Abstract: The presence of a voice in an audio signal is detected by sampling frequency components of the audio signal during a window that starts when a power of the audio signal reaches a predetermined threshold and stops when the audio signal's power drops below the predetermined threshold. An array of elements is generated based on the sampled frequency components. Each element in the array corresponds to a time-based sum of frequency components. Whether the audio signal corresponds to a voice is determined using one or values calculated from the generated array. The value may correspond either to a frequency-based sum of array elements or to the window. The calculated values are analyzed using fuzzy logic which generates a measure of a likelihood that the audio signal is a voice.

Abstract: At least a fax message is sent via a telephone system to a telephone receiving station. From that receiving station, the fax message is routed through a multinode computer network to a prespecified network location. A telephone call by which the fax message is transmitted is initiated by dialing a telephone number such as a DID number. Part of the telephone address signal is received at the receiving station and used to establish a connection to a network location such that a fax message may be sent to or from the network location. The network location may be a mailbox associated with an intended recipient. The DID receiver may initiate a call to a second receiver using a ringing signal with routing information communicated through a separate data link.

Abstract: A method for causing information including at least FAX messages sent via a telephone system to be subjected to prespecified actions at a FAX receiving station. A telephone call is initiated via the telephone system to the FAX receiving station by dialing a telephone number sufficient to route the telephone call to the FAX receiving station, the telephone number also being sufficient to determine the prespecified actions to which the FAX message is to be subjected at the receiving end. The telephone number is carried through the telephone system in the form of a telephone address signal as part of the call initiation process. The telephone call being initiated is directed to the FAX receiving station, based on the telephone address signal. The telephone call is answered at the FAX receiving station, and the telephone address signal is received at the FAX receiving station.

Abstract: Delivery of binary encoded character data and facsimile encoded data to a specified recipient is controlled rapidly, simply, and with versatility, by, e.g., DTMF commands sent by a user.