Automated trouble-shooting mechanism resident in craftsperson's portable test and communications device

• US 5,533,093 A
• Filed: 11/14/1994
• Issued: 07/02/1996
• Est. Priority Date: 04/29/1994
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Fluke Corporation (Fortive Corp.)
• Original Assignee: Harris Corporation (L3Harris Technologies, Inc.)
• Inventors: Rischpater, Raymond W., Schillaci, Onofrio, Horton, Michael D.
• Primary Examiner(s): Chin, Stephen
• Assistant Examiner(s): LOOMIS, PAUL A
• Application Number:
  US08/343,699
• Time in Patent Office: 596 Days
• Field of Search: 375/1, 375/21, 375/24, 375/27, 375/29, 375/30, 375/34
• US Class Current: 379/21
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/24 Arrangements for testing
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/247 Knowledge-based maintenance systems
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/30 for subscriber's lines , for the local loop
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/301 Circuit arrangements at the subscriber's side of the line
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/308 Craftsperson test terminals

Abstract

A telephone service technician'"'"'s portable computer has a trouble-shooting mechanism which analyzes craftsperson inputs, trouble ticket data, local and remote test data, and suggests a problem solving strategy. The system includes a trouble-shooting application engine, a knowledge database, and a shared, parameter database. The knowledge database contains rules and static parameters which define the characteristics and behavior of the application engine. These rule sets and information are telephone line trouble-shooting specific, based on a diagnostic evaluation of possible line problems, and recommended procedures to repair the line and remove the fault. The shared database data may be supplied from a variety of external sources, such as through a work order manager software application, measurement data sourced by portable test equipment, or data input by the craftsperson.

Claims

1. A method of providing a craftsperson with a trouble-shooting strategy that will provide said craftsperson with an indication of the probable cause of a problem in a subscriber line and a suggested procedure for solving said problem, comprising the steps of:

(a) providing a communication and processing unit through which a craftsperson, who may be dispatched to a service site that is remotely located with respect to a telephone office serving said subscriber line, may communicate with a test system of said telephone office and with a test head that is connectable to said subscriber line, said communication and processing unit having an input/output device, including a visual display, through which information input by said craftsperson is converted into prescribed control signals and transmitted to said test system and through which information associated with the operation of said test system is presented to said craftsperson; and

(b) providing, in said communication and processing unit, an information processing, trouble-shooting application engine, and first and second databases coupled thereto, said first database being a knowledge database containing rules and static parameters which define the characteristics and behavior of said application engine, said second data base being a shared database which stores parameter data associated with one or more tests conducted on said line, said trouble-shooting application engine being operative to perform a diagnostic evaluation of data in said shared database, in accordance with rule sets stored in said knowledge data base and to generate a proposed solution to the problem in said line that will guide said craftsperson to remove the fault.

2. A method according to claim 1, wherein said application engine is operative to execute a diagnostic evaluation of a plurality of possible problems that may occur on said line, potential sources of said possible problems, and recommended procedures to repair said line.

3. A method according to claim 1, wherein data stored by said shared database includes data acquired through one or more of a work order manager software application, measurement data sourced by portable test equipment, and data input by said craftsperson.

4. A method according to claim 1, wherein parametric test data stored in said shared database has a test identification code that associates a test conducted by test equipment with a rule set in said knowledge database, in response to which said trouble-shooting application engine generates a trouble-shooting strategy based upon a diagnostic evaluation of a trouble ticket reporting said problem and said parametric measurement data stored in said shared database.

5. A method according to claim 1, wherein said trouble-shooting application engine is operative to generate a prescribed symbol on said display screen, which symbol, when invoked by said craftsperson, causes said engine to display a message indicating results of said engine'"'"'s analysis of information currently available in said knowledge and shared databases and suggesting a course of action to said craftsperson to solve said problem.

