Abstract:
A telecommunications customer service terminal provides an input connection to a SDSL input telecommunications line and a plurality of output connections to a plurality of telephones. A metal housing of the customer service terminal includes a base and upstanding side walls that encircle the base. A first cover is secured to the side walls to form a generally sealed first compartment in which a circuit board having circuit components thereon is mounted. A second cover is removably secured to the side walls to form a generally unsealed second compartment in which a connection board having the input connection and the plurality of output connections thereon is mounted. A portion of the connection board extends into the generally sealed first compartment to physically overlap a portion of the circuit board. A plug connector on the overlapping portion of one of the two boards cooperates with a socket connector on the overlapping portion of the other of the two boards, and operates to connect the circuit components on the circuit board to the input connection and output connections on the connection board.

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS  
       [0001]    This non-provisional patent application claims the benefit of co-pending provisional patent application Serial No. 60/279,910 filed Mar. 29, 2001 and entitled TELECOMMUNICATIONS CUSTOMER SERVICE TERMINAL, and is incorporated herein by reference as are the following co-pending U.S. patent applications:  
         [0002]    Design patent application Ser. No. 29/138,901 filed Mar. 21, 2001 entitled TELECOMMUNICATIONS CUSTOMER SERVICE TERMINAL.  
         [0003]    Non-provisional patent application Serial No. 09/872,084 filed May 31, 2001.  
         [0004]    Non-provisional patent application Serial No. 09/872,382 filed Jun. 1, 2001.  
         [0005]    Non-provisional patent application Serial No. XX/XXX,XXX filed concurrently herewith entitled SEALED AND PASSIVELY COOLED TELECOMMUNICATIONS CUSTOMER SERVICE TERMINAL (Attorney Docket No. 40405.830016.000).  
         [0006]    Non-provisional patent application Serial No. XX/XXX,XXX filed concurrently herewith entitled TELECOMMUNICATIONS CUSTOMER SERVICE TERMINAL HAVING ELECTRONIC COMPONENTS SEALED IN A FIRST COMPARTMENT AND HAVING AN UNSEALED COMPARTMENT THAT SELECTIVE CONTAINS A TELCO CONNECTION BOARD OR AN INSULATION DISPLACEMENT CONNECTION BOARD (Attorney Docket No. 40405.830019.000).  
         [0007]    Non-provisional patent application Ser. No. XX/XXX,XXX filed concurrently herewith entitled TELECOMMUNICATIONS CUSTOMER SERVICE TERMINAL HAVING ELECTRONIC COMPONENTS SEALED IN A FIRST COMPARTMENT AND HAVING AN UNSEALED COMPARTMENT THAT CONTAINS AN INSULATION DISPLACEMENT CONNECTION BOARD THAT INCLUDES VOLTAGE SURGE PROTECTION (Attorney Docket No. 40405.830020.000). 
     
    
     
       BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
         [0008]    1. Field of the Invention  
           [0009]    This invention relates to the field of telecommunications, and more specifically to a telecommunications Customer Service Terminal (CST) (also known as a telecommunications integrated access device or IAD) that is operable to deliver carrier class analog voice and digital data to a telephone user, such as a home or a small business.  
           [0010]    2. Description of the Related Art  
           [0011]    Telecommunications Customer Service Terminals (CSTs), also known as Integrated Access Devices (IADs), are generally known.  
           [0012]    However, the need remains in the art for a CST that is operable to supply both analog telephone service and digital data service to customers having relatively limited telecommunications needs; for example, a home or a small business.  
         SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
         [0013]    The present invention provides a single line entry CST that receives operating power from a low-voltage direct current (DC) source; that receives telecommunications input signals from a Symmetrical Subscriber Line or SDSL (generically a digital subscriber line or DSL) that operates upon the telecommunications input signals to provide a plurality of analog telephone output lines individually adapted to be connected to conventional telephone terminal devices, and to provide at least one Ethernet output line adapted to be connected to at least one digital data terminal device; wherein conventional and readily-available telephone wire is used to connect the CST to its power supply, to its telecommunications signal input source, to its telephone terminal devices, and to its data terminal device(s).  
