Patent ID: 7035073

Claim:
A central office surge protector comprising: a tip element, the tip element comprising a tip arm and a tip lead that are electrically connected, the tip element further includes a first tip pin and a second tip pin that are configured for plugging into a socket; a ring element, the ring element comprising a ring arm and a ring lead that are electrically connected, the ring element further includes a first ring pin and a second ring pin that are configured for plugging into a socket; a ground element, the ground element having a ground lead and a pin, the ground pin being configured for plugging into a socket; a three element gas tube, the three element gas tube having a longitudinal axis that is arranged generally parallel to a longitudinal axis of the central office surge protector, the three element gas tube having a first electrode in electrical contact with the tip lead, a second electrode in electrical contact with the ring lead, and a ground electrode in electrical contact with the ground lead, wherein the three element gas tube has a DC breakdown voltage and an impulse breakdown voltage, the impulse breakdown voltage being higher than the DC breakdown voltage; and at least one varistor; wherein the at least one varistor and the at least one gas tube are electrically connected in parallel to the ground element, the at least one varistor having a clamping voltage at 1 mA being set such that the varistor will lower the impulse breakdown voltage of the three element gas tube yet not burn out in response to surge voltages within a predetermined range of DC breakdown voltages.