6. A supervisory control mechanism, which is contained in a portable test unit employed by a craftsperson to test a communication line, said supervisory control mechanism comprising an information processing, trouble-shooting application engine, and first and second databases coupled thereto, said first database being a knowledge database containing rules and static parameters which define the characteristics and behavior of said application engine, said second data base being a shared database which stores parameter data associated with one or more tests conducted on said line, said trouble-shooting application engine being operative to analyze multiple sources of information, including user inputs from said craftsperson, parametric data embedded in a problem dispatch, test data obtained through the execution of local tests, and remote test data, and to derive therefrom a trouble-shooting strategy that is output to said craftsperson, so as to enable said craftsperson to locate the cause of a problem that gave rise to the generation of said problem dispatch.

7. A supervisory control mechanism according to claim 6, wherein said rules and static parameters which define the characteristics and behavior of said application engine are prepared in accordance with a diagnostic evaluation of a plurality of problems that may occur on said line, the potential sources of such problems, and recommended procedures to solve said problem.

8. A supervisory control mechanism according to claim 7, wherein said trouble-shooting application engine is operative to use the rules and parameters of said knowledge database to establish a field of possible/probable fault candidates that have relationships or linkages with a critical point of a set of control parameters and, using test parameter data in said shared database, iteratively refining said field of candidates to those containing successively smaller numbers of members, until a most likely candidate as the cause of the problem is established, said trouble-shooting application engine using said most likely fault candidate point to generate a remedial strategy message to said craftsperson.

9. A supervisory control mechanism according to claim 6, wherein parametric test data stored in said shared database has a test identification code that associates a test conducted by test equipment with a rule set in said knowledge database, in response to which said trouble-shooting application engine generates a trouble-shooting strategy based upon a diagnostic evaluation of a trouble ticket reporting said problem and said parametric measurement data stored in said shared database.

10. A supervisory control mechanism according to claim 6, wherein said trouble-shooting application engine is operative to generate a prescribed symbol on said display screen, which symbol, when invoked by said craftsperson, causes said engine to display a message indicating results of said engine'"'"'s analysis of information currently available in said knowledge and shared databases and suggesting a course of action to said craftsperson to solve said problem.

11. A supervisory control mechanism according to claim 6, wherein said application engine is operative to execute a diagnostic evaluation of a plurality of possible problems that may occur on said line, potential sources of said possible problems, and recommended procedures to repair said line.

12. A supervisory control mechanism according to claim 6, wherein data stored by said shared database includes data acquired through one or more of a work order manager software application, measurement data sourced by portable test equipment, and data input by said craftsperson.

13. A mechanism for enabling a craftsperson'"'"'s communication and processing unit to provide a craftsperson, who has been dispatched to a service site that is remotely located with respect to a telephone facility serving a subscriber line, with a trouble-shooting procedure through which said craftsperson may locate and solve the probable cause of a problem in said subscriber line, said communication and processing unit being operative to communicate with a test system of said telephone facility and with a test head that is connectable to said subscriber line, said communication and processing unit having an input/output device, including a visual display, through which information input by said craftsperson is converted into prescribed control signals and transmitted to said test system and through which information associated with the operation of said test system is presented to said craftsperson, said mechanism comprising an information processing, trouble-shooting application engine, and first and second databases coupled thereto, said first database being a knowledge database containing rules and static parameters which define the characteristics and behavior of said application engine, said second data base being a shared database which stores parameter data associated with one or more tests conducted on said line, said trouble-shooting application engine being operative to perform a diagnostic evaluation of data in said shared database, in accordance with rule sets stored in said knowledge data base and to display a message containing a proposed procedure to be carried out by said craftsperson to located and solve said problem in said subscriber line.

14. A mechanism according to claim 13, wherein data stored by said shared database includes data acquired through one or more of a work order manager software application, measurement data sourced by portable test equipment, and data input by said craftsperson.

15. A mechanism according to claim 13, wherein parametric test data stored in said shared database has a test identification code that associates a test conducted by test equipment with a rule set in said knowledge database, in response to which said trouble-shooting application engine generates a trouble-shooting strategy based upon a diagnostic evaluation of a trouble ticket reporting said problem and said parametric measurement data stored in said shared database.

