Abstract:
An aerial cable spacer is provided with an anti-dislodging cable retainer. The anti-dislodging cable retainer includes a cable seat. Adjacent the cable seat on one side are ratchet teeth and a guide. Adjacent the cable on the opposite side is a slot. The slot receives a retaining arm. At the end of the retaining arm is a ratchet tooth for engagement with the ratchet teeth. The end of the arm also includes either an abutment or groove to engage the guide and to maintain the engagement of the ratchet tooth with the ratchet teeth.

Description:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
     The invention relates to spacers for aerial cables for supporting one or more cables above the ground, and more particularly to an anti-dislodging cable retainer for aerial cable spacers. 
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     Overhead conductor cables are commonly suspended from a messenger cable typically made of high strength alloys. The messenger cable is supported on poles or towers with the conductor cable spacers arranged at spaced intervals along the messenger cable to suspend one or more conductor cables. Since many power circuits require three phase electric power, it is often convenient to suspend conductor cables in groups of three. A spacer supports all three conductor cables and simultaneously maintains the conductors in spaced relation. 
     If the advantages of suspending conductors in this manner are to be fully availed, it is essential that the spacer be easily attached to the messenger cable and to the conductor cables. To provide ease of attaching the spacer to the cables and to reduce the number of parts required, the means for retaining the cables in their respective seats of the spacer should accommodate cables of varying cross sectional diameters without requiring bushings, sleeves, grommets or the like. 
     The construction of the spacer should be such that all of its parts have both high mechanical and electrical strength and are durable in use. In addition, all parts of the spacer should be economical to manufacture and to assemble. 
     U.S. Pat. No. 4,020,277, issued Apr. 26,1977 to Hendrix Wire &amp; Cable Corporation, the predecessor to the instant assignee, discloses a spacer for aerial cables. The spacer includes a body member having at least one generally arcuate cable retaining means adapted to engage a surface of the conductor cable and retain the cable in a concave seat of the spacer. One end of the cable retaining means is pivotally supported on the body member. Generally arcuate ratchet tooth means are provided adjacent the other end of the cable retaining means. Generally arcuate ratchet tooth means are also provided on the body member outwardly of the concave seat. The teeth of the retainer ratchet tooth means are engageable with the teeth of the body member ratchet tooth means when the retaining means is rotated about its pivotal support, thereby to firmly retain the conductor cable in the concave seat. 
     However, it has been found that the cable retainer may be dislodged by contact with branches or as the result of force imposed on the retainer due to a short circuit in one of the cables. 
     While unrelated to aerial cable spacers, there are patents which relate to the more general art of cable clamps. U.S. Pat. No 4,669,688 discloses a cable clamp which, when in a locked position, provides a protrusion with a tooth-like member which is held between a retaining member and an engaging member. U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,516,631, 4,128,918 and 4,609,171 disclose other similar cable clamps. 
     The structures shown in the above cable clamps are not adaptable to aerial cable spacers. For instance, one common difference from the aerial cable spacers such as shown in U.S. Pat. No. 4,020,277, is that the general cable clamps are limited to clamping cables of one or of a limited size in diameter. The aerial cable spacer of U.S. Pat. No. 4,020,277 is adapted to accommodate a greater range of cable sizes, with ease of replacing the cables and without reducing the effectiveness of the clamping ability of the cable retainer. In addition, the above general cable clamps have intricate components which are not durable for aerial cable spacer applications. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     It is an object of the present invention to provide an aerial cable spacer which overcomes the above noted problems of the prior art. 
     It is a further object of the present invention to provide an aerial cable spacer having a cable retainer which resists being inadvertently dislodged. 
     It is still a further object of the present invention to provide an aerial cable spacer having a cable retainer which is not easily dislodged and which accommodates cables of a wide range of sizes. 
     It is yet a further object of the present invention to provide an aerial cable spacer having a cable retainer which is not easily dislodged and which can be used repeatedly without losing its effectiveness to retain the cable. 
     Yet a further object of the present invention is to provide an aerial cable spacer having a cable retainer which is not easily dislodged and which is cost effective to manufacture. 
