Maintenance system for a telecommunication installation
Contents
1. United States 0500 43046 a2 Reissued Patent 10 Patent Number US RE43 046 E Bourgart 45 Date of Reissued Patent Dec 27 2011 54 MAINTENANCE SYSTEM FORA 58 Field of Classification Search 455 67 11 TELECOMMUNICATION INSTALLATION 75 Inventor Fabrice Bourgart Perros Guirec FR 73 Assignee Gula Consulting Limited Liability Company Dover DE US 21 Appl No 12 393 895 22 PCT Filed Jun 13 2001 86 PCT No PCT FR01 01841 371 c 1 2 4 Date Jul 21 2003 87 PCT Pub No WO01 99395 PCT Pub Date Dec 27 2001 Related U S Patent Documents Reissue of 64 Patent No 7 184 711 Issued Feb 27 2007 Appl No 10 276 422 Filed Jul 21 2003 U S Applications 63 Continuation of application No 1 01841 filed on Jun 13 2001 30 Foreign Application Priority Data Jun 23 2000 FR 00 08199 51 Int CI 4 00 2009 01 92 US Cl n ee 455 67 11 455 423 709 222 709 224 702 185 702 57 702 58 702 59 379 21 375 224 SFT 455 423 375 224 702 185 57 58 59 709 222 224 See application file for complete search history 56 References Cited U S PATENT DOCUMENTS 4 972 453 11 1990 Daniel et al Continued FOREIGN PATENT DOCUMENTS DE 19537087 A 4 1997 Continued OTHER PUBLICATIONS International Search Report for PCT FRO1 01841 mailed Aug 22 2001 Co2. OPERATOR REPORTED FAULT S IS WITHDRAWAL ARE RESOLVED STORE SESSION IN SE END STORE MAINTENANCE SESSION IN US FIG 3 AMENDED U S Patent Dec 27 2011 Sheet 4 of 4 US RE43 046 START UNPACKING 1 CO2 CO3 SESSION IN DAS EXECUTE SELECTED C4 pug Ses od ENTER AD ID INTO TE BY LE OR CL CALL SFT VIA MC TRANSMIT ID TO SFT START CONFIGURATION SESSION ASA FUNCTION OF ID IN SFT YES TRANSMIT INSTRUCTIONS TO DAS EXECUTE INSTRUCTIONS IN TE RG C5 CHECK NORMAL OPERATION OF TE UPDATE RG STORE CONFIGURATION C8 SESSION IN DAS ID IS INCORRECT OR NOT IN SFT C6 END FIG 4 AMENDED US RE43 046 E 1 MAINTENANCE SYSTEM FOR A TELECOMMUNICATION INSTALLATION Matter enclosed in heavy brackets appears in the original patent but forms no part of this reissue specifica tion matter printed in italics indicates the additions made by reissue REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION This application is a continuation ofthe PCT International Application No PCT FR01 01841 filed Jun 13 2001 which is based on the French Application No 00 08199 filed Jun 23 2000 BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1 Field of the Invention The present invention relates generally to the operation and maintenance of a private telecommunication installation including in particular equipment units such as terminals The telecommunication installation is a modern installa tion which obviously
3. instructions to be displayed by the client device 24 The client device of claim 20 wherein the communica tion 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 communica tion 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 ofthe client device 27 The client device of claim 26 wherein the manufacturer server is configured to provide instructions to be displayed by 5 10 20 25 30 35 40 45 50 12 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 installa tion 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 32 The maintenance server of claim
4. 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 informa tion on at least one fault 41 The method of claim 23 further comprising authenti cating the client device to communicate with the maintenance server UNITED STATES PATENT AND TRADEMARK OFFICE CERTIFICATE OF CORRECTION PATENT NO RE43 046 E Page 1 of 1 APPLICATION NO 12 393895 DATED December 27 2011 INVENTOR S Bourgart It is certified that error appears in the above identified patent and that said Letters Patent is hereby corrected as shown below In Column 9 Lines 46 47 in Claim 9 delete entering information and insert entering information therefor Signed and Sealed this Twenty eighth Day of August 2012 f David J Kappos Director of the United States Patent and Trademark Office
5. an interac tiveremote troubleshooting procedure by means ofthe server SM from a home page on the display AF ofthe device DAS in a preliminary step E02 the client goes to the location of the control center RG or the gateway PA to enter the address ADM of the maintenance server SM and the identifier IDM defining the type and the characteristics of the installation US RE43 046 E 7 via the reader LE or where applicable enters these two parameters via the keyboard CL in step E1 The control unit UC activates the communication module MC or the gateway PA to call the server SM automatically using the address ADM entered in step E2 After the call between the device DAS and the server SM is set up the server SM authenticates the device DAS in step E3 Otherwise the server SM breaks off the call with the device DAS in step E4 In subsequent pairs of steps E5 and E6 the server SM prompts the user to enter responses via the keyboard CL or to read off responses using the reader LE to respective questions shown on the display AF in a running manner that depends on the identifier IDM that has been entered The responses are produced by means of the keyboard CL and preferably by means of bar codes read by the reader LE from the equipment units of the installation and the user manual MA The expert system SE in the server SM looks for an inter active maintenance session substantially corresponding to the faults and problems indicated in the
