Automated telephone line test apparatus with intelligent diagnostic
Contents
1. 379 29 5 105 438 A 4 1992 Ackroff et al 375 8 5 825 174 A 10 1998 Parker 374 106 5 121 342 A 6 1992 Szymborski et al 364 514 5960060 A 9 1999 Kaibel 379 21 5157 708 A 10 1992 Gartwaite et al 379 21 960 ibel eene 5 170 114 A 12 1992 Lowenstein et al 324 128 5 195 124 A 3 1993 Ishioka e 379 27 cited by examiner U S Patent Aug 20 2002 Sheet 1 of 9 US 6 438 212 B1 ne 14 12 j Test Leads User Interface Module Test Module d 16 Fig 1 30 I F to Test Module 22 Communications 18 Program Interface Memory J Micro Processor 20 l Working Display Memory Keyboard y 24 26 Fig 2 U S Patent Aug 20 2002 Sheet 2 of 9 US 6 438 212 B1 Diagnostic Functio Selected e 32 h Perform Ground Test 9 36 a Good ground Mn Re test Ground Yes 5t 34 Perform Voltage and Current Tests 58 Functioning Test For Shorts Q Levels Grounds Detect Perform 2 wire Loss Current Noise Power Influence Balance and Stress Tests 69 66 Perform Kick and Stress Tests Detected Confirm Line No 62 Locate Fault 68 Report Results U S Patent Aug 20 2002 Sheet 3 of 9 US 6 438 212 B12. pp 78 90 GTE s New Line on Customer Service Datamation May 1 1990 pp 68 70 Model T136BSB Circuit Test Set Wilcom Plantronics 5 84 Primary Examiner Duc Nguyen Assistant Examiner Rexford N Barnie 74 Attorney Agent or Firm Rader Fishman amp Grauer PLLC 57 ABSTRACT A portable automated telephone line test device includes a test module which applies test signals to a telephone line to be tested and detects electrical characteristics of the tele phone line and a user interface module The user interface module includes a microprocessor a display a keyboard and a program memory in accordance with a standard micro computer architecture The processor of the user interface module is programmed to control the test module to perform a pre programmed sequence of tests The display provides 4 076 970 A 2 1978 Lubarsky Jr et al 179 175 2 indications of the tests being performed The programmed R sequence is varied by the device according to test results 4 159 402 A 6 1979 De Graauw et al 179 175 3 A Depending on the results obtained the device also provides 4 186 283 A i 1980 Simmonds 379 21 interpretative diagnostic messages and instructs the user to 4 581 493 A 4 1986 Gazzo et al 379 21 carry out additional test procedures 4 639 557 A 1 1987 Butler et al 379 29 List continued on next page 12 Claims 9 Drawing She
3. reading the following detailed description in conjunction with the accompanying drawings in which FIG 1 is a high level block diagram of a test apparatus provided in accordance with the invention FIG 2 is a block diagram of a user interface module that is part of the apparatus of FIG 1 FIGS 3 3A 3C are flow charts which illustrate a soft ware program for controlling a microprocessor that is part of the user interface module of FIG 2 FIG 3B illustrates operations at a central office in con nection with an automatic line identification function and FIGS 4 11 illustrate various screen displays provided by the user interface module of FIG 2 DETAILED DESCRIPTION A preferred embodiment of the invention is implemented as a software enhancement of a conventional device such as the above referenced DataStar 386 device An overview of a suitable hardware environment for implementation of the invention is provided by FIGS 1 and 2 In FIG 1 a test device 10 in accordance with the operation is shown to include a test module 12 and a user interface module 14 The test module 12 has test leads 16 suitable for connection to tip ring and ground sides of the telephone line to be tested The test module and user interface module may respectively correspond to the test module and terminal portions of the DataStar 386 device It is also contemplated to integrate the test module and user interface module into a single unit FIG
4. 438 212 B1 7 The final test in the sequence is the stress test Upon completion of this test the screen display of FIG 5 would be provided In the message field 52 completion of the test is indicated as well as finding of acceptable results It will be noted that the fields 46 48 and 50 have been fully populated with data indicating the results of the tests that have been performed It will also be noted that at the bottom of the message field 52 the user is advised that the test sequence has been completed and the user s options are presented FIG 5A is a screen which indicates that the apparatus has performed the automatic line number confirmation proce dure described above in connection with FIGS 3B and 3C EXAMPLES WITH TROUBLE FOUND If during the sequence of tests an unacceptable reading is found a corresponding message is provided in the message field 52 An example of such a message is shown in FIG 6 which shows the message provided when the stress test results in an unacceptable reading Other messages indica tive of unacceptable conditions are listed in Appendix II As has been discussed above if basic line function is not found at steps 54 and 56 FIG 3 testing for a hard fault takes place FIG 7 illustrates a screen display provided when a hard fault is found The tests for which unacceptable readings were obtained are marked with an asterisk in field 44 in this example the DC Volts and Ohms test entries
5. ES 54 Perform Voltage and Current Tests 158 Preform 2 wire Loss and Circuit Noise Tests Functioning Line 160 Test For T R Short Fig 3A U S Patent Aug 20 2002 Sheet 4 of 9 A02 Dial Up Line I D Facility 110 Receive amp Decode Dual Tone Multi Freq From C O T A 12 Retrieve Line No From Memory 114 Compare with Line No Data From C O Fig 3B 104 Receive Number I D Request _A06 Generate Dual Tone Multi Freq Corresponding To Requesting Line 108 Compare with Line No Data From C O Fig 3C US 6 438 212 B1 U S Patent 42 44 Aug 20 2002 Sheet 5 of 9 US 6 438 212 B1 Loop Diagnostic Assistant v0 6 0 Job ID Ticket Number 268LD01 2079426298 Test For TR TC RC AC Volts DC Volts Current Ground 2WireLoss Noise Power Balance Stress Messages amp tart Up onnect the GREEN lead to tip and BLACK lead to ground Leave the RED lead ring off until you are instructed to connect it ENTER START TESTING ESC QUIT F2 VIEW TEST RESULTS Loop Diagnostic Assistant Job ID Ticket Number 268LD01 2079426298 2WireLoss Noise Power Balance Stress Stress test complete Net acceptable range TR 30 dBrnc No imbalance exists between Tip amp Ring Test script complete Choose what you want to do next ENTER RE
