Solutions are described for cable operators who desire to more closely manage their cable leakage maintenance and ensure their technicians are properly fixing leakage that has been assigned to them via work orders. Quality control leakage measurements are recorded after the completion of a work order to verify the leak has been repaired. Exemplary automated leakage measurement logic flows account for a variety of different technician behavior scenarios as well as real world limitations. The complex considerations ensure the correct QC measure is associated with the correct work order. In addition to making automated quality control measurements, the process is further enhanced by connecting to the operator's work order management database and adding the QC measurement data to the work order. This allows operators to use their own workforce management tools to monitor and track successful work order completion.
A method of using customer premises cable modem equipment to generate a signal that can be used for leakage detection. Various signal types are described which are usable for the purposes of leakage detection.
A method of using customer premises cable modem equipment to generate a signal that can be used for leakage detection. Various signal types are described which are usable for the purposes of leakage detection.
Systems and methods improve the actionability of leaks in cable networks. One or more leakage detection confidences (LDCs) are determined to assess the reliability of newer leakage data which conflicts with existing leak records. When confidences fail to exceed predetermined thresholds, records of leaks which failed to be redetected are maintained as actionable and relied upon for the creation of work orders and deployment of technicians to make repairs. Further fail safe conditions may include device health metrics and weather events.
Systems and methods improve the actionability of leaks in cable networks. One or more leakage detection confidences (LDCs) are determined to assess the reliability of newer leakage data which conflicts with existing leak records. When confidences fail to exceed predetermined thresholds, records of leaks which failed to be redetected are maintained as actionable and relied upon for the creation of work orders and deployment of technicians to make repairs. Further fail safe conditions may include device health metrics and weather events.
Systems and methods improve the actionability of leaks in cable networks. One or more leakage detection confidences (LDCs) are determined to assess the reliability of newer leakage data which conflicts with existing leak records. When confidences fail to exceed predetermined thresholds, records of leaks which failed to be redetected are maintained as actionable and relied upon for the creation of work orders and deployment of technicians to make repairs. Further fail safe conditions may include device health metrics and weather events.
A method of using customer premises cable modem equipment to generate a signal that can be used for leakage detection. Various signal types are described which are usable for the purposes of leakage detection.
A method of using customer premise cable modem equipment to generate a signal that can be used for leakage detection. Various signal types are described which are usable for the purposes of leakage detection.
H04N 21/442 - Monitoring of processes or resources, e.g. detecting the failure of a recording device, monitoring the downstream bandwidth, the number of times a movie has been viewed or the storage space available from the internal hard disk
H04N 21/24 - Monitoring of processes or resources, e.g. monitoring of server load, available bandwidth or upstream requests
H04N 21/647 - Control signaling between network components and server or clientsNetwork processes for video distribution between server and clients, e.g. controlling the quality of the video stream, by dropping packets, protecting content from unauthorised alteration within the network, monitoring of network load or bridging between two different networks, e.g. between IP and wireless
11.
Leakage detection for cable TV systems with upstream signals above 118 MHz
A method of using customer premise cable modem equipment to generate a signal that can be used for leakage detection. Various signal types are described which are usable for the purposes of leakage detection.
A small, portable signal generator provides a unique marker signal modulated with a selectable number of degrees of freedom for insertion into a portion of a broadband communication system (BCS) such as a subscriber installation site that may or may not be connected to the remainder of the BCS. If payload signals are not present or brief interference with payload signals is tolerable, a high level marker signal may be injected with level control upon detection of an egress signal to detect very minor leakage sources and thus increase quality of the qualification of installation or repairs. If payload signals are present, marker signals are held to non-interfering levels and frequencies. Authentication of a signal received through an antenna is expedited and increased in confidence level by synchronization of the marker signal modulation pattern and the signal detector in a receiver.
