Leakage location methods
View Patent ↗“Cradle-to-grave” treatment of leaks begins with technicians logging leakage signal strengths and GPS latitude and longitude coordinates in technicians' vehicles as the technicians go about their daily assignments. Leakage signal strengths and GPS latitude and longitude coordinates are then uploaded to a leakage server. The server calculates leak latitude and longitude coordinates and signal strengths. The system sends the leakage signal strengths and/or calculated leak latitude and longitude coordinates to technicians' vehicles, for example, as components of, or attachments to, work orders. The latitudes and longitudes are converted by GPS navigators in the technicians' vehicles to turn-by-turn directions to the calculated leak locations. The technicians drive to the leaks, identify and repair them, and close the work orders.
1. A method for repairing signal leakage from a CATV network, the method comprising traversing an area served by the CATV network, measuring leakage signal strengths, identifying latitude and longitude coordinates where the leakage signal strengths are measured, storing the measured leakage signal strengths and latitude and longitude coordinates where the leakage signal strengths are measured, transferring the measured leakage signal strengths and corresponding latitude and longitude coordinates to a computer, calculating leak latitude and longitude coordinates and signal strengths on the computer from the transferred leakage signal strengths and latitude and longitude coordinates, transferring the calculated leak locations to technicians' vehicles, converting the calculated leak locations in the technicians' vehicles to turn-by-turn directions to the calculated leak locations, following the turn-by-turn directions to the leaks, and repairing the leaks
wherein measuring leakage signal strengths, identifying latitude and longitude coordinates where the leakage signal strengths are measured, storing the measured leakage signal strengths and latitude and longitude coordinates where the leakage signal strengths are measured, and transferring the measured leakage signal strengths and corresponding latitude and longitude coordinates to a computer comprises making leakage measurements, making latitude and longitude measurements, associating each leakage measurement with a respective latitude and longitude measurement, creating a data base of associated leakage measurement and respective latitude and longitude measurement, selecting from the data base a number of leakage measurements, multiplying the selected leakage measurements times a first locus of points on which a leakage signal associated with that respective leakage measurement may be assumed to reside to develop a number of relationships among leakage measurement, latitude and longitude; solving a first pair of these relationships among leakage measurement, latitude and longitude for a second locus of points common to the first pair; solving a second pair of these relationships among leakage measurement, latitude and longitude for a third locus of points common to the second pair, projecting the second and third loci onto a common surface, and determining the intersection of the second and third loci on the common surface.
2. The method according to claim 1 wherein identifying latitude and longitude coordinates where the leakage signal strengths are measured comprises identifying GPS latitude and longitude coordinates.
3. The method of claim 1 further including determining the strength of the leakage signal by substituting the intersection of the second and third loci on the common surface back into a selected relationship among relationships among leakage measurement, latitude and longitude and solving for leakage signal strength.
4. The method of claim 1 wherein solving a first pair of these relationships among leakage measurement, latitude and longitude for a second locus of points common to the first pair, solving a second pair of these relationships among leakage measurement, latitude and longitude for a third locus of points common to the second pair together comprise selecting a latitude and longitude about which the solutions are to be normalized and solving the first and second pairs of relationships about the latitude and longitude about which the solutions are to be normalized.
5. The method of claim 1 wherein solving a first pair of these relationships among leakage signal strength, leakage and location for a second locus of common points to the first pair and solving a second pair of these relationships among leakage signal strength, leakage and location for a third locus of common points to the second pair, and projecting the second and third loci onto a common surface together comprise converting an angular distance into a linear distance.
6. The method of claim 5 wherein converting an angular distance into a linear distance comprises using a table to convert an angular distance into a linear distance.
7. The method of claim 5 wherein converting an angular distance into a linear distance comprises calculating a linear distance from an angular distance.
8. The method of claim 1 wherein measuring leakage and identifying latitude and longitude coordinates where the leakage is measured comprises intermittently measuring leakage and identifying latitude and longitude coordinates where the leakage is measured.
9. The method of claim 1 wherein measuring leakage and identifying latitude and longitude coordinates where leakage is measured comprises periodically measuring leakage and identifying latitude and longitude coordinates where the leakage is measured.