US2348918A

US2348918A - Span hanger for trolley wires

Info

Publication number: US2348918A
Application number: US348000A
Authority: US
Inventors: Samuel S Matthes
Original assignee: Ohio Brass Co
Current assignee: Ohio Brass Co
Priority date: 1940-07-27
Filing date: 1940-07-27
Publication date: 1944-05-16
Anticipated expiration: 1961-05-16

Description

May 16, 1944. s. s. MATTHES 2,348,918

I SPAN HANGERFOR TROLLEY WIRES Filed July 27, 1940 Ennenfor SAMUEL S. MHZITHES Patented May 16, 1944 UNITED STATES rATENT OFFICE SPAN HANGER FOR. TROLLEY WIRES Samuel S. Matthes, Mansfield, Ohio, assignor to The Ohio Brass Company, Mansfield, Ohio, a corporation of New Jersey Application July 2'7, 1940, Serial No. 348,000

' 7 Claims. (c1.'174 '1cc This invention relates to supporting insulators and particularly to that type of insulator known as a tangent span hanger for trolley wires.

One object of the invention is to provide a device of the class named which maybe easily applied to the supporting span wire and which may be. readily adjusted to span wires at various angles to the horizontal.

A further objectof the invention is to provide a trolley wire hanger which can be applied to the supporting span in its correct position only, relative to the direction of trafiic;

A further object of the invention is'to provide a trolley wire hanger having a span wire clamp which is applicable to span wires having a large range of diameters.

A further object of the invention is to provide a device of the class named which shall be oi improved construction and operation.

Other objects and advantages will appear from the following description.

The invention is exemplified by the combination and arrangement of parts shown in the aceompanying drawing and described in the following specification, and it is more particularly pointed out in the appending claims.

In the drawing- Fig; 1 is an elevation of a trolley wire hanger made according to the present invention.

Fig. 2 is a top plan view of the device shown in Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is a vertical section on line 3-3 of Fig. 1. Fig. 4 is a vertical section of line 4-4 of Fig. 2. Fig. 5 is a fragmentary elevation similar to Fig.

1 but having the span wire clamp in a different position of adjustment.

Fig. 6 is a view similar to Fig. 5 but showing the opposite side of the hanger.

Fig. 7 is a view similar to Fig. 3 but showing the clamp adjusted for a smaller size of span wire.

Fig. 8 is a top plan view of the lower span wire clamping jaw.

Fig. 9 is a top plan view of the upper clamping Jaw.

Fig. 10 is a bottom plan view of the upper clamping jaw.

Fig. 11 is a top plan view of the washer which holds the upper clamping jaw.

In the mounting of trolley wires for trolley coaches, it is frequently desirable to support the wires at one side of the center of the thoroughfare so that the coach may easily move to the curb at the right side of the thoroughfare for loading and unloading passengers.

wires are supported by cross span wires connected to poles at opposite sides of the street and since there is a certain amount of sag in the span wires, the portion of the span to which the trolley wire is connected will be disposed at an angle to the horizontal. The trolley wire is connected to the span wire by what is known as a tangent span hanger; comprising an insulator, a trolley wire clamp or ear carried by the insulator, and means for attaching the insulator to the span wire. The clamp or ear. is connected to a stud projecting fromthe lower face of the insulator and it is desirable that this stud shall have its axis in a vertical positionso that the trolley wire clamp or ear will not be, tilted since any angular tilting of the clamp or ear will subject it to excessive Wear when it is engaged by the trolley shoe or wheel.

The present invention provides an adjustable clamp for connecting the hanger to the span wire so that the supporting stud may be in a vertical position notwithstanding angular inclina tion of the span wire. The connecting clamp is arranged to open at one side for receiving a span wire and it is adjustable in one angular direction only from the horizontal position so that when it is attached at one side of the right-of-way and adjusted to conform to the angular position of the span wire at that side, the open side of the clamp will face traffic moving at the right-hand side of the right-of-way. With this arrangement, if a trolley pole should leave the trolley wire and strike the cross span it would tend to move the span into the clamp and not dislodge it from the clamp.

In the embodiment of the invention shown in the drawing, the numeral [8 designates an insulator, preferably made of molded dielectric material having a stud ll projecting from its lower side for receiving the trolley clamp or ear and having a second stud l 2 projecting from its upper side for connection with a supporting clamp. The insulator I0 is housed in a metal shell 63 which'protects the insulator from mechanical injur and also from exposure to the weather, so

=. that the outer leakage surface of the insulator will always be dry.

Both the insulator Hi and the shell it! are threaded tightly onto the stud l2 so that when the parts are assembled theyare rigidly connected together. The upper face of the shell l3 has a spherical surface I4 forming a dome upon which rests a lower jaw 15 of the span wire clamp; The lower surface of the jaw I5 is concave to fit the upper surface I4 of the shell i3, so that the The trolley v members 13 and 15 are connected by a ball and socket connection permitting rotation and vertical angular movement of the clamp on the shell l3. Angular movement of the clamp, however, is confined to a single vertical plane by the elongated slot IS in the jaw I5 which fits over the stud l2. Cooperating with the lower jaw I5 is an upper jaw I! having laterally extending arms 18 which engage the upper side of the span wire l9. Projecting from one side of the jaw I1 is an attaching ear 20 having an elongated slot 2| for receiving the stud l2. The upper face of the ear 20 is a substantially spherical surface concentric with the surface l4 and a washer 22 is provided with a concave surface conforming to the upper surface of the ear 20. The stud i2 is provided with a nut 23 for clamping the jaws l5 and I1 together and for locking them to the surface H. The upper jaw I! is provided with a notch 24 for engaging the cable 19 and the lower jaw I5 is provided with a notch 25 for engaging the under side of the cable as shown in Fig. 3. At the outer edge of the ear 20 on the jaw I5 is a fulcrum block 26 which rests on the upper surface of the lower jaw member l5. It will be readily apparent from Fig. 3 that when the nut 23 is tightened on the stud l2 the two jaw members will be clamped on the span wire l9 and both jaws will be clamped in place on the surface l4. Before the nut is screwed down tight, the two jaw members may be adjusted upon the spherical surface M to tilt the arms 18 relative to the horizontal to bring the arms to an angle conforming to the angle of the span wire l9 as shown in Figs. 5 and 6. To hold the jaws in registration during adjustment, the upper jaw is provided with a pair of lugs 21 which engage opposite edges of the lower jaw l5 as shown in Fig. 4. These lugs permit opening and closing of the upper and lower jaws but constrain the two jaws to move together between the surface It and the concave surface of the washer 22, during angle tilting of the arms Hi.

