Patent · US Expired

Listening device for tracing line continuity and detecting telephone dial tone

US5887051A · kind A · utility

9Cited by
4References
17Claims
0Family size

Assignee

Inventors

Key dates

Filing dateJul 24, 1997
Grant dateMar 23, 1999
Priority date
Expiry dateJul 24, 2017

Classification

  • Technology area (CPC H)Electricity
  • CPC primaryH04M3/30
  • WIPO fieldTelecommunications
  • WIPO sectorElectrical engineering

Abstract

A pocket-size hand-held testing tool is provided for testing the operation of telephone lines and tracing the location of electric wires, including a sound signal channel with an output speaker, a dial tone detection circuit for detecting a dial tone on a telephone line, a probe for capacitively receiving a signal from a particular wire in a bundled wire cable to identify that wire as one to which a tracing signal is being applied at the other end of the cable, and a momentary switch normally connecting the dial tone detection circuit into communication with the sound signal channel but manually depressable to instead selectively switch the probe into communication with the sound signal channel while disconnecting the dial tone detection circuit from it.

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