Data and telephone wiring terminal

• US 6,181,783 B1
• Filed: 11/13/1998
• Issued: 01/30/2001
• Est. Priority Date: 07/14/1989
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: United Access Technologies LLC
• Original Assignee: CAIS, INCORPORATED, Inline Connection Corporation
• Inventors: Goodman, David D.
• Primary Examiner(s): Chan, Wing F.
• Application Number:
  US09/191,760
• Time in Patent Office: 809 Days
• Field of Search: 379/90.01, 379/93.01, 379/93-5-, 379/93.14, 379/93.15, 379/93.26, 379/101.01, 379/102-1-1, 379/102.07
• US Class Current: 379/93.05
• CPC Class Codes: H04H 20/81 combined with telephone network over which the broadcast is continuously available
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 11/062 using different frequency bands for speech and other data
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/104 Switchers or splitters
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/106 for domestic distribution
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/108 the cable being constituted by a pair of wires
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/147 Communication arrangements, e.g. identifying the communication as a video-communication, intermediate storage of the signals selecting H04Q
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/18 Closed-circuit television [CCTV] systems, i.e. systems in which the video signal is not broadcast

Abstract

A system that provides video signal communication between a source of the video signal and a plurality of units that include destinations of the video signal includes an interface coupled to the source and to telephone lines, each of which serves at least one of the units and carries voice signals to and from one or more telephones coupled to the telephone line at said unit. The interface receives the video signal from the source, and transmits the received video signal onto at least one of the telephone lines in a selected frequency range that is different from frequencies at which the voice signals are carried on that telephone line. This causes the video signal to be coupled to a receiver which is connected to the telephone line at the unit served by that line and is adapted to recover the video signal from the telephone line and apply it to one or more of the destinations at the unit. The source is a cable (e.g., electrical or fiber optic) that is linked to the interface and that carries a plurality of video signals. The destinations are, e.g., televisions. The units can be residences (such as individual houses or apartments in an apartment building) or offices in an office building.

Claims

1. A terminal for coupling a telephone device and a data communication device to a telephone wiring network comprising:

circuity for coupling the terminal to a twisted wire pair of the telephone wiring network;

a high pass filter coupled to the twisted wire pair for blocking energy in a voice frequency band and for passing energy in a data frequency band above the voice frequency band;

a first port for receiving a data plug for coupling the terminal to the data communication device, thereby providing a signal path in the data frequency band from the twisted wire pair to the data communication device;

a terminator;

a switching device for connecting the terminator to the twisted wire pair when the first port does not have the data plug inserted and for isolating the terminator from the twisted wire pair when the first port has the data plug inserted.

2. The terminal of claim 1 further comprising:

a lowpass filter coupled to the twisted wire pair for passing energy in the voice frequency band and for blocking energy in the data frequency band;

a second port for receiving a telephone plug for coupling the terminal to the telephone device, thereby providing a signal path in the voice frequency band from the twisted wire pair to the telephone device.

3. The terminal of claim 2 wherein the low pass filter includes a capacitor in series in series with one wire of the twisted wire pair.

4. The terminal of claim 2 wherein the terminator includes a resistor that match the impedance of the twisted wire pair, thereby, when connected to the twisted wire pair, reducing reflections of signals in the data frequency band that are received at the terminal over the twisted wire pair.

5. The terminal of claim 2 wherein the switching device includes a pivoting arm and an electrical switch, wherein insertion of the data plug into the first port causes the arm to pivot and close a contact of the electrical switch.