Methods and systems for determining signal leaks in a network

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-11758362-B2
Application number	US-202117221409-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Apr 2, 2021
Priority date	Apr 2, 2021
Publication date	Sep 12, 2023
Grant date	Sep 12, 2023

Abstract

Signals used to test for upstream signal leaks in a hybrid fiber-coaxial (HFC) network may be interleaved with client data and strategically timed to be received by a leak detection device with a one-hundred percent probability of intercept. A method includes receiving an indication that a user device is in proximity to a computing device. The method includes determining, based on the indication that the user device is in proximity to the computing device, signal information. The method includes causing, based on the signal information, the user device to output a signal. The method includes determining, based on an indication that the signal was received by the computing device, a location of a network leak.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A method comprising:
receiving an indication that a user device is in proximity to a computing device;
determining, based on the indication that the user device is in proximity to the computing device, signal information;
causing, based on the signal information, the user device to output a signal interleaved with client data; and
determining, based on an indication that the signal was received by the computing device, a location of a network leak.

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein receiving the indication that the user device is in proximity to the computing device comprises receiving from the computing device, based on the computing device receiving an identifier of the user device, the indication that the user device is in proximity to the computing device.

3. The method of claim 1 , wherein the signal information comprises a modulation profile.

4. The method of claim 1 , wherein the signal information indicates at least one of: a signal strength, a signal frequency, or signal timing.

5. The method of claim 4 , wherein the signal frequency is associated with an aeronautical frequency band.

6. The method of claim 1 , wherein the signal is based on an orthogonal frequency division multiple access upstream data profile (OUDP) test burst.

7. The method of claim 1 , wherein causing the user device to output the signal comprises causing the signal information to be sent to the user device.

8. The method of claim 1 , wherein determining the location of the network leak comprises:
receiving, from the computing device, the indication that the signal was received,
wherein the indication that the signal was received indicates a location of the computing device and a signal strength of the signal;
determining, based on the location of the computing device and the signal strength, a location of the user device; and
determining, based on the location of the user device, the location of the network leak, wherein the location of the network leak corresponds to the location of the user device.

9. A method comprising:
determining location information associated with a computing device and velocity information associated with the computing device, the velocity information comprising a speed of the computing device and an orientation of the computing device;
determining, based on the location information associated with the computing device, at least one user device of a plurality of user devices;
determining signal information for at least one signal;
causing, based on the signal information, the speed of the computing device, and the orientation of the computing device, the at least one user device to output the at least one signal when the computing device is in proximity to the at least one user device; and
determining, based on an indication that the computing device received the at least one signal, a location of a network leak.

10. The method of claim 9 , wherein determining the location information and the velocity information comprises receiving the location information and the velocity information from the computing device.

11. The method of claim 9 , wherein determining the location information and the velocity information comprises:
determining, based on an indication from a network device that a signal associated with the computing device is received, the location information associated with the computing device, wherein the indication that the signal associated with the computing device is received indicates a time the signal associated with the computing device is received and a location of the network device;
receiving an indication from a user device of the plurality of user devices that another signal associated with the computing device is received, wherein the indication that the another signal associated with the computing device is received indicates a time the another signal associated with the computing device is received; and
determining, based on a difference between the time when the another signal associated with the computing device is received and the time when the signal associated with the computing device is received, the velocity information.

12. The method of claim 9 , wherein the signal information indicates a time to output the at least one signal, wherein determining the signal information comprises:
determining, based on the velocity information and a time associated with signal propagation, timing information;
determining, based on the velocity information and a location of the at least one user device, an estimated distance between the computing device and the at least one user device; and
determining, based on the estimated distance, the signal information.

13. The method of claim 9 , wherein the signal information comprises a modulation profile.

14. The method of claim 9 , wherein the signal information indicates at least one of: a signal strength, a signal frequency, or signal timing.

15. The method of claim 14 , wherein the signal frequency is associated with an aeronautical frequency band.

16. The method of claim 9 , wherein the at least one signal is based on an orthogonal frequency division multiple access upstream data profile (OUDP) test burst.

17. The method of claim 9 , wherein causing the at least one user device to output the at least one signal comprises causing the signal information to be sent to the at least one user device.

18. The method of claim 9 , wherein determining the location of the network leak comprises:
receiving, from the computing device, the indication that the computing device received the at least one signal, wherein the indication that the computing device received the at least one signal indicates a location of the computing device and a signal strength of the at least one signal;
determining, based on the location of the computing device and the signal strength, a location of the at least one user device; and
determining, based on the location of the at least one user device, the location of the network leak, wherein the location of the network leak corresponds to the location of the at least one user device.

19. A method comprising:
receiving an indication that a computing device is in proximity to a user device of a plurality of user devices;
determining, based on the indication that the computing device is in proximity to the user device, signal information;
causing, based on the signal information, the user device to output a signal, the signal interleaved with client data output by the user device of the plurality of user devices; and
determining, based on an indication that the signal was received by the computing device, a location of a network leak.

20. The method of claim 19 , further comprising causing, based on the signal information, each remaining user device of the plurality of user devices to output a respective signal, wherein, for each remaining user device, the respective output signal is interleaved with respective client data output by the respective user device of the plurality of user devices.

21. The method of claim 1 , wherein the client data comprises content.

Assignees

• Comcast Cable Comm Llc

Inventors

• Rice Daniel
• Chrostowski John
• Lewandowski Benny
• Li De Fu
• Gaydos Robert

Classifications

• H04W4/023 Primary

  using mutual or relative location information between multiple location based services [LBS] targets or of distance thresholds · CPC title

• H04W4/029 Primary

  Location-based management or tracking services · CPC title

• H04W4/027

  using movement velocity, acceleration information · CPC title

• H04B17/354

  Adjacent channel leakage power · CPC title

• H04B17/27

  for locating or positioning the transmitter · CPC title