Ground fault prevention cover for movable bracket

Abstract

This invention provides a ground fault prevention cover for movable brackets that does not require a large storage space for storage and allows for a large number to be transported at once. [Solution] A ground fault prevention cover that is mounted across an insulator constituting a movable bracket and a pipe connected to the insulator to protect against birds and animals is configured to include a plurality of attachments that are attached to the pipe at predetermined intervals, each having an annular portion with an opening cut out in the circumferential direction and support portions that protrude radially from the annular portion, and a cylindrical cover body made of a flexible and elastic material, having a slit along the axial direction, and attached so that its inner circumferential surface contacts the outer surface of the tip of the support portion of the plurality of attachments.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to a ground fault prevention cover for a movable bracket that is attached to a utility pole and supports electric wires, and more particularly to a ground fault prevention cover suitable for preventing ground faults caused by birds and beasts in a movable bracket.

Background Art

[0002] In a railway track, when birds perch or small animals climb on a movable bracket, which is an electric train line support structure attached to a utility pole beside the track, a ground fault accident occurs where current flows to the utility pole side by contacting the main pipe (horizontal pipe) or auxiliary pipe (diagonal pipe) of the movable bracket to which a high voltage is applied from the electric train line. Therefore, measures have been taken to prevent ground faults caused by birds and beasts in movable brackets. As one of these measures, a ground fault prevention cover (bird and beast damage prevention cover, protection cover) is developed to be mounted so as to straddle the boundary between the insulator constituting the movable bracket and the main pipe or auxiliary pipe. Conventionally, inventions related to bird and beast damage prevention covers and protection covers mounted on movable brackets are disclosed in, for example, Patent Documents 1 and 2.

[0003] Among these, the bird damage prevention cover disclosed in Patent Document 1 includes a cylindrical cover main body that covers around the support rod (pipe) of the movable bracket and a bulging portion that covers around the tip of the insulator of the movable bracket, and continuous cuts extending in the longitudinal direction are provided in the cover main body and the bulging portion. On the other hand, the protection cover disclosed in Patent Document 2 has a detachable fitting seat and a detachable fitting insertion hole portion on the outer surface of a cover main body having an inverted U shape, and three radial bracket receiving portions are provided on the inner surface of the cover main body, and a slip prevention seat portion is provided at the end of the cover main body on the insulator side.

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0004]

Patent Document 1

[0005] However, the bird-repellent cover described in Patent Document 1 has a configuration in which the cover body is fixed to the support rod (pipe) of the movable bracket using a bolt and nut. This requires forming a through hole in the support rod of the movable bracket for inserting the bolt, and the installation process is cumbersome and time-consuming. Furthermore, because the shape before installation is the same as the shape after installation, a large storage space is required to store the bird-repellent covers before installation, and there are limitations on the number that can be carried at one time. On the other hand, the protective cover described in Patent Document 2 has the problem that, because almost half of the cover body is unsupported, it is not stable when installed, and because the bottom of the cover body is open, it cannot reliably prevent ground fault accidents caused by small animals entering or coming into contact with it.

[0006] This invention was made in view of the above-mentioned problems, and its objective is to provide a ground fault prevention cover for a movable bracket that does not require a large storage space for storage and can be carried in large quantities at once. Another object of the present invention is to provide a ground fault prevention cover for a movable bracket that can more reliably prevent ground fault accidents caused by the entry or contact of birds and animals by covering the insulators and pipes constituting the movable bracket from below as well. Another object of the present invention is to provide a ground fault prevention cover for a movable bracket that can shorten the time required for installation. [Means for solving the problem]

[0007] To achieve the above objective, this invention is: In a ground fault prevention cover that is mounted across an insulator constituting a movable bracket and a pipe connected to the insulator to protect against birds and animals, Multiple attachments are mounted on the pipe at predetermined intervals, each having an annular portion with an opening cut out in the circumferential direction and support portions projecting radially from the annular portion. The device is configured to include a cylindrical cover body made of a flexible and elastic material, having a slit along the axial direction, and attached so that its inner surface contacts the outer surface of the tip of the support portion of the plurality of attachments.

[0008] According to the ground fault prevention cover with the above configuration, the cylindrical cover body is made of a flexible and elastic material and has slits. By repeatedly spreading the cover body along the slits and storing other cover bodies inside, multiple cover bodies can be stacked, thus requiring less storage space and allowing a larger number to be transported at once. Furthermore, because the cover body is cylindrical, it can cover the insulators and pipes that make up the movable bracket from below, more reliably preventing ground fault accidents caused by the entry or contact of birds and animals. Furthermore, since the attachment has an opening in the annular portion, it can be easily attached to the pipe of the movable bracket. In addition, because the cylindrical cover body is supported by multiple attachments, the cover body can be kept in a stable state.