It will be apparent from Fig. 4 that because the slot 2| extends at one side only of the stud I2 when the arms l8 are in a horizontal position the arms can be tilted in one direction only from this position. This direction of tilting will raise the right-hand arm and lower the left-hand arm when the device is viewed from the open side of the clamp as shown in Fig. 5. This adapts the hanger for attachment to the span wire at the right-hand side of the right-of-way so that the open side of the clamp will be directed toward the traffic traveling at the right side of the rightof-way. It will be apparent from Fig. 5 that when the hanger is attached in this way a disengaged trolley pole striking the span wire will not drive the span wire out of the clamp but will only tend to force it into the clamp.

After the hanger is in position the nut 23 may be loosened to permit rotation of the insulator I0 and stud H sufficiently to aline the trolley clamp or ear with the trolley after which the nut can again be tightened to retain the parts in place. I

If it is desired to connect the hanger to a span wire of a diameter too small to b held by the notches engaging the wire in Fig. 3, the lower clamping jaw may be rotated 180 relative to the upper jaw to the position shown in Fig. '7 which will bring the flat face of the lower jaw opposite the clamping groove in the upper jaw and will bring the fulcrum block 26 into registration with a notch 28 in the outer ridge of the lower clamping jaw. In this position a much smaller span wire 29 may be held between the two laws.

I claim:

1. A trolley wire hanger comprising an insulator, means for suspending a trolley wire from said insulator and a clamp extending transversely of the axis of said insulator for connecting said insulator to a span wire, said clamp being arranged to open at one side thereof to receive a span wire and being adjustable in a vertical plane in one angular direction only from a horizontal position to insure installation of said clamp in a predetermined relation to the direction of traffic when secured to an inclined portion of a span wire at one side of a thoroughfare.

2. In a trolley wire hanger an insulator, means secured to the lower side of said insulator to support a trolley wire, a fitting secured to the upper side of said insulator having an upper convex surface, a stud projecting from said convex surface, a pair of clamping jaws mounted on said convex surface for vertical adjustment relative to said insulator, said clamping jaws having openings through which said stud extends and a nut on said stud for clamping said jaws together and to said insulator.

3. In a trolley wire hanger an insulator, means secured to the lower side of said insulator for supporting a trolley wire, a fitting secured to the upper side of said insulator having a convex upper surface, a stud projecting from said surface, a lower clamping jaw having a concave surface engaging said convex surface and having an elongated slot through which said stud extends, an upper clamping jaw disposed abovesaid lower jaw and having an elongated slot through which said stud extends, said jaws having interengaging parts for holding said jaws in registration while permitting opening and closing movement thereof and a nut threaded on said stud to clamp said jaws on a support for said insulator and in fixed position on said insulator.

4. A trolley wire support comprising an insulator; means for suspending a trolley wire from the lower side of said insulator; a pair of clamping jaws secured to the upper side of saidinsulator to engage a span wire; a stud extending substantially axially of said insulator, said jaws arranged on said stud and having a ball and socket connection with said insulator; means arranged on said stud and engaging one of said jaws to enable said jaws to 'be adjusted to and locked at an angle to said span wire; and one 01' said jaws being reversible relative to the other to bring different wire engaging faces into cooperative relation to adapt said jaws for gripping span wires of different diameters.

5. A trolley wire hanger comprising an insulator, a stud projecting from the lower side of said insulator for connection with a trolley wire, a stud projecting from the upper side of said insulator in coaxial alinement with said lower stud, a pair of clamping jaws having laterally extending arms and having means thereon for the vertical angular adjustment on the upper side-of said insulator, and a nut on said upper stud for clamping said jaws in various angularly adjusted positions.

6. In combination an insulator, a fitting having a convex surface secured to one face of said insulator, a stud projecting from said convex surface, a clamping jaw having a concave surface engaging said convex surface and having an opening through which said stud extends, a second clamping jaw axially movable with respect to the axis of said insulator cooperating with said first jaw and having an opening through which said stud extends; means on said stud for engaging one of said jaws to hold same in different rotatable and angular positions and a nut on said stud to lock said jaws in adjusted position on said insulator.

'7. A trolley wire hanger comprising an insulator, a stud projecting from the upper surface of said insulator, a fitting on the upper surface of said insulator having a convex surface from which said stud projects, a lower clamping jaw having a concave surface mounted on said convex surface and having an opening through which said stud extends, an upper jaw cooperating with said lower jaw and having an opening through which said stud extends, laterally projecting arms on one of said jaws for engaging a span wire, said jaws being arranged to open at one side of said insulator and a nut on said stud for closing said jaws on said span wire and for holding said jaws in fixed position on said insulator, the openings in said jaws being elongated in the direction of said arms to permit tilting of said arms relative to the axis of said stud, said openings being unsymmetrical relative to said jaws to limit angular movement in one direction to a position in which said jaws are horizontal.

SAMUEL S. MATTHES.