US3177986A - Guy guard - Google Patents

Description

April 13, 1965 D. E. MOCK ETAL GUY GUARD Filed Feb. 5, 1963 m m O;K./ m y VN 0 m m Hm mn mm M s o mm 5 United States Patent O 3,177,986 GUY GUARD Donald E. Mach, Corina, and Joseph Banner, Whittier, Calif., assignors to Anjac Plastics, Inc., El Monte, Calit., a corporation of California Filed Feb. 5, 1963, Ser. No. 256,461 ll Claim. (Ill 1893L5) This invention relates to a guy guard. In many cases when telephone or power poles are erected they must be stabilized by guying them to the ground with a steel cable or the like. These cables are secured to the pole adjacent to the top and are secured into the ground or other low structure by means of an anchor. When these cables are close to the ground they are subject to abrasion from vehicles and must be protected therefrom. They are also dangerous in that they may have sharp edges and/ or electric charges and they must be guarded to protect pedestrians adjacent thereto from these hazards. This invention relatos to a particular form of such protection and concerns itself with a guard which embraces the guy wire.

It is an object of this invention to provide an economic guy guard which has features which protect both the guy wire and the pedestrians passing adjacent thereto.

It is another object of this invention to provide a guy guard having substantial dielectric strength so that should the guy wire become charged due to electric leakage, lightning or faulty insulation, it will adequately protect the people coming in contact with the guard. It is an other object to provide a guard Which is readily installed by unsklled help. The guard is adapted to be readily slipped on to the guy wire and tightened thereon.

It is another object of this invention to provide a guy guard which is readily manufactured by making it from the extruded sections and is readily assembled by having the portions slide upon each other. The portions may also be rigidly assembled together by adhesive or by deforming one or the other of the extruded portions.

Other objects will become readily apparent upon referring to the attached drawings in Which:

FIG. 1 is a general view showing the guy guard assembled on the guy wire which is secured to a pole;

FIG. 2 is a longitudinal section through the guy guard adjacent the guy wire;

FIG. 3 is a bottom plan view of the guy guard;

FIG. 4 is a transverse section through the guy guard along section 4-4 of FIG. 2 adjacent one of the extruded sections within the guard;

FIG. 5 is a transverse section through the guy guard along section 55 of FIG. 2 adjacent another type of section inserted in the guard;

FIG. 6 is a transverse section through the guy guard along section 66 of FIG. 2 adjacent a wire clamp in the guard; and FIG. 7 is a longitudinal section through the guy guard showing a diiferent arrangement of inserted extruded element Within the main guard.

Referring now to the drawings in FIG. 1 a pole lll is shown inserted in the ground 12 and stabilized by a guy wire 14. The guy wire is secured to the pole by means of a through bolt 16 or may be secured thereto by wrapping it around and clamping it to the pole. The lower end of the guy wire 14 is anchored into the ground by means of a suitable ground screw anchor or a bolt in a concrete block. In some cases the lower end of the guy wire 14 may be secured to other low adjacent structures such as another pole.

Installed upon the guy wire 14 is a guy guard 20. The guy guard is comprised of a guard shell 22 and means to hold shell in proper position upon the guy wire. As best seen in FIGS. 4, 5 and 6 the guard shell 22 is generally of U-shape with a substantially uniform cross section through the material. At the open side of the U the guard shell 22 carries two retaining channels 24 and 26 formed by having the lower end of the guard shell shaped back into hook forms as indicated at 28 and 30. The books 28 and 30 define the open side of the guard shell 22. Parallel to the open side, also extending longitudinally of the guard shell 22, are a pair of flanges 32 and 34. These flanges extend inwardly from the guard shell 22 into the interior of the space defined by the shell.

The arrangement of the guard shell 22 is such that it is of uniform cross-section so that it may be extruded. It is cut oif from the extrusion die in suitable lengths and the ends may be left open in the same manner as they were cut off, or one end may be partially closed by hot forming so that it more closely embraces the guy wire 14 as is hereinafter described. Cut off may be accom plished by any of the conventional cut off means such as flying shears, hot wire or sawing, depending upon the material used. It is contemplated that the preferred material is polyvinyl chloride or another thermo-plastic of substantial dielectric strength and suitable mechanical properties. However, any extrudable material could be used where it has the proper mechanical requirements. Aluminum and brass could very well be used where conditions indicate. It is noted that the polyvinyl chloride type of plastic is the preferred embodiment because of its considerable mechanical strength, its dielectric prop erties, and the fact that it is able to deform under load. This latter property and its advantages will be described hereinafter.

