AU621566B2 - A device to suspend and string conductors on low, medium, high and extra high transmission lines - Google Patents

Description

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OPI

WORLD

DATE 01/06/89 APPLN- I D 24814 888

PCT'

P AT 6 PCT NUMBER PCT/EP88/0085 INTERNATIONAL APPLICATI U ribi U t1 CUUPFKAlUN IKhAIY (UCN)

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(51) laternationl Patent Classificatio 4 (11) International Publication Number: WO 89/ 04560 HO2G 1/04 A l (43) International Publication Date: 18 May 1989 (18.05.89) (21) International Application Number: PCT/EP88/00859 (81) Designated States: AT (European patent), AU, BE (European patent), BG, BR, CH (Europer i patent), DE 9 (22) International Filing Date: 23 September 1988 (23.09.88) (31) Priority Application Number: 48558 A/87 (European patent), DK, FI, FR (European patent), GB (European patent), HU, IT (European patent), JP, KP, KR, LU (European patent), NL (European patent), NO, RO, SE (European patent), SU, US.

Published With international search report.

(32) Priority Date: (33) Priority Country: 30 October 1987 (30.10.87) (71) Applicant (for all designated States except US): TE- SAUT S.P.A. [IT/IT]; Via Cervino, 1/B, 1-00141 Roma

(IT).

(72) Inventor; and Inventor/Applicant (for US only) SARACINI, Alessandro [IT/IT]; Via della Camilluccia, 647, 1-00135 Roma

(IT).

(74) Agent: PAGGIONI, Giovanmaria; Fumero Studio Consulenza Brevetti, Via S. Agnese, 12, 1-20123 Milano (IT).

i b (54) Title: A DEVICE TO SUSPEND AND STRING CONDUCTORS ON LOW, MEDIUM, HIGH AND EXTRA HIGH TRANSMISSION LINES 2 4 <A 4 2'

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(57) Abstract Suspension device for the stringing of electric conductors and/or cables for overhead power lines, of the type comprising a suspension frame, to be anchored to a crossarm of a tower of the line, and means for the support and sliding of the conductors and/or cables, said support and sliding means comprising, for each conductor or cable, a plurality of support rollers rotating about parallel pins, said rollers being aligned one after the other along a curved trajectory and defining an ideal support and sliding surface for the conductor or cable. According to the invention, the support rollers for each conductor are divided in two groups forming two semi-sectors; the two semi-sectors supporting each conductor are mounted on the suspension frame in specular symmetry in respect of the central vertical suspension axis of said frame, said two semi-sectors being mutually spaced; lifting and lowering meavs are moreover associated to said semi-sectors, to move the semi-sectors in a substantially vertical direction.

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i h_ SO 89/04560 PCT/EP88/00859 89/04560 P P88/0859 I 1 A DEVICE TO SUSPEND AND STRING CONDUCTORS ON LOW. MEDIUM.

HIGH, AND EXTRA HIGH TRANSMISSION LINES The invention relates to a suspension device that allows to support and string conductors on low. medium, high, and extra high transmission lines.

It is well known to the experts in the art of power lines construction that the stringing and clamping-in procedures usually comprise the following operations: position one pulley per each crossarm of each tower and suspend each of said pulleys from the strings of insulators hanging from each crossarm, lay on the ground one service cable per each phase of the power line according to the layout of the towers, lift and position each service cable on each respective pulley, tension each of said service cables from one end by means of a winch and from the other end by means of a brake, pull the service cables by means of said winch, and replace each service cable with a conductor and/or a larger draw cable if a bundle of conductors has to be positioned per each phase of the line, position all conductors and/or bundles of conductors on their respective pulleys, while keeping said conductors and/or bundles of conductors always under tension and therefore always raised from the ground, -pull the conductors and/or bundlesof conductors by I I. WO 89/04560 PCT/EP88/00859 means of said winch till they reach the prescribed degree of tension (pre-sagging) (if longitudinal unbalances are present the pre-sagging of the conductors at this stage cannot be the equal to the final and correct sagging), if longitudinal unbalances are present, due to the fact that the power line is crossing mauntains and/or the distance between towers is not constant, calculate said longitudinal unbalances, and mark the plumb-point on each conductor so that once the conductors have been clamped-in to said insulators, the insulators will be plumbed and the conductors sagged, temporarily lift, by means of one or more tackles, the conductor and/or each conductor of a bundle from the grooves of a pulley, remove said pulley, clamp-in the conductor and/or conductors to the insulators, and once all conductors have been clamped-in to the insulators of all towers between the brake and the winch, control, and often adjust, the sagging of said conductors.

It is to be understood that when longitudinal unbalances are present, before the crews can proceed with the last described operation, that is to say before they can clampin the conductors, said tackles have to be used not only to lift the conductors from the pulleys, but also to pull said conductors, with repeated operations, in order to recover the calculated differences between the "rest" position of the conductors on the pulley and the final clamp-in

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i r 3 r points. This additional operation has to be carried out with absolute accuracy so that once said conductors have been clamped-in to the insulators of all towers between the brake and the winch, said insulators will remain perfectly plumbed, and only vertical loads will be imposed to the crossarms of suspension towers.

There are many difficulties related to the stringing of power lines and while some of them, particularly those relating to the positioning of the service cables on the towers, have been faced and solved for example as described in the U.S. patent 4.596.379 (Europe N.56285) of the same assignee, that patent can be referred to for a better understanding of state of the art of the different stringing methods, the problems relating to the clamping-in of the conductors to the clamps of the insulation chain and plumbing operations, have been faced, but not solved.

The difficulties relating to the clamping-in of the conductors to the insulators, as partially explained, are the following: i. stringing conductors on angle towers, that is to say on towers which cause the conductors to run on different vertical planes, causes the pulleys to be displaced to a non-vertical position. The displacement of the pulleys, in its turn, causes the conductors to cross the grooves of the pulley. In fact, while the two catenaries adjacent to the tower are ps22/5448tesaut.res 91 12 4 ig 9- WO 89/04560 PCT/EP88/00859 contained on perfectly vertical planes, the plane on which the pulley sheaves rotate is (in these cases) always sloped. Consequently, the conductors simultaneously touch the grooves of the pulley in points with different peripheral speeds undergoing continuous abrasions and torsions which should not be allowed in order to preserve their integrity.

2. When longitudinal unbalances are not present, the poi-.nts where the conductors rest in the grooves of the pulleys coincide with the points where the suspension clamps have to be inserted for clampingin. Consequently, said points of the conductors cannot be accessed by the crews for clamping-in without first having to temporarely lift said conductors and remove the pulleys.

