Telephonic communications – Subscriber line or transmission line interface
Reexamination Certificate
1999-03-09
2001-06-19
Chiang, Jack (Department: 2642)
Telephonic communications
Subscriber line or transmission line interface
Reexamination Certificate
active
06249580
ABSTRACT:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
This invention relates generally to the field of telephone wire connectors and distribution systems and, in particular, to an upgradeable customer bridge for use in a junction box.
BACKGROUND OF INVENTION
Telephone lines, which are carried by electrical conductors known as tip ring wire pairs, are generally aggregated at a particular point in a building prior to being distributed and connected to various types of telephone equipment, such as, for example, telephones, fax machines, modems etc. As the tip ring pairs generally enter the building as part of a multiconductor cable, the individual tip ring wire pairs must first be broken out from the cable into individual wire pairs. This is normally accomplished in a junction box known as, for example, a building entrance protector (BEP), or network interface unit (NIU). Within such devices the individual telephone line tip ring pairs are separated from the cable, individually connected to a connector block, and made available for further electrical connection and distribution. Usually, there is a protector device inserted between the telephone and central office, or network side of the telephone line and the customer equipment or terminal side of the telephone line to protect the telephone and user, or other equipment connected to the telephone line, from hazardous overvoltages induced in the telephone network or in the cables passing between the telephone central office and the building within which the line is terminated.
In a typical arrangement, the telephone lines coming from the network are first wired to a protector field, which is an array of connectors for receiving the protector device, which is in turn hard wired to a first connector block which provides a first test point for testing the telephone line connections between the building and telephone central office. This first terminal block is hard wired to a multi pair connector, most typically a twenty-five pair connector of the RJ21 type, for further connection to an array of customer bridges which are also hard wired and connectorized via a mating RJ21 connector. A plurality of customer bridges are placed in the junction box which enables a subscriber to easily disconnect terminal equipment, such as a telephone device, from a telephone line so that the subscriber can isolate troubles on the line as originating in the telephone network, or on the terminal equipment side of the telephone line. An example of such an arrangement is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 5,363,440, dated Nov. 8, 1994, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference. Presently known customer bridges utilize screw-type binding post connectors for the attachment of the subscriber device wiring, which are labor intensive to wire.
Often, telephone devices installed at a particular location are serially connected to a single wire pair run connected to a customer bridge. This may be accomplished by routing a twisted pair from the particular customer bridge in the junction box to a telephone device at a first location and from the first telephone device location to a second telephone device location and so on. However, a drawback with serially configuring multiple telephone devices in such manner is that if a failure occurs anywhere along the chain each of the wiring segments between each of the telephone devices must be separately tested to locate the fault. It is possible to couple more than one telephone device to a customer bridge in parallel by connecting multiple wires to each of the post connectors on the customer bridge. Such a configuration, however, is undesirable because connecting more than one wire to a single post connector, especially wires of different gauges, results in an unreliable connection. Accordingly, it is desirable to provide a wiring system that supports multiple telephone devices from a single customer bridge in which troubleshooting is simplified.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The present invention is directed at overcoming the shortcomings of the prior art. The present invention is directed to a customer bridge for use in a junction box wherein the junction box receives a first telephone line wire pair coupled to a central office telephone line and at least two device wire pairs individually connectable to the customer bridge for coupling to local telephone devices. The bridge includes a body and a first socket disposed in the body for receiving the telephone line wire pair. One or more connector sockets are disposed in the body with each of the connector sockets being dimensioned and shaped so as to receive one device wire pair. An RJ11 test jack and receptacle of a known type is disposed in the body adjacent the sockets. A connecting bridge wire pair is disposed in the body with the connecting wire having a first section and a second section. The first section is positioned in the body so as to be adjacent with and beneath each of the at least two connector sockets. The test socket receives the RJ11 jack-fitted second section of the connecting bridge wire pair thereby electrically coupling the connecting bridge wire pair to the telephone line wire pair inserted in the first socket, in a manner known in the art of customer bridges. As a result, when a device wire pair is inserted in one of the at least two connector sockets, it is coupled to the telephone line wire pair. By using the bridge of the present invention, each local telephone device can be individually and directly connected to the bridge without the need to daisy-chain together multiple telephone devices. As a result, the process of determining the location of a wiring fault between the telephone devices and the junction box is greatly simplified. Moreover, because the bridge preferably accepts a plug in connector, the bridge may be flexibly field-configured with different types and quantities of connectors to meet application-specific wiring needs.
Other objects and features of the present invention will become apparent from the following detailed description, considered in conjunction with the accompanying drawing figures. It is to be understood, however, that the drawings, which are not to scale, are designed solely for the purpose of illustration and not as a definition of the limits of the invention, for which reference should be made to the appended claims.
REFERENCES:
patent: 3611264 (1971-10-01), Ellis
patent: 4662699 (1987-05-01), Vachhani et al.
patent: 4793823 (1988-12-01), Cozzens et al.
patent: 5153910 (1992-10-01), Miekelson et al.
patent: 5240432 (1993-08-01), Daoud
patent: 5637011 (1997-06-01), Meyerhoefer et al.
patent: 5860829 (1999-01-01), Hower et al.
Technical Data Sheet of A.C. Egerton Limited, related to Mini Rocker Cross Connection Cabinets.
Avaya Technology Corp.
Chiang Jack
Stroock & Stroock & Lavan LLP
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