Abstract:
A method for an Ethernet device indicating a number of states in relation to electrical power available and the good or bad status of electrical connections detects connections between terminal devices and connection ports of the Ethernet device. An indication unit displays no indication signal in the absence of any connection and detects the good or bad status of any connections which are detected. If a connection is bad, the indication device is controlled to produce an indication signal but in the absence of any bad connections, obtains and quantifies a residual power of a power module to determine the number of terminal devices which the Ethernet can be deemed able to support, the different numbers of supportable terminal devices being indicated by different signals.

Description:
BACKGROUND 
       [0001]    1. Technical Field 
         [0002]    The present disclosure relates to Ethernet devices. 
         [0003]    2. Description of Related Art 
         [0004]    Power over Ethernet (PoE) is in common use. PoE functions when an Ethernet device such as a router, a concentrator, or an Ethernet switch is connected to a network terminal, such as an voice over internet protocol (VOIP) telephone, a wireless local area network (WLAN) access point, or a network camera, and the Ethernet device not only communicates with the network terminal, but also provides power to the network terminal. However, the Ethernet device of related art does not provide information for the user except the on or off status. 
         [0005]    An Ethernet device and a method to overcome the described limitations are thus needed. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0006]    Many aspects of the present disclosure are better understood with reference to the following drawings. The components in the drawings are not necessarily drawn to scale, the emphasis instead being placed upon clearly illustrating the principles of the present disclosure. Moreover, in the drawings, like reference numerals designate corresponding parts throughout the views. 
           [0007]      FIG. 1  is a block diagram of a first embodiment of an Ethernet device capable of indicating status. 
           [0008]      FIG. 2  is a block diagram of a second embodiment of an Ethernet device capable of indicating status. 
           [0009]      FIG. 3  is a flowchart illustrating a first embodiment of a method of indicating status. 
           [0010]      FIG. 4  is a flowchart illustrating a second embodiment of a method of indicating status. 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
       [0011]    Embodiments of the present disclosure will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings. 
         [0012]      FIG. 1  illustrates a block diagram of a first embodiment of an Ethernet device  100  capable of indicating status. The Ethernet device  100  includes a power module  10 , a power management module  20 , a number of connect ports  30 , a processing unit  40 , and an indication unit  50 . The Ethernet device  100  is capable of indicating a number of statuses regarding power and connections. 
         [0013]    The power module  10  is used to provide power. The power management module  20  is connected to the power module  10  and is used to distribute power from the power source to the Ethernet device  100 . In the embodiment, the power management module  20  is also connected to the connect ports  30 , the processing unit  40 , and the indication unit  50 , and distributes suitable voltages to the connect ports  30 , the processing unit  40 , and an indication unit  50 . The connect ports  30  connect to different types of terminal devices  200 , such as a voice over internet protocol (VOIP) telephone, a wireless local area network (WLAN) access point, or a network camera. When one connect port  30  is connected to a terminal device  200 , the power management module  20  distributes the suitable voltage to the terminal device  200  via the connect port  30 . 
         [0014]    The power management unit  20  detects the amount of electrical power remaining and available in the power module  10  (residual power). The processing unit  40  obtains the level of residual power of the power module  10  as detected by the power management unit  20 , and determines a quantity of the terminal devices  200  can be sufficiently powered by the residual power of the power module  10 . The processing unit  40  also controls the indication unit  50  to produce a first indication signal when a determination is made that the quantity of the terminal devices  200  which can be powered by the residual power of the power module  10  is not more/greater than one. The processing unit  40  also controls the indication unit  50  to produce a second indication signal when a determination is made that the quantity of the terminal devices  200  which can be powered by the residual power of the power module  10  is greater than one. 
         [0015]    In the embodiment, an amount of power provided to each connect port  30  is deemed to be the same, that is, the amount of power consumed by each terminal device  200  is regarded as being the same, such as 13 watts. The processing unit  40  pre-stores the amount of power consumed by one terminal device  200 , and compares the residual power of the power module  10  and the pre-stored power consumed by one terminal device  200  to make determinations as to the quantity of the terminal devices  200  which can be powered by the power module  10 . 
         [0016]    The power management unit  20  is also used to obtain a total output of power to the terminal devices  200  when the power management unit  20  distributes the power to the terminal devices  200  connected to the connect ports  30 . The processing unit  40  also determines a utilization ratio of the power module  10  according to the total output of power to the terminal devices  200  and the residual power of the power module  10 . The processing unit  40  is also used to control the indication unit  50  to produce a third indication signal when a determination is made that the utilization ratio of the power module  10  is greater than a predetermined value, such as 70%. The processing unit  40  also controls the indication unit  50  to produce a fourth indication signal when determining that the utilization ratio of the power module  10  is not greater than the predetermined value. In the embodiment, the utilization ratio is equal to a ratio between the total output of power to the terminal devices  200  and the residual power of the power module  10 . 
