US3161724A

US3161724A - Spreaders for aerial conductors

Info

Publication number: US3161724A
Application number: US262099A
Authority: US
Inventors: Jr Nicholas H Greene; Archibald T Flower
Original assignee: ARCH T FLOWER CO
Current assignee: ARCH T FLOWER Co
Priority date: 1963-03-01
Filing date: 1963-03-01
Publication date: 1964-12-15
Anticipated expiration: 1981-12-15

Description

Dec. 15, 1964 N. H. GREENE, JR.. ETAL 3,161,724

SPREADERS FOR AERIAL CONDUCTORS Filed March 1, 1963 FIG.3

INVENTOR NICHOLAS H. GREE NE,dr BQRCH lBALD T. FLOWER Attorney United States Patent "ice 3,161,724 SPREADERS FOR AERIAL CONDUCTORS Nicholas H. Greene, Jr., Springfield, and Archibald '1. Flower, Glenside, Pa. (both Arch T. Flower Co., Queen St. and Ivy Hill Road, Philadelphia 18, Pa.)

Filed Mar. 1, 1963, Ser. No. 262,099 6 Claims. (Cl. 174-146) This invention relates to spreaders for aerial condoctors and more particularly to an insulating spreader for separating lashed or multiplexed conductors and facilitating the making of connections thereto.

In overhead secondary wiring construction it is now increasingly the practice to use a close assembly of lashed or multiplexed conductors in place of the previous spaced apart construction in which the conductors are maintained in spaced relation by means of Spreaders. The lashed or multiplexed secondaries are advantageous in that they occupy less space, require less tree trimming, have greater strength, are heater in appearance, and the associated supporting hardware is of smaller size and weight.

Incident to connecting transformers and services to lashed or multiplexed secondaries it is necessary to separate the conductors in order to provide sufficient working space for making the splices. This separation is accomplished by removing the lashing or untwisting the conductors for a short distance to either side of the point where connections are to be made and suitably spreading the conductors apart to provide the necessary working space. The conventional spreader accessory for connecting services to such secondaries has heretofore been a metal take-off clamp which typically is clamped to the neutral and has the other conductors disposed in spaced grooves. Among the disadvantages of such clamps are that the working space provided is inadequate and that should the insulation of the conductons become frayed by rubbing on the metallic edges of the grooves there is a possibility of a short circuit.

It is an object of this invention to provide a spreader for making connections to lashed or multiplexed conductors which is constructed of insulating materials and as compared with metal is much less likely to damage the conductor insulation by chafing action.

Another object of the invention is to provide a spreader which tightly grips the conductors.

A further object of the invention is to produce an insulating spreader comprising a pair of superimposed spreader bars having overlapping slots entering from opposite longitudinal edges (to provide through openings for receiving the respective conductors, the bars being pivoted together with a grommet.

A still further object of the invention is to provide a spreader for secondary conductors comprising a pair of superimposed bars pivoted together with a grommet which have registering apertures adjacent the ends to receive respective bails of service take off fittings or other means for securing the bars in closed position about the condoctors.

Another object of the invention is to provide an insulating spreader for conductors which is simple in construction, eflicient in operation and inexpensive to manufacture.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will be apparent during the course of the following description.

In the accompanying drawing forming a part of this specification and in which like numerals are employed to designate like parts throughout the same,

FIG. 1 is a side elevational view of the spreader in open position,

FIG. 2 is a side elevational view of the spreader in closed position,

3,161,724 Patented Dec. 15, 1964 FIG. 3 is an edge view of the spreader shown in FIG. 2,

FIG. 4 is a section taken on line 44 of FIG. 2,

FIG. 5 is a fragmentary side elevational view of a modification in closed position with the spreader bars in registration, and

FIG. 6 is a similar view to FIG. 5 showing the spreader held with a tie wire in more tightly closed position.