Several types of guy wire engaging devices are adapted to be inserted within the guard shell 22 and retained therein by retaining channels 24 and 26 as well as fianges 32 and 34. These wire engaging devices can be used in several different combinations to accomplish different purposes. FIG. 4 shows a wire engaging device in the form of a hook device 36. This device has a hook 38 into which the guy wire 14 is engaged, and it is provided with legs 40 and 42 which engage in the retaining channels 24 and 26, respectively. The portion distal from the legs 40 and 42 extends upward into the guard shell 22 past flanges 32 and 34 and is provided with slots 44 and 46 which respectively embrace flanges 32 and 34. By the structure the hook wire engaging device 36 is rgidly retained in the guard shell 22 but still may slide longitudinally thereof. Thus it can readily be inserted into the guard shell from the end. It can thus be seen by the structure of legs engaging in the retaining channels and slots engaging upon fianges that the hook wire engag ing device 36 strongly resists forces which tend to pull it out of the open side of the guard shell 22. The hook itself, identified by number 33, is defined by wire engaging surfaces 48 and 50. These are arranged in such a manner that the wire when engaged in the hook lies ol of the symmetrical centerline of guard shell 22. As shown in FIG. 4 the wire centerline is slightly to the left of the centerline of shell 22. The urging of the wire oil this centerline provides two important functions. First the hook 38 is thus shorter and has a lower bending mo ment to provide a stronger structure. Holding the wire 14 off center in the guard shell at this cross-section also provides for more rigid holding of the wire since it does not go straight through the guard shell 22 from end to end, thus providing higher frictional forces.

FIG. 5 shows another wire engaging device in the form of a fork 52 Which tends to hold the Wire away from the inner or closed side of guard shell 22. The fork member 52 is provided with wire engaging surfaces 54 and 56 arranged at an angle to each other. The juncture of the wire engaging surfaces 54 and 56 may be in radius equal to or preferably smaller than the Patented Apr. 13, 1965 radius of the wire 14. The fork wire engaging device 52 has an outer periphery which extends upward into the inner portion of the guard shell 22 and engages thereupon throughout substantially the entire inner surface. Slots 58 and 60 within fork wire engaging device 52 are arranged to engage upon the fianges 32 and 34 respectively to thus secure the device 52 within the shell 22. This structure is arranged in such a manner as to restrain the forces of the wire 14 acting upon the wire engaging device 52. Since the wire is thrust outward toward the open side of the guard shell 22 by means of the fork wire engaging device 52, the forces tend to press the device 52 into the shell 22. A large arca of contact as well as flanges 32 and 34 prevent deformation of the guard shell 22.

Both hook Wire engaging device 36 and fork wire engaging device 52 are of uniform cross-section so that they may be extruded. The particular configuration of these extrusions is dependent upon the economcs of extrusion die, the extrusion material and the forces involved. Insofar as it is practical under these circum stances it is desirable to have the Outer configuration of these wire engaging devices correspond to the inner wall of guard shell 22. Since they are of extrusion shapes the wire engaging device can be cut off at appropriate lengths for the circumstances. Normally the length is very much shorter than the overall length of guard shell 22. However, the length should be sufii ciently long so that the wire engaging devices may slide longitudinally within the guard shell 22 without binding.

In the case of hook wire engaging device 36, it is not co-extensive with the inner side of the guard shell 22 in the upper arca for no forces act thereupon. In the case of fork Wire engaging device 52 it is shown as hollow. In certain circumstances of extrusion such a configuration will be most desirable economically. Since these devices are relatively short they may be die cast or molded should the circumstarices warrant. Polyvinyl chloride is the preferred material for it has both considerable dielectric strength and is able to creep to the point where it conforms to guide wire 14. However, aluminum or other extruded metal or plastic could be used in this application.

In FIG. 6 a clamp wire engaging device 60 is shown. This device is designed to both clamp the guy wire 14 and hold it within the guy guard 20. Accordingly the clamp wire engaging device 60 is provided with legs 62 and 64 which engage within the retaining channels 24 and 26 respectively. These legs are coextensive with a clamping portion 66 which engages against the flanges 32 and 34, thus restraining the clamp wire engaging device 60 within the guard shell 22. As shown in the drawing, the clamp wire engaging device 66 is made of heavy gauge metal sheet material formed to the inner configuration of that portion of guard shell 22. It is pierced and tapped at 68 to provide threads into which bolt 70 is engaged. The bolt 70 carries a clamp memher 72 which is designed to cooperate with the clamp porton 66 to engage two strands of the guy wire 14. Normally the guy wire is brought downward fromthe pole and passed through an eye in the anchor 18. Thence it is brought upward again lying next to the downwardly extending strand and these two strands are clamped within the clamp wire engaging device 70 as shown in FIG. 6. When the two strands of guy wire 14 are placed within the clamp, the bolt 70 is tightend providing firm securement to the anchor 18. In view of the fact that this device is the main clamp for the guy wire it may preferably be made out of heavy gauge sheet material as described above, but in some circumstances die castings or extrusions of metal or plastic would be feasible.

