Patch panel apparatus and system including patch cord path tracing

• US 8,014,518 B2
• Filed: 05/26/2006
• Issued: 09/06/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 05/26/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Nsgdatacom Incorporated
• Original Assignee: Nsgdatacom Incorporated
• Inventors: Russ, Robert, King, Graham, Davis, Lehi, Tiley, Simon
• Primary Examiner(s): Matar; Ahmad F
• Assistant Examiner(s): Pope; Kharye
• Application Number:
  US11/441,059
• Publication Number:
  US 20070286411A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,929 Days
• Field of Search: 439/491, 439/49, 379/25, 379/27.01, 379/156, 379/326, 379/381, 379/413, 379/399.01, 340/687, 709/200, 709/250, 370/248
• US Class Current: 379/413.02
• CPC Class Codes: H04Q 1/032 power failure protection
• CPC Class Codes: H04Q 1/136 having patch field management or physical layer management arrangements

Abstract

A patch panel apparatus, system, method and computer program product for patch cord path tracing is provided.

Claims

1. A patch panel apparatus comprising:

a plurality of first ports;

a plurality of patch ports;

an electronic monitor of at least one of said plurality of said first ports or said plurality of said patch ports, for existence of any insertable patch cord in at least one of said patch ports, said electronic monitor comprising a sense circuit comprising;

a first port sense circuit of a first of said plurality of said patch ports;

a second port sense circuit of a second of said plurality of said patch ports; and

the any insertable patch cord comprising a plurality of conductors, wherein the any insertable patch cord comprises at least one connector,

wherein said at least one connector comprises at least one of;

a registered jack (RJ) standardized physical network interface connector comprising at least one pin not used for transmission of data and available for sense, said RJ standardized physical network interface connector coupled to said plurality of conductors;

an RJ45 standardized physical network interface connector coupled to said plurality of conductors;

or

an RJ69 standardized physical network interface connector coupled to said plurality of conductors,

wherein said plurality of conductors comprises;

a first subset of conductors used for sending data, and

at least one conductor used for sense information,

such that the any insertable patch cord, when inserted in at least one of said first or said second of said plurality of said patch ports, couples said first port sense circuit to at least one of said first port sense circuit, or said second port sense circuit so as to complete said sense circuit, and

wherein the patch panel comprises a direct electronic coupling between contacts of a first of said plurality of said first portsft and contacts of a second of said plurality of said first ports, wherein absence of the any insertable patch cord, at least one of said plurality of said first patch ports is initially electronically coupled to at least one other of said plurality of said first ports, and is adapted to be electronically decoupled upon insertion of the any insertable patch cord.

2. The patch panel of claim 1, wherein said plurality of said first ports and said plurality of said patch ports are part of at least two separate patch panels.

3. The patch panel of claim 1, wherein said plurality of said first ports are part of a first portion of a first patch panel and said plurality of said patch ports are part of a second portion of at least one of said first patch panel or a second patch panel.

4. The patch panel of claim 3, wherein said first portion comprises at least one of a panel, a first panel, a second panel, a front panel, a back panel, a left section, a right section, a top section, a bottom section, a rear portion, a front portion, a top portion, a bottom portion, a left portion, or a right portion, and wherein said second portion comprises at least one of a panel, a first panel, a second panel, a front panel, a back panel, a left section, a right section, a top section, a bottom section, a rear portion, a front portion, a top portion, a bottom portion, a left portion, or a right portion.

5. The patch panel of claim 1, further comprising an indicator.

6. The patch panel of claim 5, wherein said indicator comprises at least one of:

a light emitting diode (LED);

a single color indicator;

a multicolor indicator;

at least one pixel, an alphanumeric textual indication;

an liquid crystal display (LCD) indicator;

a cathode ray tube (CRT);

an indicator on the any insertable patch cord;

a lamp;

a bulb;

a remote indication;

a local indication;

a database field;

a display;

or a light.

7. The patch panel of claim 5, wherein said indicator is operative to indicate at least one of:

activity on at least one of said plurality of said first ports;

an indication of existence of the any insertable patch cord in at least one of said plurality of said patch ports;

an indication of a powered on status of the panel;

or an indication of a power over ethernet (POE) enabled port.

8. The apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising:

a plurality of first indicators corresponding to said plurality of first ports, and

a plurality of second indicators corresponding to said plurality of patch ports.

9. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein a first indicator is adapted to indicate when activity exists on a corresponding one of said first ports.

10. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein at least one of said patch ports or said first ports comprise at least one of:

an equipment port;

a line port;

a premises wiring port;

a 110-type punch-down block;

an RJ-45 connection port;

an RJ-46 connection port,

an IBM Cabling System-type port;

a port;

an RJ-11 connection port;

a building wiring port;

a host computer port;

a private branch exchange port;

a data port;

a telephony port;

a DB-25 port;

an RJ-68 port;

or

an electronic connector port.

11. The patch panel of claim 1, further comprising a requester adapted to request a trace of the any insertable patch cord;

wherein said electronic monitor is adapted to determine at least one of a first end or a second end of the any insertable patch cord, and upon receipt of said request of said trace adapted to indicate the location of at least one of the first end or the second end of the any insertable patch cord.

12. The patch panel of claim 11, wherein said requester comprises:

a button, an electronic request, a trace request, an icon, a software application, or a switch.

13. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said patch panel further comprises:

a plurality of buttons corresponding to said plurality of patch ports, wherein said plurality of first buttons are adapted to upon receipt of a button depression indicate locations of at least one of a first end or a second end of the any insertable patch cord.

14. The apparatus according to claim 11, wherein said patch panel comprises

a controller adapted to control power from a DC voltage power supply and

to inject power over ethernet (POE) in a direction toward customer premises equipment (CPE), of at least one of said plurality of said first ports.

