Method and apparatus for guiding an electromagnetic wave to a transmission medium

• US 10,291,286 B2
• Filed: 09/06/2017
• Issued: 05/14/2019
• Est. Priority Date: 09/06/2017
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: AT&T Intellectual Property I LP (AT&T, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: AT&T Intellectual Property I LP (AT&T, Inc.)
• Inventors: Henry, Paul Shala, Vannucci, Giovanni, Willis, III, Thomas M.
• Primary Examiner(s): Patel, Dhaval V
• Application Number:
  US15/696,897
• Publication Number:
  US 20190074864A1
• Time in Patent Office: 615 Days
• Field of Search: 375257, 375219, 375222, 375259, 333240, 343725, 343904
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 1/02 Transmitters
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 3/52 Systems for transmission between fixed stations via waveguides

Abstract

Aspects of the subject disclosure may include, a system that can be configured for generating an electromagnetic wave and coupling the electromagnetic wave to a transmission medium with a reduced loss of radiation of the electromagnetic wave into free space. The system can also be configured to receive an electromagnetic waves form the transmission medium with a reduced loss of radiation of the electromagnetic wave into free space. Other embodiments are disclosed.

Claims

1. A device, comprising:

a transmitter that facilitates generation of an electromagnetic wave; and

a coupler coupled to the transmitter and coupled to a first portion of a surface of a transmission medium,

wherein the coupler includes a plurality of tapered endpoints,

wherein the coupler facilitates guiding the electromagnetic wave to the plurality of tapered endpoints,

wherein the plurality of tapered endpoints of the coupler facilitates reducing a radiation of the electromagnetic wave as the electromagnetic wave propagates to a second portion of the surface of the transmission medium that differs from the first portion of the surface of the transmission medium, and

wherein the transmitter facilitates generation of the electromagnetic wave according to a communication signal, and wherein the communication signal operates in a first spectral segment, and wherein the electromagnetic wave operates in a second spectral segment that differs from the first spectral segment.

2. The device of claim 1, wherein the coupler, the plurality of tapered endpoints, or both are conductive.

3. The device of claim 1, wherein the coupler, the plurality of tapered endpoints, or both are non-conductive.

4. The device of claim 1, further comprising a tapered dielectric material disposed on the first portion of the surface of the transmission medium, and wherein at least a portion of the coupler is coupled to the tapered dielectric material.

5. The device of claim 1, wherein the transmission medium comprises an uninsulated conductor, an insulated conductor, or a dielectric core.

6. The device of claim 1, wherein at least two of the plurality of tapered endpoints vary in at least one physical dimension.

7. The device of claim 1, wherein the communication signal conforms to a signaling protocol, and wherein the electromagnetic wave conveys the communication signal in the second spectral segment without modifying the signaling protocol.

8. The device of claim 1, further comprising a receiver coupled to the coupler, wherein the receiver facilitates receiving another electromagnetic wave that propagates from the second portion of the surface of the transmission medium to the coupler via the plurality of tapered endpoints.

9. The device of claim 8, wherein the receiver further facilitates obtaining the communication signal which is conveyed by the another electromagnetic wave, and wherein the another electromagnetic wave is generated by another device without modifying a signaling protocol of the communication signal.

10. A method, comprising:

generating, by a system including a transmitter, an electromagnetic wave, wherein the electromagnetic wave is generated according to a communication signal, wherein the communication signal operates in a first spectral segment, and wherein the electromagnetic wave operates in a second spectral segment that differs from the first spectral segment; and

coupling, by a coupler coupled to a first portion of a surface of a transmission medium, the electromagnetic wave to a second portion of the surface of the transmission medium via a plurality of tapered endpoints of the coupler,

wherein the coupler facilitates guiding the electromagnetic wave to the plurality of tapered endpoints, and

wherein the plurality of tapered endpoints of the coupler facilitates reducing a radiation of the electromagnetic wave as the electromagnetic wave propagates to the second portion of the surface of the transmission medium.

11. The method of claim 10, wherein the coupler, the plurality of tapered endpoints, or both are conductive.

12. The method of claim 10, wherein the coupler, the plurality of tapered endpoints, or both are non-conductive.

13. The method of claim 10, wherein the communication signal conforms to a signaling protocol, and wherein the electromagnetic wave conveys the communication signal in the second spectral segment without modifying the signaling protocol.

14. The method of claim 10, wherein the system includes a receiver coupled to the coupler, and wherein the method further comprises receiving, by the system, another electromagnetic wave that propagates from the second portion of the surface of the transmission medium to the coupler via the plurality of tapered endpoints.

15. The method of claim 14, wherein the communication signal is conveyed by the another electromagnetic wave, and wherein the another electromagnetic wave is generated by another system without modifying a signaling protocol of the communication signal.

16. A device, comprising:

a receiver; and

a coupler coupled to the receiver,

wherein the coupler includes a plurality of tapered endpoints,

wherein a portion of the coupler surrounds a first portion of a surface of a transmission medium,

wherein the receiver facilitates receiving from the coupler an electromagnetic wave propagating on a second portion of the surface of the transmission medium, wherein the electromagnetic wave conveys a communication signal, wherein the communication signal operates in a first spectral segment, wherein the electromagnetic wave operates in a second spectral segment that differs from the first spectral segment, and wherein the electromagnetic wave is generated by another device without modifying a signaling protocol of the communication signal, and

wherein the plurality of tapered endpoints of the coupler facilitates reducing a radiation of the electromagnetic wave as the electromagnetic wave propagates from the second portion of the surface of the transmission medium to the coupler.

17. The device of claim 16, wherein the transmission medium comprises an uninsulated conductor, an insulated conductor, or a dielectric core.

18. The device of claim 16, wherein the first portion of the surface and the second portion of the surface of the transmission medium do not overlap.

19. The device of claim 16, wherein the coupler is conductive.

20. The device of claim 16, wherein the coupler is non-conductive.