Patent ID: 7402892

Claim:
An assembly for receiving at least one surge protector, comprising: at least two metal protector pin connectors disposed on a printed circuit board for receiving and electrically connecting one or more pins of the at least one surge protector; at least one communication line connector on the printed circuit board for electrically connecting to a communication line; at least one trace within or on the printed circuit board and having at least one run generally in a plane through which one or more of said pins of the surge protector pass when received into said protector pin connector, the trace electrically connecting one of said protector pin connectors to the communication line connector; and at least one trace within or on the printed circuit board electrically connecting one of said protector pin connectors to ground, said at least one trace shorting a transient current to ground when the transient current exceeds a threshold level, wherein the at least one trace includes at least two conductive runs that are electrically coupled in parallel and disposed on a separate layer on or within the printed circuit board.