Method and apparatus for launching a wave mode that mitigates interference

• US 10,312,964 B2
• Filed: 11/15/2017
• Issued: 06/04/2019
• Est. Priority Date: 07/15/2015
• 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, Bennett, Robert, Barzegar, Farhad, Gerszberg, Irwin, Barnickel, Donald J., Willis, III, Thomas M.
• Primary Examiner(s): Huang, David S
• Application Number:
  US15/813,320
• Publication Number:
  US 20180076849A1
• Time in Patent Office: 566 Days
• CPC Class Codes: H01P 3/06 Coaxial lines
• CPC Class Codes: H01P 3/10 Wire waveguides, i.e. with a single solid longitudinal conductor
• CPC Class Codes: H01P 3/127 with a circular, elliptic, or parabolic cross-section
• CPC Class Codes: H01P 5/08 for linking dissimilar lines or devices H01P1/16, H01P5/04 take precedence; linking lines of the same kind but with different dimensions H01P5/02
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 15/00 Suppression or limitation of noise or interference by means associated with receiver H04B1/10
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 3/06 by the transmitted signal
• 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 3/58 Repeater circuits

Abstract

Aspects of the subject disclosure may include, for example, a system that performs operations including receiving electromagnetic waves on an outer surface of a transmission medium having a non-hybrid wave mode and a cutoff frequency, detecting a degradation of a signal quality of the electromagnetic waves, generating adjusted electromagnetic waves having a hybrid wave mode and a non-optical frequency range responsive to the detecting, and directing the adjusted electromagnetic waves having the hybrid wave mode and the non-optical frequency range to the outer surface of the transmission medium for guiding propagation of the adjusted electromagnetic waves without utilizing an electrical return path. Other embodiments are disclosed.

Claims

1. A method, comprising:

detecting, by a waveguide system, a degradation of an electromagnetic wave propagating along a transmission medium, wherein the electromagnetic wave comprises a non-hybrid wave mode;

identifying, by the waveguide system, an object causing the degradation of the propagation of the electromagnetic wave along the transmission medium; and

generating, by the waveguide system, a modified electromagnetic wave comprising a hybrid wave mode according to the object that is identified, wherein the modified electromagnetic wave propagates along the transmission medium without requiring an electrical return path.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising monitoring, by the waveguide system, a characteristic of the electromagnetic wave to detect the degradation of the electromagnetic wave.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein the monitoring is performed via a sensor coupled to the transmission medium.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the identifying comprises:

performing, by the waveguide system, a spectral analysis of the electromagnetic wave; and

comparing, by the waveguide system, a result of the spectral analysis with a spectral signature associated with the object.

5. The method of claim 1, further comprising transmitting, by the waveguide system, a notification to a network element indicating the degradation that is detected, the object that is identified, or a combination thereof.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the hybrid wave mode comprises an HE11 wave mode.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein a substantial portion of electric fields of the modified electromagnetic wave are approximately perpendicular to a longitudinal cross-section of the object that is identified.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein the generating the modified electromagnetic wave comprises:

generating, by the waveguide system, a first instance of a first electromagnetic wave having a first polarization;

generating, by the waveguide system, a second instance of a second electromagnetic wave having a second polarization, wherein the second polarization is different from the first polarization; and

combining, by the waveguide system, the first instance of the first electromagnetic wave with the second instance of the second electromagnetic wave to generate the modified electromagnetic wave comprising the hybrid wave mode.

9. The method of claim 8, further comprising guiding, by the waveguide system, the modified electromagnetic wave for propagation along the transmission medium.

10. A waveguide system, comprising:

a sensor;

a launcher; and

a processor coupled to the sensor and the launcher, wherein the processor facilitates performance of operations, comprising;

detecting, by the sensor, a degradation of an electromagnetic wave propagating along a transmission medium;

responsive to the detecting, combining a first instance of a first electromagnetic wave with a second instance of a second electromagnetic wave to generate a combined electromagnetic wave having a hybrid wave mode adapted to mitigate the degradation; and

guiding, by the launcher, the combined electromagnetic wave for propagation along the transmission medium without requiring an electrical return path.

11. The waveguide system of claim 10, wherein the electromagnetic wave that is degraded comprises a non-hybrid wave mode.

12. The waveguide system of claim 10, wherein the operations further comprise:

generating, by the launcher, the first instance of the first electromagnetic wave having a first polarization; and

generating, by the launcher, the second instance of the second electromagnetic wave having a second polarization, wherein the second polarization is different from the first polarization.

13. The waveguide system of claim 10, wherein the hybrid wave mode comprises an HE11 wave mode.

14. The waveguide system of claim 10, wherein the operations further comprise monitoring, by the sensor, a characteristic of the electromagnetic wave to detect the degradation of the electromagnetic wave.

15. The waveguide system of claim 10, wherein the operations further comprise identifying an object causing the degradation of the propagation of the electromagnetic wave, wherein the combining of the first instance of the first electromagnetic wave with the second instance of the second electromagnetic wave to generate the combined electromagnetic wave is according to the object that is identified.

16. The waveguide system of claim 15, wherein the operations further comprise:

performing a spectral analysis of the electromagnetic wave; and

comparing a result of the spectral analysis with a spectral signature associated with the object.

17. The waveguide system of claim 15, wherein a substantial portion of electric fields of the combined electromagnetic wave avoid the object.

18. A method, comprising:

detecting, by a waveguide system, a degradation of an electromagnetic wave propagating along a transmission medium, wherein the electromagnetic wave comprises a non-hybrid wave mode; and

generating, by the waveguide system, a modified electromagnetic wave comprising a hybrid wave mode according to the degradation that is detected, wherein the modified electromagnetic wave propagates along the transmission medium without requiring an electrical return path.

19. The method of claim 18, wherein the generating the modified electromagnetic wave comprises combining, by the waveguide system, a first instance of a first electromagnetic wave having a first polarization with a second instance of a second electromagnetic wave having a second polarization to generate the modified electromagnetic wave, wherein the second polarization is different from the first polarization.

20. The method of claim 18, further comprising monitoring, by the waveguide system, a characteristic of the electromagnetic wave to detect the degradation of the electromagnetic wave.