Method and apparatus for sensing a condition in a transmission medium of electromagnetic waves

• US 9,768,833 B2
• Filed: 09/15/2014
• Issued: 09/19/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 09/15/2014
• 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: Fuchs, Mitchell Harvey, Gerszberg, Irwin
• Primary Examiner(s): KASSA, ZEWDU A
• Application Number:
  US14/486,268
• Publication Number:
  US 20160080035A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,100 Days
• Field of Search: 375257, 375259, 375219, 375295, 375316
• CPC Class Codes: G08C 23/06 through light guides, e.g. optical fibres
• CPC Class Codes: H01P 3/16 Dielectric waveguides, i.e. without a longitudinal conductor
• CPC Class Codes: H01P 5/12 Coupling devices having more than two ports H01P5/04 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H01Q 1/46 Electric supply lines or communication lines
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 3/544 Setting up communications; Call and signalling arrangements
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 3/56 Circuits for coupling, blocking, or by-passing of signals
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 3/58 Repeater circuits
• CPC Class Codes: H04Q 2209/30 using a wired architecture
• CPC Class Codes: H04Q 2209/886 using energy harvesting, e.g. solar, wind or mechanical
• CPC Class Codes: H04Q 9/00 Arrangements in telecontrol or telemetry systems for selectively calling a substation from a main station, in which substation desired apparatus is selected for applying a control signal thereto or for obtaining measured values therefrom

Abstract

Aspects of the subject disclosure may include, for example, a device that facilitates transmitting electromagnetic waves along a surface of a wire that facilitates delivery of electric energy to devices, and sensing a condition that is adverse to the electromagnetic waves propagating along the surface of the wire. Other embodiments are disclosed.

Claims

1. An apparatus, comprising:

a waveguide system comprising a dielectric coupler, the dielectric coupler positioned with respect to a wire of a power grid that facilitates delivery of electric energy to devices, the dielectric coupler facilitating transmission or reception of electromagnetic waves that propagate along an outer surface of the wire without an electrical return path, and the wire serving as a single wire transmission line that is not part of a circuit for propagating the electromagnetic waves along the outer surface of the wire; and

a sensor that facilitates sensing a condition that is adverse to one of an operation of the waveguide system associated with the transmission or the reception of the electromagnetic waves, or the transmission or reception of the electromagnetic waves that propagate along the outer surface of the wire.

2. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the sensor facilitates sensing one of reflections of the electromagnetic waves that propagate on the outer surface of the wire, temperature changes on the wire, loss of electric energy in the wire, electromagnetic noise on the wire, a corona emitted by the wire, a vibration on the outer surface of the wire, a defective joint between the wire and another wire, corrosion on the wire, a power grid device coupled to the wire that adversely affects the transmission or reception of the electromagnetic waves that propagate on the outer surface of the wire, or weather conditions in a vicinity of the wire.

3. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the sensor facilitates transmission of a test signal by the waveguide system to detect a disturbance source on the wire that adversely affects the transmission or reception of the electromagnetic waves that propagate on the outer surface of the wire.

4. The apparatus of claim 3, wherein the sensor facilitates identifying a location of the disturbance source on the wire according to a reflection of the test signal from the disturbance source received by the sensor via the waveguide system.

5. The apparatus of claim 3, wherein the sensor facilitates identifying the disturbance source by comparing electromagnetic wave reflections of the test signal received by the sensor to profiles comprising models of types of electromagnetic wave reflections of the test signal originating from types of disturbance sources that affect the transmission or reception of the electromagnetic waves that propagate on the outer surface of the wire.

6. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the sensor facilitates collecting images in a vicinity of the wire.

7. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the sensor facilitates predicting an event that adversely affects one of the waveguide system, the transmission or reception of the electromagnetic waves that propagate on the outer surface of the wire, or the wire as a transmission medium of the electromagnetic waves that propagate on the outer surface of the wire.

8. The apparatus of claim 1, further comprising a communications interface, coupled to the sensor, that facilitates transmission of sensing data to a network element to report the condition that is adverse.

9. The apparatus of claim 8, wherein the network element comprises a wireless device, and wherein the communications interface further facilitates transmission of one of identification information associated with the condition, a first location coordinate associated with the condition, or a second location coordinate associated with the waveguide system.

10. The apparatus of claim 9, further comprising a location detector that facilitates generation of the second location coordinate.

11. The apparatus of claim 1, further comprising an energy management system that facilitates managing power supplied to the sensor.

12. The apparatus of claim 11, wherein the energy management system comprises a backup battery that provides backup energy to the sensor, wherein the backup battery comprises one of a battery cell, or a capacitor.

13. The apparatus of claim 11, wherein the energy management system facilitates obtaining energy from the wire by electrical coupling to the wire, by inductive coupling to the wire, by solar energy, or kinetic energy.

14. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the power grid is managed by a power utility company that is independently operated from a communication services company that manages the apparatus, wherein the apparatus further comprises a processor coupled to the waveguide system and the sensor, wherein the processor facilitates processing of sensing data from the sensor and control of the transmission or reception of the electromagnetic waves that propagate along the outer surface of the wire.

15. A method, comprising:

transmitting, by an apparatus comprising a waveguide system and a sensor, electromagnetic waves that propagate along an outer surface of a wire without an electrical return path, the waveguide system comprising a dielectric coupler that facilitates coupling of the electromagnetic waves onto the outer surface of the wire, the wire facilitating delivery of electric energy to devices, and the wire serving as a single wire transmission line that is not part of a circuit for propagating the electromagnetic waves along the outer surface of the wire; and

sensing, by the sensor, a condition that is adverse to the electromagnetic waves that propagate along the outer surface.

16. The method of claim 15, further comprising reporting the condition sensed by the apparatus.

17. The method of claim 15, wherein the wire is part of a power grid of a power utility company, and wherein the sensor facilitates sensing one of reflections of the electromagnetic waves that propagate along the outer surface of the wire, temperature changes on the wire, loss of electric energy in the wire, electromagnetic noise on the wire, a corona emitted by the wire, a vibration on the outer surface of the wire, a defective joint between the wire and another wire, corrosion on the wire, a power grid device coupled to the wire that adversely affects the electromagnetic waves that propagate along the outer surface of the wire, or weather conditions in a vicinity of the wire.

18. A non-transitory machine-readable storage medium, comprising executable instructions that, when executed by a processor, facilitate performance of operations, comprising:

inducing, by a dielectric coupler of a waveguide system, electromagnetic waves along a surface of a transmission medium without utilizing an electrical return path of the transmission medium; and

collecting sensing data from a sensor, wherein the sensing data is associated with a condition that is adverse to the electromagnetic waves guided along the surface of the transmission medium.

19. The non-transitory machine-readable storage medium of claim 18, wherein the operations further comprise transmitting the sensing data to a network element.

20. The non-transitory machine-readable storage medium of claim 19, wherein the operations further comprise receiving instructions from the network element to address the condition.