Modular outlet
View Patent ↗In conjunction with a wiring in a house carrying data network signal, a modular outlet comprising of a base module and interface module. The base module connects to the wiring and attached to a wall. The interface module provides a data unit connection. The interface module is mechanically attached to the base module and electrically connected thereto. The wiring may also carry basic service signal such as telephone, electrical power and cable television (CATV). In such a case, the outlet will provide the relevant connectivity either as part of the base module or as part of the interface module. Both proprietary and industry standard interfaces can be used to interconnect the module. Furthermore, a standard computer expansion card (such as PCI, PCMCIA and alike) may be used as interface module.
1. A media converter outlet that is part of a local area network in a building, the network including at least part of a fiber optic cable that is at least in part in walls of the building and is terminated at a wall opening or outlet cavity, said outlet comprising:
a first fiber optic connector for connecting said outlet to the fiber optic cable;
a fiber optic transceiver for bidirectional digital data communication of a digital data signal with a transceiver of the same type as said fiber optic transceiver over the fiber optic cable;
a power port connectable to receive a power signal from a power source;
a power supply, comprising an AC/DC converter or a DC/DC converter, coupled between said power port and said fiber optic transceiver for DC powering said fiber optic transceiver by the power signal;
a data port for coupling at least part of said digital data signal to a first unit;
a multi-port unit including one of: a hub; a switch; a router; and a gateway, coupled to pass data between said data port and said fiber optic transceiver; and
at least one enclosure housing said first fiber optic connector, said fiber optic transceiver, said power port, said power supply, said data port and said multi-port unit, wherein:
said outlet is mountable into the wall opening or outlet cavity; and
said outlet is addressable in the local area network.
2. The outlet according to claim 1 , wherein said at least one enclosure comprises first and second enclosures, each of said enclosures comprising power-consuming circuits powered from said power supply, and wherein said first and second enclosures are removably mechanically attached to each other and electrically connected to each other to enable power to be passed between them.
3. The outlet according to claim 2 , further comprising mechanical attachment and electrical connection means based on an industry standard interface for providing the mechanical attachment and electrical connection between said first and second enclosures.
4. The outlet according to claim 3 , wherein said industry standard interface is based on a Personal Computer (PC) expansion slot.
5. The outlet according to claim 4 , wherein said PC expansion slot is one of: a PCMCIA slot; an ISA slot; an EISA slot; and a PCI slot.
6. The outlet according to claim 2 , wherein said second enclosure is a handheld unit and said first enclosure is adapted to dock, supply power to, and communicate with said handheld unit.
7. The outlet according to claim 6 , wherein said handheld unit is a Personal Digital Assistant (PDA) or a cellular telephone.
8. The outlet according to claim 2 , further comprising a mechanical attachment device comprising at least one of: a guiding rail; a screw; a latch; and a connector body for the removable mechanical attachment of said first and second enclosures to each other.
9. The outlet according to claim 2 , wherein said outlet is further adapted to provide live-insertion and short-circuit protection associated with the electrical connection of said first and second enclosures to each other.
10. The outlet according to claim 2 , wherein said first and second enclosures are operative to bi-directionally communicate digital data therebetween.
11. The outlet according to claim 1 , wherein said 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.
12. The outlet according to claim 1 , further comprising a power connector coupled to said power port for receiving power from the power source.
13. The outlet according to claim 1 , wherein the digital data signal is a bi-directional serial digital data signal, and said fiber optic transceiver is adapted for transmitting and receiving the bi-directional, packet-based serial digital data signal.
14. The outlet according to claim 1 , wherein the digital data signal is a full-duplex digital data signal, and said fiber optic transceiver is adapted for transmitting and receiving the full-duplex serial digital data signal.
15. The outlet according to claim 1 , wherein the first unit is a digital data unit, and said outlet further comprises:
a data connector for connecting to the digital data unit; and
a data transceiver coupled between said data connector and said data port and operative to effect bi-directional digital data communication with the digital data unit.
16. The outlet according to claim 15 , wherein said data connector is an RJ-45 connector, said data transceiver is an Ethernet transceiver, and communication with the data unit is based on Ethernet IEEE802.3-2002 10BaseT, or 100BaseTX, or 1000BaseT.
17. The outlet according to claim 15 , wherein said data connector and communication with the data unit are based on one of USB, IEEE1284-1994, and IEEE1394-1995 standard, and said data connector and said data transceiver are respectively adapted to substantially conform to one of: USB; IEEE1284-1994; and IEEE1394-1995 specifications.
18. The outlet according to claim 1 , wherein the first unit is an analog unit, and said outlet further comprises:
an analog connector for coupling a further analog signal to the analog unit; and
a converter between analog and digital signals coupled between said analog connector and said data port for providing an analog connection with the analog unit, wherein said converter is at least one of an analog to digital converter and a digital to analog converter.
19. The outlet according to claim 18 , wherein the first unit is an audio or video unit, and said analog connector is, respectively, an audio or video connector.
20. The outlet according to claim 1 , wherein said outlet further supports at least one of: traffic management; Quality-of-Service (QoS) measurement; performance management; configuration management; accounting management; fault management; and security management.
21. The outlet according to claim 1 , further comprising a non-wired transceiver coupled to said data port and coupled to be powered from said power supply, for non-wired bi-directional digital data communication with a non-wired data unit.
22. The outlet according to claim 21 , wherein the non-wired communication with the non-wired data unit is carried out in a communication medium using one of: light; infrared radiation; acoustic energy; and radio frequency energy.
23. The outlet according to claim 1 , wherein the first unit is an analog telephone set, the digital data signal includes a digitized telephone signal, and said outlet further comprises:
an analog telephone connector for coupling an analog telephone signal to the analog telephone set; and
a converter between the analog telephone signal and digitized telephone signals coupled between said analog telephone connector and said data port, wherein said converter includes an analog to digital converter and a digital to analog converter.
24. The outlet according to claim 1 , further being pluggable into an existing outlet.