JPH09224086A - Communication line abnormality report system - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To immediately report the generation of abnormality to a user by transmitting information concerning abnormality at plural communication lines through a communication network to a host computer when the abnormality at the plural communication lines is detected. SOLUTION: A traffic measuring instrument 10 receives the number of a line to be diagnosed from a control center 200. Next, this line is diagnosed. In this case, the presence/absence of call incoming of signal tone at any prescribed frequency at off-hook time or the transmission characteristics of that line are investigated. When the line is completely diagnosed like this and any abnormality is found out, this line is connected from an NCU 20 (network control unit), the other idle line is connected with the NCU 20, the generation of abnormality at the designated line is reported to the control center 200, the NCU is turned into on-hook state, lines A and B are connected and processing is finished.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a communication line abnormality notifying system for detecting and notifying an abnormality of a communication line.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, the diagnosis of a communication line in a communication terminal is
It was carried out by the line monitor, which is a line measuring instrument. The line monitor determines whether the line is off-hook,
The device is configured to accumulate data of the on-hook and off-hook states and to perform a predetermined display such as turning on a lamp when the measured line is in the off-hook state.

[0003]

In the conventional diagnosis of a communication line using a line monitor, a trained engineer analyzes the on-hook and off-hook data of the lines collected for a plurality of lines, so that a failure of the line is detected. I had discovered (that is, broken or short circuit). Also, when a communication terminal user tries to communicate using the communication line but cannot connect (no dial tone or busy tone is heard), an abnormality in the communication line is discovered. There was also. In any case, conventionally, even if a failure of the communication line actually occurs, it is rarely found immediately, and there is a problem that it takes a considerable time from the occurrence of the failure to the discovery.

The present invention has been made to solve the above-mentioned problems, and in a communication system including a plurality of terminals and a management center that manages the terminals via the communication lines, an abnormality of the communication lines can be promptly detected. It is an object of the present invention to provide a communication line abnormality notifying system that can detect and immediately inform the user of the occurrence of an abnormality.

[0005]

In order to solve the above problems, a communication line failure notification system according to claim 1 comprises a traffic measuring device for measuring traffic of a plurality of communication lines connected to a communication network, In a traffic measuring system including a host computer connected to the traffic measuring means via the communication network, the traffic measuring device has a diagnostic means for detecting an abnormality of the plurality of communication lines, and the plurality of communication When the abnormality of the line is detected, the information about the abnormality of the plurality of communication lines is transmitted to the host computer via the communication network.

Since the host computer has an output means for outputting the occurrence of an abnormality in accordance with the information concerning the abnormality of the plurality of communication lines received from the traffic measuring device, the host computer can promptly detect the abnormality of the line. The operator will be notified of the occurrence of the abnormality. As the output means, a printer connected to the host computer, a display device such as a CRT, or a facsimile device can be used. The diagnostic means can detect whether or not each line is broken and whether or not there is an abnormality in the frequency characteristic. Further, the diagnosis means can regularly diagnose the abnormality of each line.

The traffic measurement device has a transmission means for transmitting the measurement result to the host computer via any of the plurality of communication lines, and the host computer receives and analyzes the measurement result of the traffic measurement device. And an analyzing unit, which can determine whether or not there is an abnormality in the plurality of lines based on the analysis result. When an abnormality is detected based on the analysis result, the traffic measuring device can be instructed to diagnose the line. In this case, the traffic measuring device,
The diagnosis of the line is executed according to the diagnosis command of the line from the host computer.

Further, when the traffic measuring device has an analyzing means for analyzing the measurement result, and the analyzing means detects an abnormality of the line based on the analysis result, the analyzing means causes the diagnostic means to detect the line. It is also possible to adopt a configuration for diagnosing.

When the diagnostic means detects that one of the plurality of lines is abnormal, the diagnostic means informs the host computer of the line diagnosed as abnormal through a line other than the line diagnosed as abnormal. If it is configured to send
The management center will be surely notified of the occurrence of the abnormality.

[0010]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the overall configuration of a traffic measurement system 100 that is an embodiment of the present invention. Traffic measurement system 1
00 is connected to a plurality of analog telephone lines between the information communication network (telephone exchange) 400 of the telecommunications carrier and the PBX (private branch exchange) 300 on the user side, and the use state (use start date and time, The use end date and time, telephone number, etc.) are measured, and the measurement data is transmitted to the management center 200 via a telephone line according to a predetermined schedule.

