US3270124A

US3270124A - Electrical connector for suspension apparatus

Info

Publication number: US3270124A
Application number: US423152A
Authority: US
Inventors: James A Rawls; John J Taylor
Original assignee: Ohio Brass Co
Current assignee: Ohio Brass Co
Priority date: 1965-01-04
Filing date: 1965-01-04
Publication date: 1966-08-30
Anticipated expiration: 1983-08-30

Description

Aug. 30, 1966 J, w s L 3,270,124

ELECTRICAL CONNECTOR FOR SUSPENSION APPARATUS Filed Jan. 4, 1965 //,IIIIIIIII IIIII" INVENTOR. JAMES A. AWLS By JOHN J. T4 LOR A TTORNE Y United States Patent 3,270,124 ELECTRICAL CONNECTOR FOR SUSPENSION APPARATUS James A. Rawls, Richmond, Va., and John J. Taylor, Medina, Ohio, 'assignors to The Ohio Brass Company,

Mansfield, Ohio, a corporation of New Jersey Filed Jan. 4, 1965, Ser. No. 423,152 6 Claims. (Cl. 174-144) This invention relates to suspension apparatus for line conductors and particularly to means for suppressing or preventing corona and electromagnetic wave generation resulting from variable contacts in suspension apparatus.

A general object of the invention is to improve electroconductive connections between separate parts of hardware, suspension apparatus, and the like, for power line conductors.

A more specific object of the invention is to provide a wire clip which functions as a low resistance electrically conductive connector in shunt with the mechanical connectors of line hardware.

In suspension apparatus for electrical transmission and distribution lines, various elements of hardware, pins, links, clevises, and the like, are utilized to couple and interconnect the conductor clamps, yoke plates, and strain clamps with the insulators and other hardware. Under certain conditions the contacting faces of the parts develop high resistance paths between the parts, such that the impressed voltages produce arcing, corona, and other discharge phenomena. Such discharge phenomena are apt to produce interference with communication, data processing, and related forms of sensitive equipment. Various devices have been proposed to insure continuous electrical contact between the interconnected parts or to provide shunt connectors of low electrical resistance between the parts.

According to the present invention, there is provided a spring clip which is adapted for use as a shunt connector between clevis-link mechanical connectors. The clip is of a particular design which insures electrical contact between the parts, is adapted for insertion in existing hardware assemblies, will not be lost due to excessive wear between the parts, and is adapted for low cost manufacture.

The invention, together with further objects, features, and advantages thereof, will be understood by reference to the following detailed specification and claims, taken in connection with the appended drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is an elevation view of two suspension insulators embodying the invention;

FIG. 2 is an enlarged view of the clevis-link connector of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is an enlarged section view, taken in the direction 3-3 in FIG. 2 and particularly illustrating the spring clip of the invention; and

FIG. 4 is a side elevation view of the spring clip of the invention, taken in the direction 4-4 in FIG. 3.

Referring now to FIG. 1 and FIG. 2, there is shown line conductor apparatus comprising two suspension insulators and 11. The insulators 10 and 11 are connected together by a clevis-link connector 12 including a clevis 13 on the insulator 11, a link 14 on the insulator 10, and a pin 15 extending through the clevis and link.

As shown in FIG. 3, the body of the clip 22 comprises two elongate laterally opposed

parts

23 and 24; two

arcuate re-entrant parts

25 and 26 at one extremity of the

parts

23 and 24; a reverse arcuate yoke part 27 connecting the

re-entrant parts

25 and 26 and engaging the shank of the pin 15; two

arcuate re-entrant parts

28 and 29 at the remaining extremity of the

parts

23 and 24; and two interiorly

convergent parts

30 and 31 extending from the "

ice re-entrant parts

28 and 29 along the interior of the

parts

23 and 24, and extending about and gripping the pin 15.

The

exterior parts

23 and 24 are interiorly convergent, as shown, to increase the grip upon the pin 15 in relation to the size of the clip and the cross section of the wire.

As shown, particularly in FIG. 4, the

parts

30 and 31 diverge in the axial direction of the pin 15 in the normal condition of the clip prior to installation in the connector. Upon installation, the

parts

30 and 31 are elastically de formed into substantially planar relation with the remain ing parts of the clip, perpendicular to the axis of the pin 15, and the elastic forces exerted between the

parts

30 and 31 and the adjacent portions of the link 14 and the clevis arm 17 insure electroconductive contact of the parts of the clip with the link and clevis arm. Because of continuous contact between the parts and continual working of the parts under normal movement of the suspension apparatus, the clip prevents formation of oxide surface films at ,the adjacent portions of the clip and the apparatus parts, or will break through an existant surface film. The extremities of the wire body may advantageously engage the body parts of the link and the clevis arm along or at the edges formed by the

openings

20 and 21 for electroconductive contact with the shank of the pin 15.