3. When longitudinal unbalances are present, the clamping-in points do not coincide with the points where the conductors rest in the grooves of said pulleys, but on the contrary they often are various meters away from said rest-points. In these cases, the final sagging, clamping-in, and plumbing operations always require the processing of complicated calculations and the execution of difficult operations to be carried out exclusively on the towers in order to: recover said longitudinal unbalances on line U i f TS-

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S' O 89/04560 PCT/EP88/00859 towers, recover said longitudinal unbalances even on angle towers while for example also compensating for the different lengths of the conductors in a bundle, and clamp-in the conductors according to a specific geometric configuration. In addition to the complicated operations required to undo said longitudinal balances, these cases too always require to first temporarely lift the conductors from the pulleys, using numerous and supplementary pieces of equipment, and then remove the pulleys before clampingin.

4. The sagging, plumbing, and clamping-in operations briefly described in point 3, can get to be so complicated that in the end, many times, they turn out to be mostly trial and error operations. Many times, after the conductors have been clamped-in to all towers, said conductors will still be not perfectly sagged. In these cases the crews will have to go back from tower to tower and adjust the clampLin points till said conductors will be perfectly sagged and all insulators perfectly plumbed.

In the Italian patent N.1191291, of the same assignee, the problems and difficulties listed in points 1 and 2 had been dealt with through the use of common pulley sheaves which had been mounted specularly on a special frame. Even .r

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WO 89/04560 PCT/EP88/00859, though said pulley-units in theory partially solved some of the mentioned inconviniences and difficulties, they required the use of many pulley sheaves having diameter at least equal to 80 cm.. The number of pulley sheaves required was more than double the number of conductors in a bundle, in fact for example in the described case of a bundle of eight conductors the pulley-unit was composed by twenty pulley sheaves, sixteen of which had diameter equal to 8C) cm.. The number of pulley sheaves, their diameter, and the heavy structure of the frame added up to an enormous increase of the weight, size, and manufacturing costs of the whole unit. In addition, the weight and size of the unit also created considerable difficulties to transport it to the towers and suspend it from the insulators. Because of these reasons and other technical problems, the use of the pulley units described was completely inefficient, Uk(n\e-o=nomi c, aiRsoise i and unjustifiable.

The present invention offers the best and most practical solution to the difficulties listed in points from 1 to 4 and the technical and operative/economic problems related to the pulley-units described in the Italian patent N.1191291. The present invention relates to: 1) the general stringing method, because the clamping-in and sagging operations have been substantially changed and; 2) the structure of the suspension devices that allow to itring the service cables and/or conductors.

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WO 89/04560 PCr/EP88/00859 S7- The new structure of the suspension devices, according to the present invention, allows: 1) the conductors and/or cables to freely run on said devices while stringing, 2) the insulators to be automatically and perfectly plumbed and the conductors to be automatically and perfectly sagged without the nee. of manual interventions and/or counterweights, and 3) the conductors to be directly clamped-in without the need either lifting said conductors from their rest-position or. -temporary and supplementary equipment. All being accomplished while at the same time decreasing both the size and the weight of the suspension units. It is also to be noticed that the structure of the suspension units, according to the present invention, also allows to position all clamps necessary for the clamping-in operations within each suspension unit further decreasing work time, and further simplifing the job to be carried out by the crews.

It is well known, that pulleys and/or pulley units commonly used generally comprise: 1) a large suspension frame, to be suspended from the insulators often in correspondence of at least one the holes designed for recieving the suspension clamps, in other words often occupying at least one of the clamp-in points, and 2) one or more pulley sheaves.

The diameter of these pulley sheaves is usually very large, greater for example than 60 cm. and often even P, L U i r^H

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i PCT/EP88/00859 WO 89/04560 greater than 100 cm., in order to allow the conductors to run on said sheaves without bending too much. Because of the present trend of using conductors with larger diameters, the pulley sheaves are also tending to have larger diameters.

The just mentioned facts together with the tendency of using one bundle of conductors per each phase of the line, rather than one single conductor, are the reasons why the commonly used pulleys have become larger and heavier. In fact, the commonly used pulleys, for.example for a bundle of three conductors, weigh approximately 150-200 Kg., while the pulley unit for a bundle of eight conductors, described in the Italian patent N.1191291, weighs approximately 1,500 Kg., and/or about 500 Kg. in the not described case of a unit for three conductors. The weight of the commonly used pulleys and/or pulley units described in said patent is not only an inconvinience from the manufacturing/ cost point of view, but more than anything else from the point of view of their practical use on site. The pulleys and/or pulley units have to be transported along the power line, often in areas which cannot be reached by road and/or cross country vehicles, lifted and suspended from the insulators for stringing, and finally transported again to an other tower. It is quite obvious that when a pulley and/or pulley unit weights more than 150-200 Kg. and/or more than 500-1,500 Kg. the transportation and lifting problems can jl ;i z i i ;-t

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s ii ;B 'a 4r __Y1 -r S WO 89/04560 \PCT/EP88/00859 become particularly burdensome.

As mentioned earlier, an other serious problem related to the use of the common pulleys derives from the difficulty of clamping-in the conductors, both because of the reasons explained in points from 1 to 4, and because of the fact that often at least ons of the clamp-in points has been occupied by the frame of the pulley. If using the common pulleys for stringing is therefore necessary to first remove said pulleys from their suspension point and then clamp-in the conductors. For these operations, to be repeated for each pulley of each tower, the procedure is usually the following: first, temporarly lift the conductor and/or conductors, by means of one or more tackles and bring said conductor and/ or bundle of conductors in position to be clamped-in, secondly remove the pulley and bring it to the ground, and finally clamp-in the conductor and/or bundle of conductors to the insulators at the "right" points. These are very complicated operations particularly in consideration of the fact that the weight of each conductor to be temporarely lifted can easily be greater than 1,000 Kg. and/or greater than 2,000 Kg.. As mentioned earlier, it is important to understand that when longitudinal unbalances .are present the final clamp-in points of each conductor never correspond with the rest-points of said conductors on the pulleys, but can get to be even more than 10 m. away (down-hill.) from said rest-points. In these 1 1 S l WO 89/04560 cases the lift them attached to pulleys, in tors that complicated stress of PCT/EP88/00859 tackles that are applied on each conductor to from the grooves of the pulleys, have to be each conductor down-hill and far away from the order to recover said various meters of conduccause the insulators to be out-of-plumb. This operation also implies to impose a longitudinal thousands of kri-4\to each crossarm of many suspension towers, which are neither designed nor manufactured to resist to said longitudinal stress, but only to vertical loads.

Suspension systems of the type comprising a small frame and a plurality of rollers disposed in continuous sequence as one sector of a crown, have been described in the U.S.

patent #3145016 and in the French patents N.931675 and N.

1104834. The primary objects of these patents were: 1) for U.S. patent 3145016 to allow a sector of multiple pulley assemblage to automatically change the angle of load imposed on the conductors in order not to damage said conductors while stringing, 2) for the French patent N. 1104834 to reduce the weight and size of the suspension units and 3) for the French patent N. 931675 to be able to use the same suspension unit for stringing any size conductors manually changing the position of the wheels so as to vary the angle of loads imposed on different conductors. On the other hand, none of these devices was technically fitted to be practically used on site.

