Cross-connect method and apparatus

Abstract

A remotely controlled cross-connection switching matrix, particularly suited for telephone systems, has a jumper pin picker and placement mechanism selectively movable along each of three axes under the control of a single drive motor translating a single drive cable over a series of pulleys. Movement along the selected axis is effected by braking movement along the other two axes. The system provides a “soft dial tone” to prospective telephone subscribers' premises having cable pairs permanently connected to the matrix. The cable pair for the calling prospective subscriber is automatically identified at the matrix in response to an off-hook status for that prospective subscriber, and the cable pair identification data is automatically transmitted to the telephone business office. Stored information at the business office for the premises of the identified cable pair is automatically displayed for the telephone company representative responding to a request for service by the calling prospective subscriber. The matrix also permits remote selective connection of unused telephone lines to a test bus connected between the matrix and the central office, thereby permitting automatic, remotely controlled testing of those lines. Improved security of the facility containing the matrix is provided by a feature permitting remote control over the facility door lock.

What is claimed is:  
     
         1 . A method of transporting a jumper pin, by means of a pin picking and placing mechanism, to and from individual junction locations in a switching matrix, said method comprising the steps of: 
 (a) moving said mechanism selectively in either of two opposite directions along a first path by means of a drive motor;    (b) moving said mechanism selectively in either of two opposite directions along a second path by means of said drive motor; and    (c) limiting movement of said mechanism to only one of said first and second paths at a time by selectively inhibiting movement of said mechanism along said first and second paths independently;    wherein said drive motor is the only source of motion-producing force for said mechanism along said first and second paths, and motion along the selected path is effected by positively blocking motion along the other path in step (c).    
     
     
         2 . The method of    claim 1    wherein said first and second paths are disposed in a transport plane parallel to said matrix.  
     
     
         3 . The method of    claim 2    further comprising the step of: 
 (d) moving said mechanism in either of two selective opposite directions along a third path disposed perpendicular to said transport plane by means of said drive motor;  
 wherein step (c) includes limiting movement of said mechanism to only a selectable one of said first, second and third paths at a time by selectively inhibiting movement of said mechanism along the other two of said paths; and  
 wherein said drive motor is the only source of motion-producing force for said drive mechanism along said first, second and third paths, and motion along only the selected path is effected by positively blocking movement of the mechanism along the two non-selected paths.  
 
     
     
         4 . The method of    claim 3    wherein: 
 step (a) includes translating said mechanism along a first support extending along said first path;  
 step (b) includes translating said mechanism along a second support extending along said second path;  
 step (d) includes rotating said mechanism about an axis oriented parallel to said transport plane; and  
 step (c) includes the steps of: 
 interengaging said mechanism with said first support to inhibit movement of said mechanism along said first path;  
 interengaging said mechanism with said second support to inhibit movement of said mechanism along said second path; and  
 blocking rotation of said mechanism to inhibit movement of said mechanism along said third path.  
 
 
     
     
         5 . The method of    claim 4    wherein steps (a), (b) and (d) include translating a single drive cable by means of said drive motor, and passing said drive cable over a series of idler pulleys secured to said mechanism and defining a cable path.  
     
     
         6 . The method of    claim 5    wherein said first, second and third paths are mutually orthogonal; 
 wherein steps (a), (b) and (d) include: 
 wrapping said drive cable along a first pulley rotatable by said drive motor about an axis perpendicular to said transport plane and serving as a drive pulley;  
 extending said drive cable from said first pulley, in a direction parallel to said transport plane, to a second idler pulley rotatable about an axis perpendicular to said transport plane, and bending the cable approximately 180° about said second idler pulley;  
 extending the drive cable from said second pulley to a third idler pulley rotatable about an axis perpendicular to said transport plane and carried by a first block translatable along a first tube serving as part of said first support, and bending the drive cable approximately 90° about said third pulley;  
 extending said drive cable from said third pulley to a fourth idler pulley rotatable about an axis perpendicular to said transport plane and carried by a second block translatable along a second tube serving as part of said first support and extending parallel to said first tube, and bending the drive cable approximately 90° about said fourth pulley;  
 extending said drive cable from said fourth pulley, in a direction parallel to said second tube, to a fifth idler pulley rotatable about an axis perpendicular to said transport plane and carried by said second block, and bending the drive cable approximately 90° about said fifth pulley generally back toward said first block;  
 extending said drive cable from said fifth pulley to a sixth idler pulley rotatable about an axis parallel to said transport plane and carried by a carriage translatable along a third tube secured to and extending between said first and second blocks and serving as part of said second support, and bending said drive cable partially about said fifth pulley;  
 extending said drive cable from said sixth pulley to a seventh idler pulley rotatable about an axis parallel to said transport plane and carried by said carriage, and securing one end of said drive cable on said seventh pulley;  
 securing another end of said drive cable to said seventh pulley and extending that end of the cable to an eighth idler pulley rotatable about an axis parallel to said transport plane and carried by said carriage;  
 extending said drive cable from said eighth pulley to a ninth idler pulley rotatable about an axis perpendicular to said transport plane and carried by said first block, and bending said drive cable approximately 90° about said ninth pulley; and  
 returning said drive cable to said first pulley.  
 