16. A mechanism according to claim 13, wherein said trouble-shooting application engine is operative to generate a prescribed symbol on said display screen, which symbol, when invoked by said craftsperson, causes said engine to display a message indicating results of said engine'"'"'s analysis of information currently available in said knowledge and shared databases and suggesting a course of action to be followed by said craftsperson to solve said problem on said subscriber line.

17. A method of providing a trouble-shooting strategy to a craftsperson, who is dispatched to a service site that is located remotely with respect to a telephone facility serving a subscriber line, said trouble-shooting strategy providing said craftsperson with an indication of the probable cause of a problem in said subscriber line and a suggested procedure for solving said problem, comprising the steps of:

(a) providing said craftsperson with a communication and signal processing craft unit through which said craftsperson may communicate with said telephone facility and with test equipment that is connectable to said subscriber line, said craft unit having an input/output device, including a visual display panel, through which information input by said craftsperson is converted into prescribed signals and transmitted to a test system of said telephone facility and through which information associated with the operation of said test system is presented to said craftsperson, said test system being operative to respond to command signals supplied thereto from said craft unit and to apply to said subscriber line prescribed test stimuli, responses of said subscriber line to which are measured by said test equipment; and

(b) providing, in said craft unit, an information processing, trouble-shooting application engine, and first and second databases coupled thereto, said first database being a knowledge database containing rules and static parameters which define the characteristics and behavior of said application engine, said second data base being a shared database which stores parameter data associated with one or more tests conducted on said line, said trouble-shooting application engine being operative to perform a diagnostic evaluation of data in said shared database, in accordance with rule sets stored in said knowledge data base, by coordinating the application of a stimulus to said subscriber line by said test system and analyzing the output of said test equipment to said stimulus, and to generate said proposed solution to the problem in said subscriber line that will guide said craftsperson to remove the fault.

18. A method according to claim 17, wherein said test unit comprises a direct access test unit.

19. A method according to claim 18, wherein said direct access test unit is configured to respond to commands from said craft unit and to supply audio messages so as to enable said craftsperson to control the operation of said direct access test unit and thereby test said subscriber line, said commands being converted into tone signals and transmitted to said direct access test unit, and wherein information associated with the operation of said direct access test unit is presented by said visual display to said craftsperson, said displayed information being interactively updated in response to one or more inputs via said craft unit by said craftsperson, irrespective of the generation of audio messages by said direct access test unit.

20. A method according to claim 17, wherein said application engine is operative to cause a menu of various tests that may be conducted upon said subscriber line by said test system to be displayed via said visual display in response to information, a request for which has been displayed, having been input via said input/output device of said craft unit.

21. A method according to claim 20, wherein said application engine is operative to cause said menu of various tests that may be conducted upon said subscriber line by said test system to be displayed simultaneously via said visual display, while audio messages associated with different test functions that may be performed by said test system are being sequentially generated.

22. A method according to claim 17, wherein said application engine is operative to execute a diagnostic evaluation of a plurality of possible problems that may occur on said line, potential sources of said possible problems, and recommended procedures to repair said line.

23. A method according to claim 17, wherein data stored by said shared database includes data acquired through one or more of a work order manager software application, measurement data sourced by said test equipment, and data input by said craftsperson.

24. A method according to claim 17, wherein parametric test data stored in said shared database has a test identification code that associates a test conducted by test equipment with a rule set in said knowledge database, in response to which said trouble-shooting application engine generates a trouble-shooting strategy based upon a diagnostic evaluation of a trouble ticket reporting said problem and said parametric measurement data stored in said shared database.

25. A method according to claim 17, wherein said trouble-shooting application engine is operative to generate a prescribed symbol on said display screen, which symbol, when invoked by said craftsperson, causes said engine to display a message indicating results of said engine'"'"'s analysis of information currently available in said knowledge and shared databases and suggesting a course of action to said craftsperson to solve said problem.