Method and apparatus for a cross-connect system with automatic facility information transference to a remote location

• US 5,812,934 A
• Filed: 01/25/1996
• Issued: 09/22/1998
• Est. Priority Date: 08/25/1993
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: CommScope Technologies, LLC (CommScope Holding Company, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Con-X Corporation
• Inventors: Kennedy, Bryan K., Hard, Douglas G.
• Primary Examiner(s): Bost, Dwayne D.
• Assistant Examiner(s): TROST IV, WILLIAM GEORGE
• Application Number:
  US08/591,817
• Time in Patent Office: 971 Days
• Field of Search: 379/57, 379/58, 379/59, 379/63, 379/201, 379/207, 379/248, 379/245, 379/246, 379/247, 379/1, 379/327, 379/335, 379/291, 379/27, 379/31, 379/34, 340/825.44, 340/311.1, 455/31.1, 455/54.1, 455/426, 455/403, 455/422, 455/31.2, 455/31.3, 455/458
• US Class Current: 340/7.58
• CPC Class Codes: H01R 12/523 by an interconnection through aligned holes in the boards or multilayer board
• CPC Class Codes: H01R 29/00 Coupling parts for selective co-operation with a counterpart in different ways to establish different circuits, e.g. for voltage selection, for series-parallel selection, programmable connectors
• CPC Class Codes: H01R 31/08 Short-circuiting members for bridging contacts in a counterpart
• CPC Class Codes: H01R 43/205 with a panel or printed circuit board
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 11/022 Paging systems personal calling arrangements or devices G08B3/1008; selective calling networks H04W84/022
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/22 Arrangements for supervision, monitoring or testing
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/28 Automatic routine testing ; Fault testing; Installation testing; Test methods, test equipment or test arrangements therefor
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/42153 by subscriber
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/4228 in networks
• CPC Class Codes: H04Q 1/136 having patch field management or physical layer management arrangements
• CPC Class Codes: H04Q 1/145 with switches arranged in a matrix configuration
• CPC Class Codes: H04Q 1/147 using robots for distributing
• CPC Class Codes: H05K 1/0289 having a matrix lay-out, i.e. having selectively interconnectable sets of X-conductors and Y-conductors in different planes
• CPC Class Codes: H05K 3/308 Adaptations of leads connectors to printed circuits H01R12/00

Abstract

Automatic facility information transfer to remote locations in cross-connect systems is accomplished by providing limited telephone services to wired premises not having permanent telephone service by enabling 911 calls, calls requesting permanent service, operator-assisted telephone company credit card calls, and calls to repair/maintenance centers from personnel in the field. In response to off-hook conditions at prospective subscriber premises or service personnel handsets connected to cable pairs in the field, limited telephone services are provided by a matrix system. Cable pair designations and the dialed telephone number are ascertained to respectively access a database and look-up table to retrieve facility information and protocol information for subsequent transmission of the calling line telephone number and facility information to a paging system. The paging system transmits the information to the telephone company business office, emergency center, or repair/maintenance service center being dialed. Telephone company credit card calls are transferred to an operator for conventional processing. In parallel with the paging transmission, calls progress through the network with the calling line telephone number inserted into the call for display at the calling destination. A representative at the calling destination verifies calling line telephone numbers received from the paging system and displayed at a paging device against calling line telephone numbers received from the telephone network and displayed at a workstation. An alternative embodiment utilizes four wire modems to retrieve facility information from an administrative workstation for storage in the matrix system and transfer to the calling destination.

Claims

1. An apparatus for verifying telephone facility information of a premises of a caller lacking telephone service by automatically transferring a calling line telephone number via two separate paths to a destination of a call comprising:

a matrix system including;

a database for storing telephone facility information associated with premises of callers;

a look-up table for storing routing and protocol information associated with paging centers;

recognition means for recognizing an off-hook condition at premises of callers lacking telephone service;

soft dial tone means for identifying a cable pair associated with a premises recognized as having said off-hook condition and providing limited telephone service to a limited service caller at said off-hook premises to permit said limited service caller to place a limited service call to predetermined destinations;

an interconnection matrix for establishing a connection between said cable pair associated with said off-hook premises and a limited telephone service line having a calling line telephone number to provide said limited telephone service to said limited service caller in response to said soft dial tone means; and

a modem for transferring said calling line telephone number of said limited telephone service line and telephone facility information of said off-hook premises stored in said database to a paging center serving an area of a predetermined destination of said limited service call over a telephone line utilizing said routing and protocol information;

switching means for routing said limited service call to said predetermined destination and inserting said calling line telephone number of said limited telephone service line into said limited service call during said routing;

