Electric Fence Insulator for Holding Various Conductor Types, Including Tape-Type

This invention relates generally to electric fence insulators, and pertains more particularly to an insulator for holding various types of electric fence conductors, especially the more recently employed braided tape-type of conductor composed of interwoven plastic and metal strands.

Inasmuch as several types of conductors for electric fences are rather widely used, a need exists for an electric fence insulator that will accommodate and securely anchor all of the conductor types. More specifically, electric fences have widely used plain bare wire, barbed wire and a flexible wire of twisted plastic and metal strands; but with the advent of the tape-type conductor, the desirability of having an insulator capable of holding all four conductor types has arisen.

Accordingly, an important object of the present invention is to provide an electric fence insulator that will effectively and securely anchor all of the present-day types of conductors.

Another object of the invention is to provide an electric fence insulator in which the conductor can be quickly attached, and also easily removed if the occasion later arises for doing so.

Electric fences traverse various terrains. More specifically, sometimes, one or more posts are located in a valley and at other times on the crest of a hill. When in a valley, there is a pull on the electric conductor tending to raise the conductor; and, conversely, when on a crest of a hill, the conductor is pulled downwardly. The present electric insulator assures that the conductor will be reliably held in place irrespective of the contour of the land.

Yet another object of the invention is to provide an electric fence insulator that can be mass produced at a relatively low cost, thereby encouraging its wide-spread use by farmers and ranchers.

Still another object of the invention is to provide an electric fence insulator that will not only securely hold in place various types of electric fence conductors, but which can be specifically fabricated so as to be attached to any of the variety of fence posts commonly encountered on farms, ranches and ranges. In this regard, our insulator lends itself readily to incorporation into insulators that are intended to be attached to wooden fence posts, round metal posts, and also T-shaped metal posts. More specifically, an aim of the invention is to provide an electric insulator having means incorporated therein for enabling an electric fence conductor to be front loaded and the body portion of the insulator factory adapted for the particular post on which the insulator is to be mounted.

Briefly, the insulator described and claimed herein comprises three clips, one including a downwardly directed prong and the other two including upwardly directed prongs, the prongs forming slots in conjunction with a vertical panel that is integral with the body of the insulator. The lower, free end of the downwardly directed prong is beneath the upper ends of the upwardly directed prongs to assure that the electric fence conductor, irrespective of its type, is securely held in place. Each upwardly directed prong is made more rigid than the downwardly directed prong by means of an integral rib extending longitudinally therealong.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an electric fence insulator exemplifying our invention, the insulator holding a tape-type conductor;

FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing how the tape is loaded ;

FIG. 3 is a view taken in the direction of line 3--3 of FIG. 1; and

FIG. 4 is a view taken in the direction of line 4--4 of FIG. 2.

The electric fence insulator has been denoted generally by the reference numeral 10. The insulator 10 includes a body 12 and conductor-holding means 14 which will be presently described in detail. It will be observed that the insulator 10 is attached by a nail 16 to a wooden post 18. The body 12 of the insulator 10 corresponds to that shown in U.S. Pat. No. 4,028,489 granted on June 7, 1977 to Albert T. Berg, Jr. et al for "Plastic Nail-On Electric Fence Insulator." The insulator 10 may also be designed to be mounted on a metal round post and in such a case reference can be made to U.S. Pat. No. 3,749,820 issued July 31, 1973 to Howard Langlie et al for "Electric Fence Insulator." When the insulator 10 is intended for mounting on a T-shaped post, reference may be made ot U.S. Pat. No. 3,820,758 granted on June 28, 1974 to Albert T. Berg, Jr. et al for "Electric Fence Insulator For T-Shaped Posts." As the description progresses, it will be clear that the invention is not restricted to the particular type of posts for the electric fence insulator 10 can be molded to render it suitable for any one of the several posts frequently encountered as far as electric fences are concerned. It perhaps should be mentioned at this stage, though, that the insulator 10 is preferably fabricated from linear polyethylene plastic.

Having presented the foregoing information, a detailed description of the conductor-holding means 14 will now be given. The means 14 includes a vertical panel 20 that is integral with the body 12. The forward face of the panel 20 has mounted thereon an inverted L-shaped clip 22 comprised of a horizontal leg portion 22a integral with the vertical panel 20 and projecting horizontally therefrom, and also a vertical leg portion 22b that extends downwardly from the forward end of the horizontal leg portion 22a, thereby forming a downwardly facing slot 22c.

