1. A facsimile apparatus, comprising:
a user interface operative to facilitate communications between the apparatus and at least one user application in operative communication with the apparatus;
a network interface operative to facilitate communications between the apparatus and an analog communications network and an Internet Protocol (IP) communications network; and
a controller connected to the user interface and network interface, the controller being operative in a first mode to communicate with the analog communications network using a first facsimile protocol and being operative in at least a second mode to communicate with the IP communications network using the first facsimile protocol and a voice band data protocol.
2. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the network interface comprises:
an analog stack including a modem data communication equipment (DCE) interface utilizing the first facsimile protocol, a modem controller coupled to the DCE interface, a modem data pump coupled to the modem controller and coupled to a PSTN sample buffer.
3. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the network interface comprises:
a voice band data (VBD)-IP-aware stack including a VBD control interface, a VBD protocol engine coupled to the VBD control interface, an IP signaling protocol (ISP) module coupled to the VBD protocol engine and to the VBD control interface, and the VBD protocol engine coupled to the PSTN sample buffer and to a real-time transport protocol (RTP) packet buffer.
4. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the network interface comprises an analog stack including a modem data pump and a voice band data (VDB)-IP-aware stack including a VDB protocol engine.
5. The apparatus of claim 4, wherein the network interface comprises a status information module coupled to the modem data pump and to the VBD protocol engine to share real-time information on packet network impairments.
6. The apparatus of claim 5, wherein the real-time information on packet network impairments is from RTP packets.
7. The apparatus of claim 5, wherein the modem data pump receives the real-time information for better handling of packet loss and burst jitter during a VBD based VoIP fax session.
8. The apparatus of claim 2, wherein the network interface comprises an IP-aware stack including a data terminal equipment (DTE) interface utilizing a second facsimile protocol, a protocol engine coupled to the DTE interface, the IP signaling protocol (ISP) module coupled to the protocol engine and to the data terminal equipment (DTE) interface, and the protocol engine coupled to a facsimile packet buffer.
9. The apparatus of claim 8, wherein the second facsimile protocol is an ITU-T T.38 protocol.
10. The apparatus of claim 8, wherein the second facsimile protocol is an Internet Protocol (IP)-aware protocol.
11. The apparatus of claim 8, wherein the first facsimile protocol is a Group 3 (G3) protocol and the second facsimile protocol is an ITU-T T.38 protocol.
12. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the second mode is a voice band data Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) mode.
13. The apparatus of claim 12, wherein the voice band data VoIP is an ITU-T V.152 protocol.
14. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the user interface comprises a command parser operative to at least one of: receive commands from the user application and convert said commands into one or more control signals utilized by the controller; and receive control signals from the network interface and convert said control signals into commands utilized by the user application.
15. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the user interface is operative to receive at least one user command, one or more modes of operation of the controller being controlled as a function of the at least one user command.
16. The apparatus of claim 15, wherein the at least one user command comprises an AT command that is distinct from a standard analog AT command set.
17. The apparatus of claim 15, wherein the at least one user command comprises an AT command which defines an IP-aware facsimile class unused for analog facsimile transmissions.
18. An integrated circuit comprising at least one facsimile apparatus, the at least one facsimile apparatus comprising:
a user interface operative to facilitate communications between the apparatus and at least one user application in operative communication with the apparatus;
a network interface operative to facilitate communications between the apparatus and a analog communications network and an IP communications network; and
a controller connected to the user interface and network interface, the controller being operative in a first mode to communicate with the analog communications networks using a first facsimile protocol and being operative in at least a second mode to communicate with the IP communications network using the first facsimile protocol and a voice band data protocol.
19. A method for facilitating facsimile communications using a facsimile protocol and a VBD VoIP protocol, the method comprising steps of:
providing a first interface operative to facilitate communications between a facsimile device and at least one user application in operative communication with the facsimile device;
providing a second interface operative to facilitate communications between the facsimile device and an analog communications network and an IP communications network; and
communicating with the analog communications network using a first facsimile protocol in a first mode of operation and communicating in at least a second mode with the IP communications network using the first facsimile protocol and a voice band data protocol.
20. The method of claim 19, further comprising processing status information from RTP packets in the second mode of operation to reduce packet network impairments.
21. The method of claim 20, further comprising processing RTP data into PCM samples.
22. The method of claim 21, further comprising processing status information with PCM data to reduce packet network impairments.
23. An electronic system, comprising:
a plurality of facsimile devices, each facsimile device being adapted for connection to a corresponding communications network; and
at least one facsimile apparatus, the at least one facsimile apparatus comprising:
a user interface operative to facilitate communications between the apparatus and at least one user application in operative communication with the apparatus;
a network interface operative to facilitate communications between the apparatus and a analog communications network and an IP communications network; and
a controller connected to the user interface and network interface, the controller being operative in a first mode to communicate with the analog communications network using a first facsimile protocol and being operative in at least a second mode to communicate with the IP communications network using the first facsimile protocol and a voice band data protocol.
