Methods and apparatus for inducing electromagnetic waves in a cable

• US 10,554,454 B2
• Filed: 10/06/2017
• Issued: 02/04/2020
• Est. Priority Date: 11/20/2014
• 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., Bennett, Robert, Gerszberg, Irwin, Barzegar, Farhad, Barnickel, Donald J., Birk, Martin, Johnson, Shikik, Guntin, Ed
• Primary Examiner(s): Timory, Kabir A
• Application Number:
  US15/726,804
• Publication Number:
  US 20180062886A1
• Time in Patent Office: 851 Days
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 2203/5441 Wireless systems or telephone
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 2203/5483 using coupling circuits
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 3/52 Systems for transmission between fixed stations via waveguides
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 3/54 Systems for transmission via power distribution lines
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 3/56 Circuits for coupling, blocking, or by-passing of signals
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 5/28 using the near field of leaky cables, e.g. of leaky coaxial cables
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 7/0413 MIMO systems
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 25/03891 Spatial equalizers MIMO diversity systems H04B7/0413
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 16/18 Network planning tools
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 72/20 Control channels or signalling for resource management

Abstract

In accordance with one or more embodiments, a system can include a plurality of twisted insulated conductors, and a communication device coupled to a first conductive endpoint of each insulated conductor of the plurality of twisted insulated conductors. The communication device can facilitate generating transmission signals at each first conductive endpoint of each insulated conductor of the plurality of twisted insulated conductors. The transmission signals in turn can induce electromagnetic waves that propagate along interstitial areas between the plurality of twisted insulated conductors. Other embodiments are disclosed.

Claims

1. A system, comprising:

a cable comprising a plurality of twisted insulated conductors; and

a communication device coupled to a first conductive endpoint of each insulated conductor of the plurality of twisted insulated conductors at a first end of the cable, wherein the communication device facilitates generating transmission signals at the first conductive endpoint of each insulated conductor of the plurality of twisted insulated conductors, and wherein the transmission signals induce guided electromagnetic waves that propagate from the first end of the cable to a second end of the cable along hollow pathways formed by interstitial areas between the plurality of twisted insulated conductors without requiring an electrical return path, wherein the guided electromagnetic waves convey communication signals, and wherein the communication signals are received by a receiving device at the second end of the cable.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein the communication device facilitates generating the transmission signals according to the communication signals, and wherein the communication signals are received by the communication device.

3. The system of claim 2, wherein the communication device facilitates frequency-shifting the communication signals to generate the transmission signals.

4. The system of claim 1, wherein the guided electromagnetic waves are received by the receiving device via the interstitial areas between the plurality of twisted insulated conductors, and wherein the plurality of twisted insulated conductors is available for use for Digital Subscriber Line (DSL) communications.

5. The system of claim 4, wherein the receiving device utilizes a plurality of antennas to receive the guided electromagnetic waves via the interstitial areas.

6. The system of claim 4, wherein the receiving device is coupled to a second conductive endpoint of each insulated conductor of the plurality of twisted insulated conductors, and wherein the receiving device receives the guided electromagnetic waves via the second conductive endpoint of each insulated conductor of the plurality of twisted insulated conductors.

7. The system of claim 1, wherein the guided electromagnetic waves are generated by the communication device in accordance with at least one of a plurality of multi-input multi-output (MIMO) techniques.

8. The system of claim 1, wherein the guided electromagnetic waves operate in a millimeter wave frequency band.

9. A method, comprising:

receiving, by a communication device, a communication signal; and

responsive to the communication signal, generating, by the communication device, transmission signals at a first conductive endpoint of each insulated conductor of a cable comprising a plurality of insulated conductors at a first end of the cable, and wherein the transmission signals induce guided electromagnetic waves that propagate from the first end of the cable to a second end of the cable along hollow pathways formed by interstitial areas between the plurality of insulated conductors without requiring an electrical return path, wherein the guided electromagnetic waves convey the communication signal, and wherein the communication signal is received by a receiving device at the second end of the cable.

10. The method of claim 9, wherein the communication signal comprises a wireless signal transmitted by a wireless communication device.

11. The method of claim 9, wherein the generating comprises frequency-shifting the communication signal to generate the transmission signals.

12. The method of claim 9, wherein the guided electromagnetic waves are received by the receiving device via the interstitial areas between the plurality of insulated conductors.

13. The method of claim 12, wherein the receiving device utilizes a plurality of antennas to receive the guided electromagnetic waves via the interstitial areas.

14. The method of claim 12, wherein the receiving device is coupled to a second conductive endpoint of each insulated conductor of the plurality of insulated conductors, and wherein the receiving device receives the guided electromagnetic waves via the second conductive endpoint of each insulated conductor of the plurality of insulated conductors.

15. The method of claim 9, wherein the generating comprises selecting, by the communication device, at least one of a plurality of multi-input multi-output (MIMO) techniques to generate the transmission signals.

16. The method of claim 9, wherein the guided electromagnetic waves operate in a millimeter wave frequency band.

17. A transmission device, comprising:

a processing system including a processor; and

a memory that stores executable instructions that, when executed by the processing system, facilitate performance of operations, the operations comprising;

receiving a communication signal; and

inducing, via a conductive endpoint of each insulated conductor at a first end of a cable comprising a plurality of insulated conductors, guided electromagnetic waves that propagate from the first end of the cable to a second end of the cable along a hollow pathway formed by an interstitial area between the plurality of insulated conductors without requiring an electrical return path, wherein the guided electromagnetic waves convey the communication signal, and wherein the guided electromagnetic waves are received by a receiving device via the interstitial area between the plurality of insulated conductors.

18. The transmission device of claim 17, wherein the guided electromagnetic waves operate in a millimeter wave frequency band.

19. The transmission device of claim 17, wherein the communication signal comprises a wireless signal transmitted by a wireless communication device.

20. The transmission device of claim 17, wherein the inducing comprises frequency-shifting the communication signal to generate the guided electromagnetic waves.