An upright L-shaped clip 24 has a horizontal leg portion 24a extending forwardly from the vertical panel 20 adjacent its lower edge and a vertical leg portion 24b extending upwardly, thereby forming an upwardly directed slot 24c. A reinforcing rib 24b is integral with the vertical leg portions 24b.

A similar upright L-shaped clip 26 is utilized having a horizontal leg portion 26a and a vertical leg portion 26b, the portions 26a and 26b forming a slot 26c corresponding to the slot 24c. As with the upright L-shaped clip 24, the vertical leg portion 26b has a reinforcing rib 26d thereon.

It can be now explained that the vertical leg portion 22b constitutes a relatively resilient prong that can be flexed toward the vertical panel 20. However, the vertical leg portions 24b and 26b, constituting additional prongs, of the L-shaped clips 24 and 26 are rendered relatively rigid by virtue of their reinforcing ribs 24d and 26d. As perhaps best perceived from FIG. 4, the lower end of the leg portion or prong 22 b is beneath the upper ends of the vertical leg portions or prongs 24b and 26b. This relationship is particularly important in assuring that whatever type of electric fence conductor is employed, it will be securely held or anchored by the insulator 10.

Inasmuch as the insulator 10 lends itself readily to holding the braided tape-type of conductor, such a conductor has been illustrated and has been given the reference number 28, being called "poly tape" in the trade. For the sake of describing better how the tape 28, when relatively wide, is anchored or held, it has been labeled in FIGS. 2 and 4 as including two folded portions 28a and 28b. Although the portions 28a and 28b are no longer folded in FIGS. 1 and 3, for the sake of consistency, the portions 28a and 28b have been so labeled even though the tape 28 is in a planar condition in FIGS. 1 and 3.

Describing now the ease with which the relatively wide tape 28 can be anchored by the holding means 14, attention is directed to FIG. 2 in which it is most convenient, when the tape has an appreciable width, to fold the tape 28 so as to provide the folded portions 28a and 28b that have just been described. By grasping, even though the person's hands are not pictured, the farmer or rancher can press the folded tape 28 against the leg portion or prong 22b, flexing it inwardly as can be seen to some extent in FIG. 2 but which can be more readily appreciated from FIG. 4. Downward movement of the folded tape 28 into the slots 24c and 26c will then allow the leg portion or prong 22b to flex or return to its substantially planar relationship with the leg portions or prongs 24b and 26b. The portions or prongs 24b and 26b are relatively rigid by reason of the ribs 24d and 26d extending upwardly therealong. Once the tape 28 has been fully inserted into the slots 24c and 26c, it can then be unfolded so that the planar condition thereof in FIGS. 1 and 3 is achieved.

It might be pointed out that the width (height as viewed in FIGS. 1 and 3) varies in actual practice. A common width is one-half inch, but the electric fence insulator 10 can accommodate wider widths, such as the greater width of the tape 28. In practice, the vertical distance or spacing between the leg portions 22a and 24a, 26a is one-and-a-half inches. Since the greatest width of poly tapes is on the order of one inch, even though a wider tape is illustrated, it follows that the insulator 10 will accommodate not only those commonly found on the market nowadays, but even wider ones that might be marketed in the future.

It will help, it is believed, to give actual dimensions for the leg portions or prongs 22b, 24b and 26b. The length of the portion or prong 22b in actual practice is three-quarters of an inch, whereas the length of the portions or prongs 24b and 26b is one inch. Hence, there is an overlap of one-quarter inch between the free ends of the portions 22b, 24b and 26b. Such an amount of overlap assures that the tape 28 will be held captive; however, a lesser amount of overlap will suffice in some instances. It is important that there be at least some overlap, though--at least one-eighth inch.

If the insulator 10 is attached to a post located in a valley, an upward pull on the tape 28 will simply cause the upper edge of the tape 28 to bear against the horizontal leg portion 22a, whereas if the insulator 10 is located on the crest of a hill, the lower edge thereof will bear against the horizontal leg portions 24a and 26a.

Having the foregoing description in mind, it should be readily apparent that wires or conductors of various types can be received and effectively anchored in the holding means 14. All that need be done is to flex the portion or prong 22b inwardly and then move the conductor downwardly into the lower slots 24c and 26c. When the conductor is in the form of the relatively wide tape 28, it can be unfolded so that it is retained by the three portions or prongs 22b, 24b and 26b. Hence, the insulator 10 herein described is quite versatile as far as the type of electric fence conductor it effectively anchors in place.