A system for monitoring connection pattern of data ports

The present invention relates to the field of cable systems and related computer peripherals, more particularly to the system and method of interconnecting data ports without special connecting cables or connecting boards.

The skilled artisan is aware of the problems associated with interconnecting various ports on a local computer network. One related problem is described in U.S. Patent No. 5,483,467, entitled "Patching Panel Scanner." The patent describes a circuit board scanner that automatically and continuously monitors communication between various ports, such as computer ports and user ports. In this type of system, the ports are interconnected by cables or, alternatively, by an internal communication device in switching boards such as the CLPP wireless switching board manufactured by RIT Technologies Ltd. from Tel Aviv, Israel.

In this type of system, to determine the interconnection of the various ports, the conductor has to interconnect the ports and transmit a signal to the scanner <indicating the port status of the particular port. In this age of computers, it is difficult to find a conductor for this purpose, since most cables used for communication between various devices must meet predefined industry standards. Tofcfei, for example, a standard RJ45 cable has eight wires in the cable, each with a RJ45 port corresponding to its end. There are no free leads for interconnect scanning.

For this reason, in the previously used scanning systems, the ports had to be interconnected via a switch board, which required a special communication cable or internal communication device on the switch boards. In any case, the ports could not be directly connected using standard cables. While there is a clear need for scanning systems that can use standard cables, the industry has so far been unable to overcome this problem.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a system for controlling and setting up port communication which does not have the disadvantages of the system described above.

More specifically, it is an object of the present invention to provide a system for controlling and setting up port interconnections that do not require special switching boards or cables.

More specifically, it is an object of the present invention to provide a system for controlling and setting up port interconnections using standard cables.

The present invention detects and monitors communication between data ports that are connected by multi-core cables without any special switching cables or boards. It goes without saying that in order to establish an electronic connection between two ports, an electrical conductor must connect one port to another. While this principle is well known, in the modern age of using many standardized cables such as RJ11 and RJ45, it is difficult to adapt this dedicated conductor for communication scanning purposes, since each cable is used for a standard purpose that can interfere with the communication-scanning operation.

The current communication control system includes a dedicated conductor that can be attached to an existing cable. The conductor interacts with the adapter board, which is attached to the port at the point where the cable is to be connected. The additional contact required for the scan operation is provided with an adapter cover that can be attached to the RJ45 plug. The adapter cover is attached to the plug at both ends of the cable. An additional scanning point for the scanning operation is provided as an external contact on the outside of the adapter cover. The outer cable connects the outer of the plug. the contact at each end of the cable so that the contact at each appropriate; the rear will be electrically connected to each other.

An adapter plate is provided at the external ports of the adapter housing at the ports, above the port slots where each slot has a socket contact. The socket contact is positioned so that when the RJ45 plug with adapter cover is inserted into the socket, the adapter cover connector is electrically connected to the socket contact on the adapter board.

In the system, the adapter board is connected to the output and input modules. The output module has many output drivers, and the receiving module has many triggers (other similar electronic devices may be used instead of the triggers). Each of the socket contacts is uniquely connected to one output driver and one trigger. The output and input modules are connected to a microprocessor, which in turn is connected to a communication interface device (interface). The system can be connected to a local area network or to a computer for communication information.

Both the output module and the input module can be standard IC devices. The main function of the output module is to provide a plurality of output drivers that specify the addresses of the adapter contacts and send a signal to the contacts when the microprocessor so instructs. The main function of the input module is to provide a plurality of triggers (or other similar devices) that also indicate the addresses of the contacts, and to receive a signal sent by the output drivers. The communication interface device can also be standard devices that are now used to interface between a microprocessor, a local area network, and electronic devices.

In order to describe the operation of the system, the microprocessor has one pre-marked driver, which is the first driver, and a socket contact that is connected as the first contact. the trigger of the input module that is connected to the first assigned contact is marked as the first trigger. The port with the first socket contact is considered the first port. The other driver is denoted by the second driver, its corresponding socket contact is denoted by the second pin, and the corresponding trigger is denoted by the second trigger. The same notation scheme applies to the third, fourth, fifth, etc. driver / contact / trigger group, so all groups are uniquely marked.