The several wire engaging devices can be nserted in various combinations within the guard shell 22 to form different styles of guy guard 20 depending on the circumstances. FIGS. 2 and 3 show an assembly where one combination is inserted therein. This is a combination wherein hook wire engaging device 36 is inserted in the guard shell 22 toward its right-hand end as seen in the drawing, a fork Wire engaging device 52 is inserted next to the left and a clamp wire engaging device 60 is inserted within the shell 22 toward the left-hand end. In actual practice the wire engaging device 36 may be se cured into the guard shell 22 by adhesive or by deforming the fianges 32 and 34 or the hooks 28 and 30 to hold it securely therein. In use the guy wire 14 is threaded through the eye of anchor 18 and is clamped with a clamp wire engaging device 60. Thereupon the guard shell carrying one hook wire engaging device 36 and one fork wire engaging device 52 is engaged over the guy wire 14 in such a position that the lower end of the guard shell is above the clamped device 60. Engagement is managed by twisting the guy guard over the guy wire 14 whereupon the guy wire snaps into the hook 38. The guy guard Zi) is then slid downwardly upon the guy Wire M and is engaged over the clamp wire engagng device 6ti as shown. Friction characteristics are such that the fork wire engaging device 52 is stationary relative to the wire and hook wire engaging device 36 is secured by adhesive or other means to a guard shell 22 and accordingly moves therewith. When the guy guard is moved downwardly on the guy wire 14, there is relative motion between the wire engaging devices 36 and 52 to eflect that they become closer to each other thus bending the wire and causing tightening. This result can also be accomplished by securing fork wire engaging device 52 in the guard shell 22 and driving the hook wire engaging device 36 in the shell 22 toward device 52. This increases the load of the wire upon the wire engaging devices and tightens the guy wire. When in the installed position the load of the guy wire 14 upon the wire engaging devices causes the plastic to creep to the point where full engagement is provided. A slight creep deflecton occurs also upon the retaining channels 24 and 26 and flanges 32 and 34 so that in a period of time the entire structure becomes relatively rigid.

FIG. 7 shows another arrangement of several wire engaging devices within the guard shell 22. Observing the drawing from right to left, near the right end of the guard shell 22 is seen a hook wire engaging device 36. Next to the left are two fork Wire engaging devices 52 and near the left end of the guard shell 22 is another hook wire engagng device 36. The wire engaging devices are arranged in pairs near the ends of the guard shell 22. In this case if the right-hand wire engaging device in each pair is secured to the guard shell 22 and the guard shell is slid to the left as shown in FIG. 7, tightening of the Wire again occurs. It can be seen from this figure that several combinations of wire engaging devices within the shell are possible to securely hold the guy guard on the guy wire. As a minimum number of the types of devices shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, three such devices are necessary, and they must be of both types. When three are used the one in the center must be different from the other two. The hook wireengaging device 36 may be placed either in the center or with one. at each end and the fork wire engaging device 52 would be placed in the other position. As indicated in FIG. 7 more may be used but three is a minimum of this type of wire engagng device. However, in some cases it may be desirable to use two clamp wire engaging devices. In this case both would be clamped.to the guy wire 14 and the guard shell 22 slid thereover., This also provides a secure arrangement of the guy guard 20 with respect to the guy wire 14.

Having thus described the preferred embodiment of the invention, it is noted that it is susceptible to various modie) fications and changes. The following claim defines the scope of the invention.

We claim:

A guy guard adapted to protect a guy wire, said guy guard comprising a guy guard shell of substantial length in the direction of the guy wire which said guy guard is intended to protect, said guy guard shell having cross section at right angles to its length of curved configuration having an open side to thus define a guy guard shell having an external surface, an internal surface and first and second edges, said edges being spaced a suflicient distance from each other so as to permit entry of a guy wire therein for the protection of the guy wire, inturned hooks formed at each of said edges so as to define a retaining channel along the length of said guy guard shell at each of said edges thereof, first and second flanges formed on the interior surface of said guy guard shell and extending along the length thereof and facing each other so that said first and second flanges substantially lie in a single plane which is substantially parallel to a plane along the against said interior surface between said hook and said flange on each interior side of said guy guard shell, said main member having a clamp portion extending between and integral with said first and second legs, said main member being positioned within said guy guard shell so that said first and second legs are respectively positioned in said channels and said clamp portion is positioned adjacent said first and second flanges so as to maintain said legs in said channels, a clamp member positioned between said legs, and a perforation through said clamp member and said clamp portion, a bolt having ends and positioned through said perforations so as to be adapted to clamp a guy Wire between said clamp plate and said clamp portion, said ends of said bolt being posi tioned within said guard shell.

References Cted by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 874,834 12/07 Copping 174-136 X 1,971,477 8/ 34 Blackburn 18931.5 2,003,959 6/35 St. John 18931.5 2,055,825 9/36 Miller et al. 18931.5 2,871,282 1/59 Tipsord et al. 174-5 3,057,443 10/62 Schlein 18932 JOHN F. BURNS, Primary Examinar. JOHN P. WILDMAN, Examiner.

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