Local area network of serial intelligent cells

• US 8,885,659 B2
• Filed: 12/15/2005
• Issued: 11/11/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 07/28/1998
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: MOSAID Technologies Inc. (f/k/a Conversant Intellectual Property Management)
• Original Assignee: MOSAID Technologies Inc. (f/k/a Conversant Intellectual Property Management)
• Inventors: Binder, Yehuda
• Primary Examiner(s): Pham, Chi H
• Assistant Examiner(s): Boakye, Alexander O
• Application Number:
  US11/300,313
• Publication Number:
  US 20060092962A1
• Time in Patent Office: 3,253 Days
• Field of Search: 370/436, 370/463, 370/502, 370/479, 370/295, 370/335, 370/337, 370/254, 370/347, 370/435, 340/310.11
• US Class Current: 370/436
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 2203/5437 Wired telephone
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 2203/5445 Local network
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 2203/545 Audio/video application, e.g. interphone
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 2203/5458 Monitor sensor; Alarm systems
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 3/54 Systems for transmission via power distribution lines
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 3/542 the information being in digital form
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/2801 Broadband local area networks
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/2803 Home automation networks
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/2838 Distribution of signals within a home automation network, e.g. involving splitting/multiplexing signals to/from different paths adaptations of television systems for transmission by electric cable for domestic distribution H04N7/106; hybrid transport H04L12/6418; home network arrangements specially adapted for distribution of digital video signals H04N7/24
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 2012/2843 Mains power line
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 2012/2845 Telephone line
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 43/00 Arrangements for monitoring or testing data switching networks
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 5/14 Two-way operation using the same type of signal, i.e. duplex
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/00 Network arrangements or protocols for supporting network services or applications user-to-user messaging H04L51/00; network arrangements, protocols or services for supporting real-time applications in data packet communications networks H04L65/00
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 19/02 providing ringing current or supervisory tones, e.g. dialling tone or busy tone
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 370/908 Local area network

Abstract

A serial intelligent cell (SIC) and a connection topology for local area networks using Electrically-conducting media. A local area network can be configured from a plurality of SIC'"'"'s interconnected so that all communications between two adjacent SIC'"'"'s is both point-to-point and bidirectional. Each SIC can be connected to one or more other SIC'"'"'s to allow redundant communication paths. Communications in different areas of a SIC network are independent of one another, so that, unlike current bus topology and star topology, there is no fundamental limit on the size or extent of a SIC network. Each SIC can optionally be connected to one or more data terminals, computers, telephones, sensors, actuators, etc., to facilitate interconnectivity among such devices. Networks according to the present invention can be configured for a variety of applications, including a local telephone system, remote computer bus extender, multiplexers, PABX/PBX functionality, security systems, and local broadcasting services. The network can use dedicated wiring, as well as existing wiring as the in-house telephone or electrical wiring.

Claims

1. A device configured for use with wiring, the wiring being adapted to carry a power signal and an information signal, and the device comprising:

at least one wiring connector operative for connecting to the wiring to communicatively couple the information signal to the device;

firmware and a processor for executing said firmware, said processor being coupled to said at least one wiring connector;

a power supply including a voltage converter coupled to said at least one wiring connector for transmitting and receiving the power signal, said power supply being configured to power said processor;

a visual indicator coupled to said power supply for indicating a status; and

a single enclosure housing said at least one wiring connector, said processor, said firmware, said power supply and said visual indicator, and

wherein said enclosure is dimensioned to be wall-mountable into a mating wall opening, or an outlet receptacle, or an outlet opening.

2. The device according to claim 1, wherein the wiring includes power line wiring for carrying the power signal, the power signal is an AC signal, said at least one wiring connector is adapted to connect to the power line wiring, and said power supply comprises an AC/DC converter.

3. The device according to claim 1, wherein the wiring includes at least one twisted-wire pair carrying the power signal, the power signal is a DC signal, said at least one wiring connector is adapted to connect to the at least one twisted-wire pair, and said power supply comprises a DC/DC converter.

4. The device according to claim 1, wherein said single enclosure 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 substitute for a standard outlet.

