US3437741A

US3437741A - Tilting corona shield

Info

Publication number: US3437741A
Application number: US652764A
Authority: US
Inventors: John C Beck
Original assignee: BETHEA CO Inc
Current assignee: BETHEA CO Inc
Priority date: 1967-07-12
Filing date: 1967-07-12
Publication date: 1969-04-08
Anticipated expiration: 1986-04-08

Description

April 8, 1969 J. c. BECK Y TILTING CORONA SHIELD Filed July 12, 1967 I N VENTOR. Jab/r [f Bea/f United States Patent 3,437,741 TILTING CORONA SHIELD John C. Beck, Birmingham, Ala., assignor to Bethea Company, Inc., a corporation of Alabama Filed July 12, 1967, Ser. No. 652,764 Int. Cl. H01b 17/48 U.S. Cl. 174-141 6 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE Background of the invention As is well known in the art to which my invention relates, one of the principal problems in transmission line maintenance is the handling of corona shields during maintenance work. This is especially true since it is the usual practice to work on electrical lines while energized so as not to interrupt service. Heretofore, corona shields have been attached to the yoke or attachment assembly by means of bolts whereby the entire corona shield had to be removed while working on assemblies, such as dead end assemblies. While slots have been provided in mounting brackets for the corona shields which eliminate the necessity of having to remove the mounting bolts entirely from the assembly, it has still been necessary to remove the corona shield to provide access to the line end insulators for the line tools. Complete removal and replacement of the corona shields is not only troublesome and costly but is extremely hazardous.

Brie] summary of invention My improved invention relates to a tilting corona shield which is carried by the yoke assembly connecting the insulator string to a conductor. The corona shield is mounted for pivotal movement relative to the yoke assembly. Cooperating stop members are carried by the yoke assembly and an adjacent portion of the corona shield end are engageable with each other upon a predetermined amount of rotation of the corona shield relative to the yoke assembly. Releasable retaining members secure the corona shield at selected angular positions relative to the yoke assembly. During maintenance, it is only necessary to loosen the retaining bolts and then tilt the shield out of the way. When maintenance is complete, the shield is 'tilted back whereupon stop members properly align the corona shield. The retaining members then secure the shield in place.

Apparatus embodying features of my invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawing, forming a part of this application, in which:

FIG. 1 is a top plan view showing a corona shield mounted on a yoke assembly connecting a single insulator string and a conductor, the corona shield being shown in the tilted, inoperative position in dotted lines;

FIG. 2 is a side elevational 'view of the apparatus shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is an enlarged, sectional view taken generally along the line 3-3 of FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is a sectional view taken generally along the line 44 of FIG. 3;

FIG. 5 is a top plan view showing a modified form of my invention; and,

3,437,741 Patented Apr. 8, 1969 FIG. 6 is an isometric view showing another modified form of my invention. Referring now to the drawing for a better understandmg of my invention, I show a yoke assembly 10 having a clevlsmember 11 at one side thereof and an eye member 12 at the other side thereof. The clevis member 11 is pivotally connected by a pin 13 to one end of a link 14. The other end of the link 14 is connected to an adjacent end of an insulator string indicated generally at 16. The eye member 12 is pivotally connected by a pin 17 to a dead end clamp 18 which in turn is secured to a conductor 19 by retaining bolts 21. The apparatus for connecting the conductor 19 to the insulator string 16 thus described is conventional type apparatus and may asssume various forms. My improved means for mounting the corona shield on the yoke assembly will now be described.

As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, the yoke assembly 10 is provided with a body portion 22 having a groove 23 therein for receiving the

ends

24 and 26 of a corona shield 27. The portion of the body 22 having the groove 23 therein thus forms a clamping element which cooperates with a second clamping element 28. A groove 29 is provided in the clamping element 28 in position to engage the opposite side of the

ends

24 and 26 from the ends thereof engaged by the groove 23, as shown in FIGS. 3 and 4. The

ends

24 and 26 are spaced from each other, as shown in FIG. 3 and retaining members, such as bolts 31, extend through openings 32 in clamping element 28 and threaded openings 33 in clamping element 22 to clamp the

ends

24 and 26 of the corona shield there'between.

As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, the end 24 of the corona shield 27 is cut away as at 34 to provide angularly spaced stops 36 and 37. Formed integrally with the inner surface of the body 22 is an inwardly projecting detent 38 having stop surfaces 39 and 41 which intersect each other at the axis of rotation of the

ends

24 and 26 of the corona shield. The stop surfaces 39 and 41 are thus spaced angu larly from each other whereby the stop surface 39 engages the stop 36 upon rotating the corona shield 27 to the solid line position shown in FIG. 4. Upon rotating the corona shield 27 to the dotted line position shown in FIG. 4, the stop 37 engages the stop surface 41. With the

ends

24 and 26 engaging the grooves 23 and 29 in the

clamping elements

22 and 28, the

end portions

24 and 26 define shaft-like supporting members for the corona shield 10.

In FIG 5 of the drawing, I show a modified form of my invention in which a pair of insulator strings 16 are secured to a pair of conductors 19 by a yoke asembly indicated generally at 10a. Pins 13 pivotally connect one side of the yoke assembly 10a to links 14 which in turn are connected to the insulator strings 16. Pins 17 pivotally connect the other side of the yoke assembly 10a to links 42 which in turn are pivotally connected to dead end clamps 18. Instead of clamping both ends of the corona shield between a single pair of clamping elements, in FIG. 5, I show a corona shield 27a which is generally loopedshaped with the ends thereof spaced from each other, as shown. The yoke assembly 10a is provided with body portions 22 adjacent each end thereof which in turn are provided with clamping grooves 23, as described hereinabove. In like manner, clamping elements 28 are secured to the body portions 22 by retaining bolts 31 and a clamping groove 29 is provided in the undersurface of clamping element 28.

