Patents by Inventor Thomas Holtzman Williams

Thomas Holtzman Williams has filed for patents to protect the following inventions. This listing includes patent applications that are pending as well as patents that have already been granted by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO).

  • Publication number: 20210399936
    Abstract: A method of modulating a series of input digital symbols of a first modulation scheme is provided. The method is implemented by a transmitter and includes receiving a sequential series of samples of the digital symbols in a first domain of the first modulation scheme. The first domain is one of the time domain and the frequency domain. The method further includes determining a dual of the first modulation scheme. The dual has a second modulation scheme in a second domain that is different from the first domain the second domain is the other of the time domain and the frequency domain. The method further includes applying a 90 degree rotational operation to the second modulation scheme to generate a rotational modulation format, modulating the series of digital symbols with the generated rotational modulation format, and outputting the modulated series of digital symbols to a receiver.
    Type: Application
    Filed: August 23, 2021
    Publication date: December 23, 2021
    Inventors: Thomas Holtzman Williams, Lin Cheng
  • Patent number: 11159250
    Abstract: A transmitter is configured to transmit data to a receiver over a communications network. The transmitter includes a memory for storing computer-executable instructions and a processor in operable communication with the memory. The processor is configured to (i) collect spectrum data of a spectral band over a first sampling interval, and (ii) store the collected spectrum data in the memory. The transmitter further includes a common path distortion (CPD) detection unit configured to (i) sample the collected spectrum data, over a second sampling interval less than the first sampling interval, for a plurality of sub-bands within the spectral band, (ii) analyze the spectral band and each sub-band for indications of common path distortion, and (iii) inject a test signal configured for detection at a headend of the communications network. The transmitter further includes a modem portion configured to operably communicate with the headend and the receiver.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 15, 2019
    Date of Patent: October 26, 2021
    Assignee: Cable Television Laboratories, Inc.
    Inventors: Thomas Holtzman Williams, Luis Alberto Campos, Jason W. Rupe
  • Patent number: 11102043
    Abstract: A method of modulating a series of input digital symbols of a first modulation scheme is provided. The method is implemented by a transmitter and includes receiving a sequential series of samples of the digital symbols in a first domain of the first modulation scheme. The first domain is one of the time domain and the frequency domain. The method further includes determining a dual of the first modulation scheme. The dual has a second modulation scheme in a second domain that is different from the first domain the second domain is the other of the time domain and the frequency domain. The method further includes applying a 90 degree rotational operation to the second modulation scheme to generate a rotational modulation format, modulating the series of digital symbols with the generated rotational modulation format, and outputting the modulated series of digital symbols to a receiver.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 18, 2018
    Date of Patent: August 24, 2021
    Assignee: Cable Television Laboratories, Inc.
    Inventors: Thomas Holtzman Williams, Lin Cheng
  • Publication number: 20210237526
    Abstract: Described is a multi-mode transportation system with roads and monorails, and vehicles that can transform to travel on either roads, or monorails, or on both simultaneously. Vehicles move in mode 1 on the roads using road wheels that roll over pavement. Vehicles in mode 2 move on the monorails and are supported by rail wheels in contact with a top of a monorail. In mode 2, the vehicle is supported by side cylinders that stabilize the vehicle on the monorail. Vehicles move in mode 3 with support from both roads and monorails simultaneously. Monorail mount locations simplify the vehicle's transition between modes. Pivoting or other mechanisms for road wheels, rail wheels, or side cylinders facilitate vehicle design. The vehicle can optionally be connected to the Internet, and be part of a traffic control system or operate autonomously. Small scale models or computer models of these vehicle can be used as toys, for product development, prototyping, animation, competitive games, entertainment, or for education.
    Type: Application
    Filed: February 3, 2020
    Publication date: August 5, 2021
    Inventor: Thomas Holtzman Williams
  • Patent number: 11057006
    Abstract: An amplification subsystem for a communication system includes a downstream amplifier configured to transmit a downstream signal within a first frequency range, an upstream amplifier configured to transmit an upstream signal within a second frequency range, and a bidirectional amplifier configured to selectively transmit a mid-band signal in either of the upstream and downstream direction.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 18, 2020
    Date of Patent: July 6, 2021
    Assignee: Cable Television Laboratories, Inc.
    Inventors: Thomas Holtzman Williams, Belal Hamzeh
  • Patent number: 11025297
    Abstract: Facilitating echo cancellation within communication networks is contemplated, such as but not necessarily limited to facilitating echo cancellation within full-duplex (FDX) communication networks. The echo cancellation may optionally be performed with an echo canceller included as part of or otherwise associated with an FDX node used to facilitate interfacing signaling between a digital domain and an analog domain of a FDX or other communication network.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 2, 2017
    Date of Patent: June 1, 2021
    Assignee: Cable Television Laboratories, Inc.
