Systems and methods for installing and testing alarming systems at cell sites

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-12573287-B2
Application number	US-202218084761-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Dec 20, 2022
Priority date	Dec 20, 2022
Publication date	Mar 10, 2026
Grant date	Mar 10, 2026

Abstract

Systems and method for installing and testing an alarming system at a cell site includes installing an alarm controller at a cell site; coupling a first end of a cable to an input of the alarm controller and a second end of the cable to a component of the cell site, wherein the alarm controller is adapted to provide alarming associated with the component; placing the component in a failure mode; and verifying that the alarm controller receives the alarm.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1 . A method of installing and testing an alarming system at a cell site, the method comprising steps of:
installing an alarm controller at a cell site; coupling a first end of a cable to an input of the alarm controller and a second end of the cable to a component of the cell site, wherein the coupling is repeated for a plurality of cables and components, and wherein the alarm controller is adapted to provide alarming associated with the plurality of components; manually inducing a fault condition at the plurality of components to simulate a failure mode, wherein the simulated failure mode causes the component to send an alarm signal to the alarm controller; and visually or audibly confirming that the alarm controller receives an alarm from each of the plurality of components while in failure mode, wherein the confirming includes verifying a visual or audible indicator at the alarm controller corresponding to a specific input, wherein the indicator confirms that the alarm controller receives each alarm from a component placed in failure mode at the expected input.

2 . The method of claim 1 , further comprising steps of:
verifying that an operations center receives the alarm.

3 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the placing and verifying are performed remotely.

4 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the component is any of a component associated with the operation of the cell site, and an alarming device.

5 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the steps further comprise:
positioning one or more cameras at the cell site to capture a 360 degree visual field of view including the alarm controller and its inputs; inducing a failure mode at a component; and verifying, based on the captured 360 degree video, that the alarm controller receives the alarm signal at an expected input corresponding to the component in failure mode.

6 . The method of claim 5 , wherein the one or more cameras include any of a camera apparatus and a mobile device adapted to capture photo and video.

7 . The method of claim 5 , wherein the steps further comprise:
sending a close-out package to one or more of a cell site owner and a cell site operator based on the verifying.

8 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the alarming system further includes an alarm block, and the steps further comprise:
installing the alarm block at the cell site; coupling the alarm controller to the alarm block by way of a plurality of cables; coupling the alarm block to a plurality of components of the cell site by way of a plurality of cables, wherein the alarm block establishes a connection between the alarm controller and the components; and placing each of the plurality of components in a failure mode.

9 . The method of claim 8 , wherein the verifying includes verifying that the alarm block correctly transmits the alarms of each of the plurality of components to the alarm controller.

Assignees

• Etak Systems Llc

Inventors

• Priest Lee

Classifications

• H04W24/04

  Arrangements for maintaining operational condition · CPC title

• H04W16/24

  Cell structures · CPC title

• H04N23/698

  for achieving an enlarged field of view, e.g. panoramic image capture · CPC title

• H04N7/185 Primary

  from a mobile camera, e.g. for remote control · CPC title

• G08B29/02 Primary

  Monitoring continuously signalling or alarm systems · CPC title