Method and system for providing DC power on local telephone Lines

• US 20060233354A1
• Filed: 06/21/2006
• Published: 10/19/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 01/30/2003
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: MOSAID Technologies Inc. (f/k/a Conversant Intellectual Property Management)
• Original Assignee: SercoNet Limited (Yehuda Binder, MBA)
• Inventors: Hazani, Ami, Binder, Yehuda, Kofman, Semion
• Granted Patent: US 8,107,618 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 379/413
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 19/08 with current supply sources at the substations generating ringing current H04M19/04
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 9/08 Two-way loud-speaking telephone systems with means for conditioning the signal, e.g. for suppressing echoes for one or both directions of traffic

Abstract

A system for providing DC power on local telephone lines, such as telephone lines in a building or office, for powering devices and circuitry associated with communications over those telephone lines, as well as other functions. Desired voltage and power levels are supplied over local telephone lines by separating the DC power component from the central office or private branch exchange with a DC blocking filter while passing all AC telephony signals. A distinct DC power is then imposed over the telephone line for powering both the telephony service as well as other loads. Conventional telephone off-hook detection is simulated for compatibility with the central office or private branch exchange. The functions required may be integrated, partially or fully within a telephone outlet.

Claims

1. A device for coupling a telephone signal to an analog telephone set, for use with a single telephone wire pair connected for concurrently carrying a telephone signal and a power signal, said device comprising:

a wiring connector connectable to the telephone wire pair;

a telephone connector connectable to the analog telephone set;

a telephone coupler coupled between said wiring connector and said telephone connector for powering said analog telephone set by the power signal, for passing the telephone signal and for limiting the DC power supplied to the analog telephone set to a level suitable for proper telephone operation;

at least one power consuming component separate from the telephone set;

a load coupler coupled between said at least one power consuming component and said wiring connector for powering said at least one power consuming component by the power signal, independently of the hook state of the connected analog telephone set; and

a single enclosure housing said wiring connector, said telephone connector, said telephone coupler, said load coupler and said at least one power consuming component.

2. The device according to claim 1, wherein the power signal is a DC power signal.

3. The device according to claim 1, wherein the telephone signal is an analog telephone signal.

4. The device according to claim 1, further comprising:

off-hook detector means coupled between said telephone connector and said wiring connector for detecting an off-hook condition of the analog telephone set; and

off-hook transmitter means coupled to said off-hook detector means and said wiring connector for supplying an off-hook indication to the telephone wire pair in response to detection of an off-hook condition by said off-hook detector means.

5. The device according to claim 4, wherein the off-hook indication is a signal composed of one or more tones.

6. The device according to claim 4, wherein the off-hook indication is provided by a variable impedance that assumes a selected value to produce a simulated off-hook indication.

7. The device according to claim 4, wherein the off-hook indication is a message sent over a data communication network.

8. The device according to claim 1, wherein said device is housed together with one of:

the analog telephone set;

or a telephone line modem.

9. The device according to claim 1, wherein said single enclosure is:

attachable to a support surface;

or mountable to a wall of a building;

or attachable to a wall opening or to an outlet cavity.

10. The device according to claim 1, wherein said single enclosure is a wall-mountable enclosure that is constructed to have at least one of the following:

a form substantially similar to that of a standard outlet;

wall mounting elements substantially similar to those of a standard wall outlet;

a shape allowing direct mounting in an outlet opening or cavity; and

a form to at least in part substitute for a standard outlet.

11. The device according to claim 1, wherein the power signal is a DC power signal having a voltage on the telephone wire pair that is distinct from a −

48 volt DC analog telephone signal, and said device further comprises a DC to DC voltage converter coupled between said wiring connector and said telephone connector for converting the DC power signal voltage to a −

48 volt DC analog telephone signal.

12. The device according to claim 1, further operative to power a unit by the power signal, said device further comprising a power connector coupled to said load coupler to receive power therefrom and connectable to supply the received power to the unit.