           [0014]    The CST of this invention includes a metal housing (aluminum being preferred) that is adapted to be mounted upon a vertically-extending wall, partition or the like. Versions of this housing are constructed and arranged so that the CST can be either mounted within a building (i.e., mounted inside) or external to a building (i.e., mounted outside).  
           [0015]    In an embodiment of the invention, the CST housing comprises a rectangular box shape whose long or major axis extends vertically, and whose short or minor axis extends horizontally when the housing is mounted upon a wall.  
           [0016]    The CST housing is constructed and arranged to provide an upper inter-compartment having a cover that is sealed so as to prevent, or minimize, access by service personnel, and to provide a lower inter-compartment having a removably-pivoted cover that is readily openable for access by service personnel, but which can be latched closed by service personnel after installation of the CST.  
           [0017]    Preferably, the CST upper compartment is constructed and arranged to be National Electrical Manufactures Association (NEMA) type  3  compliant, and the lower compartment is constructed and arranged to be NEMA type  3 R compliant.  
           [0018]    The back exterior surface of the CST housing (i.e., the housing surface that faces a vertical wall upon which the CST is mounted) includes a plurality, an array, or a matrix of external metal cooling fins that generally cover at least the external area of the above-described upper compartment. These cooling fins extend a common first distance outward from the back surface of the CST housing, and these fins are preferably thin and elongated fins that extend vertically upward.  
           [0019]    The back surface of the CST housing also includes at least three triangular-positioned mounting legs that extend outward from the back surface of the housing by a common second distance that is greater than the above-described first distance. These mounting legs allow the CST housing to be mounted onto a wall with the back exterior surface of the housing and the cooling fins thereon, then being spaced from the adjacent surface of the wall.  
           [0020]    The above-described cooling fins have an axis of elongation that extends generally vertical. Thus, heating of the cooling fins generates a passive and upward-moving laminar flow of air that operates to cool the CST metal housing.  
           [0021]    A first planar circuit board is mounted within the housing lower inter-compartment so as to occupy a first plane that is relatively close to, and parallel to, the back internal surface of the housing. The upper edge of this first circuit board carries a first upward-facing strip connector. The upper edge of the first circuit board extends into the housing upper compartment.  
           [0022]    This first strip connector is for use in electrically connecting the first circuit board to a second mating and downward-facing strip connector that is carried by the lower edge of a second planar circuit board that is mounted within the housing upper inter-compartment. This second circuit board occupies a second plane that is parallel to, and spaced above, the plane that is occupied by the first circuit board.  
           [0023]    In the manufacture of the CST, the first circuit board is mounted within the lower compartment. Later, when the second circuit board is installed in the upper compartment, its downward-facing strip connector electrically connects with the first circuit board upward-facing strip connector.  
           [0024]    The above-described first circuit board that is within the CST lower inter-compartment is selected from one of three difference first circuit boards, use of an individual one of these three first circuit boards being a function of the operational use that is selected for a particular CST being manufactured or installed.  
           [0025]    A first type of first circuit board, intended for outdoor use, includes an insulation displacement connector (a Relco/Marconi punch-down block) that provides a connection point for input low voltage DC power, for the input DSL, for output telephone lines, and for at least one output data line.  
           [0026]    A second type of first circuit board is similar to the above-described first type wherein the insulation displacement connector is constructed and arranged to provide primary voltage surge protection; for example, gas tube-type protection from a lightening strike. It is common practice to provide a Network Interface Device (NID) in telecommunications systems in order to provide primary voltage (for example, 110 VAC) surge protection between a common connection point whereat building internal and building external telephone lines are connected to each other. When this second type of first circuit board is used within the lower compartment of a CST in accordance with the invention, the need for such a NID is eliminated.  
           [0027]    A third type of first circuit board is intended for indoor use, and this first circuit board includes a 25 pair Telco cable that terminates at a telco tip and ring connector, such as a RJ2X connector (i.e., a 25 pair polarized connector that is used to consolidate multiple voice and data lines), thus easing connection of the CST of a 25 pair cable of the type that is standard equipment within an installer&#39;s truck.  