G01R 27/28 - Measuring attenuation, gain, phase shift, or derived characteristics of electric four-pole networks, i.e. two-port networksMeasuring transient response
H04L 27/34 - Amplitude- and phase-modulated carrier systems, e.g. quadrature-amplitude modulated carrier systems
H04L 25/08 - Modifications for reducing interferenceModifications for reducing effects due to line faults
09 - Scientific and electric apparatus and instruments
37 - Construction and mining; installation and repair services
Goods & Services
Electronic subassemblies and finished product assemblies, namely, surface mounted printed circuit boards and electronic through-hole printed circuit boards supporting final products assembly for telecommunications systems; connectorized electrical wiring harnesses; non-connectorized electrical wiring harnesses; electronic test and measurement devices for use in the fields of networks and telecommunications, namely, instrumentation used to test and certify new and existing data and voice communication via cable and coaxial cable; Stepped frequency portable radio frequency spectrum analyzers; Radio Frequency Leakage Detectors, particularly for Coaxial Cables; electronic apparatus for cable television and other telecommunications systems comprising coaxial cable shielding integrity monitors, RF leakage data acquisition and presentation detectors, RF signal level meters, automatic proof-of-performance testers, television channel identification encoders, and packaged computer programs for maintaining electronic apparatus Repair and restoration services for electronic and fiber optic apparatuses for the telecommunications and public service industries; repair and restoration of electrical and electronic component assemblies, fiber-optic component assemblies, RADAR devices, and LIDAR devices; repairing, modifying and rebuilding CATV Equipment
09 - Scientific and electric apparatus and instruments
37 - Construction and mining; installation and repair services
Goods & Services
Electronic subassemblies and finished product assemblies, namely, surface mounted printed circuit boards and electronic through-hole printed circuit boards supporting final products assembly for telecommunications systems; connectorized electrical wiring harnesses; non-connectorized electrical wiring harnesses; electronic test and measurement devices for use in the fields of networks and telecommunications, namely, instrumentation used to test and certify new and existing data and voice communication via cable and coaxial cable; stepped frequency portable radio frequency spectrum analyzers; Radio Frequency Leakage Detectors, particularly for Coaxial Cables Repair and restoration services for electronic and fiber optic apparatuses for the telecommunications and public service industries; repair and restoration of electrical and electronic component assemblies, fiber-optic component assemblies, RADAR devices, and LIDAR devices
09 - Scientific and electric apparatus and instruments
37 - Construction and mining; installation and repair services
Goods & Services
Electronic subassemblies and finished product assemblies, namely, surface mounted printed circuit boards and electronic through-hole printed circuit boards supporting final products assembly for telecommunications systems; connectorized electrical wiring harnesses; non-connectorized electrical wiring harnesses; electronic test and measurement devices for use in the fields of networks and telecommunications, namely, instrumentation used to test and certify new and existing data and voice communication via cable and coaxial cable; Stepped frequency portable radio frequency spectrum analyzers; Radio Frequency Leakage Detectors, Particularly for Coaxial Cables; electronic apparatus for cable television and other telecommunications systems comprising coaxial cable shielding integrity monitors, RF leakage data acquisition and presentation detectors, RF signal level meters, automatic proof-of-performance testers, television channel identification encoders, and packaged computer programs for maintaining electronic apparatus Repair and restoration services for electronic and fiber optic apparatuses for the telecommunications and public service industries; repair and restoration of electrical and electronic component assemblies, fiber-optic component assemblies, RADAR devices, and LIDAR devices; repairing, modifying and rebuilding CATV Equipment
A cyclic prefix which duplicates some samples of a terminal portion of a symbol in an OFDM data stream and which is invariant in pilot tones can be detected in the presence of signals having higher levels of noise and broadcast signals by autocorrelation with one of two selected “lags”. Autocorrelation will be found when the lag is equal to the number of samples in the FFT used to form a symbol in the data stream. A far stronger autocorrelation is found when the lag is equal to the sum of the FFT length and the length of the cyclic prefix and applied to pilots in the data stream. Overbuilt systems can be distinguished from a system of interest by use of pilots that do not coincide in frequency with a pilot of an overbuilt system.
A cyclic prefix which duplicates some samples of a terminal portion of a symbol in an OFDM data stream and which is invariant in pilot tones can be detected in the presence of signals having higher levels of noise and broadcast signals by autocorrelation with one of two selected "lags". Autocorrelation will be found when the lag is equal to the number of samples in the FFT used to form a symbol in the data stream. A far stronger autocorrelation is found when the lag is equal to the sum of the FFT length and the length of the cyclic prefix and applied to pilots in the data stream. Overbuilt systems can be distinguished from a system of interest by use of pilots that do not coincide in frequency with a pilot of an overbuilt system.
An improved, adaptive and uniformly applicable estimation of the percentage or fraction of a broadband communication system (BCS) plant that is monitored for signal egress during a given period of time is provided by generating and collecting polygons along all possible routes traversed by BCS service vehicles within a service area, preferably by comparison with a roadway map, to define the service area with improved accuracy. The number of polygons generated and collected is then limited by the number of polygons in which DCS service vehicles have been reported in a given period of time or inspection interval. The limited number of polygons is then divided by the number of polygons generated and collected to determine a fraction or percentage of the BCS system which has been monitored during the given time period and can be used in a computation of a cumulative leakage index (CLI) value.
