Patent Document

FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
     The invention relates to the field of telecommunications and, more specifically, to providing power for an external network interface device. 
     BACKGROUND 
     Fiber Optic Service (“FiOS”) is an internet/TV/phone service that employs optical fibers running from a distribution company&#39;s facilities into individual homes and offices. Other broadband network topologies are also used to convey such services. Typically, a network interface device (“NID”) is installed at a service-accessible location external to a home or office to terminate a broadband access network. The NID provides an interface between the access network and the home or office network devices. 
     The NID receives power from the customer&#39;s premises, which requires running cabling/wires from the NID to a power source. To provide power for the NID during power failures, a back-up battery, in addition to signal bearing cabling/wires, is typically placed somewhere inside the customer&#39;s premises (internal to the home or the office) and plugged into a regular electrical power outlet. Thus, additional cablings/wires from the NID to the battery back-up unit are needed. 
     SUMMARY 
     Various deficiencies in the prior art are addressed through various embodiments of an apparatus and a method for providing power to a network interface device. In one embodiment, an apparatus for providing power to a network interface device includes a gateway device and a battery back-up and power unit located internal to a customer&#39;s premises (inside). The network interface device is located external to the customer&#39;s premises (outside). The battery back-up and power unit powers the gateway device, which in turn powers the network interface device. The gateway device may include a power injection unit which injects power signals into a signal path of a data communication cable between the gateway device and the network interface device. The injected power signals are subsequently extracted by a power extraction unit and provided to the network interface device. 
     Another embodiment includes a method for providing power to a network interface device. According to this embodiment, a power signal is received from a power unit by a gateway device. The gateway device processes the received signal and injects the processed signal via a power injection unit into a signal path of a data communication cable between the gateway device and the network interface device. A power extraction unit of the network interface device extracts the injected power signal from the data communication cable. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       The teachings of various embodiments can be readily understood by considering the following detailed description in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which: 
         FIG. 1  depicts a high level diagram of a system according to one embodiment of the invention. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
     Various embodiments are described within the context of Fiber Optic Service (“FiOS”) technology; however, these embodiments and others may be readily adapted to other data and/or signal transmission technologies, such as, Digital Subscriber Line (“DSL”), cable television networks, and the like. 
       FIG. 1  depicts a high level diagram of a system according to one embodiment. Specifically, the system  100  of  FIG. 1  comprises an access network  110 , a network interface device (“NID”)  120 , a premises gateway or residential gateway device (“GD”)  130 , one or more data devices  140 , and a battery back-up and power unit  150 . 
     The access network  110  comprises any access network suitable for conveying data, television signals, and more generally, communication signals to the NID  120 . The physical layer of the access network  110  may be optical, electrical, hybrid fiber-coax, wireless, and the like. Regardless of the access network topology, the NID  120  operates to receive, translate, and transmit data between the access network  110  and the GD  130 . That is, the NID  120  may be selected to process optical (e.g., FiOS), DSL, cable, and/or other access network data types to communicate thereby with a local data type, such as Ethernet, 802.11, and the like. 
     The NID  120  comprises a signal processing unit  122  and a power processing unit  124 . The signal processing unit  122  processes data passed between the access network  110  and GD  130 . In the case of optically transported data, the signal processing unit  122  comprises a standard electrical and optical transmission and reception circuitry adapted to receive and convert optical data signals to electrical data signals and vice versa. In general, the signal processing unit  122  operates to translate data and other signals between the format appropriate for the access network  110  and the format appropriate for the GD  130 . 
     The power processing unit  124  provides power appropriate to the signal processing unit  122 . The power processing unit  124  receives power to be processed via a cabling between the NID  120  and the GD  130 . In one embodiment the cabling CABLE comprises an RG-6 coaxial cable carrying one or more of Quadrature amplitude modulation (“QAM”) data, Multimedia over Coax Alliance (“MoCA”) data, Home Phoneline Networking Alliance (“HPNA”) data, analog TV signals, analog phone signals, and the like. 
     In another embodiment, the power processing unit  124  receives power to be processed via power over Ethernet connection between the NID  120  and the GD  130 . In the essence, a single data communication cable/Ethernet connector is used to convey both power and signals from the GD  130  to the NID  120 , as well signals from the NID  120  to the GD  130 . This communications cable/data cable may be single or multi-strand electrical wire. In one embodiment, the NID  120  includes a power extraction unit  126  that extracts power signals from the cabling between the NID  120  and the GD  130  and provides the extracted power signal(s) to the power processing unit  124 . In yet another embodiment, the cabling includes separate wires for carrying data signals and power signals. 
     As those skilled in the art will appreciate, standard filtering circuitry, buffering circuitry and other signal processing circuitry has been omitted from  FIG. 1  for clarity. Such circuitry is adapted to ensure that optical and electrical data signals and electrical power signals are properly conveyed and/or transformed, and that effects of noise, jitter, and other unwanted signal components are minimized while desired signal components are enhanced. 
     The GD  130  includes a signal processing unit  132  and a power processing unit  134 . The power processing unit  134  receives power from the battery back-up and power unit  150  and provides power to the signal processing unit  132 . The GD  130  is depicted as including the battery backup and power unit  150 . However, the battery backup and power unit  150  may, for example, be a separate unit collocated or within the reasonable distance of the GD  130 . 
