Insulating support for high voltage line conductor, including line coupling means

Claim 1

A COUPLING DEVICE FOR OBTAINING AN ELECTRICAL PROPERTY FROM A HIGH VOLTAGE POWER LINE CONDUCTOR, AND SERVING AS A PERMANENT INSULATING SUPPORT FOR THE CONDUCTOR, COMPRISING, IN COMBINATION, A HIGH VOLTAGE HOLLOW TUBULAR INSULATOR HAVING ONE OPEN END AND ONE CLOSED END WITH A SINGLE CAVITY DEFINED ALONG THE LENGTH OF THE INTERIOR THEREOF, SAID CLOSED END HAVING AN EXTERNAL FORMATION FOR RECEIVING AND SUPPORTING SAID CURRENT CONDUCTOR ON SAID INSULATOR, AND ENABLING SAID INSULATOR TO BE LOCATED IN PREDETERMINED ANGULAR ORIENTATION WITH RESPECT TO THE LONGITUDINAL DIRECTION OF SAID CONDUCTOR; A RELATIVELY ELONGATED ELEMENT OF LIGHT TRANSMITTING DIELECTRIC MATERIAL EXTENDING ALONG SAID CAVITY AND HAVING AN OPERATIVE OUTER END AND AN INNER END ELECTRICALLY ISOLATED FROM EACH OTHER; PROBING MEANS AT SAID OPERATIVE OUTER END OPERABLE TO CONVERT VARIATIONS IN AN ELECTRICAL PROPERTY OF A HIGH VOLTAGE CONDUCTOR, SUPPORTED ON SAID INFORMATION INTO VARIATIONS IN A FIELD EFFECTIVE UPON SAID ELEMENT, SAID VARIATIONS IN SAID FIELD AFFECTING THE LIGHT TRANSMISSION PROPERTIES OF SAID ELEMENT; A LIGHT SOURCE POSITIONED ADJACENT THE INNER END OF SAID ELEMENT; PHOTOELECTRIC MEANS POSITIONED ADJACENT SAID INNER END OF SAID ELEMENT IN OPERATIVE RELATION TO RECEIVE LIGHT FROM SAID LIGHT SOURCE AS TRANSMITTED THROUGH SAID INNER END OF SAID ELEMENT; AND ELECTRIC METERING MEANS IN OPERATIVE CIRCUIT CONNECTION WITH SAID PHOTOELECTRIC MEANS; THE LIGHT EFFECTIVE UPON SAID PHOTOELECTRIC MEANS BEING VARIABLE AS A FUNCTION OF THE VARIATIONS IN THE LIGHT TRANSMITTING PROPERTIES OF SAID ELEMENT AS EFFECTED BY SAID FIELD.