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US 2019/0094273 A1Published application
Traceable cables
AssigneeMertek Industries, LLC
InventorsChristopher B. Scherer, Jon Sholtis
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
Traceable cables (e.g., networking cables, power cables, etc.). Some embodiments include a traceable power cable with a battery (e.g., that may be rechargeable from current from an external power source to which the power cable is electrically connected). Some embodiments include a traceable networking cable configured to draw power from power-over-Ethernet (POE) power sourcing equipment (PSE) even if the networking cable is not connected to a separate powered device (PD).
Claims20
1-34. (canceled)
A power cable comprising:
- a cable having a first end, a second end, two or more power conductors in a flexible sheath between the first end and the second end, and one or more indicator wires in the flexible sheath between the first end and the second end;
- a male connector hood on the first end of the cable;
- two or more blades or pins extending from a mating end of the male connector hood, the two or more blades or pins each connected to one of the two or more power conductors of the cable;
- a female connector hood on the second end of the cable, the female connector hood including a mating end defining two or more recesses each configured to receive a single blade or pin in electrical communication with a single one of the two or more power conductors of the cable;
- an electric power source incorporated into at least one of the connector hoods, the electric power source comprising a capacitor;
- an electrically activated telltale incorporated into at least one of the connector hoods;
- and
- a manually operated switch incorporated into at least one of the connector hoods and configured to initiate electrical communication between the electric power source, the one or more indicator wires, and the electrically activated telltale.
5 more elements
A networking cable comprising:
- a plurality of conductors in a flexible sheath having a first end and a second end, the plurality of conductors comprising a plurality of conductor wire pairs;
- a connector hood on each end of the flexible sheath;
- an electric power source incorporated into at least one of the connector hoods, the electric power source comprising a capacitor;
- an electrically activated telltale incorporated into at least one of the connector hoods;
- a manually operated switch incorporated into at least one of the connector hoods and configured to initiate electrical communication between the electric power source and the electrically activated telltale;
- and
- a resistor incorporated into at least one of the connector hoods, the resistor electrically connected to at least one of the conductor wire pairs such that if the networking cable is electrically connected to power-over-Ethernet (POE) power sourcing equipment (PSE), the POE PSE will continuously deliver electric power to the networking cable if the networking cable is not also electrically connected to a separate POE powered device (PD).
4 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.