Initially, all socket contacts are in the lower state and have no sigrar, ii sent by the output module. In order to verify communication between the various ports, the microprocessor forces the first marked output driver to send a pulse i signal to the socket contact designated by the microprocessor as the first contact. ;

This puts the first socket contact in the upper state and at the same time the first input module trigger in the upper state. After transmitting the signal, the microprocessor scans the input module for a trigger in the upper state. If only the first trigger shows an upper state then the microprocessor considers that there is no proper connection between the first and second ports. However, if a port other than the first one indicates an upper state, such as the seventh port, then the microprocessor considers the port to be properly connected to the seventh port. When the connection status of the first port is set, the result is stored in memory and the same procedure is repeated with the second port, etc., until the connection status of all ports is determined.

FIG. 1A is a known RJ45 cable that can be adapted to work on this

In this system, a perspective view.

Fig. 1B is a perspective view of the RJ45 cable of Fig. 1, which may include an adapter enclosure.

Fig. 1C is a perspective view of a discrete adapter enclosure of the present invention adapted to an RJ45 cable plug.

Fig. 2 is a front view of a plurality of RJ45 sockets with an adapter plate of the present invention.

Figure 3 is a simplified schematic view of a communication control system of the present invention.

Fig.4 is a simplified schematic representation of the communication between the output drivers, the socket contacts, and the receiver triggers.

5A, 5B, 5C are views of various other standard cables that can be used in this system.

6A, 6B, 6C are views of various other standard cables that can be used # in this system.

Figures 7A, 7B, 7C are views of various other standard cables that can be adapted: in this system.

Fig.8 are these communication control systems with an optional diagnostic pen? simplified schematic view.

FIG. 9 is a simplified schematic representation of the communication between the output drivers, the socket contacts, the receiver triggers, and the pen input trigger. To

FIG. 10 is an embodiment of the present invention wherein the outer contact is a pin pushed by a spring.

FIG. 11 is an embodiment of the invention wherein the external contact is provided in the plug itself.

FIG. 12 is an adapter tape made of flexible tape.

FIG. 13 is a simplified schematic representation of a current communications control system having an optional diagnostic pen and LCD display units.

FIG. 14 is a simplified schematic representation of the connection between the output driver socket contacts, the receiver triggers, the pen input trigger, and the LCD drivers.

It goes without saying that an electrical conductor is required to connect the two ports electrically. While this principle is well known, in the modern age of using many standard multicore cables such as RJ11 and RJ45, it is difficult to adapt this dedicated conductor for communication-scanning purposes, since each cable inside the cable is used for a standard purpose that can interfere with communication. -scanning operation. Although it would be possible to use the same cable for the scanning operation, an additional circuit would be required to differentiate the signals used for scanning from those used for other purposes, such as data transmission. In addition, it may often be impossible to use the same wire or conductor efficiently.

The current communication control system includes a dedicated wire that can be connected to an existing cable. The conductor interacts with the adapter board, which is attached to the port to which the cable is to be connected. Although a specific cable-port combination using the standard RJ45 will be described in describing a preferred embodiment of the invention, it is to be understood that this is for illustrative purposes only, and in no way restricts the scope of the invention to this illustrative example only.

Fig. 1a shows a standard RJ45 cable 1 having a plug 2. Although for illustration purposes only one end of the cable is shown in ftg.1, it is understood that '= a similar plug is also attached to the other end of the cable. The RJ45 plug 2 has eight standard contact points 3. In order to have an additional contact point for the scanning operation, an adapter cover 4, shown in FIG. Tc, is attached to the RJ45 plug as shown in FIG. The adapter shroud is L attached to plug 2 at both ends of cable 1 (although the drawing shows only | one). An additional contact point for the scanning operation is provided as an external contact 5 on the outside of the adapter cover. The outer conductor 6 interconnects the two external contacts 5 of the cable 1 plugs.

Figure 2 shows a plurality of RJ45 sockets, which are standard sockets for a standard RJ45 contact plug. Sockets can be part of network equipment such as 10 Base-T terminal, telefonas, push-button telephone, ports, or may be part of a switch board, although a dedicated board is not required for the successful operation of this system. In order to provide a contact point for the external contact 5 in the adapter housing 4, the adapter plate 7 is provided with a contact point 9 above each socket 8.

The socket contact 9 is provided such that when the RJ45 plug with the adapter cover 4 as shown in FIG. 1B is inserted into the socket 8 of FIG. 2, the socket contact 5 of the adapter cover 4 is electrically connected to the socket pin 9 of the adapter board 7. to;

The adapter plate 7 shown in this drawing has a plurality of socket contacts 9, but it is completely possible and sometimes desirable to have the adapter plate 7 with only one socket contact which is used as the only insulated contact.

