Grounding member

Abstract

To provide a grounding member that allows for easy injection of a grounding resistance reducing agent even when the grounding resistance value is high. [Solution] A grounding member 1 is buried in the ground G near a utility pole P to release grounding current to the earth, comprising a mesh-like, cylindrical grounding plate 2 and a pipe 3 through which a resistance reducing agent flows and through which the resistance reducing agent flows out via a plurality of small holes 35. The grounding plate 2 is buried in the ground G with its cylindrical shape extending vertically, and the pipe 3 is formed in an annular shape and has an annular pipe section 31 and a vertical pipe section 32 extending perpendicularly to the annular pipe section 31. The annular pipe section 31 is located near the upper end of the cylindrical grounding plate 2, and the resistance reducing agent flows out through the small holes 35 and penetrates into the ground G near the grounding plate 2.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to a grounding member that is attached and used at the lower part or adjacent position of a utility pole that requires grounding work or the like.

Background Art

[0002] For utility poles equipped with transformers, lightning arresters, high-voltage equipment, etc., grounding work is legally required to prevent accidents due to electric leakage. This grounding work is performed by burying a grounding member at a predetermined depth around the utility pole position and connecting a grounding wire to the grounding member.

[0003] By the way, due to the intrusion of rainwater or the like, fine sand and other particles around the grounding member buried in the ground flow, creating a cavity around the grounding member, increasing the resistance value, and generating a poor grounding resistance location.

[0004] Therefore, there is a grounding member composed of an expandable metal plate body with a plurality of cuts penetrating through the front and back, and when installed (buried), this grounding member is expanded to form a meshed and bellows-shaped grounding plate (Patent Document 1).

[0005] Also, there is a grounding rod having a cylindrical second component for burying in the ground to release the grounding current to the ground. The second component has a second flow path through which a grounding resistance reducer can flow inside, an outflow hole of the first component for discharging the grounding resistance reducer flowing through the second flow path to the outside, and a blade-shaped storage part for storing a part of the grounding resistance reducer discharged from the outflow hole (Patent Document 2).

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0006]

Patent Document 1

Patent Document 2

Summary of the Invention

[0007] By the way, in the grounding member described in Patent Document 1, the contact area with the soil can be increased by spreading the metal plate in a mesh pattern, but it is unavoidable that over time, rainwater will create cavities around the grounding member buried in the ground, increasing the resistance value.

[0008] Furthermore, although a grounding resistance reducing agent is used, as described in Patent Document 2, the structure of this grounding rod is complex and inevitably expensive.

[0009] Therefore, the objective of this invention is to provide a grounding member that has a relatively simple structure, can increase the contact area with the soil, can be manufactured inexpensively, and can easily use a grounding resistance reducing agent even when the grounding resistance value is high. [Means for solving the problem]

[0010] To solve the above problems, the invention of claim 1 is a grounding member that is buried in the ground near a utility pole and allows grounding current to escape to the ground, comprising a mesh-like, cylindrical grounding plate and a pipe body through which a resistance reducing agent flows and through which the resistance reducing agent flows out of a plurality of small holes, wherein the grounding plate is buried in the ground with the cylindrical shape extending in the vertical direction, the pipe body is formed in an annular shape and has an annular pipe section and a vertical pipe section extending perpendicular to the annular pipe section, the annular pipe section is located near the upper end of the cylindrical grounding plate, and the resistance reducing agent is allowed to flow out of the small holes and permeate into the ground near the grounding plate.

[0011] The invention of claim 2 is characterized in that an injection port for injecting the resistance reducing agent is provided at the upper end of the vertical pipe section.

