Identification of ports from which cables have been recently removed and that have the same physical form factor using existing visual port indicators

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9569940-B2
Application number	US-201514724428-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	May 28, 2015
Priority date	May 28, 2015
Publication date	Feb 14, 2017
Grant date	Feb 14, 2017

Abstract

An electronic device has a number of ports that have the same physical form factor and that are receptive to cable insertion. The electronic device also has visual indicators corresponding to the ports. Each visual indicator indicates at least link establishment when a cable has been inserted into its corresponding port and a link has been established. When a cable is removed from a port, the electronic device controls its corresponding visual indicator to identify the port as one from which cable removal has recently occurred.

First claim

We claim:

1. A method comprising:
detecting, by an electronic device, removal of a cable from a given port of a plurality of ports of the electronic device that have a same physical form factor and that are receptive to cable insertion, the electronic device having a plurality of visual indicators corresponding to the ports that each indicate at least link establishment when a cable has been inserted into the corresponding port and a link has been established;
in response to detecting removal of the cable from the given port, controlling, by the electronic device, the visual indicator corresponding to the given port in a particular manner to identify the given port as a port from which cable removal has occurred, for a duration of time starting at a time of cable removal from the given port; and
in response to the duration of time expiring and no cable having been inserted into the given port, turning off, by the electronic device, the visual indicator.

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein the particular manner distinguishes the given port, from which the cable has been removed, from other of the ports of the electronic device in which no cables have been inserted for at least the duration of time.

3. The method of claim 1 , wherein detecting removal of the cable from the given port comprises:
preselecting the given port as any port of the electronic device into which a cable has been inserted.

4. The method of claim 1 , wherein detecting removal of the cable from the given port comprises:
preselecting the given port as any port of the electronic device into which a cable has been inserted and having an established link that is performing unsatisfactorily.

5. The method of claim 1 , wherein controlling the visual indicator corresponding to the given port in the particular manner to identify the given port comprises:
illuminating the visual indicator in a color selected to denote cable removal.

6. The method of claim 1 , wherein controlling the visual indicator corresponding to the given port in the particular manner to identify the given port comprises:
illuminating the visual indicator at a brightness selected to denote cable removal.

7. The method of claim 1 , wherein controlling the visual indicator corresponding to the given port in the particular manner to identify the given port comprises:
flashing the visual indicator in a particular pattern selected to denote cable removal.

8. The method of claim 7 , wherein the particular pattern changes over the duration of time.

9. The method of claim 7 , wherein the cable is a first cable, the given port is a first given port, and the particular pattern is a first particular pattern, the method further comprising:
while no cable has been inserted into the first given port, detecting, by the electronic device, removal of a second cable from a second given port of the ports;
in response to detecting removal of the second cable from the second given port, flashing, by the electronic device, the visual indicator corresponding to the second given port in a second particular pattern selected to denote cable removal, for the duration of time starting at a time of cable removal from the second given port,
wherein the second particular pattern is different from the first particular pattern to signify a temporal order of cable removal from the first given port and the second given port.

10. The method of claim 9 , further comprising:
while no cable has been inserted into the first given port and no cable has been inserted into the second given port, detecting, by the electronic device, removal of a third cable from a third given port of the ports;
in response to detecting removal of the third cable from the third given port, flashing, by the electronic device, the visual indicator corresponding to the third given port in a third particular pattern selected to denote cable removal, for the duration of time starting at a time of cable removal from the third given port,
wherein the third particular pattern is different from the first particular pattern and from the second particular pattern to signify the temporal order of cable removal from the first given port, the second given port, and the third given port;
in response to detecting cable insertion into the first given port while no cable has been inserted into the second given port and no cable has been inserted into the third given port,
changing, by the electronic device, the third particular pattern in which the visual indicator corresponding to the third given port is flashing to the second particular pattern, and the second particular pattern in which the visual indicator corresponding to the second given port is flashing to the first particular pattern.

11. An electronic device comprising:
a plurality of ports having an identical physical form factor and receptive to cable insertion;
a plurality of visual indicators corresponding to the ports; and
a controller to:
control the visual indicator corresponding to a given port in a first manner upon insertion of a cable into the given port and upon establishment of a link over the given port;
control the visual indicator corresponding to the given port in a second manner different from the first manner, for just a duration of time starting at a time of cable removal from the given port, upon removal of the cable from the given port, to identify the given port from which the cable has been removed; and
in response to the duration of time expiring and no cable having been inserted into the given port, turn off the visual indicator,

wherein the second manner identifies the given port from which the cable has been removed from other of the ports in which no cables have been inserted for at least the duration of time.

12. The electronic device of claim 11 , wherein the controller is to control the visual indicator corresponding to the given port in the second manner just if the link over the given port is performing unsatisfactorily prior to removal of the cable from the given port.

13. The electronic device of claim 11 , wherein the second manner comprises one of:
illumination in a specified color corresponding to cable removal;
illumination at a specified brightness corresponding to cable removal.

14. The electronic device of claim 11 , wherein the second manner comprises:
flashing in a specified pattern corresponding to cable removal.

15. The electronic device of claim 14 , wherein the specified pattern is a frequency that increases or decreases over the duration of time.

16. The electronic device of claim 14 , wherein the given port is a first given port, and the controller is further to:
control the visual indicator corresponding to a second given port in the first manner upon insertion of a cable into the second given port and upon establishment of a link over the second given port; and
control the visual indicator corresponding to the second given port in a third manner different from the second manner, for just a duration of time starting at a time of cable removal from the second given port, upon removal of the cable from the second given port while no cable has been inserted into the first given port, to identify the second given port from which the cable has been removed,
wherein the third manner is different from the first pattern to signify a temporal order of cable removal from the first given port and the second given port.

17. A non-transitory computer-readable medium storing computer-executable code executable by an electronic device to:
detect removal of a cable from a given port of a pl

Assignees

• Lenovo Entpr Solutions Singapore Pte Ltd

Inventors

• Cudak Gary D
• Alshinnawi Shareef F
• Suffern Edward S
• Weber John M

Classifications

• H04Q1/136 Primary

  having patch field management or physical layer management arrangements · CPC title

• H04Q1/20

  Testing circuits or apparatus; Circuits or apparatus for detecting, indicating, or signalling faults or troubles · CPC title

• G08B5/38 Primary

  using flashing light · CPC title

• H04Q1/13

  Patch panels for monitoring, interconnecting or testing circuits, e.g. patch bay, patch field or jack field; Patching modules · CPC title