Voltage unit bus clip

Details Voltage unit bus clip Voltage unit bus clip

1998-06-12

2001-03-06

Tolin, Gerald (Department: 2835)

Electricity: electrical systems and devices

Safety and protection of systems and devices

High voltage dissipation

C361S111000, C361S824000

Reexamination Certificate

active

06198615

ABSTRACT:

FIELD OF THE INVENTION
This invention relates to the protection of communication equipment, and more particularly to improved arrangements for current and voltage overload protection.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Protecting telecommunications equipment in telephone central offices or other locations against voltage surges and sneak currents is well known. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,796,150 discloses a solid state protector for insertion in a telephone line having tip and ring conductors. The protector comprises a current unit, a voltage unit and a pair of springs assembled within a housing structure. The voltage unit includes solid state devices that respond instantaneously to spurious voltage surges on the telephone line in the tip conductor, the ring conductor, or both tip and ring conductors. When a voltage surge exceeds a predetermined threshold, the voltage device operates to ground the telephone line thereby insuring that the spurious voltage bypasses the telephone equipment in the central office.
Conventional voltage units including that disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,796,150 often include one or more metal clips for retaining the various diodes and terminals of the voltage unit in a desired assembled state. However, the clips used in these devices are quite narrow relative to the length of the voltage unit housing to which they are attached. Thus, the clips often pivot out of proper alignment and become dislodged during placement onto the housing. As a result, the clip(s) may become dislodged and one or more of the electrical components of the voltage unit may become loose, lost or damaged both during or after assembly. Additionally, in certain existing voltage unit assemblies, the clip may fail to retain the electrical components within the housing if one or more of the diodes becomes damaged during operation and its thickness is reduced. Either of these eventualities may hinder the assembly process or the reliability of the voltage unit.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The present invention provides a voltage unit for use in a telecommunications protection unit having an electrically insulating housing configured to house a diode module assembly and a voltage limiting cell therein. The voltage limiting cell and the diode module assembly are retained within the housing by a bus clip.
To overcome the problems of parts loss or damage resulting from the improper placement of narrow, retaining clips, the present invention provides a relatively long bus clip including multiple, independently yieldable diode stack contacting segments designed for reliable placement and operation which eases assembly and increases performance of the voltage unit.


REFERENCES:
patent: 4408248 (1983-10-01), Bulley et al.
patent: 4796150 (1989-01-01), Dickey et al.
patent: 4824391 (1989-04-01), Ii
patent: 5187634 (1993-02-01), Pitsch
patent: 5721663 (1998-02-01), Smith
patent: 5923238 (1999-07-01), Polzehl
patent: 6034862 (2000-03-01), Pelosi
patent: 6064509 (2000-05-01), Tonar

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