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US 2016/0080035 A1Published application
Method and apparatus for sensing a condition in a transmission medium of electromagnetic waves
AssigneeAT&T Intellectual Property I, L.P.
InventorsMitchell Harvey Fuchs, Irwin Gerszberg
Life of this patent
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Abstract
Aspects of the subject disclosure may include, for example, a device that facilitates transmitting electromagnetic waves along a surface of a wire that facilitates delivery of electric energy to devices, and sensing a condition that is adverse to the electromagnetic waves propagating along the surface of the wire. Other embodiments are disclosed.
Claims20
An apparatus, comprising:
- a waveguide, the waveguide positioned with respect to a wire of a power grid that facilitates delivery of electric energy to devices, the waveguide facilitating transmission or reception of electromagnetic waves that propagate along an outer surface of the wire without an electrical return path, and the wire serving as a single wire transmission line that is not part of a circuit for propagating the electromagnetic waves along the outer surface of the wire;
- and
- a sensor that facilitates sensing a condition that is adverse to one of an operation of the waveguide associated with the transmission or the reception of electromagnetic waves, or the transmission or reception of electromagnetic waves that propagate along the surface of the wire.
A method, comprising:
- transmitting, by an apparatus comprising a waveguide and a sensor, electromagnetic waves that propagate along an outer surface of a wire without an electrical return path, the wire facilitating delivery of electric energy to devices, and the wire serving as a single wire transmission line that is not part of a circuit for propagating the electromagnetic waves along the outer surface of the wire;
- and
- sensing, by the sensor, a condition that is adverse to the electromagnetic waves that propagate along the surface.
A non-transitory machine-readable storage medium, comprising executable instructions that, when executed by a processor, facilitate performance of operations, comprising:
- inducing with a waveguide electromagnetic waves along a surface of a transmission medium without utilizing an electrical return path of the transmission medium;
- and
- collecting sensing data from a sensor, wherein the sensing data is associated with a condition that is adverse to the electromagnetic waves guided along the surface of the transmission medium.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.