Wire selection in a cable management system

• US 5,515,037 A
• Filed: 10/12/1994
• Issued: 05/07/1996
• Est. Priority Date: 05/03/1993
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: The Whitaker Corporation (Meggitt PLC)
• Original Assignee: The Whitaker Corporation (Meggitt PLC)
• Inventors: Wise, James H.
• Primary Examiner(s): Zimmerman, Brian
• Assistant Examiner(s): Holloway, III, Edwin C.
• Application Number:
  US08/321,494
• Time in Patent Office: 573 Days
• Field of Search: 340/825.79, 340/825.8, 340/825.06, 340/825.07, 340/825.08, 340/825.17, 361/733, 361/737, 361/778, 361/781, 361/790, 361/791, 361/805, 370/53, 370/56, 379/271, 379/291, 379/327, 455/3.1
• US Class Current: 340/2.24
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/2245 Management of the local loop plant
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/229 Wire identification arrangements; Number assignment determination
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/2383 Channel coding or modulation of digital bit-stream, e.g. QPSK modulation arrangements for detecting or preventing errors in the information received by adapting the channel coding H04L1/0009; analogue front ends or means for connecting modulators, demodulators or transceivers to a transmission line H04L27/0002
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4382 Demodulation or channel decoding, e.g. QPSK demodulation analog front ends or means for connecting modulators, demodulators or transceivers to a transmission line H04L27/0002
• CPC Class Codes: H04Q 1/136 having patch field management or physical layer management arrangements
• CPC Class Codes: H04Q 1/145 with switches arranged in a matrix configuration

Abstract

A cable management system which provides routing of wired services between service lines (16) and user lines (18). Each service line enters the cable management system at a service termination unit circuit card (22) which also holds a portion of a crosspoint switch matrix (126). Each user line enters the system at a line termination unit circuit card (20). The service termination unit circuit cards are all mounted to connectors (36) on a first side of a centerplane board (24) and the line termination unit circuit cards are mounted to connectors (36) on the other side of the centerplane board. Pins (37) extending through the centerplane board interconnect the connectors so that any service line can be connected to any user line. A system controller card (26) mounted to the centerplane board communicates with the circuit cards via a bus (38) on the centerplane board. Each user line comprises a subset of the wires of a multi-wire cable (162) extending from a line termination unit circuit card to a remote outlet (200). Switching matrices (222,164) connected to the cable wires at the outlet and at the line termination unit circuit card are utilized to effect selection and ordering of the wires making up the user line.

Claims

1. In a cable management system interposed between a plurality of service lines (16) and a plurality of user lines (18) and including a plurality of service termination unit circuit cards (22) each connectable to a first predetermined number of respective ones of said plurality of service lines, a plurality of line termination unit circuit cards (20) each connectable to a second predetermined number of respective ones of said plurality of user lines, connecting means (24, 36, 37) for connecting each of said plurality of service termination unit circuit cards to all of said plurality of line termination unit circuit cards, each of said line termination unit circuit cards including a respective port connector (160) for each of the user lines connected to that line termination unit circuit card and a respective user line circuit path (110) between each of said port connectors and said connecting means, each of said plurality of service termination unit circuit cards including switching means (126) for selectively connecting one of the plurality of service lines connected to that service termination unit circuit card to one of said plurality of user line circuit paths, each of said user lines consisting of M wires within a cable (162) having M+N wires, where M and N are integers, each of said port connectors being connected to said M+N wires of the cable carrying the respective user line associated with said each port connector, each of said user line cables being terminated at a respective outlet (200) for connection thereat to a peripheral user device, and said respective outlet including a connector (204) having M+N contact positions, an arrangement in said outlet for controlling the connection of said M cable wires to said outlet connector comprising:

an M by (M+N) matrix (222) of controllable crosspoint switches, a first side of said matrix having M lines each connected to a respective one of said M cable wires and a second side of said matrix having M+N lines each connected to a respective one of said M+N outlet connector contact positions, each of said M lines of said matrix first side being connectable through respective crosspoint switches to all of said M+N lines of said matrix second side; and

control means (224,226) for effecting the selective closure of said crosspoint switches so that each of said M cable wires is connected through said matrix to a respective one of said outlet connector contact positions;

whereby a particular set of M outlet connector contact positions can be selected and ordered to define the user line connection to the peripheral user device.

2. The arrangement according to claim 1 wherein said cable management system includes operator controlled management station means (14) for controlling said cable management system, said control means includes transceiver means (226) coupled to at least one of the N cable wires, and said management station means issues commands to said control means over said at least one of the N cable wires to effect the selective closure of said crosspoint switches.