The traffic measuring system 100 of FIG.
Has a traffic measuring device 10, a first line connecting unit, and a second line connecting unit. In the first line connection unit, the plurality of lines A1 to An on the traffic measurement system 100 side are connected to a plurality of analog telephone lines respectively connected to the telephone exchanges of the communication carrier. Line A1
To An are connected to the lines B1 to Bn via the line switching unit 12, respectively. The line switching unit 12 uses the lines A1 to An.
Disconnect any one of the lines from lines B1 to Bn
The configuration is such that it can be connected to the CU 20 (details will be described later).

The lines B1 to Bn are connected to the user's PBX (Private Branch Exchange) 300 via the second line connection unit 13. That is, the telecommunications carrier's information and communication network (telephone exchange)
A plurality of telephone lines connected to 400 are line A1
~ An, connected to the lines B1 ~ Bn, the user's PBX3
00 is connected.

The measurement lines C1 to Cn of the traffic measuring device 10 for measuring the line state are connected in parallel to the lines B1 to Bn. Therefore, when the user side line (extension line) connected to the user PBX 300 and the telephone line (outside line) of the communication carrier are connected and a call is made, the traffic measuring device 10 receives the measurement lines C1 to Cn. Detects that the line is being used.

The traffic measuring device 10 has a CPU 26.
The CPU 26 controls each unit described below via the bus line BUS. The NCU 20 generates a dial pulse or a PB (push button) signal and transmits the information via the information communication network 400 of the communication carrier to the management center 20.
Make a call to 0. Since the modem 21 performs data communication with the management center 200 via the telephone line, the storage unit 2 read by the CPU 26 at the time of data transmission.
4 and the data stored in the RAM 23 are modulated / compressed, and at the time of receiving the data, the modulated data sent from the communication partner (management center 200) is demodulated / restored to be converted into data that can be processed by the CPU 26.

As shown in FIG. 1, a line power supply unit 14, a line state detection unit 15, and a PB (push button) signal detection unit 16 are connected in parallel to the measurement lines C1 to Cn connected to the lines B1 to Bn, respectively. It is connected to the.

The line power supply unit 14 is controlled by the CPU 26 and measures the line voltage and the busy tone.
n. The line voltage is a voltage between a pair of lines forming each line, and for example, a voltage of about 48 V is applied to a telephone line supplied by a telecommunications carrier. The A line (for example, line A
When the connection between the line k) and the B line (for example, the line Bk) is cut off and the A line and the NCU 20 are connected, the cut off B line is in the same state as when the line switching unit 12 is disconnected. At this time, the CPU 26 causes the B to be cut off.
The line power supply unit 14 sends a line voltage and a busy tone to the line (line Bk) to notify the user that the line is in use.

The line state detecting section 15 is provided for each of the measurement lines C1 to C1.
The usage status of the lines B1 to Bn is monitored and measured via Cn. The usage status measured includes the timing of the user's call (off-hook), the dial number of the callee, the connection to the callee, the completion of the call, the incoming call from the outside line to the user, the user's off-hook, etc. There is. These measurement data are temporarily stored in the RAM 23 together with the time measured by the clock unit 25.
Stored in the storage unit 2 and converted into a predetermined format.
Stored in 4.

The ROM 22 stores various programs executed by the CPU 26 at the time of traffic measurement, data communication and the like. The CPU 26 loads a necessary program from the ROM 22 according to the processing to be executed and executes the program. Further, a condition table for storing the operating conditions of the traffic measuring device 10 (for example, a schedule for measuring and transmitting the measurement result to the management center 200) is also stored in the ROM 22, and the CPU 26 is in the ROM 2.
The line usage is measured and transmitted based on the condition set in 2. The ROM 22 is a rewritable ROM (EEPROM), and the condition table is rewritten as necessary.

The RAM 23 is a general-purpose memory used for temporarily storing data, storing various commands and variables, and the like. In the present embodiment, the RAM 23 is backed up by a backup power supply (not shown) so that data will not be lost for a certain period of time due to an unexpected power failure or the like.

The storage unit 24 is composed of an SRAM, and stores the line usage status (traffic data) detected by the line status detection unit 15 as measurement data having a predetermined format. The storage unit 24 ensures that the accumulated data will not be lost due to an unexpected power outage or the like.
It is backed up by a battery.

The timer unit 25 measures the current time, and the measured traffic information is added with the time indicated by the timer unit to generate measurement data. Management center 200
In communication with the
It is adapted to be corrected according to the time of 00.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing the configuration of the line switching unit 12. The line switching unit 12 has a switching line selecting unit 30 connected to the CPU bus BUS and a plurality of relays R1 to Rn. The relays R1 to Rn are normally in the off state (state shown in FIG. 2). The relays R1 to Rn respectively connect the lines A1 to An and the lines B1 to Bn when in the off state.