           [0028]    As is known, a Telco connector (also know as a Centronic connector or a SCSI  1  connector) is a 50-pin telecommunications connector.  
           [0029]    As stated above, a second planar circuit board is mounted within the housing upper inter-compartment such that a planar back surface of the second circuit board is located closely adjacent to, but spaced from, the generally planar and inner metal surface of the housing. This second circuit board is mounted so that a lower edge thereof overlies the upper edge of the selected one of the three above-described first circuit boards, the second circuit board carrying a downward-facing second strip connector that mates with the above-described upward-facing first strip connector.  
           [0030]    This second circuit board carries active electronic components that are common to use with any one of the three first circuit boards, and these electronic components operate to generate analog telephone outputs and digital data output(s) from the DSL telecommunications input signals.  
           [0031]    Both the first and the second circuit board have a generally square, thin and planar shape. The second circuit board is constructed and arranged such that the circuit components that generate the most heat are arranged on the periphery of the second circuit board (i.e., the hottest circuit components are arranged on the periphery of the second circuit board), whereas circuit components that generate less heat are located generally in the center of the second circuit board (i.e., the coolest circuit components are arranged in the center of the second circuit board).  
           [0032]    These hot or major heat-generating circuit components serve various electronic functions, and the physical dimensions of these circuit components are such that at least some of them extend different distances from the two planar sides of the second circuit board. More specifically, at least some portions of the major heat-generating components that face the closely-adjacent back internal surface of the metal housing extend different distances from the back planar surface of the second circuit board; i.e., from the surface of the second circuit board that faces the back internal surface of the metal housing.  
           [0033]    In order to maximize the transfer of heat from these major heat-generating circuit components to the closely adjacent back internal surface of the metal housing, the internal topography of this closely-adjacent internal metal surface is profiled to complement the topography of the adjacent circuit components, thus providing generally the same spacing between all circuit components and the back internal surface of the housing. A plurality of resilient heat-transferring pads, all having a common thickness, are then located between the closely adjacent internal metal surface and the adjacent surface of these circuit components. In this way, passive cooling of the second circuit board is improved. 
       
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING  
       [0034]    [0034]FIG. 1 shows a telecommunications system that includes the CST of this invention.  
         [0035]    [0035]FIG. 2 is a front view of a CST embodying the invention, this figure showing a manually-removable hinged cover that covers a lower inter-compartment that is within the CST, and this figure showing the housing two top-located mounting legs and one bottom-located mounting leg.  
         [0036]    [0036]FIG. 3 is a left-side view of the CST of FIG. 2 wherein the CST has been mounted on a vertically-extending wall, this figure showing an array of vertically-extending cooling fins that are located adjacent to the wall so as to generally coincide with the location of an upper inner compartment that is within the CST housing, this figure showing how the top surface of the housing top cover contains an upward-extending tab that extends into a slot that is carried by the top horizontally-extending wall of the housing, and this figure showing hinges that support the housing bottom cover.  
         [0037]    [0037]FIG. 4 is a section view that is taken along the line  4 - 4  of FIG. 2, this figure showing the housing top inner compartment that is sealed from the environment, this figure showing the housing lower inner compartment that is not sealed from the environment, this figure showing a horizontally-extending divider wall that is formed at the bottom of the top cover, this divider wall serving to define the lower wall of the housing upper inner compartment and the upper wall of the housing lower inner compartment, this figure showing a first printed circuit board that is mounted within the lower inner compartment so that the upper edge of the first printed circuit board extends into the upper inner compartment, and this figure showing a second circuit board that is mounted within the upper inner compartment, such that its lower edge overlies the upper edge of the first circuit board.  
         [0038]    [0038]FIG. 5 is a perspective section view that is similar to FIG. 4 wherein the second circuit board has been removed to show the internal topography of the housing back wall.  
         [0039]    [0039]FIG. 6 is an enlarged exploded view that shows a portion of the housing back wall, the outer surface of this back wall containing cooling fins and the inner surface of this back wall containing three raised topography portions that correspond to the location of three heat-generating circuit components that are carried by boarder, or edge portions of the second circuit board, the three circuit components extending varying distances toward this inner surface, and showing three heat-transmitting and resilient pads that separate each circuit component from its complementary topographic housing portion.  
