Patent Application
20250014781
The majority of power linemen and other utility workers tend to conduct assessment at night, where wires run through dense forest/trees and/or during power outages. Working these electrical lines in low light environments, minimum wire access and/or evening hours can be incredibly tedious, time-consuming, and hazardous. There have been no products available as original equipment or as an aftermarket to address this problem.
An apparatus that would create a safer, and more efficient way of working with power lines in low light environments is not being met by any known device or system at present. There have been no products available as original equipment or as an aftermarket to address this problem either.
The main purpose of the reflective power lines is to provide users with a reflective woven wire or cable to support electrical work and assessment.
A bare power line comprising a wire strand comprising the bare power line, the wire strand comprising a circumference and a length, a reflective coating stripe on the wire strand of a width proportional to its circumference; and a non-reflective portion of the wire. Multiple wire strands comprising the reflective coating stripe make up power line cables as disclosed and claimed herein.
Throughout the description, similar reference numbers may be used to identify similar elements depicted in multiple embodiments. Although specific embodiments of the invention have been described and illustrated, the invention is not to be limited to the specific forms or arrangements of parts so described and illustrated. The scope of the invention is to be defined by the claims appended hereto and their equivalents.
Reference will now be made to exemplary embodiments illustrated in the drawings and specific language will be used herein to describe the same. It will nevertheless be understood that no limitation of the scope of the disclosure is thereby intended. Alterations and further modifications of the inventive features illustrated herein and additional applications of the principles of the inventions as illustrated herein, which would occur to one skilled in the relevant art and having possession of this disclosure, are to be considered within the scope of the invention.
The term ‘strand’ used throughout the present disclosure refers to component wires making up the power line and include single wire power lines, stranded wire power lines and cable power lines. Single wire strand power lines comprise straight wires and twisted wires. The term ‘woven,’ therefore refers to a helical structure and relation as well as to a twisted structure and relation of multiple wire strands.
The present disclosed reflective power lines, also known as “GloWire”, offers a modern wire design that serves to increase safety and efficiency in the maintenance of electrical and steel wire infrastructure to allow for improved operation. The Glo Wire introduces one to three novel woven reflective wires that are integrated into the electrical wires overhead. When users shine a light from a work-truck and/or review the wire from a far distance, the wire reflects from their light source. This visual distinction permits linemen and other workers to easily identify whether the wires are up or down, even in low light conditions; thus, reducing outage time and potential hazards often associated with electrical maintenance. Moreover, extending the use of reflective wires to other types of steel wire infrastructure, such as highway dividers, could also benefit road safety. This innovative, top-quality product would dramatically save on outage time and power correction, as well as make a lineman's job easier and more efficient.
Although the operations of the method(s) herein are shown and described in a particular order, the order of the operations of each method may be altered so that certain operations may be performed in an inverse order or so that certain operations may be performed, at least in part, concurrently with other operations. In another embodiment, instructions or sub-operations of distinct operations may be implemented in an intermittent and/or alternating manner.