[0009] Here, preferably, the cover body is provided with a pair of protrusions on its outer edge that are in contact with each other along the cut, The pair of protruding parts are configured such that a convex engaging portion is formed on the joining surface of one of the protruding parts, and an engaging recess that can engage with the convex engaging portion is formed on the joining surface of the other protruding part.

[0010] With this configuration, since the cylindrical cover body is made of an elastic material, the cover body returns to its original shape when installed, and the restorative force allows it to wrap around the attachment, making it easy to attach the ground fault prevention cover to the movable bracket and reducing the time required for installation. Furthermore, the convex engaging portion and the engaging recess can be easily engaged, and by engaging them, the cover body can be prevented from opening, thus ensuring that the cover body remains wrapped around the attachment.

[0011] Preferably, the support portion of the attachment comprises a plurality of legs projecting radially from the annular portion at predetermined intervals, and support wing pieces provided at the tips of the legs and having surfaces aligned with a plane concentric with the annular portion. This configuration allows for a reduction in the weight of the attachment.

[0012] Furthermore, preferably, columnar projections projecting radially from the outer circumference of the annular portion are provided between the plurality of legs, excluding the opening. With this configuration, even if the space between the attachment legs is made larger to reduce weight, it is possible to prevent small birds and animals from entering the inner space of the ground fault prevention cover.

[0013] Furthermore, preferably, the leg portion comprises a triangular main support wall and a comb-shaped secondary support wall provided in a plane perpendicular to the main support wall. This configuration allows for maintaining strength while reducing the weight of the legs, and also makes it difficult for electric current to flow along the surface of the legs. [Effects of the Invention]

[0014] According to the ground fault prevention cover for the movable bracket of the present invention, it does not require a large storage space for storage and can increase the number that can be carried at one time. In addition, by covering the insulators and pipes constituting the movable bracket from below, it is possible to more reliably prevent the occurrence of ground fault accidents due to the entry and contact of birds and beasts into the inner space of the cover. Furthermore, there is an effect that the time required for the installation work can be shortened.

Brief Description of the Drawings

[0015] [Figure 1] It is a perspective view showing the configuration of a ground fault prevention cover for a movable bracket according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 2] It shows an example of a cover body constituting the ground fault prevention cover for the movable bracket of the embodiment. (A) is a front view, (B) is a side view, and (C) is an enlarged view of the joint part. [Figure 3] It shows an example of an attachment constituting the ground fault prevention cover for the movable bracket according to the embodiment. (A) is a plan view, (B) is a front view, and (C) is a side view. [Figure 4] It is a view showing a state where the attachment constituting the ground fault prevention cover of the embodiment is attached to the pipe of the movable bracket. [Figure 5] It is a perspective view showing a state where the ground fault prevention cover of the embodiment is attached to the movable bracket to be protected. [Figure 6] It is a front view showing a modified example of the attachment constituting the ground fault prevention cover of the embodiment.

Modes for Carrying Out the Invention

[0016] Hereinafter, embodiments of the ground fault prevention cover for the movable bracket according to the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. Figure 1 is a perspective view showing the configuration of a ground fault prevention cover for a movable bracket according to an embodiment of the present invention. As shown in Figure 1, the ground fault prevention cover of this embodiment comprises a cylindrical cover body 10 and an attachment 20 positioned inside the cover body 10 for fixing the cover body 10 to the main pipe (horizontal pipe) or sub-pipe (diagonal pipe) of the movable bracket. Both the cover body 10 and the attachment 20 are made of insulating material.

[0017] Figure 2 shows an example of the configuration of the cover body 10 that constitutes the ground fault prevention cover of the embodiment, where (A) is a front view, (B) is a side view, and (C) is an enlarged view of the joint. As shown in Figure 2, the cover body 10 in this embodiment is cylindrical in shape with a continuous slit 11 along its longitudinal direction, and protruding portions 12A and 12B that contact each other are provided on the outer edges of the slit 11. A convex engaging portion 13A with an arrow-shaped cross-section is formed on the joining surface of one of the protruding portions 12A and 12B (12A in the figure), and an engaging recess 13B consisting of a recess corresponding to the shape of the convex engaging portion 13A is formed on the joining surface of the other (12B in the figure).

[0018] Furthermore, the cover body 10 in this embodiment is made of a synthetic resin with appropriate flexibility and elasticity, such as EVA resin (olefin-based ethylene-vinyl acetate copolymer resin). This allows the cover body 10 to open the slit 11 and to engage or disengage the convex engaging portion 13A with the engaging recess 13B, as shown in Figure 2(B). In addition, EVA resin has excellent weather resistance, which has the advantage of extending the product life. Although not particularly limited, the cover body 10 has a diameter of approximately 14 cm, a length of approximately 50 cm, and a thickness of 3 mm. The cover body 10 is not limited to EVA resin, but can be made of any material that is flexible, elastic, and insulating, such as synthetic rubber. Weather resistance is even more desirable. Furthermore, the shapes of the convex engaging portion 13A and the engaging recess 13B are not limited to arrow shapes, but can be any shape that can interlock with each other, such as a half-arrow or a hook shape (J-shape).

