ClearOne has announced that it has been awarded two new patents relating to Power over Ethernet (PoE). The patents were issued by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. They are Patent #11,181,959 and Patent #11,188,133.
ClearOne describes PoE as a highly popular and quite useful IT-based technology. It enables Ethernet network cables to deliver DC power—without separate power supplies or outlets—to networked devices. Those devices might include IP phones, security cameras and network switches.
The new PoE patents describe systems and methods for providing power to multiple devices in a novel daisy-chain configuration. It involves intelligently allocating power distribution among these devices, without disturbing the standard PoE handshaking protocol. According to the company, ClearOne’s advancements in this technology are a real difference-maker. Prior, providing power to multiple devices via PoE required separate cables, in a hub-and-spoke topology, from the power source to each device. The technology advancements described in these new patents can utilize the device’s existing circuitry. Thus, according to ClearOne, the technology can reduce cost, shrink footprint or do both.
ClearOne describes these patents’ issuance as a means of fortifying its strength and reach in this technology area. The company’s portfolio covers multiple new technologies in the fields of audio and video processing, audio and video streaming, and communication technologies.
Prior Commercial Integrator coverage of ClearOne includes this story about ongoing legal developments in ClearOne’s patent-infringement case against Shure.
