Weatherproof telephone network interface modules
AssigneeTll Industries, Inc.
InventorThomas J. Smith
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A weatherproof network interface module for providing connection between a customer's equipment and the telephone company owned portion of the customer loop includes an overvoltage protection device disposed therein in addition to the circuitry which provides a prescribed line test termination impedance having particular characteristic signature to the telephone central office when a continuity test is made on a subscriber line and may include an illumination device and test switch for indicating when the telephone company owned portion of the customer loop is in operating order, or may include a device for connecting or disconnecting the telephone company owned portion of the customer loop from the customer loop portion wherein all of terminals are weatherproof (protected from the environment).
Claims10
A weatherproof telephone network interface module, suitable for use in a telephone terminal housing, for providing connections between a customer's equipment and the telephone company owned portion of a customer loop, comprising:
- a) hollow housing means, said housing means being provided with a rear surface having a protruding portion thereon suitable for cooperating with a ledge provided in said telephone terminal housing, a front surface having a protruding portion for removably mounting said module to said telephone terminal housing, two side surfaces, an open bottom surface and a top surface;
- b) first weatherproof terminal means, disposed on said top surface proximate said front surface of said hollow housing means, having at least a pair of line terminals adapted to receive a pair of wires connected to said telephone company owned portion of said customer's telephone loop;
- c) second weatherproof terminal means disposed on said top surface proximate said rear surface of said hollow housing means, said second terminal means having at least a pair of terminal connections thereon adapted to be connected to said customer's equipment;
- d) third weatherproof terminal means disposed on said rear surface of said module, said third terminal means having at least a pair of terminal connections thereon adapted to be connected to said customer's equipment;
- d) overvoltage protection means disposed within said hollow housing, said protection means having three terminals, one of said terminals being connected to a ground means, said second and third terminals being connected to each of said weatherproof line terminals;
- and
- e) circuit board means disposed within said hollow housing, said circuit board means being connected to said second and third weatherproof customer terminal connections.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.