6. as a terminal In parallel with this the database in the control center RG updates the information collected con cerning the installation ITC and the terminals TE and pref erably local applications The ergonomics of applications in the installation are improved by incorporating a browser into the assistance device DAS which offers the user a graphical interface via the keyboard CL and the display AF The ergonomics of the browser are preferably also presented by the control center RG which is coupled to the device DAS via the gateway PA whilst allowing limited roaming of the assistance device DAS so that it can obtain the addresses ADM and AD and the identifiers IDM and ID affixed in the form of bar codes on the control center RG and or the gateway PA and equipment units such as the terminals TE Thus the assistance device DAS 0 40 45 65 6 preferably takes the form of a portable electronic device which is compact self contained and small avoid excessively frequent calls to the servers SM and SFT the assistance device DAS preferably comprises a stor ageunit US for example a non volatile memory EEPROM or a static memory RAM for storing more frequently encoun tered terminal configuration sessions and maintenance ses sions Thus the storage unit US is the equivalent of a hidden server near the installation ITC for storing the questions instructions Tresponses of session thereby avoiding time wait
7. be combined with the pre ceding ones the control unit UC ofthe device DAS is remov ably connected to the gateway PA to communicate with the servers SM and SFT via the networks RT connected to the network line LR of the installation For example in this latter variant if the installation ITC operates in the mode ATM the gateway PA reserves a virtual channel for the device DAS on the virtual path constituted by the network line LR in the same way as for a terminal TE of the installation a virtual channel identifier is allocated to the assistance device DAS by the gateway PA and thus as a general rule constitutes a telecommunication address IDAS ofthe assistance device DAS forcalls thereby via the network line LR Accordingly because the identifier and the telecommuni cation address are read automatically by the reader LE the control unit UC in the assistance device DAS automatically calls the maintenance server SM using the address ADM that has been read in order to participate in a maintenance proce dure whose instructions appear on the display AF or auto matically calls the server SFT of the manufacturer of a termi nal using the address AD that has been read in order to participate in a configuration procedure whose instructions appear on the display AF Thus the displayed instructions guide the client step by step through troubleshooting the installation or configuring an equipment unit TE of the instal lation such
8. provide information on the at least one fault in the telecommunication installation after being brought to the telecommuni cations installation 22 A method comprising bringing a remote assistance device to a particular tele communication installation the remote access device being locatable at different telecommunication installa tions 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 23 A method comprising causing a client device to be brought to a telecommunica tion 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 telecommunica tion 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
9. responses transmitted the device DAS to questions put by the server SM at the start of a maintenance procedure Each server SFT is used to install a terminal TE or any other equipment unit from a determined manufacturer in the installation ITC by guiding the client step by step by means of the device DAS as will emerge hereinafter The server SFT can also provide the client with drivers for the installed equipment units and troubleshooting instruction manuals specific to these equipment units The maintenance system according to the invention can further include other service servers for assisting the client with software applications to be installed in the terminals The communication module MC connects the control unit UC of the assistance device DAS to the servers SM and SFT via telecommunication networks RES as a function of the type of communication module For example as shown in dashed line in FIG 1 the communication module MC com municates via a GSM radio telephone link with the servers SM and SFT and the assistance device DAS then has all the functions of a mobile radio telephone terminal In another variant the device DAS is equipped with a modem constitut ing the telecommunication module MC for providing a data link with the servers SM and SFT via the switched telephone network and where applicable via a high bit rate network such as the Internet designated by the networks RES in FIG 1 In a further variant which can
