Granted Patent B2

US 12,449,468 · App. 18/341,047 · Granted Oct 21, 2025

Inventors: Samuel R. Connor (Apex, NC); Matteo Cocchini (New York, NY); Matthew Doyle (Chatfield, MN); Stuart Brett Benefield (Durham, NC)

Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation

G01R31/11G01R31/085

Abstract

Claims (64)

1. A method for performing enhanced resolution time-domain reflectometry, comprising:

obtaining a plurality of waveforms, wherein each of the plurality of waveforms are obtained by:

transmitting a first pulse on a transmission line;

transmitting a second pulse on the transmission line, where the second pulse is transmitted after the first pulse by a delay; and

capturing and measuring reflections of the transmitted pulses, wherein the delay corresponding to each of the plurality of waveforms is different;

identifying a discontinuity of the transmission line based at least in part on the plurality of waveforms;

based on a determination that the transmission line includes the discontinuity:

calculating third derivative curves for each of the plurality of waveforms; and

calculating a length of the discontinuity of the transmission line based at least in part on the third derivative curves; and

creating a notification indicating a location and the length of the discontinuity of the transmission line, wherein calculating the length of the discontinuity of the transmission line includes identifying a third derivative curve from the third derivative curves that has a minimum peak-to-peak amplitude in the location of the discontinuity, wherein the length of the discontinuity is calculated based on an associated delay of the identified third derivative curve.

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein the plurality of waveforms correspond to a range of values for the delay, wherein the range is specified by a user.

3. The method of claim 2 , wherein the value for the delay is digitally controlled.

4. The method of claim 1 , wherein the determination that the transmission line includes the discontinuity is based on determining that the plurality of waveforms have a point at which the waveforms transition from flat to having a positive slope.

5. The method of claim 1 , wherein the length of the discontinuity is calculated by dividing the associated delay of the identified third derivative curve by two and multiplying it by a propagation velocity of the first pulse.

6. The method of claim 1 , wherein a trained machine learning system is configured to identify the third derivative curve from the third derivative curves that has the minimum peak-to-peak amplitude in the location of the discontinuity.

7. A computing system having a memory having computer readable instructions and one or more processors for executing the computer readable instructions, the computer readable instructions controlling the one or more processors to perform operations comprising:

obtaining a plurality of waveforms, wherein each of the plurality of waveforms are obtained by:

transmitting a first pulse on a transmission line;

transmitting a second pulse on the transmission line, where the second pulse is transmitted after the first pulse by a delay; and

capturing and measuring reflections of the transmitted pulses, wherein the delay corresponding to each of the plurality of waveforms is different;

identifying a discontinuity of the transmission line based at least in part on the plurality of waveforms;

based on a determination that the transmission line includes the discontinuity:

calculating third derivative curves for each of the plurality of waveforms; and

calculating a length of the discontinuity of the transmission line based at least in part on the third derivative curves; and

creating a notification indicating a location and the length of the discontinuity of the transmission line, wherein calculating the length of the discontinuity of the transmission line includes identifying a third derivative curve from the third derivative curves that has a minimum peak-to-peak amplitude in the location of the discontinuity, wherein the length of the discontinuity is calculated based on an associated delay of the identified third derivative curve.

8. The computing system of claim 7 , wherein the plurality of waveforms correspond to a range of values for the delay, wherein the range is specified by a user.

9. The computing system of claim 8 , wherein the value for the delay is digitally controlled.

10. The computing system of claim 8 , wherein the determination that the transmission line includes the discontinuity is based on determining that the plurality of waveforms have a point at which the waveforms transition from flat to having a positive slope.

11. The computing system of claim 7 , wherein the length of the discontinuity is calculated by dividing the associated delay of the identified third derivative curve by two and multiplying it by a propagation velocity of the first pulse.

12. The computing system of claim 7 , wherein a trained machine learning system is configured to identify the third derivative curve from the third derivative curves that has the minimum peak-to-peak amplitude in the location of the discontinuity.