5. The device according to claim 1, wherein said device is addressable in a network.

6. The device according to claim 5, wherein said at least one manual switch is used to manually assign an address to said device.

7. The device according to claim 5, wherein said device has an address that is automatically assigning or assigned by a data unit connected to said device.

8. The device according to claim 1, further comprising a power connector coupled to said power supply and connectable to an apparatus for DC powering the apparatus.

9. The device according to claim 1, further comprising at least one protection component including at least one of a fuse, a lightning arrester and a noise filter connected to said at least one wiring connector.

10. The device according to claim 1, further operative to provide a standard computer bus interface, said device further comprising a computer connector coupled to said processor.

11. The device according to claim 10, wherein said standard computer bus interface is one of:

an ISA interface;

a PCMCIA interface;

an IDE interface; and

a SCSI interface.

12. The device according to claim 1, further operative to couple an analog unit to said processor, wherein said device further comprises an analog connector connectable to the analog unit for coupling an analog signal to said processor, and a converter for converting between analog and digital signals coupled between said analog connector and said processor.

13. The device according to claim 12, wherein the analog unit is an analog actuator for creating a physical phenomenon, and said converter is a digital to analog converter.

14. The device according to claim 12, wherein the analog unit is an analog sensor for sensing a physical phenomenon, and said converter is an analog to digital converter.

15. The device according to claim 12, wherein the analog unit is one of an audio unit and a video unit and the analog signal is one of an audio signal and a video signal, respectively.

16. The device according to claim 12, wherein the analog unit is a telephone unit, said analog connector is a telephone connector and the analog signal is a telephone signal.

17. The device according to claim 1, wherein the information signal is a bi-directional serial digital data signal, and said device further comprises a transceiver, coupled between said wiring connector and said processor and powered from said power supply, for communicating the digital data signal over the wiring.

18. The device according to claim 17, wherein said transceiver is operative to perform bi-directional communication with one or more identical transceivers connected to the wiring.

19. The device according to claim 17, wherein said transceiver is operative to perform full-duplex point-to-point communication with only a single other transceiver over the wiring.

20. The device according to claim 17, wherein the communication over the wiring conforms to an Ethernet standard.

21. The device according to claim 1, further comprising at least one user settable manual switch within said enclosure, operative for device control by a user, and coupled to said processor.

22. A power outlet device for powering an apparatus, the device comprising:

an input configured to receive a power signal;

a power supply including a voltage converter coupled to said input in order to be powered by the power signal;

a visual indicator coupled to said power supply for indicating a status;

a DC power connector coupled to be powered by said power supply, said connector being connectable to an apparatus for supplying power to the apparatus from said power supply; and

a single enclosure housing said power supply, said visual indicator, and said DC power connector,

wherein said enclosure is dimensioned to be wall-mountable into a mating wall opening, or an outlet receptacle, or an outlet opening, and the wiring includes power line wiring carrying an AC power signal, said wiring connector is adapted to connect to the power line wiring, and said power supply comprises an AC/DC converter.

23. The device according to claim 22, further comprising at least one protection component including one of a fuse, a lightning arrester and a noise filter connected to said wiring connector.

24. A power outlet device for powering an apparatus, the device comprising:

an input configured to receive a power signal;

a power supply including a voltage converter coupled to said input in order to be powered by the power signal;

a visual indicator coupled to said power supply for indicating a status;

a DC power connector coupled to be powered by said power supply, said connector being connectable to an apparatus for supplying power to the apparatus from said power supply; and

a single enclosure housing said power supply, said visual indicator, and said DC power connector,

wherein said enclosure is dimensioned to be wall-mountable into a mating wall opening, or an outlet receptacle, or an outlet opening, and the wiring includes at least one twisted-pair for carrying a DC power signal, said wiring connector is adapted to connect to the at least one twisted-pair, said power supply comprises a DC/DC converter, and said device further comprises a diode-based bridge coupled to said wiring connector for accommodating line reversals.