Referring to the drawing, FIG. 1 shows a pair of elongated fiat bars 10 and 11, which may be identical, constructed of suitable insulating material such as molded glass fiber reinforced polyester. The longitudinal edges of each bar are provided with a series of

spaced slots

12, 13 and 14 extending transversely of the bars, across the longitudinal axis of the bars, with the slots 12 opening through the edge opposite to that of the slots 13 and 14.

The bars are disposed in superimposed relation with the slots of each bar in inverse relation to the slots of the other bar so that the closed ends of the slots of one bar overlap the closed ends of the slots of the other bar. The free ends of each bar are provided with tight fitting grommets 15, the grommets of each bar being adapted to register with the grommets of the other bar when the bars are in superimposed relation and as the heads of the grommets project from the surface of the bars, the bars will be spaced apart, as shown in FIG. 4. A grommet 16 extending through both bars, intermediate the

slots

12 and 13, pivotally connects the bars together, permitting the bars to be swung to the position shown in FIG. 1 for inserting the

conductors

17, 18 and 19 in the

slots

12, 13, and 14. After the conductors are inserted in the slots the bars are swung to the position shown in FIG. 2, in which position the grommets 15 form through

openings

20 and 21, to receive a bail 22 for supporting a group of service conductors, not shown, it being understood that another group of service conductors may also be taken off at the other end of the spreader by looping a bail through the opening 20. Thus, it is seen the bail 22. passing through the

passages

20 and 21 secure the bars against pivotal movement so that the

conductors

17, 18 and 19 are securely clamped in the ends of the slots of the bars.

The longitudinal spacing of the

slots

12, 13 and 14 is such as to provide convenient spacing of the conductors for making up the splices in conventional manner. The mouths of the slots are tapered to permit them to engage and close upon the conductors and the inner ends of the slots are so dimensioned with respect to the specific size of the conductors so as to tightly engage the conductors when the bars are in closed position.

In the modification shown in FIGS. 5 and 6 the bars 10 and 11 are provided with elongated slanted slots in place of the grommets 15 forming the passage 21 and the adjacent ends of the bars are provided with central notches 31 in the edge thereof. The slots 30 extend at an angle to the longitudinal axis of the bars in a downwardly diverging relation towards the notched ends of the bars. When the conductor 19 is engaged in the slots 14, as shown in FIG. 5, the upper ends of the slots 30 will be in overlapping relation providing an opening 32 through the bars for inserting the bail 22 which supports the service conductors. The tension exerted by the service conductors on the bail pulls the bail downwardly in the slots thus moving the bars to a closed position and the slots 14 into forceful engagement with the conductor 19. If desired a tie wire 33 may be looped through the slots 30 and the ends twisted together within the notches 31, as shown in FIG. 6, to provide the desired tension. The angular movement of the bars under the tension of the tie wire will move the grommets forming the passage 20 slightly out of alinement but not enough to prevent a bail to be inserted through the passage.

In use, the bars of the spreader are swung open to the approximate position shown in FIG. 1. The bars in open position are disposed between

conductors

17 and 18 so that; conductor 17 will be received in the opposed slots 12 and conductor 18 will be received in opposed slots 13 when the bars are partially closed. The slots 14 are so spaced from slots 13 that when the bars are partially closed to confine the

conductors

17 and 18 in the respective slots. 12 and 13, the opposed slots 14 will be sufficiently spaced apart to receive the conductor 19. After positioning conductor 19 between the slots 14 the bars are completely closed to confine the conductor within the slots. The bail 22 is then looped through the passage 21 and secured to the service messenger, not shown, after which the service is spliced to the secondary conductors. In the modified form of the spreader shown in FIGS. and 6, after the conductors are inserted in the slots of the bars a bail or tie wire 33 is looped through the angular slots 30 and a downward pressure is applied on the slots to move the bars to cause the

slots

12, 13 and 14 to tightly grip and compress the conductors.

The use of grommet 16 to pivotally connect the bars has decided advantages over a conventional nut and bolt in that there is no nut to work loose, weight is reduced, the assembly operation is simplified, packaging space is conserved, appearance is improved and cost is reduced.