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WO 89/04560 PCT/EP88/00859 In addition, none of the listed patents allowed to either clamp-in the conductors directly (and at the right point) to the insulators without first having to remove the suspension units, or to string the conductors passing through transversal angles without damaging the conductors.

Moreover, none of the listed patents allowed to, automatically plumb the insulators and perfectly sag the conductors, and automatically position a bundle of conductors according to the prescribed geometric configuration, neither simultaneously on all towers between the brake and 4 the winch, nor with one or more operations without a direct intervention of the crews on the conductors themselves.

The primary object of the present invention is to solve all the listed problems and difficulties. In other words, the new suspension units, allow on one hand to maintain a reduced size and weight of the frames, and on the other hand: 1) to automatically plumb all insulators on all towers between the brake and the winch, 2) to automatically and perfectly sag the conductors particularly if longitudinal unbalances are present, 3) to automatically position a bundle of conductors according to the prescribed geometric configuration, and 4) to clamp-in the conductors without having to temporarily lift the conductors from the suspension units, and/or remove said suspension units.

These results are obtained with a device for the suspension and- stringing of conductors and/or cables for 4 symmetry in respect of the central vertical suspension axit of said frame, /2 i WO 89/04560 PCT/EP88/00859 overhead power lines of the type comprising a suspension frame, apt to be suspended from a crossarm of a tower of the line, and means for the support and sliding of the conductors and/or cables, said support and sliding means comprising, for each conductor and/or cable, a plurality of support rollers which, rotating about parallel pins, are aligned one after the other along a curved trajectory, said rollers defining an ideal support and sliding surface for each respective conductor and/or cable. The whole suspension device is essentially characterized by the fact that: the support rollers for each conductor are devided in two groups of rollers forming~w semi-sectors, the two semi-sectors comprising the support rollers for one conductor are mounted on the suspension frame in specular simmetry in respect of the central vertical axis of said suspension frame, said two sem.-sectors being mutually spaced, lifting and lowering means being also associated to the semi-sectors, to move said semi-sectors in a substantially vertical direction.

Other characteristics and advantages of the present invention will be more readily understandable after the following detailed description of some or the preferred embodiments and ways to achieve the mentioned results, illustrated, only as a way of example and not in limitative manner, in figures 1 to 20 where: i e I

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~i1 i 1 1 1 1 1 1 ~1 WO 89/04560 PCT/EP88/00859

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13figs. 1 to 4 are schematic lateral views of different s .of semi-sectors; fig. 5 illustrates in more detail one of the two semisectors illustrated in figs. 1 to 3; fig. 6 is a top view of the same semi-sector; fig. 7 is a lateral section (VII VII) of the semisector in fig. fig. 8 is oanother lateral section (VIII VIII) again of the same semi-sector; fig. 9 is a top view of a coplof semi-sectors fitted to be used on angle towers; fig. 10 is a lateral view of a semi-sector fitted with one geared-motor; fig.'ll is a partial section (XI XI) of fig. fig. 12 is a lateral view of more GGf~Ape of semisectors mounted on one special frame; fig. 13 is a front view of the suspension device illustrated in fig. 12; figs. 14 and 15 show a similar suspension device for stringing a bundle of three conductors on angle towers; fig. 16 is a top view illustrating the preferred dimensions and profiles of a series of rollers of one semisector of the type illustrated in fig. 4; fig. 17 is a schematic lateral view of the same semisector showing the disposition of said rollers; figs. 18 and 19 are two front views of the same semi- ,i mi !l the conductors and/or cables, said support and sliding means comprising, for each conductor or cable, a plurality of support rollers rotating about parallel pins, said rollers being aligned one after the other along a curved trajectory and defining an ideal support and sliding surface for the conductor or cable. According to the invention, the support rollers for each conductor are divided in two groups forming two semi-sectors; the two semi-sectors supporting each conductor are mounted on the suspension frame in specular symmetry in respect of the central vertical suspension axis of said frame, said two semi-sectors being mutually spaced; lifting and lowering meafi are moreover associated to said semi-sectors, to move the semi-sectors in a substantially vertical direction.

f WO 89/04560 PCT/EP88/00859* sector showing the position of the rotation axis of said rollers; fig. 20, is a lateral view of the preferred type of suspension frame for stringing a bundle of three conductors on both line and angle towers.

The first three possible variants, according to the present invention, of the device for the suspension of the cables and/or conductors are illustrated in figs. 1 to 3.

In these three figures the device is mounted on a frame and is substantially made up of Two series of rollers and which disposed, according to the first important characteristic of the present invention, so as to form two separate semi-sectors (SS1) and (SS2), are spaced specularly from one an other. It is to be noticed that by mounting more than one couple of semi-sector on each frame, the same frame can be used for the stringing and suspension of more than one cable and/or conductor The top of frame is connected to a special interface which is required to hang said frame from the lower end of one or more strings of insulators.

More partricularly, figure 1 shows that the two semisectors (SS1) and (SS2) are spaced from one an other by means of two connecting bars (P2)(only one can be seen).

The device, comprising the two semi-sectors and the two bars is mounted on said frame by means of slides that allow the parallel/vertical lifting and/or lower r WO 89/04560 PCT/EP88/00859 ring of the semi-sectors along the sides of frame Once the conductor has been clamped-in to the insulators (not shown), by inserting the clamp (not shown) in the central space between said semi-sectors, the two semisectors (SS1) and (SS2) can be unloaded of the weight of the conductor by acting on screws which control said slides Once the semi-sectors (SS1) and (SS2) have reached the position (illustrated with the dotted line), the whole suspension unit, including the frame, can be easily removed.

Figure 2 shows an alternative to plates (P2) and slides of figure 1. In this case, the two semi-sectors (SS1) and (SS2) are spaced by means of four plates (P4) hinged to points (6a) and of frame Once the conductor has been clamped-in, as explained for fig.l, the two semisectors are lowered to position again by acting on screws but this time thanks to their rotation about points (6a) and rather than slides The last alternative for the spacing of said semisectors (SS1) and (SS2) is illustrated in figure 3. Here, the two semi-sectors are hinged to the base of frame (1) i through a common pin (6b) and extension arms In this case the connecting plates (P2) and/or (P4) have been eliminated, the frame is even smaller, but the central space between the two semi-sectors (SS1) and (SS2) is not large enough to allow the insertion of said clamp. Once the i '7 H i^ l WO 89/04560 PCT/EP88/00859 conductor has been suspended from a series of towers, and is therefore r1 on a series of semi-sectors (SS1) and (SS2), before it can be clamped-in, said semi-sectors have to be first moved to position by acting on screw At this point the suspension clamp can be inserted and the conductor clamped-in. Once the conductor has been clamped-in, semi-sectors (SS1) and (SS2) are moved to position by acting once again on said screw In this case thanks to screw which has a double thread, and extension arms the rotation of semi-sectors (SSI) and (SS2) is eccentric.

