Patch panel with a motherboard for connecting communications jacks
An active jack, which is a powered device, is installed as the network connection at a workstation which provides the capability to determine the physical location of a destination device, such as a VOIP phone, in real time. Uninterruptible power supplies may be used to provide power to network components, for example during an emergency. Power-and-data deployments are shown for powering network components and destination devices.
1. A patch panel and modular jack assembly comprising:
a patch panel, the patch panel having a motherboard located in the patch panel, the patch panel also having a pair of panel power contacts electrically connected to the motherboard; and
a modular RJ-45 type jack, the modular jack being removably attached to the patch panel and having a set of jack power contacts, the jack power contacts being configured to engage the panel power contacts when the jack is inserted into the patch panel, wherein the motherboard is configured to power a powered device over conductors of a network cable via the set ofjack power contacts of the modular jack.
2. The assembly of claim 1 wherein the jack further comprises a media access control ID (MAC ID) and wherein the motherboard is also configured to provide power to the modular jack and MAC ID via the set ofjack power contacts on the modular jack.
3. The assembly of claim 2 further comprising jack data contacts and panel data contacts, the panel data contacts being electrically connected to the motherboard and the jack data contacts being electrically connected to the MAC ID and wherein the motherboard is also configured to exchange data with the powered device via the modular jack, the jack data contacts, and the panel data contacts and the set of contacts on the modular jack.