         [0040]    [0040]FIG. 7 is a figure similar to FIG. 2 wherein the housing bottom cover has been removed to expose a Telco-type first circuit board within the housing lower inner compartment, this type of first circuit board being for indoor use.  
         [0041]    [0041]FIG. 8 is a figure similar to FIG. 2 wherein the housing bottom cover has been removed to expose a Reltec-type first circuit board within the housing lower inner compartment, this type of first circuit board being primarily intended for outdoor use but also being usable indoors.  
         [0042]    [0042]FIG. 9 is a front perspective view of the Telco-type printed circuit board of FIG. 7.  
         [0043]    [0043]FIG. 10 is a front view of the Reltec-type printed circuit board of FIG. 8.  
         [0044]    [0044]FIG. 11 shows a weather-resistant insulation displacement connector of the type that is used on the indoor/outdoor first circuit board of FIGS. 8 and 10.  
         [0045]    [0045]FIG. 12 shows a weather-resistant insulation displacement connector of the type shown in FIG. 11 wherein the connector includes a gas tube-type surge protection portion.  
         [0046]    [0046]FIG. 13 shows a sealing gasket that may be provided along the three outer edges of the CST top cover at a location that is intermediate the top cover and a base portion of the housing, to thereby seal the housing upper inner compartment from the environment. 
     
    
     DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS  
       [0047]    [0047]FIG. 1 is a non-limiting example of a single line input telecommunications system  10  wherein a CST  12  in accordance with the present invention finds utility.  
         [0048]    Telecommunications input to system  10  is provided by way of a Symmetrical Digital Subscriber Line (SDSL)  11 . CST  12  is a scalable integrated access device (AID) that provides integrated voice and data services to a customer&#39;s premises over SDSL  11 .  
         [0049]    CST  12  operates upon SDSL telephone wire input  11  to provide a plurality of analog telephone wire outputs  13  that are adapted to be connected to a like plurality of conventional telephone terminals or handsets (not shown). CST  12  also operates on input  11  to provide at least one digital telephone wire output  14  to at least one digital data terminal (not shown).  
         [0050]    SDSL  11  is a type of Digital Subscriber Line (DSL) that is similar to high-bit rate HDSL wherein a single twisted pair line carries 1.544 Mbps (U.S. and Canada) or 2.048 Mbps (Europe) in each direction on a duplex line that is symmetric because the data rate is the same in both directions.  
         [0051]    DSL is a technology for bringing high bandwidth information to homes and small businesses over ordinary copper telephone lines wherein xDSL refers to different variations of DSL, such as, but not limited to, ADSL, CDSL, HDSL, IDSL, RADSL, SDLS, UDSL, and VDSL. A DSL can carry both data and voice signals wherein the data part of the line is continuously connected.  
         [0052]    While telecommunications system  10  will be described as having a SDSL input  11 , input  11  can be virtually any type of DSL.  
         [0053]    Grounded input power is applied to CST  12  by a 24 VDC telephone wire  15 . As shown by dotted line  16 , this 24 VDC power  15  is optionally supplied by a first wall-mounted power supply  20  or by a second wall-mounted battery pack power supply  21  as described in above-mentioned U.S. non-provisional patent application Serial No. 09/872,382 filed Jun. 1, 2001, incorporated herein by reference.  
         [0054]    Power supply  20  is of a type that receives a high-voltage input, such as 110 VAC input  22 , and operates to supply a low-voltage output, such as 24 VDC, on telephone wire  23 .  
         [0055]    Battery pack power supply  21  includes a first component  24  that operates similar to power supply  20 . That is, as long as 110 VAC input  25  to power supply  24  remains active, 24 VDC telephone wire output  26  of component  24  remains active. In addition, battery pack power supply  21  includes a manually-replaceable 24 VDC battery pack  27  that constitutes an eight-hour backup power supply for component  24 .  
         [0056]    Circuitry within component  24  operates to activate a battery state indicator  30  in accordance with the state of charge of 24 VDC battery pack  24 , and operates to activate another indicator  31  in accordance with the active/inactive state of 110 VAC input  25 .  