Figure 4 illustrates the preferred solution for the spacing lifting and lowering of two, also preferred, semisectors. A couple of semi-sectors (SS3) and (SS4) are here spaced from one an other by means of one steel, or alloy channel section (Pl) which is also used to store at least one suspension clamp (not shown). The lifting and/or lowering of the two semi-sectors together with element (Pl) is neither achieved by slides (fig. nor by the hinges illustrated in figs. 2 and/or 3, but by means of a bearing jack which is made up by toggle arms and and one or more lead screws Thanks to the solution of using at least one bearing Jack, by acting on said one and/or more lead screws the motion of said two semi-sectors (SS3) and (SS4), together with element and/or more couple of semi- 0 hige ilusrae infg.2ado u ymaso 91 12 ps22/5448tesaut.res 3 WO 89/04560 PCT/EP88/00859 sectors of the same type, can either be: 1) parallel/vertical, for the positioning of a bundle of conductors according to some prescribed geometric configuration and/or in order to unload said couples of semi-sectors of the weight of each conductor once said conductors have been clampedin, and/or 2) oblique/vertical to either position said bundle of conductors according to other prescribed geometric configurations, and/or decrease the tendency of the strings of insulators to be displaced out-of-plumb when longitudinal unbalances are present.

Figure 4 also shows that the two semi-sectors (SS3) and (SS4) each comprise a series of rollers and which spaced as shown, have different longitudinal dimensions and different profiles for the purpose better described in figures 16 to 19. The dimensions of element (Pl) and semisectors (SS3) and (SS4) have been studied so as to allow the introduction of at least one couple of jaws (Gl) and (G2) and at least one geared motor (MR1) and/or (MR2). At the right time, in a way better described later on, thanks to said geared motors, said couples of jaws (Gl) and (G2) in turn tighten and pull the conductor for the automatic plumbing of the insulators, and the respective automatic sagging of the conductor itself.

As explained earlier, in figures 1 to 4 the position of the semi-sectors (SS1) and (SS2), or (SS3) and (SS4) can be changed by acting on lead screws or or WO 89/04560 PCT/EP88/00859 Those figures illustrated said lead screws as if they could be hand-operated only, on the contrary, it should be understood that said lead screws could also be automatically actived by means of at least one electric geared motor.

Figures 5 to 8 illustrate the details of semi-sector (SS2) schematically illustrated in figs. 1 to 3. Figure 7, which is section (VII-VII) of fig. 5, and figure 6, which is a top view of fig. 5, show that the support rollers (2a), and and the supplementary roller are supported by two parallel plates (3a) and (3b) which in their turn are connected with slide Said slide is fastened with a series of screws to a base while base rotates about a vertical pin and is sustained to frame by means of bracket The possible transversal rotation of base (10) and/or the whole semi-sector (SS2) about said vertical pin (11) is in some cases utilized for the purpose better described later on in figure 9.

In the case illustrated in figures 5 to 9, the conductor does not run directly on rollers and (2b), but on an endless belt (14) which is tensioned by tensionroller (15) and set screw (16).

The number of rollers on one hand, and the strength of the endless belt (14) on the other hand have been studied to ensure the right support for conductor and the right distribution of loads, or in other words, to avoid a wrong k '*'ir 1 I, I I.1 2 1 WO 89/04560 PCT/EP88/00859 concentration of loads to damage the conductor and/or the belt and/or the rollers.

Rollers and (15) rotate about pins (17) and can be easily dismounted by first unscrewing stop-nuts The other rollers (see fig. 8, section VIII-VIII of fig. 5) are instead mounted on bearings (19) fitted in special slots of plates (3a) and (3b).

Base (10) of plates (3a) and (3b) is also fitted with two additional rollers The cone-shaped end (20a) of said additional rollers (20) eases the positioning of conductor in the space between said rollers (20) These additional rollers having vertical axis, constitute a lateral guide for the conductor for the purpose better described later on.

The practical use and the some of operational advantages of the device illustrated in figures 1 to 8, according to the present invention, are described in the following points a) and and points to (III).

a) While stringing suspending cables and/or conductors on a series of towers, the new device is more or less used as a common pulley. The frame though is: 1) connected and anchored to the lower end of the insulators in such a way (described for example in fig. 12 and 13) as to not occupy the points of attachment of the conductor and/or conductors to the insulators, and 2) is supporting at least two semi-sectors (SS1) and (SS2) and/or (SS3) and (SS4) C~ i- 1 3 i

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WO 89/04560 PCT/EP88/00859 rather than one or more pulley sheaves. The conductor and/or conductors therefore run either on said rollers (R) and or on said belt (14) more or less in the same way as on a common pulley sheave. In fact, rollers and or describe a circular and/or elliptic guiding surface which can ensure that the conductors will not undergo any incompetible bending, due to their own weight, once suspended from the towers and supported by said semi-sectors.

On the other hand, even though the conductor and/or conductors can freely run on the new suspension device under the same conditions of commonly used pulley, the dimensions of the new suspension device are considerably smaller than said commonly used pulleys, and the weight has considerably been reduced. This can easily be seen and understood by looking at figure 3 where the dotted line (K) proportionally reproduces the dimensions of a commonly used pulley sheave without its respectively large supporting frame.

b) Once the conductor and/or conductors have been suspended from the towers, said conductor and/or conductors have to be clamped-in to the insulators. At this point, other essential and very important advantages of the present invention become clear. In fact, the suspension unit comprising a frame and at least one couple of semisectors (SS1) and (SS2) and/or (SS3) and (SS4) allows to WO 89/04560 PCT/EP88/00859 invert the order and extremely simplify both in terms of crews' work and the otherwise required supplementary equipment the clamping-in operations, while improving crews safety and the accuracy of the operations. The operations, already in the new order according to the present invention, are the following: I. the conductors are first automatically positioned according to the prescribed geometric configuration (if required, that is to say in the case of a bundle of more than one conductor), and then permanently clamped-in to the insulators while still being safely supported by said semisectors. This is done by inserting the required suspension clamps see for example fig. 12) in the free central space between said semi-sectors (SS1) and (SS2) and/or (SS3) and (SS4), and anchoring said clamps to the plate hanging for the lower end of said insulators (see for example plate (33) fig. 13).

II. Once the conductors have been clamped-in, said semisectors (SS1) and (SS2) and/or (SS3) and (SS4) are lowered (as for example illustrated in figs. 1 to 3, position by hand and/or automatically (by means of at least one electric geared motor) operating on lead screws or or in order to unload said semi-sectors of the weight of said conductors.

