Cook Electric Company

Northern Telecom Limited

Eric A Scheithauer

Casimir Z Cwirzen

Frank G Splitt

Donald F Jaycox

William W Hines

Arnold M Ladd

An overload protector for a telecommunications system with an overcurrent protection device for each signal line in a chamber formed between a housing and a base and in which the base carries the line and ground pins and also an overvoltage device for each pair of the signal pins, the overvoltage device disposed at the base. In one construction, each overvoltage device comprises a solid state semi-voltage surge protection device at the base and a ground conductor extends laterally of the base between the ground pin and the device.

Overload protector for telecommunications systems

The heat coil assembly for a protector unit is formed of a line terminal, an intermediate member and a pin forming a single unit, with a spool mounted on the upper end of the pin and attached by a layer of fusible alloy. A coil on the spool has one end connected to the heat coil assembly and the other end connected to a second line terminal. The coil can be wound on the spool after attaching to the pin to form an assembly for positioning in a base of a protector. A protector may have two such heat coil assemblies, with associated primary gap protectors, and ground member. Back-up protector devices may also be provided, with line members connecting each heat coil assembly to a related back-up protector.

Method of manufacturing a heat coil assembly for a protector unit

A protector module, or assembly, for telephone lines and similar systems, has line terminals and a ground terminal in the base. The line circuit is between a related pair of line terminals. The line circuit includes part of a line bracket which extends up the side of the housing. The line bracket extends to the outer end of the housing and an aperture in the end of the housing permits access by a test probe to the line bracket. Normally, two line brackets are provided each associated with a pair of line terminals. A ground bracket also extends up the housing, being connected at one end to the ground terminal and having a flange at its other end. Between the outer end of the line bracket and the flange on the ground bracket a back-up or other form of protector member can be positioned.

Overload protector for communication systems

A gas tube arrester protector used in protecting a pair of telephone lines from high voltages or surge currents includes a three electrode gas tube overvoltage arrester having a ground electrode adapted to be coupled to ground potential through a ground lead, a pair of line electrodes, each of which is adapted to be coupled to one of the pair of telephone lines through a terminal line or lead, a flat, generally U-shaped line contact and a fusible link coupled between the line contact and the line electrode. The gas tube arrester is positioned in an insulating housing or shell by disposing the line contact in slots formed by ribs on opposed walls of the housing and by positioning in grooves formed peripherally about an open end of the housing overlapped spacers having overlapping slots to receive the ground and terminal leads. The open end of the housing can be further sealed with an insulating material.

Gas tube arrester protector and method of assembling the protector

A protector module for use in protecting telephone lines includes an insulating base with two sets of line pins and a ground pin extending from one side of the base. Disposed on the other side of the base is a pair of spaced apart line contacts with one of the line contacts being coupled to one set of line pins and the other line contact being coupled to the other set of line pins and a ground clip assembly coupled to the ground pin and disposed between the line contacts. The ground clip assembly mounts a three electrode gas tube arrester having a pair of line electrodes and a ground electrode such that one of the line contacts is coupled to one of the line electrodes by a fusible element and the other line contact is coupled to the other line electrode by another fusible element. In response to a fault condition occurring on the telephone line coupled to one of the line contacts, the fusible element between that line contact and the line electrode melts, allowing the line contact to move toward the ground clip assembly such that the line contact makes electrical contact with the ground clip assembly. In one embodiment of the protector module, an insulating housing is detachably secured to the base in order to enclose the ground clip assembly, the line contacts, the gas tube arrester and the fusible elements.

Protector module

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.

Methods of assembling and mounting three-electrode gas tube arrester

A gas tube arrester protector for protecting a pair of telephone lines from high voltage or surge current includes an insulating housing in which is disposed a three electrode gas tube overvoltage arrester having a pair of line electrodes and a ground electrode. The ground electrode is coupled to ground potential and each of the line electrodes is coupled to one of the telephone lines through a terminal line, a supporting terminal and a fusible link. The fusible links are in thermal relationship with the line electrodes and extend through cavities formed by spacers disposed adjacent each of the line electrodes. Whenever the line electrodes are heated sufficiently during an extended fault condition, the fusible links melt within the spacer cavities such that the line electrodes are disconnected from the terminal lines and thereby from the fault occurring on the telephone lines. The gas tube arrester, the spacer, the supporting terminal and a portion of the terminal lines are fixedly mounted in the housing by an insulating potting compound which fills a portion of the inside of the housing. The remaining portion of the housing can be filled with an inert insulating fill or powder.

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Chicago, IL, United States of America

Eric A Scheithauer