Patent ID: 8406583

Claim:
A fiber optic jack, comprising: a first port configured to accept insertion of a counterpart fiber optic connector; a second port configured to accept insertion of a counterpart fiber optic connector; and a third port configured to accept insertion of a counterpart fiber optic connector, wherein the fiber optic jack is configured such that, when in a normal mode of operation, there exists an optical path between the first port and the second port such that an optical beam inserted into the fiber optic jack via a counterpart optical connecter inserted into the first port will arrive at the second port substantially unattenuated, but in the normal mode of operation no such optical path exists between the first port and the third port, the fiber optic jack is further configured such that, when in an interrupt mode of operation, there exists an optical path between the first port and the third port such that an optical beam inserted into the fiber optic jack via a counterpart optical connecter inserted into the first port will arrive at the third port substantially unattenuated, but in the interrupt mode of operation no such optical path exists between the first port and the second port, and the fiber optic jack is operable to transition from the normal mode of operation to the interrupt mode of operation in response to the insertion of a counterpart fiber optic connector into the third port.