III. Once the semi-sectors have been lowered, the frame, together with said semi-sectors, can easily and safely be

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m WO 89/04560 PCT/EP88/00859 disconnected from the insulators, and transfered either on the ground or suspended from an other crossarm.

The clamping-in operations can therefore be carried out rapidly, with simple interventions of the crews, and without the need to otherwise: lift the conductors by means of supplementary and temporary tackles, remove the pulleys leaving the conductors temporarely suspended from the ground by means of said supplementary tackles, and finally clamp-in.

Figure 9 illustrates a top view of a couple of semisectors (SS1) and (SS2) which have been fitted with additional devices for better stringing when transversal angles are present. That is to say when conductor meets semi-sector (SSI) coming from the direction indicated with arrow and departs from semi-sector (SS2) according to the direction indicated with arrow or in other words, when the conductor and/or conductors have to undertake transversal angles equal to 1/2 AD 1/2 AD'.

In these cases, each semi-sector (SS1) and/or (SS2) rotate transversally about said vertical pin (11) (see also figures 5 to 8) by as many degrees as required and/or equal to 1/2AD and/or 1/2AD'. In order to secure the right degree of transversal rotation of each semi-sector before the conductor is positioned on said semi-sectors, setscrews (21) and/or one or more adjusting-springs can be brought into contrast with frame These setscrews (21) and/or 1*-A WO 89/04560 WO 89104560 PCTIEP88/00859 the mentioned lead screws can also be connected with at least one remote-controlled geared motor.

When the deviation angle between directions and (equal to 1/2AD 1/2AD') is relatively small, the four lateral rollers (20) will be enough to guide the conductor in the right direction. On the other hand, when said deviation angle is relatively large, one and/or two additional series of rollers having vertical axis and being positioned according to a pre-calculated arc, can be inserted in the central space between said two semi-sectors (SS1) and (SS2) as illustrated in figure 9. Plates (23).

which support said additional series of rollers can also be adjusted for different angles by means of setscrews (23a) and/or adjusting-springs.

According to an other important characteristic of the present invention the rollers and/or of at least one of the two semi-sectors (SS1) and/or (SS2) could be connected, for example by means of tension roller to a geared motor for the purpose better described later on.

Figures 10 and 11 illustrate an other possible way of motorization of rollers (2m) (similar to rollers and/or of a semi-sector (SS5). These figures show that some of said rollers (2m) have been connected through their respective pins (24) (which extend beyond plate gear (24a), chain and pinion (26a), to a geared-motor The endless belt (14) has been eliminated, and t 1 mw

(PLIJ

WO 89/04560 PCT/EP88/00859 rollers which have been calender-coated, directly support the conductor Both solutions, to either calender-coat said rollers with suitable materials, or to cover them with said endless belt, have two functions: 1) to equally distribute the weight of the conductor on each roller, and 2) to avoid damaging the surface of the conductor and/or said rollers.

According to an other important characteristic of the present invention, the illustrated geared motor/s for the automatic plumbing of the insulators and the automatic sagging of the conductors, and/or the other geared motors (not illstrated) for the automatic regulation of said lead screws, are preferably constituted by low voltage electricmotors, for example 24 Volt. This characteristic implies that said motors can either be fed by means of at least one battery', mounted on each frame or by means of single generator positionedg on the ground any where between the brake and the winch. In this last case, that is to say when said electric motors are fed by means of a generator, in order to activate said geared motors is enough to connect the negative pole of said low voltage to one tower (ground) and/or to one phase of the power line, and the positive pole to each conductor and/or cable of each phase of the power line, and/or to the conductors of at least one phase of the power line. This enables to save all the batteries, otherwise to be mounted on each frame, to feed at once all 1'j A/k' electric motors mounted on all suspension devices between the brake and the winch, and consequently to plumb all insulators and sag all conductors at once without generating any danger for the crews. In fact: 1) 95% of the times there will not be any need for any worker to be on any tower and/or to be in contact with any conductor, that is to say, 95% af the times all workers will be waiting on the ground for the operation to be complited, and 2) even I though in very few cases some workers might be on some '-4B 0 towers, the voltage will be so low (24 Volts andor lower) that will be practically imperceptible at all effects.

Going back to figures 10nch, and 11conseq again, said geared motor (26) can be mounted on a plate (27) which in its turn can rotate about pin (27a). Plator (27) is also fitted with a slot (27b) in order to be able to adjust set-screw (28).

This particular way, already well known, of connecting said motor to supporting plates (3a) and/or (3b) allows to move said motor and therefore properly tension sai aiin The mentioned electric motors are usually not fed during the stringing of the conductors and/or bundles of conductowei between the brake and the winch, but after all ositioning and pre-saggong operations have been completed.

and/or hills the commonly used p ulley units, the strings of This particular way, already well known, of connecting saidperintors on the series of suspension devices suspended from all As mentioned earlier, when a power line crosses mountains and/or hills the commonly used pulley units, theastrings of 6i~"

I

4 WO 89/04560 PCT/EP88/00859, fectly vertical loads, or in other words, to longitudinal unbalances. Whi3.l stringing, the pulley units and the insulators will therefore be displaced out-of-plumb, and even H though the conductors will be pulled to the right degree of tension (pre-sagging), the spans of said conductors between one tower and the other will not describe the "right sagging, or in other words the conductors will not be perfectly sagged. In these cases it is necessary to bring the insulators back to a perfect plumb before the conductors can be clamp-in, or in other words the conductors have to be lifted and pulled (sagged) to correct and undo said longitudinal unbalances.

In view of the just mentioned problem, the present invention reveals an other very important characteristic.

In presence of longitudinal unbalances, once the positioning and pre-sagging of the conductors has been completed, the electric motors (for example motors are fed. At this point, the motors act on said rollers or (2m) and/or endless belt (14) and/or jaws (Gl) (G2) (fig. I and cause all conductors and/or bundles of conductors and all strings of insulators to slide for various centimeters and/or meters so that: 1) said insulators will be automatically plumbed, and 2) the conductor and/or conductors will be automatically and perfectly sagged. The rota- 1 tory motion of the motors will obviously always be in the right direction so as to allow said automatic plumbing,

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St I KU m 1 1 A*Ll i, |1, WO 89/04560 PCT/EP88/00859 and/or the return of the insulators to a perfectly vertical position.

Thanks to special verticality sensors mounted on each frame (not illustrated), all the above mentioned automatic operations can be controlled by one worker (on the ground), and/or by one worker on a tower. It is to be understood that said sensors could also be associated with a centralcontrol system.

When the geared motors are associated to said rollers and/or said endless belt (see figure 10), a right degree of friction between the conductors and said rollers and/or belt is required in order to bring all insulators back to verticality. When the weight of each conductor on each couple of semi-sectors is not enough to ensure said right degree of friction, some counter-rollers (not illustrated) have to be applied on top of each conductor in order to generate said right degree of friction.