10. responses transmitted by the device DAS in step E7 If a maintenance session is found the server SM transmits first instructions to the device DAS in step E8 The instructions are shown on the display AF in the device DAS in step E9 The client executes the instructions in the installation validates them and where applicable trans mits further information to the server SM as a function of the results ofthe instructions executed The results are forwarded to the expert system SE in order for it to transmit other instructions to the device DAS if necessary to guide the client step by step through remedying the reported fault or faults in the installation or in a determined equipment unit thereof If at the end of the maintenance session in step E10 the reported fault or faults have disappeared the client is prompted to save the preceding maintenance session in the storage unit US or instead in the control center RG in step E11 Session saved in the device DAS in this way can subse quently be selected inside the installation for a fault analo gous to the previous fault without communicating with the server SM as indicated in a step E03 following on from the preliminary step E02 in FIG 3 If in step E7 the expert system SE cannot find a mainte nance session matching the responses relating to the charac teristics and to at least one fault of the installation or if the reported fault or faults have not disappeared in step E10 the serv
11. server SFT into the control center RG of the installation ITC via the networks RT and the gateway PA At the end of the session the server SFT guides the client through various tests for checking that the installed terminal TE is operating cor rectly in step C6 Ifthe result of any test is unsatisfactory the server SFT returns to the configuration session opening step in step C3 to transmit again instructions corresponding to the incorrect result of one of the tests If the terminal TE operates satisfactorily after the tests of step C6 the device DAS triggers updating of the database holding the details of the equipment units of the installation in the control center RG and in particular introduces into the database all the characteristics concerning the operation and location of the terminal TE in step C7 Finally in step C8 the client triggers saving of the con figuration session for the new terminal TE in the storage unit US of the assistance device DAS or instead in the control center RG in order to select subsequently said session in correspondence with the address AD and a portion of the identifier ID for another terminal to be configured that is similar to the preceding terminal as indicated by a step C03 following on from the preliminary step C02 in FIG 4 I claim 1 A maintenance system for maintaining a telecommuni cation installation using a maintenance server said installa tion comprising equipment units an instal
12. 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 tele phone terminal to enable the assistance device to communi cate 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 maintenance system according to claim 1 wherein said assistance device is arranged for automatically entering an equipment unit identifier and a manufacturer telecommu nication address on at least one of said equipment units to enable the assistance device to call a server of the manufac turer 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 configur ing said equipment unit as a function ofthe entered identifier of said equipment unit 7 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 installa tion using a maintenance server s
13. 21 further compris ing 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 com munication channel 36 The method of claim 22 further comprising reading using a barcode reader a barcoded ID of equip ment 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 auto matically 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 VCD as a telecommunication address 40
14. 60 65 8 gateway PA the control unit UC in the assistance device DAS automatically triggers a call to the server SFT of the manu facturer of the terminal TE using the telecommunication address AD that has been entered in step C2 After setting up a call between the device DAS and the server SFT an interactive configuration session involving the device DAS and the server SFT is opened by the server SFT as a function of the identifier ID that has been entered in step C3 If the identifier ID is incorrect or if there is no configu ration session that corresponds to the identifier ID the server SFT prompts the client to enter the identifier ID again in step C4 and returns to step C1 unless the client decides to abbre viate the procedure for installing the terminal Opening the configuration session in step C3 leads to the transmission of instructions from the server SFT to the device DAS where they are shown on the display AF and conversely transmissions of information or results from the device DAS to the server SFT in response to the instructions executed or to questions put by the server SFT in step C5 During the con figuration session the client installs the terminal TE in the installation ITC for example using a standard session or a session that has been personalized by selecting configuration options terminal user profiles drivers to be installed in the terminal etc In particular drivers can be downloaded from the
15. P 11353332 WO 0199395 AI 6 1998 12 1999 12 2001 OTHER PUBLICATIONS English Translation of International Preliminary Examination Report for PCT FRO1 01841 completed May 8 2002 Office Action for U S Appl No 10 276 422 mailed Mar 13 2006 Notice of Allowance for U S Appl No 10 276 422 mailed Oct 13 2006 Supplemental Notice of Allowability for U S Appl No 10 276 422 mailed Jan 18 2007 Office Action for Japanese App 2002 504117 mailed Aug 24 2010 U S Patent Dec 27 2011 Sheet 1 of 4 US RE43 046 eriam g NETWORK ITC FIG 1 AMENDED U S Patent Dec 27 2011 Sheet 2 of 4 US RE43 046 PA DAS DISPLAY QUESTIONS RESPONSES INSTRUCTIONS RES BARCODE READER COMMUNICATION CONTROL UNIT MODULE IDAS KEYBOARD STORAGE UNIT FIG 2 AMENDED U S Patent Dec 27 2011 Sheet 3 of 4 US RE43 046 EO1 FAULT S REPORTED BY RG 4 OR TE 2 YES SELECT MAINTENANCE SESSION IN US EO3 NO ENTER ADM IDM INTO RG session AUTHENTICATE DAS BY SM NO DISCONNECT THE CALL QUESTION FROM SM TO DAS RESPONSE FROM DAS TO SM IN SE OF SM RESPONSES MAINTENANCE SESSION TRANSMIT MESSAGE YES OF OPERATOR F8 MAINTENANCE SESSION EU 1e FOUND TRANSMIT INSTRUCTIONS TO DAS INTERVENTION BY E9 INSTRUCTIONS ON AF THE OPERATOR IN IAL EXECUTE INSTRUCTIONS CONSULTING OF ENTER AND TRANSMIT RESPONSES RESULTS E10