An improved, adaptive and uniformly applicable estimation of the percentage or fraction of a broadband communication system (BCS) plant that is monitored for signal egress during a given period of time is provided by generating and collecting polygons along all possible routes traversed by BCS service vehicles within a service area, preferably by comparison with a roadway map, to define the service area with improved accuracy. The number of polygons generated and collected is then limited by the number of polygons in which BCS service vehicles have been reported in a given period of time or inspection interval. The limited number of polygons is then divided by the number of polygons generated and collected to determine a fraction or percentage of the BCS system which has been monitored during the given time period and can be used in a computation of a cumulative leakage index (CLI) value.
G01R 31/00 - Arrangements for testing electric propertiesArrangements for locating electric faultsArrangements for electrical testing characterised by what is being tested not provided for elsewhere
21.
Shielding flaw detection and measurement in quadrature amplitude modulated cable telecommunications environment
Signal egress from a shielding flaw in a cable telecommunication system is detected, even where signals carried by the cable telecommunication system are quadrature amplitude modulated signals that statistically resemble broadband noise by generating a marker signal comprising a double side band, suppressed carrier signal in the fringes of contiguous frequency bands and at a power level which cannot cause perceptible interference with signals in those contiguous frequency bands. The separation of the sidebands comprising the marker signal can unambiguously identify the marker signal and can distinguish between different cable telecommunication systems installed in the same geographic area. The marker signal can be additionally coded by varying the frequency and/or amplitude of the modulating signal used to create the marker signal.
Passive detection of a quadrature amplitude modulated (QAM) signal amid noise is achieved by detection of a spectral component of a detected signal that corresponds to a known QAM symbol rate in, for example, a QAM modulated broadband communication system (BCS). Improved authentication can be provided by simultaneously detecting symbol rate components in two or more QAM bands. No modification of a broadband communication system such as by including a marker signal is required and thus there is no requirement for dedication of a portion of the broadband communication system spectrum or problem of marker signal interference with BCS signals.
A method and structure for conforming to cable leakage compliance level requirements includes calculating, using a processor on a computer, a priority of repairs for cable leakage over a cable operator service area. A result of the priority calculation is provided, thereby permitting higher priority leaks to be identified and repaired. The calculating of priority includes storing geographical locations of cell towers affecting a service area being evaluated, receiving data related to cable leakage sources, receiving data related to wireless service quality, if available, and exercising, using the processor on the computer, a prioritizing algorithm that calculates a relative severity of each cable leakage source.
Signal egress from a shielding flaw in a cable telecommunication system is detected, even where signals carried by the cable telecommunication system are quadrature amplitude modulated signals that statistically resemble broadband noise by generating a marker signal comprising a double side band, suppressed carrier signal in the fringes of contiguous frequency bands and at a power level which cannot cause perceptible interference with signals in those contiguous frequency bands. The separation of the sidebands comprising the marker signal can unambiguously identify the marker signal and can distinguish between different cable telecommunication systems installed in the same geographic area. The marker signal can be additionally coded by varying the frequency and/or amplitude of the modulating signal used to create the marker signal.
Signal egress from a shielding flaw in a cable telecommunication system is detected, even where signals carried by the cable telecommunication system are quadrature amplitude modulated signals that statistically resemble broadband noise by generating a marker signal comprising a double side band, suppressed carrier signal in the fringes of contiguous frequency bands and at a power level which cannot cause perceptible interference with signals in those contiguous frequency bands. The separation of the sidebands comprising the marker signal can unambiguously identify the marker signal and can distinguish between different cable telecommunication systems installed in the same geographic area. The marker signal can be additionally coded by varying the frequency and/or amplitude of the modulating signal used to create the marker signal.
Signal ingress at an installations site forming a part of a broadband communication system is quantitatively evaluated for resistance to signal ingress using a computed ambient broadcast signal level based on a known location and effective radiated power of one or more transmitters. Anomalies due to signal path obstruction and/or multi-path reception are compensated by performing computations for a plurality of broadcast transmitters located in different directions from the installation site.
Results of field testing of portions of a distributed system such as a Broadband Communications System are communicated from a testing device capable of operating in a stand-alone manner to a device including a display which downloads programmed test protocols and sequences thereof to the separate testing device over a wired or wireless link. The testing device can thereafter operate in a stand-alone manner and transfer the results of testing and analysis to a device including a display that may comprise virtually any wireless communication device by storing an application or information therein that interprets operator actions to manipulate the display. The testing device identifies and/or encodes data captured during the test protocols and sequences for transfer to the device including a display where they are interpreted by commands specific to the communication device such that the data can be properly displayed and the display manipulated by a user. The communication device can transfer captured test data and analysis to a central facility for storage, further analysis and/or management purposes.
