To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, JAMES J. O'NEILL, a citizen of the United States, residing in Boston, in the county of Suffolk and State of Massachusetts, have invented an improvement in Wall Insulators, of which the following description, in connection with the accompanying drawings, is a specification, like letters and numerals on the drawings representing like parts.

This invention relates to an electric insulator of that class commonly known as a "wall insulator," and more especially of the class employed on the outside of brick or other buildings.

In large cities it is now requisite that each wall insulator should be properly identified, and as now commonly practiced this result is accomplished by tying to each insulator a suitable tag designating the company to whom the electric conductor and the insulator belong.

Insulators of the class described are secured to the building by driving a spur on the insulator into the mortar between the bricks or stones, and with insulators as now commonly constructed and known to me the blow with which the spur is driven into the mortar falls upon the insulating material, thereby tending to crush and weaken the same, which frequently results in a defective insulation of the conductor attached to the insulator.

This invention has for its object to provide an insulator of the class referred to with which the defects referred to are overcome, and I accomplish this result by constructing the insulator of two members, one of which is adapted to enter the mortar between the bricks and is made of such length and size that letters or other identifying marks may be cast or stamped thereon, and at the same time the said member is designed to receive the blow with which it is driven into the wall, the other member being provided with a covering of insulating material and affixed to the first member, so as to be removed from the danger of being injured when the first member is driven into the wall of the building.  The insulator is also preferably constructed, as will be described, so as to form a stop to limit the inward movement of the first member and thereby keep the main portion of the insulation separated from  the wall by an air-space which reduces to a minimum loss of current by leakage.  These and other features of this invention will be pointed out in the claim at the end of this specification.

Figure 1 represents in section a sufficient portion of the wall of a brick building having attached thereto a wall insulator embodying this invention, and Fig. 2 a perspective of a modified form of wall insulator.

The wall insulator herein shown is composed of two members a and a’, the member a being made, as shown, as a tapering or wedge-shaped bar provided on its under side with a depending hook, constituting the member a', the said hook extending substantially at right angles to the bar a and being provided with a covering of insulating material, which maybe of

any suitable or desired construction and which is represented is fibrous material or tape saturated with suitable insulating composition or compound or which may be insulating material molded thereon.

The bar or member a is made tapering from the front towards its rear end, thereby making the sides 2 of the said bar wider or higher at their rear end, which permits suitable letters or other identifying-marks to be applied to or formed in the said sides, the said marks being herein shown as the letters “B,” “E,” “P,” “A.”  The identifying-marks may be cast in the member a, or they may be stamped thereon.

In accordance with this invention the member a' is attached to the under surface of the bar or member a as to leave the end of the member a exposed for the reception of the blow by which the narrow front end of the bar may be driven into the mortar b5 between the bricks b6.

I prefer to cast the member a' integral with the member a and to provide the member a with a lug or projection b7 which acts as a stop to limit the entrance of the member a into the wall at such a point as will prevent the main portion of the insulated member a' from making contact with the wall, thereby interposing an air-space between the main portion of the member a' and the brick or other wall, and consequently reducing to a minimum danger of loss of current by leakage.  The insulated member a' is designed to support an electric conductor or wire b10.

By an inspection of Fig. 1 it will be seen that the member a' being attached to the member a at an angle thereto affords means for securing the insulator to the wall without danger of injuring the insulation on the member a', and at the same time a sufficient surface of the member a projects beyond the face of the wall to permit of identifying marks or characters to be applied thereto.

Instead of providing the member a with a lug which forms a stop to limit the entrance of the said member into the wall, the member a' may be provided with an enlargement c at its upper end, (see Fig. 2,) which is designed to abut against the wall and stop the entrance of the member a, so as to leave the airspace between the wall and the member a'.

In the drawings, b6 represents the bricks composing the wall, and b7 the mortar in which they are laid and into which the member a of the insulator is driven.

I claim--

An electric insulator of the class described consisting of the tapering member a provided with a lug forming a stop, and the curved or hooked insulated member a' extended from the member a intermediate of its ends, substantially as described.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

       JAMES J. O'NEILL.

Witnesses:

JAS. F. CHURCHILL,

J. MURPHY.