Determining response signature commonalities

• US 9,438,605 B2
• Filed: 08/26/2014
• Issued: 09/06/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 02/05/2010
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Comcast Cable Communications LLC (Comcast Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Comcast Cable Communications LLC (Comcast Corporation)
• Inventors: Wolcott, Lawrence D., Chang, Phillip F.
• Primary Examiner(s): SHEHNI, GHAZAL B
• Application Number:
  US14/469,113
• Publication Number:
  US 20150046982A1
• Time in Patent Office: 742 Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 2025/0342 QAM
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 2025/03808 Transmission of equaliser coefficients
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 25/022 of frequency response
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 25/03 Shaping networks in transmitter or receiver, e.g. adaptive shaping networks
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 25/03019 adaptive, i.e. capable of adjustment during data reception
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 43/0823 Errors, e.g. transmission errors
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/107 wherein the security policies are location-dependent, e.g. entities privileges depend on current location or allowing specific operations only from locally connected terminals
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/52 specially adapted for the location of the user terminal

Abstract

An analyzer can obtain data regarding signal characteristics in each of multiple communication channels within an access network. The analyzer can use that data to create signatures corresponding to each of the multiple channels. Based on similarities between signatures, the analyzer may then identify clusters of signatures associated with devices that share channels or portions of channels.

Claims

1. A method comprising:

obtaining, by a computing device comprising an analyzer, signal characteristics of a signal sent along a physical path of a network between a sending device and a receiving device;

generating, by the computing device comprising the analyzer and based on the signal characteristics, a response signature for the sending device;

matching, by the computing device comprising the analyzer, the response signature with one or more stored response signatures respectively for one or more other devices that are different from the sending device;

determining, by the computing device comprising the analyzer, one or more geographic locations respectively for the one or more other devices; and

approximating, by the computing device comprising the analyzer, a geographic location of the sending device using at least one of the one or more geographic locations.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

comparing a quantity of ripples of the response signature with a quantity of ripples of at least one of the one or more stored response signatures.

3. The method of claim 2, further comprising:

comparing a position and size of one or more ripples of the response signature with a position and size of one or more ripples of the at least one of the one or more stored response signatures.

4. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

generating a geographic map comprising the one or more other devices and a different one or more other devices, wherein the one or more other devices are highlighted and the different one or more other devices are not highlighted on the geographic map.

5. The method of claim 4, wherein approximating the geographic location of the sending device using the at least one of the one or more geographic locations further comprises determining a geographic area on the geographic map in which the sending device is approximately located.

6. A method comprising:

obtaining, by a computing device comprising an analyzer, signal characteristics of a signal sent along a physical path of a network between a sending device and a receiving device;

generating, by the computing device comprising the analyzer and based on the signal characteristics, a waveform response signature approximation associated with the sending device;

matching, by the computing device comprising the analyzer, the waveform response signature approximation with one or more stored waveform response signature approximations respectively for one or more devices;

determining, by the computing device comprising the analyzer, one or more geographic locations respectively for the one or more devices; and

approximating, by the computing device comprising the analyzer, a geographic location of the sending device using at least one of the one or more geographic locations.

7. The method of claim 6,

wherein the waveform response signature approximation and the one or more stored waveform response signature approximations each comprise a plurality of triangles, and

wherein matching the waveform response signature approximation with the one or more stored waveform response signature approximations is based on the waveform response signature approximation and the one or more stored waveform response signature approximations having an equivalent number of triangles or an equivalent size of triangles.

8. A method comprising:

obtaining, by a computing device comprising an analyzer, signal characteristics of a signal sent along a physical path of a network between a sending device and a receiving device;

generating, by the computing device comprising the analyzer and based on the signal characteristics, a response signature approximation using a response signature of the sending device;

comparing, by the computing device comprising the analyzer, the response signature approximation with a plurality of other response signature approximations respectively associated with a plurality of other devices that are different from the sending device; and

determining, by the computing device comprising the analyzer, a geographic location of the sending device based on a geographic location of at least one device, of the plurality of other devices, having a response signature approximation that substantially matches the response signature approximation of the sending device.

