US2361109A - Insulating protector for conducting wires - Google Patents

Description

1944. M. M. KENNEALLY 2,351,109

INSULATING PROTECTOR FOR CONDUCTING WIRES Filed May 26, 1943 J I J/ 1 N V ENTOR.

Patented Oct. 24, 1944 fUNlT'E'D STATES PATENT OFFICE .INSULATING PROTECTOR FOR CONDUCT- ING WIRES .Martin M. KenneallmsBrighton, N. Y;,' assignor to The; Porcelain Insulator. Corporation, Lima, -N..Y., a corporation of New York Application May 26, 1943,' Serial 'No. 488,594

2 Claimso (01.174-136.)

This invention relates to aninsulating'protector' for'conducting'wires and has for its purpose toprovide a practical, low cost,-efiicient structure designed to be easily applied to a conducting wire and acting to shield'it from contact with the trunk or limb of a tree, or from some other solid object-located in contact with or close proximity to the-conductor, and which wouldinjure ordestroy the latter if not protected from" rubbing thereagainst.

A serious problem with current carrying-wires has been to protect them against grounding when in contact with tree trunks, branches, or the like, and various protective devices have been offered for the purpose including wood molding, rubber and cambric materials or other like insulation secured around the conductor, also 'a metal and porcelain unit rigidly secured to the tree with the conducting wire held tightly against the porcelain, but all such installations have been objectionable in some respect, the wood molding being subject to charring, the other insulating materials when attached to the wire being liable to quick wear and destruction from the necessary abrasion that they must undergo, and a porcelain unit attached rigidly to a tree and secured to the conductor being impractical due to the relative movements of the conducting wire and tree, and it is a particular object of the invention to afford a durable and compact protecting device that constitutes a permanent insulator with proper electrical characteristics under both wet and dry conditions, that permits the necessary relative movement between the conducting wire and tree or limb without adversity affecting the conductor, that is not afiected by continuous rubbing or abrasive action, and which is economical to produce and can be quickly applied in any desired location.

Another purpose of the invention is to afiord a protector that can be easily positioned on a conducting wire and permanently secured against endwise movement, which will wear indefinitely and function successfully as an insulator. between the conducting wire and tree, and which will receive the abrasion and shocks resulting from relative movements between the conductor and tree without imposing any strain or wear on the conductor or its covering.

To these and other ends, the invention consists in the construction that will appear clearly from the following description when read in conjunction with the accompanying drawing, the novel features being pointed out in the claims following the specification.

'In'the drawing: Fig. 1 is a view in side elevation of a protector made according to one embodiment of the invention and showing its application to a conducting wire; Fig; 2 is a bottom plan view of the same;

Fig. 3-is a sectional view on theline 3-3 of Fig. l with the conducting wire omitted, and

'Fig. 4 is an end view of the device.

Referring more particularly to the drawing in which like referencenumerals refer to the same parts throughout the several views, theLinvention comprises an elongated body that is of generally U-shaped cross-section and made from porcelain, glass, or other hard, tough insulating material, the structure when formed of porcelain being made from wet clay and baked in the usual manner employed in the manufacture of wet process porcelain high tension insulators.

The porcelain body is of elongated form, preferably from twelve to sixteen inchesin length, has an inside diameter at the top of approximately one inch, and is glazed to afford a hard, smooth surface that can be subjected to abrasive action against a tree branch or trunk without afiecting the porcelain material. The length of the insulatin protector is such as to permit any ordinary relative movement between the tree part and the conducting wire.

The porcelain body includes a top wall I and side walls 2 which are relatively wide so as 'to extend substantially below the conducting wire 3 when supported thereon, as shown in Fig. 1, the Weight of the porcelain body being sufficient to hold the protector in position resting on the conductor, and in order to prevent endwise movement of the protector, it is preferably secured to the conducting wire by suitable fastening means such as tie wires 4 attached to the porcelain body and fastened around the conductor.

To enable fastening the tie wires to the porcelain body, the latter has provision for connecting them preferably in the form of openings 5 in the side walls 2 located near the ends of the latter. The openings 5 are preferably inclined from the outer surfaces of the insulating body downwardly and inwardly so as to enable threading a tie wire therethrough and around the conducting wire at such an angle as to impose minimum strain on the tie wires and thus lengthen their life.

The porcelain body is preferably formed about five-eighths of an inch in thickness throughout, affording a weight of from four pounds for the twelve inch length unit to five and one-quarter pounds for th sixteen inch length unit, which is suflioient to enable the protector to be easily supported by gravity on the conductor and have sufiicient body and hardness to withstand any abrasion, shock, or wear, to which it is subjected.

The device is installed by positioning it over the conducting wire 3 in the position shown in Fig. 1, after which the tie wires are threaded through the openings 5 and thence wound around the conducting wire 3 in any suitable fashion to secure the insulator unit against endwise movement on the conducting wire. In some instances, it may be desirable to protect a conducting wire for a greater distance than afiorded by a single protector, and in such case, two or more of the porcelain protector units can be positioned over a conducting wire in juxtarelation to each other and secured together with suitable fastening wires, while the entire assembly is fastened on the conductor and held against endwise movement by tie wires attached through the openings at the opposite ends of the porcelain material and wrapped around the conducting wire as already described.

While the invention has been disclosed in connection with a specific embodiment, it is not confined to the precise arrangement herein described, and this application is intended to cover such modifications or departures as may come within the purposes of the improvement or the scope of the following claims.

I claim:

1. An insulating protector for preventing abrasion of conducting wires from trees and the like comprising a porcelain body of a uniform thickness throughout of approximately five-eighths of an inch that is of U-shaped cross-section throughout its length and has an unobstructed interior circularly curved at the top whereby it can straddle and be positioned by a downward movement on a conducting wire,'and including side walls having straight continuous bottom edges and transverse circular openings that are inclined inwardly and downwardly from the outer surfaces and symmetrically located near their ends to receive fastening means that engage the conducting wire and prevent endwise movement of the insulator.

2. An insulating protector for preventing abrasion of conducting wires from trees and the like comprising an elongated uniformly thick-walled porcelain body that is of U-shaped cross-section throughout its length and has an unobstructed interior circularly curved at the top whereby it can straddle and be positioned by a downward movement on a conducting wire, and including side walls having straight continuous bottom edges and transverse circular openings that are inclined inwardly and downwardly from the outer surfaces and symmetrically located near their ends to receive fastening means that engage the conducting wire and prevent endwise movement of the insulator.

MARTIN M. KENNEALLY.

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