25. A power outlet device for powering an apparatus, the device comprising:

an input configured to receive a power signal;

a power supply including a voltage converter coupled to said input in order to be powered by the power signal;

a visual indicator coupled to said power supply for indicating a status;

a DC power connector coupled to receive power from said power supply, said connector being connectable to an apparatus for supplying power to the apparatus from said power supply; and

a single enclosure housing said power supply, said visual indicator, and said DC power connector,

wherein said enclosure is dimensioned to be wall-mountable into a mating wall opening, or an outlet receptacle, or an outlet opening, and said single enclosure 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 substitute for a standard outlet.

26. A serial-to-Ethernet converter device for converting signals between a standard serial interface and Ethernet interface, the device comprising:

an Ethernet connector connectable to at least one twisted-wire pair for carrying full-duplex packet-based digital data;

an Ethernet transceiver connected to said Ethernet connector for conducting full-duplex point-to-point communication with only a single identical transceiver over the at least one twisted-wire pair;

a serial connector connectable to other wires for carrying serial digital data;

a serial transceiver connected to said serial connector, for conducting serial digital data communication over the other wires;

a power supply including a voltage converter coupled to power said Ethernet transceiver and said serial transceiver;

a visual indicator coupled to said power supply for indicating a status; and

a single enclosure housing said Ethernet and serial connectors, said power supply, said Ethernet and serial transceivers, said power supply and said visual indicator,

wherein said Ethernet transceiver is coupled to said serial transceiver for passing information between the at least one twisted-wire pair and the other wires.

27. The device according to claim 26, further comprising firmware and a processor executing said firmware, said processor being coupled to control said Ethernet transceiver and said serial transceiver.

28. The device according to claim 26, wherein said enclosure is dimensioned to be wall-mountable into a mating wall opening, or into an outlet receptacle, or into an outlet opening.

29. The device according to claim 26, wherein said single enclosure 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 substitute for a standard outlet.

30. The device according to claim 26, wherein said device is addressable in a network.

31. The device according to claim 30, further comprising at least one manual switch for manually assigning an address to said device.

32. The device according to claim 30, wherein said device has an address that is automatically assigned or assigned by a data unit connected to said device.

33. The device according to claim 26, wherein said serial transceiver and said serial connector collectively form a standard serial interface that is one of a RS-232/EIA/TIA-232 interface, a RS-485/EIA/TIA-485 interface and an ITU-T V.24 interface.

34. The device according to claim 26, wherein said serial transceiver and said serial connector collectively form a standard serial interface which is PCM based.

35. The device according to claim 26, further comprising a power connector connectable to a power source to receive power therefrom, and wherein said power supply is connected to be powered from said power connector, and said power supply comprises an AC/DC converter or a DC/DC converter.

36. The device according to claim 26, wherein said single enclosure is structured to attach to a mating fixture arranged to be secured on a wall.

37. The device according to claim 26, wherein said at least one twisted-wire pair further concurrently carries a DC power signal, and said power supply is coupled to said Ethernet connector to be powered by the DC power signal.

38. The device according to claim 26, wherein said device is electrically pluggable and mechanically attachable to an outlet.

39. A coaxial outlet adapted to couple a data unit to a coaxial cable, the cable having two conductors connected to simultaneously carry a digital data signal and an analog signal frequency multiplexed with the digital data signal, wherein the analog signal is carried over a frequency band distinct from the digital data signal band, and the coaxial outlet comprising:

a coaxial connector operative for connecting said outlet to the coaxial cable;

a data connector connectable to the data unit, for coupling the digital data signal to the data unit;

a filter coupled between said coaxial connector and said data connector and operative for substantially passing only the digital data signal; and

a single enclosure housing said coaxial connector, said data connector and said filter,

wherein said single enclosure 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 substitute for a standard outlet.

40. The outlet according to claim 39, further operative to couple the analog signal to an analog unit, and wherein said outlet further comprises:

an analog connector connectable to an analog unit; and

a second filter coupled between said coaxial connector and said analog connector and operative for substantially passing only the analog signal.

41. The coaxial outlet according to claim 39, wherein the filter forms part of an active component of the coaxial outlet.

