US1218106A - Electrical fuse connection. - Google Patents

Description

1.1. MULLEN. ELECTRICAL FUSE CONNECTION.

APPUCATION FILED MAR. 1'6, 1915.

Patented Mar. 6, 1917.

Mifleasea if W a w UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

JAMES J. MULLEN, OF ST. LOUIS, MISSOURI, ASSIGNOR TO MOLONEY ELECTRIC COMPANY, OF ST. LOUIS, MISSOURI, A CORPORATION OF NEW YORK.

ELECTRICAL FUSE CONNECTION.

Specification. of Letters latent;

Patented Mar. 6, 1917.

Application filed March 16, 1915. Serial No. 14,728.

. invented a certain new and useful Improvement in Electrical Fuse Connections, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact description, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, forming part of this specification.

My invention relates broadly to electrical conductors, and specifically to a form of fuse cut-out which is adapted for use on lines of any voltage, but of particular utility on lines which carry a high voltage.

The principal object of my invention is to provide a form of fuse-carrying cut-out which may be removed from contact with the current-carrying conductors with which it is associated for the purpose of replacing a blown fuse, and replaced in electrical connection with the current conductors, all without exposing the operator to injury from shock.

A further object of my invention is to provide a device of the sort described, the construction of which is so simple, and the operation of which is so obvious, as not to require the services of an expert to repair or adjust the same.

A further object of my invention is to provide a device of the sort described particularly adaptable for use in connection with horn gap fuse terminals.

A further object of my invention is to provide a device of the character described which is so constructed and arranged as to afford protection, of the parts thereof from weather conditions which would tend to render it inoperative in certain particulars.

A further object of my invention is to provide a device of improved mechanical construction and great strength.

Other and further objects of my invention will be obvious or pointed out hereinafter.

I have illustrated one form of my improved horn gap fuse cut-out in the accompanying drawings in which- Figure 1 is an elevational view of an ordinary pole with its cross arms showing my improved horn gap fuse cut-out 111 posltion thereon;

Fig. 2 is a side elevational view partly in section showing my improved horn ga p fuse cut-out;

Fig. 3 is a vertical sectional view on line 33 of Fig. 2; a

l is a plan view partly in section; F 1g. 5 is a detail view of the upper end of an instrument employed in manipulatmg my improved horn gap fuse cut-out to place it in and out of connection with the associated conductors.

In the drawings, 1 indicates the upper and are tapped by the wires 11 and 12 respectively, the opposite ends of said wires being connected to brass or other electrically conducting metal bells or caps 13 and 14. Each of these bells or caps rests upon an insulation head 15 which is screwed upon the arm of the bracket support 16 in a well known manner. There is an undercut groove near the upper edge of the insulation head 15 and the bells or caps are each provided with three or more screws 17 which are intended to be turned in until they engage under the flange of the insulation head. These screws also serve another purpose in that, while it is intended that they shall center the bell on the insulation head, yet, if irregularities exit, due to manufacture, the screws can be so manipulated as to adjust the position of the bell on the insulation head.

Each bell or cap piece 14.- to which the wires 11 and 12 are electrically connected, is also provided with an upwardly extending stem 18 preferably having grooves in its sides, as shown more clearly in Fig. 3.

20 indicates an insulation block whose ends are hollowed on their undersides and shaped to form recesses for the bell-like cap pieces and theirupward extensions. The central portion of this insulation block is provided with an opening 21, the purpose of which will be hereinafter set forth. 22 indicates a flat metal clip or contact member, preferably made of spring bronze and having jogs or" indentations to engage'the recesses in the upwardly extending members 18 of the bell-shaped cap pieces. The free lower ends of the clips 22 are flared outwardly and downwardly forming guiding faces when the insulation block 20 and its carried parts are introduced into position. The spring clips 22 are held in position in the recesses at the end of the block 20 by means of a screw 23 which also serves asfa securing means for a metal block 2 1, which latter provides a mount for the horn members-25,. the horizontal portions of said horn members being passed through openings in the block 24 and being held in position therein by means of screws 26. The horn members are provided with screws 27 for the attachment of the fuse wire 28. The parts above described are duplicated at each end of the insulation block 20, and assuming that all the parts are connected in an operative position, the current, if entering through the wire 12 from the main line wire 8, will pass through bell-shaped cap piece 14, its post 18, spring clip 22, screw 23, block 24, to the horn member 25, then through the fuse wire 28 to the complementary horn member and to the bell-shaped cap member 14 to wire 12 whence it is led to the primary coil of the transformer. From the primary coil of the transformer current will pass through wire 12 and the bell-shaped cap piece 1 1 and thence through the horn members and their interposed fuse wire 28 to thebellshaped cap piece 13, wire 11, and thence to wire 7. i