Figure 3 is a simplified schematic view of the system 10 of the present invention. The adapter board 7 of Fig. 2 is connected to the output module 12 and the input module 13. As shown in more detail in Fig. 4, the output device module 12 has a plurality of output drivers 14 and a receiver module 13 having a plurality of triggers 15. similar electronic devices). Each socket pin 9 is uniquely coupled to a single output driver 14 of a single trigger 15. Both modules output module 12 and input module 13 are connected to a microprocessor 16, which in turn is connected to a communication interface device 17. The system 10 may be connected to a local area network 18 or connected to a computer 19 which reports the connection status. .

Both the output module and the input module can be standard IC devices. The main function of the output module 12 is to provide a plurality of output drivers 14 which locate the adapter contacts 9 and send a signal to the contacts 9 when instructed by the microprocessor 16. The main function of the input module 13 is to provide a plurality of triggers 15 (or the like) also finds contacts at 9J. and receive the signal sent by the output drivers. The communication interface device 17 may also use standard devices for interfacing between a microprocessor 16, a local area network 18, and electronic devices.

For a more detailed description of the system 10, the adapter plate 7 shown in FIG. 3 is positioned above the port slots (not shown in FIG. 3 but shown in FIG. 2). Microprocessor 16 has one pre-marked output driver which is the first driver and a socket contact which is connected to the first contact. the trigger of the input module 13, which is connected to the first marked contact, is denoted as the first trigger. The port belonging to the first socket contact is called the first port. The second driver is a pre-tagged second driver, its corresponding socket contact is denoted by a second contact, and the corresponding trigger is denoted by a second trigger. The same notation scheme applies to third / fourth / fifth etc driver / contact / trigger groups so all groups are uniquely marked. Of course, the markings are somewhat conventional and the specific mark number or scheme does not matter as long as the individual groups are uniquely traced by a microprocessor 16.

Initially, all socket contacts are in the lower state, that is, they do not have any output signal 12 sent to them. To verify communication between the various ports, the microprocessor 16 forces the first marked output driver to send a pulse signal to the socket contact 9 marked by the first contact on the microprocessor 16. This transfers the first contact to the upper state and, at the same time, the first trigger of the input module 13 is switched to the upper state. After transmitting the signal, the microprocessor 16 scans the input module 13 for a trigger in the upper state. If only the first trigger is in the upper state, then the microprocessor 16 concludes that there is no reliable connection between the first and second ports. However, if different from the first controller, for example, the seventh port is in the upper state, then the microprocessor 16 concludes that the first port is securely connected to the seventh port. When the connection status of the first port is set, the result is stored in memory and the same operation is repeated for the second port and 1.1 until all ports are checked for communication status.

Although other scanning schemes may be used, the scheme described above is used in the preferred embodiment of the invention. The advantage of the above scheme is that it allows any port to be combined with any other port. This is different from communication board scanning systems, where only one board needs to be labeled as the input board and the other as the output board and the cable has to connect the output board port to the input board ports. For example, a cable cannot connect an input card port to another port on the same input card. This feature is particularly useful for the present invention since no special switching boards are required, so that the ports can be distributed in any random order.

In certain situations, the user may want to know the particular data port installed in accordance with the present invention. In previous systems, if the port was not properly labeled from the socket side, it would be difficult for the user to locate the port without following the cable connected to the port to its source. To overcome this problem, a diagnostic pen can be provided in the system of the present invention to help identify a port by simply touching the socket contact of the port that the user wants to identify.

A schematic diagram of the present invention with a diagnostic pen is shown in FIG. As shown in FIG. 8, the pen 20 has an electrically conductive tip 21. The tip 21 is electrically connected to the pen input module 22. The pen input module 22 is

Communicatively coupled to the microprocessor 16. FIG. 9 shows in more detail that the pen input module 22 has a single trigger 23 (or similar device) for receiving an electrical signal.

To determine which socket contact 9 contacts the tip 21 of the diagnostic pen 20, the microprocessor 16 continuously monitors the status of the pen input module 22. As mentioned above, the output module continuously transmits an electrical signal to each socket contact 9. Since the output module 12 uniquely addresses each socket contact 9, each socket contact 9 is also uniquely routed. For this reason, the microprocessor 16 can uniquely determine at any time to which socket contact 9 the output module 12 has sent an electrical signal. Initially, when the tip 21 of the pen 20 does not contact any of the socket contacts, the pen input module 22 is in the lower state because it receives no electrical signal. However, when the tip 21 touches one of the socket contacts 9, the pen input module 22 enters an upper state. After detecting the socket contact 9 to which the output module 12 has sent a signal, when the pen input module 22 has entered the upper state, the microprocessor 16 can determine which socket contact 9 contacts the pen tip 21. The data port corresponding to the specific socket contact 9 may then be identified.

