Patent ID: 7474704

Claim:
An apparatus for delivering power down all conductors of an Ethernet connection comprising: an Ethernet conductor having eight conductors arranged as four pairs of conductors for connecting a Power Source Equipment (PSE) to a Powered Device (PD), each of the conductors of the pairs including a power switch disposed inline with the conductor; the PSE being configured to provide inline power to the PD down all of the pairs of conductors; control circuitry coupled to each pair of the conductors for controlling the power switch; each control circuitry configured to sense the current flowing through its respective power switch; and each control circuitry being configured to control its respective control switch to maintain the current flow through the power switch below a predetermined level; where the conductor pairs comprise a pair of conductors electrically connected in parallel between the PSE and the PD; where the control circuitry senses a potential over-current condition due to an imbalance in the effective resistance between the pair of conductors; and where the control circuitry in one of the conductors of the conductor pairs causes current to flow in the other conductor of the conduct pair to prevent a shut down of the Ethernet port to which the conductor pair is connected.