[0019] Figure 3 shows an example of the configuration of the attachment 20 that constitutes the ground fault prevention cover of this embodiment. Of these, (A) is a plan view, (B) is a front view, and (C) is a side view. As shown in Figure 3, the attachment 20 constituting the ground fault prevention cover of this embodiment comprises an annular portion 21 having a C-shaped cross-section, five leg portions 22 formed to project radially from the outer circumferential surface of the annular portion 21, and support wing pieces 23 provided at the tip of each leg portion 22 that contact the inner surface of the cover body 10. Furthermore, four columnar protrusions 24 are provided between each of the five leg portions 22, projecting radially from the outer circumferential surface of the annular portion 21. The material constituting the attachment 20 is an insulating synthetic resin such as polycarbonate.

[0020] Of the parts that make up the attachment 20, the annular portion 21 is formed so that its cross-section is C-shaped by cutting out a part of a cylinder having an inner diameter slightly smaller than the diameter of the pipe of the movable bracket to which the ground fault prevention cover is attached, thereby creating an opening 20a. The axial width of the annular portion 21 is set to a value such as 4 cm in the attachment of this embodiment.

[0021] Furthermore, the opening 20a of the annular portion 21 is set to have a width that is about half the diameter of the pipe of the movable bracket. By widening this opening 20a and fitting the pipe of the movable bracket inside the annular portion 21, the attachment 20 can be attached to the pipe of the movable bracket. Thus, in this embodiment, polycarbonate with elastic resilience is used as the material constituting the attachment 20, and the inner diameter of the annular portion 21 is made slightly smaller than that of the pipe, so that the attachment is structured to hold the pipe. Therefore, the pipe can be held without displacement even without closing the opening 20a with binding wire or the like. Furthermore, to reduce frictional resistance when fitting the movable bracket onto the pipe and to prevent damage to the pipe, a guide wall 20b that curves outward is provided on the edge of the opening 20a. The guide wall 20b may also be formed as a tapered wall that slopes outward instead of being curved.

[0022] The leg portion 22 is composed of a main support wall 22A, which forms an isosceles triangle in front view and is provided in a plane perpendicular to the axis of the annular portion 21, and a secondary support wall 22B, which forms a comb-like shape in side view and is provided in a plane perpendicular to the main support wall 22A. The secondary support wall 22B is formed in a comb-like shape to make it difficult for current to flow when the attachment 20 gets wet with rainwater, by lengthening the current path that tries to flow along the surface of the leg portion 22 and increasing the electrical resistance. Note that the number of leg portions 22 is not limited to five, and may be four or other numbers. If the number of leg portions 22 is reduced, the circumferential width of the support wing piece 23 at the tip may be increased to make the contact area with the cover body 10 the same as when there are five leg portions 22.

[0023] The support wing pieces 23 are formed in a substantially rectangular shape when viewed from the outer circumference, and as shown in Figure 3(B), when viewed from the front, they are formed in a curved shape that follows a circle concentric with the annular portion 21. Furthermore, in the attachment 20 of this embodiment, by appropriately setting the thickness of each support wing piece 23, the circumferential width of the support wing pieces 23 is set to be smaller than the distance between the support wing pieces 23. This makes it possible to reduce the amount of material used to form the attachment 20.

[0024] The columnar projection 24 has a diameter of approximately 3 mm and is set to a height slightly lower than the height of the leg portion 22. This prevents the tip of the columnar projection 24 from hitting and damaging the inner surface of the cover body 10 when the cover body 10 is placed outside the attachment 20, and by making it lower than the leg portion 22, it prevents current from flowing through the columnar projection 24 to the cover body 10, while also dividing the circumferential width of the space between the leg portions 22 to prevent small birds and animals from entering the cover body 10. In this embodiment, the columnar projection 24 is formed integrally with the annular portion 21 and the leg portion 22, but it may also be formed separately and inserted into a hole pre-formed in the annular portion 21.

[0025] Next, the method of attaching the ground fault prevention cover of the above embodiment will be explained using Figures 4 and 5. Figure 4 shows the attachment 20 shown in Figure 3 attached to the pipe 31 (main pipe 31A and sub-pipe 31B) of the movable bracket 30, and Figure 5 shows the cover body 10 attached to the outside of the attachment 20 in Figure 4. In Figure 5, the cover body 10 is attached to the outside of the attachment 20, with the pair of protrusions 12A and 12B facing upwards. This shows the cover body 10 being attached in a position where it opens and closes on the upper side of the pipe. However, the position of the protrusions 12A and 12B is not limited to the upper side of the pipe.