To further assist in the identification of data ports and. to provide greater flexibility to the system, said system may further comprise liquid crystal display display (LCD) devices 24 mounted at each port as shown in FIG. 13. The LCD devices 24 are arranged adjacent to the data ports and are communicatively connected to the LCD module 25. FIG. 14 is a detailed schematic view. The LCD module 25 consists essentially of a plurality of output drivers 26 that are uniquely connected to the LCD units 24. The LCD units 24 will provide information about a particular port or queue of ports. For example, an LCD device can specify a device that is connected to a port, a user name, an IP address, and so on The LCD may be used with the pen 20 such that, by touching a specific port socket contact, the microprocessor will send the port information to the LCD device corresponding to the socket contact that contacts the pen 20. LCD devices 24 can also perform an interactive function where the user can select various options from a simple menu such as the YES / NO menu, where the user can specify his choice by tapping the pen 20 pin contact (or alternatively, the dedicated dedicated LCD device contact). Although the .LCD devices 24 herein are separate devices, it is understood that a single continuous strip of LCD devices may be used.

While the present invention is illustrated by standard RJ45 cables, one skilled in the art will appreciate that the present invention may be implemented using other existing standards. Some examples are shown in Figs. 5, 6 and 7, where the SC, ST and BNC plugs currently in use have adapter covers and their respective ports have adapter plates.

As shown in Figures 5, 5A and 5C, the standard SC plug 27 has an adapter cover 28 with a connector 29 which together form an adaptive SC plug 30. In addition, the SC plug sockets 31 have adapter plates 32 with adapter contact points 33.

As shown in Figures 6, 6A and 6C, the standard ST plug 34 has an adapter cover 35 with a connector 36 which together form an adapted ST plug 37. In addition, the ST plug sockets 38 have adapter plates 39 with adapter contact points 40.

As shown in Figures 7, 7A and 7C, the standard BNC plug 41 has an adapter cover 42 with a contact 43 which together form an adapted BNC plug 44. In addition, the BNC plug sockets 45 have adapter plates 46 with adapter contact points 47.

According to an alternative embodiment of the present invention, the outer contact 5 (as shown in Fig. 1C) of the adapter housing 4 is a contact pin 48, as shown. _;FIG. 10. In this embodiment, the pin 48 is slidably inserted into a cylinder 49 mounted inside the adapter housing 4. The contact pin 48 is pressed by a spring 51 inside the barrel 49 which pushes the pin 48 in the direction of the arrow 52. The pin 48 pressed by the spring 51 is in better contact with the socket contact 9 of the adapter plate 7 (Fig. 2). One skilled in the art will appreciate that the spring 51 may be replaced by other devices that provide the necessary pressure to the pin 48.

According to another embodiment of the present invention, the external contact is provided inside the standard cable itself. An example of such an embodiment is shown in FIG. In this case, the contact pin 53 is mounted in the RJ45 cable 54 itself. 10, the contact pin 53 is slidably mounted on the cylinder 55 and pressed against the spring 56. It will be understood that the external contact may be without cylinder 55 and spring 56. In this case, the socket contact is located inside the socket itself and contacts the contact pin 53.

According to yet another embodiment of the present invention, a flexible tape as shown in FIG. 12. The adapter strip 57 may be self-adhesive so that it can be conveniently positioned adjacent to the sockets. The adapter tape 57 has a main body 58 and a head 59 made of a flexible tape, which is a common material used to form an electrical circuit. The main body 58 has a plurality of contacts 60 disposed in the same manner as the respective data ports adjacent to which the adapter strip is to be located. Two rows of contacts may be provided as shown in FIG. 12 corresponding to two rows of data ports positioned above and below the adapter strip 57. However, it is also possible to have an adapter strip with only one row of contacts. Each of the contacts 60 is connected by a conductor such as a wire terminating in the head 62 of the conductor strip 60. The wiring strip 61 allows a convenient electrical connection of the adapter strip 57 to the output 12 and input 13 modules.

In yet another embodiment of the present invention, the socket contact is in the form of a port or socket which rigidly engages with an external contact. In yet another embodiment of the present invention, the adapter housing is fabricated with a standard multi-core cable.

The invention may be embodied in other embodiments without departing from the spirit or essential characteristics of the invention. The presented embodiments of the invention are in all respects illustrative only and not limiting of the invention, the scope of which is defined by the following definition, including all equivalent modifications.