         [0017]    In the embodiment, the indication unit  50  is a light-emitting unit (LED), such as an aluminium gallium indium phosphide (AlInGaP) LED, in which, when the current flowing through the indication unit  50  changes, the color of the light emitted by such LED also changes. In the embodiment, the indication unit  50  is connected to the power management unit  20 , the processing unit  40  controls the power management unit  20  to output a level of current to the indication unit  50  to make the indication unit  50  emit light of a certain color. For example, when the value of the current flowing through the indication unit  50  is increased in steps, the indication unit  50  in turn emits red, orange, yellow, and green light for the steps. In the embodiment, the first indication signal, the second indication signal, the third indication signal, and the fourth indication signal produced by the indication unit  50  respectively are red light, orange light, yellow light, and green light. 
         [0018]    The processing unit  40  controls the power management unit  20  to output a first current to the indication unit  50  to cause the indication unit  50  to emit red light, after determining that the residual power of the power module  10  can power not more than one terminal device  200 . The processing unit  40  controls the power management unit  20  to output a second current greater than the first current to the indication unit  50  to cause the indication unit  50  to emit orange light, after determining that the residual power of the power module  10  can power more than one terminal device  200 . The processing unit  40  also controls the power management unit  20  to output a third current greater than the second current to the indication unit  50  to cause the indication unit  50  to emit yellow light, after determining that the utilization ratio of the power module  10  is greater than the predetermined value of 70%. The processing unit  40  also controls the power management unit  20  to output a fourth current greater than the third current to the indication unit  50  to cause the indication unit  50  to emit green light, after determining that the utilization ratio of the power module  10  is not greater than the predetermined value. 
         [0019]    In the embodiment, the power module  10  can be a lithium battery or a nickel-metal hydride battery. 
         [0020]    In another embodiment, the indication unit  50  is a display, and the first indication signal, the second indication signal, the third indication signal, and the fourth indication signal are different images or different messages. The processing unit  40  controls the indication unit  50  to display an indication signal directly. 
         [0021]    Referring to  FIG. 2 , in a second embodiment, the Ethernet device  100 ′ includes the power module  10 , a power management unit  20 ′, the number of connect ports  30 , a processing unit  40 ′, the indication unit  50 , and a connect detection unit  60 . 
         [0022]    In the embodiment, the power module  10  is used to provide power. The power management module  20 ′ is connected to the power module  10  and is used to distribute power from the power source to the Ethernet device  100 ′. The power management module  20 ′ is also connected to the connect ports  30 , the processing unit  40 ′, and the indication unit  50 , and is used to distribute suitable voltages to the connect ports  30 , the processing unit  40 ′, and an indication unit  50 . The connect ports  30  connect to different types of terminal devices  200 , such as a voice over internet protocol (VOIP) telephone, a wireless local area network (WLAN) access point, or a network camera. When one connect port  30  is connected to a terminal device  200 , the power management module  20  distributes the suitable voltage to the terminal device  200  via the connect port  30 . 
         [0023]    The connect detection unit  60  is connected to the number of connect ports  30  and the processing unit  40 ′, and detects a state of each connect port  30 . The processing unit  40 ′ controls the indication unit  50  to produce indication signals according to the states of the connect ports  30 . 
         [0024]    In the second embodiment, the connect detection unit  60  can detect whether at least one connect port  30  is connected to a terminal device  200 . When the connect detection unit  60  detects that no connect port  30  is connected to a terminal device  200 , the processing unit  40 ′ controls the indication unit not to produce any indication signal. When the connect detection unit  60  detects that at least one connect port  30  is connected to a terminal device  200 , the processing unit  40 ′ controls the connect detection unit  60  to detect whether connections between each connect port  30  and each terminal device  200  are good. 
         [0025]    In the second embodiment, when the connect detection unit  60  detects a bad connection between one connect port  30  and the connected terminal device  200 , the processing unit  40 ′ controls the indication unit  50  to produce a first indication signal. 
         [0026]    When the connect detection unit  60  detects a good connection between each connect port  30  and the connected terminal device  200 , the processing unit  40  controls the power management  20 ′ to detect the residual power of the power module  10 , and then the processing unit  40 ′ determines whether the residual power of the power module  10  is sufficient to power at least one terminal device  200 . 
         [0027]    The processing unit  40 ′ controls the indication unit  50  to produce a second indication signal after determining that the residual power of the power module  10  is not sufficient to power one terminal device  200 . The processing unit  40 ′ also controls the indication unit to produce a third indication signal after determining that the residual power of the power module  10  can power at least one terminal device  200 . 