3. In a cable management system as set forth in claim 1 wherein each of said port connectors has M+N contact positions each connected to a respective one of said M+N wires of the cable carrying the respective user line associated with said each port connector, a further arrangement on each of said line termination unit circuit cards associated with a respective user line and interposed between the port connector and the circuit path for that user line for controlling the connection of the M cable wires to the circuit path, said further arrangement comprising:

a second M by (M+N) matrix (164) of controllable crosspoint switches, a first side of said second matrix having M lines connected to said user line circuit path and a second side of said second matrix having M+N lines each connected to a respective one of said port connector contact positions, each of said M lines of said second matrix first side being connectable through respective crosspoint switches to all of said M+N lines of said second matrix second side; and

second control means (30,114) for effecting the selective closure of said second matrix crosspoint switches so that said M cable wires are connected to said circuit path;

whereby a particular set of M cable wires can be selected and ordered to act as the user line wires.

4. The further arrangement according to claim 3 wherein said cable management system includes operator controlled management station (14) means for controlling said cable management system, said line termination unit circuit card includes transceiver means (30) coupled to receive commands issued by said management station, and said management station means issues commands to said line termination unit circuit card to cause said second control means to effect the selective closure of said second matrix crosspoint switches.

5. In a cable management system interposed between a plurality of service lines (16) and a plurality of user lines (18) and including a plurality of service termination unit circuit cards (22) each connectable to a first predetermined number of respective ones of said plurality of service lines, a plurality of line termination unit circuit cards (20) each connectable to a second predetermined number of respective ones of said plurality of user lines, connecting means (24, 36, 37) for connecting each of said plurality of service termination unit circuit cards to all of said plurality of line termination unit circuit cards, each of said line termination unit circuit cards including a respective port connector (160) for each of the user lines connected to that line termination unit circuit card and a respective user line circuit path (110) between each of said port connectors and said connecting means, each of said plurality of service termination unit circuit cards including switching means (126) for selectively connecting one of the plurality of service lines connected to that service termination unit circuit card to one of said plurality of user line circuit paths, each of said user lines consisting of M wires within a cable (162) having M+N wires, where M and N are integers, and each of said port connectors having M+N contact positions each connected to a respective one of said M+N wires of the cable carrying the respective user line associated with said each port connector, an arrangement on each of said line termination unit circuit cards associated with a respective user line and interposed between the port connector and the circuit path for that user line for controlling the connection of M cable wires to the circuit path comprising:

an M by (M+N) matrix (164) of controllable crosspoint switches, a first side of said matrix having M lines connected to said user line circuit path and a second side of said matrix having M+N lines each connected to a respective one of said port connector contact positions, each of said M lines of said matrix first side being connectable through respective crosspoint switches to all of said M+N lines of said matrix second side; and

control means (30,114) for effecting the selective closure of said crosspoint switches so that M cable wires are connected to said user line circuit path;

whereby a particular set of M cable wires can be selected and ordered to act as the user line wires.

6. The arrangement according to claim 5 wherein said cable management system includes operator controlled management station (14) means for controlling said cable management system, said line termination unit circuit card includes transceiver means (30) coupled to receive commands issued by said management station, and said management station means issues commands to said line termination unit circuit card to cause said control means to effect the selective closure of said matrix crosspoint switches.

7. In a cable management system as set forth in claim 5 wherein each of said user line cables is terminated at a respective outlet (200) for connection thereat to a peripheral user device, and said respective outlet includes a connector having M+N contact positions, a further arrangement in said outlet for controlling the connection of said particular set of M cable wires to said outlet connector comprising:

an (M+N-2) by (M+N) second matrix (222) of controllable crosspoint switches, a first side of said second matrix having M+N-2 lines each connected to a respective one of said M+N cable wires and a second side of said second matrix having M+N lines each connected to a respective one of said M+N outlet connector contact positions, each of said M+N-2 lines of said second matrix first side being connectable through respective crosspoint switches to all of said M+N lines of said second matrix second side; and

control means (224,226) for effecting the selective closure of said crosspoint switches so that each of M cable wires is connected through said second matrix to a respective one of M outlet connector contact positions;

whereby a particular set of M outlet connector contact positions can be selected and ordered to define the user line connection to the peripheral user device.

8. The further arrangement according to claim 7 wherein said cable management system includes operator controlled management station means (14) for controlling said cable management system, said control means includes transceiver means (226) coupled to the two of the cable wires not included in the M+N-2 cable wires connected to said second matrix first side, and said management station means issues commands to said control means over said two cable wires to effect the selective closure of said crosspoint switches.