Abstract:
A network cable capable of obtaining the necessary working power supply for its internal control circuit that detects the connection and transmission status of the transmission line and drives an indicator light to give a visual indication signal indicative of the detection result.

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
       [0001]     1. Field of the Invention  
         [0002]     The present invention relates to a network cable and, more particularly, to such a network cable, which automatically detects the operation status of the transmission line, and gives a visual indication indicative of the detection result.  
         [0003]     2. Description of the Related Art  
         [0004]     Referring to  FIGS. 1 and 2 , in a computer network, network cables  16  and hubs  12  are used to link computers  10 . Each network cable comprises a transmission line  16 , and two module plugs  18  respectively provided at the ends of the transmission line  16  and respectively connected to one module jack  14  in a hub  12  (see  FIG. 2 ) and one module jack in one computer  10 . In case the computer network fails to function normally, it is difficult to find the trouble from the network cables and hubs in the computer network. Therefore, it is desirable to provide a network cable that automatically detects the operation status of the transmission line and gives a visual indication indicative of the detection result. It is easy to provide a control circuit in a network cable for detecting the operation status of the transmission line and driving an indicator light. However, it is not easy to obtain the necessary working voltage for the control circuit in the network cable.  
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
       [0005]     The present invention has been accomplished under the circumstances in view. It is the main object of the present invention to provide a network cable, which automatically detects the operation status of the transmission line and indicates the detection result, so that the user can easily find the trouble when the network system fails to function normally. It is another object of the present invention to provide an indicative network cable, which is practical for use in any of a variety of networks, including computer networks, audio/video networks, communication networks, and etc.  
         [0006]     To achieve these and other objects of the present invention, the network cable comprises a transmission line, two module plugs respectively provided at two ends of the transmission line for connection to a computer and a network respectively, a plurality of indicator lights respectively installed in the module plugs, two control lines respectively extended from the module plugs, and two electric adapters respectively provided at the ends of the control lines remote from the module plugs, the electric adapters each comprising a female connector, a male connector matching the female connector, and a control circuit adapted to obtain external power supply through one of the male connector and the female connector and to detect the connection status of the transmission line between the computer and the network and to control the operation of the indicator lights subject to the detection result. Further, the electric adapters can be made in any of a variety of forms, for example, USB PORT type, COMMON PORT type, PS2 PORT type, or HUB type adapters. 
     
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0007]      FIG. 1  is a schematic drawing showing a conventional computer network.  
         [0008]      FIG. 2  illustrates two network cables connected to a hub according to the prior art.  
         [0009]      FIG. 3  illustrates the structure of a network cable according to the present invention.  
         [0010]      FIG. 4  is an enlarged view, partially cutaway, of a part of the network cable shown in  FIG. 3 .  
         [0011]      FIG. 5  illustrates an application example of the present invention, showing two network cables installed in a hub.  
         [0012]      FIG. 6  is schematic drawing showing an operation status of  FIG. 5 . 
     
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT  
       [0013]     Referring to  FIGS. 3 and 4 , a network cable  20  is shown comprising a transmission line  21  having a certain length, two transparent module plugs  22  respectively located on the ends of the transmission line  21 , two control lines  24  respectively extended from the module plugs  22 , and two electric adapters  25  respectively located on the ends of the control lines  24  remote from the module plugs  22 . The electric adapters  25  each comprise a female connector  26  at one end, a male connector  27  at the other end, and a control circuit  28  on the inside. Further, each module plug  22  has installed therein an indicator light, for example, a LED (light emitting diode)  23 .  
         [0014]      FIG. 5  shows two network cables connected to a hub  12 . The electric adapters  25  can be USB PORT type, COMMON PORT type, PS2 PORT type, or HUB type adapters. According to the present preferred embodiment, the electric adapters  25  are USB PORT type adapters.  
         [0015]     Referring to  FIGS. 3 and 5  again, one module plug  22  of each network cable  20  is connected to the network card port of the computer (not shown) with the male connector  27  of the corresponding electric adapter  25  connected to the USB port of the computer to obtain the necessary working voltage for the control circuit  28 , and the other module plug  22  of the respective network cable  20  is connected to one module jack  14  of the hub  12 . The control circuit  28  detects the installation of the transmission line  21 , and controls the operation of the LEDs  23  in the module plugs  22  subject to the detection result. If the network cable  20  is properly installed in the network, the control circuit  28  drives on the LEDs  23 , keeping the LEDs  23  constantly in ON status. Upon transmission of a signal through the network cable  20 , the control circuits  28  drives the LEDs  23  to flash. On the contrary, if the connection of the network cable  20  is abnormal or if the network cable  20  is disconnected, the control circuit  28  receives no signal from the network, the LEDs  23  will not go flash. Further, when one electric adapter  25  installed in the USB port of the computer, the female connector  26  is in vacant for receiving the USB connector of an external computer peripheral apparatus to electrically connect the external computer peripheral apparatus to the USB port of the computer.  
         [0016]     Referring to  FIGS. 5 and 6  again, the two proximity electric adapters  25  of the two network cables being connected to the hub  12  are connected together by fastening the female connector  26  of the proximity electric adapter  25  of one network cable to the male connector  27  of the proximity electric adapter  25  of the other network cable, enabling electricity to be supplied to the control circuit  28  of each electric adapter  25 . Therefore, the control circuits  28  of the proximity electric adapters  25  of the two network cables being connected to the hub  12  detect the connection status of the respective signal lines  21  independently without causing interference.  
         [0017]     As indicated above, the network cable automatically detects the connection status of the respective transmission line and gives a visual signal indicative of the detected result. Because the transmission line  21  of the network cable serves as signal carrier means for transmission of signal, it does not provide sufficient voltage and current for starting the control circuits  28  and the LEDs  23 . Therefore, added power supply is necessary to start the control circuits  28  and the LEDs  23 . By means of the electric adapters  25 , the network cable obtains the necessary working voltage from the computer for starting the control circuits  28  and the LEDs  23 . The design of the present invention can be employed to any kind of networks, including computer networks, audio/video networks, communication networks, and etc.  
         [0018]     A prototype of network cable has been constructed with the features of FIGS.  3 ˜ 6 . The network cable functions smoothly to provide all of the features discussed earlier.  
         [0019]     Although a particular embodiment of the invention has been described in detail for purposes of illustration, various modifications and enhancements may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. Accordingly, the invention is not to be limited except as by the appended claims.