         [0028]    As in the first embodiment, in the second embodiment, the processing unit  40 ′ pre-stores the power consumed by one terminal device  200 , and compares the residual power of the power module  10  and the power consumed by one terminal device  200  to determine whether the residual power of the power module  10  can power at least one terminal device  200 . 
         [0029]    In the second embodiment, the indication unit  50  is a light-emitting unit (LED) and is connected to the power management unit  20 ′, the processing unit  40 ′ controls the power management unit  20 ′ to output different currents to the indication unit  50  to cause the indication unit  50  to emit light of different colors, thus producing the first indication signal, the second indication signal, and the third indication signal. In the second embodiment, the processing unit  40 ′ controls the indication unit  50  not to produce any indication signal by controlling the power management unit  20  not to output any current to the indication unit  50 . The indication unit  50  also can be a display, and the first indication signal, the second indication signal, and the third indication signal may be different images or different messages. The processing unit  40 ′ controls the indication unit  50  to display the indication signal directly. 
         [0030]    The Ethernet device  200  can be a router, a concentrator, or an Ethernet switch, in the first embodiment and the second embodiment. 
         [0031]      FIG. 3  illustrates a method for indicating status of the Ethernet device  100  of a first embodiment. At first, the power management unit  20  detects a residual power of the power module (S 301 ). 
         [0032]    The processing unit  40  obtains the level of residual power of the power module  10  as detected by the power management unit  20 , and determines a quantity of the terminal devices  200  which can be powered by the residual power of the power module (S 302 ). In detail, the processing unit  40  pre-stores the level of power consumed by one terminal device  200 , and compares the residual power of the power module  10  and the power consumed by one terminal device  200  to determine the total quantity of the terminal devices  200  which can be powered by the power module  10 . 
         [0033]    The processing unit  40  controls the indication unit  50  to produce the first indication signal after determining that the quantity of the terminal devices  200  which can be powered by the residual power of the power module  10  is not greater than one (S 303 ). 
         [0034]    The processing unit controls the indication unit  50  to produce the second indication signal after determining that the quantity of the terminal devices  200  which can be powered by the residual power of the power module  10  is greater than one (S 304 ). 
         [0035]    The power management unit  20  obtains the total output of power to the terminal devices  200  when the power management unit  20  distributes power to the terminal devices  200  connected to the connect ports  30  (S 305 ). 
         [0036]    The processing unit  40  also determines a utilization ratio of the power module  10  according to the total output of power to the terminal devices  200  and the residual power of the power module  10 , and determines whether the utilization ratio of the power module  10  is greater than a predetermined value (S 306 ). 
         [0037]    The processing unit  40  also controls the indication unit  50  to produce the third indication signal after determining that the utilization ratio of the power module  10  is greater than the predetermined value (S 307 ). 
         [0038]    The processing unit  40  also controls the indication unit  50  to produce the fourth indication signal after determining that the utilization ratio of the power module  10  is not greater than the predetermined value (S 308 ). 
         [0039]      FIG. 4  illustrates a method for indicating status of the Ethernet device  100  of a second embodiment. At first, the connect detection unit  60  detects whether there is a connect port  30  connected to a terminal device  200  (S 401 ). 
         [0040]    The processing unit  40 ′ controls the indication unit  50  not to produce any indication signal when the connect detection unit  60  detects that no connect port  30  is connected to a terminal device  200  (S 402 ). 
         [0041]    The processing unit  40 ′ controls the connect detection unit  60  to detect whether a connection between each connect port  30  and a connected terminal device  200  is good or bad when the connect detection unit  60  detects at least one connect port  30  connected to a terminal device  200  (S 403 ). 
         [0042]    The processing unit  40 ′ controls the indication unit  50  to produce the first indication signal when the connect detection unit  60  detects that the connection between one connect port  30  and a connected terminal device  200  is bad (S 404 ). 
         [0043]    The processing unit  40 ′ obtains the residual power of the power module  10  detected by the power management  20 ′, and then determines whether the residual power of the power module  10  can power at least one terminal device, when the connect detection unit  60  detects that the connection between each connect port  30  and each connected terminal device  200  is good (S 3405 ). 
         [0044]    The processing unit  40 ′ controls the indication unit to produce the second indication signal after determining that the residual power of the power module  10  cannot power one terminal device  200  (S 406 ). 
         [0045]    The processing unit  40 ′ controls the indication unit  50  to produce the third indication signal after determining that the residual power of the power module  10  can power at least one terminal device  200  (S 407 ). 
         [0046]    Therefore, the Ethernet device  100  and the method for indicating status of the Ethernet device  100 , not only indicates a number of power statuses, but can also indicate a good or a bad connection status. 
         [0047]    It is understood that the present embodiments and their advantages will be understood from the foregoing description, and various changes may be made thereto without departing from the spirit and scope of the disclosure or sacrificing all of its material advantages, the examples hereinbefore described merely being embodiments of the present disclosure.