The switching circuit selecting section 30 can turn on any one of the relays R1 to Rn under the control of the CPU 26. The switching line selection unit 30 includes relays R1 to R
When any one of n, for example, the relay Rk is turned on, the corresponding one line (lines Ak when the relay Rk is turned on) among the lines A1 to An is connected to the corresponding B line (relay Rk).
When the line is turned on, the connection between the line Bk) and the line A is disconnected, and the line A (line Ak) is NCU (network controller)
0 (see FIG. 1).

The external interface 17 is a terminal (for example, RS-232C terminal) for connecting an external device,
It is used when direct data communication is performed with an external device (computer, etc.). Data communication with external devices,
For example, it is performed when changing the measurement conditions stored in the ROM 22 or downloading the measurement data stored in the storage unit 24 to the external device side.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing a schematic structure of the management center 200. As shown in FIGS. 3 and 1, the management center 200 is connected to the traffic measuring device 10 via an information communication network 400 provided by a communication carrier. As shown in FIG. 3, the management center 2
00 is the host computer 213 and the storage device 214
An input device 215, a communication control device (NCU and modem) 210, and a printer 211 and a CR as output means.
And T212.

The storage device 214 is the host computer 2
11, a program storage area for storing various control programs for operating, a data storage area for storing traffic measurement results and analysis results of each communication line, and for managing each traffic measuring device connected to the management center 200. It has an area for storing management data.

The input device 215 is the host computer 21.
Various commands can be input for 1. The host computer 211 creates, for example, a list of communication use time of each communication line stored in the storage device 214 and stores it in the storage device 214 according to a command input from the input device 215, or stores it in the storage device 214. The output data to the printer 211 or the CRT 21
2 can be displayed.

The normal operation of the traffic measuring system configured as described above will be described with reference to FIG. As described above, the usage status of the telephone line is measured by sequentially measuring the lines B1 to Bn one by one. That is, the line state detection unit 15 measures the use status of each line by sequentially detecting the states of the measurement lines C1 to Cn.

For example, in FIG. 1, if the line B2 is used by the user hooking the extension telephone off-hook, the line state detection unit 15 detects the state of each of the measurement lines C1 to Cn sequentially, and then the measurement line C2 is changed. Detects off-hook condition. When the line state detection unit 15 detects the off-hook of the line, the CPU 26 determines that the line B2 is off-hook together with the time indicated by the clock unit at that time.
Store in AM23. When the line state detector 15 detects off-hook, it detects the number of the other party dialed at the user terminal (extension telephone) next. Here, when the B2 line is a pulse dial line, the line state detection unit 15 counts the pulses to detect the number. If the B2 line is a push line, the PB signal detection unit 16 analyzes the push button (PB) signal to detect the number. The detected telephone number of the destination is also stored in the RAM 23.
After that, the off-hook, call completion time, etc. of the other party are sequentially measured and stored in the RAM 23. If there is a telephone call to the user from the outside (from the information communication network 400 side),
The line state detection unit 15 detects a ringing tone from the C line (that is, from the corresponding B line). Then, the off-hook time of the extension, the call end time, etc. are measured and stored in the RAM 23. The data stored in the RAM 23 is converted into data in a predetermined format by the CPU 26 and then stored in the storage unit 24.

The measurement data stored in the storage unit 24 as described above is sent to the management center 300 via the modem 21 and the NCU 20 using any one of the lines A1 to An (the line not in communication). .

Data transmission to the management center 300 is performed as follows. The line state detection circuit 15 includes lines B1 to B1.
From Bn, find only one free line (line that is not in use). Whether or not the line is an idle line (that is, whether or not the line is active) is detected as follows.

Each telephone line is composed of a pair of lines, but a predetermined voltage (+48 V or -48 V) is applied between the pair of lines in the telephone line laid by the telecommunications carrier. In a state where the line is not used (in the present specification, a state where no call is made), the voltage between the pair of lines remains (+ 48V).
Or −48V), the absolute value of the voltage between the pair of lines decreases to about several volts when the line is used (that is, when a call is being made). Therefore, by detecting the voltage between the two lines, it is possible to determine whether or not the line is in use (whether or not a call is in progress).

When the CPU 26 sequentially measures the voltage of the line pairs of the measurement lines C1 to C2 and finds a vacant line, it controls the relay of the line switching unit 12 to set the B line corresponding to the line to the A line. Disconnect from. For example, if the line B1 is a free line, the CPU 26 drives the relay R1 in FIG. 2 to turn it on, disconnects the line B2 from the line A2, and connects the line A2 to the NCU 20.