In the event that either of the fuse wires 28 or 28 is blown, the are will ascend the diverging members of the horns 25 and gradually become more attenuated, until it will eventually'be blown out. The action of this horn gap? as it is called, is well known and need not be further referred to. Assuming that one of. the fuse wires is blown, say for instance-the fuse wire 28, it is only necessary for a person, after ascertaining the true state of affairs, to use an instrument such as shown in 'Fig. 5 wherein a wooden rod or pole 30, of appropriate length, is provided at its upper end with the angular extension 31 projecting from a ferrule or cap piece secured to the upper end of the rod. This extension can be inserted in the aperture 21- of the fuse block while the operator stands on the ground. The insulation block can thus be lifted from position and lowered to the ground for the purpose of renewing the fuse, and when this has been accomplished, the operator may replace the block 20 in the same fashion by causing its spring clips to engage the contact posts 18.

It is desirable to have the contact clips 22 housed in by portions of the insulation block 20 so as to protect the parts from inclement weather which might, for instance, under freezing conditions, interfere with the removal of the insulation block. lonsequently, the skirt portion 32 projects, as illustrated in Figs. 2 and 4, beyond the rims of insulators 15 and 15 thus housing the contacts and providing a weather shed which will prevent water running from the skirt portion onto the insulators 15 and 15 It will be observed that while I have shown the insulators ,15 and 15 as being mounted upon the prongs of a support, thereby securing permanency in the adjusted spacing of the contact posts 18, many forms of bracket supports may be employed and also that they can be separately mounted.' It will also be manifest that the particular shape of the insulation block and the arrangement of its carried parts may be changed to suit different conditions, and also different currents, and therefore, I do not wish to be limited to the exact shape or arrangement of parts shown in the accompanying drawings.

It is obvious that this device is adapted for use in any situation where it is desired to insert a fuse on an open line. As illustrated in the drawings, 1 have shown and described the device as used in connection with a transformer in the manner in which it would be employed where a local circuit is supplied through a transformer. It is obvious, however, that the device can be employed where a branch circuit is taken off of the main line, or in any other similar situation where it is desirable to insert a fuse for the protection of the circuit. Inasmuch as one of the most valuable features of the device is the arrange ment whereby it may be manipulated without necessitating the operator working in proximity to the loaded conductors, it is obvious that the device is of particular utility in situations where the services of an expert or lineman cannot be immediately secured in case a fuse blows out. For example, in rural districts where power is distributed to users located at considerable distances from repair stations, the blown fuse may be safely and quickly replaced by the user whose circuit has been put out of operation, thereby making it unnecessary for him to await the arrival of a repair man, and without his being exposed to the danger of a shock.

\Vhat I claim is:

1. A fuse connection comprising in combination, a fuse wire, a pair of upwardly diverging terminals to which said fuse wire is connected, a pair of yielding. contacts in electrical connection with said diverging terminals, an insulation block on which said parts are mounted, and a pair of spaced contacts for cooperating with said yielding contacts to support said insulation block; said lnsulation block and the parts carried thereby being bodily removable entirely from said spaced contacts to permit replace- 7 ment of the'fuse wire.

' 2. A fuse connection comprising thecombination of a movable block of insulating 7 material carrying a pair of electrical contact members spaced apart and insulated from each other, portions of said block being shaped to form housings for said con.

tacts, a pair of arcing horns supported 'on v said block exterior of said contact housing portions and having electrical connection respectively with the respective contacts, a fuse normally connecting said arcing horns to furnish a current path exterior of said 5 trical connection with the contacts carried 20 on said block.

In testimony whereof I hereunto affix my signature in the presence of two witnesses, this tenth day of March, 1915.

JAMES J. MULLEN. Witnesses: 7

T. O. MOLONEY, E. GRIFFIN.

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