paging means for receiving at said paging center said telephone facility information of said off-hook premises and said calling line telephone number of said limited telephone service line from said matrix system via said modem and transmitting said telephone facility information of said off-hook premises and said calling line telephone number of said limited telephone service line to said predetermined destination;

pager display means at said predetermined destination for receiving and displaying said telephone facility information of said off-hook premises and said calling line telephone number of said limited telephone service line transmitted by said paging means; and

call display means for receiving and displaying at said predetermined destination said calling line telephone number of said limited telephone service line received within said limited service call from said switching means in response to answering said limited service call at said predetermined destination;

wherein said calling line telephone number displayed on said pager display means and said calling line telephone number displayed on said call display means are displayed simultaneously to verify said telephone facility information of said off-hook premises at said predetermined destination where a match of said calling line telephone numbers indicates proper telephone facility information of said off-hook premises.

2. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein said matrix system further includes:

determining means for determining coordinates within the interconnection matrix corresponding to the connection of the limited service caller;

association means for associating said coordinates to a cable pair designation corresponding to the cable pair associated with said off-hook premises; and

database retrieval means for retrieving said telephone facility information of said off-hook premises from said database based on said cable pair designation.

3. The apparatus of claim 2 wherein said matrix system further includes:

monitor means for ascertaining the digits of a telephone number dialed by said limited service caller to determine said predetermined destination in response to providing said limited telephone service; and

look-up means for accessing said look-up table in response to ascertaining said digits in order to retrieve routing and protocol information for said modem relating to said paging center serving said area of said predetermined destination and to establish a path to transfer said calling line telephone number of said limited telephone service line and said telephone facility information of said off-hook premises to said paging center.

4. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein said predetermined destination is a 9-1-1 emergency center and said telephone facility information of said off-hook premises includes an address of said off-hook premises.

5. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein said predetermined destination is a telephone company business office.

6. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein said off-hook premises is a cable pair located in the field and said predetermined destination is a repair/maintenance service center, wherein said matrix system further includes test means for selectively testing said cable pair in the field by enabling test signals to be sent to said cable pair in the field.

7. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein said modem formats said protocol information for said calling line telephone number of said limited telephone service line and said telephone facility information of said off-hook premises in order to dial said paging center and transmit said calling line telephone number of said limited telephone service line and said telephone facility information of said off-hook premises to said paging center.

8. The apparatus of claim 5 wherein said apparatus further includes matrix control means for controlling said matrix system to establish permanent telephone service to said limited service caller in response to a request by said limited service caller and verification of said telephone facility information of said off-hook premises.

9. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein a plurality of call display means and pager display means reside at said predetermined destination and said calling line telephone number of said limited telephone service line associates said telephone facility information displayed on said pager display means with the calling line telephone number of an incoming call displayed on said call display means.

10. A method for verifying telephone facility information of a premises of a caller lacking telephone service by automatically transferring a calling line telephone number via two separate paths and said telephone facility information to a destination of a call, said method comprising the steps of:

(a) recognizing an off-hook condition at premises of callers lacking telephone service and identifying a cable pair associated with a premises having said off-hook condition;

(b) providing limited telephone services to a limited service caller at said off-hook premises by establishing a connection, via a matrix system, between said cable pair associated with said off-hook premises and a limited telephone service line having a calling line telephone number to permit said limited service caller to place a limited service call to predetermined destinations;

(c) ascertaining digits of a telephone number dialed in order to determine a predetermined destination of said limited service call in response to providing said limited telephone services;

(d) retrieving said calling line telephone number and said telephone facility information respectively associated with said limited telephone service line and said off-hook premises;

(e) transferring said calling line telephone number of said limited telephone service line and said telephone facility information of said off-hook premises from said matrix system to a paging system serving an area of said predetermined destination of said limited service call to transmit said calling line telephone number of said limited telephone service line and said telephone facility information of said off-hook premises to said predetermined destination;

(f) routing said limited service call to said predetermined destination through a telephone system wherein said telephone system automatically inserts said calling line telephone number of said limited telephone service line into said limited service call during traversal of switching equipment;

(g) receiving and displaying said calling line telephone number of said limited telephone service line and said telephone facility information of said off-hook premises transmitted by said paging system on a paging device at said predetermined destination;

(h) receiving and displaying said calling line telephone number of said limited telephone service line from said telephone system on a display device at said predetermined destinations wherein said calling line telephone number displayed on said paging device and said calling line telephone number displayed on said display device are displayed simultaneously; and

(i) verifying said calling line telephone number displayed on said display device against said calling line telephone number displayed on said paging device wherein a match of said calling line telephone numbers indicates proper telephone facility information of said off-hook premises.