13. The device according to claim 1, wherein the telephone wire pair is further connected for carrying a bi-directional packet-based digital data signal in a digital data frequency band, and said device further comprises:

a telephone modem coupled to said wiring connector and operative to conduct the bi-directional packet-based digital data signal, wherein said telephone modem is coupled to said load coupler to be powered by the power signal.

14. The device according to claim 13, wherein the analog telephone signal and the bi-directional digital data signal are carried using frequency division multiplexing, with the digital data signal being carried in a digital data signal frequency band and the analog telephone signal being carried in an analog telephone frequency band distinct from, and lower than, the digital data frequency band, and said device further comprises a high pass filter coupled between said telephone modem and said wiring connector for substantially passing signals in the digital data frequency band and substantially blocking signals in the analog telephone frequency band.

15. The device according to claim 13, wherein the bi-directional digital data signal is a DSL-based signal or a HomePNA signal and said telephone modem is respectively an xDSL or a HomePNA modem.

16. The device according to claim 1, wherein the telephone wire pair is part of a subscriber loop.

17. The device according to claim 1, wherein the telephone wire pair is at least in part in walls of a residential building.

18. The device according to claim 1, wherein the power consuming component is a radio frequency transceiver coupled to said load coupler to be powered by the power signal.

19. The device according to claim 1, wherein the power signal is a DC power signal, and said device further comprises a further connector coupled to said wiring connector for transferring DC power from the power signal to a connected unit.

20. A network interface device for coupling an analog telephone signal in an analog telephone signal frequency band to an analog telephone set and for coupling a digital data signal to a data unit, for use with a telephone wire pair carrying a DC power signal, said device comprising:

a wiring connector connectable to the telephone wire pair for receiving the DC power signal;

a first port;

a telephone port connectable for coupling an analog telephone signal to the analog telephone set;

a low pass filter coupled between said first port and said telephone port for substantially passing only analog telephone signals in an analog telephone signal frequency band and for substantially stopping other signals;

a digital data interface for connection to a data unit;

a telephone modem coupled to said digital data interface and operative to conduct bi-directional packet-based digital data communication with the data signal over a telephone wire pair in a digital data frequency band distinct from, and higher than, the analog telephone frequency band;

a high pass filter coupled between said first port and said telephone modem for substantially passing only signals in the digital data frequency band and substantially stopping all other signals; and

a single enclosure housing said wiring connector, said telephone port, said first port, said low and high pass filters, said digital data interface and said telephone modem, wherein said device is powered only by the DC power signal, said device is mountable onto a wall of a residential building, and said device further comprises a current limiter for limiting the DC power component of the analog telephone signal to a level suitable for proper analog operation.

21. The device according to claim 20, wherein said telephone, port is a RJ-11 standard telephone connector.

22. The device according to claim 20, wherein said digital data interface conforms to IEEE802.3 100BaseT Ethernet standard.

23. The device according to claim 20, wherein said first port is coupled to said wiring connector.

24. The device according to claim 20, wherein the bi-directional digital data communication is DSL-based or HomePNA and said telephone modem is respectively an xDSL modem or a HomePNA modem.

25. The device according to claim 20, wherein the telephone wire pair is part of a subscriber loop.

26. The device according to claim 20, wherein telephone wire pair is at least in part in walls of a residential building.

27. The device according to claim 20, wherein said single enclosure is attachable to a wall opening or to an outlet cavity.

28. The device according to claim 20, wherein said single enclosure is a wall-mountable enclosure that is constructed to have at least one of the following:

a form substantially similar to that of a standard outlet;

wall mounting elements substantially similar to those of a standard wall outlet;

a shape allowing direct mounting in an outlet opening or cavity; and

a form to at least in part substitute for a standard outlet.

29. The device according to claim 20, wherein the DC power signal is substantially 48 Volts.

30. The device according to claim 20, wherein the DC power signal has a voltage over the telephone wire pair that is substantially distinct from a −

48 volt DC analog telephone signal.

31. The device according to claim 20, further comprising a DC to DC voltage converter coupled to said wiring connector.

32. The device according to claim 31, wherein said DC to DC voltage converter is operative for converting the DC power signal to a −

48 volt DC analog telephone signal.