6. out a standardized sequence of tests It is still a further object of the invention to provide a telephone line test device which interprets results of tests performed by the device and automatically diagnoses sources of line troubles on the basis of the test results It is yet another object of the invention to provide a telephone line test device which displays interpretive mes sages and instructions to the user SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In accordance with the principles of the present invention objects noted above and other advantages are realized by provision of an automated telephone line test apparatus including test circuitry for applying test signals to a tele phone line to be tested and for detecting electrical charac teristics of the telephone line a processor connected to the test circuitry for controlling the test circuitry a display connected to the processor and a program memory con nected to the processor the processor being programmed to control the test circuitry so that the test circuitry performs a pre programmed sequence of tests the pre programmed sequence of tests being performed in accordance with a program stored in the program memory and the processor also being programmed to control the display such that the display provides a sequence of indications each correspond ing to a respective test of the pre programmed sequence of tests each indication being displayed while the correspond ing test is being pe
7. synthesis by the central office equipment which stated the line number of the tested line The prior practice required the technician to match the number given by the machine generated speech with the work assignment data specifying the line intended to be tested The machine to machine confirmation procedure of FIGS 3B and 3C relieves the technician of the effort of carrying out line i d confirmation while enabling the test apparatus to automatically store data confirming that the line tested was in fact the line which was the intended subject of the test assignment Further details of the program illustrated in FIG 3 will be understood from the pseudo code listing annexed hereto as Appendix I and from the script file printouts annexed hereto as Appendix II In addition the following discussion will highlight aspects of the adaptive nature of the diagnostic functions of the test apparatus 10 and particularly the guidance and information provided to the user by the apparatus TEST SEQUENCE EXAMPLE NO TROUBLE FOUND Initially it will be assumed that the telephone line to be tested is operating in accordance with prescribed specifica tions in all respects This may occur for example if there is an error in reporting trouble on the line or if the line is being tested to confirm successful completion of a trouble shooting and repair operation that has already been performed with respect to the telephone line In any case once the di
8. the DC voltage test would be performed and upon completion the following message displayed DC voltage tests completed Met acceptable values TR amp RG 48 52 vDC and TG 0 vDC As the above tests are completed in addition to displaying the messages indicated above the fields 46 48 and 50 are populated in the appropriate rows with data corresponding to the actual test results The sequence of tests continues and after completion of the loop current test the following message is displayed Loop current test completed Met acceptable range TR 23 65 mA Since the voltage current and ground tests all indicated acceptable readings the two wire circuit loss test is per formed next Upon completion of the test with acceptable readings the following message is displayed Circuit loss test completed Met acceptable range TR lt 8 5 dBm The next test is the circuit noise test Upon satisfactory completion of this test the following message is displayed Circuit noise test completed Met acceptable range TR lt 20 dBrnC Then the power influence test would be performed and upon completion the following message displayed Power influence test completed Met acceptable range TR lt 90 dBrnC The next test to be performed is the longitudinal balance test Upon completion of that test the following message is displayed Longitudinal balance completed Met acceptable range TR gt 60 dBrnC US 6
9. 0kQ gt RC 3500 0kQ TROUBLE FOUND Short circuit Tip Ring appears to be the problem Acceptable values are TR TC amp RC gt 2800 kQ Distance to fault caiculations will be done next Fault Calculator Section 1 Ohms 100 00 Temperature 68 LoadCoilsX 0 AWGMixed N WireGaugeX 26 Ohms Feet 1176 00 Estimated distance to fault is 1176 feet ESC QUIT UP DOWN SELECT SCROLL PANUP PANDN PAGE U D LINE 02 03 11 32a Time Job Ticket 11 00A N2DB2345 Ground Test s gt TR 72dB Ground Test Complete Found Good Ground Met Acceptable range TR gt 70dBmc AC Voltage Test s gt TR 0 0v gt TG 0 0v gt RG 0 0v Found AC voltage acceptable Acceptable values are ESC QUIT UP DOWN SELECT SCROLL PANUP PANDN PAGE U D LINE Fig 9 U S Patent Aug 20 2002 Sheet 9 of 9 US 6 438 212 B1 Time Job Ticket 11 00A N2DB2345 10 40A N2DB2345 TR TG s RG less than 5vAC DC Voltage Test s gt TR 6v gt TG 0 0v gt RG 0 0v Found Little or no DC voltage ESC QUIT UP DOWN SELECT SCROLL PANUP PANDN PAGE U D LINE Fig 10 TIME JOB TICKET 10 40AM 268LD01 10 26AM 268LD01 Current Loop Test s gt TR 28 22 ma Loop current test completed Met acceptable range TR 23 65 2W Loss Test s gt Test Line 7 800 555 1212 gt TR 65 8dB Unable to get valid circuit loss reading Acceptable range is TR lt 8 5dB Make sure the test
