Method and apparatus for conducting subscriber's phone testing remotely via the internet
First Claim
1. An apparatus comprising:
- slave boards,a patch board containing a plurality of jacks each connected to a corresponding telephone line;
cables each having one end connected to one slave board and the other end terminated at one of the jacks of the patch board;
each slave board is arranged and constructed to receive commands and perform at least one operation on the telephone line to which it is coupled via the cable and patch board;
a master board;
connected to the slave boards by a local data bus, the master board coupled to a remote terminal via an internet connection, wherein the master board is arranged and constructed to receive instructions from the terminal by the internet connection and issue the commands to the slave boards by the local data bus in order to prompt the et slave boards to perform the at least one operation on the connected telephone line;
the slave boards being arranged and constructed to receive at least one result of the at least one operation and transmit a message containing the one result to the master board, the master board in turn transmits the message containing the one result by the internet connection to the terminal.
9 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
An apparatus for and method of remotely controlling electronic devices, such as telecommunication equipment attached to telephone lines, test equipment, and/or home electronics includes a master board (105) having its own IP address and arranged and constructed to receive (401) instructions via the internet (103) from a remote terminal (101). The instructions are interpreted and converted into one or more commands that are directed (405) to a slave board (113 or 117) that performs, in response to the command(s), one or more operations on a telephone line and its associated hardware and/or software (115), a piece of test equipment (125), lights (123), or other type of electronic device. Any results of the operations may be returned to the terminal (101).
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Citations
14 Claims
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1. An apparatus comprising:
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slave boards, a patch board containing a plurality of jacks each connected to a corresponding telephone line; cables each having one end connected to one slave board and the other end terminated at one of the jacks of the patch board; each slave board is arranged and constructed to receive commands and perform at least one operation on the telephone line to which it is coupled via the cable and patch board; a master board;
connected to the slave boards by a local data bus, the master board coupled to a remote terminal via an internet connection, wherein the master board is arranged and constructed to receive instructions from the terminal by the internet connection and issue the commands to the slave boards by the local data bus in order to prompt the et slave boards to perform the at least one operation on the connected telephone line;the slave boards being arranged and constructed to receive at least one result of the at least one operation and transmit a message containing the one result to the master board, the master board in turn transmits the message containing the one result by the internet connection to the terminal. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 7, 8, 9)
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5. A method comprising the steps of:
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receiving at a muter board an instruction from a terminal via an internet connection; in response to the instruction, issuing a command from the master board by a local data bus to one of a plurality of slave boards to perform at least one operation on the connected telephone line; the one slave board being connected by a cable having one end connected to the one slave board and the other end terminated at one of a plurality of jacks on a patch board where each jack on the patch board is connected to a corresponding telephone line; receiving at the at least one slave board at least one result of the at least one operation on the at least one electronic device, and transmitting a message containing the result to the master board by the local data bus. - View Dependent Claims (6, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14)
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Specification