Emergency facility information system and methods

• US 7,921,096 B2
• Filed: 03/01/2007
• Issued: 04/05/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 06/29/1998
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: AT&T Labs Incorporated (AT&T, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: AT&T Labs Incorporated (AT&T, Inc.)
• Inventors: Allen, Michael L., Bosse, Craig E., Brickhaus, Lisa A., Budhraja, Ajay, Carter, Saul E., Cerutti, Sherry, Gideon, Brenda, Jackson, Terry J., Savintsev, Dmitri, Staggs, Ronald D., Stobaugh, Richard B., Weisenborn, Cheryl
• Primary Examiner(s): Wong, Leslie
• Assistant Examiner(s): Willis, Amanda
• Application Number:
  US11/680,768
• Publication Number:
  US 20070156661A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,496 Days
• Field of Search: 703/3, 707/3, 707/706, 707/722, 707/999.003, 707/E17.008
• US Class Current: 707/706
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/248 Presentation of query results
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/903 Querying for retrieval from the web G06F16/953
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/22 comprising specially adapted graphical user interfaces [GUI]
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99933 Query processing, i.e. searching

Abstract

A system for providing telecommunications equipment information and customer information that includes a display and a processor. The display displays a graphical user interface that allows a user to access the equipment information and the customer information. The graphical user interface includes at least one input area that allows a user to input search criteria, related to at least one of equipment data and customer data, to initiate a search. The graphical user interface also includes at least one results area that displays a result of the search, the result including at least one of the equipment information and the customer information related to the search criteria. The processor implements the search for at least one of the equipment information and the customer information in response to the input search criteria.

Claims

1. A method for interpreting queries with a processing apparatus adapted to process the queries and to provide information from a database management apparatus of a communications facility information system via a graphical user interface, the method comprising:

displaying the graphical user interface providing access to the communications facility information system;

receiving a reroute query, the reroute query associated with a circuit identifier;

accessing the database management apparatus, based on the reroute query, and determining a reroute path of the circuit identifier;

displaying the reroute path of the circuit identifier on the graphical user interface;

receiving an information query, the information query associated with at least one of communications circuit information and user data;

interpreting the information query with the processing apparatus;

accessing the database management apparatus, based on the information query, and conducting a search for the at least one of the communications circuit information and the user data, the database management apparatus having been updated with a current status of the communications circuit information and a current status of the user data; and

translating and hierarchically displaying a result of the search on the graphical user interface, the result comprising the at least one of the communications circuit information and the user data, the communications circuit information including an item of a communications circuit, the user data including data of a user of the communications circuit,

wherein the item and the data are up selectable for displaying information related to an up selected one of the item and the data at a higher hierarchical level and down selectable for displaying information related to a down selected one of the item and the data at a lower hierarchical level.

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein the database management apparatus is accessed via a network and services database and a data propagator.

3. The method according to claim 2, further comprising exchanging information between the database management apparatus and the processing apparatus via the data propagator.

4. The method according to claim 1, further comprising displaying a graphical user interface including a plurality of user selectable equipment types that allows selection of one of the plurality of user selectable equipment types and a search for the communications circuit information.

5. The method according to claim 4, wherein one of the plurality of user selectable equipment types includes synchronous optical network equipment, the graphical user interface displaying the synchronous optical network equipment as the result when synchronous optical network equipment data is entered as the query.

6. The method according to claim 4, wherein one of the plurality of user selectable equipment types includes circuit networked equipment, the graphical user interface displaying the circuit networked equipment as the result when circuit data is entered as the query.

7. The method according to claim 1, further comprising displaying a main window including user options for selecting from a plurality of network subsystems.

8. The method according to claim 7, further comprising displaying a graphical user interface of a circuit/facility subsystem having user selectable options of selecting one of carrier circuit, facility re-route, customer, and cable.

9. The method according to claim 8, wherein displaying the result further comprises displaying a circuit identifier of a carrier circuit and user selectable options of re-route, hierarchy, cable, standard report, and custom report when the carrier circuit is selected and the query includes one of a system identifier, facility identifier, originating end circuit identifier, and terminating end circuit identifier.

10. The method according to claim 1, the result further comprising displaying a carrier circuit hierarchy when the user selects the an option of carrier circuit is selected from a main menu, the query includes a circuit identifier, and view hierarchy is selected from a carrier circuit listing window, from the graphical user interface.