 
     
     
         7 . The method of    claim 6    wherein step (c) includes the steps of: 
 inhibiting movement of said mechanism along said first path by selectively projecting a pin from said first block into a selected slot in a series of slots defined in and spaced longitudinally along said first tube to prevent said block from moving from a position defined by the selected slot in said first series; and  
 inhibiting movement of said mechanism along said second path by selectively projecting a pin from said carriage into a selected slot in a second series of slots defined in and spaced longitudinally along said second tube to prevent said carriage from moving from a position defined by the selected slot in said second series.  
 
     
     
         8 . The method of    claim 6    wherein step (c) includes the steps of: 
 inhibiting movement of said mechanism along said first path by selectively preventing movement of said first block along said first tube; and  
 inhibiting movement of said mechanism along said second path by selectively preventing movement of said carriage along said second tube.  
 
     
     
         9 . The method of    claim 2    wherein: 
 step (a) includes translating said mechanism along a first support extending along said first path;  
 step (b) includes translating said mechanism along a second support extending along said second path; and  
 step (c) includes the steps of: 
 interengaging said mechanism with said first support to inhibit movement of said mechanism along said first path; and  
 interengaging said mechanism with said second support to inhibit movement of said mechanism along said second path.  
 
 
     
     
         10 . The method of    claim 9    wherein steps (a) and (b) include translating a single drive cable with said drive motor, and passing said drive cable over a series of idler pulleys secured to said mechanism and defining a cable path.  
     
     
         11 . The method of    claim 5    wherein said first and second paths are perpendicular to one another; 
 wherein steps (a) and (b) include: 
 wrapping said drive cable along a first pulley rotatable by said drive motor about an axis perpendicular to said transport plane, and serving as a drive pulley;  
 extending said drive cable from said first pulley, in a direction parallel to said transport plane, to a second idler pulley rotatable about an axis perpendicular to said transport plane, and bending the cable approximately 180° about the second pulley;  
 extending the drive cable from said second pulley to a third idler pulley rotatable about an axis extending perpendicular to said transport plane and carried by a first block translatable along a first tube serving as part of said first support, and bending the drive cable approximately 90° about said third pulley;  
 extending the drive cable from said third pulley to a fourth idler pulley rotatable about an axis perpendicular to said transport plane and carried by a second block translatable along a second tube serving as part of said first support and extending parallel to said first tube, and bending the drive cable approximately 90° about said fourth pulley;  
 extending said drive cable from said fourth pulley, in a direction parallel to said second tube, to a fifth idler pulley rotatable about an axis perpendicular to said transport plane and carried by said second block, and bending the drive cable approximately 90° about said fifth pulley generally back toward said first block;  
 extending said drive cable from said fifth pulley to a sixth idler pulley rotatable about an axis perpendicular to said transport plane and carried by said first block, and bending said drive cable approximately 90° about said sixth pulley; and  
 returning said cable to said first pulley.  
 
 
     
     
         12 . The method according to    claim 11    wherein step (c) includes the steps of: 
 inhibiting movement of said mechanism along said first path by selectively projecting a pin from said first block into a selected slot in a series of slots defined in and spaced longitudinally along said first tube to prevent said block from moving from a position defined by the selected slot in said first series; and  
 inhibiting movement of said mechanism along said second path by selectively projecting a pin from said carriage into a selected slot in a second series of slots defined in and spaced longitudinally along said second tube to prevent said carriage from moving from a position defined by the selected slot in said second series.  
 
     
     
         13 . The method of    claim 11    wherein step (c) includes the steps of: 
 inhibiting movement of said mechanism along said first path by selectively preventing movement of said first block along said first tube; and  
 inhibiting movement of said mechanism along said second path by selectively preventing movement of said carriage along said second tube.  
 
