Cable modem with dual automatic attenuation
First Claim
1. A device for attenuating an input signal, comprising:
- a duplexer for splitting the input signal into an upstream signal and a downstream signal;
an upstream attenuator, configured to attenuate said upstream signal independently of said downstream signal; and
at least one control processor configured to;
determine that a cable modem is not synchronized with a Cable Modem Termination System (CMTS) when the upstream signal level is not within a first range for the upstream signal;
adjust the upstream attenuator until the upstream signal level is within the first range, to synchronize the cable modem with the CMTS; and
when the cable modem is synchronized with the CMTS, adjust the upstream attenuator until the upstream signal level is within a second range for the upstream signal, narrower than the first range;
wherein to adjust the upstream attenuator until the upstream signal is within a second range, the at least one control processor is further configured to adjust a current attenuation of the upstream attenuator based on a target value for the upstream signal.
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Accused Products
Abstract
Described herein are a number of steps, methods and/or solutions that can be applied to greatly improve attenuation control of RF signals in cable plant. The present disclosure is directed to a cable modem auto-attenuation system or any other signal transferring system. The system may be capable of taking a high-power signal from the cable plant'"'"'s service line, dropping the power value down to a usable level and transmitting the signal to a cable modem while eliminating the need for rigorous manual adjustments that a normal cable modem often requires. In certain embodiments, the system may be integrated into a separate device connected between the modem and the cable company service line and configured to handle upstream and downstream attenuation separately or jointly.
19 Citations
26 Claims
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1. A device for attenuating an input signal, comprising:
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a duplexer for splitting the input signal into an upstream signal and a downstream signal; an upstream attenuator, configured to attenuate said upstream signal independently of said downstream signal; and at least one control processor configured to; determine that a cable modem is not synchronized with a Cable Modem Termination System (CMTS) when the upstream signal level is not within a first range for the upstream signal; adjust the upstream attenuator until the upstream signal level is within the first range, to synchronize the cable modem with the CMTS; and when the cable modem is synchronized with the CMTS, adjust the upstream attenuator until the upstream signal level is within a second range for the upstream signal, narrower than the first range; wherein to adjust the upstream attenuator until the upstream signal is within a second range, the at least one control processor is further configured to adjust a current attenuation of the upstream attenuator based on a target value for the upstream signal. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13)
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14. A method for a device for attenuating an input signal comprising:
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splitting the input signal into an upstream signal and a downstream signal; determining that a cable modem is not synchronized with a Cable Modem Termination System (CMTS) when the upstream signal level is not within a first range for the upstream signal; adjusting an upstream attenuator configured to attenuate the upstream signal independently of said downstream signal, until the upstream signal level is within the first range, to synchronize the cable modem with the CMTS; and when the cable modem is synchronized with the CMTS, adjusting the upstream attenuator until the upstream signal level is within a second range for the upstream signal, narrower than the first range; wherein to adjust the upstream attenuator until the upstream signal is within a second range for the upstream signal, the method further comprises adjusting a current attenuation of the upstream attenuator based on a target value for the upstream signal. - View Dependent Claims (15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26)
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Specification