Patent ID: 8112469

Claim:
An emergency override system for a network device, comprising: a first communication interface configured to be connected to the network device; a second communication interface connected to the first communication interface by a communication line, the second communication interface configured to connect the emergency override system and the network device to a network; a sensor disposed along the communication line, the sensor configured to detect network data being transmitted on the communication line; wherein the sensor is configured to output a signal indicative of at least one of the presence and absence of network data being transmitted on the communication line; a switch disposed along the communication line, the switch having an open configuration that prevents network data on the communication line from being transmitted to the first communication interface and a closed configuration that passes network data on the communication line to the first communication interface; and a processor coupled to the switch and the sensor, the processor configured to: determine if network data is present on the communication line by monitoring the output of the sensor; control the opening and closing of the switch based on said determination of the presence or absence of network data on the communication line; and provide device control data to the network device over the communication line when it is determined that network data is not present on the communication line and the switch is in the open configuration, wherein the device control data commands the network device to perform a predetermined function in response to a lack of network data being transmitted on the communication line.