Communication module

Abstract

The invention relates to a communication module (100) comprising a communication circuit (101), a communication interface for transferring data to an electric data line (103); and to an overvoltage protection module (105) for protecting the communication circuit (101) from an overvoltage on the electric data line (103) which is integrated in an insertable manner into the communication module (100).

Claims

1. A communication module, comprising: a communication circuit having a communication interface for transmitting data on an electrical data line; an overvoltage protection module which is integrated into the communication module in a pluggable manner for protecting the communication circuit from overvoltage on the electrical data line; a data interface for transferring data between the overvoltage protection module and the communication circuit; and wherein the overvoltage protection module is configured to transmit a status of the overvoltage protection module to the communication circuit during operation, wherein the communication circuit comprises a telecommunication interface for transmitting the status of the overvoltage protection module to an external data network, and wherein the communication module is configured to automatically send an alarm over the external data network indicating that the overvoltage protection in module is damaged.

2. The communication module according to claim 1, wherein the pluggable overvoltage protection module comprises at least one of: a gas discharge tube, a protective diode, or a thyristor.

3. The communication module according to claim 1, wherein the pluggable overvoltage protection module has a single connection side for electrically connecting the overvoltage protection module to the communication circuit.

4. The communication module according to claim 1, wherein the pluggable overvoltage protection module is configured to electrically connect to the communication module when the pluggable overvoltage protection module is inserted into the communication module.

5. The communication module according to claim wherein the overvoltage protection module is integrated into a protection module housing and the communication circuit is integrated into a circuit housing.

6. The communication module according to claim 5, wherein the protection module housing and the circuit housing are configured to prevent an incorrect insertion of the overvoltage protection module into the communication module.

7. The communication module according to claim 1, wherein the communication module is mountable on a Deutsches Institut f?r Normung (DIN) rail.

8. The communication module according to claim 1, wherein the communication circuit comprises a plurality of communication interfaces for transmitting data on a respective electrical data line and the pluggable overvoltage protection module is configured to protect against an overvoltage on each of said electrical data lines.

9. The communication module according to claim 1, wherein the overvoltage protection module is configured to detect an overvoltage on the electrical data line.

10. The communication module according to claim 1, wherein the external data network is a local area network or a mobile communications network.

11. The communication module according to claim 1, wherein the communication module comprises a web server for externally polling the status of the overvoltage protection module.

12. The communication module according to claim 1, wherein the communication module is at least one of: a modem, a switch, or a router.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

(1) FIG. 1 is a schematic view of an overvoltage protection module;

(2) FIG. 2 is a schematic view of a communication module having an external overvoltage protection;

(3) FIG. 3 is a schematic view of a communication module having an integrated overvoltage protection module in point-to-point communication;

(4) FIG. 4 is a schematic view of a communication module having a plurality of communication interfaces;

(5) FIG. 5 is a schematic view of a communication module having a plurality of communication interfaces and a status request; and

(6) FIG. 6 is an example of a DSL router as a communication module.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

(7) FIG. 1 shows a schematic view of an overvoltage protection 205. The overvoltage protection 205 has two connections which form an IN input and an OUT output of the overvoltage protection 205. During installation, the IN input and the OUT output can be reversed. If the overvoltage protection 205 is incorrectly connected, such as for example if the connections are reversed, the functioning of the overvoltage protection can no longer be ensured.

(8) FIG. 2 shows a schematic view of a communication module 200 having an external overvoltage protection 205. The overvoltage protection 205 is an additional component in an electrical cabinet and takes up additional space. The overvoltage protection 205 is wired to the communication module 200 by electrical lines. This thereby increases wiring complexity.

(9) If the communication module 200, such as e.g. an SHDSL Ethernet extender, comprises more than one DSL port and the overvoltage protection 205 has more than one input and one output, the lines between the communication module 200 and the overvoltage protection 205 can be incorrectly wired. Although the IN1 and IN2 inputs and the OUT1 and OUT2 outputs are correctly wired, the DSL1 and DSL2 DSL ports are cross-wired. A wiring error thus results between the communication module 200 and the overvoltage protection 205.

(10) A special overvoltage protection 205 providing high transmission bandwidth and allowing for the passage of high frequency is used for broadband communication. If standard overvoltage protection is used in this case, no high-speed communication can be realized. Properly selecting the overvoltage protection 205 is thus a condition for successful broadband communication. In communication between two subscribers (transmitter/receiver), faulty wiring of the overvoltage protection 205 can occur on both sides. The probability of an error occurring in more than one station thus also rises.

(11) If communication between two communication modules 200 is interrupted, it cannot be verified whether the electrical data line 203 is disrupted, e.g. due to excavation activities, or whether the separate overvoltage protection 205 was tripped and thereby destroyed, e.g. due to a lightning strike. The communication module 200 and the overvoltage protection 205 do not exchange any information with each other.

(12) FIG. 3 shows a schematic view of a communication module 100 having an integrated overvoltage protection module 105 in point-to-point communication. The communication module 100 comprises a communication circuit 101 having a communication interface for transmitting data on an electrical data line 103. The communication circuit 101 forms for example a modem/router module. The data line 103 consists for example of a pair of electrical conductor wires for telecommunication. The communication module 100 is connected to another communication module through network 111 and a telecommunication interface 109. The other communication module can for example be a mobile communication modem which transmits a local overvoltage protection module 105 alarm into other networks or via which the communication module 100 can be accessed.