    Inventors: Thomas Holtzman Williams, Belal Hamzeh, Luis Alberto Campos
  • Publication number: 20210153496
    Abstract: A week killing device where weeds or other undesirable vegetation are killed by radio frequency (RF) energy applied directly to the weed by a probe inserted into or near the weed. The probe is comprised of a center pin, which is electrically hot, surrounded by periphery pins which are grounded. A reflection measuring circuit makes an impedance measurement of the probe in the ground and a matching circuit is adjusted to make an impedance match. Next a RF generator applies RF energy through the matching circuit into the probe. Energy delivery is monitored to insure weed kill by thermal heating. The probe can be manually applied by a person or applied by an autonomous vehicle using computer vision (CV) and artificial intelligence (AI) to identify weeds and avoid row crops. The weed killing device may apply power to the above-ground portion a of a weed with the root providing a ground return. The weed killing device may be towed and apply RF energy when a weed is detected by the impedance measurement circuit.
    Type: Application
    Filed: November 26, 2019
    Publication date: May 27, 2021
    Inventor: Thomas Holtzman Williams
  • Patent number: 10985832
    Abstract: Mitigation of satellite interference is contemplated. The mitigation may include processing satellite transmissions to remove interferences based on an amount of signal overlap, such as to facilitate mitigating interferences resulting from satellite spacing and/or ground antenna dish size.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 3, 2020
    Date of Patent: April 20, 2021
    Assignee: Cable Television Laboratories, Inc.
    Inventors: Thomas Holtzman Williams, David Daniel Smith
  • Patent number: 10921363
    Abstract: A system for detecting a failure along a transmission line of a cable plant is provided. The system includes a mobile vehicle configured to travel along a pathway substantially proximate to the cable plant along a span of the transmission line, and a transmitter disposed with the mobile vehicle. The transmitter is configured to emit (i) a test signal capable of ingressing the transmission line at a location of the failure, and (ii) an information signal containing location and velocity data of the mobile vehicle. The test signal is configured to provide phase shift and Doppler frequency information to a receiver operably connected to the transmission line at a location upstream from the location of the failure.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 9, 2018
    Date of Patent: February 16, 2021
    Assignee: Cable Television Laboratories, Inc.
    Inventor: Thomas Holtzman Williams
  • Publication number: 20200412393
    Abstract: Mitigating noise in a network is contemplated, such as but not necessarily limited to mitigating noise through a detection process whereby noise deviations resulting from selectively controlling smart taps, switches or other devices to block signaling in the network may be used to locate sources of noise.
    Type: Application
    Filed: September 14, 2020
    Publication date: December 31, 2020
    Inventors: JOSEPH PADDEN, THOMAS HOLTZMAN WILLIAMS, JONATHAN RAY DENNIS, DARYL WILLIAM MALAS, DAN SCHRIMPSHER, DOUGLAS D. JONES
  • Patent number: 10778266
    Abstract: Mitigating noise in a network is contemplated, such as but not necessarily limited to mitigating noise through a detection process whereby noise deviations resulting from selectively controlling smart taps, switches or other devices to block signaling in the network may be used to locate sources of noise.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 9, 2018
    Date of Patent: September 15, 2020
    Assignee: Cable Television Laboratories, Inc.
    Inventors: Joseph Padden, Thomas Holtzman Williams, Jonathan Ray Dennis, Daryl William Malas, Dan Schrimpsher, Douglas D. Jones
  • Publication number: 20200280289
    Abstract: An amplification subsystem for a communication system includes a downstream amplifier configured to transmit a downstream signal within a first frequency range, an upstream amplifier configured to transmit an upstream signal within a second frequency range, and a bidirectional amplifier configured to selectively transmit a mid-band signal in either of the upstream and downstream direction.
    Type: Application
    Filed: May 18, 2020
    Publication date: September 3, 2020
    Inventors: Thomas Holtzman Williams, Belal Hamzeh
  • Publication number: 20200266896
    Abstract: A communication network includes a first electrical cable, a home network translation device, and a first termination device. The home network translation device is communicatively coupled between an optical cable and the first electrical cable, and the home network translation device is configured to translate data between an optical protocol on the optical cable and a home networking protocol on the first electrical cable. The first termination device is communicatively coupled to the first electrical cable and is configured to translate data between the home networking protocol on the first electrical cable and an additional protocol on an additional communication medium communicatively coupled to the first termination device.