11. The method according to claim 10, wherein selection of the item in the carrier circuit hierarchy causes the graphical user interface to display additional details regarding the item.

12. The method according to claim 1, wherein the processing apparatus communicates with the database management apparatus via file transfer protocol.

13. The method according to claim 1,

wherein the reroute input that query includes a number of offices, and

the database management determines the reroute path of the input circuit identifier based on the number of offices.

displaying the reroute path on the graphical user interface.

14. A method for interpreting queries with a processing apparatus adapted to process the queries and to provide information from a database management apparatus of a communications facility information system via a graphical user interface, in order to identify outage situations and facilitate service restoration, the method comprising:

displaying the graphical user interface providing access to the communications facility information system;

displaying a main menu providing options of selecting one of a circuit/facility subsystem and a synchronous optical network subsystem, a selection of the synchronous optical network subsystem providing options of selecting one of a plurality of parameters associated with a synchronous optical network;

receiving a reroute query, the reroute query associated with a circuit identifier;

accessing the database management apparatus, based on the reroute query, and determining a reroute path of the circuit identifier;

displaying the reroute path of the circuit identifier on the graphical user interface;

receiving an information query, the information query associated with at least one of communications circuit information and user data;

interpreting the information query with the processing apparatus;

accessing the database management apparatus, based on the information query, and conducting a search for the at least one of the communications circuit information and the user data, the database management apparatus having been updated with a current status of the communications circuit information and a current status of the user data; and

hierarchically displaying a result of the search on the graphical user interface, the result comprising the at least one of the communications circuit information and the user data, the communications circuit information including an item of a communications circuit, the user data including data of a user of the communications circuit; and

displaying a synchronous optical network layout if the user entered a parameter associated with a synchronous optical network carrier identifier,

wherein the item and the data are up selectable for displaying information related to an up selected one of the item and the data at a higher hierarchical level and down selectable for displaying information related to a down selected one of the item and the data at a lower hierarchical level.

15. The method according to claim 14, further comprising displaying a second result comprising synchronous optical network node details a node from the synchronous optical network layout is selected.

16. The method according to claim 15, further comprising displaying a third result comprising a listing of high speed slot assignments for individual circuits on the synchronous optical network carrier identifier.

17. The method according to claim 14,

wherein the reroute query includes a number of offices, and

the database management determines the reroute path of the input circuit identifier based on the number of offices.

18. At least one non-transitory computer readable storage medium for storing computer instructions that interpret queries with a processing apparatus adapted to process the queries and to provide information from a database management apparatus of a communications facility information system via a graphical user interface, the computer readable storage medium comprising:

an interface displaying code segment that displays the graphical user interface providing access to the communications facility information system;

a reroute code segment that receives a reroute query, the reroute query associated with a circuit identifier;

a reroute accessing code segment that accesses the database management apparatus, based on the reroute query, and determines a reroute path of the circuit identifier;

a reroute displaying code segment that displays the reroute path of the circuit identifier on the graphical user interface;

an information code segment that receives an information query, the information query associated with at least one of communications circuit information and user data;

an interpreting code segment that interprets the information query with the processing apparatus;

an information accessing code segment that accesses the database management apparatus, based on the information query, to conduct a search for the at least one of the communications circuit information and the user data, the database management apparatus having been updated with a current status of the communications circuit information and a current status of the user data;

an information displaying code segment that hierarchically displays the result of the search on the graphical user interface, the result comprising the at least one of the communications circuit information and the user data, the communications circuit information including an item of a communications circuit, the user data including data of a user of the communications circuit;

a drill down code segment that displays, on the graphical user interface, information related to one of the item and the data at a lower hierarchical level in response to the one of the item and the data being down selected; and

a drill up code segment that displays, on the graphical user interface, information related to one of the item and the data at a lower higher hierarchical level in response to the one of the item and the data being up selected.

19. The at least one non-transitory computer readable storage medium according to claim 18, further comprising a determining code segment that determines which of a plurality of processors comprising the processor apparatus to access the database management apparatus, based upon the operating status of each of the plurality of processors.

20. The at least one computer readable storage medium according to claim 18,

wherein the reroute query includes a number of offices, and

the information accessing code segment determines the reroute path of the input circuit identifier based on the number of offices.