Patents Assigned to Cox communications, INC
  • Patent number: 10880001
    Abstract: Embodiments of the disclosure provide application layer, Medium Access Control (MAC) layer, and physical (PHY) layer functionality by discrete devices, to form a distributed MAC/PHY architecture for communications networks. An application layer (layer-3) device can communicate with a MAC layer (layer-2) device. The layer-2 device may switch IP layer (layer-3) information to MAC layer information. Further the layer-2 device can use addressing information determined or received from the layer-3 device to choose a particular PHY layer (layer-1) device. The layer-2 device can instruct the layer-1 device, to modulate information on one or more frequencies and/or wavelengths over a given physical medium. In an embodiment, the various communications between the devices can occur using a downstream external PHY interface (DEPI) protocol and an upstream external PHY interface (UEPI) protocol. In an embodiment, the monitoring of the devices can be performed using a management plane generic control plane (GCP) protocol.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 22, 2018
    Date of Patent: December 29, 2020
    Assignee: Cox Communications, Inc.
    Inventor: Jeffrey L. Finkelstein
  • Patent number: 10880920
    Abstract: Embodiments of the disclosure are generally directed to systems, methods, and apparatus for wireless packet scheduling using a data over cable service interface specification (DOCSIS) medium access control (MAC) scheduler. In some embodiments, the disclosed DOCSIS MAC scheduler can be partially or fully replace a traditional wireless scheduler, for example, a WiFi scheduler defined in connection with an institute of electrical and electronics engineers (IEEE) 802.11 standard. In some embodiments, a wireless network including such a DOCSIS MAC scheduler can have several improvements over conventional wireless networks, including, but not limited to, a reduction in lost packets due to collisions, a higher channel bandwidth performance by optimizing time-for-packet transmissions, and the addition of further network capabilities including, but not limited to, provisioned-bandwidth allocation to network devices using one or more scheduler algorithms.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 15, 2018
    Date of Patent: December 29, 2020
    Assignee: Cox Communications, Inc.
    Inventor: Jeffrey L. Finkelstein
  • Patent number: 10873650
    Abstract: Embodiments of the present disclosure provide methods, systems, apparatuses, and computer program products to provide application layer, Medium Access Control (MAC) layer, and physical (PHY) layer functionality by separate discrete devices, for example, in order to form a distributed MAC/PHY architecture for communications networks. In various embodiments, an application layer (layer-3) device can communicate (e.g., serialize and/or send data frames and/or packets) with a MAC layer (layer-2) device. Further, the layer-2 device may perform the activities of a switch that switches the IP layer (layer-3) information to MAC layer information. Further the layer-2 device can use addressing information determined or received from the layer-3 device to choose a particular PHY layer (layer-1) device. The layer-2 device can then instruct the layer-1 device, using one or more parameters, to modulate information on one or more predetermined frequencies and/or wavelengths over a given physical medium.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 7, 2016
    Date of Patent: December 22, 2020
    Assignee: Cox Communications, Inc.
    Inventor: Jeffrey L. Finkelstein
  • Patent number: 10873773
    Abstract: Systems, methods and computer readable media for providing users with encrypted content data associated with a service are disclosed. A device may receive first content data. The device may encrypt the first content data using a first key to obtain first encrypted data. The device may generate second encrypted data by applying a cipher substitution to the first encrypted data using a second key. The device may cause to send the second encrypted data to a second device.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 19, 2018
    Date of Patent: December 22, 2020
    Assignee: COX COMMUNICATIONS, INC.
    Inventor: Kinney C. Bacon
  • Patent number: 10856052
    Abstract: A localized peer-to-peer (P2P) network of device for streaming content between users. Devices, such as set top boxes, in a network are configured to communicate with each other, and stream content physically located on each set top box to another set top box. Shows that the user has missed a portion of may be watched from the beginning by transferring such content from other devices within the network. Essentially, any one STB becomes part of a collective community of STBs which share and make each other's content available. The P2P STB network according to embodiments described herein also lessens the load on the centrally located video-on-demand servers by allowing users to watch content being delivered from a neighbor's DVR versus from the central source.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 26, 2012
    Date of Patent: December 1, 2020
    Assignee: Cox Communications, Inc.