10. 2 illustrates salient components of the user interface module 14 which preferably is arranged in accordance with a standard architecture for a microcomputer Included in the module 14 are a microprocessor 18 a working memory 20 associated with the microprocessor 18 a program memory 22 which stores a program for controlling operation of the microprocessor 18 a keyboard 24 by which a user provides input to the microprocessor 18 and a display 26 by which the microprocessor provides output to the user Also included in the module 14 are an interface 28 through which the microprocessor 18 exchanges signals with the test mod ule 12 and a communications interface 30 through which the microprocessor 18 can exchange data with a remote device such as a host computer Operation of the apparatus 10 to perform telephone line trouble shooting will now be discussed initially with refer ence to FIG 3 FIG 3 illustrates in flow chart form a program stored in the program memory 22 which causes the apparatus to carry out an adaptive diagnostic test sequence The diagnostic function illustrated in FIG 3 may be selected by the user from a main menu not shown displayed on the display 26 Selection of the process of FIG 3 from the menu is indicated at initial step 32 of FIG 3 In response to selection of the diagnostic function a screen display like that shown in FIG 4 is provided by the display 26 The screen display of FIG 4 includes a number of field
11. 44 as each test in the sequence is performed concluding with the word Stress as the stress test was being performed at the end of the transmission characteristic tests of FIG 58 In addition as results were obtained for each of the tests the fields 46 48 and 50 would be populated with corresponding test data obtained by carrying out the respective test In addition the progress through the sequence of tests is reflected by verbal messages provided in the message field 52 For example when the AC voltage test has been com pleted and the DC voltage is being carried out a message such as the following may be displayed in the message field 52 AC Voltage tests complete Met acceptable values TR TG amp RG 5 vAC In addition the following text may also be displayed DC voltage test now being performed Following is a sequence of messages displayed in the message field 52 as the sequence of tests proceeds through steps 54 and 58 and satisfactory results are found through out Initially after the ground test has been performed the message displayed is Ground test complete Found good ground Met accept able range TR 70 dBrnC Connect the ring lead red before continuing Then when the ring lead has been connected the appa ratus performs the AC voltage test and on completing the test the following message is displayed AC voltage tests complete Met acceptable values TR TG amp RG 5 vAC Then
12. TEST LINE ESC QUIT F2 VIEW TEST RESULTS U S Patent Aug 20 2002 Sheet 6 of 9 US 6 438 212 B1 Loop Diagnostic Assistant v1 2 0 Job ID Ticket Number i TEST 000003 9147394606 2WireLoss Noise Power Balance Stress 44 The Circuit ID from the switch matches the subscriber s phone number on the trouble service order ticket CID 7394606 TN 9147394606 ESC STOP TESTING 08 22 01 36p Fig SA U S Patent Aug 20 2002 Sheet 7 of 9 US 6 438 212 B1 Trouble found Found unacceptable stress reading Accepted range is 30 dBmc one sided fault unbalance exists Test script complete Choose what you want to do next ENTER START TESTING ESC QUIT F2 VIEW TEST RESULTS Loop Diagnostic Assistant v1 2 0 Job ID Ticket Number 268LD01 2079426298 Ohm Kickifeet Stress 44 68 Coils G Ft OHMS 100 00 Eort Sect 1 Messages Please enter the Temperature now Underground cable typically is 50 F Aerial cable is at outside temperature unless extremely hot above 90 F the add 10 F to outside temperature reading ESC END CALCULATOR Ohms FAULT CALCULATOR 02 03 11 14a Temp 68 Coils N Mixed Y N N AWG 26 AWG Ft OHMS 100 00 EstFt 1176 Sect Fig 7A U S Patent Aug 20 2002 Sheet8 of 9 US 6 438 212 B1 TIME JOB TICKET 10 40AM 268LD01 10 26AM 268LD01 Ohms test s gt TR 0 1kQ gt TC 3500
13. a United States Patent Lysaght et al US006438212B1 US 6 438 212 B1 Aug 20 2002 10 Patent No 45 Date of Patent 54 75 73 o Q1 Q2 G1 32 58 56 AUTOMATED TELEPHONE LINE TEST APPARATUS WITH INTELLIGENT DIAGNOSTIC FUNCTION Inventors Robert J Lysaght Glen Ridge NJ US Donald Finger Peekskill NY US Jeffrey Hahn Greenwich CT US Anthony M Kolodzinski Massapequa Park NY US Howard Citron South Salem NY US Yu Ling Wu Scarsdale NY US Assignee Verizon Services Corp Arlington VA US Notice Subject to any disclaimer the term of this patent is extended or adjusted under 35 U S C 154 b by 0 days Appl No 08 933 485 Filed Sep 18 1997 Tit Cli5 3 detegit H04M 3 08 US Cl ae beth 379 21 Field of Search 379 21 22 23 379 24 25 26 27 29 30 5 6 1 1 01 12 10 01 22 02 22 07 27 01 27 03 27 04 455 423 364 528 References Cited U S PATENT DOCUMENTS OTHER PUBLICATIONS CMC 7910DX DataStar 386 Generic Users Manual Com munications Mfg Co 1995 Dynatel 745 Subscriber Loop Tester Product Profile Min nesota Mining and Manufacturing Co 3M 1996 965 Subscriber Loop Analyzer Specifications 3M Specialized Products Company 1988 Fall Catalog pp 128 132 133 135 The Front A Hand Held Computer Telephony Sep 19 1988 pp 24 25 Test Equipment The Old amp The New Teleconnect 9 89