     Still a further object of the present invention is to provide an aerial cable spacer having a cable retainer which is not easily dislodged and which is durable. 
     Still yet a further object of the invention is to provide a cable spacer made of the same material as the cable, thereby providing dielectric compatability. 
     The present invention therefore provides, a device for supporting and spacing aerial cables, the device comprising a main body portion, the main body portion having, a cable seat, a first side adjacent the cable seat, a second side adjacent the cable seat and opposite from the first side, an arcuate shaped protrusion extending along the first side, a plurality of teeth arranged in an arcuate shape along the first side; and a cable retaining arm having a first end pivotally coupled to the second side of the main body portion, a second end having a pawl which pivots about a first arcuate path, the first arcuate path substantially aligned with the plurality of teeth arranged in an arcuate shape, and an abutment surface which pivots about a second arcuate path, the second arcuate path substantially aligned with the arcuate shaped protrusion, the abutment surface slidably engageable with the arcuate shaped protrusion, whereby the cable retaining arm is adapted to engage a surface and arcuate shaped protrusion of a cable, the pawl is locked in a position along the plurality of teeth and the engaging abutment surface prevents the pawl from being inadvertently released from the plurality of teeth. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     FIG. 1 is an elevational view of an aerial cable spacer, having a plurality of cable retainers, in accordance with the present invention; 
     FIG. 2 is an elevational view with phantom lines of a cable retainer of FIG. 1 in accordance with a first embodiment of the present invention; 
     FIG. 3 is a view of the cable retainer taken along line  3 — 3  of FIG. 2; 
     FIG. 4 is an elevational view of a cable seat of the body member shown in FIG. 2; 
     FIG. 5 is a view of the retainer taken along line  5 — 5  of FIG. 2; 
     FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view of the retainer taken along line  6 — 6  of FIG. 2; 
     FIG. 7 is an elevational view with phantom lines of a cable retainer of FIG. 1 in accordance with a second embodiment of the present invention; 
     FIG. 8 is a view of the cable retainer taken along line  8 — 8  of FIG. 7; 
     FIG. 9 is a view of the retainer taken along line  9 — 9  of FIG. 7; and 
     FIG. 10 is a cross-sectional view of the retainer taken along line  10 — 10  of FIG.  9 . 
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT 
     In a first embodiment, the spacer shown in FIG. 1 includes the body member  10  and four generally arcuate retaining means  12 ,  14 ,  16  and  18 . The retaining means  12 ,  14  and  16  are identical. The retaining means  18  is the same as the other retaining means except that it is narrower, shorter and has one fewer ratchet teeth. 
     Both the body member  10  and the retaining means  12 ,  14 ,  16 ,  18  are made from a thermoplastic material, the preferred embodiment being a polymer which has a low dielectric constant and has both weather and track resistant qualities. 
     The body member  10  is provided with three generally concave conductor cable seats  20 ,  22  and  24  and a generally concave messenger cable seat  26 . As can be seen from FIGS. 1 and 4, an arcuate shaped protrusion  28 ,  30 ,  32  and  34  is located at one side of each of the concave seats  20 ,  22 ,  24  and  26 . Each arcuate shaped protrusion  28 ,  30 ,  32  and  34  has a far side  36 ,  38 ,  40  and  42  facing away from the respective concave seat and a near side  44 ,  46 ,  48  and  50  facing towards the respective concave seat. FIG. 3 shows a view of the arcuate shaped protrusion  30  along line  3 — 3  of FIG.  2 . 
     The body member  10  is provided with four generally arcuate ratchet tooth means  52 ,  54 ,  56  and  58  located along the far side  36 ,  38 ,  40  and  42  of the respective arcuate shaped protrusion  28 ,  30 ,  32  and  34 . Each ratchet tooth means  52 ,  54 ,  56  and  58  includes a plurality of teeth as shown, for example, in FIG.  4 . 
