To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, WALTER T. GODDARD, a citizen of the United States, residing at Hamilton, in the Province of Ontario, Dominion of Canada, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Insulators, and I hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, forming a part of this specification, and to the reference numerals marked thereon.

My invention relates to insulators, with reference particularly to the type wherein the insulator is mounted upon a fibrous, wooden, or other character of supporting pin, and it has for its purpose to improve the construction of the particular class of insulators which embody a series of insulating sections nested one within the other. A more particular object of the invention is to so construct and arrange the nested sections of an insulator as to afford a stronger and more durable construction, having as an essential advantageous characteristic the even distribution throughout the different portions of the insulator of the strains to which it is subjected, as distinguished from prior insulators of this general type in which the strain is localized at a single point, or in a single direction and results in greater likelihood of the insulator breaking, or cracking at such point, and it is to overcome this disadvantage and thereby equalize the strength of the insulator at its different portions that I have designed the present structure. To these and other ends the invention consists in certain improvements and combinations of parts all as will be hereinafter more fully described, the novel features being pointed out in the claims at the end of the specification.

In the drawings:

Figure 1 is a plan view, taken partially in section on the line 1a-1a of Fig. 2, and showing a pin type insulator embodying the present improvement, and

Fig. 2 is a sectional view on line 2a-2a of Fig. 1.

Similar reference numerals throughout the several views indicate the same parts.

My invention may be carried out in a variety of different ways and it will be understood that the present embodiment is intended merely as illustrative of one method for obtaining the desired purpose, and in the structure shown, the insulator includes a series of insulating sections, designated generally as 1, 2, and 3, and mounted upon a pin 4, the latter however constituting no essential part of the invention. 5 is a metal cap by means of which the conductor is connected to and mounted upon the insulator.

It will be observed that the insulator herein disclosed comprises three insulating sections each of which is hollow, the innermost section being arranged to receive the supporting pin. Said innermost section 3 includes a lateral shoulder, or offset or projecting portion 6 arranged between the ends of the section, and extending around the body or central portion thereof and operating to support the adjacent insulating section in the manner which will now appear.  Said adjacent section 2 surrounds the inner end of the innermost section 3, abutting against the end surface of the latter, and in this respect the structure is generally similar to old types of insulators, the chief difficulty with which has been that when strain is exerted upon the insulator from the conductor it is all directed in a single line toward said meeting surface of the sections, or practically at a single point, which frequently results in fracturing the insulator. In order to overcome this, it is my purpose to support the outer insulating section in such a manner as to distribute the strain equally along its inner surface, and this is preferably accomplished by supporting the outer section at

different points, or upon a plurality  of independent surfaces arranged in spaced relation to each other and at angles to, or crosswise of, the longitudinal axis of the insulator. In the structure illustrated, the section 2 embodies lower edge 7 at its inner portion, and said edge engages and rests upon the shoulder 6, it being understood that the insulating sections are caused to adhere to one another by a cementing medium arranged between them in the space indicated by 8. It will be seen that by supporting the outer section 2 upon the inner section 3, both at the innermost end of the latter and also upon the shoulder 6, any strain that is created is distributed along the length of the outer section from its inner end to the lower edge 7, or, in other words, the strain is distributed equally along the portion lying between the two supporting surfaces formed by the inner end of the section 3 and by the shoulder or projecting portion 6. The surfaces referred to are shown in parallel relation to one another, although not necessarily so, and may be otherwise arranged provided they are at angles to, or crosswise of, the longitudinal axis of the insulator unit. The sections 2 and 3 are so formed that the outer surfaces thereof, adjacent to the shoulder 6, form a continuation of one another, presenting a smooth and unobstructed surface which can he readily cleaned and is quite accessible, as is also the recess 9 that is formed by the skirt 10. The outermost insulating section 1 is attached to the intermediate section 2 in the same manner that the latter is mounted upon the innermost section 3, and it is unnecessary to describe these parts in any further detail. While the insulator may embody two, three or more insulating sections, my invention resides in the particular manner of supporting each section upon the adjacent one, irrespective of whether the insulating unit embodies more than two sections, or otherwise. The sections 1 and 2 are also constructed so as to form a continuous surface by their adjacent meeting portions, on opposite sides of the shoulder 11 of the section 2, and it will be seen that by this arrangement the entire insulating unit presents a continuous exterior of such curves as will permit ready access and proper cleaning, effectively preventing any such collection of dirt as will

interfere with the proper operation of the insulator, and this I consider to be an extremely important advantage of my improvement.

I claim as my invention:

1. An insulator comprising a plurality of substantially cylindrical sections closed at their upper ends and provided with skirts adjacent their bases, bearing surfaces on said sections adjacent their bases, the side walls of said sections being relatively thin and spaced from one another to receive cementing material, and said sections being nested to bear directly upon each other at their upper ends and also at said bearing surfaces to distribute the strain.

2. An insulator comprising a plurality of substantially cylindrical sections closed at their upper ends and provided adjacent their bases with annular bearing flanges and with skirts formed to provide uninterrupted smooth surfaces between adjacent skirts, said sections being nested to hear directly upon each other at their upper ends and also at said annular flanges to distribute the strain and having relatively thin side walls spaced from one another for the reception of cement for securing said sections together.

 WALTER T. GODDARD.

Witnesses:

EUGENE M. ERICKSON,

CHARLES H. CLEVELAND.