14. accordance with the principles of the present invention without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention US 6 438 212 B1 9 What is claimed is 1 An automated telephone line test apparatus compris ing test circuit means for applying test signals to a telephone line to be tested and for detecting electrical character istics of said telephone line to be tested processor connected to said test circuit means for controlling said test circuit means display means connected to said processor and program memory connected to said processor said processor being programmed to control said test circuit means such that said test circuit means performs a pre programmed sequence of a plurality of different tests with respect to said telephone line to be tested said pre programmed sequence of a plurality of different tests being per formed in accordance with a program stored in said program memory to control said display means such that said display means provides at the start of said performance of said pre programmed sequence of tests a display having a first field in which alphabetic information identifying each of said plurality of different tests is together listed and a second adjacent field in which the results of said tests are to be displayed and as testing proceeds to further control said display means to provide for each test in said first field adjacent the listing of the corresponding test and durin
15. agnostic function has been started the ground AC voltage DC voltage and loop current tests are performed as called for by block 54 in FIG 3 According to the present assumption all of those tests indicate proper functioning of the telephone line so that the apparatus proceeds to a sequence of trans mission characteristic tests represented by block 58 includ ing a two wire circuit loss test a circuit noise test a power influence test a longitudinal balance test and a stress test It is to be understood that each of these individual test procedures is a standard test which is well known to those of ordinary skill in the art and therefore need not be described in detail As the sequence of tests represented by blocks 54 and 58 is being performed the apparatus provides to the user indications of what the apparatus is doing at any given time For example the apparatus may display an indication mark such as gt in the test sequence field 44 to indicate that the apparatus is progressing through the 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45 50 55 60 65 6 sequence of tests Specifically when the AC voltage tests is being performed the gt may be positioned adjacent the words AC Volts in field 44 When that test is complete the indicator gt would be moved downward so as to be adjacent to the words DC Volts The indicator gt would be positioned adjacent the corresponding words in FIG
16. an is provided with step by step guidance as to actions needed to continue the test procedure and with recommendations for remedial actions The apparatus is programmed to provide consistent and effective trouble shooting procedures which make efficient use of the tech nician s time and minimize callbacks on trouble reports Also in accordance with conventional practice the por table line test apparatus may be connected by telephone line with a central administrative computer so that job assign ment data may be downloaded to the apparatus from the central computer In addition test result data and other reports on jobs performed can be uploaded to the central computer from the portable line test apparatus The uploaded data may include a list of the tests for which satisfactory and unsatisfactory results were founded as well as the actual test data where the results were unsatisfactory Also the data uploaded by the apparatus may include a confirmation that the line number provided by the central office during the procedure of FIGS 3B and 3C matched the number of the line specified in the work assignment If there was not a match the number of the line actually tested may be reported In all cases it is understood that the above described arrangements are merely illustrative of the many possible specific embodiments which represent applications of the present invention Numerous and varied other arrangements can be readily devised in
17. are so marked and entries in fields 46 48 and 50 indicative of readings outside of the acceptable range are highlighted In this example the highlighted out of range data are the entries in field 46 tip ring corresponding to the DC volts and Ohms tests and the entry in field 50 ring ground corresponding to the DC volts test If a hard fault is found an additional field 70 collects the data required to calculate the distance to the fault A message in field 52 prompts the user to enter the required data The coils entry is for indicating whether load coils are present on the cable A pop up list not shown prompts the user to enter the number of load coils Entries for the wire gauge are also provided Based on the entered data an estimated distance to the fault is calculated and displayed as shown in FIG 7A The user also has the option to change some of the parameters and have the distance calculation repeated When the test sequence is complete the user is permitted to direct the apparatus to retest the line Alternatively the user may view the test results obtained or may exit from the automated diagnostic function FIG 8 shows an example of a screen display provided when the user elects to view test results In this case it is assumed that a hard fault tip ring short has been found and the estimated distance to fault calculated FIGS 9 10 and 11 are other examples of screen displays provided in response to the sel