[0012] The invention of claim 3 is characterized in that the pipe body is made of a conductive material, the upper end of the vertical pipe portion is connected to the relay terminal of the utility pole, and is electrically connected to the upper part of the grounding plate. [Effects of the Invention]

[0013] According to the invention of claim 1, since the grounding plate is formed in a mesh-like, cylindrical shape, it is possible to widen the contact area with the soil with a relatively simple structure. Furthermore, since the resistance reducing agent is circulated through an annular pipe body formed near the upper end of the cylindrical grounding plate, and small holes are formed in the pipe body, the resistance reducing agent is allowed to flow out through the small holes and penetrate into the ground near the grounding plate, the resistance reducing agent can be efficiently penetrated into the ground around the grounding plate.

[0014] According to the invention of claim 2, since an injection port for injecting the resistance reducing agent is provided at the upper end of the vertical pipe section, when a faulty grounding resistance is found during grounding resistance measurement, the resistance reducing agent can be easily injected, thereby improving the adhesion between the grounding plate and the ground and restoring the contact area with the soil.

[0015] According to the invention of claim 3, the pipe body is made of a conductive material, the upper end of the vertical pipe section is connected to the relay terminal of the utility pole, and is electrically connected to the upper part of the grounding plate. Therefore, a dedicated connecting wire or the like is not required to connect the utility pole and the grounding plate, and the grounding member can be constructed with a minimum number of parts. [Brief explanation of the drawing]

[0016] [Figure 1] Figures 2 to 7, along with other figures, show the grounding member according to the embodiment, and are overall front views showing the member buried in the ground near a utility pole. [Figure 2] The image shows a grounding plate, which is part of a grounding member and has multiple slits that penetrate through to the front and back. (a) is a front view showing the copper plate with the slits formed, and (b) is a front view showing the slits opened. [Figure 3] This is a perspective view showing a rectangular cylindrical shape formed by combining two L-shaped base plates. [Figure 4] This is a perspective view showing the ground contact members, which are assembled into a rectangular cylindrical shape, stacked on top of each other. [Figure 5]It is a perspective view showing another example of a state where grounding members combined in a square tube shape are stacked vertically. [Figure 6] An annular pipe portion, which is a further part of a pipe body that is a part of the grounding member, is shown, where (a) is a perspective view, (b) is a bottom view, and (c) is a side view. [Figure 7] A vertical pipe portion, which is a part of the pipe body, is shown, and it is an enlarged side view.

Embodiments for Carrying out the Invention

[0017] Hereinafter, this invention will be described based on the illustrated embodiments.

[0018] (Embodiment) Figs. 1 to 7 show the grounding member 1 according to this embodiment. Fig. 1 is an overall front view and perspective view showing a state where the grounding member 1 is buried in the ground G near the utility pole P. Fig. 2 shows a grounding plate that is a part of the grounding member and has a plurality of cuts penetrating the front and back. (a) is a front view showing a state where a cut is formed in the grounding plate, and (b) is a front view showing a state where the cut is opened. Fig. 3 is a perspective view showing a state where two L-shaped bent grounding plates are combined to form a square tube shape. Fig. 4 is a perspective view showing a state where the grounding members combined in a square tube shape are stacked vertically. Fig. 5 is a perspective view showing another example of a state where the grounding members combined in a square tube shape are stacked vertically. Fig. 6 shows an annular pipe portion, which is a further part of a pipe body that is a part of the grounding member, where (a) is a perspective view, (b) is a bottom view, and (c) is a side view. Fig. 7 shows a vertical pipe portion, which is a part of the pipe body, and it is an enlarged side view.

[0019] The grounding member 1 is buried in the ground G near the utility pole P to be erected, and is composed of a grounding plate 2 that discharges the grounding current to the ground and a pipe body 3 that is located above the grounding plate 2 and discharges a resistance reducing agent into the ground G.

[0020] The grounding plate 2 forms a plurality of cuts 21 penetrating the front and back on the copper plate 2a (see Fig. 2(a)), and by stretching the copper plate 2a (in the vertical direction in Fig. 2) so as to open the cuts 21, it is formed in a mesh shape (see Fig. 2(b)).

