Device for inducing a wink in a telephone system

DETAILED DESCRIPTION It is accordingly an object of the present invention to overcome the drawbacks of the prior art.
It is accordingly a further object of the invention to provide a portable unit which can acknowledge receipt of a line seizure by emitting a wink.
To this end, the present invention is directed toward an adaptor ("the WINK adaptor") which can be connected into a communication system to simulate the presence of a PBX such that the central office will respond to the WINK adaptor as if an operational PBX device is connected to the telephone line.
According to an embodiment of the invention, there is provided an adaptor for simulating the presence of a PBX device, including a connecting mechanism connects to an external line.
A detecting mechanism detects a seizure of the external line.
An inducing mechanism induces a wink responsive to the seizure.
A linking mechanism links to a test apparatus.
A routing mechanism routes an AC component of signals received over the external line to the linking mechanism.
In a feature of the above embodiment, the inducing mechanism includes a switch which connects two voltage potentials to the connecting mechanism.
The switch reverses a polarity of the two voltage potentials relative to the linking mechanism to generate the wink responsive to the seizure.
In a further feature of the above embodiment, the detecting mechanism includes a first RC circuit having at least one resistor and one capacitor.
In a further feature of the above embodiment, the inducing mechanism includes a second RC circuit connected to the switch, the second RC circuit having at least one resistor and at least one capacitor.
According to another embodiment of the invention, there is provided an adaptor for simulating the presence of a PBX device, including first and second inputs for connection to an external line.
A relay having a coil connects the first and second inputs to first and second voltage terminals when the coil is inactive, and connects the second and first inputs to the first and second voltage terminals to induce a wink when the coil is energized