Spectrum Analysis and Plant Diagnostic Tool for Communications Systems

• US 20130125183A1
• Filed: 03/30/2012
• Published: 05/16/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 11/11/2011
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Avago Technologies International Sales Pte Limited (Broadcom, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Broadcom Corporation (Broadcom, Inc.)
• Inventors: DAUPHINEE, Leonard, GOMEZ, Ramon Alejandro, McMULLIN, Donald G., WHITEHEAD, Harold Raymond
• Granted Patent: US 9,686,594 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 725/107
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 17/27 for locating or positioning the transmitter
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 17/309 Measuring or estimating channel quality parameters
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/32 Specific management aspects for broadband networks
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 43/12 Network monitoring probes
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/10 Providing fault- or trouble-signals
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/306 for frequencies above the voice frequency, e.g. xDSL line qualification test methods, test equipment and test arrangements for subscriber lines using xDSL modems H04M3/304; systems modifying transmission characteristics according to link quality H04L1/0001; monitoring and/or testing of line transmission systems H04B3/46
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 17/00 Diagnosis, testing or measuring for television systems or their details
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/64723 Monitoring of network processes or resources, e.g. monitoring of network load traffic related reporting in data switching networks H04L43/062

Abstract

A system, method, and apparatus to allow an operator of a broadcast communication system, such as a cable television or satellite television service to provide some examples, to diagnose performance of this communication system remotely. The operator of a first communication device, such as a cable modem termination system (CMTS) to provide an example, may remotely diagnosis performance problems, or potential performance problems, occurring at a second communication device, such as a cable modem (CM) to provide an example, or a group of second communication devices. For example, the operator of the first communication device may view a spectrum analysis of communication signals being routed to, processed by, and/or provided by the second communication device, or group of second communication devices, to diagnose the performance problems, or the potential performance problems, in real time.

Claims

1. A plant diagnostic tool for a communication system, comprising:

a parameter measurement module configured to estimate one or more signal parameters of signals traversing throughout the plant diagnostic tool; and

a transmitter configured to process the one or more signal parameters for transmission to a service provider location to provide a transmitted communication signal.

2. The plant diagnostic tool of claim 1, further comprising:

a receiver configured to process a received communication signal to provide a received sequence of data.

3. The plant diagnostic tool of claim 2, wherein the received communication signal is characterized as having a plurality of communication channels, the receiver being further configured to convert each of the plurality of communication channels from an analog representation to a digital representation to provide the received sequence of data.

4. The plant diagnostic tool of claim 2, further comprising:

a baseband processor configured to process the received sequence of data to provide a recovered sequence of data.

5. The plant diagnostic tool of claim 4, wherein the signals traversing throughout the plant diagnostic tool comprise at least one selected from a group consisting of:

the received communication signal;

the received sequence of data; and

the recovered sequence of data.

6. The plant diagnostic tool of claim 2, wherein the communications system includes a headend, and

wherein the received communications signal is a sounding signal provided by the headend to determine characteristics of the communication system.

7. The plant diagnostic tool of claim 4, wherein the baseband processor is further configured to process a second received sequence of data from one or more devices to provide a transmission sequence of data, wherein the transmitter is further configured to process the transmission sequence of data to provide the transmitted communication signal.

8. The plant diagnostic tool of claim 7, wherein the transmitted communication signal includes an in-band portion and an out-of-band portion, the transmitter being further configured to transmit the transmission sequence of data using the in-band portion and the one or more signal parameters using the out-of-band portion.

9. The plant diagnostic tool of claim 7, wherein the second received sequence of data is characterized as having a header portion and a data portion, the baseband processor being further configured to format the one or more signal parameters into the header portion.

10. The plant diagnostic tool of claim 1, wherein the one or more signal parameters comprise at least one selected from a group consisting of:

spectral density of signals;

received signal strength;

relative strength of different channels and services;

noise floor and interference; and

transmitter frequency offsets

11. The plant diagnostic tool of claim 1, wherein the communication system is a wired communication system.

12. The plant diagnostic tool of claim 11, wherein the wired communication system is a Data Over Cable Service Interface Specification (DOCSIS) compliant communication system.

13. The plant diagnostic tool of claim 1, wherein the communication system is a wireless communication system.

14. A spectrum analysis tool for a communication system, comprising:

a receiver configured to process a received communication signal to provide a received sequence of data; and

a baseband processor configured to process one or more signal parameters within the received sequence of data to reconstruct portions of various signals propagating throughout the communication system.

15. The spectrum analysis tool of claim 14, wherein the received communication signal is characterized as having a plurality of communication channels,

wherein the receiver is characterized as being a wide band capture receiver that is configured to convert more than one of the plurality of communication channels from an analog representation to a digital representation to provide the received sequence of data.

16. The spectrum analysis tool of claim 15, wherein the receiver is characterized as being a full band capture receiver that is configured to convert the plurality of communication channels from the analog representation to the digital representation to provide the received sequence of data.

17. The spectrum analysis tool of claim 14, further comprising:

a display configured to allow an operator of the spectrum analysis tool to view the portions of the various signals in a frequency domain or a time domain.

18. The spectrum analysis tool of claim 14, wherein the baseband processor configured is further configured to process the received sequence of data to provide a recovered sequence of data.

19. The spectrum analysis tool of claim 14, wherein the baseband processor is further configured to process a second received sequence of data from one or more devices to provide a transmission sequence of data.

20. The spectrum analysis tool of claim 19, further comprising:

a transmitter configured to process the transmission sequence of data for transmission to a subscriber location to provide a transmitted communication signal.

21. The spectrum analysis tool of claim 14, wherein the communication system includes one or more subscriber locations coupled to the spectrum analysis tool via a communication channels.

22. The spectrum analysis tool of claim 21, wherein the various signals represent signals traversing throughout the communication channel.

23. The spectrum analysis tool of claim 21, wherein the various signals represent signals traversing throughout at least one of the one or more subscriber locations.

24. A communication system including a service provider location coupled to one or more one or more subscriber locations via a communication channel, comprising:

a plant diagnostic tool, included within at least one of the one or more subscriber locations, configured to estimate one or more signal parameters of signals traversing throughout the communication system; and

a spectrum analysis tool, included within the service provider location, configured to process the one or more signal parameters to reconstruct portions of various signals propagating throughout the communication system.

25. The communication system of claim 24, wherein the signals traversing throughout the communication system represent sounding signals.

26. The communications system of claim 25, wherein the at least one of the one or more subscriber locations includes a sounding source and a sounding receiver.

27. The communications system of claim 25, wherein the service provider location includes a sounding source and the at least one of the one or more subscriber locations includes a sounding receiver.