When the line B1 is disconnected from the line A1,
The CPU 26 controls the line power supply unit 14 to apply 48V corresponding to the line voltage (voltage between the line pair of the line) to the measurement line C1 corresponding to the disconnected line B1, and at the same time, generate a busy tone. Supply. By doing so, the busy tone of the telephone is always transmitted to the line B1,
Private branch exchange 300 is informed that line B1 is in use.

The CPU 26 controls the NCU 20 to call the telephone line of the management center 200. When the management center 200 receives the call from the measuring device 100, the CPU 26 transmits the data (traffic data, etc.) stored in the data storage unit 24 to the management center 200 via the modem 21.

When the data transmission is completed, the CPU 26 controls the NCU 20 to disconnect the telephone line and terminate the communication. Next, the CPU 26 controls the line power supply unit 14 to stop the supply of power to the line B1 and the output of the busy tone, and turns off the relay R1 of the line switching unit 12 so that the line A1 and the line B2 are connected. Return to the connected normal state.

The above is the processing of normal traffic measurement performed by the traffic measurement system 100 of the present embodiment and the processing of transmitting the measurement result to the management center. Traffic measurement system 100 of the present embodiment
Has a function of notifying the management center 200 of a line abnormality if there is a line abnormality during communication with the management center 200. This function will be described with reference to FIG.

FIG. 4 shows a case where the traffic measuring device 10 to the management center 200 are executed when the measurement data of the traffic measuring device is transmitted to the management center 200.
5 is a flowchart showing a process when a call is made to.

The CPU 26 determines the measurement line C in S1.
One free line is selected based on the states of 1 to Cn. As described above, the usage status of the line (whether in a call or not) can be known by detecting the voltage between the lines. CPU26
After selecting an empty line, controls the line switching unit 12 to connect the NCU 20 to the line (S2). As described above, at this time, the corresponding B line has a predetermined voltage (48
V) and busy tone are supplied.

Next, the CPU 26 puts the NCU 20 in the off-hook state. This is the same state as when picking up the handset of the telephone, and if the line is normal at this time, a signal tone of a predetermined frequency is supplied from the telephone exchange of the telecommunications carrier.

First, in S4, the CPU 26 determines whether or not the modem 21 has received the signal tone of the above-mentioned predetermined frequency. If the modem 21 does not receive a signal tone despite being in the off-hook state, it is considered that the line is broken. Therefore, the CPU 26
The NCU 20 is put into the on-hook state by the on-hook processing of 6, and the line switching unit 12 and the line power supply unit 15 are controlled to disconnect the NCU 20 from the A line.

FIG. 8 shows details of the on-hook processing. For on-hook processing, the NCU 20 and the A line are connected and the NCU
NCU20 when 20 is off-hook
Is the on-hook state and the line A and the line B are connected. Immediately before the on-hook processing is executed, NCU
20 is connected to the A line (any of the lines A1 to An) and is in an off-hook state. At this time, the relay corresponding to the line of the line switch 12 is in the ON state, and the corresponding line B is connected to the line voltage (48V) and the signal generator from the line power supply unit 18 via the line power supply unit 14. The busy tone is supplied from 19.

When the on-hook process is executed, the CPU 26 puts the NCU 26 in the on-hook state in S81. Next, the CPU 26 controls the line power supply unit 14 to stop the supply of the line voltage and the busy tone (S82). B
After the supply of voltage and signals to the line is stopped, CPU2
6 controls the line switching unit 12 to disconnect the connection between the NCU 20 and the A line and connect the A line and the B line.

When the on-hook processing (S9) is completed, CP
U26 selects another free line (S7) and executes the disconnection reporting process (S8). In the processing of selecting an empty line in S7, as in the case of S1, a line which is not busy is selected based on the line voltage, the line switching unit 12 is controlled to connect the A line and the NCU 20, and the corresponding B line is connected. The process of supplying the line voltage and the busy tone is performed.

In the disconnection reporting process, the CPU 26
It controls the NCU 20 to call the management center 200, and notifies the management center 200 of the disconnection of the line. When the notification to the management center 200 is completed, the CPU 26 causes the NCU to
20 is returned to the on-hook state, the line power supply unit 15 is controlled to stop the supply of the line voltage and the busy tone to the corresponding B line, and the line switching unit 12 is controlled to control the NCU 20 and the ACU.
The line is disconnected and the A line and B line are connected.