18. ection of the view test results function FIG 9 illustrates an initial screen display of previously determined test results in which acceptable results are shown The screen display of FIG 10 may be reached by scrolling down from the display of FIG 9 In the example shown in FIG 10 a lack of DC voltage is indicated FIG 11 is another example of a screen viewable through the view test results option In this case the two wire circuit loss test resulted in an unacceptable reading Another notable feature of the present invention resides in instructions provided by the apparatus to the user to engage in additional tests in certain circumstances For example if the ground test carried out by the appa ratus fails to find good ground the apparatus displays the 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45 50 55 60 65 8 message Check for breaks in ground conduit Also if the stress test carried out by the apparatus provides a marginal reading the apparatus displays the message One sided fault imbalance may be forming Check a good pair to see if stress reading is typical for this area marginal outside plant As another example if the kick test performed as part of block 66 FIG 3 indicates a two sided open condition the user is instructed Check a good pair to verify kick values indicate an open condition The stress test will be done next to test for electrical balance It has b
19. een noted above that during the course of the test sequence carried out by the apparatus the apparatus instructs the user to change the configuration of the connec tion between the test leads and the line being tested For example after detection of adequate ground the user is instructed to connect the ring lead to the ring side of the line However according to another embodiment of the invention the user may be instructed to connect all three test leads respectively to tip ring and ground at the beginning of the test sequence This embodiment is further provided with suitable relays or other switches in the test module that are controlled to effectively control connection or disconnection of the lead within the test module It should also be noted that in a preferred embodiment of the invention the apparatus displays a reminder to the user that when a new line is to be tested the test leads must be disconnected from the previous line and connected to the new line The portable telephone line testing apparatus disclosed herein provides significant advantages in terms of aiding telephone technicians in the performance of line trouble shooting operations The apparatus provides automated selection and sequencing of test procedures and diagnosis of trouble on the basis of test results The apparatus also keeps the technician informed as the test sequence proceeds test results are obtained and diagnostic conclusions reached The technici
20. ets 14 R xy 30 I F to Test 22 Module i Communications 18 Program Interface Memory c pese Micro Processor i i 2 F Workin Display os 9 Memory Keyboard 24 26 US 6 438 212 B1 Page 2 U S PATENT DOCUMENTS 5 208 846 A 5 1993 Hammond et al 379 15 5 241 277 A 8 1993 Kefalas 324 538 4 670 898 A 6 1987 Pierce et al 379 22 5 353 326 A 10 1994 Jung oe 379 6 prin ved ee n m p 5 410 585 A 4 1995 Kawaharata 379 6 707 urston etal sene 5 416 825 A 5 1995 Renger et al 379 29 4 788 708 A 11 1988 Hendrix 379 6 5 432 705 A 7 1995 Severt et al 364 481 4 825 392 A 4 1989 Freeman 364 550 CNN 5 440 610 A 8 1995 Schillaci et al 379 24 4 837 811 A 6 1989 Butler et al 379 96 5 442 679 A 8 1995 Regis et al 379 34 4 843 620 A 6 1989 Hagedorn 379 21 S 5 511 108 A 4 1996 Severt et al 379 21 4 920 555 A 4 1990 Ingalsbe 379 21 5 528 661 A 6 1996 Siuetal s 379 27 4 922 516 A 5 1990 Butler et al w 379 21 5 619 480 A 4 1997 Chang etal 379 21 4 949 200 A 8 1990 Pike et al 364 580 B dr 5 629 628 A 5 1997 Hinds et al we 379 6 5 025 466 A 6 1991 Hilligoss et al 379 1 B 5 754 624 A 5 1998 Sullivan et al 379 21 5 081 670 A 1 1992 Reum 379 28 5 799 060 A 8 1998 Kennedy et al
21. g performed is one or more of a voltage test and a loop current test on said line to be tested and if said test being performed indicates a functioning line said branch of sub sequent tests has a two wire circuit loss test and a circuit noise test and one or more of a power influence test a longitudinal balance test and stress test on said line to be tested and if said test being performed indicates a non functioning line said branch of subsequent tests has an ohms test on said line to be tested to determine a fault on the line to be tested and if a fault is not determined on the line to be tested said branch of subsequent tests has one or more of a capacitive kick test and a stress test on the line to be tested 7 An apparatus in accordance with claim 4 wherein said test being performed is an ohms test on the line to be tested to determine a fault on the line to be tested and if said test being performed indicates a fault has not been detected on the line to be tested said branch of subsequent tests has one or more of a capacitive kick test and a stress test on the line to be tested 8 An automated telephone line test apparatus compris ing test circuit means for applying test signals to a telephone line to be tested and for detecting electrical character istics of said telephone line to be tested a processor connected to said test circuit means for controlling said test circuit means display means connected to said proce
22. g the performance of the test a display of an indication that the test is being performed and in said second field a display of the numeric readings of the results of the test 2 An apparatus according to claim 1 in which said plurality of different tests which are listed in said first field include at least an AC voltage test a DC voltage test a loop current test a ground test and a two wire current loss test 3 An apparatus according to claim 2 in which said plurality of different tests which are listed in said first field further includes a circuit noise test a power influence test a longitudinal balance test and a stress test 4 An automated telephone line test apparatus compris ing test circuit means for applying test signals to a telephone line to be tested and to a cable containing the telephone line to be tested and for detecting electrical character istics of said telephone line to be tested and said cable said test circuit means having capabilities for perform ing a plurality of tests that are different from each other processor connected to said test circuit means for controlling said test circuit means and for receiving test results from said test circuit means program memory connected to said processor and program stored in said program memory said program for controlling said processor to cause said test circuit means to selectively perform said plurality of tests and said program being adapted t