[0021] The surface area of ​​the mesh-like contact plate 2 is larger than that of the copper plate 2a, allowing for a wider contact area with the soil in the ground G.

[0022] Tongue-shaped connecting terminal pieces 22 extending upward or downward are formed at the four corners of the grounding plate 2, and tongue-shaped connecting terminal pieces 22 extending upward or downward are also formed at the upper or lower end of the broken line 23v of the grounding plate 2, which will be described later.

[0023] The broken line 23v shown above is for bending the grounding plate 2 into an L-shape in a plan view. By joining the two L-shaped grounding plates 2, 2 (see Figure 3(a)), a rectangular cylindrical grounding plate 20 can be formed (see Figure 3(b)).

[0024] At this time, the connection terminal pieces 22 at the top, bottom, left, and right corners of the two grounding plates 2 will come into contact with each other. The contacting connection terminal pieces 22 can be connected to the cylindrical grounding plate 20 using a sleeve (not shown in the figure) or the like.

[0025] Furthermore, the lower end of the grounding plate 2 is slightly widened downwards on the left side, separated by the aforementioned fold line 23v, and a fold line 23h is formed to fold the widened portion.

[0026] Furthermore, in Figure 2, the grounding plate 2 can be bent horizontally at the lower edge of the grounding plate 2, which is bent into an L-shape in a plan view, to form a horizontal section 2h.

[0027] By using a rectangular cylindrical contact plate 20, the contact area with the soil can be further increased, and the contact resistance value with the ground can be further reduced.

[0028] Furthermore, the cylindrical ground plate 20 shown in Figure 3 is formed when the widened portion at the bottom is folded along the fold line 23h, and that portion is folded inward to form the horizontal portion 2h.

[0029] By folding the widened portion inward, the cylindrical grounding plate 20 is formed into a box shape with a bottom plate, resulting in a relatively sturdy structure that is less prone to deformation when buried in the ground G and can fully perform its function as a grounding member 1.

[0030] Furthermore, by providing a horizontal section 2h, if the resistance reducing agent described later flows into the ground G, the resistance reducing agent that seeps in from above will be received on a flat surface, allowing more of the resistance reducing agent to effectively come into contact with the grounding plate 2.

[0031] Figure 4 shows two cylindrical ground plates 20, 20 stacked in two layers, one above the other.

[0032] When stacking two cylindrical grounding plates 20, the two cylindrical grounding plates 20 can be easily connected electrically by crimping the connection terminal pieces 22 provided at the four corners of the lower edge of the upper cylindrical grounding plate 20 and the connection terminal pieces 22 provided at the four corners of the upper edge of the lower cylindrical grounding plate 20 with sleeves 24, thereby further increasing the contact area with the soil.

[0033] Figure 5, like Figure 4, shows two cylindrical grounding plates 20 stacked vertically, but the cylindrical grounding plate 20A has the widened portion shown in Figure 3 bent outwards to form a horizontal portion 2h.

[0034] In the case of the cylindrical grounding plate 20A, a horizontal section 2h is provided, similar to the cylindrical grounding plate 20 shown in Figure 4. Therefore, when the resistance reducing agent flows out into the ground G, the resistance reducing agent that seeps in from above is received on a flat surface, allowing more of the resistance reducing agent to effectively come into contact with the grounding plate 2. Furthermore, even if the resistance reducing agent flows out to the outside of the cylindrical grounding plate 20A and seeps downward, it can be received by the horizontal section 2h that is bent outwards, allowing the resistance reducing agent to come into contact with the grounding plate 2 more efficiently.

[0035] The pipe body 3 has an annular pipe section 31 formed in a square ring shape and a vertical pipe section 32 extending perpendicularly to the annular pipe section 31. The annular pipe section 31 is positioned almost horizontally above the grounding plate 2, and the vertical pipe section 32 is positioned to extend upward along the side of the utility pole P, with its upper end located at a predetermined height (2m) from the ground (see Figure 6).