    Inventors: Colin Paul Bookman, Douglas David Gravino
  • Patent number: 10848387
    Abstract: A Geo-spatial Enterprise Mapping System (GEMS) application may be utilized for determining a cost associated with providing a service to a point of interest by utilizing data from a web-based mapping service application in conjunction with data from a service provider database. Maps may be utilized with polylines representing fiber and coax spans, and markers to display device, customer, and prospect information to provide a user with a quick overview of a potential profitability of a particular area or point of interest. A proximity of customers and groups of customers to a service provider network may be displayed and visible to a user in an intuitive manner. A serviceability and profitability of potential customers may be determined, as well as locating prospective customers.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 14, 2015
    Date of Patent: November 24, 2020
    Assignee: Cox Communications, Inc.
    Inventors: Connie Ann Dufford, Daniel Michael Hoffman, Trip McCabe, Bruce Beeco
  • Patent number: 10848473
    Abstract: Aspects of the present disclosure provide for systems and methods to automatically load security access files and/or keys on a local digital controller serving subscriber communication equipment, but are not so limited. A disclosed system operates to use a deployment manager as part of auto-loading security access files and/or keys on a local digital controller serving subscriber communication equipment. A disclosed method operates in part to auto-load security access files and/or keys on a local digital controller serving subscriber communication equipment.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 2, 2018
    Date of Patent: November 24, 2020
    Assignee: COX COMMUNICATIONS, INC.
    Inventors: Steven Blake James, Anthony Paul Davis, Jose Ignacio Gonzalez, Nick Anthony Sargent, Jeffrey Alan Bergstedt
  • Patent number: 10819497
    Abstract: Embodiments of the disclosure are generally directed to disabling sounding, resource-block allocation, and various full-duplex (FDX) capabilities in a portion of a spectrum used in FDX-enabled cable networks. The disclosure further describes dynamically using an upstream mode or a downstream mode of communication for half-duplex communication in the portion of the spectrum originally designated for FDX communication, for a given time interval. In another embodiment, the disclosure can thereby facilitate an increase in upstream or downstream capacity on the cable network, for example, a fifteen-fold increase in the upstream capacity or downstream capacity. In some embodiments, control messages can be transmitted from a controller node to devices on the network periodically, describing the usage of the FDX portion of the spectrum for upstream or downstream transmission. The control messages can include medium access control (MAC) management messages and/or tag-length-value (TLV) messages.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 6, 2018
    Date of Patent: October 27, 2020
    Assignee: Cox Communications, Inc.
    Inventor: Jeffrey Finkelstein
  • Patent number: 10791421
    Abstract: Edge-converged telemetry is provided. A system, method, and computer readable storage device are provided for collecting telemetry data from a plurality of telemetry sources in an edge network, determining geolocations of the telemetry, tagging the telemetry with geolocation metadata corresponding to the determined geolocations, correlating telemetry based at least in part on the geolocation, converging the telemetry, and providing the edge-converged telemetry to a client decisioning system that is enabled to use the converged telemetry for making or influencing decisions made by the system. In an example aspect, the decisioning system is configured to make decisions for controlling a device, wherein the decisions are based at least in part on telemetry data.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 3, 2019
    Date of Patent: September 29, 2020
    Assignee: COX COMMUNICATIONS, INC.
    Inventors: Keith Alan Rothschild, Dipan Patel, Ron Lev, Steve Malenfant
  • Patent number: 10785166
    Abstract: Aspects of the present disclosure provide a technical improvement to the problem of network congestion that exists when providing online services to clients. A system, method, and computer readable storage device use a resource assignment protocol to direct client requests for content and remote processing to a dynamic edge-compute instance placed in proximity to the client, thereby improving the Quality of Service QoS of network traffic. A policy server is implemented for serving specific clients with specific dynamically-placed services. Accordingly, traditional network traffic associated with communicating with a remote resource server and computational demand on the remote resource server are reduced, thereby making the network more efficient.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 29, 2018
    Date of Patent: September 22, 2020
    Assignee: COX COMMUNICATIONS, INC.