The need for the mentioned counter-rollers can be complitely eliminated through the preferred use of jaws (Gl) and (G2) mounted in the central space between the two y semi-sectors, (SS3) and (SS4) described in figure 4. Thanks to said geared-motors (MR1) and/or (MR2), and suitable verticality sensors (not illustrated), said jaws (Gl) and (G2) will, one at the time and/or one after the other, tighten the conductor, grasp it, and pull it with repeated operations until the right sagging of said conductor .wi'1 1" A f i

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W~ t Q 1 WO 89/04560 PCT/EP88/00859 be achievedkand consequently till said insulators will be perfectly plumbed. It is to be understood that the intermittent working of said jaws allows one couple of jaws (GI) to tighten and pull the conductor while the other jaws (G2) are in reverse motion;, once the idle reve'rse motion of jaws (G2) has been completed, jaws (G2) will tighten the conductor before jaws (GI) release it to perform their own idle reverse motion. Once said verticality sensors generate pulses to indicate that said verticality has been achieved, both jaws (Gl) and (G2) will simultaneously grasp and lock the conductor now perfectly sagged.

Figures 12 and 13 show one possible alternative of a frame fitted to support a bundle (for example) of three conductors and With this type of frame the three conductors will automatically undertake their final position, corresponding to the prescribed final geometric configuration (equilateral triangle), while been strung and/or positioned on the series of suspension units.

In fact, this frame has been fitted: 1) with a couple of semi-sectors per each conductor, each semi-sector being of the same kind illustrated in figs. 1 and 5, and 2) with an additional central slide (SC) for supporting the draw cable When draw cable connected to said three conductors, is pulled by the winch, each conductor of said bundle will be positioned on its respective couple of semi-sectors. Conductors (Cl) and (C2) will be directly positioned 4 15 te thee ondutorswil autmatcall undrtae thir i i WO 89/04560 PCT/EP88/00859 on their respective couples of semi-sectors (SSa) and (SSb), and conductor (C3) will automatically slide through guide and reach semi-sectors (SSc).

As illustrated in figure 1 and 5, each semi-sector is mounted on the frame by means of a slide so that once all conductors have been clamped-in, by inserting one clamp in the central space between each couple of semisectors (only one clamp has been illustrated), all semisectors can be unloaded of the weight of the conductors, and the whole suspension device can be brought back to the ground. Figure 13 also shows that conductors (Cl) and (C2) can be directly clamped-in to plate (33) in correspodence of clamp-in points (AM1) and (AM2), while in order to clamp-in conductor slide has to be first removed. It is to be understood that while slide (SC) can be easily removed because free of any loads (draw cable is not resting on said slide once the conductors are all in place), all clamp-in points (AM1), (AM2), (and (AM3) not illustrated), of plate (33) are also perfectly free, that is to say that frame and consequently all couples of semi-sectors (SSa), (SSb), and (SSc) do not have to be removed before the clamp-in operation has been complited.

As a matter of fact, plate connected to plates and (30B) of said frame overlaps plate (33) from the top consequently leaving the lower end of said plate (33) and the clamp-in points completely free. It is obvious that

S.

l i: J I fr te ac p o t WO 89/04560 PCT/EP8/00859 -3ov if necessary at least one semi-sector of each couple of semisectors (SSa) (SSb) and (SSc) can be fitted with at least one geared/electric motor (as for example illustrated in fig. 0) for the automatic plumbing of the insulators and the automatic sagging of the conductors Figures 14 and 15 show an additional alternative for frame In this case the frame has been adjusted to be suspeinded from the insulators of angle towers, and each couple of semi-sectors has been fitted as illustrated in figure 9. This frame and each of these couples of semisectors have therefore been fitted to support: 1) the load of the conductors, ard 2) the resultant force indicated with arrow Th)) of the deviation angle (see fig. 9) of said conductors.

Figures 16 to 19 show some details of the preferred disposition and shape of rollers and (R3) of a semi-sector (SS3) (and/or (SS4)) (see also figure This alternative is the preferred one because it allows to use the same semi-sectors for either line and/or angle towers, without the need of inserting and/or removing any additio- nal devices.

Rollers and (R3) have different longitudinal dimensions, profiles, and supporting surface from one an i other. The special configuration of said rollers allows the conductor to: 1) run in the direction indicated by arrows (F4) and (F3) (fig. 16), and/or 2) run through any trans- Ki WO 89/04560 PCTIEP88/00859 versal deviation angles starting from a minimum of for example 1 degree of deviatiuon up to angles equal to twice 1/2AD. When the axis of rotation of said rollers are perfectly perpendicalar to plates the maximum deviation angle that said semi-sectors (SS3) and (SS4) (which are for example 200 mm. wide) can sustain,: when for example a diameter conductor is passing through, is approximatelly equal to 60 degrees.

Figure 17 shows the the couple of plates that support the rollers are fitted with more series of throughholes and These series of through-holes are used to tilt pins and (45) in order to change the inclination the axis of rotation of said rollers and Figure 18 is a front view of said semi-sector (SS3) where the axis of rotation (A2), and (A3) of said rollers are perfectly perpendicular to plates This is the case where the maximum transversal angle of deviation allowed to the conductor is approximately equal to 60 degrees. By tilting said axis (see fig.

19) either according to positions and (A3') or positions and that is to say by mounting said pins and (45) in corresppondence of through-holes (40) (41) on one plate and (41) (42) on the other plate the maximum transversal angle of deviation allowed to a conductor (when the diameter of said conductor is equal to 30 mm. and the distance between

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20 19 ihracrig opstos(l),(2) n A'

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1c -32plates is equal to 200 mm.) becomes approximately equal to 80 degrees. Said tilting of said axis of rotation also grants stability to oscillations even in windy conditions to conductors and/or any other type of cable used.

Figure 16 and 18 also show the special concave profile of each roller. In fact, while rollers (RI) and (R2) have profiles and similar to an elliptic hyperboloid, the profile of roller (R3) is actually formed by two different geometric shapes: similar to an elliptic hyperboloid, and similar to a hyperbolic hyperboloid. The development of the different concave profiles of each roller and (R3) (see Fig. 16 and 18) allows: 1) to be able to string conductors with different 15 diameters using the same rollers (the maximum transversal angle of deviation allowed to each of said conductors will Sobviously change according to the size of the conductors and/or the distance between the two plates and S 22) to ensure that said conductors can be pulled through transversal angles of deviation without neither damaging the conductors nor the rollers.

Thanks to the special longitudinal sizes and profiles of said rollers and (R3) and the possibility of changing the inclination of the axis of rotation of said rollers, the sectors do not have to be mounted on said vertical pins (11) (Fig. 5) any more, and said additional rollers (22) (Fig. 9) do not need to be inserted in the central space between each couple of sectors any more ps22/5448tesaut.res 91 12 WO 89/04560 PCT/EP88/00859 -33either.

