DESCRIPTION OF RELATED ART
In the present scenario, remote control methods are widely employed for configuring, diagnosing and controlling facsimile machines with the help of remotely connected controlling devices. The panoptic adoption of remote controlling methods is due to exponential growth in the utilization of facsimile devices from businesses to homes and the requirement of prompt after-installation services. In the absence of remote controlling facilities, the service engineers must visit the location of the facsimile device to diagnose and repair the remote facsimile devices, thus causing higher service cost and longer service turn around time. Very sophisticated technologies are already available in the art for the efficient remote control and configuration of facsimile devices.
US patent no. 5,226,074 (Han, July 6, 1993) titled "Remote control method of a facsimile device" discloses a method for interactively diagnosing and controlling a remote facsimile device using a center facsimile device of an after-service center. This method includes the steps of requesting entry of a telephone number of the remote facsimile and determining whether a remote diagnosis process, a name registration process, a telephone number registration process or an option reading process are selected for executing.
However it has been proved that a computer based remote control mechanism with a central server communicating with the facsimile machine is more efficient

than other controlling methods. The commands to be executed on the device are transferred from the server to the facsimile device over the PSTN T.30 protocol and are interpreted at the device end.
In order to exemplify a client/server environment of the above-mentioned controlling mechanism, United States Patent No. 6,662,241 (Bauer, et ai, December 9, 2003) titled "Apparatus and method for controlling a peripheral device" is incorporated herein by reference. According to the invention described in the said patent, when a server application receives a request for execution of a peripheral device script from a client application, it retrieves the peripheral device script that is associated with the request and passes to a script interpreter. The script may include code for configuring the peripheral device, code for requesting information about the peripheral device or code for controlling the peripheral device. The script interpreter interprets the peripheral device script containing configuration commands into control signals that implement the configuration. A device interface sends control signals to a peripheral device and receives the information signal from the device.
Even though the techniques applied in the above described arts achieve their purpose there are a number of drawbacks.
It is apparent from the above description of the existing art that the client/server architecture based remote controlling and configuring 'applications' for a facsimile device are actuated and the settings applied only when the devices are online.
Presently there is no provision in the prior art to modify and update the configuration setting of a facsimile machine so that the configuration change can be scheduled to off peak hours of network usage.
In the light of the foregoing deficiencies in the prior art and the objects given above, the present invention proposes to provide the facility for updating the

configuration remotely and scheduling the configuration changes to the offline facsimile machine from a remote application in client/server architecture. Therefore according to the present invention, it is possible to upgrade the configuration of the device without requiring an online session with the device.
The updated configuration can be used later for scheduling the configuration of one or more facsimile machines at the off peak hours.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The primary object of the present invention is to invent a method for offline configuration and remote controlling of facsimile machines over PSTN T.30 protocol (ITU Recommendation) using client/server architecture.
It is another object of this invention to provide a method to remotely configure the facsimile machine without actually dialing the machine while setting the configuration.
It is another object of the invention to save the configuration of the facsimile machine by remote configuration so that the saved configuration can later be scheduled for application on facsimile machine thereby avoiding its usage during the peak hours.
It is a further object of the invention to provide the facility to transfer the saved configuration to any other facsimile machine, which has capability of remote upgradation of the configuration of the facsimile machine.
It is also an object of the invention to confer feature for duplicating the settings of one facsimile machine to another facsimile machine by applying the saved configuration. The facsimile machine could be same or of different model. The server compares the model with configuration of the facsimile machine before making the relevant changes in the configuration.