When the reception of the signal sound is confirmed in S4, the CPU 26 determines whether or not the modem 21 has detected a signal of a predetermined frequency (S5). If the signal detected by the modem 21 is not a signal having a predetermined frequency that is originally supplied at the time of off-hook, there is a possibility that some abnormality has occurred in the line.
Similar to the process of 8, the CPU 26 performs an on-hook process (S9). Next, the CPU 26 selects another empty line and connects the NCU 20 to the A line as in S7 (S1).
0), the abnormality occurrence reporting process of S11 is executed.

In the abnormality occurrence report processing (S11), the CPU
After controlling the NCU 20 to call the management center 200 and notify that there is an abnormality in the line, 26
The CU 20 is returned to the on-hook state, and the line power supply unit 15
To stop the supply of the line voltage and the busy tone to the corresponding B line, and further control the line switching unit 12 to control the NCU 20.
And A line are separated, and A line and B line are connected.

In S5, when the modem 21 detects a signal of a predetermined frequency, the normal data communication process (S
12) is executed. In the data communication process, a call is made to the management center 200, and traffic measurement data and the like are transmitted to the management center 200. When the data transmission is further completed, the CPU 26 returns the NCU 20 to the on-hook state and controls the line switching unit 12 and the line power supply unit 15 to stop the line voltage and the busy tone supply to the corresponding B line. The NCU 20 and the A line are separated and the A line and the B line are connected.

As described above, when the traffic measuring device 10 of the present embodiment detects an abnormality in the line when a call is made to the management center 200 to perform data communication, it uses another free line to connect to the line. The management center 200 is notified that the above has occurred. In the management center 200, when the traffic measuring device 10 notifies the abnormality of the line, the printer 211 and the CR shown in FIG.
The output means of T212 immediately warns of the occurrence of abnormality.

The above-mentioned example is the processing when a line abnormality is detected before the traffic measuring device 10 calls the management center 200. Next, the traffic measuring device 10 and the management center 200 communicate with each other through the communication network. The detection and notification of the abnormality of the line after being connected via the network will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG.

FIG. 5 is a flow chart showing the process of data communication between the traffic measuring device 10 and the management center 200. In S21, the traffic measuring device 10
And the management center 200 are connected via a communication network.
Here, the state where the line is connected means that when the traffic measuring device 10 calls the management center 200, S1, S2, S3 and S4 in FIG. 4 are YES, and S5 is YES. It is in a state where the determination is made and the processing is advanced. Further, when a call is made from the management center 200 to the traffic measuring device 10, in the traffic measuring device 10, first, a predetermined signal is transmitted from the management center 200 by the PB signal detector, and in response to this, The CPU 20 controls the line switching unit 12 to control the NCU 2
0 is connected to the A line. As aforementioned,
At this time, the line voltage and busy tone are supplied to the corresponding B line.

The traffic measuring device 10 and the management center 200, which are connected via the communication network, negotiate by transmitting and receiving a predetermined signal in S22 to confirm mutual connection conditions. At this time, the management center 200 transmits a signal for determining the frequency characteristic of the line. The signal for determining the frequency characteristic is a composite of a plurality of signals each having a certain frequency within a predetermined frequency range (300 Hz to 3200 Hz). The modem 21 receives the combined signal and spectrally decomposes it.

Based on the spectrum output by the modem 21, the CPU 26 determines whether or not the line in use has a uniform transmission characteristic for signals of each frequency within the above frequency range (S23). When the transmission characteristic is abnormal and a signal of a certain frequency is not transmitted at a sufficient level, for example, the sound quality of call voice may be significantly reduced, or the volume level may be lowered. Further, in the case of the push line, the push button signal is a composite signal of two sinusoidal waves having different frequencies, and therefore, when the level of one component is significantly lower than the other, the push button signal is not transmitted correctly. The problem arises. Therefore, if an abnormality is detected in the transmission characteristics (YES: S
24), immediately ending communication on the line (S25),
It connects to the management center 200 again using another free line, and notifies the management center 200 that an abnormality has occurred (S26, S27).

Thereafter, the data communication process is performed in S28, and the process of FIG. 5 is completed. In the description of FIG. 5, control of the NCU 20 at the start and end of communication and the line power supply unit 14
Although the description of the control of 1 and the detection of an idle line by the line state detection unit 15 is omitted, the same processing as in the case of FIG. 4 is performed.

In the processing of FIGS. 4 and 5, the traffic measuring device 10 detects an abnormality of the line found when the traffic measuring device 10 performs data communication with the management center 200 according to the schedule stored in the ROM 22. 10 shows a process of notifying 200.
In addition to this, the traffic measurement system 10 of the present embodiment
0 regularly performs a self-diagnosis process for detecting an abnormality in the line that is the object of measurement. FIG. 6 is a flowchart of this self-diagnosis process.