42. A telephone outlet for coupling an analog telephone set to a telephone wire-pair in a wall of a building, the wire-pair having two conductors that simultaneously carry a digital data signal and an analog telephone signal frequency multiplexed with the digital data signal, wherein the digital data signal is carried in a frequency band distinct from and higher than the analog telephone signal frequency band, said telephone outlet comprising:

a wiring connector operative for connecting said outlet to the telephone wire-pair;

a standard telephone connector connectable to an analog telephone set, for coupling the analog telephone signal to the analog telephone set;

a low pass filter coupled between said wiring connector and said standard telephone connector and operative for substantially passing only the analog telephone signal; and

a single enclosure housing said wiring connector, said standard telephone connector and said low pass filter, wherein said enclosure is dimensioned to be mountable into a standard outlet receptacle or opening; and

wherein said single enclosure 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.

43. The outlet according to claim 42, further operative to couple the digital data signal to a data unit, said outlet further comprising:

a data connector connectable to the data unit;

a high pass filter coupled between said wiring connector and said data connector and operative for substantially passing only the digital data signal.

44. A parallel-to-Ethernet converter device for converting signals between a standard parallel interface and an Ethernet interface, the device comprising:

an Ethernet connector connectable to least one twisted-wire pair for carrying full-duplex packet-based digital data;

an Ethernet transceiver connected to said Ethernet connector, for conducting full-duplex point-to-point communication with only a single second Ethernet transceiver over the at least one twisted-wire pair;

a parallel connector connectable to other wires for carrying parallel digital data;

a parallel transceiver connected to said parallel connector for conducting parallel digital data communication over the other wires;

a power supply including a voltage converter coupled to power said Ethernet transceiver and said parallel transceiver;

a visual indicator coupled to said power supply for indicating a status; and

a single enclosure housing said Ethernet and parallel connectors, said Ethernet and parallel transceivers, said power supply, and said visual indicator,

wherein said Ethernet transceiver is coupled to said parallel transceiver for passing information between the at least one twisted-wire pair and the other wires.

45. The device according to claim 44, further comprising firmware and a processor executing said firmware, said processor being coupled to control said Ethernet transceiver and said parallel transceiver.

46. The device according to claim 44, wherein said enclosure is dimensioned to be mountable into a mating wall opening, or into an outlet receptacle, or into an outlet opening.

47. The device according to claim 44, wherein said single enclosure 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 substitute for a standard outlet.

48. The device according to claim 44, wherein said device is addressable in a network.

49. The device according to claim 48, further comprising at least one manual switch for manually assigning an address to said device.

50. The device according to claim 48, wherein said device has an address that is automatically assigned or assigned by a data unit connected to said device.

51. The device according to claim 44, wherein said parallel transceiver and said parallel connector collectively form a PC-related standard parallel interface that is one of an ITU-V.35, ISA and PCMCIA standards.

52. The device according to claim 44, further comprising a power connector connectable to a power source, and wherein said power supply is connected to be powered from said power connector, and said power supply comprises an AC/DC converter or DC/DC converter.

53. The device according to claim 44, wherein said single enclosure is structured to attach to mating fixture secured on a wall.

54. The device according to claim 44, wherein:

said at least one twisted-wire pair is connected to further concurrently carry a DC power signal; and

said power supply is coupled to said Ethernet connector to be powered by the DC power signal.

55. The device according to claim 44, wherein said device is electrically pluggable and mechanically attachable to an outlet.

56. A power outlet for powering an apparatus with a power signal carried over wiring, the outlet comprising:

a wiring connector operative for connecting to the wiring;

a power supply including a voltage converter coupled to said wiring connector to receive operating power from the power signal;

a power connector coupled to said wiring connector for connecting to the apparatus for powering the apparatus by the power signal;

a monitoring device coupled to be powered by said power supply and coupled to said power connector for monitoring the power consumption of the apparatus; and

a single enclosure housing said wiring connector, said power connector, said power supply and said monitoring device,

wherein said enclosure is dimensioned to be mountable into a mating wall opening, or into an outlet receptacle, or into an outlet opening, and the wiring includes at least one twisted-wire pair for carrying a DC power signal, said wiring connector is adapted to connect to the at least one twisted-wire pair, and said power supply comprises an DC/DC converter.

