Automated Repair Service Bureau: Mechanized Loop Testing design

The Mechanized Loop Testing (MLT) system is a functional unit of the Automated Repair Service Bureau (ARSB) which tests and analyzes the condition of customer loops. The test results are used to verify trouble conditions, assist telephone company personnel in providing repair-commitment information to the customer, dispatch the appropriate repair craft, and reduce manual testing requirements. The MLT system design is distributed over three processing levels of the ARSB tree structure (host, front end, controller) to provide the necessary record utilization, data processing, loop analysis, and control of test equipment. The automatic access, monitoring, and testing of loops is performed by specially designed test equipment under the direct control of the controller. The MLT system provides a set of test series, each designed for specific applications. The test series are composed in real time as a function of the equipment thought to be present on the loop and the results of tests already performed to that point in the test sequence. This adaptive testing process has been implemented in hardware and software to provide an effective loop-testing system for most applications in the Bell System.