33. The device according to claim 20, further comprising a VOIP Multimedia Terminal Adapter connected to be powered from the DC power signal.

34. The device according to claim 20, further comprising a radio frequency transceiver coupled to said wiring connector to be powered by the power signal.

35. The device according to claim 20, further comprising a connector coupled to said wiring connector for receiving the DC power signal and powering a connected unit with power supplied by the DC power signal.

36. An outlet for coupling a telephone signal to an analog telephone set and bi-directional serial digital data to a data unit, for use with a single telephone wire pair concurrently carrying bi-directional serial digital data in a digital data frequency band and a power signal, said outlet comprising:

a wiring connector connectable to the telephone wire pair;

an analog telephone connector connectable to the analog telephone set;

a telephone coupler coupled between said wiring connector and said analog telephone connector for powering said analog telephone set by the power signal and for limiting DC power supplied to the analog telephone set to a level suitable for proper telephone operation;

a data connector connectable to the data unit for coupling the bi-directional serial digital data to the data unit;

a telephone modem coupled to said data connector for conducting the bi-directional serial digital data over the single telephone wire pair;

a high pass filter coupled between said telephone modem and said wiring connector for substantially passing only signals in the digital data frequency band;

a load coupler coupled between said telephone modem and said wiring connector for supplying power to said telephone modem from the power signal, independently of the hook state of the connected analog telephone set; and

a single enclosure housing said wiring connector, said analog telephone connector, said data connector, said telephone modem, said high pass filter and said load coupler, wherein said outlet is mountable into a wall opening or an outlet cavity.

37. The outlet according to claim 36, wherein the power signal is a DC power signal.

38. The outlet according to claim 36, further comprising:

off-hook detector means coupled between said analog telephone connector and said wiring connector for detecting an off-hook condition of the analog telephone set; and

off-hook transmitter means coupled to said off-hook detector means and said wiring connector for supplying an off-hook indication to the telephone wire pair in response to detection of an off-hook condition by said off-hook detector means.

39. The outlet according to claim 38, wherein the off-hook indication is a signal composed of one or more tones.

40. The outlet according to claim 38, wherein the off-hook indication is provided by a variable impedance that assumes a selected value to produce a simulated off-hook indication.

41. The outlet according to claim 38, wherein the off-hook indication is a message sent over a data communication network.

42. The outlet according to claim 41, wherein the off-hook transmitter means is coupled to said telephone modem for carrying the off-hook indication as part of the bi-directional serial digital data signal.

43. The outlet according to claim 38, wherein the telephone wire pair concurrently carries an analog telephone signal, and wherein said outlet is further operative to substantially pass the analog telephone signal between said wiring connector and said analog telephone connector.

44. The outlet according to claim 36, wherein said single enclosure is a wall-mounted enclosure that is constructed to have at least one of the following:

a form substantially similar to that of a standard outlet;

wall mounting elements substantially similar to those of a standard wall outlet;

a shape allowing direct mounting in an outlet opening or cavity; and

a form to at least in part substitute for a standard outlet.

45. The outlet according to claim 36, wherein the power signal is a DC power signal having a voltage over the telephone wire pair that is distinct from a −

48 volt DC analog telephone signal, and said outlet further comprises a DC to DC voltage. converter coupled between said wiring connector and said analog telephone connector for converting the DC power signal voltage to a −

48 volt DC analog telephone signal.

46. The outlet according to claim 36, further operative to power the unit or a different unit by the power signal, said device further comprising a power connector coupled to said load coupler to receive power therefrom and connectable to supply the received power to the unit.

47. The outlet according to claim 36, wherein the bi-directional digital data signal is a DSL-based signal or a HomePNA signal and said telephone modem is respectively an xDSL modem or a HomePNA modem.

48. The outlet according to claim 36, wherein the telephone wire pair is part of a subscriber loop.

49. The outlet according to claim 36, further comprising a radio frequency transceiver coupled to said load coupler to be powered by the power signal.

50. The outlet according to claim 36, wherein communication with the data unit conforms to IEEE802.3 100BaseT Ethernet standard.