Abstract: An intrinsically safe network switch (200) includes five electronically isolated ports, four for connections in hazardous areas (206-1, 206-2, 206-3, 206-4) and one for receiving an unsafe Ethernet input (204). The device may use 10/100 mbps Ethernet cables and connectors and provides speed and activity LED indicators for each port. The device may be din rail-mountable, wall mountable, or desk mountable, and includes an integral heat sink for cool operation. The device incorporates internal barriers and isolated circuitry to guarantee safety and high-integrity signals with resistance to ambient EMI/RFI radiation. This network switch (200) could be any Ethernet communication devices such as hub, managed or unmanaged switch etc. Also, it could have total “n” number of ports (isolated or un-isolated) with 1 port for safe area and “n?1” port of hazardous area. The number of ports for safe and hazardous area can be varied to meet specific application requirements.

Abstract: An intrinsically safe network switch (200) includes five electronically isolated ports, four for connections in hazardous areas (206-1, 206-2, 206-3, 206-4) and one for receiving an unsafe Ethernet input (204). The device may use 10/100 mbps Ethernet cables and connectors and provides speed and activity LED indicators for each port. The device may be din rail-mountable, wall mountable, or desk mountable, and includes an integral heat sink for cool operation. The device incorporates internal barriers and isolated circuitry to guarantee safety and high-integrity signals with resistance to ambient EMI/RFI radiation. This network switch (200) could be any Ethernet communication devices such as hub, managed or unmanaged switch etc. Also, it could have total “n” number of ports (isolated or un-isolated) with 1 port for safe area and “n?1” port of hazardous area. The number of ports for safe and hazardous area can be varied to meet specific application requirements.

Abstract: A wireless circuit setup is used in a hazardous area where the circuit is intrinsically safe and does not require explosion proof containment. In this setup, an intrinsically safe master barrier (420) is used without the use of a resistor and one or more resistors (R1, R2, R3) are placed in at least one final barrier at the output end prior to the signal exiting the system. The use of resistors (R1, R2, R3) at the final barrier reduces the loss of power and speed. Optionally, in this setup, the antenna can be located remotely from the remaining components of the wireless transceiver. The antenna can also be connected the optional device using the same cable that shows the communication status information, such as transmit/receive status, signal strength, power, etc, in hazardous area.