23. hich tests are performed to detect hard shorts or grounds In a preferred embodiment these tests include detecting resistance levels among tip ring and ground connections Block 62 of FIG 3 indicates that the procedure branches according to whether a hard short or ground is detected with respect to the tip and ring connections If so the location of the fault is determined block 64 Otherwise tests are performed to gather more information about a soft fault or open circuit condition block 66 Preferably these tests include a capacitive kick test and a stress test In all cases as indicated by block 68 results of the various tests are indicated on the display 26 Referring again to block 36 a finding of bad ground at that point leads the apparatus 10 to give the user the opportunity to reattach the ground lead to the telephone cable and to retest for adequate ground block 38 If the user elects to do so the procedure loops back to blocks 34 and 36 Otherwise the procedure branches to a curtailed test sequence FIG 3A in which the apparatus only performs tests that can provide meaningful results in the absence of satisfactory grounding In this case as indicated by block 154 of FIG 3A the same voltage and current tests are performed as were mentioned above in connection with block 54 Then the procedure branches block 156 accord ing to whether basic line function is found If so block 158 follows in which the two wire l
24. hone number dialing number of the telephone line on which the request was received block 106 The central office couples the DTMF signals to the requesting telephone line for transmission to the test apparatus block 108 US 6 438 212 B1 5 Referring again to FIG 3B the apparatus receives the DTMF signals transmitted from the central office block 110 and decodes the DTMF signals to produce data which indicates the telephone number corresponding to the tele phone line under test There follows block 112 at which the apparatus retrieves from memory 20 FIG 3 data which identifies the telephone number of the telephone line which is the intended subject of the work assignment e g the telephone line on which trouble was reported It will be understood that the work assignment data including the number of the line to be tested had previously been stored before commencing the test procedure The apparatus then compares the telephone number data retrieved from memory with the telephone number data obtained by decoding the DTMF signals from the central office to confirm that the line actually tested was the one intended to be tested according to the work assignment This machine to machine work assignment confirmation procedure represents an advance over prior art practice in which the test technician dialed up the central office tele phone line i d facility and then listened to an audible verbal response generated via speech
25. line is one which generates a 1004 Hz tone ESC QUIT UP DOWN SELECT SCROLL PANUP PANDNZPAGE U D LINE 02 03 11 32a Fig 11 US 6 438 212 B1 1 AUTOMATED TELEPHONE LINE TEST APPARATUS WITH INTELLIGENT DIAGNOSTIC FUNCTION FIELD OF THE INVENTION This invention relates to portable apparatus for use in testing telephone lines from subscriber locations BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION It is known to provide portable equipment to be used by telephone company technicians in trouble shooting tele phone lines on which trouble is reported It is also known to use microcomputer technology including a keypad responsive processor and a processor controlled display to aid the technician in using line test equipment and as an interface for outputting information from the line test equip ment An example of portable line test equipment which employs microcomputer technology for input and output is the CMC 7910DX DataStar 386 terminal and test module hereinafter DataStar 386 sold by Communications Manufacturing Co Los Angeles California The Generic User s Manual for the DataStar 386 published by Com munications Manufacturing Co is incorporated herein by reference It is an object of the invention to provide a portable telephone line test device that is easier to use than prior art devices It is a further object of the invention to provide a tele phone line test device which automatically carries
26. o be tested and for detecting electrical characteristics of the telephone line the test circuitry including a plurality of test leads for being selectively connected to the telephone line a processor connected to the test circuitry for control ling the test circuitry a display connected to the processor and a program memory connected to the processor the processor being programmed to control the display to dis play a message instructing a user of the apparatus to change a connection between the test lead and the telephone line to be tested The test apparatus provided in accordance with the inven tion carries out a complete and standardized trouble shooting operation without relying on a high level of knowl edge on the part of the test technician An effective and consistent diagnostic procedure is programmed into the apparatus The test sequence is adapted according to the test results and the likely source of trouble indicated by the test results The technician is guided step by step through the test procedure and is provided with information that helps the technician to understand the process carried out by the apparatus and the meaning of the test results The technician receives comprehensive indications of the test results and recommendations for corrective action BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS The above and other features advantages and aspects of the present invention will become more apparent upon US 6 438 212 B1 3
