Patent ID: 7254827

Claim:
A system for monitoring reverse paths of a bi-directional cable communication network to detect and analyze an ingress signal entering and carried by one of said reverse paths within a frequency band assigned thereto for carrying reverse signals, said ingress signal carrying path ending at a network sub-headend or headend through a corresponding one of a plurality of communication lines connected thereto, said system comprising: a plurality of radio frequency signal detectors being provided with bandpass filter means and respectively coupled to said plurality of communication lines at said sub-headend or headend for receiving a radio frequency signal within said frequency band to generate corresponding output signals indicative of the strength of the received radio frequency signal, one of said frequency signal detectors being coupled to the communication line corresponding to the ingress signal carrying path for receiving the ingress signal with said reverse signals to generate corresponding one of said output signals which is indicative of the strength of the received ingress signal with said received reverse signals; signal processor means adapted to perform selective analysis of the detector output signals by extracting source characteristics data from said detector output signals over a predetermined period of time and comparing said source characteristics data with at least one predetermined ingress thresholds to generate an alarm signal whenever the ingress signal is detected; controller means receiving the alarm signal to generate monitoring sequence control data indicative of the communication line corresponding to the ingress signal carrying path to be monitored; switch means having a plurality of inputs being connected to the communication lines and being responsive to the monitoring sequence control data to select the input connected to the communication line to be monitored; and signal monitor means coupled to an output of the switch means and being responsive to the monitoring sequence control data for analyzing the ingress signal wherein said signal monitor means include signal analyzer means for generating ingress signal analysis data and data processor means receiving said monitoring sequence control data to control operation of said analyzer means and comparing the ingress signal analysis data with predetermined threshold data to generate alarm message data, said controller means receiving the alarm message data to further generate diagnostic sequence control data according to the alarm message data, said signal monitor means being further responsive to the diagnostic sequence control data to determine source characteristics of the ingress signal.