Wireless butt set

• US 6,252,942 B1
• Filed: 07/29/1998
• Issued: 06/26/2001
• Est. Priority Date: 07/30/1997
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Fluke Corporation (Fortive Corp.)
• Original Assignee: Harris Corporation (L3Harris Technologies, Inc.)
• Inventors: Zoiss, Edward J., Hathorn, Linda L., Coleman, James D., Squires, Ronald S., Humphrey, Glen H.
• Primary Examiner(s): Nguyen, Duc
• Application Number:
  US09/124,585
• Time in Patent Office: 1,063 Days
• Field of Search: 455/423-425, 379/1, 379/6, 379/10, 379/15, 379/19, 379/21, 379/26-29, 379/30, 379/32, 379/34
• US Class Current: 379/21
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/24 Arrangements for testing
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/308 Craftsperson test terminals

Abstract

A wireless butt set for testing a telephone line includes a base station that is connectable to tip and ring leads of a line under test and is configured to be operated by a wireless telephone handset. The handset is detachably nestable with the base station to form a hand-held integrated butt set assembly. This configuration allows a craftsperson to directly or remotely control the test set using controls of the wireless telephone handset. The internal circuitry of the base station is placed in a high impedance line-monitoring mode without going off-hook, in response to one ‘click’ of a talk switch of the handset, and goes off-hook in response to a ‘double-click’ of the talk switch the handset.

Claims

1. A test set for testing a telephone line comprising a test set base station that is connectable to and contains test circuitry for testing said telephone line, and a wireless telephone handset, that is configured to engage said base station as an integrated hand-held test set assembly, and to be detached therefrom, and wherein said wireless handset is controllably operative to wirelessly communicate with and control the operation of said base station, wherein said wireless telephone handset has an electrical receptacle that mates with an associated electrical connector installed in said base station when said base station and said wireless telephone handset are joined together, so as to provide a hardwired communication path between communication transceiver components of said base station and said wireless telephone handset.

2. A test set according to claim 1, wherein said test circuitry of said base station is configured to monitor said telephone line via said wireless telephone handset without going off-hook in response to a first prescribed operation of a talk switch of said wireless telephone handset.

3. A test set according to claim 2, wherein said test set is configured to go off-hook in response to a second prescribed operation of said talk switch of said wireless telephone handset.

4. A test according to claim 3, wherein said first prescribed operation of said talk switch comprises operating said talk switch once.

5. A test according to claim 4, wherein said second prescribed operation of said talk switch comprises operating said talk switch a second time within a prescribed time interval following a first operation of said talk switch.

6. A test set according to claim 2, wherein said test circuitry of said base station includes an auxiliary transformer—

high impedance line monitoring circuit that is placed in circuit with said line and is operative to enable said line to be monitored via said wireless telephone handset in response to said first prescribed operation of said talk switch of said wireless telephone handset.

7. A test set according to claim 1, wherein said test set is configured to go off-hook in response to a double-click operation of a talk switch of said wireless telephone handset.

8. A test set according to claim 1, wherein said base station is configured to enable talk/monitor mode functionality thereof to be controlled by a talk mode switch of said wireless telephone handset.

9. A test set according to claim 8, wherein a talk mode signal path through said test set includes a wireless transceiver of said wireless telephone handset, and a wireless transceiver and a wireless telephone handset talk switch operation-responsive circuit of said base station.

10. A test set according to claim 9, wherein said base station includes a high impedance circuitry that is configured to monitor said telephone line via said wireless telephone handset without going off-hook in response to a first prescribed operation of a talk switch of said wireless telephone handset.

11. A test set according to claim 10, wherein said test set is configured to go off-hook in response to a second prescribed operation of said talk switch of said wireless telephone handset.

12. A test set according to claim 1, wherein said base station includes a battery charging circuit through which rechargeable batteries for powering the base station may be charged from an external power source, and a DC—

DC converter for converting battery voltage to a requisite DC voltage level required to power circuitry of said base station.

13. A test set for testing a telephone line comprising a test set base station that contains test circuitry for testing said telephone line, and a wireless telephone handset that is configured to wirelessly communicate with and control the operation of said base station, said test circuitry of said base station being configured to monitor said telephone line via said wireless telephone handset without going off-hook, in response to a first prescribed operation of a talk switch of said wireless telephone handset, and to go off-hook in response to a second prescribed operation of said talk switch of said wireless telephone handset, wherein said wireless telephone handset has an electrical receptacle that mates with an associated electrical connector installed in said base station when said base station and said wireless telephone handset are joined together, so as to provide a hardwired communication path between communication transceiver components of said base station and said wireless telephone handset.

14. A test according to claim 13, wherein said first prescribed operation of said talk switch comprises operating said talk switch once, and said second prescribed operation of said talk switch comprises operating said talk switch a second time within a prescribed time interval following a first operation of said talk switch.

15. A test set according to claim 13, wherein said test circuitry of said base station includes an auxiliary transformer—

high impedance line monitoring circuit that is placed in circuit with said line and is operative to enable said line to be monitored via said wireless telephone handset in response to said first prescribed operation of said talk switch of said wireless telephone handset.

16. A test set according to claim 13, wherein said base station is configured to enable talk/monitor mode functionality thereof to be controlled by a talk mode switch of said wireless telephone handset through a talk mode signal path that includes a wireless transceiver of said wireless telephone handset, and a wireless transceiver and a wireless telephone handset talk switch operation-responsive circuit of said base station.

17. A test set according to claim 13, wherein said base station includes a battery charging circuit through which rechargeable batteries for powering the base station may be charged from an external power source, and a DC—

DC converter for converting battery voltage to a requisite DC voltage level required to power circuitry of said base station.

18. A test set according to claim 13, wherein said base station and said wireless telephone handset are configured to interfit physically and electrically engage one another as an integrated hand-held assembly.

19. A wireless butt set for testing a telephone line comprising a test set base station that is connect able to said telephone line and is configured to be operated by a wireless telephone handset, that is detachably connect able to said base station, so as to allow a craftsperson to directly or remotely control operation of said test set via said wireless telephone handset, and wherein test circuitry of said base station is configured to monitor said telephone line via said wireless telephone handset without going off-hook, in response to a first prescribed operation of a talk switch of said wireless telephone handset, and to go off-hook in response to a second prescribed operation of said talk switch of said wireless telephone handset, wherein said wireless telephone handset has an electrical receptacle that mates with an associated electrical connector installed in said base station when said base station and said wireless telephone handset are joined together, so as to provide a hardwired communication path between communication transceiver components of said base station and said wireless telephone handset.