    Inventors: Keith Alan Rothschild, Dipan Patel, Ron Lev, Steve Malenfant
  • Publication number: 20200292595
    Abstract: Systems, methods, and computer readable media for power outage determination. A device may determine an indication that an outage has occurred on a cable network based on a status of a network device within the cable network, wherein the network device receives power from a power network. The device may determine location information for at least a portion of a plurality of network devices, including the network device, within the cable network. The device may determine a cable topology of the cable network at an area that includes a location that corresponds to the network device. The device may determine a power topology of the power network at the area. The device may analyze the cable topology and the power topology at the area. The device may identify one or more potential failure locations on the power network.
    Type: Application
    Filed: March 13, 2019
    Publication date: September 17, 2020
    Applicant: Cox Communications, Inc.
    Inventors: David Hicks, Imran Lakhani, Michael Latino, Joshua Paul Bernard Sommer, Gregory Devon Thomas
  • Publication number: 20200294056
    Abstract: Devices, systems, and methods are provided for performing secured analytics using encrypted data. The method may include receiving first data and second data, the first data and the second data being homomorphically encrypted, the first data associated with a first type of data, and the second data associated with a second type of data. The method may include retrieving third data associated with the first type of data, and retrieving fourth data associated with the second type of data. The method may include determining a first proximity between the first data and the third data, and determining a second proximity between the second data and the fourth data. The method may include determining, based on the first proximity and the second proximity, a risk score, and determining, based on the risk score, a fraudulent action associated with the first data and the second data.
    Type: Application
    Filed: March 11, 2020
    Publication date: September 17, 2020
    Applicant: Cox Communications, Inc.
    Inventors: Jignesh Patel, Harry Tang, Matthew Edwin Carothers
  • Patent number: 10778663
    Abstract: Aspects of the disclosure relates to managed access to content and/or services. In certain aspects, tokens or other artifacts can be utilized for authentication and authorization.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 18, 2014
    Date of Patent: September 15, 2020
    Assignee: Cox Communications, Inc.
    Inventors: Keith Alan Rothschild, Edgar V. Shrum, Muhammad Asif Raza, Richard M. Thomas
  • Patent number: 10778415
    Abstract: In various embodiments, the disclosed systems, methods, and apparatuses describe the use of encryption mechanisms (for example, a Kerberos encryption mechanism) to prevent the theft of a device, such as, a network switch (for example, an Ethernet switch) and/or any physical modules (such as, pluggable optics modules) stored therein. In one embodiment, one or more keys can be centralized in the device such as a network device or can be decentralized at a head-end, or stored higher in various layers of the network. In an embodiment, a lack of matching of the various keys associated with the network switch and/or the physical modules and/or packets encrypted and/or decrypted with the keys to one another upon a test, can render the devices such as a network device inoperable and/or may render one or more pluggable optics, a group of such pluggable optics or an entire PCB board or switch comprising one or more pluggable optics and/or physical modules inoperable.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 19, 2018
    Date of Patent: September 15, 2020
    Assignee: Cox Communications, Inc.
    Inventor: Jeffrey L. Finkelstein
  • Patent number: 10749551
    Abstract: In various embodiments, the disclosed systems, methods, and apparatuses describe extended spectrum amplifiers. In particular, a method is described including: receiving, at an input port, a radio frequency (RF) signal on a frequency band; separating, using a demultiplexer coupled to the input port, the RF signal into four signal on four respective lines, the four signals having different frequency bands; combining, using a multiplexer coupled to the demultiplexer by the four lines, the four signals into an amplified RF signal; and amplifying, using an amplifier on each of the four lines, the respective four signals.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 31, 2019
    Date of Patent: August 18, 2020
    Assignee: Cox Communications, Inc.