15. The apparatus according to claim 14, wherein said power is injected onto pins of said plurality of said first ports.

16. The apparatus according to claim 14, wherein said power is injected onto pins of said plurality of said first ports and onto said plurality of said patch ports.

17. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said direct electronic coupling comprises at least one of:

a relay;

a switched relay;

a latched switched;

a connection;

an electrical connection;

an electronic connection;

a cross-bar switch;

an integrated circuit (IC);

a chip;

a gate;

a matrix switch;

an electromechanical connection;

a software controlled connection;

or a coupling.

18. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said direct electronic coupling comprises a coupler adapted to at least one of retain or go to a predefined position of coupling in the event of a power failure.

19. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said direct electronic coupling comprises means for coupling comprising at least one of means for retaining or means for going to a predefined position of coupling in the event of a power failure.

20. The apparatus according to claim 19, wherein said direct electronic coupling comprises at least one of a switched relay, a latching switched relay, a matrix switch, an integrated circuit (IC), a chip, a gate, a low impedance pass, or a crossbar switch.

21. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said patch panel comprises being adapted to automatically switch from a pre-defined coupling to at least one of decoupling or a patched coupling upon electronically recognizing via said electronic monitoring, insertion of the any insertable patch cord inserted in at least one patch port.

22. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said coupling is decoupled upon at least one of:

insertion of at least one end of said inserted patch cord, or upon insertion of a later of first and second ends of the insertable patch cord being inserted in a given two of said plurality of said patch ports via said sense circuit formed by the at least one sense conductor of the any insertable patch cord.

23. A method of sensing an inserted patch cord through a patch panel having a plurality of patch ports comprising:

monitoring electronically the plurality of patch ports of the patch panel for insertion of any insertable patch cord inserted into at least one of first or second patch ports;

receiving a request for a trace of a patch; and

providing an indication comprising at least one visual or audio indicator corresponding to at least one of a first or a second patch port associated with said patch via a sensing circuit comprising at least one sensing conductor of a plurality of conductors of the any insertable standard patch cord, said conductors used for both sending data and sensing trace information, wherein the at least one sensing conductor of the any insertable standard patch cord electronically couples at least one of said first or said second patch ports to said sensing circuit when the any insertable standard patch cord is inserted in at least one of said first or said second patch ports, and

providing by the patch panel direct electronic coupling between a first of said plurality of said patch ports and a first of a plurality of first ports, wherein in absence of the any insertable standard patch cord, at least one of said plurality of said first patch ports is initially electronically coupled to at least one of said plurality of said first ports, and is adapted to be electronically decoupled upon insertion of the any insertable standard patch cord.

24. The method according to claim 23, wherein said receiving a request for said trace comprises:

receiving a closing of a patch sensing switch comprising at least one of a first button corresponding to said first patch port of said patch or a second button corresponding to said second patch port of said patch.

25. The method according to claim 23, wherein said providing an indication comprises providing a visual indication and further comprises:

illuminating a pair of visual indicators corresponding to said first and said second patch ports associated with said patch.

26. A method of providing power over Ethernet (POE) to a plurality of ports comprising:

providing a patch panel having a plurality of ports, said patch panel comprising a controller adapted to control a DC voltage power supply;

injecting controlled DC voltage power from said patch panel in a direction toward a customer premises equipment (CPE), of at least one of said plurality of ports, wherein said ports are electronically monitored for insertion of any insertable standard patch cord inserted into at least one of first or second patch ports, wherein the any insertable standard patch cord comprises at least one sensing conductor of a plurality of conductors of the any insertable standard patch cord, said conductors used for both sending data and sensing trace information, wherein the at least one sensing conductor of the any insertable standard patch cord electronically couples at least one of said first or said second patch ports to a sensing circuit when the any insertable standard patch cord is inserted in at least one of said first and said second patch ports, and

providing by the patch panel direct electronic coupling between a first of said plurality of said patch ports and a first of a plurality of first ports, wherein in absence of the any insertable patch cord, at least one of said plurality of said first patch ports is initially electronically coupled to at least one of said plurality of said first ports, and is adapted to be electronically decoupled upon insertion of the any insertable patch cord.

27. The method according to claim 26, further comprising:

receiving a request for a trace of a patch; and

providing an indication comprising at least one indicator corresponding to the two patch ports associated with said patch via said at least one sensing conductor of the any insertable patch cord.

28. A nontransitory machine-readable storage medium that provides instructions, which when executed by at least one computer processor, cause said at least one computer processor to perform operations comprising a method of sensing an inserted patch cord through a patch panel having a plurality of patch ports comprising:

monitoring electronically the plurality of patch ports of the patch panel for insertion of any insertable patch cord inserted into at least one of first or second patch ports;

receiving a request for a trace of a patch; and

providing an indication comprising at least one visual or audio indicator corresponding to at least one of said first or second patch ports associated with said patch via a sensing circuit comprising at least one sensing conductor of a plurality of conductors of the any insertable standard patch cord, said conductors used for both sending data and sensing trace information, wherein the at least one sensing conductor of the any insertable standard patch cord electronically couples at least one of said first or said second patch ports to said sensing circuit, when the any insertable standard patch cord is inserted in at least one of said first or said second patch ports, and

providing by the patch panel direct electronic coupling between contacts of a first of said plurality of said patch ports and a first of a plurality of first ports, wherein in the absence of the any insertable standard patch cord, at least one of said plurality of said first patch ports is initially electronically coupled to at least one of said plurality of said first ports, and is adapted to be electronically decoupled upon insertion of the any insertable standard patch cord.