    Type: Application
    Filed: May 4, 2020
    Publication date: August 20, 2020
    Inventor: Thomas Holtzman Williams
  • Publication number: 20200204416
    Abstract: A method for transmitting a digital frame by an optical network unit in a digital communications network includes steps of arranging received data into a series of symbols, installing a primary cyclic prefix immediately preceding the series of symbols in time, and inserting individual ones of a plurality of secondary cyclic prefixes between each adjacent pair of symbols in the series of symbols. A length of each secondary cyclic prefix corresponds to a first duration shorter than an amount of time needed to turn on a laser of the optical network unit. The method further includes a step of providing to the optical network unit the digital frame. The digital frame includes the primary cyclic prefix, the plurality of secondary cyclic prefixes, and the series of symbols. The method further includes a step of modulating the provided digital frame by a laser of the optical network unit.
    Type: Application
    Filed: March 2, 2020
    Publication date: June 25, 2020
    Inventors: Douglas D. Jones, Luis Alberto Campos, Thomas Holtzman Williams
  • Publication number: 20200186240
    Abstract: Mitigation of satellite interference is contemplated. The mitigation may include processing satellite transmissions to remove interferences based on an amount of signal overlap, such as to facilitate mitigating interferences resulting from satellite spacing and/or ground antenna dish size.
    Type: Application
    Filed: February 3, 2020
    Publication date: June 11, 2020
    Inventors: Thomas Holtzman Williams, David Daniel Smith
  • Patent number: 10658989
    Abstract: An amplification subsystem for a communication system includes a downstream amplifier configured to transmit a downstream signal within a first frequency range, an upstream amplifier configured to transmit an upstream signal within a second frequency range, and a bidirectional amplifier configured to selectively transmit a mid-band signal in either of the upstream and downstream direction.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 24, 2019
    Date of Patent: May 19, 2020
    Assignee: Cable Television Laboratories, Inc
    Inventors: Thomas Holtzman Williams, Belal Hamzeh
  • Patent number: 10644797
    Abstract: A communication network includes a first electrical cable, a home network translation device, and a first termination device. The home network translation device is communicatively coupled between an optical cable and the first electrical cable, and the home network translation device is configured to translate data between an optical protocol on the optical cable and a home networking protocol on the first electrical cable. The first termination device is communicatively coupled to the first electrical cable and is configured to translate data between the home networking protocol on the first electrical cable and an additional protocol on an additional communication medium communicatively coupled to the first termination device.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 18, 2019
    Date of Patent: May 5, 2020
    Assignee: CABLE TELEVISION LABORATORIES, INC.
    Inventor: Thomas Holtzman Williams
  • Patent number: 10581654
    Abstract: A method for transmitting a digital frame by an optical network unit in a digital communications network includes steps of arranging received data into a series of symbols, installing a primary cyclic prefix immediately preceding the series of symbols in time, and inserting individual ones of a plurality of secondary cyclic prefixes between each adjacent pair of symbols in the series of symbols. A length of each secondary cyclic prefix corresponds to a first duration shorter than an amount of time needed to turn on a laser of the optical network unit. The method further includes a step of providing to the optical network unit the digital frame. The digital frame includes the primary cyclic prefix, the plurality of secondary cyclic prefixes, and the series of symbols. The method further includes a step of modulating the provided digital frame by a laser of the optical network unit.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 20, 2018
    Date of Patent: March 3, 2020
    Assignee: Cable Television Laboratories, Inc
    Inventors: Douglas D. Jones, Luis Alberto Campos, Thomas Holtzman Williams
  • Publication number: 20200059206
    Abstract: An amplification subsystem for a communication system includes a downstream amplifier configured to transmit a downstream signal within a first frequency range, an upstream amplifier configured to transmit an upstream signal within a second frequency range, and a bidirectional amplifier configured to selectively transmit a mid-band signal in either of the upstream and downstream direction.
    Type: Application
    Filed: October 24, 2019
    Publication date: February 20, 2020
    Inventors: Thomas Holtzman Williams, Belal Hamzeh
  • Patent number: 10554292
    Abstract: Mitigation of satellite interference is contemplated. The mitigation may include processing satellite transmissions to remove interferences based on an amount of signal overlap, such as to facilitate mitigating interferences resulting from satellite spacing and/or ground antenna dish size.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 9, 2018
    Date of Patent: February 4, 2020
    Assignee: Cable Television Laboratories, Inc.
    Inventors: Thomas Holtzman Williams, David Daniel Smith