GB2361590A

GB2361590A - Adapter for connecting multiple telephones using a single eight-wire cable

Info

Publication number: GB2361590A
Application number: GB0009454A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Timothy Robert Brown
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 2000-04-18
Filing date: 2000-04-18
Publication date: 2001-10-24
Also published as: GB0009454D0

Abstract

An adapter has four sockets 153,154,155,156, a cable 225 and a plug 152. The sockets 153,154,155,156 can be RJ-45 telephone sockets. The cable 152 is a CATS cable with four twisted pairs of wires. Each wire is connected at one end to a terminal 301-308 in the plug 152 and at the other end each pair is connected to a socket 153,154,155,156. The adapter allows communication of four telephones down one cable.

Description

2361590 A COMMUNICATIONS CABLE FURCATION DEVICE This invention relates to

a device for furcating a communications cable, and particularly to a device for providing multiple telephone line connections 5 from a single RJ-45 socket.

Many commercial buildings now have an internal communications network providing computer data lines and telephone lines to all areas of the building. At a suitable location within the network there will be at least one patch panel cabinet for the routing of lines to desired locations throughout the building.

Data line terminals from a computer file server or the like, and telephone line terminals from an external proprietary telephone network are 'patched' onto internal communication line terminals; these terminals are typically of the type known as RJ-45 sockets and they are interconnected or patched via so-called CAT 5 patch leads which are terminated by RJ-45 plugs appropriate for mating with the RJ-45 sockets.

In this way the network can be configured in a desired manner so that internal network communications lines are connected to the required external communications line, i.e. telephone or data. The internal network communications cables are typically CAT 5 cables which may consist of four twisted pairs of signal wires. At a remote location elsewhere in the building these internal cables terminate at an RJ-45 socket; to this socket a user may connect a telephone or computer terminal as appropriate.

In the case of a telephone handset being plugged into the RJ-45 socket, only one of the possible four pairs of wires are used for signal communications; the other three remain redundant. This leads to inefficient usage of the available number of lines in the network and the need to provide more internal cables than 9602 is absolutely necessary. The present invention seeks to improve the efficiency in telephone line usage and availability.

According to an aspect of the present invention there is provided a communications cable furcation device including a communications plug, a plurality of communications sockets and a communications cable comprising a plurality of communications wires connected therebetween, wherein the communications plug is in electrical contact with the plurality of said communications wires, and respective ones of said communications sockets are in electrical contact with a respective twisted pair of said communications wires.

Preferably, the communications plug and communications sockets are of the RJ-45 type.

Preferably, the communications cable is a CAT 5 type patch cable.

Preferably, the communications cable furcation device includes a housing in which the said plurality of communications sockets are located. The housing is preferably a single body.

According to the present invention in a second aspect there is provided a method of connecting a voice patch panel to a plurality of remote devices comprising connecting a device as described above between a plurality of voice sockets and a network socket, connecting the network socket to a remote socket, connecting a second device as described above to the remote socket, and plugging a plurality of devices into the second device.

An embodiment of the invention will now be described, by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

9602 -3 Figure 1 is a schematic diagram of a conventional communications network; Figure 2 is a schematic diagram of a communications network including a communications cable furcation device; Figure 3 shows the connections made to the communications cable furcation device when in use; Figure 4 shows a communications cable furcation device suitable for use with an analogue telephone systern; and Figure 5 shows a communications cable furcation device suitable for use with a digital telephone system.

The conventional communications network shown in Figure 1 includes a patch panel 10. The patch panel has data sockets 20 in electrical communication with a computer file server 60, and telephone sockets 30 linked to an external proprietary telephone system 50.

The internal network 100 is linked to the patch panel via communications cables 15 which terminate at network sockets 40. All sockets (20, 30 and 40) are RJ-45 type; the number of sockets in a given patch panel will be determined by the size and complexity of the network; thirty-two sockets are shown in this particular example but this is for simplicity only. The bundle of communications cables shown generally as 15 will include, for example, communications cables and 2 10.

Data socket 21 is connected via a patch cable 70 to a network socket 41.

The patch cable 70 is terminated at each end by an RJ-45 plug which mate with corresponding RJ-45 sockets at 21 and 41 respectively, and is a CAT 5 type communications cable.

A remote data socket 120 (which will also be an RJ-45 socket) is linked 9602 via the communications cable 200 (again this will normally be CAT 5 cable) to the network socket 41. Similarly, a remote telephone socket 110 is linked via the communications cable 210 to a network socket 42. To this network socket 42 a telephone socket 31 is patched via a patch cable 80. In general, each remote data 5 or telephone socket is directly linked to a respective network socket.