Accordingly, the invention explains a method for offline configuration and scheduling of facsimile machines over a network using client / server architecture, the method comprising the steps of:
(a) selecting a facsimile machine through a user interface of a client machine;
(b) retrieving a pre-stored profile of the selected facsimile machine from a web server;
(c) re-configuhng the existing profile for altering the settings of the facsimile machine;
(d) optionally replacing the existing profile with a new profile;
(e) updating the changes in the server and scheduling a configuration action; and
(f) dialing the specific facsimile machine by the server and applying the configuration to the facsimile machine based on the schedule,
where the said application of the configuration to the facsimile machine is carried out offline.
These and other objects, features and advantages of the present invention will become more readily apparent from a reading of the following detailed description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE ACCOMPANYING DRAWINGS
Figure 1 is the functional block diagram of proposed system implementing the invented method.
Figure 2 is the component diagram of the present invention.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

The preferred embodiments of the present invention will now be explained with reference to the accompanying drawings. It should be understood however that the disclosed embodiments are merely exemplary of the invention, which may be embodied in various forms. The following description and drawings are not to be construed as limiting the invention and numerous specific details are deschbed to provide a thorough understanding of the present invention, as the basis for the claims and as a basis for teaching one skilled in the art how to make and/or use the invention. However in certain instances, well-known or conventional details are not described in order not to unnecessarily obscure the present invention in detail.
The client will have the user intervention to select the machines, which are currently offline but are to be configured.
Figure 1 represents a facsimile communication system according to the invention. It shows two facsimile devices of different make (models "Model X" and "Model Y") supported by the process running at the server, which dial up to the facsimile machines through fax modems over the PSTN. The server updates or retrieves the files/profiles for the offline configuration of facsimile machines whereas the client communicating with the server edits and saves the files/profiles or schedules the saved files/profiles for offline configuration of the devices. The commands and responses between the server component and facsimile machine are exchanged overT.30 protocol.
As apparent from the foregoing description, the present invention includes two major components viz. - Client Component and Server Component. The client component acts as the window for facsimile machine configuration and has the capability to make request to the server component for retrieving, saving and scheduling the configuration of the facsimile machines. The Server machine (component) listens to the requests for dialing and retrieving the configuration from the facsimile machines or saving the configuration and scheduling the

configuration from the client(s) using any network protocol. The server machine also stores the repository of the saved configurations that can be used by client on various facsimile machines. In addition the server component has the capability to dial the facsimile machine using T.30 protocol over the PSTN whenever the communication with the device is required. Therefore, it is understood from the above that the server maintains the connection to facsimile machines and holds the repository of the configuration and the blueprints of the facsimile machines.
The functioning of the invention for achieving the offline configuration of facsimile devices is explained with reference to Figure 1. According to the present invention, the user interface in the client side provides the option to select facsimile machines from the list of machines supported by the server. Consequently the interface will be generated for the selected machine based on the already saved blueprint files/profiles in the server. The client retrieves the profile of the offline facsimile machine from the server. The device configurations for the user interface may show the last used configuration value of the facsimile machine or the default value when the former is unavailable with the server. Then the client can select and edit any existing configuration file/profile from the server. These saved files/profiles will be scheduled for application to facsimile machines at any off peak hour. The server manages the scheduler and the saved file/profile will be parsed and formatted to be sent over the T.30 protocols as commands to set the configurations on the facsimile machine when they are dialed up as per schedule. It is also evident that the invention is also helpful for copying the settings of one facsimile machine to another.
Details pertaining to various components in the web server:
Client will only need a web browser to communicate with the web server. Web server will have following components:
1. Fax Machine DB (Database): This database will store the repository of facsimile machines and contact number to be dialed for each facsimile

