Surge/transient protector for a plurality of data lines
US4878145A · kind A · utility
Assignee
Inventor
Key dates
| Filing date | Nov 21, 1988 |
| Grant date | Oct 31, 1989 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Nov 21, 2008 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC H)Electricity
- CPC primaryH02H9/06
- WIPO fieldElectrical machinery, apparatus, energy
- WIPO sectorElectrical engineering
Abstract
A surge/transient protector for an N-line data cable (e.g., N=16) or other group of N data lines having two data conductors and a return conductor for each line includes individual conductor segments for each data line conductor; conventional multi-pin connectors are used to connect the protector in series in the lines. The protector has a positive bus, a negative bus, and a ground bus; each data conductor segment is coupled by a pair of oppositely polarized diodes to the positive and negative buses, and each return conductor is coupled to the reference bus by two oppositely connected diodes. Two large capacity energy storage devices (e.g. 10,000 microfarad capacitors) are connected between the reference bus and the positive and negative buses, each paralleled by a Zener diode to establish a discharging threshold just slightly greater than one-half the voltage range for the data lines. There are also N gas tubes, each connected between two data conductor segments and ground, and N supplemental energy storage devices, which may be metal oxide varistors functioning as large, threshold-limited capacitors; all of the protector apparatus, including a power supply, is mounted in one comp…
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.