Monitoring of the operation of a subscriber unit

Details Monitoring of the operation of a subscriber unit Monitoring of the operation of a subscriber unit

1996-07-11

1999-04-27

Hudspeth, David R.

Telecommunications

Radiotelephone system

Zoned or cellular telephone system

455424, 455425, H04B 1700

Patent

active

058989218

DESCRIPTION:

BRIEF SUMMARY
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The invention relates to a method of monitoring the operation of a subscriber unit of a telecommunication system. The invention also relates to a subscriber network element of a radio system providing a wireless local loop, the subscriber network element having a data transmission connection with a telephone exchange and comprising means for establishing, via base stations, a radio connection to the subscriber units located in the coverage area of the radio system, for transmitting telecommunication signals between the subscriber units and the exchange.
The invention relates in particular to monitoring the operation of a subscriber unit to be used in a WLL system, i.e. a radio system providing a wireless local loop. In a WLL system, an ordinary two-wire telephone set is connected via a radio connection by means of a special terminal equipment to the local exchange, which in turn is connected to the public telephone network via network cabling. In this connection, a subscriber unit refers to the equipment the subscriber has for transmitting and receiving telecommunication signals, i.e. in case of the WLL system, the subscriber unit comprises a WLL terminal equipment consisting of a radio part and a teleadapter (to which the user interface, e.g. a telephone, is connected), and a user interface, such as a telephone, a telefax terminal, a computer/modem combination or the like, connected to the terminal equipment.
To guarantee the interference-free transfer of telecommunication signals, for example phone calls, it is necessary to monitor subscriber units so that possible malfunctions will be detected as early as possible. It is especially important to monitor WLL subscriber units, since they are more prone to malfunctions than normal subscriber units operating via a cable.


SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The purpose of the invention is to provide a method of monitoring the operation of subscriber units so that possible malfunctions will be detected as early as possible, even before the user of the subscriber unit notices that a malfunction has occurred. These aims are achieved with the method according to the invention, which is characterized in that a call reserved in signalling for some other purpose is transmitted to the subscriber unit, a call to which the subscriber unit automatically responds being selected as the call, a message is awaited from the subscriber unit about receiving the call, and if the message is not received from the subscriber unit, the call is repeated until the subscriber unit has left a predetermined number of transmitted calls unanswered, whereupon an alarm is given.
The invention is based on the idea that malfunctions in a subscriber unit can be detected very early, when the operation of the subscriber unit is systematically tested during light traffic by transmitting a call to the subscriber unit and by receiving a message from the subscriber unit about receiving the call, when the subscriber unit is out of use, i.e. when the user of the unit is not using his or her unit. Since a call which already exists for some other purpose and to which the subscriber unit automatically responds is chosen as the test call, there is no need to define for the subscriber unit a special call for the test. If the subscriber unit responds to the transmitted call, it is considered to be in order. Otherwise the call is repeated at certain intervals as many times as the operator has determined, after which the subscriber unit is considered to be faulty, unless it has by then transmitted a message about receiving the call. The most important advantage of the method according to the invention is that the operation of the subscriber unit can be monitored continuously, i.e. also when the unit is not used for a long time, without having to define a special test call for the subscriber unit for this purpose. The method according to the invention can thus be applied to all existing units without having to specifically design a subscriber unit to make the testing possible.
In one prefe

REFERENCES:
patent: 4415770 (1985-11-01), Kai et al.
patent: 4554410 (1985-11-01), Furumoto
patent: 4622438 (1986-11-01), Shimizu et al.
patent: 5027427 (1991-06-01), Shimizu
patent: 5134643 (1992-07-01), Iwata
patent: 5404573 (1995-04-01), Yabe et al.
patent: 5542120 (1996-07-01), Smith et al.
patent: 5684869 (1997-11-01), Nicholas

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