[0026] Furthermore, as shown in Figure 4, three attachments 20 are mounted on each pipe 31 at predetermined intervals. In this case, one of the three attachments 20 is mounted on the main pipe (horizontal pipe) 31A and the sub-pipe (diagonal pipe) 31B of the movable bracket 30, near the insulators 32A and 32B, while the remaining two attachments 20 are mounted at equal intervals and with their overall spacing set so that the total length of the attachments is less than the total length of the cover body 10.

[0027] More specifically, the tips of the insulators 32A and 32B located at the bases of the main pipe 31A and sub-pipe 31B of the movable bracket 30 are provided with metal parts 32a and 32b that have a dome-shaped outer shape. If the axial length of these metal parts 32a and 32b is L1 and the total length of the cover body 10 is L0, then the three attachments 20 are mounted so that they are arranged at equal intervals over a length of (L0-2L1). As a result, when the cover body 10 is attached to the outside of the attachment 20 in Figure 4, the metal parts 32a and 32b at the tips of the insulators 32A and 32B are covered and hidden by the cover body 10, as shown in Figure 5. Consequently, by using the ground fault prevention cover of this embodiment, ground faults caused by birds and animals in the movable bracket can be reliably prevented.

[0028] Next, a modified example of the ground fault prevention cover of the above embodiment will be described using Figure 6. The modified example shown in Figure 6(A) involves forming through holes 22a in the two lowest of the five legs 22 of the attachment 20 that constitutes the ground fault prevention cover. By inserting and tightening cable ties or wires through these through holes 22a, the diameter of the annular portion 21 of the attachment 20 is narrowed, causing the annular portion 21 to adhere tightly to the pipe of the movable bracket, thereby more reliably preventing the attachment 20 and the entire ground fault prevention cover from shifting in the axial direction of the pipe. On the other hand, the modified form shown in Figure 6(B) has three legs 22 on the attachment 20 instead of five, and multiple (six in the figure) columnar protrusions 24 are provided radially between each leg 22.

[0029] Although the present invention has been described above based on embodiments, the present invention is not limited to the embodiments described above and can be modified as appropriate without departing from the spirit of the invention. For example, although it was described in the above embodiment that the cover body 10 is supported by three attachments 20, the cover body 10 may be supported by four or more attachments.

[0030] Furthermore, an anti-slip layer may be provided on the inner circumferential surface of the annular portion 21 of the attachment 20 to make it less likely for the attachment 20 and the entire ground fault prevention cover mounted on the movable bracket to shift or rotate in the axial direction. Furthermore, although the above embodiment described the case in which the ground fault prevention cover of the present invention is used on a movable bracket supporting the overhead wires of railway track equipment, it can also be used as a protective cover for a rod-shaped support structure that supports power transmission wires. [Explanation of symbols]

[0031] 10 Cover body 11 cuts 12A,12B Projection part 13A Convex engaging part 13B Engagement recess 20 Attachments 21 Ring section 22 Legs 23 Support wing piece 24 Columnar process 30 Movable Brackets 31A Main pipe (horizontal pipe) 31B Sub-pipe (diagonal pipe) 32A, 32B insulators 32a, 32b Dome-shaped metal parts

Claims

1. A ground fault prevention cover that is mounted across an insulator constituting a movable bracket and a pipe connected to the insulator to protect against birds and animals, Multiple attachments are mounted on the pipe at predetermined intervals, each having an annular portion with an opening cut out in the circumferential direction and support portions projecting radially from the annular portion. A ground fault prevention cover for a movable bracket, characterized by comprising a cylindrical cover body formed of a flexible and elastic material, having a slit along the axial direction, and attached so that its inner circumferential surface contacts the outer surface of the tip of the support portion of the plurality of attachments.

2. The cover body is provided with a pair of protrusions that are in contact with each other along the outer edge of the cut, The ground fault prevention cover for a movable bracket according to claim 1, characterized in that a convex engaging portion is formed on the joining surface of one of the pair of protruding portions, and an engaging recess that can engage with the convex engaging portion is formed on the joining surface of the other protruding portion.

3. The ground fault prevention cover for a movable bracket according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the support portion of the attachment comprises a plurality of legs projecting radially from the annular portion at predetermined intervals, and support wing pieces provided at the tips of the legs and having surfaces that are concentric with the annular portion.

4. The ground fault prevention cover for a movable bracket according to claim 3, characterized in that columnar projections projecting radially from the outer circumference of the annular portion are provided between the plurality of legs, excluding the aforementioned opening.

5. The ground fault prevention cover for a movable bracket according to claim 4, characterized in that the leg portion comprises a triangular main support wall portion and a comb-shaped secondary support wall portion provided in a plane perpendicular to the main support wall portion.

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