27. o cause for each of one or more of said plurality of tests being performed on the basis of a result of the test being performed said processor to only branch from the test being performed to subsequent tests of said plurality of tests which will provide meaningful test results said test circuit means branching to said subsequent tests responsive to said processor 5 An apparatus according to claim 4 wherein said test being performed is a ground test on said cable and when said test indicates a good ground said branch of subsequent 10 tests has one or more of a voltage test and a loop current test on said line to be tested to determine if said line to be tested is functioning and if said line to be tested is determined to be functioning said branch of subsequent tests further has a 5 two wire circuit loss test and a circuit noise test circuit and one or more of a power influence test a longitudinal balance test and stress test on said line to be tested and when said ground test indicates a failure to find a good ground said branch of subsequent tests has one or more of a voltage test and a loop current test on said line to be tested to determine if said line to be tested is functioning and if said line to be tested is determined to be functioning said branch of subsequent tests further has a two wire circuit loss test and a circuit noise test on said line to be tested 6 An apparatus according to claim 4 wherein said test bein
28. one line
29. oss and circuit noise tests are performed Power influence balance and stress tests are omitted since valid results cannot be obtained without good ground If at block 156 basic line function was not found a test for a tip ring short circuit is performed block 160 After either of blocks 156 and 158 the test results are reported to the user block 68 FIG 3 Referring once more to FIG 3 after the sequence of tests represented by block 58 are performed the apparatus carries out a procedure to confirm by machine to machine contact that the telephone line that has just been tested matches the line indicated by the job assignment This line confirmation process is represented by block 69 in FIG 3 and will now be described with reference to FIGS 3B and 3C Referring initially to FIG 3B the test apparatus requests identification of the telephone line under test by dialing up a line identification facility provided in the central office block 102 That is the test apparatus couples onto the telephone line under test pre determined dialing signals which correspond to the telephone number dialing no of the central office line i d facility These dialing signals are received at the central office which treats the dialing signals as a request to identify the telephone line on which the dialing signals are received block 104 FIG 3C The central office then generates DTMF dual tone multi frequency signals which represent the telep
30. phone line said second test being a test with respect to a wire pair other than a wire pair corresponding to said tele phone line to be tested 10 An automated telephone line test apparatus compris ing test circuit means for applying test signals to a telephone line to be tested and for detecting electrical character istics of said telephone line to be tested processor connected to said test circuit means for controlling said test circuit means display means connected to said processor and a program memory connected to said processor said processor being programmed to control said test circuit means so that said test circuit means performs a test with respect to said telephone line to be tested to receive data from said test circuit means indicative of a result of said test and according to said result of said test to control said display means to display a string of alphabetic char acters which informs a user of the apparatus of said result of said test said string of alphabetic characters including a verbal message stating to the user that the test result is one of within a range of acceptable values and not within a range of acceptable values 11 A method of testing a telephone line utilizing a portable test device said test device including a test module connected to said telephone line a microprocessor for controlling the test module and a memory storing a program for controlling the microprocessor the method compri
31. rformed According to another aspect of the invention there is provided an automated telephone line test apparatus includ ing test circuitry for applying test signals to a telephone line to be tested and for detecting electrical characteristics of the telephone line the test circuitry having capabilities of per forming a plurality of tests that are different from each other a processor connected to the test circuitry for controlling the 10 15 20 25 30 40 45 50 55 60 65 2 test circuitry and for receiving test results from the test circuitry a program memory connected to the processor and a program stored in the program memory the program causing the processor to cause the test circuitry to perform a first one of the plurality of tests and the program also causing the processor to select a second test from the plurality of tests on the basis of a result of a first one of a plurality of tests According to a further aspect of the invention there is provided an automated telephone line test apparatus which includes test circuitry for applying test signals to a telephone line to be tested and for detecting electrical characteristics of the telephone line a processor connected to the test circuitry for controlling the test circuitry a display connected to the processor and a program memory connected to the processor the processor being programmed to control the test circuitry so that the test circuitry pe
