Granted Patent B2

US 12,449,314 · App. 18/615,317 · Granted Oct 21, 2025

Inventors: Christopher Daniel Bullock (Round Rock, TX); Chad M. Jones (Doylestown, OH); Dylan T. Walker (Austin, TX); Joel Richard Goergen (Soulsbyville, CA)

Assignee: CISCO TECHNOLOGY, INC.

G01K3/005G01K13/00G06F30/20H04L12/10H04L12/40045

Abstract

Claims (39)

1. A method comprising:

receiving, at a thermal modeling module, data from a PSE (Power Sourcing Equipment) for cables extending from the PSE to PDs (Powered Devices), the cables being configured to transmit power and data from the PSE to the PDs;

identifying cable adjacencies associated with at least one of the cables based on the data;

determining a wire gauge associated with the at least one of the cables;

calculating, at the thermal modeling module, thermal characteristics for the cables based on the cable adjacencies and the wire gauge; and

performing one or more actions to reduce a risk of unsafe operation at one of the cables when the thermal characteristics for the cables indicate that a thermal rise associated with the one of the cables exceeds a threshold.

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein the cable adjacencies include an arrangement of the cables within a bundle and a size of the bundle.

3. The method of claim 1 , wherein determining the wire gauge includes determining the wire gauge based on the data.

4. The method of claim 1 , wherein determining the wire gauge includes determining the wire gauge based on a user input.

5. The method of claim 1 , wherein the thermal characteristics include the thermal rise, the method further comprising:

determining that the thermal rise at the one of the cables exceeds the threshold.

6. The method of claim 1 , wherein performing the one or more actions comprises preventing operation of a port connected to the one of the cables.

7. The method of claim 1 , wherein performing the one or more actions comprises providing an indication of the thermal rise at the one of the cables to a user.

8. An apparatus comprising:

an interface configured to receive data from a PSE (Power Sourcing Equipment) for cables extending from the PSE to PDs (Powered Devices), the cables being configured to transmit power and data from the PSE to the PDs; and

a processor coupled to the interface and configured to:

identify cable adjacencies associated with at least one of the cables based on the data,

determine a wire gauge associated with the at least one of the cables,

calculate thermal characteristics for the cables based on the cable adjacencies and the wire gauge, and

perform one or more actions to reduce a risk of unsafe operation at one of the cables when the thermal characteristics for the cables indicate that a thermal rise associated with the one of the cables exceeds a threshold.

9. The apparatus of claim 8 , wherein the cable adjacencies include an arrangement of the cables within a bundle and a size of the bundle.

10. The apparatus of claim 8 , wherein, when determining the wire gauge, the processor is configured to determine the wire gauge based on the data.

11. The apparatus of claim 8 , wherein, when determining the wire gauge, the processor is configured to determine the wire gauge based on a user input.

12. The apparatus of claim 8 , wherein the thermal characteristics include the thermal rise, and wherein the processor is further configured to:

determine that the thermal rise at the one of the cables exceeds the threshold.

13. The apparatus of claim 8 , wherein, when performing the one or more actions, the processor is configured to prevent operation of a port connected to the one of the cables.

14. The apparatus of claim 8 , wherein, when performing the one or more actions, the processor is configured to provide an indication of the thermal rise at the one of the cables to a user.

15. One or more non-transitory computer-readable media comprising instructions that, when executed by one or more processors, cause the one or more processors to perform a method comprising:

obtaining data from a PSE (Power Sourcing Equipment) for cables extending from the PSE to PDs (Powered Devices), the cables being configured to transmit power and data from the PSE to the PDs;

identifying cable adjacencies associated with at least one of the cables based on the data;

determining a wire gauge associated with the at least one of the cables;

calculating thermal characteristics for the cables based on the cable adjacencies and the wire gauge; and

performing one or more actions to reduce a risk of unsafe operation at one of the cables when the thermal characteristics for the cables indicate that a thermal rise associated with the one of the cables exceeds a threshold.

16. The one or more non-transitory computer-readable media of claim 15 , wherein the cable adjacencies include an arrangement of the cables within a bundle and a size of the bundle.

17. The one or more non-transitory computer-readable media of claim 15 , wherein determining the wire gauge includes determining the wire gauge based on the data.

18. The one or more non-transitory computer-readable media of claim 15 , wherein determining the wire gauge includes determining the wire gauge based on a user input.

19. The one or more non-transitory computer-readable media of claim 15 , wherein the thermal characteristics include the thermal rise, the method further comprising:

determining that the thermal rise at the one of the cables exceeds the threshold.

20. The one or more non-transitory computer-readable media of claim 15 , wherein performing the one or more actions comprises preventing operation of a port connected to the one of the cables.

Assignments (1)

Continuity (4)

References Cited (332)