16. aid 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 ofa portable assistance device that can be located in different installations and comprising causing the portable assistance device to be brought to the installation then enter ing 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 informa tion 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 informa tion and causing the maintenance server to execute a main tenance session that has been found by displaying on said assistance device instructions transmitted by said mainte nance server and by executing said instructions in said instal lation 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 arrange ment or communication arrangement by using a bar code reader 11 A method according to claim 9 further comprising a
17. ation as defined hereinabove for implementing the maintenance system according to the invention The maintenance method is characterized in that it comprises the following steps providing a portable assistance device and a maintenance server such as defined above calling the maintenance server from the assistance device transmitting the information on the type of the installation and on at least one fault in the installation from the assistance device to the maintenance server searching for a maintenance session in the maintenance server as a function of the transmitted information and executing a maintenance session that has been found by displaying on the assistance device instructions trans mitted by the maintenance server and by executing the instructions in the installation The invention also concerns a method of configuring an equipment unit in a telecommunication installation such as defined above for implementing the maintenance system according to the invention The configurating method is char acterized in that it comprises the following steps providing a portable assistance device such as defined above anda server ofthe manufacturer ofthe equipment unit calling the manufacturer server from the assistance device and transmitting to it an identifier ofthe equipment unit opening a configuration session in the manufacturer server as a function of the transmitted identifier and executing the configuration session by
18. 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 infor mation 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 mov able between different telecommunication installations and is configured to connect to the maintenance server after being brought to a particular telecommunications installation US RE43 046 E 11 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
19. displaying instruc tions transmitted by the manufacturer server on the US RE43 046 E 3 assistance device and by executing the instructions in particular in the equipment unit BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS Other features and advantages ofthe present invention will become more clearly apparent on reading the following description of several preferred embodiments of the inven tion with reference to the corresponding accompanying drawings in which FIG 1 is a schematic block diagram of a maintenance system in accordance with the invention for a telecommuni cation installation FIG 2 is a schematic block diagram of an assistance device for use in operation and maintenance of the installation FIG 3 is an algorithm for troubleshooting the telecommu nication installation and FIG 4 is an algorithm for configuring a terminal in the telecommunication installation DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Referring to FIG 1 a private terminal telecommunication installation ITC on the premises of a client user essentially comprises a private network with several terminals TE dis tributed around the premises of the client such as between rooms of the home of the client a private gateway PA con stituting a communication node in the installation between terminal lines LT servicing the terminals TE and a network line LR connected to external telecommunication networks RT and a control center RG for managing the installa
20. e display AF as a function of the responses of the client user thereby guiding the client user step by step The control unit UC can convert the instructions into commands transmitted to the control center RG To be more precise and as will emerge hereinafter prior to an interactive maintenance session the assistance device DAS and the maintenance server SM exchange questions sent by the server to the device and responses transmitted by the client by means of the keyboard CL and or by entering bar codes from the manual MA using the reader LE to derive information on the type of installation and on at least one fault in the installation the server SM then searches the expert system SE for a maintenance session substantially corre sponding to the responses received and transmits instructions and where applicable questions to the device DAS for display on the display AF for the client to remedy the fault as and when each instruction shown on the display 1s executed in the installation and the executed instruction is enabled The ques tions responses and instructions are presented in the form of menus and scrolling windows ofa few lines on the display AF Referring to FIG 3 troubleshooting ofthe installation ITC comprises the following steps E1 to E14 following an internal malfunction or a fault detected in an initial step E01 by the control center RG or by an equipment unit such as a terminal TE After starting up the device DAS and selecting