57. A power outlet for powering an apparatus with a power signal carried over wiring that carries the power signal and the data signal to the power outlet, the outlet comprising:

a wiring connector operative for connecting to the wiring to communicatively couple the power signal and the data signal to the power outlet;

a power supply including a voltage converter coupled to said wiring connector to receive operating power from the power signal;

a power connector coupled to said wiring connector for connecting to the apparatus for powering the apparatus by the power signal;

a monitoring device coupled to be powered by said power supply and coupled to said power connector for monitoring the power consumption of the apparatus; and

a single enclosure housing said wiring connector, said power connector, said power supply and said monitoring device,

wherein said enclosure is dimensioned to be mountable into a mating wall opening, or into an outlet receptacle, or into an outlet opening.

58. The outlet according to claim 57, further comprising at least one protection component connected to said wiring connector, wherein said at least one protection component is at least one of a fuse, a lightning arrester, and a noise filter.

59. The outlet according to claim 57, wherein said outlet is part of a Demand Side Management (DSM) or an Automatic Meter Reading (AMR) system.

60. A power outlet for powering an apparatus with a power signal carried over wiring, the outlet comprising:

a wiring connector operative for connecting to the wiring;

a power supply including a voltage converter coupled to said wiring connector to receive operating power from the power signal;

a power connector coupled to said wiring connector for connecting to the apparatus for powering the apparatus by the power signal;

a monitoring device coupled to be powered by said power supply and coupled to said power connector for monitoring the power consumption of the apparatus; and

a single enclosure housing said wiring connector, said power connector, said power supply and said monitoring device, and said outlet further comprises a transceiver coupled between said wiring connector and said monitoring device to communicate a bi-directional serial digital data signal between said monitoring device and the wiring, and said transceiver is coupled to be powered from said power supply.

61. The outlet according to claim 60, wherein the bi-directional serial digital data signal includes information representing the power consumption of the apparatus as provided by the monitoring device.

62. The power outlet according to claim 60, wherein said enclosure is dimensioned to be mountable into a mating wall opening, or into an outlet receptacle, or into an outlet opening.

63. The power outlet according to claim 60, further comprising a controller to control the power to the apparatus.

64. A power outlet for powering an apparatus with a power signal carried over wiring that carries the power signal and a data signal, the outlet comprising:

a wiring connector operative for connecting to the wiring;

a power supply including a voltage converter coupled to said wiring connector to receive operating power from the power signal;

a power connector coupled to said wiring connector for connecting to the apparatus for powering the apparatus by the power signal;

a monitoring device coupled to be powered by said power supply and coupled to said power connector for monitoring a power consumption; and

a single enclosure housing said wiring connector, said power connector, said power supply and said monitoring device,

wherein said enclosure is dimensioned to be mountable into a mating wall opening, or into an outlet receptacle, or into an outlet opening,

wherein the data signal conforms to an Ethernet standard.

65. A power outlet for powering an apparatus with a power signal carried over wiring that carries the power signal and a data signal, the outlet comprising:

a wiring connector operative for connecting to the wiring;

a power supply including a voltage converter coupled to said wiring connector to receive operating power from the power signal;

a power connector coupled to said wiring connector for connecting to the apparatus for powering the apparatus by the power signal;

a monitoring device coupled to be powered by said power supply and coupled to said power connector for monitoring a power consumption; and

a single enclosure housing said wiring connector, said power connector, said power supply and said monitoring device, and said outlet is addressable in a network, and said outlet further comprises a visual indicator coupled to said power supply for indicating a status.

66. The outlet according to claim 65, further comprising at least one manual switch used to manually assign an address to said outlet.

67. The outlet according to claim 65, wherein said outlet has an address that is automatically assigned or assigned by a data unit connected to said device.

68. The power outlet according to claim 65, wherein said enclosure is dimensioned to be mountable into a mating wall opening, or into an outlet receptacle, or into an outlet opening.

