Network interface cabinet for large pair count telephone terminations

#This invention relates to a cabinet for housing telephone equipment, and more particularly to a novel network interface cabinet for use in bringing a large number of pairs of telephone lines into a subscriber's premises, and for accomplishing an interface between the subscriber's equipment and telephone company equipment.

#Telephone operating companies have recently been installing interface devices at subscriber premises to provide a separation or demarcation between the operating company equipment and the subscriber-owned equipment on the subscriber's premises. This arrangement proves particularly helpful in providing a manner in which the subscriber equipment may be selectively connected to, and disconnected from, the telephone company equipment, to thereby determine whether any problem or malfunction which may occur is due to subscriber equipment malfunction or telephone company equipment malfunction. Heretofore, such installations have typically been at single-family residences, thus requiring, typically, only termination of and interfacing between perhaps one or two line pairs. In this regard, each independently accessed telephone or "listed number" generally requires one line pair.

#Accordingly, at premises having a large number of subscribers such as apartment complexes, office buildings and the like, considerably more complex equipment is required to provide the same sort of interfacing between company equipment and subscriber equipment. Typically, such premises may contain several hundred independently accessed telephone lines and thus require interfacing between a correspondingly large number of line pairs. Thus, an interface facility for such an installation must include termination and protection for the subscriber's telephone equipment as well as proper distribution from the central office cable pairs entering the premises to the subscriber equipment. In this regard, by protection for subscriber equipment is meant the provision of suitable overvoltage and/or "surge arrester"-type protection for each line pair on the premises.

#The features of the present invention which are believed to be novel are set forth with particularity in the appended claims. The organization and manner of operation of the invention, together with further objects and advantages thereof, may best be understood by reference to the following description taken in connection with the accompanying drawings in which like reference numerals identify like elements, and in which:

#FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a network interface cabinet for large pair count telephone terminations in accordance with the invention;

#FIG. 2 is a perspective view of an alternative embodiment of a network interface cabinet in accordance with the invention;

#Referring to the drawings, and initially to FIG. 1, a network interface cabinet for large pair count telephone terminations in accordance with the invention is designated generally by the reference numeral 10. This cabinet is generally rectilinear in form and includes parallel and spaced apart top and bottom walls 12, 14, and two pairs of respective parallel and spaced apart sidewalls 16, 18, 20 and 22 which form respective front, rear and lateral walls of the cabinet. These respective front, rear and lateral sidewalls all generally run between and join the top and bottom walls to define a fully enclosed cabinet for enclosing or housing telephone equipment.

#At least one access opening 24 is provided in one of the sidewalls, and preferably in front wall 16, as viewed in FIG. 1. A door or door means 26 is provided for selectively covering and exposing the access opening 24 for selectively permitting access to the telephone equipment located on the inside of the cabinet. In the illustrated embodiment, this door means takes the form of an elongate door which is hingedly mounted along one lateral side 22 thereof by an elongate hinge 28, and preferably a piano-type hinge, which extends along a major fractional portion of the height of the cabinet 10. The door means 26 is further provided with a latching or locking means 30 for limiting or controlling access to the inside of the cabinet. In the illustrated embodiment, these locking means comprise a latched door handle 32 and a key-operated lock 34 mounted thereto. These elements mate with complementary strikes or the like 35 located along the margin of opening 24 generally opposite the hinge 28.

#In accordance with a further feature of the illustrated embodiment, additional cable guide means in the form of a plurality of generally similar, parallel and vertically spaced brackets or bracket means 90 are provided along a front lateral portion of the cabinet and preferably adjacent the hinges 42. These brackets 90 are being suitable for receiving and guiding cabling, wiring, or the like to be run to one or more of the panels within the cabinet or even entirely through the cabinet its en route to other locations. Preferably, one end of each of these brackets 90 is mounted on an elongate trough 92 or channel (see FIG. 3) which runs substantially from the top to the bottom of the enclosure within the cabinet for fully shielding and protecting cabling wires running therealong. Accordingly, the brackets 90 and trough provide between them an area accessible from the front of the cabinet, when door 26 is opened, for guiding and running various wires and cords within or through the cabinet.