21. er opening a con figuration 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 equip ment unit executes said instructions 16 A method according to claim 14 further comprising before any of said aforementioned steps entering said iden tifier 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 con figuration 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 per formed 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
22. er SM transmits a message to the assistance device DAS in step E12 to prompt the client to make an appointment with an operator of the service provider managing the installation On subsequent intervention by the operator in step E13 the operator has the responses transmitted to the server SM and preferably stored in memory inthe storage unit US during the preceding steps E6 and E9 to establish a more efficient troubleshooting diagnosis Following the troubleshooting in step E14 on returning to the site of the server SM the opera tor can enhance the expert system SE by integrating where applicable a maintenance session corresponding to the troubleshooting that he has effected for the installation ITC Installing a new equipment unit such as a new terminal TE in the client terminal installation ITC essentially comprises steps C1to C8 ofthealgorithm shown in FIG 4 after unpack ing the new terminal TE in an initial step C01 and selecting an interactive remote configuration procedure from a home page in a preliminary step C02 The telecommunication address AD of the manufacturer of the terminal TE and the identifier ID of the characteristics of the terminal TE are entered by means of the reader LE or the client enters the parameters AD and ID via the keyboard CL if the terminal does not yet have any bar codes in the first step C1 Then via the communication module MC or via the 0 an 5 20 30 40 45 50
23. formation on the architecture of the installation ITC and its equipment units such as replicators routers couplers adapters and terminals Each new equipment unit to be intro duced into the installation ITC is preferably configured semi automatically from the control center RG The control center RG inventories the status of the current configurations of the equipment units and where applicable hosts applications in a centralized manner For example libraries of software are updated in the control center and enable to activate and to operate the terminals In other variants the gateway PA is a private automatic branch exchange PABX associated with a computer server platform constituting the control center RG The control cen ter RG further includes in its database profile of the users of the terminals such as their names their functions their geo graphical locations their directory numbers lists of the ser vices to which they have access etc More generally the control center RG not only manages the data of the installation ITC but also participates in pro gramming the terminals TE of the installation The control center RG can instead be external to the pre mises of the client to which it is connected by a dedicated line for example The installation ITC is associated with a portable autono mous assistance device DAS for assisting the client with operation and maintenance of the installation ITC As shown diagrammatical
24. fter the step of executing said maintenance session saving said maintenance session in said assistance device or man 20 25 35 40 45 50 55 65 10 agement arrangement and selecting said saved session sub sequently 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 per formed 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 tele communication installation including an installation man agement 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 por table device to the installation then calling said manufacturer server from said assistance device and transmitting an iden tifier of said equipment unit from said assistance device to said manufacturer server and receiving the identifier of said equipment unit at said manufacturer serv
25. groups together several terminals on the premises ofa client having access to different operators such as a satellite TV terminal a microcomputer connected to the Internet network via an ADSL line and a digital telephone set The installation includes management means for manag ing the set of the equipment units in the installation the authentication of access rights the profiles ofthe users ofthe terminals transcoding and adaptation at least to a network line servicing the installation 2 Description of the Prior Art To maintain a private telecommunication installation that is thus complex in good working order the client can rely on a service provider to manage the installation and therefore accepts intrusion by a third party into his private domain by disclosing details of the set of the terminals and installations installed on his premises Although this may be tolerable in the case of campus or building type collective networks and services offered by an administrative body known in France as a lt lt syndic gt gt it is somewhat controversial in individual homes and in the professions In recent telecommunication installations for example ISDN installations only monitoring of the quality and the status of the terminals is carried out However this monitor ing is effected from the local exchange and is subject to the condition that the network equipment units up to the terminals are directly connected This constraint can no