Figure 20 finally illustrates the preferred type of frame. This frame has a reticular structure which allows to further decrease the overall weight of the whole suspension device. It is constituted with rods rather than plates each rod being preferably made with alloy and/or other material channel sections. This figure shows that the reticular base (51) of this frame can support one, two, and/or three jacks and Each jack supports a couple of semisectors and (57) of the same type illustrate in figs. 4 and 16 to 19. When using this type of frame, the conductors (not illustrated) are strung and positioned on their respective couples of semi-sectors when said semisectors are laying on the same horizontal plane. Jacks and allow: 1) to tilt, if necessary, the couples of semi-sectors (as compared to the horizontal plane of base (51) and the longitudinal axis of the conductors), in order to decrease the influence of longitudinal unbalances on the insulators and the conductors, 2) once the conductors have been strung and pre-sagged, to position said conductors according to the prescribed geometric configuration (for example position and of semisectors (55) and and 3) once the conductors have been perfectly sagged and the insulators perfectly plumbed (thanks for example to jaws (GI) and (G2) illustrated fig.

and once the conductors have been clamped-in, to unload coulesof em-setor (a cmpaed o te oriontl plan of ase(51)andthe ongtudial xis f te coduc WO 89/04560 PCT/EP88/00859 the weight of each conductor from each couple of semisectors and then remove the whole suspenstion device.

The functions of jacks and (54) can all be accomplished by hand-operating set-screws and (60) or by acting on said screws by means of one or more remote-controlled electric motors.

The frame described in this figure also comprises a Ser \e-s s of vertical rods (60) and and a plurality of cross members (62) (63) which converge towards interface Interface which is required to anchor the whole suspension device to the insulators, is fitted with one or more grooves (not shown) to overlap to plate (33) (plate illustrated in Fig. 13). By integrating said interface (64) with some check-pins (not illustrated), the anchoring systems will have a tensile strength even greater than the tensile strength of the insulators themselves. It is to be understood that this anchoring system also prevents any relative movement between said plate (33) and said suspension frame.

This reticular frame illustrated in figure 20, has on overall shape (open on one side) as it was the case for the frames illustra.ted in figs. 12 to 15, but on the other hand, even though it might seem to be more fragile then the other ones it is actually much stronger, has a wider side opening, and it weighs less.

Finally, it is also to be noticed that this reticular

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4 i, i x If WO 89/04560 PCT/EP88/00859 frame can be very easily adapted to support any number of jacks arid/or couples of semi-sectors for any number of conductors in a bundle to be positioned according to any geometric configuration.

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Claims (59)

1. Suspension device for the stringing of electric conductors and/or cables for overhead power lines, of the type comprising a suspension frame, to be anchored to a crossarm of a tower of the line, and means for the support and sliding of the conductors and/or cables, said support and sliding means comprising, for each conductor or cable, a plurality of support rollers rotating about parallel pins, said rollers being aligned one after the other along a curved trajectory defining a support and sliding surface for the conductor or cable, characterised in that: the support rollers for each conductor are divided in two groups forming a pair of trajectory sectors, the two sectors of each pair supporting each conductor are mounted on the suspension frame in specular symmetry in respect of the central vertical suspension axis of said frame, said two sectors in each pair are mutually I *s IA 2 spaced, and the device comprises lifting and lowering means linked to said sectors, to move the sectors in a substantially vertical direction.

2. Device as in claim 1, wherein the suspension frame comprises a free central space along its vertical suspension axis, the two sectors being symmetrically positioned on both sides of said central space.

3. Device as in claim 2, wherein said free central space of the suspension frame has a transversal dimension ps22/5448tesaut.res ,91 12 t minmb~ the conductor or cable. space has a transversal dimension exceeding the length of exceeding the length of an anchor and suspension clamp plus the respectiveor

4. Device as in claim 3, wherein said free central fittings.

Device as in claim 1, wherein said lifting and lowering means move each pair of sectors from a lifted working position, in which the rollers of the sectors support the load of the conductor or cable, to a lowered rest position, in which said rollers are unloaded of the weight of the conductor or cable.

6. Device as in claim 5, wherein said sectors are mounted on slides sliding vertically along the suspension 15 frame, under the control of said lifting and lowering means.

7. Device as in claim 5, wherein said sectors are mounted on brackets, each rotating about a transverse horizontal hingeing axis of the suspension frame, under the control of said lifting and lowering means. t

8. Device as in claim 5, wherein said sectors are supported on a common crosspiece, which is mounted on the suspension frame by means of a pantograph support, and said one lifting and lowervng means control the opening of the *o i 25 pantograph.

9. Device as in claim 8, wherein said pantograph support comprises a double pantograph, and said crosspiece supporting the pair of sectors is movable vertically and/or O ps22/S448tesaut.res 91 12 in a direction slightly oblique in respect of the vertical direction.

Device as in claim 5, wherein said lifting and lowering means consist of adjusting screws.

11. Device as in claim 10, wherein driving means are provided to operate said adjusting screws.

12. Device as in claim i, comprising moreover means for shifting the conductor in respect of the pair of sectors supporting the same. .0

13. Device as in claim 12, wherein said shifting means comprise motor means associated to at least one of the support rollers of each sector and apt to cause its rotation in either of the two sliding directions of the conductor. 15

14. Device as in claim 13, wherein said shifting o:: means comprise at least one supplementary wheel, driven by applied by pressure onto the conductor or cable.

Device as in claim 12, wherein said shifting means comprise two opposed driving wheels, which clamp the conductor on diametrically opposite sides and which are driven by common motor means.

16. Device as in claim 12, wherein said shifting Smeans comprise at least one pair of jaws to clamp the conductor or cable, each jaw being mounted on a respective slide sliding parallel to the conductor, motor means being associated to each of said slides, to control their forward movement with the jaw clamping the conductor and, L 4 ps22/5448tesaut.res 91 12 mats 39 respectively, their backward movement with an open jaw.

17. Device as in claim 16, wherein the forward movement of one of the clamping jaws is controlled simultaneously with the backward movement of the other jaw, said forward movement taking place in either of the two sliding directions of the conductor.

18. Device as in claim 17, wherein said clamping jaws are housed in a free central area of the suspension frame, between each pair of sectors.

19. Device as in claim 12, wherein to said suspension frame there are associated sensors of the vertical, horizontal and/or torsional position of the suspension frame in respect of the tower of the line.

Device as in claim 19, wherein to each suspension 15 frame there are associated automatic control means operating said conductor shifting means according to the 4 signals sent from said sensors.

21. Device as in claim 20, wherein said automatic ii control means comprise means to lock the conductor in respect of the suspension frame.

22. Device as in claim 1, wherein the bearing surfaces of the support rollers of each sctor have a concave profile.

;23. Device as in claim 22, wherein said concave bearing surface has raised end edges.