13. A computer program product comprising a non-transitory computer readable storage medium having program instructions embodied therewith, the program instructions executable by a processor to cause the processor to perform operations comprising:

obtaining a plurality of waveforms, wherein each of the plurality of waveforms are obtained by:

transmitting a first pulse on a transmission line;

transmitting a second pulse on the transmission line, where the second pulse is transmitted after the first pulse by a delay; and

capturing and measuring reflections of the transmitted pulses, wherein the delay corresponding to each of the plurality of waveforms is different;

identifying a discontinuity of the transmission line based at least in part on the plurality of waveforms;

based on a determination that the transmission line includes the discontinuity:

calculating third derivative curves for each of the plurality of waveforms; and

calculating a length of the discontinuity of the transmission line based at least in part on the third derivative curves; and

creating a notification indicating a location and the length of the discontinuity of the transmission line, wherein calculating the length of the discontinuity of the transmission line includes identifying a third derivative curve from the third derivative curves that has a minimum peak-to-peak amplitude in the location of the discontinuity, wherein the length of the discontinuity is calculated based on an associated delay of the identified third derivative curve.

14. The computer program product of claim 13 , wherein the length of the discontinuity is calculated by dividing the associated delay of the identified third derivative curve by two and multiplying it by a propagation velocity of the first pulse.

15. The computer program product of claim 13 , wherein a trained machine learning system is configured to identify the third derivative curve from the third derivative curves that has the minimum peak-to-peak amplitude in the location of the discontinuity.

16. A method for performing enhanced resolution time-domain reflectometry, comprising:

obtaining a plurality of waveforms, wherein each of the plurality of waveforms are obtained by:

transmitting a first pulse on a transmission line;

transmitting a second pulse on the transmission line, where the second pulse is transmitted after the first pulse by a delay; and

capturing and measuring reflections of the transmitted pulses, wherein the delay corresponding to each of the plurality of waveforms is different;

calculating derivative curves for each of the plurality of waveforms;

calculating a length of a discontinuity of the transmission line based at least in part on the derivative curves; and

creating a notification indicating a location and the length of the discontinuity of the transmission line, wherein calculating the length of the discontinuity of the transmission line includes identifying at least one derivative curve from the derivative curves that has a minimum peak-to-peak amplitude in a location of the discontinuity, wherein the length of the discontinuity is calculated based on an associated delay of the identified at least one derivative curve.

17. The method of claim 16 , wherein the derivative curves comprise third derivative curves.

18. A method for performing enhanced resolution time-domain reflectometry, comprising:

a) transmitting a first pulse on a transmission line;

b) transmitting a second pulse on the transmission line, where the second pulse is transmitted after the first pulse by a delay;

c) capturing and measuring reflections of the transmitted pulses to create a waveform;

iteratively repeating steps a, b, and c using a plurality of different values for the delay to create a plurality of waveforms including the waveform;

identifying a discontinuity of the transmission line based at least in part on the plurality of waveforms;

based on a determination that the transmission line includes the discontinuity:

calculating third derivative curves for each of the plurality of waveforms; and

calculating a length of the discontinuity of the transmission line based at least in part on the third derivative curves; and

creating a notification indicating a location and the length of the discontinuity of the transmission line, wherein calculating the length of the discontinuity of the transmission line includes identifying a third derivative curve from the third derivative curves that has a minimum peak-to-peak amplitude in a location of the discontinuity, wherein the length of the discontinuity is calculated based on an associated delay of the identified third derivative curve.

19. The method of claim 18 , wherein the determination that the transmission line includes the discontinuity is based on determining that the plurality of waveforms have a point at which the waveforms transition from flat to having a positive slope.

20. The method of claim 18 , wherein the length of the discontinuity is calculated by dividing the associated delay of the identified third derivative curve by two and multiplying it by a propagation velocity of the first pulse.

21. The method of claim 18 , wherein a trained machine learning system is configured to identify the third derivative curve from the third derivative curves that has the minimum peak-to-peak amplitude in the location of the discontinuity.

Assignments (1)

Continuity (1)

References Cited (28)