         [0057]    Power supply  21  is constructed and arranged so that when indicator  30  indicates the need to manually remove and replace the 24 VDC battery pack  27  that is currently resident on base  32 , and when indicator  31  indicates that 110 VAC input  25  is active, that particular battery pack  27  can be removed and replaced with a fully-charged battery pack  27 . As long as 110 VAC input  25  to battery pack power supply  21  remains active, this removal and replacement of battery packs  27  does not interrupt the operation of CST  12 .  
         [0058]    In this construction and arrangement of telecommunications system  10 , all wiring, with the exception of 110 VDC inputs  22  and  25 , is American Wire Gage telephone wiring that is readily available to telecommunications workers who are building or connecting system  10 , as is described in above-described U.S. non-provisional patent application Serial No. 09/872,084 filed May 31, 2001, incorporated herein by reference.  
         [0059]    CST  12  and power supply  20  or power supply  21  are adapted to be mounted in relatively close proximity to each other; for example, inside on a wall  33 . Optionally, housing of CST  12  is constructed and arranged for mounting outside.  
         [0060]    In the event of a failure of CST  12  to support service to output analog telephone lines  13  and output Ethernet line  14 , a lifeline  111  is provided to support party-line type service to analog telephones that are connected to telephone lines  13 . This party-line type service is such that the first of the analog telephones to go off-hook captures lifeline  111 . During use of lifeline  111  by this first user, other users of analog telephones that subsequently go off-hook can determine that lifeline  111  is busy by hearing the conversation of the first user.  
         [0061]    In an embodiment of the invention, DC power input  15  and  23 , or  15  and  26  was a two conductor line, SDSL line  11  was a four conductor line, lifeline  111  was a two conductor line, Ethernet line  14  was a four conductor line, and each of the analog telephone lines  13  were two conductor lines.  
         [0062]    [0062]FIG. 2 is a front view of FIG. 1 CST  12 .  
         [0063]    CST  12  includes a metal, box-like housing  40 , preferably aluminum, having a manually-removable hinged cover  41  that covers a lower inter-compartment  42  (see FIG. 4) that is within housing  40 . The back surface  43  of housing  40  (see FIG. 4) includes at least two top-disposed mounting legs  44  and  45 , and at least one bottom-disposed mounting leg  46 .  
         [0064]    As shown in FIG. 3, the three triangle-disposed mounting legs  44 - 46  are used to mount housing  40  onto the flat and vertical inside or outside surface  47  of a wall or partition  48 .  
         [0065]    Without limitation thereto, housing  40  has a vertical height of about 17.625-inches and a horizontal width of about 8.3-inches, housing  40  is about 4.25-inches deep, and the three mounting legs  44 - 46  are about 0.75-inches long, thus providing a relatively thin and upwardly-extending air space  53  (see FIG. 3) between the back surface  43  of housing  40  and the adjacent surface  47  of wall  48 .  
         [0066]    As will be apparent, heat-generating electronic or electrical components that are within housing  40  are placed in thermal contact with the housing back surface  43  to provide for an efficient transfer of heat to back surface  43  and then to a flow of air that passes through the upward-extending air space  53  that exists between the back surface  43  of housing  40  and the adjacent surface  47  of wall  48 .  
         [0067]    Lower cover  41  is supported by two hinges  49  and  50  that are constructed and arranged such that lower cover  41  can be manually-removable from hinge pins  52  (see FIGS. 7 and 8) that are carried by the box-shaped base portion  51  of housing  40 .  
         [0068]    [0068]FIG. 3 is a left-side view of housing  40  wherein housing  40  has been mounted on the surface  47  of vertically-extending wall  48 . FIG. 3 shows a rectangular array of cooling fins  55  that extend out from the back surface  43  of housing  40 , so as to be located adjacent to, but out of physical contact with, the surface  47  of wall  48 . Fin array  55  is cooled by air that flows through air space  53 , this air flow being induced by buoyancy forces and by the close proximity of the back surface  43  of housing  40  to the wall mounting surface  47 . In this manner, heat-generating components that are in thermal flow contact with the back surface  43  of housing  40  are passively cooled.  
