Environment monitoring system for monitoring environment for installing community ethernet switch

• US 20030163561A1
• Filed: 02/22/2002
• Published: 08/28/2003
• Est. Priority Date: 02/22/2002
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: D-Link Corporation
• Original Assignee: D-Link Corporation
• Inventors: Hu, Pao-Ching, Chang, Chih-Ken, Lee, Chung-Wang, Liu, Yi
• Application Number:
  US10/079,564
• Publication Number:
  US 20030163561A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 709/224
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 13/08 by opening, e.g. of door, of window, of drawer, of shutter, of curtain, of blind
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 25/00 Alarm systems in which the location of the alarm condition is signalled to a central station, e.g. fire or police telegraphic systems
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 43/00 Arrangements for monitoring or testing data switching networks
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 43/0817 by checking functioning
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 49/351 for local area network [LAN], e.g. Ethernet switches
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 49/357 Fibre channel switches

Abstract

The present invention relates to an environment monitoring system for monitoring environment for installing community Ethernet switch, which comprises an Ethernet switch installed in a panel room at a community and an environment monitoring device coupled between the Ethernet switch and a central office so that a packet transmission can be effected between the central office and a plurality of end users through the Ethernet switch and the information monitored by the environment monitoring device can be transmitted to the central office enabling the central office to monitor the panel room through the environment monitoring device and perform a real time monitoring on the environment for installing the Ethernet switch at a remote place.

Claims

1. An environment monitoring system for monitoring environment for installing community Ethernet switch comprising:

an environment monitoring device installed in a room at a community, the environment monitoring device having one end coupled to a remote central office through a fiber-optic line; and

at least one Ethernet switch installed in the room, the Ethernet switch having one end coupled to the other end of the environment monitoring device so as to connect to the central office through the environment monitoring device, and the other ends coupled to existing telephone lines which are in turn coupled to a plurality of end users so that packets from the end users are capable of transmitting to the central office or vice versa;

wherein when the environment monitoring device detects an irregularity in the room at least one warning packet is generated, and the warning packet is sent to the central office for a network management engineer at the central office to analyze so as to remotely perform a real time monitoring on the environment for installing the Ethernet switch.

2. The environment monitoring system of claim 1, wherein the environment monitoring device comprises:

a memory for storing data and control programs required for operating the environment monitoring device;

an electrical charge storing element for supplying power to the environment monitoring device while electricity of the environment monitoring device is temporarily lost so that a signal of the loss of electricity is operative to send back from the environment monitoring device to the central office;

a network controller for outputting the packet generated in the environment monitoring device; and

a CPU (central processing unit) coupled to the memory, the electrical charge storing element, and the network controller respectively for operating all components in the environment monitoring device.

3. The environment monitoring system of claim 2, wherein the electrical charge storing element is a capacitor.

4. The environment monitoring system of claim 2, wherein the environment monitoring device further comprises:

a three-port switch coupled to the network controller; and

two connectors coupled to the three-port switch respectively so that the network controller is coupled to the central office and the Ethernet switch via the connectors respectively, and the central office is capable of transmitting the packets to the Ethernet switch and receiving the same therefrom both through the three-port switch.

5. The environment monitoring system of claim 2, wherein the environment monitoring device further comprises:

a contact switch circuit having one end coupled to the CPU and the other detection end coupled to a normally closed gate of the room wherein an unauthorized opening of the gate causes the contact switch circuit to generate a signal which is in turn sent to the CPU for commanding the network controller to generate a warning packet prior to sending to the central office.

6. The environment monitoring system of claim 2, wherein the environment monitoring device further comprises:

a voltage monitoring circuit having one end coupled to the CPU and the other end coupled to a power terminal of the environment monitoring device wherein a sensed voltage value at the power terminal is regularly sent to the CPU through the voltage monitoring circuit for commanding the network controller to generate a voltage packet which is in turn sent to the central office.

7. The environment monitoring system of claim 6, wherein when the loss of electricity is detected at the voltage monitoring circuit, the CPU is informed immediately to cause the electrical charge storing element to discharge so that the CPU is enabled by power supplied from the electrical charge storing element, and in response at least one signal of the loss of electricity generated in the CPU is sent back to the central office.

8. The environment monitoring system of claim 2, wherein the environment monitoring device further comprises:

a temperature sensor which is exposed in the room; and

a temperature sensing circuit having one end coupled to the CPU and the other end coupled to the temperature sensor so that temperature data sensed by the temperature sensor is sent to the CPU through the temperature sensing circuit, and in response the CPU commands the network controller to generate a temperature packet which is in turn sent to the central office.

9. The environment monitoring system of claim 1, further comprising a network management application program in the central office for collecting about the warning, the voltage, and the temperature packets over the Internet wherein the collected packets are stored in a MIB (management information base) for the central office performing an analysis with respect to the packets so that when the irregularity occurs a warning message or a voice file stored in a memory of the central office is read for showing or broadcasting.