Power over ethernet management devices and connection between ethernet devices

• US 10,514,739 B2
• Filed: 07/05/2016
• Issued: 12/24/2019
• Est. Priority Date: 04/26/2005
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Accedian Networks Inc. (Cisco Systems, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Accedian Networks Inc. (Cisco Systems, Inc.)
• Inventors: Robitaille, Claude, Ostiguy, Patrick, Cote, Nicolas, Rochon, Steve, Bastien, Dominique
• Primary Examiner(s): Nguyen, Hanh N
• Application Number:
  US15/201,909
• Publication Number:
  US 20160313776A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,267 Days
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/266 Arrangements to supply power to external peripherals either directly from the computer or under computer control, e.g. supply of power through the communication port, computer controlled power-strips
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/30 Means for acting in the event of power-supply failure or interruption, e.g. power-supply fluctuations for resetting only G06F1/24
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/0709 in a distributed system consisting of a plurality of standalone computer nodes, e.g. clusters, client-server systems
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/0793 Remedial or corrective actions recovery from an exception in an instruction pipeline G06F9/3861; by retry G06F11/1402; for recovering from a failure of a protocol instance or entity H04L69/40
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/10 Current supply arrangements
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/50 Circuit switching systems, i.e. systems in which the path is physically permanent during the communication
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 25/02 Details ; arrangements for supplying electrical power along data transmission lines systems for transmitting signals via power distribution lines H04B3/54

Abstract

In one embodiment, a connection is maintained between a pair of ethernet ports that have circuitry connected in series with the ports and receiving power-over-ethernet (PoE) from one of the ports, by providing a controllable bypass circuit coupled to the pair of ethernet ports in parallel with the circuitry receiving power-over-ethernet, sensing a preselected condition, and opening and closing the bypass circuit in response to the presence or absence of the preselected condition. Power sourcing equipment (PSE) may supply the one of the ports with power over ethernet, and the circuitry may transports data between the pair of ethernet ports. The circuitry may also supply the switch with a control signal in response to the detection of the preselected condition.

Claims

1. A network powered device comprising:

a first network interface receiving power over the first network interface;

a second network interface;

a switch coupled between the first network interface and the second network interface, the switch having a bypass mode that couples power between the first interface to the second interface and a non-bypass mode that decouples power between the first interface from the second interface;

a circuit implementing functions of the device; and

a CPU coupled to the switch and controlling the state of the switch, the CPU executing diagnostic software to monitor for a fault condition in the operation of the circuit, the CPU in response to detecting a no-fault condition configuring the switch into the non-bypass mode, the CPU in response to detecting a fault condition in the operation of the circuit configuring the switch into the bypass mode, wherein the CPU is separate from the second network interface.

2. The network powered device of claim 1 wherein the second network interface provides a power source when the switch is in the bypass mode.

3. The network powered device of claim 2 wherein the first network interface comprises data lines and non-data lines and power is received on the data lines and the non-data lines.

4. The network powered device of claim 3 wherein the second network interface comprises data lines and non-data lines and only provides the power source after verifying that there is an external electrical load on the data lines and on the non-data lines of the second network interface.

5. A method for operating a network powered device comprising:

configuring a switch coupled between a first network interface and a second interface in a non-bypass mode when power is not being received over the first network interface;

in response to power being received over the first network interface, enabling a CPU to execute diagnostic software to monitor for a fault condition in the operation of a circuit implementing functions of the device;

in response to the CPU detecting a no-fault condition configuring the switch into a non-bypass mode, the non-bypass mode decoupling the first interface from the second interface and not provide power from the first interface to the second interface; and

in response to the CPU detecting a fault condition configuring the switch into the bypass mode coupling the first interface to the second interface to provide power from the first interface to the second interface, wherein the CPU is separate from the second network interface.

6. The method of claim 5 wherein the second network interface provides a power source when the switch is in the bypass mode.

7. The method of claim 6 wherein the first network interface comprises data lines and non-data lines and power is received on the data lines and the non-data lines.

8. The network powered device of claim 7 wherein the second network interface comprises data lines and non-data lines and only provides the power source after verifying that there is an external electrical load on the data lines and on the non-data lines of the second network interface.