         [0069]    By way of a non-limiting example, in an embodiment of the invention cooling fin array  55  was a row/column array having seven horizontal rows and nineteen vertical columns. The center-to-center horizontal spacing of the cooling fin columns was about 0.4-inch, the center-to-center vertical spacing of the cooling fin rows was about 1.0-inch, each of the fins  55  had a vertical length of about 0.75-inches and a horizontal width of about 0.2-inches, and each of the fins extended about 0.4-inch from the housing back surface  43  toward the surface  47  of wall  48 .  
         [0070]    Preferably, the construction and arrangement of the housing back surface  43 , legs  44 - 46 , and fin array  55  (see FIG. 3) is such that this upward flow of air is a laminar flow of air.  
         [0071]    The array of cooling fins  55  is positioned on the back surface  43  of housing  40  so as to generally coincide with the location of an upper inner-compartment  60  that is contained within housing  40 .  
         [0072]    In the case of a housing  40  that is mounted outside, fin array  55  is contained within air space  53  in a manner to be essentially shielded from the heating effects of the sun; i.e., fin array  55  is shaded by housing  40 . Preferably, housing  40  is of a light color (for example, bare aluminum) so as to minimize the heating effect of the sun.  
         [0073]    The top surface  61  of the housing top cover  62  contains an upward-extending tab  63  that extends into a slot  64  (see FIG. 2) that is carried by the top horizontally-extending wall  65  of housing  40 .  
         [0074]    [0074]FIG. 3 also provides a side view of the two hinges  49  and  50  that support the housing bottom cover  41 .  
         [0075]    [0075]FIG. 4 is a section view that is taken along the line  4 - 4  of FIG. 2. FIG. 4 shows the housing top inner compartment  60  that is sealed from the environment, as well as the housing lower inner compartment  42  that is generally not sealed.  
         [0076]    The top inner compartment  60  is completed by a horizontally-extending divider wall  165  that is formed at the bottom of top cover  62 . The extending edge  66  of divider wall  165  is screw fastened to the back surface  43  of housing  40 , as is shown at  265  in FIGS. 7 and 8. Divider wall  165  serves to define the lower wall of the housing upper inner compartment  60 , and the upper wall of the housing lower inner compartment  42 .  
         [0077]    If desired, and as shown in FIG. 13, a downward-facing or inverted U-shaped gasket  90  may be provided along the top horizontal edge and the two vertical side edges of top cover  62  that engage the housing base portion  51  thus more effectively sealing upper inner-compartment  60  from the environment.  
         [0078]    [0078]FIG. 4 also shows a first circuit board  67  that is located in lower inner-compartment  42  of housing  40  (also see FIG. 10).  
         [0079]    As best seen in FIG. 5, first circuit board  67  includes an upper edge portion  68  that extends upward and into the housing upper inner compartment  60 . The upper edge portion  68  of first circuit board  67  carries an upward-facing strip connector  69  Note that first circuit board  67  is a relatively thin and planar member that is screw mounted to the back surface  43  of housing  40 , and whose plane lies relatively close to, and generally parallel to, the back surface  43  of housing  40 .  
         [0080]    [0080]FIG. 4 also shows a second or main circuit board  70  that is totally contained within the housing upper inner compartment  60 . The lower edge portion  71  of second circuit board  70  carries a downward-facing strip connector  72  that mates with the upward-facing strip connector  69  that is carried by the upper edge portion  68  of first circuit board  67 . Note that second circuit board  70  is also a relatively thin and planar member that is screw-mounted to the back surface  43  of housing  40 , and whose plane extends generally parallel to, and above, the plane that is occupied by first circuit board  67 .  
         [0081]    In the process of manufacturing CST  12 , first circuit board  67  is first mounted within the housing lower inner compartment  42 . Second circuit board  70  is then mounted within the housing upper inner compartment  60 . This mounting of second circuit board  70  effects an electrical connection between strip connector  69  and strip connector  72 .  