24. Device as in claim 22, wherein said saddle-shaped bearing surface has a double-groove profile.

Device as in claim 22, wherein the profile of ps22/5448tesaut.res 91 12 1. iv S" i V 40 said bearing surface of the support rollers comprises an arched central portion with wide curvature radius and arched end portions with a small curvature radius.

26. Device as in claim 25, wherein said support rollers have a profile similar to an elliptical hyperboloid.

27. Device as in claim 26, wherein said support rollers have a profile partly similar to an elliptical hyperboloid and partly similar to an hyperbolic hyperboloid.

28. Device as in claim 22, wherein the support rollers of one sector have different lengths, the smallest roller being the one closer to the central suspension axis.

29. Device as in claim 22, wherein the support 15 rollers of one sector have different radiuses, the roller with the smallest radius being the one closer to the Scentral suspension axis.

30. Device as in claim 1, wherein the support rollers of each of said sectors are mounted rotating about pins carried by a support bracke iasisting of a pair of stiffly interconnected and mutually spaced plates.

31. Device as in claim 30, wherein said plates of each support bracket are parallel and said support rollers _s all have the same length. 25

32. Device as in claim 30, wherein said plates of each support bracket are divergent and said rollers have progressively increasing lengths, starting from the central suspension axis. AL ps22/5448tesaut.res 91 12 w I 6 C) 41

33. Device as in claim 30, wherein each of the support rollers is mounted rotating about a pin, which is anchored in a fixed position to said pair of plates.

34. Device as in claim 30, wherein each of the support rollers is mounted rotating about a pin, the position of which is adjustable in respect of said pair of plates.

Device as in claim 34, wherein the pin of each of the support rollers is mounted with its ends on two supplementary support plates, each of which can be anchored in an adjusted position onto one of the plates forming said support bracket.

36. Device as in claim 34, wherein means are provided to set in an inclined position each of the pins of said support rollers.

37. Device as in claim 36, wherein each of the plates Sof said pair has a plurality of seats for housing the ends Sof each of the pins of said support rollers.

38. Device as in claim 1, wherein each of the sectors of the support rollers is mounted onto a support bracket, which is mounted on a vertical hingeing pin carried by the suspension frame, said pin being parallel and to the side of the central vertical suspension axis.

39. Device as in claim 38, wherein to each of said 25 brackets there are associated means to adjust the angular position of rotation about said vertical hingeing pin.

40. Device as in claim 39, wherein said means to adjust said angular position consist of adjusting screws, ps22/5448tesaut.res 91 12 5 bakt teeaeascatdmast dus h nua -42 acting on one side and/or on the other of said vertical hingeing pin.

41. Device as in claim 40, wherein motor means are provided to operate said adjusting screws.

42. Device as in claim 39, wherein said means to adjust said angular position comprise spring means.

43. Device as in claim 38, wherein to each bracket there is associated a pair of guide rollers with vertical axis, positioned laterally to said hingeing pin on both sides of the conductor or cable.

44. Device as in claim 1, wherein the surface of said support rollers is coated with low friction material, apt to prevent damaging the conductor or cable.

Device as in claim 1, wherein said support rollers are covered with an endless belt or chain, onto which bears the conductor or cable.

46. Device as in claim 45, wherein said belt or chain o is made of low friction material, apt to prevent damaging S" the conductor or cable.

47. Device as in claim 45, wherein each of the sectors comprises a group of support rollers and, opposite thereto, an idler, said endless belt or chain being mounted .on said support rollers and idler.

48. Device as in claim 1, meant for the suspension of 25 a bundle of conductors or cables, wherein the suspension frame comprises, for each conductor or cable of the bundle, a pair of opposed mutually spaced sectors, symmetrical in respect of the central suspension axis. ps22/5448tesaut.res 91 12 1 V A l s j L 1 1 1 I i 43

49. Device as in claim 48, wherein the single pairs of sectors are positioned, on the suspension frame, substantially on the same level.

Device as in claim 48, wherein the single pairs of sectors are positioned, on the suspension frame, on different levels, corresponding to the final geometrical configuration of the conductors in the bundle.

51. Device as in claim 11 or 12, wherein said driving means and/or said shifting means comprise electric motors.

52. Device as in claim 51, wherein said electric motors are low-voltage fed, preferably at 24 V.

53. Device as in claim 52, wherein electric insulation means are interposed between the conductors or 15 cables and said motors, said low voltage being fed through said conductors or cables.

54. Device as in claim 1, wherein the suspension Sframe consists of a reticular structure of metal sections, e l having a general shape.

55. Device as in claim 54, wherein said reticular suspension frame comprises a base, onto which are mounted said pairs of sectors with the respective lifting and lowering means, uprights vertically projecting from one side of said base, and upper cross members, slanting and 25 converging towards the top into an interface of connection to the chain of insulators.

56. Device as in claim 55, wherein said interface of connection comprises a downward facing groove, apt to ps22/5448tesaut.res 91 12 iV -44 engage from the top onto the suspension yoke carried by the chain of insulators.

57. Process for stringing conductors of high voltage power lines, of the type wherein the conductors are caused to slide from one end to the other of the line, through a series of suspension devices hanging from the crossarms of each tower of the line and, at the end, the suspension devices are disengaged from the crossarms and the conductors are anchored directly to the chains of insulators hanging from said crossarms, characterised in that: during stringing, the conductors are caused to slide over a plurality of support rollers divided in two groups forming a pair of trajectory sectors and through a free central area, provided between said sectors in each :suspension device in correspondence of the vertical suspension axis and in that at the end of the stringing, I U the conductors ar anchored to the chains of insulators in two successive steps, first of all, by applying a suspension clamp on each conductor in correspondence of said free central area and anchoring said clamp onto the chain of insulators, and subsequently, by releasing the suspension S.device through a gradual lowering of said sectors. S 25

58. Process as in claim 57, wherein, between the end of the stringing operation and the start of the anchoring operation, a step is carried out to level the longitudinal displacements of the conductors and plumb the chains of ps22/5448tesaut.res 91 12 4 I; enaefoUh o notesseso oecridb h chi fisuaos .;I j I~: 45 insulators for suspension of the conductor, comprising the operations of shifting each conductor by causing it respect of its own pair of sectors of the device, and said step to slide in suspension stopping said shifting movement when the suspension device has reached a perfectly vertical position.

59. Suspension device according to claim 1, and substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to the accompanying drawings. Process according to claim 57 and substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to the accompanying drawings. DATED this December 30, 1991 CARTER SMITH BEADLE Fellows Institute of Patent Attorneys of Australia Patent Attorneys for the Applicant: TESAUT SPA 0 C Cl S ee C Ce r e4C. C C C. 0 *C C C ps22/5448tesaut.res 91 12 t C BI s