In the self-diagnosis processing, the traffic measuring device 10 periodically diagnoses whether or not there is any abnormality in each line which is the target of traffic measurement. C
The PU 26 first of all measures the lines B1 to B1 which are the objects of measurement.
From Bn (that is, from among the lines C1 to Cn), an empty line in which no call is being made is found (S41), the line switching unit 12 disconnects the B line from the A line, and the A line is connected to the NCU 20. Connect with. Next, the CPU 26 puts the NCU 20 in the off-hook state while the idle line and the NCU 20 are connected (S42). NCU
When 20 goes into the off-hook state, if the line condition is normal, a signal of a predetermined frequency should be supplied from the exchange of the communication carrier. In S43, the CPU 26 determines whether or not the modem 21 has received the signal of the predetermined frequency.

If the modem 21 does not receive the signal, the CPU 26 advances the processing to S45. NCU20
If the signal is not supplied from the exchange of the telecommunications carrier despite the off-hook state, it is highly possible that the line is broken. Therefore, when the NCU 20 has not received the signal, the CPU 26 performs the above-described on-hook processing in S45 (see FIG. 8). Next, S4
In 6, the CPU 26 searches for another free line, selects it, disconnects the B line of the line from the A line, connects the A line to the NCU 20, puts the NCU 20 in the off-hook state, and further connects to the management center 200. The disconnection of the line is notified to the host computer 201 of the management center 200 (S47). After notifying the management center 200 of the occurrence of an abnormality, the CPU 26 executes an on-hook process (S51).

When the modem 21 receives the signal in S43, the CPU 26 determines in S44 whether the received signal has a predetermined frequency. If the signal detected by the modem 21 is a signal having a frequency different from the frequency that is originally supplied during off-hook, some abnormality may have occurred in the line, and the CPU 26 performs on-hook processing ( S48). Next, the CPU 26 selects another free line and connects the NCU 20 to the A line (S4
9), the abnormality occurrence reporting process is executed in S50.

In the abnormality occurrence reporting process of S50, the CPU 2
Reference numeral 6 controls the NCU 20 to call the management center 200 and notify that an abnormality has occurred in the line. After notifying the management center 200 of the occurrence of the abnormality, the CPU 26 executes the on-hook process to return the NCU 20 to the on-hook state, and controls the line power supply unit 15 to supply the line voltage and the busy tone to the corresponding B line. Then, the line switching unit 12 is controlled to disconnect the NCU 20 from the A line and connect the A line and the B line (S51).

When the CPU 26 determines in S44 that the modem 21 has received the signal of the predetermined frequency, it is considered that the line is not broken. Therefore, the CPU 26 finishes the diagnosis of the line, and then the S26 is executed. Perform on-hook processing.

Since the above self-diagnosis processing is executed for all the lines for which traffic is measured, C
The PU 26 determines in S52 whether the diagnosis has been completed for all the lines. When there is an undiagnosed line (NO: S52), the CPU 26 selects an unused free line and subsequently executes the diagnostic process from S42.
When the diagnostic process for all lines is completed (YES: S5
2), the CPU 26 ends the self-diagnosis process. The self-diagnosis process of FIG. 6 is executed regularly (eg, once a week) according to the process schedule stored in the ROM 22.

The detection of an abnormality by the traffic measuring device 10 and the notification to the management center 200 described with reference to FIGS. 4 and 5 are detected in the course of communication processing between the traffic measuring device 10 and the management center 200. It is based on anomalies. However, even if no abnormality is found during communication processing, the traffic measuring device
When the measurement data is transmitted from the management center 200 to the management center 200 and the management center 200 analyzes the measurement data, the line abnormality may be found.
In such a case, the management center 200 can request a diagnosis by designating a line to the traffic measuring device 10. The abnormality determined from the analysis result may be, for example, that the line has been in a call state for a long time, which is longer than the normally expected time. In such a case, the line state detection unit 15 of the traffic measurement device 10 determines that the line is in use (during a call) because the line voltage of the line is low, but the line is actually short-circuited. There is a high possibility that In such a case, the management center 200
Instructs the traffic measuring device 10 to diagnose the line.

FIG. 7 is a flow chart for explaining the process (designated line diagnostic process) on the side of the traffic measuring device 10 when the management center 200 requests the traffic measuring device 10 to diagnose a specific line. In addition, from the management center 200 to the traffic measuring device 10
Regarding the procedure of communication with respect to, since the same processing as in the case of FIG. 4 is performed, the description thereof is omitted here.

