Maintenance system for a telecommunication installation

• US RE43,046 E1
• Filed: 06/13/2001
• Issued: 12/27/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 06/23/2000
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Gula Consulting Limited Liability Company (Intellectual Ventures LLC)
• Original Assignee: Gula Consulting Limited Liability Company (Intellectual Ventures LLC)
• Inventors: Bourgart, Fabrice
• Primary Examiner(s): DESIR, PIERRE LOUIS
• Application Number:
  US12/393,895
• Time in Patent Office: 3,849 Days
• Field of Search: 455/67.11, 455/423, 375/224, 702/185, 702/57, 702/58, 702/59, 709/222, 709/224
• US Class Current: 455/67.11
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/10 Providing fault- or trouble-signals
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/22 Arrangements for supervision, monitoring or testing
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/247 Knowledge-based maintenance systems
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/42314 in private branch exchanges

Abstract

The invention provides a portable and autonomous assistance device to derive information on faults in a private telecommunication installation comprising particularly equipment units to assist the client owning the installation in maintaining the latter. A maintenance session is selected in a maintenance server of the service provider managing the installation as a function of information transmitted by the assistance device so as to provide instructions in the device. The address of the server and an identifier of the equipment unit are rapidly read by means of a bar code reader which can also read bar codes in a user manual. The assistance device also serves to configure a terminal (TE) by means of a configuration session opened in a server (SFT) of the terminal manufacturer.

Claims

1. A maintenance system for maintaining a telecommunication installation using a maintenance server, said installation comprising equipment units, an installation management arrangement and a communication arrangement for communication between a network line and said equipment units and said management arrangement, said system comprising a portable assistance device that can be located in the installation, and can be moved between different telecommunication installations, but is autonomous with respect to the installation where the portable assistance device is located for entering

(i) an identifier of said installation and a telecommunication address of said maintenance server on at least one of said management arrangement and said communication arrangement to enable calling of said maintenance server as a function of the entered address and

(ii) information on at least one fault in the installation to enable said maintenance server to select a maintenance session as a function of said entered identifier of said installation and said fault information transmitted by said assistance device and to transmit instructions to said assistance device which shows the transmitted instructions to be executed in said installation.

2. A maintenance system according to claim 1, wherein said assistance device is associated with a manual setting out maintenance procedures associated with information, said information being represented by bar codes that can be read by said entering means.

3. A maintenance system according to claim 1, wherein said assistance device is connected to said communication arrangement, and said communication arrangement is arranged to allocate a telecommunication address to said assistance device for calls thereby via said network line.

4. A maintenance system according to claim 1, wherein said assistance device has functions of a mobile radio telephone terminal to enable the assistance device to communicate with said maintenance server via a radio telephone link.

5. A maintenance system according to claim 1, wherein said assistance device is equipped with a modem to enable the assistance device to communicate with said maintenance server via a data link.

6. A maintenance system according to claim 1, wherein said assistance device is arranged for automatically entering an equipment unit identifier and a manufacturer telecommunication address on at least one of said equipment units to enable the assistance device to call a server of the manufacturer of said equipment unit automatically as a function of the entered address and then to effect a session, involving said assistance device and said manufacturer server, for configuring said equipment unit as a function of the entered identifier of said equipment unit.

7. A maintenance system according to claim 1, wherein said assistance device includes a browser.

8. A maintenance system according to claim 1, including a store for storing sessions.

9. A method of maintaining a telecommunication installation using a maintenance server, said installation comprising equipment units, an installation management arrangement and communication arrangement for communication between a network line and said equipment units and said management arrangement, said method being performed with the aid of a portable assistance device that can be located in different installations and comprising:

causing the portable assistance device to be brought to the installation, then entering, information about the type of said installation and about at least one fault in said installation calling said maintenance server from said assistance device, transmitting said information from said assistance device to said maintenance server and receiving said information at said maintenance server, searching for a maintenance session in said maintenance server as a function of the transmitted and received information, and causing the maintenance server to execute a maintenance session that has been found by displaying on said assistance device instructions transmitted by said maintenance server and by executing said instructions in said installation.

10. A method according to claim 9, further comprising, before all of said aforementioned steps, entering an identifier of said installation and a telecommunication address of said maintenance server on said installation management arrangement or communication arrangement by using a bar code reader.

11. A method according to claim 9, further comprising, after the step of executing said maintenance session, saving said maintenance session in said assistance device or management arrangement, and selecting said saved session subsequently if said installation is subject to a fault analogous to said fault.

12. A method according to claim 11 further including selecting said session subsequently if said installation Is is subject to a fault analogous to said fault.

13. The method of claim 9 wherein the method is performed with the same portable assistance device at different installations at different times as a result of the portable assistance device being brought to the different installations.

14. A method of configuring an equipment unit in a telecommunication installation including an installation management arrangement and a communication arrangement for communication between a network line and equipment units and said management arrangement, the manufacturer of the equipment unit having a server, the method being performed with the aid of a portable assistant device that can be located on different installations and comprising:

bringing the portable device to the installation, then calling said manufacturer server from said assistance device and transmitting an identifier of said equipment unit from said assistance device to said manufacturer server and receiving the identifier of said equipment unit at said manufacturer server, opening a configuration session in said manufacturer server as a function of the transmitted and received identifier, and executing said configuration session by displaying on said assistance device instructions transmitted by said manufacturer server and by executing said instructions.