69. A device for monitoring power supplied to an apparatus, for use with wiring that is connected to simultaneously carry a power signal and a bi-directional serial digital data signal, and the device comprising:

a wiring connector operative for connecting to the wiring;

a power supply including a voltage converter coupled to said wiring connector to be powered by the power signal;

a transceiver coupled to said wiring connector for communicating the digital data signal over the wiring, the transceiver is coupled to be powered from said power supply;

a visual indicator coupled to said power supply for indicating a status;

a power connector coupled to said wiring connector for connecting to the apparatus for powering the apparatus by said power signal;

a monitoring unit coupled to be powered from said power supply and coupled to said power connector for sensing, monitoring or measuring a power consumption; and

a single enclosure housing said wiring connector, said power supply, said transceiver, said visual indicator, said power connector, and said monitoring unit, and

wherein said transceiver is coupled to said monitoring unit for carrying information representing the power consumption of the apparatus as part of the bi-directional serial digital data signal.

70. The device according to claim 69, wherein the wiring includes power line wiring for carrying an AC power signal, said wiring connector is adapted to connect to the power line wiring, said power connector is an AC connector socket, and said power supply comprises an AC/DC converter.

71. The device according to claim 70, wherein said device is part of a Demand Side Management (DSM) or Automatic Meter Reading (AMR) system.

72. The device according to claim 69, wherein the wiring includes at least one twisted-wire pair connected for carrying an DC power signal, said wiring connector is adapted to connect to the at least one twisted-wire pair, and said power supply comprises a DC/DC converter.

73. The device according to claim 69, further comprising at least one protection component including at least one of a fuse, a lightning arrester and a noise filter connected to said at least one wiring connector.

74. The device according to claim 69, wherein

said single enclosure 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 substitute for a standard outlet.

75. The device according to claim 69, further operative to control the power supplied to the apparatus, wherein said device further comprises a power switch coupled between said power connector and said wiring connector, for controlling the supply of power to the apparatus.

76. The device according to claim 75, wherein the control performed by said power switch is at least one of:

timing of the operation;

delayed start;

or disconnection after a pre-set period.

77. The device according to claim 75, wherein the control performed by said power switch is remote control over the wiring.

78. The device according to claim 69, wherein said device is addressable in a network.

79. The device according to claim 78, further comprising at least one manual switch used to manually assign an address to said device.

80. The device according to claim 78, wherein said device has an address that is automatically assigned or assigned by a data unit connected to said device.

81. A network for coupling first and second units in a building to respective ones of first and second bi-directional serial digital data streams external to the building, said network comprising:

first wires comprising two conductors at least in part in walls of the building and at least in part external to the building, said first wires being connected to carry the first and second bi-directional serial digital data streams in time-multiplexed form;

second wires comprising two conductors at least in part in walls of the building, said second wires being connected to carry the second bi-directional serial digital data stream;

a first outlet connected to said first wires, said first outlet being mounted in a wall opening or an outlet opening;

a second outlet connected to said second wires, said second outlet being mounted in a wall opening or an outlet opening;

a first device couplable to the first unit, said first device being connected to said first outlet for connecting to said first wires and being connected to said second wires, and said first device being operative to couple the first bi-directional serial digital data stream to the first unit and to pass the second bi-directional serial digital data stream between said first and second wires; and

a second device couplable to the second unit, said second device being connected to said second outlet for connecting to said second wires, and said second device being operative to couple the second bi-directional serial digital data stream to the second unit.

82. The network according to claim 81, wherein said first device is attached to said first outlet.

83. The network according to claim 81, wherein said second device is attached to said second outlet.

84. The network according to claim 81, further comprising a first single enclosure housing said first device and said first outlet, wherein said first single enclosure 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 substitute for a standard outlet.

85. The network according to claim 81, further comprising a second single enclosure housing said second device and said second outlet, wherein said second single enclosure 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 substitute for a standard outlet.

86. The network according to claim 81, wherein at least one out of said first and second devices is addressable in said network.

87. The network according to claim 86, further comprising at least one manual switch used to manually assign an address to said first or second device.

88. The network according to claim 86, wherein said at least one of said first and second devices has an address that is automatically assigned or assigned by a data unit connected to said device.

89. The network according to claim 81, wherein said first and second devices are connected in a point-to-point connection over said second wires.