At S61, the traffic measuring device 1
0 receives the number of the line to be diagnosed (channel number of the measuring device 100) from the management center 200. CPU2
Reference numeral 6 controls the circuit switching unit 12 and the line power supply unit 14 to connect the A line and the NCU 20 corresponding to the line of the designated channel, and at the same time, to the B line, a predetermined line voltage (48V) and talk. Supply medium tone. Next, in S63, line diagnosis is performed. Here, the presence / absence of an incoming signal tone of a predetermined frequency at the time of off-hook and the diagnosis of the transmission characteristic of the line are performed. In addition, it is possible to detect whether or not the line is short-circuited by forcibly putting the NCU 20 in the on-hook state and detecting whether or not the connection is disconnected. That is, if the NCU 20 forcibly puts the terminal in the on-hook state but the line shows the connected state, it is considered that the line may be short-circuited.

When the diagnosis of the line designated by the management center 200 is completed as described above, and if the above is found (YES: S64), the line and the NCU 2 are detected.
0 is separated (S66), another free line and NCU20
And (S66), and notifies the management center 200 that there is more than the designated line (S67).
The CU 68 is put into the on-hook state, the line A is connected to the line B, and the processing is terminated. When no abnormality is found (NO: S64), the CPU 26 uses the line,
The management center 200 is notified that no abnormality is found (S65), the NCU 20 is put into the on-hook state,
The line A and the line B are connected, and the process ends.

The above-mentioned example is an example in which a line in which an abnormality may occur is found in the management center 200. However, when the traffic measuring device 10 has a function of processing the measurement data, It is also possible to detect the possibility of occurrence of an abnormality on the side of the traffic measuring device 10. In such a case, by performing the process from S62 of FIG. 7 for the line having the possibility of abnormality, it is possible to notify the management center 200 of the abnormality as in the above example. When the line diagnosis is executed based on the analysis result by the analysis means on the side of the traffic measuring device 10, the process of S65 of FIG. 7 can be omitted.

As described above, the traffic measuring device 10
Detects the line above by various methods and notifies the detection result to the management center 200. When the management center 200 receives the line abnormality notification from the traffic measuring device 10, the information (for example, the serial number of the device) for identifying the traffic device in which the abnormality has occurred, the channel number of the line in which the abnormality has occurred, is assumed. Type of abnormality (whether disconnection, short circuit, deterioration of frequency characteristics, etc.),
A message according to the content of the error, the date and time when the error occurred,
Information such as information about the user is displayed on the printer 211 or CRT.
It outputs by 212. Preferably, the CRT 212 displays a message that calls the operator's attention, and the printer 211 outputs detailed information. FIG.
Although not shown in FIG. 5, the buzzer sounds when an abnormality occurs, so that the operator's attention can be more surely called.

Further, when the traffic measuring device 10 detects an abnormality, the contents are notified to the management center 200, and at the same time, a buzzer, a lamp, etc. connected to the traffic measuring device 10 are driven and the user side immediately detects the abnormality. The occurrence of can be notified.

Further, in the management center 200, the information regarding the abnormality is output to the printer 211 or the CRT 212 based on the notification from the traffic measuring device 10, and at the same time, the information regarding the abnormality is transmitted to, for example, the user side facsimile device. You can also

[0070]

As described above, according to the communication line abnormality notifying system according to the first aspect, the abnormality is detected to the host computer promptly when the abnormality is detected, so that the line abnormality can be detected early. I can do things.

According to the communication line abnormality notifying system of the second aspect, when a line abnormality is found, the host computer promptly outputs the information to that effect, so that the abnormality is not overlooked. According to the communication line abnormality notifying system of the third aspect, since the printer is used as the output means, the detailed contents can be output. According to the communication line abnormality notifying system of the fourth aspect, since the display device is used as the output means, the visibility is good and the occurrence of the abnormality is not overlooked. According to the communication line abnormality notifying system of the fifth aspect, since the content of the abnormality is transmitted by the facsimile device, it becomes possible to know the occurrence and the content of the abnormality at the place desired by the user. According to the communication line abnormality notifying system of claim 6, since the disconnection of each line can be detected, the state where the line is not used for the call and the state where the line cannot be used for the call due to the disconnection are distinguished. It will be possible to remove obstacles early. According to the communication line abnormality notifying system of claim 7, since the diagnosing means detects an abnormality in the frequency characteristic of each line, communication is performed using a line having a poor transmission characteristic and data is damaged. Accidents can be prevented.