Results of field testing of portions of a distributed system such as a Broadband Communications System are communicated from a testing device capable of operating in a stand-alone manner to a device including a display which downloads programmed test protocols and sequences thereof to the separate testing device over a wired or wireless link. The testing device can thereafter operate in a stand-alone manner and transfer the results of testing and analysis to a device including a display that may comprise virtually any wireless communication device by storing an application or information therein that interprets operator actions to manipulate the display. The testing device identifies and/or encodes data captured during the test protocols and sequences for transfer to the device including a display where they are interpreted by commands specific to the communication device such that the data can be properly displayed and the display manipulated by a user. The communication device can transfer captured test data and analysis to a central facility for storage, further analysis and/or management purposes.
Signal egress from a shielding flaw in a cable telecommunication system is detected, even where signals carried by the cable telecommunication system are quadrature amplitude modulated signals that statistically resemble broadband noise by generating a marker signal comprising a double side band, suppressed carrier signal in the fringes of contiguous frequency bands and at a power level which cannot cause perceptible interference with signals in those contiguous frequency bands. The separation of the sidebands comprising the marker signal can unambiguously identify the marker signal and can distinguish between different cable telecommunication systems installed in the same geographic area. The marker signal can be additionally coded by varying the frequency and/or amplitude of the modulating signal used to create the marker signal.
Results of field testing of portions of a distributed system such as a Broadband Communications System are communicated from a testing device to a device including a display which downloads test protocols to the testing device. The testing device can thereafter operate in a stand-alone manner and transfer the results of testing and analysis to a device including a display that may comprise virtually any wireless communication device by storing an application or information therein. The communication device can transfer captured test data and analysis to a central facility for storage, further analysis and/or management purposes.
An electro-hydrodynamic (EHD) device is provided in combination with a bottle. The bottle comprises a container including a liquid formulation to be comminuted into a spray of droplets and a wick extending into the container. The wick has an end portion. The EHD device comprises a first conductive element at a first electrical potential. The EHD device further comprises a second conductive element at a second electrical potential. The first and second electrical potentials at the first and second conductive elements result in a strong electric field being generated in the vicinity of the first element end section. The bottle may be removably coupled to the EHD device.
Results of field testing of portions of a distributed system such as a Broadband Communications System from a testing deuce to a controller which downloads programed test protocols and sequences thereof to the separate testing device over a wired or wireless link and thereafter tart be used to control the testing device as well as display test results and provide analysis of the test results and suggest procedures to technical personnel- The controller then can transmit the test data to a central facility or distribution hob in substantially real-time together with work performance data %'here full technical analysis can be performed- The test data and results of analysis can then be distributed as desired such as to a management analysis facility to support improvement of efficiency of the system and the operation thereof.
Results of field testing of portions of a distributed system such as a Broadband Communications System from a testing device to a controller which downloads programmed test protocols and sequences thereof to the separate testing device over a wired or wireless link and thereafter can be used to control the testing device as well as display test results and provide analysis of the test results and suggest procedures to technical personnel. The controller then can transmit the test data to a central facility or distribution hub in substantially real-time together with work performance data where full technical analysis can be performed. The test data and results of analysis can then be distributed as desired such as to a management analysis facility to support improvement of efficiency of the system and the operation thereof.
Issuance of work orders in response to monitoring signal egress from shielding integrity flaws in a cable communication system by detecting received signal strength from a mobile receiver only during rising trends in received signal strength when the mobile receiver is in motion and tracking the maximum received signal strength peak during each rising trend. Rising trends are detected by computing two rolling averages of received signal strength sample of different lengths and offset from each other and applying a threshold to the difference between the rolling averages to provide hysteresis in switching between rising and falling trend detection. Reported peaks are then compared by proximity to each other and their circle of influence determined in accordance with respective signal strengths to determine if newly reported peaks are duplicates of previously reported peaks and duplicate reported peaks are removed or discarded.
09 - Scientific and electric apparatus and instruments
Goods & Services
Electronic test and measurement devices for use in the fields of networks and telecommunications, namely, instrumentation used to test and certify new and existing data and voice communication cable and coaxial cable
09 - Scientific and electric apparatus and instruments
Goods & Services
Electronic apparatus for cable television and other telecommunications systems comprising coaxial cable shielding integrity monitors, RF leakage data acquisition and presentation detectors, RF signal level meters, automatic proof-of-performance testers, television channel identification encoders, time domain reflectometers, [ body worn RF signal evaluation meters, ] packaged electronic apparatus maintenance programs
09 - Scientific and electric apparatus and instruments
Goods & Services
Electronic Apparatus for CATV Systems and for Other Communications Systems Comprising Automatic Channel Recorder Monitors, RF Leakage Detectors, [ Voltage Surge Protectors, Coaxial Relays, Sweep Insertion Testers, Uninterruptable Power Sources for Low Noise Amplifiers, ] Underground Cable Locators [ and Pilot Signal Suppressors ]