         [0082]    The back surface  43  of housing  40  includes positioning posts (not shown) upon which the first and second circuit boards  67  and  70  rest, these positioning posts being useful in achieving the proper planar positioning of the two circuit boards during assembly of circuit boards  67  and  70  to housing  40 . Circuit boards  67  and  70  may include positioning holes that facilitate locating the circuit boards within housing  40 ; for example, see positioning holes  167  in FIGS. 9 and 10.  
         [0083]    [0083]FIG. 5 is a perspective view that is similar to FIG. 4 wherein the second circuit board  70  has been removed to show the internal topography  75  of the housing back wall or surface  43 . This internal topography  75  provides an optimum heat flow path between circuit components that are carried by second circuit board  70  and cooling fin array  55 .  
         [0084]    [0084]FIG. 6 is an enlarged exploded view that shows a portion of the housing back wall  43 , the outer surface  76  of back wall  43  containing cooling fin array  55 . The inner surface  77  of back wall  43  contains a number of inwardly-extending topography portions  78 ,  79  and  80  that correspond to the location of a like number of heat-generating circuit components  81 ,  82  and  83  that are carried by boarder or edge portions of second circuit board  70 .  
         [0085]    These three circuit components  81 - 83  extend varying distances toward the inner surface  77  of the back surface  43  of housing  40 . The mating topography portions  79 - 80  that are contained on the inner surface  77  of back wall  43  respectively complement these varying distances.  
         [0086]    Within the spirit and scope of the invention, the manufacturing tolerances of topographic portions  78 - 80  and circuit components  81 - 83  may be such as to place these respective members generally in physical engagement. However, as a feature of the invention, and in order to enhance the heat flow from circuit components  81 - 83  to mating ones of the topographic portions  78 - 80 , each of the three mating topography portions  79 - 80  contain at least one resilient heat-transmitting pad  85  that is secured (as by using glue) to the top surface  86  of each of the three topographic portions  79 - 80 .  
         [0087]    When second circuit board  70  is fastened into position within the upper inner compartment  60  of housing  40 , each of the three pads  85  is somewhat compressed, thus ensuring a good heat flow path between a circuit component  81 - 83  and its mating topographic portion  78 - 80 .  
         [0088]    [0088]FIG. 7 is a figure similar to FIG. 2 wherein the housing bottom cover  41  has been removed to expose a Telco-type first circuit board  267  within the housing lower inner compartment  42 , this type of first circuit board being for indoor use of CST  12 , and this type of first circuit board having a Telco connector  268 .  
         [0089]    Telco circuit board  267  is also shown in FIG. 9 wherein four holes  167  are shown. Holes  167  cooperate with four positioning posts that are carried within the lower inner compartment of housing of CST  12 , and these holes aid in the proper positioning of Telco circuit board  267  within the lower inner compartment.  
         [0090]    [0090]FIG. 8 is a figure similar to FIG. 2 wherein the housing bottom cover  41  has been removed to expose a Reltec-type first circuit board  67  within the housing lower inner compartment  42 , this type of first circuit board being primarily intended for outdoor use, but also being usable indoors.  
         [0091]    In accordance with a feature of the invention, and in case of the Reltec-type circuit board  67  of FIG. 8, all wiring connections to the circuit board are made by way of insulation displacement connectors  100 , one of which is shown in greater detail in FIG. 11. Insulation displacement connectors  100  do not require wire stripping. Rather a two-position, two wire, clamp  101  is first manually pulled upward, and the insulated ends of two wires  102  are then inserted into holes that are now exposed in wire clamp  101 . Wire clamp  101  is then manually pushed downward until the top of the wire clamp  101  is level with the other wire clamps  101 . This operation operates to mechanically secure wires  102  to the insulation displacement connector, and to provide an electrical connection to the metal leads that are generally centered within wires  102 .  
         [0092]    In accordance with another feature of the present invention, at least some of the insulation displacement connectors  100  carried by Reltec-type circuit board  67  are constructed and arranged to provide primary voltage surge protection to CST  12 ; for example, protection from a lightening strike, this protection being provided by gas tube-type protection block  103  in FIG. 12.  
         [0093]    The present invention has been described in detail while making reference to embodiments thereof. However, this detailed description is not to be taken as a limitation on the spirit and scope of this invention.