System for power delivery over data communication cabling infrastructure
First Claim
1. A system for distributing electrical power over a data communication cabling infrastructure to one or more electrical power consuming network devices, comprising:
- a data communications cabling network;
a source of electrical power;
at least one power/data combiner coupled to said source of electrical power and to said data communications cabling network, said at least one power/data combiner operative to generate and inject a low frequency power signal onto a data communications signal received from said data communications cabling network so as to yield a combined power/data signal which is subsequently output onto said data communications cabling network; and
at least one power/data splitter adapted to receive said combined power/data signal and to extract and separate therefrom said original data communication signal and said low frequency power signal.
3 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
A system for generating, delivering and distributing electrical power to network elements over a data communication network infrastructure within a building, campus or enterprise. Consolidating power distribution and data communications over a single network simplifies and reduces the cost of network element installation and provides a means of supplying uninterrupted or backup power to critical network devices in the event of a power failure. The invention includes power/data combiners that combine a data communication signal with a low frequency power signal. The combined signal is transported over the LAN infrastructure where a power/data splitter extracts the data signal and the power signal and generates two separate outputs. The power over LAN system of the present invention operates with high bandwidth data communication networks, i.e., 10 Mbps, 100 Mbps, 1000 Mbps. The electrical power distributed over the LAN can be delivered as DC or low frequency AC voltages which in either case will not interfere with data communications signals. The electrical power delivered over data communications cable can be transmitted using one or more spare pairs in the cable or over the receive and transmit wires.
-
Citations
37 Claims
-
1. A system for distributing electrical power over a data communication cabling infrastructure to one or more electrical power consuming network devices, comprising:
-
a data communications cabling network;
a source of electrical power;
at least one power/data combiner coupled to said source of electrical power and to said data communications cabling network, said at least one power/data combiner operative to generate and inject a low frequency power signal onto a data communications signal received from said data communications cabling network so as to yield a combined power/data signal which is subsequently output onto said data communications cabling network; and
at least one power/data splitter adapted to receive said combined power/data signal and to extract and separate therefrom said original data communication signal and said low frequency power signal. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18)
-
-
19. A method for distributing electrical power over a data communication cabling infrastructure to one or more electrical power consuming network devices, said method comprising the steps of:
-
generating a low frequency power signal from a source of electrical power;
injecting said low frequency power signal into a data communications signal being carried over said data communications cabling network so as to generate a combined power/data signal;
transmitting said combined power/data signal onto said data communications cabling network;
receiving said combined power/data signal carried over said data communication cabling network; and
splitting said combined power/data signal so as to yield said data communication signal separated from said low frequency power signal. - View Dependent Claims (20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27)
-
-
28. A system for distributing electrical power over a data communication cabling infrastructure to one or more electrical power consuming network devices, comprising:
-
a data communications cabling network;
a source of electrical power;
power supply means for generating a low frequency power signal from said source of electrical power;
combiner means coupled to said data communications cabling network, said combiner means for injecting said low frequency power signal onto a data communications signal being carried over said data communications cabling network so as to yield a combined power/data signal;
regulator means for regulating the injection of said low frequency power signal onto said data communications signal, said regulation including, but not limited to, ceasing the injection of said low frequency power signal and limiting its current;
extraction means for extracting said low frequency power signal from said combined power/data signal and for outputting said original data communication signal and said low frequency power signal. - View Dependent Claims (29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37)
-
Specification