The clip 22 is formed from round wire stock on a multiple slide forming machine. The wire is of a diameter suitable to the dimensions of the apparatus parts; and the size of the wire, spacing between the

clip parts

30 and 31, and between the

apparatus parts

14 and 17 may be determined by materials, presence or absence of atmospheric contaminants, and the like. The clip may be made of stainless steel, and the formed clip is spring tempered to provide the necessary elastic properties. It is to be understood that arrangements in which the gap between the apparatus parts is considerably greater than the diameter of the wire are useful and within the contemplation of the invention.

It is to be understood that the foregoing description is not intended to restrict the scope of the invention and that various rearrangements of the parts and modifications of the design may be resorted to. The following claims are directed to combinations of elements which embody the invention or inventions of this application.

We claim:

1. In a clevis-link connector comprising spaced clevis arms, a link received between the two arms, transversely aligned openings in the said arms and link, and a pin extending through the arms and link in the openings thereof, that improvement which comprises an electrically conductive spring clip received between the link and a clevis arm and comprising a formed wire part extending exteriorly about the pin and re-entrantl-y inward from laterally opposed portions thereof, and interiorly convergent portions at opposed extremities of the wire part extending about and gripping the pin, the said clip having two parts thereof elastically deformed from normally divergent relation in the longitudinal direction of the pin in electroconductive engagement with the link and clevis arm.

2. Apparatus in accordance with claim 1, in which opposed extremities of the wire part are deformed into substantially planar relation with the remainder of the part.

3. An electrical connector clip comprising a unitary wire bod-y formed in two parts laterally symmetric about a line axis perpendicular to the plane of the body and comprising two elongate laterally opposed exterior parts, a yoke part joining the said two exterior parts at one extremity of the body, and arcuately re-entrant parts at the remaining extremity of the body, and two interiorly convergent parts extending from the re-entrant parts along the interior of the exterior parts, the said interiorly convergent parts being normally divergent from the plane of the body in opposite directions therefrom for elastic deformation thereof generally to the plane of the body.

4. An electrical connector clip in accordance with claim 3, in which the yoke part joining the exterior parts extends arcuately inward to adjacent the interiorly convergent parts for positioning the clip.

5. In a clevis-link connector comprising spaced clevis arms, a link received between the two arms, transversely, aligned openings in the said arms and link, and a pin extending through the arms and link in the openings thereof, that improvement which comprises an electrically conductive spring clip received between the link and a clevis arm and comprising a unitary wire body extending exteriorly about the pin in two elongate laterally opposed exterior parts, a yoke part joining the said two exterior parts at one extremity thereof and arcuately re-entrant parts at the remaining extremity of the exterior parts, and a plurality of parts extending inward between the two exterior parts for engaging the pin and positioning the clip, the said parts being normally divergent in the longitudinal direction of the pin for elastic deformation thereof generally to the plane of the body and electro- References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,481,203 1/1924 Holmes 24218 FOREIGN PATENTS 224,860 8/1910 Germany. 398,635 7/ 1924 Germany.

5,643 1909 Great Britain.

20 LARAMIE E. ASKIN, Primary Examiner.

ROBERT K. SCHAEFER, Examiner.

Claims

3. AN ELECTRICAL CONNECTOR CLIP COMPRISING A UNITARY WIRE BODY FORMED IN TWO PARTS LATERALLY SYMMETRIC ABOUT A LINE AXIS PERPENDICULAR TO THE PLANE OF THE BODY AND COMPRISING TWO ELONGATE LATERALLY OPPOSED EXTERIOR PARTS, A YOKE PART JOINING THE SAID TWO EXTERIOR PARTS AT ONE EXTREMITY OF THE BODY, AND ARCUATELY RE-ENTRANT PARTS AT THE REMAINING EXTREMITY OF THE BODY, AND TWO INTERIORLY CONVERGENT PARTS EXTENDING FROM THE RE-ENTRANT PARTS ALONG THE INTERIOR OF THE EXTERIOR PARTS, THE SAID INTERIORLY CONVERGENT PARTS BEING NORMALLY DIVERGENT FROM THE PLANE OF THE BODY IN OPPOSITE DIRECTIONS THEREFROM FOR ELASTIC DEFORMATION THEREOF GENERALLY TO THE PLANE OF THE BODY.