1. Field
Plug-in pads and equalizers primarily used with coaxial cable transmission systems.
2. General Background and State of the Art
Coaxial cable transmission systems distribute and transmit cable television and broadband communications signals such high speed Internet, VoIP, and other signals. Over the long distances of these systems, resistive and dielectric losses cause signal attenuation.
Typical cable transmission systems use amplifiers spaced throughout the coaxial cable network to compensate for attenuation and slope loss. These amplifiers have electrical components, pads and equalizers for adjusting the amplifiers' output. Typically, technicians change the pads and equalizers in amplifiers to modify the system parameters.
Pads and equalizers may have different heights. However, they plug into standard three-pin sockets. Typically, they extend through openings in the amplifier cover into the socket. Depending on the size of the amplifier, a long pad or equalizer may project above the cover opening improperly. On the other hand, a technician installing a very short pad or equalizer may be unable to reach the socket with the component.
The electronic component includes electrical contacts mounted on a substrate at the bottom of the substrate. The upper portion of the substrate has one or more weakened horizontal lines allowing the user to break off part of the upper portion of the substrate. Doing so shortens the component so that it properly fits into a cable system amplifier without projecting above the top cover. In addition, by starting with a taller electronic component, all will extend near the cover and none will be too short.
A cap may be provided that fits over the top of the substrate. The cap may have indicia or be color coded for showing the electrical values and type of electronic component.
Electronic components such as pads and equalizers for cable television systems come in different heights. Component 10 in
Upper portion 15 is subdivided into three subdivisions 18, 19 and 20 (
In the
Lines 17, 21 and 22 are weakened portions of the substrate formed by scoring or etching the substrate. Thus, when a technician bends the substrate above and below a line, the portion above the line will break off from the remainder of the substrate. For example, if the technician holds subdivision 18 in one hand and the rest of the component in the other hand near line 21 and bends the two parts of the substrate about line 21, subdivisions 19 and 20 will break off. Consequently, the component becomes shorter. See
Depending on the desired height of the component, the technician uses the component as follows: (a) as is; (b) with subdivision 20 removed; (c) with two subdivisions 19 and 20 removed; or (d) with all the subdivisions 18, 19 and 20 removed. Thus, in
Though the exemplary embodiments contemplate a technician breaking one or more subdivisions in the field, he or she could do so before going into the field. Breaking off subdivisions also could occur in an automated process.
An optional cap 28 (
The cap allows the technician a convenient grip for component 10. Caps used with the present invention also could be color-coded based on features of the component. For example, caps for pads would be one color or one group of colors, and caps used with equalizers would be another color or another group of colors. One also could use designs (plaid, hatching, symbols, etc.) in lieu of colors.
The top surface 30 of the cap may have a surface on which the component's value (e.g., 3 dB) is printed or written. The color or design scheme also could reflect values. By aligning the various components that a technician carries with the top surfaces of the caps facing upward, the technician relying on color, other indicia and printed values can find the proper component quickly. Likewise, the color and indicia allow technicians to determine quickly what components are in an amplifier.
Cap 28 has optional scallops 31 and 32 and an optional hole 33 to mesh with the scallops and holes in the
Component 40 in the
In the
The foregoing are merely illustrative and not limiting, having been presented by way of example only. Although examples have been shown and described, it will be apparent to those having ordinary skill in the art that changes, modifications or alterations may be made.
Although many of the examples presented involve specific combinations of method acts or system elements, those acts and elements may be combined in other ways to accomplish the same objectives. Acts, elements and features discussed only in connection with one embodiment are not intended to be excluded from a similar role in other embodiments.
For means-plus-function limitations recited in the claims, the means are not intended to be limited to the means disclosed herein for performing the recited function but are intended to cover in scope any means, known now or later developed, for performing the recited function.
“Plurality” means two or more. A “set” of items may include one or more of such items. As used in this application, whether in the written description or the claims, the terms “comprising,” “including,” “carrying,” “having,” “containing,” “involving,” and the like are to be understood to be open-ended, i.e., to mean “including but not limited to.” Only the transitional phrases “consisting of” and “consisting essentially of,” respectively, are closed or semi-closed transitional phrases with respect to claims.
Use of ordinal terms such as “first,” “second,” “third,” etc., in the claims to modify a claim element does not by itself connote any priority, precedence, or order of one claim element over another or the temporal order in which acts of a method are performed. The terms are used merely as labels to distinguish one claim element having a certain name from another element having a same name (but for use of the ordinal term) to distinguish the claim elements.