(13) The overvoltage protection module 105 is integrated into the communication module 100 as a pluggable module. The overvoltage protection module 105 comprises for example a gas discharge tube or a protective diode, both components in combination, or further protective elements. The overvoltage protection module 105 makes use of both gas discharge tubes as primary protection as well as protective diodes/thyristors as secondary protection.

(14) This results in the advantage of the outputs being disposed in the communication module 100 and the inputs being disposed in the overvoltage protection module 105. Doing so can thus prevent wiring errors. A suitable, product-specific overvoltage protection module 105 can be inserted into the communication module 100.

(15) Integrating the overvoltage protection module 105 enables a more compact design. The overvoltage protection module 105 enables the realizing of a pluggable overvoltage protection having just one connection side for the user. Additionally, integrating a pluggable overvoltage protection module 105 enables simple communication to be realized between the overvoltage protection module 105 and the communication module 100 by means of a data interface 107.

(16) The communication module 100 can be set into a point-to-point communication. A data interface 107 is formed between the communication module 100 and the overvoltage protection module 105 for the communication. The overvoltage protection module 105 detects interference disturbance in the electrical data line 103. A simple case would be detecting the gas discharge tube ignited status. The overvoltage protection module 105 thereupon forwards the detected status to the communication circuit 101 such as, for example, a network/modem/router module. The communication circuit 101 can then respond and further process or forward the status.

(17) For example, the communication module 100 can automatically send an alarm over the local network 111 indicating that the overvoltage protection module 100 has already been damaged. A user can thus be promptly informed of a device failure. The user can timely integrate a new overvoltage protection module 105 into the communication line, reduce likelihood of outage and increase availability.

(18) Combining the communication module 100 with the overvoltage protection module 105 enables additional diagnostic functions since as a rule, the communication circuit 101 of the communication module 100 having for example a Linux operating system has more processing power than the pluggable overvoltage protection module having a microcontroller. Diagnostic data can be output for example as simple plain text, e.g. the overvoltage protection damaged character string.

(19) The diagnostic data can be depicted as a graphical representation in the web-based management, for example as a time bar, bar chart, statistic or probability. In addition, the communication module 100 can also share the diagnostic data of its own overvoltage protection module 105 with another subscriber, e.g. via a LAN (local area network) or globally via a WAN (wide area network). Readily realizing a centralized or decentralized information database is thereby conceivable.

(20) FIG. 4 shows a schematic view of a communication module 100 having a plurality of communication interfaces in linear/ring/mixed-structure communication. A user can actively poll the status of the overvoltage protection module 105 remotely through the local network 111, via for example SNMP or by accessing a website.

(21) The communication module 100 further comprises more than one telecommunication interface 109. The communication module 100 can thereby be connected into for example a linear, ring or mixed structure. The status of each overvoltage protection module 105 can thus also be transmitted to other remote devices, which in turn forward the status or an alarm to e.g. other remote devices or within the respective local network.

(22) FIG. 5 shows a schematic view of a communication module 100 having a plurality of communication interfaces and a status request in a mixed structure, in which telecommunication is realized by means of various media. Status transmission/status polling of overvoltage protection module 105 occurs via various media such as, for example, wired and/or wireless mobile communication 113.

(23) Generally speaking, the communication module 100 can be of any structural design. For example, the communication module 100 can be mounted together with a housing onto a DIN rail or realized in the form of a 19-inch rack unit such as for a central control.

(24) FIG. 6 shows a typical application of a DSL router as a communication module 100 in a public telephone network. The DSL router 300 of a subscriber 301 communicates with a digital subscriber line access multiplexer (DSLAM) 321 in a telephone exchange 303. The subscriber 301 is connected to the telephone exchange 303 via splitters 311 and 313 and the subscriber line 315 as the data line.

(25) The subscriber 301 encompasses a telephone 305, a network terminator unit (NTBA) 307, a personal computer 309 and the DSL router 300 as the communication module 100. The DSL router 300 comprises the overvoltage protection module.

(26) The telephone exchange 303 comprises a digital exchange 317, a broadband access server (DSL-AC) 319 and the digital subscriber line access multiplexer (DSL-AM) 321.

(27) The telephone exchange 303 is connected to the telephone network 323 and to the internet 325.

(28) All of the features described and shown in connection with individual embodiments of the invention can be utilized in different combinations in the inventive subject matter so as to realize their advantageous effects simultaneously.

(29) The protective scope of the present invention is conferred by the claims and is not limited by the features exemplified in the description or illustrated in the figures.

LIST OF REFERENCE NUMERALS

(30) 100 communication module 101 communication circuit 103 data line 105 overvoltage protection module 107 data interface 109 telecommunication interface 111 data network 113 mobile communication 200 communication module 203 data line 205 overvoltage protection module 300 DSL router 301 subscriber 303 telephone exchange 305 telephone 307 network terminator unit 309 personal computer 311 splitter 313 splitter 315 subscriber line 317 digital exchange 319 broadband access server 321 digital subscriber line access multiplexer 323 telephone network 325 internet