Signal degradation detection
First Claim
1. A method to predict a maintenance condition of a receiver, comprising:
- determining a time series of test quantities for the receiver, the test quantities based on signal strength measurements collected at the receiver at a plurality of time instances;
receiving a figure of merit for the receiver, the figure of merit indicating an expected signal quality for the receiver;
eliminating the receiver as a candidate for failure prediction if the time series of test quantities is equal or greater than the figure of merit for a predetermined period of time;
determining a failure prediction for the receiver based on the time series of test quantities and the figure of merit, the act of determining the failure prediction only performed if the receiver is not eliminated as a candidate for failure prediction; and
identifying the receiver if the failure prediction indicates a future unacceptable signal strength for the receiver.
2 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
Implementations are directed to predicting signal degradation at receivers used to display a programming service. The receivers capture signal strength data that is then transmitted to a processing location, which may be associated with a provider of the programming service. A signal degradation detector at the provider operates to predict whether or not a future unacceptable signal quality will occur within a time interval. The prediction may be based on a test quantity calculated from signals captured at the receiver and based on a figure of merit for the geographic locale in which the receiver is located. A maintenance call may be initiated for those receivers that have such a poor signal quality.
12 Citations
20 Claims
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1. A method to predict a maintenance condition of a receiver, comprising:
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determining a time series of test quantities for the receiver, the test quantities based on signal strength measurements collected at the receiver at a plurality of time instances; receiving a figure of merit for the receiver, the figure of merit indicating an expected signal quality for the receiver; eliminating the receiver as a candidate for failure prediction if the time series of test quantities is equal or greater than the figure of merit for a predetermined period of time; determining a failure prediction for the receiver based on the time series of test quantities and the figure of merit, the act of determining the failure prediction only performed if the receiver is not eliminated as a candidate for failure prediction; and identifying the receiver if the failure prediction indicates a future unacceptable signal strength for the receiver. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5)
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6. A method to predict a maintenance condition of a receiver, comprising:
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storing a time series of test quantities for the receiver, the test quantities based on signal strength measurements collected at the receiver at a plurality of time instances; storing a figure of merit for the receiver, the figure of merit indicating an acceptable signal quality for the receiver; eliminating the receiver as a candidate for failure prediction if the time series of test quantities trends level or trends upward for a predetermined number of time instances; producing a failure prediction for the receiver based on the time series of test quantities and the figure of merit, the act of producing the failure prediction conditionally performed if the receiver is not eliminated as a candidate for failure prediction; and identifying the receiver if the failure prediction indicates a future unacceptable signal strength for the receiver. - View Dependent Claims (7, 8, 9, 10)
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11. A system to provide maintenance to a receiver, comprising:
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a memory module configured to store a time series of test quantities for a receiver and a figure of merit for the receiver, the time series of test quantities derived from signal strength measurements collected over time at the receiver and the figure of merit corresponding to an acceptable signal quality for the receiver; and a prediction module configured to; remove the receiver as a candidate for maintenance if the time series of test quantities is acceptable relative to the figure of merit for a predetermined period of time; and predict a maintenance condition for the receiver based on the time series of test quantities and the figure of merit, the act of predicting the maintenance condition only performed if the receiver is not removed as a candidate for maintenance. - View Dependent Claims (12, 13, 14, 15)
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16. A system to provide maintenance to a receiver, comprising:
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a memory module configured to store a time series of test quantities for a receiver and a figure of merit for the receiver, the time series of test quantities derived from signal quality measurements collected over time at the receiver and the figure of merit corresponding to an expected signal quality for the receiver; and a prediction module configured to perform at least one of; removing the receiver as a candidate for maintenance if the time series of test quantities trends level or trends toward a more acceptable value for a predetermined number of time instances; and removing the receiver as a candidate for maintenance if the time series of test quantities is acceptable relative to the figure of merit for a predetermined period of time; wherein the prediction module is further configured to predict a maintenance condition for the receiver based on the time series of test quantities and the figure of merit, the act of predicting the maintenance condition only performed if the receiver is not removed as a candidate for maintenance. - View Dependent Claims (17, 18, 19, 20)
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Specification