32. rforms a test with respect to the telephone line the processor further being programmed to receive data from the test circuitry indicative of a result of the test and according to the result of the test to control the display to display a message instructing a user of the apparatus to perform a second test with respect to a cable which includes the telephone line to be tested According to still another aspect of the invention there is provided an automated telephone line test apparatus which includes test circuitry for applying test signals to a telephone line to be tested and for detecting electrical characteristics of the telephone line to be tested a processor connected to the test circuitry for controlling the test circuitry a display connected to the processor and a program memory con nected to the processor the processor being programmed to control the test circuitry so that the test circuitry performs a test with respect to the telephone line to be tested the processor further being programmed to receive data from the test circuitry indicative of a result of the test and according to the result of the test to control the display means to display a string of alphabetic characters which informs a user of the apparatus of the result of the test According to still a further aspect of the invention there is provided an automated telephone line test apparatus which includes test circuitry for applying test signals to a telephone line t
33. s including job ID fields indicated at 42 a field 44 which lists specific tests that may be carried out by the apparatus and test result data fields 46 48 and 50 Included at a bottom part of the display of FIG 4 is a message field 52 Upon initialization of the diagnostic function the message in the message field 52 instructs the user to connect some of the test leads 16 to appropriate sides of the telephone line to be tested The user can then initiate the diagnostic procedure At the beginning of the diagnostic procedure as indicated at block 34 in FIG 3 the test apparatus performs a test to determine whether the cable which contains the telephone 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45 50 55 60 65 4 line to be tested is satisfactorily grounded Block 36 in FIG 3 indicates that the test procedure branches depending on whether satisfactory grounding is found If so the apparatus proceeds to perform basic tests to determine whether basic functions are available in the telephone line to be tested block 54 Specifically standard tests are performed for AC and DC voltage and loop current On the basis of these tests it is determined whether basic line function is present on the telephone line being tested block 56 If so a sequence of transmission characteristic tests are performed block 58 If at block 56 basic line function was not found then the procedure of FIG 3 advances from block 56 to block 60 at w
34. sing the steps of 10 15 20 25 30 12 operating the test module to carry out a sequence of tests with respect to said telephone line in response to said stored program said sequence of tests automatically branching on the basis of respective results of said tests displaying a message instructing a user of the testing device to perform a test with respect to a cable which contains said telephone line to which said test module is connected and performing said test with respect to the cable 12 A method of testing a telephone line utilizing a portable test device said test device including a test module connected to said telephone line a microprocessor for controlling the test module and a memory storing a program for controlling the microprocessor the method comprising the steps of operating the test module to carry out a sequence of tests with respect to said telephone line in response to said stored program said sequence of tests automatically branching on the basis of respective results of said tests and displaying a message instructing a user of the testing device to perform a test with respect to a cable which contains said telephone line to which said test module is connected performing said test with respect to said cable and prior to said performing step connecting said test module to a wire pair contained in said cable said wire pair being different from a wire pair corresponding to said teleph
35. ssor and a program memory connected to said processor said processor being programmed to control said test circuit means so that said test circuit means performs a test with respect to said telephone line to be tested to receive data from said test circuit means indicative of a result of said test and according to said result of said test to control said display means to display a message instructing a user of the apparatus to perform a second test with respect to a cable which includes said telephone line to be tested 9 An automated telephone line test apparatus compris ing test circuit means for applying test signals to a telephone line to be tested and for detecting electrical character istics of said telephone line to be tested a processor connected to said test circuit means for controlling said test circuit means display means connected to said processor and program memory connected to said processor said processor being programmed to control said test circuit means such that said test circuit means performs a test with respect to said telephone line to be tested 10 15 30 45 60 65 US 6 438 212 B1 11 to receive data from said test circuit means indicative of a result of said test and according to said result of said test to control said display means to display a message instructing a user of the apparatus to perform a second test with respect to a cable which includes said tele
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