Patent Publication Number: US-6981892-B1

Title: Combination telephony and cable jack interface

Description:
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
   Not Applicable. 
   STATEMENT REGARDING FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH OR DEVELOPMENT 
   Not Applicable. 
   REFERENCE TO A MICROFICHE APPENDIX 
   Not Applicable. 
   BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
   1. Technical Field 
   This invention relates to telephone jacks and, more particularly, to a telephony and cable jack interface for allowing a user to switch telephony service between cable and telephony service providers without rewiring internal jack connections. 
   2. Prior Art 
   Telephony jacks are a common fixture in most homes and businesses for covering connections to telephony service providers mounted within walls. Such service providers often include local telephone or cable networks, which include distinct wiring for bringing a signal into a residence. The connections are made within the walls that are coupled to existing terminals provided by the telephony and cable companies. Open ends of the jacks are accessible through outlets formed therein for making the connections to the select networks. The outlets are provided on the outer surface of the wall plates and cover both the telephony and cable network terminals disposed in the walls. 
   As a result, similarly sized telephone jacks are used for both cable and telephony terminals. When a resident subscribes to their service provider of choice, they will receive telephone capabilities either through their local telephony company or local cable company. Of course, such service providers require different terminal connections to the telephone jacks, which must be activated through a telephony box or cable box located outside the residence. 
   For example, apartment buildings periodically acquire new tenants who may choose different service providers on a regular basis. Rewiring the existing phone jack to accommodate a new provider can result in substantial service fees to the consumer and is cumbersome because the consumer has to schedule an appointment with a technician and then take time off from work to meet the technician at the residence. 
   Accordingly, a need remains for an easy to use combination telephony and cable jack interface so that a user can convert from one service provider to another without rewiring the existing outlets. 
   BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
   In view of the foregoing background, it is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a telephony and cable interface for eliminating the need to rewire connections when a user switches between a local telephone company and a cable company. These and other objects, features, and advantages of the invention are provided by a combination phone and cable jack interface including a base member having a substantially planar rear portion and a plurality of sidewalls integral therewith and extending orthogonally therefrom for defining a cavity therein. 
   The interface further includes a faceplate having substantially planar front and rear portions. The faceplate further has a perimeter equal to a perimeter of the base member for enclosing the cavity and a plurality of apertures formed therein for receiving fastening members therethrough so that the faceplate can be removably secured to the base member. 
   The interface further includes a mechanism for selectively toggling a telephony jack connection between a telephony service provider and a cable service provider so that a user can obtain telephony service from either service provider without needing to remove the jack from a wall outlet and internally rewiring the telephony jack connection. 
   The toggling mechanism includes a first port electrically coupled to a cable service provider network. The first port interfaces an external telephony line with the cable network. A second port is electrically coupled to a telephony service provider network for interfacing an external telephony line with a telephony network. 
   The toggling mechanism further includes a jumper cable electrically coupled to the first port and removably connectable to the second port wherein the external telephony line receives telecommunication signals from the telephony network when the jumper cable is electrically coupled to the second port. Alternately, the external telephony line receives telecommunication signals from the cable network when the jumper cable is removed from the second port. The jumper cable includes a plurality of wires connected to a plurality of corresponding wires associated with the cable network and is disposed partially exterior of the base section so that a user can readily toggle the interface between cable and telephony operating modes. 

   
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWING 
     The novel features believed to be characteristic of this invention are set forth with particularity in the appended claims. The invention itself, however, both as to its organization and method of operation, together with further objects and advantages thereof, may best be understood by reference to the following description taken in connection with the accompanying drawings in which: 
       FIG. 1  is a perspective view showing a combination telephony jack and cable jack interface, in accordance with the present invention; 
       FIG. 2  is a front elevational view of the interface shown in  FIG. 1 ; 
       FIG. 3  is a schematic block diagram illustrating the connections between the present invention and a cable/telephony service provider; and 
       FIG. 4  is a schematic diagram illustrating the terminal connections between the present invention and a cable/telephony service provider. 
   

   DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
   The present invention will now be described more fully hereinafter with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which a preferred embodiment of the invention is shown. This invention may, however, be embodied in many different forms and should not be construed as limited to the embodiment set forth herein. Rather, this embodiment is provided so that this application will be thorough and complete, and will fully convey the true scope of the invention to those skilled in the art. Like numbers refer to like elements throughout the figures. 
   The apparatus of this invention is referred to generally in  FIGS. 1–4  by the reference numeral  10  and is intended to provide a combination telephony and cable jack interface. Initially referring to  FIG. 1 , the interface  10  includes a base member  11  having a substantially planar rear portion  12  and a plurality of sidewalls  13  integral therewith and extending orthogonally therefrom for defining a cavity therein. 
   The interface  10  further includes a faceplate  14  having substantially planar front  15  and rear  16  portions. The faceplate  14  further has a perimeter equal to a perimeter of the base member  11  for enclosing the cavity and a plurality of apertures  17  formed therein for receiving fastening members  18  therethrough so that the faceplate  14  can be removably secured to the base member  11 . The faceplate  14  is easily removed by a user in the event internal repairs need to be made. 
   The interface  10  further includes a mechanism  20  for selectively toggling a telephony jack connection between a telephony service provider and a cable service provider so that a user can obtain telephony service from either service provider without needing to remove the jack from a wall outlet and internally rewiring the telephony jack connection. This enables a user to switch service providers without incurring substantial service costs associated with rewiring existing telephone service providers. 
   Now referring to  FIG. 2 , the toggling mechanism  20  includes a first port  21  electrically coupled to a cable service provider network  23 . The first port  21  interfaces an external telephony line  22  with the cable network  23 . A second port  24  is electrically coupled to a telephony service provider network  25  for interfacing an external telephony line  22  with a telephony network  25 . 
   Still referring to  FIG. 2 , the toggling mechanism  20  further includes a jumper cable  27  electrically coupled to the first port  21  and removably connectable to the second port  24  wherein the external telephony line  22  receives telecommunication signals from the telephony network  25  when the jumper cable  27  is electrically coupled to the second port  24 , as shown in  FIG. 3 . The external telephony line  22  receives telecommunication signals from the cable network  23  when the jumper cable  27  is removed from the second port  24 , as shown in  FIG. 4 . 
   Alternately, the jumper cable  27  includes a plurality of wires  28  connected to a plurality of corresponding wires  29  associated with the cable network  23 . The jumper cable  27  is disposed partially exterior of the base member  11  so that a user can readily toggle the interface  10  between cable and telephony operating modes without having to remove the faceplate  14 . 
   While the invention has been described with respect to a certain specific embodiment, it will be appreciated that many modifications and changes may be made by those skilled in the art without departing from the spirit of the invention. It is intended, therefore, by the appended claims to cover all such modifications and changes as fall within the true spirit and scope of the invention. 
   In particular, with respect to the above description, it is to be realized that the optimum dimensional relationships for the parts of the present invention may include variations in size, materials, shape, form, function and manner of operation. The assembly and use of the present invention are deemed readily apparent and obvious to one skilled in the art.