COAXIAL SURGE PROTECTOR HAVING THERMAL FAIL-SAFE SHUNT

摘要

A coaxial surge protector includes a housing connected to a transmission line (10) in the form of a two-sided printed circuit board (20). The surge protector includes input and output signal connectors (12 and 14) mounted on a housing and connected to the transmission line (10), and a gas discharge tube (16) electrically coupled between the transmission line and circuit ground. A thermally activated shunt assembly (18) is thermally coupled to the gas discharge tube (16) and senses when the gas discharge tube (16) is in an overvoltage condition. Upon such condition, the shunt assembly provides an electrically conductive shunt in parallel with the gas discharge tube (16) to divert current flowing through the gas discharge tube (16) to flow through the shunt assembly to ground in order to minimize further overheating of the gas discharge tube (16).