Patents Assigned to Acterna, LLC
  • Patent number: 7434139
    Abstract: Determination of the location of an error condition or a failure includes receiving at a network interface a first framed digital signal from customer premises equipment, and determining whether the first framed digital signal indicates a failure. Overhead bits are modified in the first framed digital signal to generate a second framed digital signal, such that the modification is equivalent to insertion of errors into the first framed digital signal at a bit error ratio (BER) of not greater than a predetermined ratio, if the first framed digital signal indicates a failure. The second framed digital signal is then sent from the network interface in place of the first framed digital signal to indicate that the failure reported by the first framed digital signal is located in the customer premises equipment. Otherwise, if no failure is indicated, the first framed digital signal is transmitted without any modifications.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 26, 2005
    Date of Patent: October 7, 2008
    Assignee: Acterna, LLC
    Inventors: Bruce R. Barton, Paul R. Hartmann, Maynard A. Wright
  • Patent number: 6943557
    Abstract: In a system and method for testing and displaying the abnormalities, includes opens, shorts, bridged-taps and wet sections, of a copper pair line for xDSL service use, the abnormalities are amplified and normalized so as to be displayed within a predetermined observation range. The normalization steps include piecewise gaining and biasing the reflected pulse of various gains to create a first normalized reflected trace which match the reflected traces within a predetermined observation range and thereby constitute a total smooth curve; and amplifying the first normalized reflected trace according to a function of time to create a second normalized reflected trace so as to eliminate an exponential gain decay curve of a no-fault copper pair line with the same predetermined characteristic parameters from the first normalized reflected trace to thereby obtain a second normalized reflected trace showing any amplified abnormalities.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 16, 2003
    Date of Patent: September 13, 2005
    Assignee: Acterna, LLC
    Inventor: Paul Wyar
  • Patent number: 6653844
    Abstract: In a system and method for testing and displaying the abnormalities, includes opens, shorts, bridged-taps and wet sections, of a copper pair line for xDSL service use, the abnormalities are amplified and normalized so as to be displayed within a predetermined observation range. The normalization steps include piecewise gaining and biasing the reflected pulse of various gains to create a first normalized reflected trace which match the reflected traces within a predetermined observation range and thereby constitute a total smooth curve; and amplifying the first normalized reflected trace according to a function of time to create a second normalized reflected trace so as to eliminate an exponential gain decay curve of a no-fault copper pair line with the same predetermined characteristic parameters from the first normalized reflected trace to thereby obtain a second normalized reflected trace showing any amplified abnormalities.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 27, 2001
    Date of Patent: November 25, 2003
    Assignee: Acterna, LLC
    Inventor: Paul Wyar
  • Patent number: 6574310
    Abstract: A method and apparatus for testing telephone equipment for longitudinal balance. A signal generating circuit places a test signal at a certain frequency on the tip and ring wires of a telephone line. The telephone line is monitored and the signals on the tip and ring wires are measured and compared against each other. The frequency is gradually increased in set increments until the test frequency is in the megahertz range.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 27, 2000
    Date of Patent: June 3, 2003
    Assignee: Acterna, LLC
    Inventors: Larry Hartman, Paul Wyar, Greg Quiggle
  • Patent number: 6230006
    Abstract: A system for centrally and remotely testing switches of cellular and conventional telecommunications network wherein a controller located at a remote location provides instructions to Remote Call Processor (RCP) to thereby prompt the RCPs to establish a communication link from the RCP through a switch to a destination device whereby audio from said destination device is communicated, by way of the switch and the RCP, to the controller in order to verify that the switch properly routed and billed of the call. The destination device may be a service provided by such network or it may be another RCP.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 3, 1998
    Date of Patent: May 8, 2001
    Assignee: Acterna, LLC
    Inventors: Timothy Lee Keenan, David E. Adams