90. The network according to claim 81, wherein at least one of said first wires and second wires is one of:

a twisted-wire pair;

a coaxial cable;

a telephone wire-pair; and

power line wiring, and at least one of said first and second outlets is one of a telephone outlet and a power line outlet.

91. The network according to claim 81, wherein the communication over at least one of said first wires and second wires is packet-based and full-duplex.

92. The network according to claim 81, wherein at least one of said first wires and second wires further simultaneously carries a service signal using frequency domain multiplexing.

93. The network according to claim 92, wherein the service signal is an analog telephone signal and at least one of said first and second outlets is a telephone outlet.

94. The network according to claim 81, wherein the time-multiplexed first and second bi-directional serial digital data streams are carried over said first wires using DSL.

95. The network according to claim 81, wherein the first bi-directional serial digital data stream contains digitized telephony data, and the first unit is a telephone set to which the digitized telephony data are coupled.

96. The network according to claim 81, wherein the second bi-directional serial digital data stream contains digitized telephony data, and the second unit is a telephone set to which the digitized telephony data are coupled.

97. The network according to claim 81, wherein the first and second bi-directional serial digital data streams respectively carry first and second digitized telephony data and wherein the first and second units are respectively first and second telephone sets to which the first and second digitized telephony data are respectively coupled.

98. The network according to claim 81, wherein at least one of said first wires and second wires concurrently carry a power signal, and at least one of said first and second devices is at least in part powered by the power signal.

99. A device for configuring a local area network, the device comprising:

first and second ports each providing an interface to a respective one of first and second electrically-conducting media;

first and second data couplers each coupled to a respective one of said first and second ports, and each having a data signal port operative to pass only a data signal;

first and second modems each coupled to said data signal port of a respective one of said first and second data couplers, and said first and second modems configured to enable full duplex data signal communication with a respective one of said first and second electrically-conducting media;

at least one data interface connector coupled to at least one of said modems and operative to establish a data signal connection with a data terminal equipment unit;

first and second power couplers each coupled to a respective one of said first and second ports, and each having a respective one of first and second power signal ports, each signal port being operative to pass only a power signal, and the second power signal port being coupled to the first power signal port; and

a power supply coupled to the first power signal port and to at least one of said modems to be powered by the power signal and to power said modem,

wherein the device is configured to allow the communication of a first data rate signal over one of the first and second electrically-conducting medium to be independent of the communication of a second data rate signal over the other electrically-conducting medium.

100. The device according to claim 99, wherein the power signal is a direct current signal.

101. The device according to claim 99, wherein the device has an address.

102. The device according to claim 101, wherein the address is assigned by a data terminal equipment unit connectable to the device.

103. The device according to claim 102, wherein the power signal is a direct current signal.

104. The device according to claim 99, wherein the device is assigned an address via automatic assignment by the local area network.

105. The device according to claim 99, wherein at least one of the couplers comprises a center tap transformer.

106. The device according to claim 99, wherein at least some of the couplers include center tap transformers.

107. The device according to claim 99, wherein the higher data rate signal has a different protocol than the lower data rate signal.

108. The device according to claim 107, wherein the power signal is a direct current signal.

109. The device according to claim 99, wherein the first data rate signal is a high data rate signal, and the second data rate signal is a low data rate signal.

110. A power outlet for powering an apparatus with a power signal carried over wiring, the outlet comprising:

a wiring connector operative for connecting to the wiring;

a power supply including a voltage converter coupled to said wiring connector to receive operating power from the power signal;

a power connector coupled to said wiring connector for connecting to the apparatus for powering the apparatus by the power signal;

a monitoring device coupled to be powered by said power supply and coupled to said power connector for monitoring the power consumption of the apparatus; and

a single enclosure housing said wiring connector, said power connector, said power supply and said monitoring device,

wherein said enclosure is dimensioned to be mountable into a mating wall opening, or into an outlet receptacle, or into an outlet opening, and the wiring includes power line wiring for carrying a AC power signal, said wiring connector is adapted to connect to the power line wiring, and said power supply comprises an AC/DC converter.