[0036] An extension pipe section 33 is provided between the annular pipe section 31 and the vertical pipe section 32, positioned almost horizontally. The extension pipe section 33 and the vertical pipe section 32 are connected via an elbow joint 34, causing the vertical pipe section 32 to rise vertically upwards.

[0037] The annular pipe section 31 is made of copper tubing, has an overall rectangular annular shape, and has a number of small holes 35 formed on its lower surface. Additionally, connecting terminal pieces 36 extending downward are provided integrally with the copper tubing or attached to the lower surface of each of the four corners.

[0038] The vertical pipe section 32 uses so-called PVC-coated copper pipes, which are copper pipes coated with soft polyvinyl chloride resin, and is constructed by connecting four coated copper pipes, each 700 mm long (see Figure 1). As a result, the vertical pipe section 32 has a copper pipe on the inside and an insulator on the outside, so the inner copper pipe provides conductivity and the outer coating ensures insulation.

[0039] Since the extension pipe section 33 and the elbow joint 34 are buried underground G, coated pipe material is not used, and copper pipe is used instead.

[0040] Then, as described above, when the annular pipe section 31, the vertical pipe section 32, the elbow joint 34, and the extension pipe section 33 are connected, the inside of the copper pipe is connected and an electrical connection is made.

[0041] The annular shape of the annular pipe section 31 is formed to be approximately the same size as the rectangular cylindrical shape of the grounding plate 2, so that when the annular pipe section 31 is positioned above the grounding plate 2, the connecting terminal piece 36 and the connecting terminal piece 22 of the grounding plate 2 face each other or come into contact.

[0042] Then, by crimping the connection terminal piece 36 of the annular pipe section 31 and the connection terminal piece 22 of the grounding plate 2 with the sleeve 37, the annular pipe section 31 and the grounding plate 2 are electrically connected and fixed.

[0043] Furthermore, in this state, the upper edge of the grounding plate 2 faces the lower surface of the annular pipe portion 31, that is, the multiple small holes 35 formed on the lower surface of the annular pipe portion 31 face the upper edge of the grounding plate 2.

[0044] An injection port 38 for injecting a resistance-reducing agent is provided at the upper end of the vertical pipe section 32, and a grounding measurement terminal 39 for connecting to the relay terminal Pt of the utility pole P is also provided.

[0045] The above-mentioned inlet 38 is made of a so-called 45-degree elbow fitting made of copper pipe, and a cap 38a is attached to it.

[0046] The above-mentioned grounding measurement terminal 39 is provided integrally with or attached to the copper pipe of the above-mentioned inlet 38 (45-degree elbow joint), and is connected to the relay terminal Pt of the above-mentioned utility pole P.

[0047] Since the inlet 38 is located at a height of 2m or more above the ground surface, it is not necessary to cover it with an insulator. However, in some cases, a PVC-coated copper pipe may be used, similar to the vertical pipe section 32. In this case, in order to install the grounding measurement terminal 39, it is necessary to partially remove the PVC coating to ensure conductivity before attaching the grounding measurement terminal 39.

[0048] As a result, the relay terminal Pt of the utility pole P is electrically connected to the grounding plate 2 via the grounding measurement terminal 39, copper pipe in the vertical pipe section 32, copper pipe in the elbow joint 34, copper pipe in the extension pipe section 33, ring pipe section 31, and sleeve 37.

[0049] Furthermore, as described above, since the annular pipe section 31, the vertical pipe section 32, and the extension pipe section 33 are connected, when the resistance reducing agent is injected from the inlet 38, the resistance reducing agent is filled into the annular pipe section 31 via the vertical pipe section 32 and the extension pipe section 33, and then flows out from the small hole 35.

