Patent attributes
A fusible link device comprising a housing that contains terminals for terminating incoming/outgoing wires, and that also contains a fusible link that interconnects a pair of the terminals in series, the fusible link device providing a self-contained unit/module for terminating and fusing wires to be electrically interconnected in series. The housing includes ports for inserting the wires that terminate on the terminals. These ports may be environmentally protected, such as by gel-sealing. The terminals may be implemented as insulation displacement connectors for connecting the wires and/or the fusible links. In one implementation, the fusible link device may contain a total of four of the terminals and two fusible links for terminating and fusing the tip and ring lines in a telecommunications network. The fusible link device may also include one or more voltage protection devices, of the same or different type, electrically connected across terminals that are not series connected to each other.