Other network sockets are shown patched to other telephone and data sockets, but since the principle is the same they will not be discussed.

To the remote telephone socket 110 and the data socket 120 a telephone handset and a computer terminal can be connected respectively. Alternatively, a local data hub 130 can be plugged into a remote data socket 140, thus providing several computer terminal links to the computer file server 60.

Figure 2 shows a network including communications cable furcation devices 150 and 160. To device 150 are patched four telephone sockets 32 to 35 using CAT 5 patch cable. The device 150 is connected to network socket 48 also via CAT 5 patch cable, terminated in an RJ-45 plug 152. So, cable 190 carries signals from four separate telephone sockets 32-35. The cable includes four twisted pairs and each of these is connected to a different socket 32-35 respectively.

A remote telephone socket 125 which is an RJ-45 socket, is connected to network socket 48 by CAT 5 communications cable 220. Into the remote socket 125 a second communications cable furcation device 160 is plugged. In this way the communications cable 220 corresponding to network socket 48 carries four separate telephone lines instead of the usual one, and device 160 provides the respective four RJ-45 sockets 161 to 164 to enable the connection of four separate telephone handsets. Instead of telephone handsets, computer modems may be connected to sockets 161 to 164, or a combination of telephones and modems.

9602 Figure 3 shows a closer schematic view of the communications connections discussed above. RJ-45 telephone sockets 31 to 34 are patched to RJ-45 sockets 153 to 156 of the device 150 via patch cables 221 to 224 respectively; patch cables 221 to 224 are terminated at both ends with RJ-45 sockets (shown as arrow heads). Sockets 153 to 156 are collectively patched via the cable 225 and the plug 152 to the network socket 48. Hence, four external telephone lines are routed into one internal network communications line. This communications line terminates at a remote telephone socket 125 (RJ-45) into which a second communications cable furcation device 160 is plugged. The second device also includes a plug 165, a cable 226 and four RJ-45 sockets 161 to 164, and is identical in all respects to device 150.

The use of devices 150 and 160 advantageously provides four telephone lines via the sockets 161 to 164 where there would have only been one line via the socket 125 in a conventional network.

Figures 4 and 5 show a communications cable furcation device adapted for an analogue and digital telephone system respectively. In both cases the RJ-45 plug 152 provides connection to all of the eight separate wires 301 to 308. For an analogue system (Figure 4) the twisted wire pairs 301/302, 303/304, 305/306 and 307/308 are connected to pins 313 and 314 in each of the RJ-45 sockets 153 to 156. For a digital system (Figure 5) the pins 311 and 312, which are normally unused in analogue systems, are utilised. In either case, four separate telephone lines corresponding to the twisted wire pairs 301/302, 303/304, 305/306 and 307/308 are provided through a single plug 152 connected to an appropriate remote telephone socket in the network.

9602 CLAMS 1. A communications cable furcation device including a communications plug, a plurality of communications sockets and a communications cable comprising a plurality of communications wires connected therebetween, wherein the communications plug is in electrical contact with the plurality of said communications wires, and respective ones of said communications sockets are in electrical contact with a respective pair of said communications wires.

Claims

2. A communications cable farcation device as claimed in Claim 1, wherein

the communications plug and the communications sockets are of the RJ-45 type.

I 3. A communications cable furcation device as claimed in Claim I or 2, wherein the communications cable is a CAT5 type patch cable.

4. A communications cable fii-cation device as claimed in Claim 1, 2 or 3, wherein a housing is further included in which the plurality of communications sockets are located.

5. A communications cable furcation device as claimed in Claim 4, wherein the housing comprises a single body.

6. A communications cable farcation device as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein the communications cable comprises four twisted pairs of signal wires.

7. A method of connectin- a voice patch panel to a plurality of remote devices comprising connecting a device as described in any of Claims 1 to 6 between a plurality of voice sockets and a network socket, connecting the network socket to a remote socket, connecting a second device as described in any of 9602 -7- Claims I to 6 to the remote socket, and plugging a plurality of devices into the C second device.

8. A communications cable furcation device as hereiribefore described, with 5 reference to, and as illustrated by the accompanying schematic drawings.

9. A method of connecting a voice patch panel to a plurality of remote I devices as hereiribefore described, with reference to, and as illustrated by the accompanying schematic Lizawings. 10