     The signal processing unit  132  operates in a standard manner to propagate data between the NID  120  and data devices  140 . The signal processing unit  132  processes signals received from the NID  120  and provides the processed signals in appropriate format to the data devices  140 , such as one or more television systems  140   1 , one or more computer systems  140   2 , one or more telephones  140   3 , and other data devices  140   4 , such as a security system. Similarly, the data devices  140  may provide return data to the signal processing unit  132  for subsequent propagation to the access network  110  via the NID  120 . 
     The power processing device  134  provides power to the signal processing unit  132 . In addition, the power processing device  134  provides an output signal P-out which is coupled to the cabling CABLE between the GD  130  and the NID  120 . In one embodiment, a power injection device  136  located within or outside of the GD  130  injects the output signal P-out into a signal path within the cabling between the GD  130  and the NID  120 . P-out preferentially comprises a relatively low voltage direct current (DC) signal (e.g., 12V or 24V) which may be conveyed to the NID  120  along with other data signals. The P-out signal is extracted by the power extraction unit  126  and processed by power processor  124  to provide appropriate power to the NID  120  circuitry. Alternatively, the P-out signal may be provided directly from the battery back-up and power unit  150  and merely passing through the GD  130  to the cabling CABLE. 
     It should be noted that while in  FIG. 1  the power extraction unit  126  and power injection unit  136  are depicted as being part of the NID  120  and GD  130  respectively, both the power extraction unit  126  and the power injection unit  136  may be independent devices. Also, they may be part of power processing units  124  and  134  or signal processing units  122  and  132  respectively. Furthermore, more than one power extraction unit  126  or power injection unit  136  could be employed within the system  100 . 
     It should be further noted that both power extraction unit  126  and power injection unit  136  may be omitted from the system  100 . For example, if separate wires are used to transmit signals and power, then a separate wire transmitting power could be used to connect the power processing units  124  directly to power processing unit  134  or to the battery back-up and power unit  150 . 
     The battery back-up and power unit  150  provides the initial power used by the power processing unit  134 . The battery back-up and power unit  150  normally converts power from an AC source, such as a standard household electrical outlet, to a power signal P-in suitable for use by the power processing unit  134 . However, in the event of a power failure, battery power is processed by power conversion circuitry (such as, voltage inverters, filters, an so on (not shown)) to ensure that the power signal P-in is still generated by the battery back-up and power unit  150 . 
     One embodiment operates to convey power to the external NID  120  using the same cabling as for signal propagation. In this matter, the power necessary to operate the NID  120  is always available, irrespective of the type of access network utilized. That is, if a non-electrical access network is used (i.e., an optical network) where the power cannot be received from the access network  110 , the NID  120  is powered by the GD  130 . 
     Additionally, the output power signal P-out may be coupled to the cabling between the GD  130  and one or more data devices  140  (e.g., a telephone  140   3 ). Such output signal P-out can be provided continuously and/or only in the case of the power failure. In this manner, the phone service is provided even when power is lost. 
     The GD  130  optionally monitors the status of the battery back-up and power unit  150 . The battery back-up and power unit  150  includes in one embodiment a status processing unit  152  which monitors the status of a battery  154 , such as whether the battery  154  is hot, fully charged, weak, needs replacement, and so on. The status processing unit  152  detects a status of battery  154  and transmits an appropriate signal to the signal processing unit  132 . In one embodiment, the signal processing unit  132  processes the signal from the status processing unit  152  and provides the processed signal to the NID  120  for the subsequent transmission to the access network  110 . 
     In another embodiment, the signal processing unit  132  processes the signal from the status processing unit  152  and provides the processed signal to one of the data devices  140 . In yet another embodiment, the signal processing unit  132  processes the signal from the status processing unit  152  and provides the processed signal to a battery indicator  138 , which is included in the GD  130 . In response, the battery indicator  138  displays the battery status corresponding to the processed signal. 
     In  FIG. 1  the GD  130  and a battery back-up and power unit  150  are located internal to a customer&#39;s premises (inside), while the network interface device is located external to the customer&#39;s premises (outside). However, in another embodiment, the NID  120  is also located internal to the customer premises. Further, the NID  120  and GD  130  may be collocated or combined into a single device. 
     The above described embodiments may be implemented within the context of methods, computer readable media, and computer program processes. As such, it is contemplated that some of the steps discussed herein as methods, algorithms, and/or software processes may be implemented within hardware (e.g., circuitry that cooperates with a processor to perform various steps), software or a combination of hardware and software. 
     One embodiment may be implemented as a computer program product wherein computer instructions, when processed by a computer, adapt the operation of the computer such that the methods and/or techniques described herein are invoked or otherwise provided. Instructions for invoking the methods may be stored in fixed or removable media, transmitted via a data stream in a signal bearing medium such as a broadcast medium, and/or stored within a working memory or mass storage device associated with a computing device operating according to the instructions. 
     Generally speaking, a computing device including a processor, memory, and input/output means may be used to process software instructions, store software instructions, and/or propagate software instructions to or from a communications channel, storage device, or other computer/system. It is noted that the various processing (power and signal) elements described herein may be implemented in this manner. 
     Although various embodiments have been shown and described in detail herein, those skilled in the art can readily devise many other varied embodiments that still incorporate the described teachings.

Technology Category: 5