     
     
         14 . An interconnection matrix system comprising: 
 a first circuit board having a first surface with a first array of multiple electrical conductors thereon, said first circuit board having multiple matrix holes defined therethrough and through said electrical conductors at predetermined locations along said conductors in said first array;    a second circuit board having a first surface with a second array of multiple electrical conductors thereon, said second circuit board having multiple matrix holes defined therethrough and through said electrical conductors in said second array at predetermined locations along said conductors in said second array, wherein a matrix hole in said first circuit board are concentrically aligned with corresponding matrix holes in said second circuit board;    wherein each of said arrays is sub-divided into a plurality of electrically unconnected sub-arrays in which the conductors in each sub-array are co-planar, wherein each conductor in each sub-array is electrically isolated from but co-linearly aligned with a respective conductor in another sub-array, wherein each sub-array on the first circuit board is aligned in juxtaposition with a corresponding sub-array on the second circuit board, and wherein the aligned sub-arrays define a respective plurality of electrically isolated sub-matrices.    
     
     
         15 . The matrix system of    claim 14    wherein said first and second sub-matrices are separated by a plane extending perpendicular to said arrays and diagonally to said conductors.  
     
     
         16 . The matrix system of    claim 14    wherein said matrix holes in said first and second circuit boards are disposed in a rectangular grid of columns and rows, the spacing between adjacent columns being the same for all adjacent columns including adjacent columns in the same sub-matrix and adjacent columns in adjacent sub-matrices, and the spacing between adjacent rows being the same for adjacent rows including adjacent rows in the same sub-matrix and adjacent rows in adjacent sub-matrices.  
     
     
         17 . The matrix system of    claim 16    wherein said sub-matrices are four in number, each sub-matrix having a generally rectangular configuration wherein its columns of matrix holes are longitudinally aligned with respective columns of one adjacent sub-matrix, and wherein its rows of matrix holes are longitudinally aligned with respective rows of another adjacent sub-matrix.  
     
     
         18 . The matrix system of    claim 14    wherein said sub-matrices are four in number and are generally rectangular.  
     
     
         19 . The method of increasing the capacity of the switching matrix of the type having matrix holes for receiving jumper pins to join juxtaposed conductors at different depths of a matrix structure, wherein the matrix holes are arranged in columns and rows, all adjacent columns being substantially equally spaced, all adjacent rows being substantially equally spaced, said method comprising the steps of: 
 interrupting the continuity of said conductors at the same location at each of said depths to thereby define the electrically insulated sub-matrices with adjacent matrix hole columns of adjacent sub-matrices having the same spacing as adjacent columns within each sub-matrix, and with adjacent matrix hole rows of adjacent sub-matrices having the same spacing as adjacent rows within each sub-matrix.    
     
     
         20 . In a telephone system wherein cable pairs for premises of subscribers and prospective subscribers are permanently connected to a switching matrix serving the local area of those premises to permit selective connection of each cable pair to respective central office telephone lines, a method for permitting prospective subscribers who are not connected to a central office line to call only the restricted telephone number of a telephone system business office and/or an emergency facility, said method comprising the steps of: 
 (a) providing at said matrix a restricted central office line arranged to provide soft dial tone permitting only the restricted telephone number to be dialed on the restricted line;    (b) connecting a plurality of prospective subscribers to said restricted line at said matrix such that, in response to an off-hook condition at one of those prospective subscribers' premises, soft dial tone is automatically provided to that prospective subscriber; and    (c) automatically identifying at said matrix the cable pair for the prospective subscribers' premises that has the off-hook condition.    
     
     
         21 . The method of    claim 20    further comprising the steps of: 
 (d) in response to identification of the cable pair for the off-hook prospective subscriber in step (c), automatically providing a second parallel connection between the central office and the matrix for the cable pair of the off-hook subscribers' premises; and  
 (e) in response to completion of step (d), automatically removing the cable pair from the off-hook subscriber's premises from said restricted line at said matrix.  
 
     
     
         22 . The method of    claim 21    further comprising the step of: 
 in response to identification at the off-hook prospective subscriber's cable pair in step (c), automatically transmitting information including the identified cable pair to the central office.  
 
     
     
         23 . The method of    claim 20    further comprising the step of: 
 in response to identification at the off-hook prospective subscriber's cable pair in step (c), automatically transmitting information including the identified cable pair to the central office.  
 
     
     
         24 . The method of    claim 23    further comprising the steps of: 
 storing at the central office records associated with each of said cable pairs, including the addresses of the premises for said cable pairs; and  
 in response to a prospective subscriber calling the telephone business office pursuant to steps (a), (b) and (c), displaying the calling prospective subscriber's address and other stored information on a computer screen of an operator receiving the call.  
 
     
     
         25 . In a remotely controlled telephone line cross-connect switching matrix, the method of testing unused telephone lines connected to the matrix, said method comprising the steps of: 
 (a) permanently connecting a test bus to at least one conductor in said matrix;    (b) in response to a remotely originated command, selectively cross-connecting said test bus to a conductor in the matrix that is permanently connected to an unused telephone line; and    (c) automatically testing said unused telephone line from a remote location through said test bus and the cross-connection made in step (b).