Methods of assembling and mounting three-electrode gas tube arrester

Abstract

A station protector is used in protecting pairs of telephone lines at a station from high voltages or surge currents occurring on the telephone lines and includes a base assembly having an upstanding wall at one end, an arrester mounting section adjacent the opposite end, and a pair of line terminals and a ground terminal disposed between the wall and the arrester mounting section. A removable ground clip assembly is disposed in the arrester mounting section so that a three-electrode gas tube arrester having a line electrode at each end of the tube and a ground electrode therebetween can be mounted on the base assembly to provide protection for the telephone lines. The ground clip assembly contains movable contact assemblies insertable into each of a pair of cavities located in the arrester mounting section and resiliently biased so that a contact rod portion in the contact assembly is normally coupled to the ground terminal. When a case having the three-electrode gas tube retained therein is mounted on the ground clip assembly such that the ground electrode is coupled to the ground terminal, contact shafts fusibly linked to each of the line electrodes cause the contact rod portion of each of the contact assemblies to be disconnected from the ground terminal and to connect the contact shafts to the line terminals. In the preferred embodiment, a cover is slidable over the base assembly so as to protect the base assembly from the weather, insects and tampering.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.