9. The method of claim 8, further comprising:

determining, by the computing device comprising the analyzer, one or more geographic locations respectively for one or more of the plurality of other devices having matching response signature approximations; and

generating, by the computing device comprising the analyzer, a geographic map highlighting the one or more of the plurality of other devices.

10. The method of claim 9, wherein determining the geographic location of the sending device is based on the one or more geographic locations, the method further comprising:

determining, by the computing device comprising the analyzer, a geographic area on the geographic map in which the sending device is approximately located.

11. The method of claim 8, wherein comparing the response signature approximation with the plurality of other response signature approximations further comprises comparing a quantity of triangles of the response signature approximation with a quantity of triangles of each of the plurality of other response signature approximations.

12. The method of claim 8, wherein the response signature of the sending device is based on a communication signal between the sending device and a hub over a hybrid fiber coaxial network.

13. The method of claim 8, wherein the response signature is one of an amplitude/frequency response signature, a group delay/frequency response signature, or a phase delay/frequency response signature.

14. A method comprising:

obtaining, by a computing device comprising an analyzer, signal characteristics of a signal sent along a physical path of a network between a sending device and a receiving device;

generating, by the computing device comprising the analyzer and based on the signal characteristics, a response signature approximation of the sending device using a response signature of the sending device by,

detecting, by the computing device comprising the analyzer, a plurality of vector sign changes of the response signature of the sending device; and

mapping, by the computing device comprising the analyzer, one or more triangles respectively to one or more of a plurality of vertices respectively associated with the plurality of vector sign changes;

comparing, by the computing device comprising the analyzer, the response signature approximation with a plurality of other response signature approximations respectively associated with a plurality of other devices; and

determining, by the computing device comprising the analyzer, a geographic location of the sending device based on a geographic location of at least one device, of the plurality of other devices, having a response signature approximation that substantially matches the response signature approximation of the sending device.

15. The method of claim 14, wherein each of the one or more of the plurality of vertices is separated by a minimum distance.

16. The method of claim 14, further comprising:

generating, by the computing device comprising the analyzer, a geographic map comprising the plurality of other devices, wherein the geographic map emphasizes the at least one device.

17. A method comprising:

obtaining, by a computing device comprising an analyzer, signal characteristics of a signal sent along a physical path of a network between a sending device and a receiving device; and

approximating, by the computing device comprising the analyzer, a geographic location of the sending device based on one or more geographic locations respectively of one or more other devices respectively having response signatures within a predetermined measure of a response signature for the sending device, wherein the one or more other devices are different from the sending device.

18. The method of claim 17, further comprising:

outputting, by the computing device comprising the analyzer, a geographic map comprising the one or more other devices highlighted and a geographic area in which the sending device is approximately located.

19. The method of claim 17, further comprising:

generating, by the computing device comprising the analyzer, a response signature approximation of the response signature for the sending device by mapping triangular shapes to the response signature for the sending device.

20. The method of claim 17, wherein the response signature for the sending device is one of an amplitude/frequency response signature, a group delay/frequency response signature, or a phase delay/frequency response signature.

21. A method comprising:

obtaining, by a computing device comprising an analyzer, signal characteristics of a signal sent along a physical path of a network between a sending device and a receiving device; and

approximating, by the computing device comprising the analyzer, a geographic location of the sending device based on one or more geographic locations respectively of one or more other devices respectively having response signatures within a predetermined measure of a response signature for the sending device, wherein the predetermined measure is one or more of a similarly positioned ripple or a similarly sized ripple of the response signature and the response signatures.

22. The method of claim 21, further comprising:

generating, by the computing device comprising the analyzer, a geographic map comprising a plurality of other devices, wherein the one or more other devices are from the plurality of other devices, wherein the geographic map emphasizes the one or more other devices.

23. The method of claim 22, wherein the geographic map emphasizes the geographic location of the sending device.