15. A method according to claim 14 wherein said equipment unit executes said instructions.

16. A method according to claim 14, further comprising, before any of said aforementioned steps, entering said identifier of said equipment unit and a telecommunication address of said manufacturer server on said equipment unit, by using a bar code reader.

17. A method according to claim 14, further comprising updating a database in said management arrangement as a function of operating and location characteristics of said equipment unit, after a test indicates correct operation of said equipment unit.

18. A method according to claim 14, further comprising, after executing said configuration session, saving said configuration session in said assistance device or management arrangement, and selecting said saved session subsequently for another equipment unit analogous to said equipment unit that is to be configured.

19. The method of claim 14 wherein the method is performed with the same portable assistance device at different installations at different times as a result of the portable assistance device being brought to the different installations.

20. A client device, comprising:

a communication module configured to communicatively connect the client device to a maintenance server;

a control unit coupled to the communication module and configured to provide to the maintenance server, information on at least one fault in a telecommunication installation; and

a display unit coupled to the control unit and configured to display fault-correcting instructions usable to correct the at least one fault, wherein the fault-correcting instructions are received from the maintenance server in response to the information on at least one fault, wherein the client device is a transportable device that is movable between different telecommunication installations and is configured to connect to the maintenance server after being brought to a particular telecommunications installation.

24. The client device of claim 20, wherein the communication module is equipped to communicate in accordance with a Global System for Mobile communications (GSM) protocol.

25. The client device of claim 20, wherein the communication module comprises a modem configured to communicate with the maintenance server.

26. The client device of claim 20, wherein the maintenance server is a manufacturer server of a manufacturer of the client device.

27. The client device of claim 26, wherein the manufacturer server is configured to provide instructions to be displayed by the client device for installation of new equipment in the telecommunication installation.

28. The client device of claim 20, further comprising a barcode reader configured to read identification information from equipment installed in the telecommunication installation.

29. The client device of claim 20, further comprising a web browser configured to be used as a user interface.

30. The client device of claim 20, wherein the control unit is configured to automatically establish a communication session with the maintenance server.

31. The client device of claim 20, further comprising a storage device, wherein the storage device is configured to store frequently used fault-correcting instructions provided by the maintenance server.

21. A maintenance server, comprising:

a storage medium;

a plurality of instructions stored on the storage medium that if executed cause the maintenance server to;

receive, from a client device, information on at least one fault in a telecommunication installation;

retrieve fault-correcting instructions based at least on the information on at least one fault; and

transmit, to the client device, the fault-correcting instructions to be displayed on the client device, wherein the client device is a transportable device that is movable between different telecommunication installations and is configured to provide information on the at least one fault in the telecommunication installation after being brought to the telecommunications installation.

32. The maintenance server of claim 21, further comprising an expert system configured to find the fault-correcting instructions corresponding to the information on at least one fault.

33. The maintenance server of claim 32, wherein the expert system is further configured to be updated with new fault-correcting instructions for future use.

34. The maintenance server of claim 21 further configured to authenticate the client device to communicate with the maintenance server.

35. The maintenance server of claim 21 further configured to communicate with the client device using a virtual communication channel.

22. A method, comprising:

bringing a remote assistance device to a particular telecommunication installation, the remote access device being locatable at different telecommunication installations;

establishing a connection by the remote assistance device with a maintenance server;

transmitting by a control unit of the remote assistance device to the maintenance server, information on at least one fault in the telecommunication installation; and

displaying on a display unit of the remote assistance device, fault-correcting instructions usable to correct the at least one fault, wherein the fault-correcting instructions are received from the maintenance server in response to the information on at least one fault.

36. The method of claim 22, further comprising:

reading, using a barcode reader, a barcoded ID of equipment installed in the telecommunication installation; and

transmitting the barcoded ID to the maintenance server.

37. The method of claim 22, wherein connecting a remote assistance device to a maintenance device comprises using Global System for Mobile communications (GSM) protocol to communicatively connect the remote assistance device to the maintenance server.

38. The method of claim 22, wherein connecting a remote assistance device to a maintenance device comprises automatically establishing a communication session with the maintenance server by the remote assistance device.

39. The method of claim 22, wherein connecting a remote assistance device to a maintenance device comprises using a Virtual Channel Identifier (VCI) as a telecommunication address.

23. A method, comprising:

causing a client device to be brought to a telecommunication installation, the client device being locatable at different telecommunication installations;

receiving by a maintenance server, from the client device, information on at least one fault in the telecommunication installation;

retrieving by the maintenance server, fault-correcting instructions usable to correct the at least one fault, wherein the fault-correcting instructions are based at least on the information on at least one fault; and

transmitting to the client device, the fault-correcting instructions to be displayed by the client device.

40. The method of claim 23, further comprising using an expert system included in the maintenance server to find the fault-correcting instructions based at least on the information on at least one fault.

41. The method of claim 23, further comprising authenticating the client device to communicate with the maintenance server.