In FIG. 6 of the drawing, I show another modification of my invention. In this modification the corona shield proper 2717 may be generally U-shaped, as shown. The yoke, 10b is provided with a pair of oppositely disposed brackets 43, each having an upturned portion 44. The corona shield is mounted for pivotal movement relative to the yoke by means of shaft-like supporting elements or pins 24b and 26b which are secured to the shield and extend through holes provided in the bracket portions 44. An arcuate slot 46 is provided in each of the bracket portions 44, as shown. The are of the slot 46 is concentric with the hole through which pin 24b or 26b passes. A stop element 47, which may be a stud extending inwardly of the shield or a bolt secured in a threaded hole in the shield, is provided in position to pass through the slot 46. The ends of the slot 46 cooperate with the sides of the stop element thereby forming stops corresponding to those formed by detent 38 and the cut away portion 34 in the previously described embodiments of my invention. A releasable clamping or retaining element, which may be a nut threaded on the stud forming element 47 or it may be the head of a bolt forming element 47, is provided whereby the shield is secured in an operative position and may be released for movement or to an inoperative position. The yoke 10b shown in FIG. 6 corresponds with the yoke 10 shown in FIG. 1, and has a clevis member 1112 at one side and an eye member 12b at the other side. These yokes are typical of attachment assemblies which may be used between the conductor and insulator strings.

From the foregoing description, the operation of my improved apparatus will be readily understood. The shaftlike supporting

end portion

24 and 26 of the corona shield 27 are inserted between the

clamping elements

22 and 28, as shown in FIGS. 3 and 4 whereby they engage the clamping grooves 23 and 29. The retaining bolts 31 are moved into threaded engagement with the openings 33 whereupon the corona shield is adapted to move selectively to the solid line or operative position and the dotted line or inoperative position. At the time of installation, the corona shield 27 is moved to the solid line position shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 whereby the stop 36 engages the stop surface 39 to thus position the corona shield accurately relative to the yoke assembly and insulator string. With the corona shield 27 properly aligned, the retaining bolts 31 are tightened whereby the

clamping elements

22 and 28 secure the corona shield 27 fixedly in the solid line or operative position.

During maintenance of the line, the worker merely loosens the retaining bolts 31 whereby the shaft-like supporting

end portions

24 and 26 are adapted to rotate relative to the clamping grooves 23 and 29. The corona shield 27 is then pivoted to the dotted line or inoperative position shown in FIGS. 1 and 2. In this position, the corona shield is out of the way as the line is repaired. When maintenance is complete, the corona shield 27 is tilted back to the solid line or operative position shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 and the bolts 31 are retightened. The built-in stops 36-39 and 37-41 provide proper positioning and alignment of the corona shield 27 as it is moved selectively to the operative and inoperative positions.

The operation of the apparatus shown in FIG. -is substantially the same as the operation of the apparatus shown in FIGS. 1 through 4,'the principal difierence being the fact that the ends 24 and 26 aresecured by separate pairs of clamping elements in the embodiment shown in FIG. 5.

While I have shown my invention in several forms, it will be obvious to those skilled in the art that it is not so limited, but is susceptible of various other changes and modifictaions without departing fnom the spirit thereof,

4 and I desire, therefore, that only such limitations shall be placed thereupon as are specifically set forth in the appended claims.

What I claim is:

1. The combination with an insulator and a conductor supported thereby, of:

(a) a corona shield between the insulator and the conductor and having a shaft-like supporting element,

(b) cooperating stop members carried by an attachment assembly and the corona shield engageable with each other upon a predetermined amount of rotation of said shield relative to said assembly, and

(c) releasable retaining members adapted to secure said corona shield at selected angular positions relative to said assembly and captively mount the shield between the insulator and the conductor for movement toward and away from the insulator whereby the insulator may be made accessible for replacement or servicing upon movement of the shield away from the insulator.

2. The combination with a yoke assembly connecting at least one insulator string to a conductor:

(a) a corona shield having a shaft-like supporting portion,

(b) releasable clamping elements carried by the yoke assembly disposed to receive said shaft-like supporting portion,

(c) cooperating stop mmebers carried by the yoke assembly and said shaft-like supporting portion engageable wtih each other upon a predetermined amount of rotation of said shaft-like supporting portion relative to said yoke assembly, and

(d) releasable retaining members securing said clamping elements to each other with said shaft-like supporting portion clamped therebetween to retain said corona shield at selected angular positions relative to said yoke assembly.

3. The combination defined in claim 2 in which the end of said shaft-like supporting portion is cut away to provide angularly spaced stops and a detent is carried by the yoke assembly intermediate said stops to limit angular rotation of said shaft-like supporting portion relative to the yoke assembly.

4. The combination defined in claim 2 in which the corona shield is a single length of generally looped-shaped tube with the ends thereof fitting between said clamping elements.

5. The combination defined in claim 4 in which both ends of the corona shield are clamped between a single pair of clamping elements carried by the yoke assembly with said retaining members passing between said ends of the corona shield.

6. The combination defined in claim 4 in which each end of the corona shield is clamped by a separate pair of spaced apart clamping elements carried by the yoke assembly.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,407,477 2/1922 Plimpton.

LARAMIE E. ASKIN, Primary Examiner.

U.S. Cl. X.R. 174144