26. ing for responses from the servers SM and SFT and excessive congestion of the networks RES or RT To ensure the confidentiality of exchanges between the assistance device DAS and at least the maintenance server SM an authentication of the device DAS is performed by the server SM prior to a maintenance session For example the device DAS holds in read only memory a key which is sup plied with a random number from the server SM to a prede termined authentication algorithm to produce a result that is transmitted to the server SM which compares it to an equiva lent result produced by the server itself After authentication the assistance device DAS declares itself as a client to the server SM by sending the server an identifier IDAS for the server SM to verify in a client table that the transmitted identifier corresponds to an installation for which assistance with maintenance is to be provided The assistance device DAS is preferably associated with a user manual MA that sets out information on maintenance procedures and fault diagnostics for the main types of instal lation ITC Bar codes in the margins of the pages of the manual represent information and are readable by the reader LE so that the maintenance server SM identifies characteris tics ofthe installation and faults of the installation or a deter mined equipment unit therein and proposes an interactive maintenance session made up of questions and instructions that are presented on th
27. lation management arrangement and a communication arrangement for commu nication between a network line and said equipment units and said management arrangement said system comprising a por table assistance device that can be located in the installation and can be moved between different telecommunication installations but is autonomous with respect to the installa tion where the portable assistance device is located for enter ing i an identifier of said installation and a telecommunica tion 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 1 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 US RE43 046 E 9 said assistance device and to transmit instructions to said assistance device which shows the transmitted instruc tions 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
28. longer be regarded as the norm in a private network installation whose active life and the cycle of introducing new terminals and new applications are increasingly short Remote operation is used for some client networks equipped with routers and recent and complex network ter minations In a first variant the installation is managed by personnel trained on the client s site or by a service provider who takes note ofthe configurations of the equipment units at the time of each modification second variant relying on remote configuration or remote management of terminations presupposes that the requested evolution concerns only soft ware or that the intervention required at each equipment unit can be effected by the client and requires no very specific skills OBJECT OF THE INVENTION The present invention aims mainly to provide a mainte nance system for a private telecommunication installation 20 25 30 35 40 45 50 55 60 65 2 which in particular respects the confidentiality of the compo sition of the installation whilst facilitating maintenance thereof in a manner that is autonomous for the client SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Accordingly a maintenance system for maintaining a tele communication installation using a maintenance server said installation comprising equipment units installation manage ment means and communication means for communication between a network line and the equipment units a
29. ly in FIG 2 the assistance device DAS is organized around a control unit UC constituted by a microcontroller and comprises connected to the control unit a bar code reader LE a keyboard CL a display AF and a communication module MC The device DAS is the size of a mobile radio telephone terminal or a personal digital assis tant and has similar ergonomics and a man machine interface similar to the latter The bar code reader LE is used to read information on at least one ofthe equipment units ofthe installation such as the terminals TE in order to enter automatically the identifier ID of the terminal and a telecommunication address AD of the manufacturer of the terminal also affixed to the terminal in the form ofa bar code and to enter automatically an identifier IDM ofthe installation ITC anda telecommunication address ADM of a maintenance server SM affixed in the form of bar codes to the control center RG and or to the gateway PA As shown in FIG 1 the maintenance system according to the invention comprises in addition to the assistance device DAS a maintenance server SM belonging to the service provider managing the installation ITC and servers SFT belonging to manufacturers of equipment units such as the terminals The maintenance server SM contains an expert system SE capable of selecting a predetermined maintenance session from a library of maintenance sessions as a function US RE43 046 E 5 of information in the client s