     The body also comprises semi-cylindrical sockets  60 ,  62 ,  64  and  66  (FIG.  1  and  2 ). The sockets are located adjacent to the sides of the seats  20 ,  22 ,  24  and  26  respectively. The sockets are located opposite from the respective body ratchet tooth means  52 ,  54 ,  56  and  58 . The sockets are provided with slots  68 ,  70 ,  72  and  74  which are formed in part by the flanges  76  which form reinforcements for the sockets (see FIG.  4 ). 
     Each retaining means  12 ,  14 ,  16 ,  18  comprises a pair of spaced generally arcuate arms  80  (FIGS.  5  and  6 ), connected together at one end by a generally cylindrical member  82  and at the other end by a transverse member  84 . The transverse member  84  is provided with a hole or “perforation  86 . The transverse member  84  of the retaining means are also provided with a pawl  88  (see FIGS. 5 and 6) as best seen” in FIG.  6 . Each of the arms  80  includes an abutment surface or notch  90 , as seen in FIG.  5 . 
     To assemble the parts of the spacer, it is only necessary to snap each of the generally cylindrical members  82  through the slots  68 ,  70 ,  72  and  74  and into the respective socket  58 ,  60 ,  62  and  64 . 
     To install the spacer, the retaining means are rotated to open positions in which they are temporarily retained because of the snug fit between the generally cylindrical members  82  and the respective socket  58 ,  60 ,  62  and  64 . The messenger cable seat  26  is then placed over the messenger cable  78  and the retaining means adjacent to it is partially closed to hold the messenger cable in its seat. Then the conductor cables  94 ,  96 , and  98  are positioned in the seats  20 ,  22  and  24 . The conductor cables  94 ,  96  and  98  are provided with insulating sheaths  100 ,  102  and  104 . The retaining means are each rotated to closed positions so that the pawl engages the respective body member ratchet tooth means, the abutment surfaces or notches engage the respective portions of the arcuate shaped protrusions (see FIGS.  2  and  3 ), and the curved central portions of the generally arcuate arms  80  firmly contact the conductor cables. Thus the conductor cables are firmly held in their respective seats. The retaining means for the messenger cable is rotated to a fully closed position so that the central portion of its generally arcuate arm  80  firmly contacts the messenger cable thereby to firmly hold it in its seat  26 . 
     The holes or perforations  86  may be used to close and open the retaining means by inserting a screwdriver or other elongate tool and, using the tool as a lever, either to tighten the retaining means with respect to the cable or to pry it open so that it may be rotated to an open position in the event is becomes necessary to repair or replace the cables. 
     As will be appreciated, the engaging abutment surface or notch  90  and arcuate shaped protrusion  28 ,  30 ,  32 ,  34  prevents the cable retaining means  12 ,  14 ,  16 ,  18  from being inadvertently dislodged. 
     FIGS. 7-10 disclose a cable retainer in accordance with a second embodiment of the present invention. The cable retainer of the second embodiment is identical to the cable retainer of the first embodiment with the following exceptions. As seen from FIGS. 9 and 10, the abutment surface is provided in the form of a pair of tangs  92 . The pair of tangs  92  engage the arcuate shaped protrusion  28 ,  30 ,  32 ,  34  as seen in FIGS. 7 and 8. 
     It will be apparent to persons skilled in the art that a spacer embodying this invention is new, economical to manufacture and assemble and durable in use. It is also free from bushings, sleeves and grommets surrounding the messenger and conductor cables and the spacer can accommodate a wide range of cable sizes. Furthermore, it consists of only three parts, the body  10 , three identical retaining means  12 ,  14 , and  16  and one slightly smaller retaining means  18  and all three of these parts are made of the same polymeric material at the same time using a single mold cut. The body and the retaining means are weather and track resistant. In addition, the novel cable retaining means resist forces tending to pull the cables out of their seats. 
     While a first and second embodiment of a spacer for aerial cables embodying the invention has been shown in the drawings, it is to be understood that this disclosure is for the purpose of illustration only, and that various changes in shape, proportion and arrangement of parts as well as the substitution of equivalent elements for those shown and described herein may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as set forth in the appended claims.