Patent · US Expired

Remote testing of metallic loops with a trans hybrid signal

US4870675A · kind A · utility

15Cited by
2References
8Claims
0Family size

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Key dates

Filing dateNov 28, 1988
Grant dateSep 26, 1989
Priority date
Expiry dateNov 28, 2008

Classification

  • Technology area (CPC H)Electricity
  • CPC primaryH04M3/303
  • WIPO fieldTelecommunications
  • WIPO sectorElectrical engineering

Abstract

Currently, metallic loops are tested for shorts, opens and grounds by applying a test signal (DC or 20 Hz) directly to the metallic looop. A test signal cannot be applied to any part of the network other than the metallic loop because it will be blocked by the A-to-D converters and the hybrid of the system before it can reach the metallic loop. In this invention, digital signal processing is used to test a metallic loop for shorts, opens, grounds and the presence of loading coils from a remote location. Direct metallic connection to the metallic loop is no longer necessary. Briefly, a test signal, in digital form, is fed into the network at some convenient location remote from the metallic loop that is to be tested. As the signal passes through the A-to-D converter from the digital section of the network to the analog metallic loop, it is converted by the A-to-D converter into an analog signal having a specific frequency and a predetermined amplitude. Defects - opens, shorts and grounds - in the metallic loop cause reflections of the analog test signal. These reflections, as they travel back toward the digital network, are converted by the A-to-D converter into digital form. The re…

Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.