machine.
2. Fax M/c Model Profile DB: Facsimile Machine Model Profile Database will have the model specific list of supported feature used to generate the offline configuration Ul.
3. Script File Storage: This will provide the location to store and retrieve the last saved configuration of the facsimile device.
4. Scheduler: This will keep track of the scheduling of the configuration. Like this could be a schedule to configure facsimile machines during off-peak hours.
5. Script Interpreter will be used to parse the schpt file and translate the script into commands for the device.
6. ITU-T T.30/T.31 Engine: This will support the standard communication with the device over PSTN.
Please refer the figure 2 for the component diagram.
The web client obtains information about the facsimile machine from the web server. The web client configures the data so obtained and pass it back to the web server. The script interpreter which is contained in the web server converts the data into control signals which gets scheduled to configure the facsimile machine. A web server which contains script interpreter, fax machine data base, fax machine model profile data base, script file storage, scheduler and ITU-TT 30/T 31 engine sends the control signals to the facsimile machine through fax modem in a PSTN network. The web server also receives configuration information from the facsimile device and forwards the information to the web client on request. The script file includes information about configuring the facsimile device, requesting information about the facsimile device, installation, controlling and diagnostic information about the facsimile device.
The main advantage of the invention is that there is no need to engage the facsimile machine at the busy hours, as it is possible to configure the machine that is currently not connected to the server. It is also a major attraction that it

enables to remotely copy the configuration of one facsimile machine to other facsimile machine.
It will also be obvious to those skilled in the art that other control methods and apparatuses can be derived from the combinations of the various methods and apparatuses of the present invention as taught by the description and the accompanying drawings and these shall also be considered within the scope of the present invention. Further, description of such combinations and variations is therefore omitted above. It should also be noted that the host for storing the applications include but not limited to a computer, printer or a multi function device.
Although the present invention has been fully described in connection with the preferred embodiments thereof with reference to the accompanying drawings, it is to be noted that various changes and modifications are possible and are apparent to those skilled in the art. Such changes and modifications are to be understood as included within the scope of the present invention as defined by the appended claims unless they depart therefrom.

WE CLAIM
1. A method for offline configuration and scheduling of facsimile machines
over a network using client/server architecture, the method comprising
the steps of:
a) selecting a facsimile machine through a user interface of a client
machine;
b) retrieving a pre- stored profile of the selected facsimile machine from a
web server;
c) re-configuring the existing profile for altering the settings of the facsimile machine;
d) optionally replacing the existing profile with a new profile;
e) updating the changes in the server and scheduling a configuration
action; and
f) dialing the specific facsimile machine by the server and applying the
configuration to the facsimile machine based on the schedule,
where the said application of the configuration to the facsimile machine is carried out offline.
2. The method as claimed in claim 1 wherein the profile of a first facsimile machine is copied to a second facsimile machine by retrieving the configuration from the first and then applying to the second facsimile machine over the network.
3. The method as claimed in claims 1 and 2 wherein the server dials the facsimile machine through a fax modem for applying the configuration.
4. A method for offline configuration and scheduling of facsimile machines over a network using client / server architecture, substantially as herein above described and illustrated with reference to the accompanying

drawings.

Documents:

1387-che-2004 abstract-duplicate.pdf

1387-che-2004 claims-duplicate.pdf

1387-che-2004 description (complete)-duplicate.pdf

1387-che-2004 drawings-duplicate.pdf

1387-che-2004-abstract.pdf

1387-che-2004-claims.pdf

1387-che-2004-correspondnece-others.pdf

1387-che-2004-correspondnece-po.pdf

1387-che-2004-description(complete).pdf

1387-che-2004-drawings.pdf

1387-che-2004-form 1.pdf

1387-che-2004-form 13.pdf

1387-che-2004-form 26.pdf

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Patent Number

219666

Indian Patent Application Number

1387/CHE/2004

PG Journal Number

27/2008

Publication Date

04-Jul-2008

Grant Date

13-May-2008

Date of Filing

16-Dec-2004

Name of Patentee

SAMSUNG INDIA SOFTWARE OPERATIONS PVT. LTD

Applicant Address

Inventors:

#	Inventor's Name	Inventor's Address
1	SAXENA SUDHANSHU
2	KARIMPANAL, JOSEPH, MATHEW
3	MANOHAR RADHASWAMY
4	DURGA PRASAD JUJJURU

PCT International Classification Number

G06F 17/30

PCT International Application Number

N/A

PCT International Filing date

PCT Conventions:

#	PCT Application Number	Date of Convention	Priority Country
1			NA