Having thus described our invention, we claim:

1. A spreader bar for conductor wires comprising a pair of superimposed elongated flat bars of electrical insulating material having a pivotal connection, each of said bars having a like plurality of spaced lateral slots with some of the slots opening through one edge of each bar and at least one of the slots opening through the other edge of each bar, the slots of each bar being disposed 0ppositely to the slots of the other bar and extending across the bars beyond the longitudinal axis of the bar so that the closed ends of the slots of one bar overlap the closed ends of the slots of the other bar, all the slots opening in one edge of each bar lying to one side of the pivot point and all of the slots opening in the other edge of each bar lying to the other side of the pivot point, said bars having opposite transverse openings disposed endwardly of an endmost opposing pair of lateral slots, said openings being adapted to register when the bars are in parallel relation.

2. A spreader bar as defined in claim 1 including grommets disposed in the openings at the ends of said bars said grommets having contacting heads which space said bars apart when in register.

3. A spreader bar for conductor wires comprising a pair of superimposed elongated flat bars of electrical insulating material having a pivotal connection, each of said bars having a like plurality of spaced lateral slots with at least one of the slots opening through one edge of each bar and other slots opening through the other edge of each bar, the slots of each bar being disposed oppositely to the slots of the other bar and extending across the bar beyond the longitudinal axis of the bar so that the closed ends of the slots of one bar overlap the closed ends of the slots of the other bar, all of the slots opening in one edge of each bar lying to one side of the pivot point and all of the slots opening in the other edge of each bar lying to the other side of the pivot point, the ends of said bars more remote from said pivot point being provided with elongated slanted slots disposed endwardly of the endmost lateral slots, with the slanted slot of each bar extending endwardly in diverging relation to the slanted slot of the other bar and away from the edge of the bar having an adjacent lateral slot, the upper ends of said slanted slots being in register when the bars are in parallel relation.

4. A spreader bar as described in claim 3 wherein the ends of said bars adjacent said slanted slots are provided with wide shallow end notches, and including a tie looped through said slanted slots and engaged in said end notches.

5. A spreader bar as described in claim 3 including a bail inserted through said slanted slots adapted to exert an endward force on the marginal edges of said slanted slots and thereby move said bars to reduce the size of the openings formed by the overlapping ends of said lateral slots.

6. A spreader bar as described in claim 1 wherein said bars have transverse openings disposed endwardly of the endmost pair of lateral slots at both ends of each bar.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,946,757 2/34 Parker 174-45 X 2,560,723 7/51 Hansen 24-132 X 2,724,815 11/55 Sisco 24-115 X 2,825,751 3/58 Flower 176-146 2,860,907 11/58 Vanciel 174-146 X JOHN F. BURNS, Primary Examiner.

JOHN P. WILDMAN, Examiner.

Claims

1. A SPREADER BAR FOR CONDUCTOR WIRES COMPRISING A PAIR OF SUPERIMPOSED ELONGATED FLAT BARS OF ELECTRICAL INSULATING MATERIAL HAVING A PIVOTAL CONNECTION, EACH OF SAID BARS HAVING A LIKE PLURALITY OF SPACED LATERAL SLOTS WITH SOME OF THE SLOTS OPENING THROUGH ONE EDGE OF EACH BAR AND AT LEAST ONE OF THE SLOTS OPENING THROUGH THE OTHER EDGE OF EACH BAR, THE SLOT OF EACH BAR BEING DISPOSED OPPOSITELY TO THE SLOTS OF THE OTHER BAR AND EXTENDING ACROSS THE BARS BEYOND THE LONGITUDINALLY AXIS OF THE BAR SO THAT THE CLOSED ENDS OF THE SLOTS OF ONE BAR OVERLAP THE CLOSED ENDS OF THE SLOTS OF THE OTHER BAR, ALL THE SLOTS OPENING IN ONE EDGE OF EACH BAR LYING TO ONE SIDE OF THE PIVOT POINT AND ALL OF THE SLOTS OPENING IN THE OTHER EDGE OF EACH BAR LYING TO THE OTHER SIDE OF THE PIVOT POINT, SAID BARS