    Inventor: Jeffrey L. Finkelstein
  • Patent number: 10742448
    Abstract: Embodiments of the present disclosure provide methods, systems, apparatuses, and computer program products facilitating network access. In one embodiment a method is provided comprising accessing a local network according to a first protocol, identifying a first data flow path for accessing a second network, identifying a second data flow path for accessing the second network, wherein accessing the second network over the second data flow path comprises accessing one or more intermediate networks according to a second protocol, segmenting the data into a first portion and a second portion based on one or more criteria, accessing the second network according to the second protocol and providing the first portion of the data from the first device to the second device over the second data flow path.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 14, 2016
    Date of Patent: August 11, 2020
    Assignee: COX COMMUNICATIONS, INC.
    Inventor: Jeffrey L. Finkelstein
  • Patent number: 10742659
    Abstract: Access to a provider's restricted resources for users who are not directly associated with the provider but who are permitted to access the restricted resources based on the users' affiliation with a third-party subscriber is provided. An example affiliation is a university student's (user's) affiliation with a university (third-party subscriber). A user's identity can be authenticated by the third party, and the user's access entitlements can be authorized by the third party based on the third party's authorization policies and by an authorized distributor of the restricted resources of which the third party is a subscriber based on the distributor's authorization policies. An access decision is made by a policy enforcement service based on the authorization access decisions made by the third party and by the authorized distributor. The provider allows the user access to its otherwise restricted resources based on a permit decision made by the policy enforcement service.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 15, 2018
    Date of Patent: August 11, 2020
    Assignee: COX COMMUNICATIONS, INC.
    Inventors: Pujan Roka, Yousef Wasef Nijim, Douglas David Gravino
  • Publication number: 20200252249
    Abstract: In various embodiment, the disclosed systems, methods, and apparatuses describe extending the usage spectrum for cable networks (e.g., hybrid fiber-coaxial networks). In particular, embodiments of the disclosure described determining a first portion of a signal having a first frequency band, the first frequency band being greater than approximately 1.2 GHz; determining a second portion of the signal having a second frequency band, the second frequency band being less than or equal to approximately 1.2 GHz; applying an attenuation to the first portion of the signal; and transmitting the second portion of the signal at a flat power-spectral density. Various other related systems, methods, and apparatuses are described.
    Type: Application
    Filed: February 5, 2019
    Publication date: August 6, 2020
    Applicant: Cox Communications, Inc.
    Inventor: Jeffrey L. Finkelstein
  • Publication number: 20200251835
    Abstract: In various embodiment, the disclosed systems, methods and apparatuses are directed to active taps. In particular, the disclosure is directed to providing an input port of a device to receive a first radio frequency (RF) signal; providing a plurality of output ports of the device to transmit second RF signals based on the first RF signal; coupling a bidirectional amplifier to the input port and at least a portion of the plurality of output ports; and modifying, using the bidirectional amplifier, the magnitude of at least the first RF signal. Further, a controller may be coupled to the cable modem; further the controller may be used to control the bidirectional amplifier or operate, based on instructions received from the cable modem, relays associated with the plurality of output ports of the active tap.
    Type: Application
    Filed: February 5, 2019
    Publication date: August 6, 2020
    Applicant: Cox Communications, Inc.
    Inventor: Jeffrey L. Finkelstein
  • Publication number: 20200252699
    Abstract: This disclosure describes devices related to multiplexing optical data signals. A system may be disclosed for multiplexing one or more optical data signals. The system may comprise a forty channel dense wave division multiplexer (DWDM) configured combine one or more optical data signals. The system may comprise a booster optical amplifier configured to amplify the combined one or more optical data signals and output a first amplified optical data signal. The system may comprise a variable optical amplifier (VOA) communicatively configured to receive the amplified first optical data signal, adjust the power of the amplified first optical data signal to a first level, and output a second optical data signal. The system may comprise a WDM communicatively coupled to the VOA, the WDM configured to output a combined second optical data signal and one or more third signals to a primary fiber.
    Type: Application
    Filed: February 5, 2019
    Publication date: August 6, 2020
    Applicant: Cox Communications, Inc.
    Inventor: Harjinder S. Ghuman