The invention concerns an adapter to which a cable is connected on the input side and to which at least one further cable is connected on the output side, according to the features of the preamble of patent claim 1.
It is common knowledge to network devices among one another and to use cables to interchange data between the devices and to supply power via the cable.
Two different transmission standards are known for this.
On the one hand, it is known to use a hybrid cable (hybrid line) to transmit data, in particular according to an Ethernet standard, and at the same time to supply the devices with power among one another, the power supply being adapted to the energy requirements of the devices. For example, a standard is known in this regard for hybrid cables where a voltage of 24 V and a maximum current of 6 A ave used as the power supply.
On the other hand, it is common knowledge to use an Ethernet cable to also supply the devices with power and interchange data between the devices (so-called Power-over-Ethernet PoE).
Currently existing Ethernet devices (such as IP cameras) can sometimes be powered via Power-over-Ethernet (PoE). This simplifies the installation and operation of such devices, as no separate cable is required for the supplying power.
However, the higher amperage of the devices poses new challenges for data cabling. With increased current flow, more heat is generated due to the resistance. Warmer cables attenuate data transmission more. This results in insufficient signal strength reaching the connected device and makes data transmission impossible. This effect must therefore be taken into account when planning new PoE-compatible LAN cabling. The maximum transmission length must therefore be adapted to the temperature conditions and shortened in a disadvantageous way.
It is also possible to supply devices (such as input/output modules for automation) with data and power via hybrid cables in combination with a corresponding plug connection (for example M12-Y coded). These methods usually provide higher power than is the case with PoE.
The object of the invention is to make the power provided by the hybrid line available to standard PoE systems.
This object is attained by the features of patent claim 1.
In accordance with the invention, the input-side cable is a hybrid cable and the at least one output-side cable is an Ethernet cable, and the adapter has means for converting the transmission standard of the hybrid cable to the transmission standard of the at least one Ethernet cable.
According to the invention, an interposed adapter makes it possible not only to continue to be able to interchange data by using those devices that interchange data with each other and are also supplied with power according to a given transmission standard, but also to use a larger number of devices that could not be used in this number according to the further transmission standard (such as Power-over-Ethernet), as the energy requirement could not be covered according to this further transmission standard.
The adapter (also known as a converter) can be arranged in a linear topology typical for automation and thus supports the operation of a larger number of PoE terminal devices from one power supply than would be possible with a pure use of PoE.
The adapter makes it possible to transmit (loop through) the data during the interchange between two devices in the same transmission standard or to enable a change from a first to another transmission standard. For this purpose, the adapter according to the invention has appropriate means suitable and intended to make the input-side data received by the adapter available to the connected device on the output side without modification. Alternatively or in addition to this, these means are suitable and intended to convert the input-side data of a given transmission standard to a further given transmission standard and to provide them on the output side so that the connected device, which operates according to this further given transmission standard, receives these data and can process them further.
In one development of the invention, the hybrid cable is connected to the adapter on the input side via a plug connection. For this purpose, the hybrid cable has a plug connector at the end that can be plugged into a corresponding mating connector of the adapter. This allows for quick and easy connection of the adapter to the hybrid cable.
In addition, defective hybrid cables or a defective adapter can be easily replaced in the event of a fault.
In one development of the invention, the Internet cable is connected to the adapter on the output side via a plug connection. This has the same benefits as described above.
In one development of the invention, a further hybrid cable is connected to the adapter on the output side. This output-side hybrid cable can also be connected to the adapter via a plug connection.
An adapter according to the invention is shown in two different variants in
In order to be able to operate multiple devices according to the IEEE standard 802.3af-2003, for example, the invention provides for an adapter 3 to which the necessary amount of power is supplied via the hybrid cable 1 for this purpose, this power then being fed to the devices connected to the adapter 3 via the Internet cable. For this purpose, the adapter 3 has appropriate internal means for converting at least the power supply from the supplied first transmission standard to a further transmission standard that corresponds to the transmission standard used by the devices connected to the adapter 3 via the Ethernet cable 2. The first transmission standard for the data supplied to the adapter 3 via the hybrid cable 1 can be the same as that also made available to the connected devices via the Internet cable 2. In this case, it is sufficient for the data lines of the hybrid cable 1 to be looped through to the Ethernet cable 2 in the adapter 3 without conversion. As an alternative, it is possible for means for converting the data transmission standard at the input of adapter 3 to a data transmission standard at the output of adapter 3 to be provided in the adapter 3.
The adapter 3 can retain the benefit of PoE technology of eliminating the need for a power supply cable, allowing Ethernet-connected devices to be installed even in hard-to-reach locations or in areas where many cables would be a nuisance. There is no need to supply power to the device separately using a power cord and a power supply unit or to achieve this with a battery. Instead, the device draws its energy from the data network. For this purpose, power additionally needs to be fed into the data line at a central point in the network distributor besides the data signals.
While on the one hand it is conceivable that the two cables 1, 2 are permanently connected to the adapter 3 (i.e. that they are routed into and out of the adapter and are thus nondetachably connected to the adapter 3), the embodiment shown in
The adapter 3 (converter) thus forms the end point of hybrid cabling. From the supply of power and data (especially Ethernet) provided by the hybrid cable 1, the adapter 3 produces a valid PoE that can be processed further by the connected end devices. The benefits here are the introduction of high power with few losses close to the connected PoE load and the use of a hybrid infrastructure. It is important that the adapter 3 have a power supply, especially a 24V-compatible PoE injector.
The embodiment shown in
The adapter 3 designed as a T-adapter can thus be integrated into a hybrid line structure in this configuration. For this purpose, it has a hybrid plug connection 5 (especially a plug) as input and a hybrid plug connection 7 (especially a socket) as output or routing.
The benefits here, in addition to those of the embodiment shown in
Not shown in
The power for the devices needing to be powered (PD) can be supplied by so-called endspan devices (for example switches) or midspan devices (units between switch and terminal device).
Number | Date | Country | Kind |
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1717496.2 | Oct 2017 | GB | national |
Filing Document | Filing Date | Country | Kind |
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PCT/EP2018/079036 | 10/23/2018 | WO | 00 |