24. An article of manufacture comprising a computer program product, the computer program product in turn comprising a non-transitory tangible computer readable recordable storage medium, storing in a non-transitory manner computer readable program code, the computer program product comprising:
computer usable program code configured to provide a first interface operative to facilitate communications between a facsimile device and at least one user application in operative communication with the facsimile device;
computer usable program code configured to provide a second interface operative to facilitate communications between the facsimile device and an analog communications network and an IP communications network; and
computer usable program code configured to communicate with the analog communications network using a first facsimile protocol in a first mode of operation and communicating in at least a second mode with the IP communications network using the first facsimile protocol and a voice band data protocol.
The claims below are in addition to those above.
All refrences to claim(s) which appear below refer to the numbering after this setence.
1. A method of controlling receiver processing in a communications receiver in response to an absence or presence of analog signal bursts containing packet data on a communications channel, comprising:
monitoring the communications channel to detect a presence or an absence of the analog signal bursts; and
reducing the receiver processing in the absence of analog signal bursts, wherein reducing the receiver processing includes reducing processing precision of one or more elements of the receiver.
2. The method of claim 1, further comprising enabling full receiver processing in the presence of analog signal bursts.
3. The method of claim 1, further comprising increasing receiver processing in the presence of analog signal bursts.
4. The method of claim 1, wherein the analog signal bursts are in accordance with a burst mode protocol for operating a modem on a telephone line, the burst mode protocol including modulating packets of digital information by a transmitter circuit of the modem, wherein packets of digital information are converted into analog signal bursts of discrete duration and are transmitted from the transmitter circuit to the circuit to the telephone line.
5. The method of claim 1, further comprising:
the analog signals bursts being in accordance with a burst-mode protocol wherein the presence of an analog signal burst is immediately preceded by a predetermined non-idle state signal on the communications channel;
upon detecting the predetermined non-idle state signal on the communications channel performing full demodulation on the analog signal burst to obtain packet data; and
after the packet data from the analog signal burst has been received, and upon detecting the absence of the predetermined non-idle state signal on the communication channel reducing receiver processing.
6. The method of claim 5, wherein the predetermined non-idle state signal is a pure tone.
7. A method of controlling receiver processing in a communications receiver in response to an absence or presence of analog signal bursts containing packet data on a communications channel comprising:
monitoring quality of the analog signal bursts on the communication channel; and
reducing processing performed by the communications receiver if the communication channel quality exceeds a predetermined level, wherein reducing processing performed by the communications receiver includes reducing processing precision of one or more elements of the receiver.
8. The method of claim 7, wherein:
the monitoring quality includes monitoring error correction circuitry present in a channel decoder to determine whether a large or small amount of error correction is being performed; and
if the communication channel quality exceeds the predetermined level, reducing processing within the communications receiver by operating predetermined receiver circuits in a reduced precision processing mode.
9. A method of controlling receiver processing in a communications receiver in response to an absence or presence of analog signal bursts containing packet data on a communications channel comprising:
monitoring the presence and absence of analog signal burst carrier energy within the communication channel to determine whether packet data is being received; and
upon detecting no or minimum analog signal burst carrier energy is within the communication channel enabling reduced receiver processing, wherein enabling reduced receiver processing includes reducing processing precision of one or more elements of the receiver.
10. The method of claim 9, further comprising upon detecting analog signal burst carrier energy within the communication channel enabling full receiver processing.
11. The method of claim 9, further comprising upon detecting analog signal burst carrier energy within the communication channel increasing receiver processing.
12. A method of controlling receiver processing in a communications receiver in response to an absence or presence of analog signal bursts containing packet data on a communications channel, comprising:
monitoring the absence of the analog signal burst sub-carrier signals within the communication channel to determine whether packet data is being received; and
upon detecting the absence of the analog signal burst sub-carrier signals on the communication channel reducing receiver processing by disabling predetermined receiver circuits.
13. The method of claim 12, further comprising upon detecting the analog signal burst sub-carrier signals enabling a full processing mode of the communications receiver to perform full demodulation on the analog signal burst to obtain packet data.
14. The method of claim 12, further comprising upon detecting the analog signal burst sub-carrier signals increasing receiver processing the presence of analog signal burst sub-carrier signals.
15. A method of controlling receiver processing in a communications receiver in response to an absence or presence of analog signal bursts containing packet data on a communications channel, comprising:
monitoring the communications channel to detect a presence or an absence of the analog signal bursts; and
reducing the receiver processing in the absence of analog signal bursts by disabling an echo canceler.