Structured cabling system and patching method
First Claim
1. A structured cabling system comprising first and second patch panels each having a plurality of jacks, an indicator means associated with each jack, each said indicator means being operable by an applied signal to provide a signal which identifies the jack associated with that indicator means, and at least two contacts provided in each jack which, in use, are bridged by a contact provided on a plug when the plug is connected to the jack so as to complete an electrical circuit associated with the indicator means, thereby providing an electrical indication of the presence or absence of the plug connected to the jack.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A structured cabling system has two patch panels each having a plurality of jacks. Adjacent each jack is a Light-Emitting Diode (LED) which can be illuminated in response to a signal from a processor to identify the associated jack. The processor illuminates each LED in a sequence to identify the connections which should be made between the jacks, so that a first LED is illuminated, and once, the presence of a plug of a patch cable within the associated jack is detected, that LED is deactivated and a second LED is illuminated to identify the jack to which the plug on the other end of the patch cable should be connected. Once the presence of the plug in the second jack is detected, a continuity check is carried out between the two jacks before moving on to the next jack.
38 Citations
21 Claims
- 1. A structured cabling system comprising first and second patch panels each having a plurality of jacks, an indicator means associated with each jack, each said indicator means being operable by an applied signal to provide a signal which identifies the jack associated with that indicator means, and at least two contacts provided in each jack which, in use, are bridged by a contact provided on a plug when the plug is connected to the jack so as to complete an electrical circuit associated with the indicator means, thereby providing an electrical indication of the presence or absence of the plug connected to the jack.
Specification