Untitled record

Application filed March IS, 1895, Serial No, 541,841. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, Elisha W. Buffinton, a citizen of the United States, residing at Fall River, in the county of Bristol and State 5 of Massachusetts, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Cleats for Holding Electric Wires, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to cleats, usually io made of porcelain, for holding electric wires, commonly insulated, and usually, but not necessarily invariably, for holding a plurality of wires.

It is found in practice that in screwing a 15 pair of cleats in position the screw may come in contact with a nail or a gas-pipe or a wet timber, and in such a case, if the insulation on the wire has become cracked or worn, the current may jump to the screw and ground 20 by means of such nail, gas-pipe, or wet timber, and a fire may be the result. It is the object of my improvement, first, to obviate this difficulty, and, second, to so construct the device as to secure an exceedingly-firm 25 grip on the wires.

The nature of my invention is fully described below, and illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which—

Figure 1 is a perspective view showing the 30 two parts constituting my cleat separated. Fig. 2 is a longitudinal vertical section of the cleat in position for us®.

Similar letters of reference indicate corresponding parts.

A represents the base and A' the cap, the two being exactly alike, and, when properly put together, constituting the cleat·. Each of these parts is provided with a transverse groove B on its face at one end and suitable 40 serrations B' at the other end. By so placing the parts A and A' that the groove in one is opposite the serrations in the other the insulated wires S may be laid in the grooves and pressed against the serrations, when the cleat 45 is secured to a wall a by means of the usual screws C, which pass through coincident holes D made for the purpose in the parts A A' constituting the cleat.

The screw-holes D are situated at a short 50 distance from the lines of insulated wire, and between these screw-holes and the wires are ridges or walls E, extending across the cleat, one wall being built up on each cleat near one end and fitting into a corresponding depression or transverse groove F in the opposite 55 cleat. These walls being in the direct path between the wires and the screws, it is impossible that the electricity from a wire, however poor the insulation may have become, can jump to the screw and hence ground the cur- 60 rent.

In order that the grip on the insulated wires may be exceedingly firm and secure, I provide a row of depressions δ in the bottom of the grooves, each depression being independent 65 of the other and constituting a small substantially-circular socket or recess, into which the insulation is pressed. Thus, each wire is held by the sockets or depressions on one side and the serrations B' on the other side. 70