Patent Publication Number: US-2007119608-A1

Title: Illuminating adaptor for hot stick and hot stick with illuminating adaptor

Description:
TECHNICAL FIELD OF THE INVENTION  
      This invention pertains to a hot stick of a known type, which is used by electrical lineworkers and to one end of which any a variety of tools is connected. This invention provides an adaptor, which is mountable to one end of a hot stick, and which comprises means for illuminating a tool connected to the adaptor.  
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
      Commonly, as exemplified in older patents including U.S. Pat. Nos. 1,920,168 and 2,643,281 and in newer patents including U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,474,197 B1 and 6,518,871 B2, electrical lineworkers use so-called “hot sticks”, which comprise dielectric poles, to manipulate any of various hooks, fuse-setting arms, pruning saws, and other tools, which are connected to distal ends of such poles via so-called “universal” connectors. Commonly, such connectors conform to recognized standards, such as ANSI standards.  
      Recently, Underwater Kinetics, Inc. of Poway, Calif., introduced a LITFINGER™ device, which is described in an advertisement as a “hot stick finger light” for a hot stick. The LITFINGER™ device, which is described as “patent pending” in the advertisement and which comprises a fuse-setting arm, comprises an LED (light-emitting diode) light, which is powered by three AAA alkaline or lithium batteries, for illuminating the fuse-securing arm.  
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
      This invention provides an adaptor, which is mountable to one end of a hot stick of a type used by electrical lineworkers, and also provides such a hot stick, to one end of which such an adaptor is mounted. The adaptor comprises a connector, which is adapted to coact with a connector provided on a tool so as to connect the tool to the adaptor, and so as to connect the tool to the end of the hot stick if the adaptor is mounted to the end of the hot stick, and further comprises means for illuminating a tool so connected. Preferably, the illuminating means comprises a light-emitting diode or light-emitting diodes.  
      In one contemplated embodiment, the adaptor comprises a connector, which coacts with a connector mounted to the end of the hot stick so as to mount the adaptor to the end of the hot stick, and the adaptor comprises another connector, which is adapted to coact with a connector provided on a tool so as to connect the tool to the adaptor, and with light-emitting diodes for illuminating a tool so connected.  
      In an alternative embodiment, the adaptor comprises a receptacle, which receives the end of the hot stick so as to mount the adaptor to the end of the hot stick, and the adaptor comprises a connector, which is adapted to coact with a connector provided on a tool so as to connect the tool to the adaptor, and with light-emitting diodes for illuminating a tool so connected. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       FIG. 1  is a fragmentary, perspective view of a hot stick, which is being held, at its proximal end, by a user who may be an electrical lineworker and which is equipped, at its distal end, with an adaptor mounting a tool, comprising means for illuminating the tool, and conforming to a first embodiment of this invention.  
       FIG. 2  is a partly exploded, fragmentary, perspective view of the distal end of the hot stick, the adaptor, and the tool, from  FIG. 1 .  
       FIG. 3  is a fragmentary, elevation of the distal end of a hot stick and of an adaptor mounting a tool, comprising means for illuminating the tool, and conforming to a second embodiment of this invention, as viewed from one side.  
       FIG. 4  is a sectional view, which is taken along line  4 - 4  in  FIG. 3 , in a direction indicated by arrows.  
       FIG. 5  is a simplified, electrical schematic of the illuminating means, as used in an adaptor conforming to the embodiment of  FIG. 1  and as used in an adaptor conforming to the embodiment of  FIG. 3 . 
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE ILLUSTRATED EMBODIMENTS  
      As illustrated in  FIGS. 1 and 2 , a hot stick  10  of the type noted above comprises a dielectric pole  12  having a proximal end  14 , at which the dielectric pole  14  is held by a user, such as an electrical lineworker, and having a distal end  16 , at which the dielectric pole  14  is equipped with a “universal” connector  20 .  
      The “universal” connector  20  has a unitary receptacle  22 , into which the distal end  16  of the dielectric pole  12  fits and is pinned via a cross-pin  24 . The “universal” connector  20 , which has an arcuate array of splines  26  alternating with slots  28  and which has a central hole  30 . The “universal” connector  20  is adapted to coact in a known manner with a similar connector, which is bolted to the “universal” connector  20 , via a bolt passing through the central hole  30  and through a similar hole of the coacting connector and receiving a nut, so that splines on the coacting connector fit into slots on the “universal” connector  20  and so that splines  26  on the “universal” connector  20  fit into slots on the coacting connector.  
      As contemplated by this invention, the hot stick  10  provided with an adaptor  100 , which has two “universal” connectors, namely a lower connector  110  and an upper connector  120 . Herein, the terms “upper” and “lower” and other directional terms are used for convenient reference to the drawings but are not intended to limit this invention to any particular orientation of the adaptor  100 .  
      The lower connector  110  is adapted to coact with the “universal” connector  20 , to which the lower connector  110  is bolted, via a bolt  32  passing through the central hole  30  of the “universal” connector  20  and through a central hole  112  of the lower connector  110  and receiving a winged nut  34 , so that splines  26  on the “universal” connector  20  fit into slots on the lower connector  110  and so that splines on the lower connector  110  fit into slots  28  on the “universal” connector  20 .  
      The upper connector  120 , which is used to connect a tool  40  to the hot stick  10 , is adapted to coact with a “universal” connector  50 , which is unitary with the tool  40  and to which the upper connector  120  is bolted, via a bolt  122  passing through a central hole  122  of the upper connector  120  and through an aligned slot  52  of the “universal” connector  50  and receiving a winged nut  124 , so that splines  126  on the upper connector  120  fit into slots on the “universal” connector  50  and so that splines on the “universal” connector  50  fit into slots  128  on the upper connector  120 .  
      As contemplated by this invention, the adaptor  100  has means for illuminating the tool  40 , when the tool  40  is connected to the hot stick  10 , via the adaptor  40 . As illustrated in  FIGS. 1 and 2 , the adaptor  100  has four lenses  102 , two of which are illustrated and which are mounted in a generally frusto-conical region of the adaptor  100 , so that the light-emitting diodes  230 , when energized, illuminate the tool  40  and regions near the tool  40 .  
      In an alternative embodiment, which is illustrated in  FIGS. 3 and 4 , an adaptor  150  is similar to the adaptor  100  and functions similarly, except that the adaptor  150  is not connected to the dielectric pole  12  via two “universal” connectors coacting with each other, as described above in connection with the adaptor  100 . Rather, the adaptor  150  has a unitary receptacle  152 , into which the distal end  16  of the dielectric pole  12  fits and is pinned via a cross-pin  154 . The adaptor  150  has a “universal” connector  160 , which is similar to the upper connector  120  of the adaptor  100  and which functions similarly, and an illuminating means, which is similar to the illuminating means of the adaptor  100  and which functions similarly.  
      As illustrated schematically in  FIG. 5 , the illuminating means of either embodiment described above may comprise a power supply  200 , such as a battery, a control interface  210 , which may include an external, on-off switch  212  and internal components, and an array of light-emitting diodes  220 . Rather than an array of light-emitting diodes, an incandescent lamp may be alternatively used. Essentially, therefore, the illuminating means of either embodiment described above functions as a flashlight functions.