Interactive diagnostic system and method driven by expert system
First Claim
1. A system for troubleshooting of networked electronic devices, comprising:
- an input responsive to verbal or text commands from an operator;
an inference engine computer program;
a data store for containing a knowledge base for use by said inference engine; and
a plurality of peripheral devices suitable for gathering information about, sending information to, or gathering operational data from the said networked electronic devices;
wherein the said operator provides text or verbal commands to said input to notify the system of a fault in the said networked electronic devices, and the said input asserts a fact to the said inference engine, the said fact corresponding to the said text or verbal commands, and the said inference engine adds the said fact to the said knowledge base, and the said inference engine applies rules from the said knowledge base which are triggered by the said fact in conjunction with a plurality of previously asserted facts contained in the said knowledge base, the said rules including one or a plurality of rules requiring the said inference engine to send commands to one or a plurality of the said peripheral devices or to the said input, the said commands from the said inference engine being for the purpose of gathering data about the said networked electronic devices, and the said peripheral devices and the said input provide responses to the said commands from the said inference engine, which said responses in turn trigger the said inference engine to assert new facts into the said knowledge base, which said new facts may trigger new rules to be executed by the said inference engine, said inference engine thus gathering data and following rules to troubleshoot the said networked electronic devices.
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Accused Products
Abstract
The present invention discloses a unique interactive diagnostic system and method driven by expert systems. In particular, a system and method for troubleshooting of networked electronic devices, driven by an inference engine which controls both the user interaction and the operation of and collection of data from diagnostic tools, are disclosed. In an exemplary embodiment, the invention comprises a knowledge base 200, an inference engine 201, a communications processor 210 for handling requests to and from the inference engine and the other components (except the knowledge base), an interaction management processor 220 for handling interactions with a plurality of end users 230 over a communications network 240, and a plurality of peripheral control units 250 and their associated peripheral units 250, which collectively can gather status information and perform diagnostic tests on the said networked electronic devices.
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Citations
20 Claims
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1. A system for troubleshooting of networked electronic devices, comprising:
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an input responsive to verbal or text commands from an operator;
an inference engine computer program;
a data store for containing a knowledge base for use by said inference engine; and
a plurality of peripheral devices suitable for gathering information about, sending information to, or gathering operational data from the said networked electronic devices;
wherein the said operator provides text or verbal commands to said input to notify the system of a fault in the said networked electronic devices, and the said input asserts a fact to the said inference engine, the said fact corresponding to the said text or verbal commands, and the said inference engine adds the said fact to the said knowledge base, and the said inference engine applies rules from the said knowledge base which are triggered by the said fact in conjunction with a plurality of previously asserted facts contained in the said knowledge base, the said rules including one or a plurality of rules requiring the said inference engine to send commands to one or a plurality of the said peripheral devices or to the said input, the said commands from the said inference engine being for the purpose of gathering data about the said networked electronic devices, and the said peripheral devices and the said input provide responses to the said commands from the said inference engine, which said responses in turn trigger the said inference engine to assert new facts into the said knowledge base, which said new facts may trigger new rules to be executed by the said inference engine, said inference engine thus gathering data and following rules to troubleshoot the said networked electronic devices. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7)
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8. A method for troubleshooting of networked electronic devices, comprising the steps of:
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an operator sending text or verbal commands to an input device, said commands functioning to notify the system of a problem with the said networked electronic devices;
the said input device asserting a fact to an inference engine, which said fact corresponds to the said verbal or text commands;
the said inference engine adding said fact to a knowledge base;
the said inference engine applying rules from the said knowledge base that are triggered by the assertion of the said fact, in conjunction with a plurality of previously asserted facts contained in the said knowledge base;
the said inference engine sending commands specified by one or a plurality of the said rules to one or a plurality of the said peripheral devices or to the said input, the said commands from the said inference engine being for the purpose of gathering data about the said networked electronic devices;
the said input and the said peripheral devices providing responses to the said commands from the said inference engine;
the said responses in turn triggering the said inference engine to assert new facts into the said knowledge base;
the said new facts optionally triggering new rules in the said knowledge base;
the said inference engine thus gathering data and following rules to troubleshoot the said networked electronic devices; and
the said inference engine finally either resolving the problem with the said networked electronic device or, optionally, the said inference engine suspends troubleshooting when no more rules are triggered in said knowledge base, and leaves the fault for resolution by a human technician. - View Dependent Claims (9, 10, 11, 12)
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13. A system for troubleshooting of cable modems, comprising:
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an input responsive to verbal or text commands from an operator;
an inference engine computer program;
a data store for containing a knowledge base for use by said inference engine; and
a plurality of peripheral devices suitable for gathering information about, sending information to, or gathering operational data from the said cable modems;
wherein the said operator provides text or verbal commands to said input to notify the system of a fault in the said cable modems, and the said input asserts a fact to the said inference engine, the said fact corresponding to the said text or verbal commands, and the said inference engine adds the said fact to the said knowledge base, and the said inference engine applies rules from the said knowledge base which are triggered by the said fact in conjunction with a plurality of previously asserted facts contained in the said knowledge base, the said rules including one or a plurality of rules requiring the said inference engine to send commands to one or a plurality of the said peripheral devices or to the said input, the said commands from the said inference engine being for the purpose of gathering data about the said cable modems, and the said peripheral devices and the said input provide responses to the said commands from the said inference engine, which said responses in turn trigger the said inference engine to assert new facts into the said knowledge base, which said new facts may trigger new rules to be executed by the said inference engine, said inference engine thus gathering data and following rules to troubleshoot the said cable modems. - View Dependent Claims (14, 15, 16, 17, 18)
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19. A method for troubleshooting of cable modems, comprising the steps of:
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an operator sending text or verbal commands to an input device, said commands functioning to notify the system of a problem with the said cable modems;
the said input device asserting a fact to an inference engine, which said fact corresponds to the said verbal or text commands;
the said inference engine adding said fact to a knowledge base;
the said inference engine applying rules from the said knowledge base that are triggered by the assertion of the said fact, in conjunction with a plurality of previously asserted facts contained in the said knowledge base;
the said inference engine sending commands specified by one or a plurality of the said rules to one or a plurality of the said peripheral devices or to the said input, the said commands from the said inference engine being for the purpose of gathering data about the said cable modems;
the said input and the said peripheral devices providing responses to the said commands from the said inference engine;
the said responses in turn triggering the said inference engine to assert new facts into the said knowledge base;
the said new facts optionally triggering new rules in the said knowledge base;
the said inference engine thus gathering data and following rules to troubleshoot the said cable modems. - View Dependent Claims (20)
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Specification