Computer-aided design and analysis of circuits and semiconductor – Nanotechnology related integrated circuit design
Reexamination Certificate
1998-01-26
2001-07-31
Smith, Matthew (Department: 2825)
Computer-aided design and analysis of circuits and semiconductor
Nanotechnology related integrated circuit design
C716S030000, C439S055000, C439S151000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06269471
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of Invention
The invention relates to wiring of information circuits, and particularly to a wiring layout of information circuits provided at one working location, e.g. telephone and computer connection circuits provided in one room or one floor of a building, or in a whole building.
2. Description of Related Art
As a method for wiring the information circuits of information device terminals, such as telephones, personal computers and the like, in an office or other working location, it is known to connect the terminals with collective information handling devices, such as telephone switchboards, LAN units and the like, by aggregating the information circuits of the respective information device terminals.
FIG. 6
shows wiring in such an office. The office is divided into a plurality of blocks, such as department units or section units. One or more people work at each block. Information device terminals, such as telephones, personal computers and the like, are arranged on desks constituting the respective blocks A to F, and the information device terminals are connected via wire harnesses
1
installed at each block A to F to an interconnection unit
3
.
The wire harnesses
1
are composed of the bundles of circuit cables, having connectors
2
equipped with modular outlets at one end. The various information device terminals are connected to the wire harnesses
1
through the connectors
2
. The use of bundled wire harnesses in buildings is disclosed in JP-A-8-33 1734, published Dec. 8, 1996.
The interconnection unit
3
is equipped with a plug board
4
shown in
FIG. 7
, which has a primary side and a secondary side. The modular outlets
5
connected to the collective information handling devices such as telephone switchboards, network servers and the like are arranged at the primary side, while the modular outlets
6
installed on the respective circuit cables of the respective wire harnesses
1
are arranged at the secondary side. Connecting cables
7
equipped with modular jacks at both ends are connected between the respective outlets
5
at the primary side and the respective outlets
6
at the secondary side, whereby the respective information device terminals are connected in the desired manner to the fixed collective devices.
With such wiring, when a layout in an office is changed, for example, when the block A is replaced by the block B as a whole, changing of the connection positions of the connecting cables
7
in the plug board
4
enable the wiring of the block A to be exchanged with the wiring of the block B without renewing the laying of the wire harnesses
1
.
However, in such a conventional wiring system, as only sequential numbers are usually attached to the respective outlets
5
,
6
of the plug board
4
, it cannot be identified which blocks of which information device terminals the modular outlets
6
at the secondary side are connected to by inspecting only the plug board
4
at the time of a layout change.
Therefore, a layout table in which sequential numbers attached to the respective modular outlets
6
at the secondary side correspond with the information device terminals is usually prepared, and the work of exchanging the connecting cables
7
is done by inspecting the layout table. When there are large numbers of the modular outlets
6
in use on the secondary side, the modular outlets
6
must be searched relying on the sequential numbers, but it is troublesome to find the modular outlets
6
whose connection is to be altered. Further, when there is no layout table at hand, there is an inconvenience that it cannot be identified which blocks of which information device terminals the modular outlets
6
are connected to.
Since the connecting cables
7
connecting the primary side to the secondary side are usually all the same, independent of the kind of the collective device, in the plug board
4
, there is an inconvenience that it is difficult to identify which collective information handling devices the modular outlets
6
at the secondary side are connected to.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The invention has as its object to provide a wiring layout for information circuits, wherein information circuits from a plurality of information device terminals are aggregated in an interconnection unit and connected to collective information handling devices, such as telephone switchboards, LAN units and the like, in which the above-mentioned problems are at least partially solved and in which the work required for rearranging the connecting cables in an interconnection unit according to layout change and the like can be efficiently carried out.
According to the invention, there is provided a wiring layout of information circuits which are used by personnel who work at a plurality of blocks, each block accommodating at least one person, the wiring layout comprising:
at each block, a plurality of outlet connectors connectible in use to information devices used by personnel at the block,
an interconnection unit having a plurality of primary connectors adapted to be connected to collective information handling devices, and a plurality of secondary connectors,
a plurality of wiring structures each comprising a plurality of wiring cables connecting respective groups of the secondary connectors to respective ones of the blocks, the wiring cables of each wiring structure terminating at the respective outlet connectors of the block, and
a plurality of interconnection cables detachably and interchangeably connecting the primary connectors and the secondary connectors at the interconnection unit, wherein
(i) first identification signs which identify respective ones of the blocks are associated with the wiring cables, and
(ii) at the interconnection unit, the plurality of the secondary outlets connected by a respective one of the wiring structures to one of the blocks are grouped together in space and have associated with them an identification sign which is the same as the one of the first identification signs identifying the block to which they are connected.
With this arrangement it can be easily identified at which part of the interconnection unit each secondary connector associated with a specific block, from among the many secondary connectors in the interconnection unit, is attached.
Preferably second identification signs which identify respective ones of the wiring cables in each wiring structure are associated with the wiring cables, and identification signs which are the same as the second identification signs are provided in association with the respective secondary connectors to which the wiring cables are respectively connected. In this case, it can be easily identified which secondary connectors the respective circuit cables correspond to.
Preferably also third identification signs enabling identification of the collective information handling devices are provided on the interconnection cables. Then, it can be easily identified which collective devices the respective wiring cables are connected to.
REFERENCES:
patent: 3917371 (1975-11-01), Hirokawa et al.
patent: 5149277 (1992-09-01), LeMaster
patent: 5168904 (1992-12-01), Quinkert
patent: 5486113 (1996-01-01), Lundh
patent: 5667387 (1997-09-01), Klemm
patent: 5905654 (1999-05-01), Tanino et al.
patent: 53-38421 (1978-10-01), None
patent: 8-331734 (1996-12-01), None
Inagaki Tomonori
Inoue Tatsuo
Yamano Yoshiaki
Oliff & Berridg,e PLC
Siek Vuthe
Smith Matthew
Sumitomo Wiring Systems Ltd.
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