30. n that installation the gateway PA is an ATM cell replicator router The replicator broadcasts ATM cells from the receive channel of the network line LR to local loops constituted by the terminal lines LT in other words copies each received net work cell into each local loop The router collects ATM cells produced by the terminals TE to trangmit transmit them on an emit channel of the network line LR and where applicable to broadcast some cells produced by the terminals in the local 20 25 30 35 40 45 50 55 60 65 4 loops via the replicator to provide an intercommunication facility between the terminals in the installation Replicator routers are cascaded in this type of installation The replicators and the routers comprise output couplers and input couplers for connecting the terminals TE to the gateway PA and input couplers and output couplers for connecting the gateway to the telecommunication network RT Moreover a terminal TE is connected to a local loop LT via an adapter to receive broadcast ATM cells and to insert ATM cells produced by the terminal into the local loop and to repeat cells to be forwarded to other terminals in the loop The replicators and the routers and in particular the cou plers in the latter together with the terminals and their adapt ers are inventoried in the control center RG as and when they are installed The control center RG contains a database that centralizes all in
31. nd the management means is characterized in that it comprises a portable assistance device for deriving information on the type of the installation and on at least one fault in the instal lation in order for the maintenance server to select a mainte nance session as a function of the information transmitted by the assistance device and to show instructions on the assis tance device Preferably to prevent fastidious data entry errors the assis tance device comprises means such as a bar code reader for automatically entering an identifier of the installation and a telecommunication address of the maintenance server on the management means or on the communication means in order to call the maintenance server automatically as a function of the entered address then to effect a maintenance session involving the assistance device and the maintenance server as a function ofthe entered identifier ofthe installation The data entry means can also enter a manufacturer telecommunica tion address and an identifier on at least one ofthe equipment units automatically in order to call a server of the manufac turer of the equipment unit automatically as a function of the entered address then to effect a session involving the assis tance device and the manufacturer server for configuring the equipment unit as a function of the entered identifier of the equipment unit The invention also provides a maintenance method for a telecommunication install
32. ntinued Primary Examiner Pierre Louis Desir 74 Attorney Agent or Firm Schwabe Williamson amp Wyatt P C 57 ABSTRACT The invention provides a portable and autonomous assistance device to derive information on faults in a private telecom munication installation comprising particularly equipment units to assistthe 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 ofthe 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 config ure a terminal TE by means of a configuration session opened in a server SFT of the terminal manufacturer 41 Claims 4 Drawing Sheets ITC AMENDED US RE43 046 E Page 2 U S PATENT DOCUMENTS Tayloe et al Chang et al Akiyama et al Ruffolo et al Hershey et al Beyda et al Tomlinson et al Lysaght et al Brown Ryan et al Zellner et al FOREIGN PATENT DOCUMENTS 5 095 500 A 3 1992 5 619 489 A 4 1997 5 745 049 A 4 1998 6 041 288 A 3 2000 6 175 934 Bl 1 2001 6 385 298 Bl 5 2002 6 411 678 Bl 6 2002 6 438 212 Bl 8 2002 6 446 058 9 2002 6 516 053 2 2003 7 092 947 2 8 2006 JP 10154181 A J
33. tion ITC A terminal TE can be for example a microcomputer a home automation control and or monitoring device a local server a digital telephone set a cable TV receiver etc As will emerge hereinafter the invention handles activation and troubleshooting of the terminals TE Each terminal is identi fied by an identifier ID in the form of a bar code affixed to the terminal and providing access to the identity of the manufac turer of the terminal the terminal type and serial number and where applicable the software version of the driver installed in the terminal In the installation ITC the terminal lines LT form a star network or a distributed network or local loops each servic ing one or more terminals The whole or a portion of a termi nal line LT is constituted by one or two pairs of metal wires or by an optical fiber The network line LR comprises two bal anced pairs of metal wires for example and is connected to an ISDN or ADSL network digital termination TNR for example For example the telecommunication installation ITC is analogous to a multiterminal client installation connected via the network line LR to a digital exchange of an ATM asyn chronous telecommunication network described in French patent application 99 07172 filed Jun 3 1999 which corre sponds to U S patent application Ser No 09 980 483 filed Dec 3 2001 which is the national phase filing from PCT Application No WO 00 76255 filed May 29 2000 I
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