[0050] The resistance-reducing agent that flows out from the small holes 35 in the annular pipe section 31 permeates into the ground G near the upper edge of the grounding plate 2 located directly below the small holes 35, thereby increasing the adhesion between the grounding plate 2 and the ground G and restoring the contact area with the soil. Moreover, since the grounding plate 2 is buried vertically, the resistance-reducing agent that permeates into the ground G mainly moves downwards, so it can be efficiently supplied to the grounding plate 2.

[0051] As described above, with this grounding member 1, the grounding plate 2 is formed in a mesh-like, cylindrical shape, so the contact area with the soil can be widened with a relatively simple structure. Moreover, since the resistance reducing agent is allowed to flow out from the small holes 35 of the annular pipe body 3 formed near the upper end of the cylindrical grounding plate 2, the resistance reducing agent can be efficiently permeated into the ground G around the grounding plate 2.

[0052] Furthermore, since an injection port for injecting a resistance-reducing agent is provided at the upper end of the vertical pipe section 32 of the pipe body 3, if a faulty grounding resistance is found during grounding resistance measurement, the resistance-reducing agent can be easily injected, thereby improving the adhesion between the grounding plate and the ground G and restoring the contact area between the grounding plate 2 and the soil G.

[0053] Furthermore, since the pipe body 3 is made of copper tubing (a conductive material), and the upper end of the vertical pipe section 32 is connected to the relay terminal Pt of the utility pole P, and also electrically connected to the upper part of the grounding plate 2, a dedicated connecting wire or the like is not required to connect the utility pole P and the grounding plate 2, and the grounding member can be constructed with a minimum number of parts.

[0054] Although embodiments of this invention have been described above, the specific configuration is not limited to the embodiments described above, and any design changes, etc., that do not depart from the spirit of this invention are also included.

[0055] For example, in this embodiment, the grounding plate 2 was described as being formed in a mesh-like structure by creating cuts 21 in a copper plate 2a and then spreading them out. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and the grounding plate may be constructed by forming a mesh-like structure from a metal plate in advance by pressing or the like.

[0056] Furthermore, although the pipe body 3 is made of copper tubing, the present invention is not limited to this, and can also be made of conductive material.

[0057] Furthermore, although the above embodiment describes the grounding plate 2 as being formed in a square cylindrical shape, the present invention is not limited to this, and may also be cylindrical or polygonal cylindrical. In short, by making the grounding plate 2 cylindrical, there is a portion buried vertically in the ground G, which allows the resistance-reducing agent that permeates downward to be efficiently supplied to the soil G surrounding the grounding plate 2. [Explanation of Symbols]

[0058] P utility pole Pt relay terminal G Underground (soil) 1. Grounding member 2 Ground plate 23. Linear graph 2v vertical part 2h horizontal section 3. Pipe body 31 Annular pipe section 32 Vertical pipe section 35 small hole 36 Connection terminal piece (ground plate side) 38 Inlet 39. Grounding measurement terminal (on the utility pole side)

Claims

1. A grounding member that is buried in the ground near a utility pole and allows grounding current to escape to the earth, It comprises a mesh-like, cylindrical grounding plate and a pipe body through which a resistance-reducing agent flows and through which the resistance-reducing agent flows out via multiple small holes, The aforementioned grounding plate is buried in the ground with its cylindrical shape extending vertically. The aforementioned pipe body is formed in an annular shape and has an annular pipe portion and a vertical pipe portion extending perpendicularly to the annular pipe portion. The annular pipe section is located near the upper end of the cylindrically formed grounding plate, and the resistance reducing agent is allowed to flow out through the small holes and permeate into the ground near the grounding plate. A grounding member characterized by the following features.

2. An inlet for injecting the resistance-reducing agent is provided at the upper end of the vertical pipe section. The grounding member according to feature 1.

3. The pipe body is made of a conductive material, the upper end of the vertical pipe section is connected to the relay terminal of the utility pole, and is electrically connected to the upper part of the grounding plate. The grounding member according to claim 1 or 2.

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