Power line ice-shedder
First Claim
1. An ice-shedding device for use on a suspended cable, comprising:
- a central support;
a motor attached to said central support;
a power supply for driving said motor;
at least one unbalanced weight in communication with said motor; and
an attachment apparatus for affixing said central support to said suspended cable;
wherein displacement of said unbalanced weight by said motor causes a vibration which is translated to said suspended cable, thereby causing ice accumulated thereon to be substantially shed.
2 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
A mechanical ice-shedding device for temporary or permanent attachment to a suspended cable, and particularly to a suspended power line. The ice-shedding device uses a motor to move at least one unbalanced weight, thereby causing a vibration of the device that is translated to the cable to which the device is attached. The vibration causes an oscillation of the cable which is sufficient to substantially shed ice that has accumulated thereon. The output of the motor is preferably regulated so that the cable may be ramped through several frequencies of oscillation, thereby improving its ice-shedding ability. The device may be driven by power from the power line to which it is attached, or from another source, such as a battery or storage capacitor.
27 Citations
67 Claims
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1. An ice-shedding device for use on a suspended cable, comprising:
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a central support;
a motor attached to said central support;
a power supply for driving said motor;
at least one unbalanced weight in communication with said motor; and
an attachment apparatus for affixing said central support to said suspended cable;
wherein displacement of said unbalanced weight by said motor causes a vibration which is translated to said suspended cable, thereby causing ice accumulated thereon to be substantially shed. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25)
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26. An ice-shedding device for use on a power line, comprising:
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a central support;
a motor attached to said central support;
a drive mechanism attached to said central support and in communication with said motor;
at least one unbalanced weight in communication with said drive mechanism;
a power supply for driving said motor;
a microprocessor for controlling the output of said motor; and
an attachment apparatus for releasably affixing said central support to said power line;
wherein displacement of said at least one unbalanced weight by said motor and said drive mechanism causes a vibration which is translated by said central support and said attachment apparatus to said power line; and
whereby said power line is excited into oscillation, thereby causing ice accumulated thereon to be substantially shed. - View Dependent Claims (27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 43)
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44. A method of de-icing a suspended cable, said method comprising:
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attaching a mechanical device to said suspended cable; and
causing said mechanical device to vibrate by moving at least one unbalanced weight;
whereby said vibration of said mechanical device causes an oscillation of said suspended cable that is capable of substantially shedding ice accumulated thereon. - View Dependent Claims (45, 46, 47)
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48. A method of de-icing a suspended cable, said method comprising:
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providing a central support;
affixing a motor to said central support;
connecting a drive mechanism to said motor;
placing said drive mechanism in communication with at least one unbalanced weight;
providing a power supply for driving said motor; and
attaching said central support to said suspended cable;
whereby the energizing of said motor will cause a corresponding displacement of said at least one unbalanced weight, thereby creating a vibration that generates an oscillation of said suspended cable, said oscillation causing the shedding of at least a substantial amount of ice accumulated on said suspended cable. - View Dependent Claims (49, 50, 51, 52, 53, 54, 55, 56, 57, 58, 59, 60, 61, 62, 63, 64, 65, 66, 67)
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Specification