Patent Application
20180022567
The present invention relates generally to a wire roller. In particular, it relates to an apparatus for creating a wire tie for tying a primary power line to an insulator.
It is common practice to secure power transmission lines to a grooved support, such as an insulator, where the line is placed on the groove and then held in place by wrapping soft annealed wire around the line and insulator. This requires considerable skill on the part of the workman. As an example, the workman takes about six to seven feet of soft annealed wire and creates a spoil about three inches in diameter and about three inches in length. The workman creates this spool by using a cylinder of roughly the same diameter. The problem with this is that the workman needs to find a cylinder, e.g. a roll of tape or can, that can be used to wrap the soft annealed wire around in order to create the spool. These instruments are not always available out on a job site and creating the spool using this method can be awkward, time consuming, and potentially waste soft annealed wire, i.e. company resources.
As such, there is a need for method and apparatus for manufacturing these spools in a more efficient and effective manner.
The present invention is directed to a wire tie roller which provides an effective and efficient technique for producing spools of soft annealed wire for the purpose of tying primary transmission wire to an insulator.
According to this invention, a wire tie roller comprises a housing assembly, a shaft, and a mounting assembly. The housing assembly includes a first base portion and a second base portion and a side wall portion surrounding and continuing the first base portion and second base portion to form a cylinder. The first base portion includes a shaft aperture formed about a center axis of the first base portion for receiving the shaft and the second base portion includes coupled thereto a handle and a hinge with the handle being movable about an axis of the hinge 180 degrees. The second base portion includes an access aperture formed along the second base portion so that when the handle is placed at position along the axis of the hinge the inner cylinder is exposed. Alternatively, the second base portion may be completely detachable and re-attachable from the upstanding sidewall portion allowing complete access to the inner cylinder. The cylinder further includes a first roller bearing system and a second roller bearing system positioned along the inner wall of the sidewall portion along the inner wall of the cylinder, with each roller bearing system parallel and coaxially aligned to and in contact with the shaft. The shaft is coupled to the mounting assembly and extends a length from the mounting assembly through the aperture of the first base portion to a position within the cylinder short of the second base portion.
According to this invention, the first and second roller bearing system further includes an outer bearing ring with an inner raceway and an inner bearing ring with an outer raceway. The first and second roller bearing system further includes cylinder rollers in contact with the shaft and inner sidewall portion for allowing the cylinder to rotate about the shaft by using the handle.
According to this invention, the housing assembly further includes a wire tie aperture formed along the sidewall portion near the first base portion. The wire tie aperture receives soft annealed wiring and when the handle is turned horizontally with the second base portion causes the soft annealed wire to rotate about the sidewall portion of the cylinder forming a coil of soft annealed wire that can be used to tie a power line to an insulator, such as a pin insulator.
The present invention is directed to a wire tie roller 10 which provides an effective and efficient technique for producing spools of soft annealed wire for the purpose of tying primary transmission wire to an insulator.
The wire tie roller 10 comprises a housing assembly 12, a shaft 14, and a mounting assembly 16. The housing assembly 12 includes a first base portion 18 and a second base portion 20 and a side wall portion 22 surrounding and continuing the first base portion 18 and second base portion 20 to form a cylinder. The first base portion 18 includes a shaft aperture formed about a center axis of the first base portion for receiving the shaft 14 and the second base portion 20 includes coupled thereto a handle 24 and a hinge 26 with the handle 24 being movable about an axis of the hinge 180 degrees. The second base portion 20 also includes an access aperture 28 formed along the second base portion 20 so that when the handle 24 is placed at position along the axis of the hinge the inner cylinder is exposed. Stated differently, the second base portion covers a portion of the top end of the inner side wall portion 22 providing an opening to the inner part of the cylinder. Alternatively, the second base portion may be completely detachable and re-attachable from the sidewall portion 22 allowing complete access to the inner cylinder. The cylinder further includes a first roller bearing system 30 and a second roller bearing system 32 positioned along the inner wall of the sidewall portion 22 along the inner wall of the cylinder, with each roller bearing system parallel and coaxially aligned to and in contact with the shaft. The shaft 14 is coupled to the mounting assembly 16 and extends a length from the mounting assembly 16 through the aperture of the first base portion to a position within the cylinder short of the second base portion 20.
The the first roller bearing system 30 further includes an outer bearing ring 34 with an inner raceway and an inner bearing ring 36 with an outer raceway. The second roller bearing system 32 also includes an outer bearing ring 38 with an inner raceway and an inner bearing ring 40 with an outer raceway. The first and second roller bearing system 30,32 further includes cylinder rollers 40,42 positioned along the inner and outer raceways having direct contact with the shaft 14 and the inner wall of the sidewall portion 22. Although the inner raceway and the outer raceway are not illustrated, the raceways act as a guide rail to keep the cylinder rollers 36,38 aligned along the path defined by circumferential area of the the cylinder wall and shaft 14.
The housing assembly further includes a wire tie aperture 46 formed along the sidewall portion 22 near the first base portion 18. The wire tie aperture 46 receives a line of soft annealed wiring 48 and when the handle 24 is turned horizontally with the second base portion 22 causes cylinder to rotate and the soft annealed wire 48 to curl around the sidewall portion 22 forming a coil of soft annealed wire that can be used to tie a power line to an insulator, such as a pin insulator.
In an example embodiment, the cylinder may be three inches in diameter and four and a quarter inches long. The shaft 14 may be one and a half inches in diameter. The cylinder rollers may be one and half by two and three quarters inches. The handle may be eight inches long and no more than three inches in diameter. With these dimensions, soft annealed wire 48 may be placed in the wire tie aperture 46 and about six feet of soft annealed wire 48 can be wrapped around the cylinder by turning the handle to form a coil that can be used to tie primary power line wire to an insulator, such as a pin insulator.
Thus, While there have been shown and described and pointed out fundamental novel features of the invention as applied to a preferred embodiment thereof, it will be under stood that various omissions and substitutions and changes in the form and details of the apparatus illustrated, and its operation, may be made by those skilled in the art Without departing from the spirit of the invention. For example, it is expressly intended that all combinations of those elements and/or method steps which perform substantially the same function in substantially the same way to achieve the same results are within the scope of the invention. Substitutions of elements from one described embodiment to another are also fully intended and contemplated. It is also to be understood that the drawings are not necessarily drawn to scale but that they are merely conceptual in nature. It is the intention, therefore, to be limited only as indicated by the scope of the claims appended hereto.