11. The method of claim 10 wherein:

step (b) further includes;

(b.1) determining coordinates within said matrix system corresponding to the connection of the limited service caller,

(b.2) determining a cable pair designation corresponding to the cable pair associated with the off-hook premises; and

step (d) further includes retrieving said telephone facility information of said off-hook premises from a database based on said cable pair designation.

12. The method of claim 11 wherein step (e) further includes:

(e.1) retrieving routing and protocol information relating to said paging system serving said area of said predetermined destination from a look-up table to establish a path via a modem for transferring said calling line telephone number of said limited telephone service line and said telephone facility information of said off-hook premises from said matrix system to said paging system.

13. The method of claim 10 wherein said predetermined destination is a 9-1-1 emergency center and said telephone facility information of said off-hook premises includes an address of said off-hook premises.

14. The method of claim 10 wherein said predetermined destination is a telephone company business office.

15. The method of claim 10 wherein said off-hook premises is a cable pair located in the field and said predetermined destination is a repair/maintenance service center, wherein said method further includes the steps of:

(j) communicating said telephone facility information of said off-hook premises to a service technician located at said cable pair in the field; and

(k) selectively testing said cable pair in the field by enabling test signals to be sent to said cable pair in the field.

16. The method of claim 12 wherein step (e.1) further includes:

(e.1.1) formatting said protocol information for said calling line telephone number of said limited telephone service line and said telephone facility information of said off-hook premises in order to dial said paging system and transfer said calling line telephone number of said limited telephone service line and said telephone facility information of said off-hook premises over telephone lines via said modem.

17. The method of claim 14 further including the step of:

(j) establishing permanent telephone service at said off-hook premises in response to a request by said limited service caller and verification of said telephone facility information of said off-hook premises.

18. The method of claim 10 wherein step (i) further includes:

(i.1) associating said telephone facility information displayed on said paging device with the calling line telephone number of an incoming call displayed on said display device by matching said calling line telephone number displayed on said display device to the calling line telephone number displayed on the paging device.

19. An apparatus for verifying telephone facility information of a premises of a caller lacking telephone service by automatically transferring a calling line telephone number via two separate paths to a destination of a call comprising:

cable pair identification means for identifying a cable pair associated with a premises lacking telephone service and having an off-hook condition;

soft dial tone means for providing limited telephone services to a limited service caller at said off-hook premises to permit said limited service caller to place a limited service call to predetermined destinations;

a memory for storing telephone facility information of premises of callers;

memory access means for retrieving said telephone facility information of said off-hook premises from said memory based on said identified cable pair;

transfer means for transferring a calling line telephone number of said limited service call and said telephone facility information of said off-hook premises to a paging system serving an area of a predetermined destination of said limited service call to transmit said calling line telephone number of said limited service call and said telephone facility information of said off-hook premises to said predetermined destination;

switching means for routing said limited service call to said predetermined destination through a telephone system wherein said telephone system automatically inserts said calling line telephone number of said limited service call into said limited service call during traversal of switching equipment; and

display means at said predetermined destination for simultaneously displaying said calling line telephone number of said limited service call received independently from said telephone system and said paging system and said telephone facility information received from said paging system;

wherein said calling line telephone number of said limited service call received from said paging system is verified against said calling line telephone number of said limited service call received from said telephone system where a match of said calling line telephone numbers indicates proper telephone facility information of said off-hook premises.

20. A method for verifying telephone facility information of a premises of a caller lacking telephone service by automatically transferring a calling line telephone number via two separate paths and said telephone facility information to a destination of a call, said method comprising the steps of:

(a) identifying a cable pair associated with a premises lacking telephone service and having an off-hook condition;

(b) providing limited telephone services to a limited service caller at said off-hook premises to permit said limited service caller to place a limited service call to predetermined destinations;

(c) retrieving said telephone facility information of said off-hook premises from a memory based on said identified cable pair;

(d) transferring a calling line telephone number of said limited service call and said telephone facility information of said off-hook premises to a paging system serving an area of a predetermined destination of said limited service call to transmit said calling line telephone number of said limited service call and said telephone facility information of said off-hook premises to said predetermined destination;

(e) routing said limited service call to said predetermined destination through a telephone system wherein said telephone system automatically inserts said calling line telephone number of said limited service call into said limited service call during traversal of switching equipment; and

(f) verifying at said predetermined destination said calling line telephone number of said limited service call received from said paging system against said calling line telephone number of said limited service call received from said telephone system wherein a match of said calling line telephone numbers indicates proper telephone facility information of said off-hook premises.