According to the communication line abnormality notifying system of the eighth aspect, since the abnormality of each line is regularly diagnosed,
It enables early detection of abnormalities.

According to the communication line abnormality notifying system of the ninth aspect, even if the normal traffic measurement process is normally performed, the line abnormality is detected based on the analysis result. It is also possible to detect line abnormalities that cannot be detected with. According to the communication line abnormality reporting system of the tenth and eleventh aspects, it is possible to confirm the abnormality detected from the analysis result.

According to the communication line abnormality notifying system of the twelfth aspect, it becomes possible for the traffic measuring device side to detect the abnormality based on the measurement data.

According to the communication line abnormality notifying system of the thirteenth aspect, it is possible to always perform data communication using a normal line.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a traffic measurement system according to the present invention.

2 is a circuit diagram showing a configuration of a line switching unit of the traffic measurement system of FIG.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a management center.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing a calling process when transmitting data from the traffic measuring device to the management center.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing a communication process between the traffic measuring device and the management center.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing a self-diagnosis process executed in the traffic measuring device.

FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing a designated line diagnostic process executed in the traffic measuring device.

FIG. 8 is a flowchart showing on-hook processing of the traffic measuring device.

[Explanation of symbols]

 10 Traffic Measurement Device 12 Line Switching Unit 15 Line Power Supply Unit 20 NCU 21 Modem 22 ROM 23 RAM 24 Storage Unit 25 Timekeeping Unit 26 CPU 17 External Interface 200 Management Center 201 Host Computer 211 Printer 212 CRT 214 Storage Device 215 Input Device 300 Private branch exchange (PBX) 400 Information and communication network

 ─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continued Front Page (72) Inventor Kazuhiro Hayami 6-104 Sakurayama-cho, Showa-ku, Nagoya City EXING Co., Ltd. (72) Inventor Yoshinori Nakahama 5-3-2, Shiba 5, Minato-ku, Tokyo Shiba No. Ichi Building Co., Ltd. Tracks

Claims (13)

[Claims] 1. A traffic measuring system comprising a traffic measuring device for measuring traffic of a plurality of communication lines connected to a communication network, and a host computer connected to the traffic measuring means via the communication network. The traffic measuring device has a diagnostic means for detecting an abnormality of the plurality of communication lines, and when detecting an abnormality of the plurality of communication lines, the traffic measuring device transmits the plurality of communication lines to the host computer via the communication network. A communication line abnormality notification system, which is characterized by transmitting information regarding abnormality of the communication line. 2. The communication line abnormality, wherein the host computer has an output means for outputting the occurrence of an abnormality in accordance with the information relating to the abnormality of the plurality of communication lines received from the traffic measuring device. Reporting system. 3. The communication line abnormality notifying system according to claim 3, wherein the output means is a printer connected to the host computer. 4. The communication line abnormality notifying system according to claim 3, wherein the output means is a display device connected to the host computer. 5. The communication line abnormality notifying system, wherein the output means is a facsimile machine connected to the host computer via the communication network. 6. The communication line abnormality notifying system according to claim 1, wherein the diagnosis means detects disconnection of each line. 7. The communication line abnormality notifying system according to claim 1, wherein the diagnosing means detects an abnormality in frequency characteristics of each line. 8. The communication line abnormality notifying system, wherein the diagnosing means periodically executes a process for diagnosing an abnormality in each line. 9. The traffic measurement device has a transmission means for transmitting the measurement result to the host computer via any one of the plurality of communication lines, and the host computer receives the measurement result of the traffic measurement device. The communication line abnormality notifying system according to claim 1, further comprising: an analyzing unit for analyzing, wherein the analyzing unit determines whether or not there is an abnormality in the plurality of lines based on the analysis result. 10. The host computer, when the analyzing means detects an abnormality in a line, instructs the traffic measuring device to diagnose the line. The communication line abnormality reporting system according to item 9. 11. The traffic measuring device executes the diagnosis of the line according to a command of the line diagnosis from the host computer.
Communication line abnormality notification system described in. 12. The traffic measuring device has an analyzing means for analyzing a measurement result, and when the analyzing means detects an abnormality of a line based on the analysis result, the analyzing means uses the diagnosing means to detect the abnormality. The communication line abnormality notifying system according to claim 1, wherein line diagnosis is performed. 13. The diagnostic means, when detecting that one of the plurality of lines is abnormal, relates to a line diagnosed as abnormal by the host computer via a line other than the line diagnosed as abnormal. The communication line abnormality notifying system according to claim 1, wherein information is transmitted.