Power cable termination

Claim 2

An electric power cable termination module comprising: a body of elastomeric insulating material, said body comprising a central portion having first, second and third legs extending outwardly therefrom, said body further having a coating of electrically conductive material mounted on a major portion of the outer surface thereof to form an electrically conductive path from a point adjacent one end of the body to a second point adjacent the other end of the body; said first leg defining a passageway for receiving in watertight, voltage grading relationship a rigid insulating bushing including high voltage electrical contact means embedded therein and a switchable, load-break means for extinguishing arcs formed between said embedded contact means and an electrically energized conductor separated therefrom; said second and third legs each comprising wall means defining a passageway extending through each of said legs from one end to the other thereof for receiving cables having a semiconductive outer shield disposed thereon, a portion of said wall means at said one end having said coating of electrically conductive material disposed therein and being relatively dilatable for receiving said cable in watertight sealing relationship, and for holding said conductive coating in electrical contact with said semiconductive outer shield on said cable; and conductive means disposed within the central portion of said body and having contiguous electrically conductive rodlike members extending at least partially into each of said legs, respectively, to make electrical contact with said cables and said contact means carried by said bushing when the termination module is coupled in operative relation to said cables and bushing.

Claim 3

An electric power cable termination module as recited in claim 1, wherein said second and third legs each have a generally conical outer surface portion near said one end thereof to afford an electrical stress cone for grading electric fields developed when an energized high-voltage cable is disposed within said passageway, and wherein said relatively dilatable portion of said wall means comprises a generally cylindrical body portion formed integrally with said conical outer surface portion and extending outward therefrom, the outer end of the generally cylindrical portion of said body comprising said one end of each of said legs.

Claim 4

An electric power cable termination module as recited in claim 2, wherein said second and third legs are substantially parallel.

Claim 5

An electric power cable termination module as recited in claim 3, wherein said first leg is substantially perpendicular to said second and said third legs.

Claim 6

An electric power cable termination module, as recited in claim 4, further including a gas shield formed integrally with said first leg Around the outer end thereof, said conductive coating terminating at the inner end of said gas shield thereby to reduce the risk of ionized gases forming a conductive path from an arc formed between the contact in said first leg and a contact in a bushing to which the first leg is adapted to be coupled, while simultaneously providing a substantially continuous voltage gradient through the insulating wall formed by said gas shield when said module is coupled in operating position to a bushing.

Claim 7

An electric power cable termination apparatus comprising a termination module having an elastomeric insulating body with an electrically conductive coating bonded to substantially the entire outer surface thereof, said module having a central portion with integrally formed first, second and third legs extending outward therefrom, said first leg including wall means that define a tapered passageway through it generally concentric with the longitudinal axis thereof, and further including a rodlike conductive element mounted in said passageway and spaced approximately equidistant from the tapered walls thereof, said second and third legs being generally parallel to one another and each including wall means that define generally cylindrically shaped passageways therethrough, and further each including a conductive element mounted in said passageway and electrically connected to the conductive element in the first leg, said conductive elements in the first and second legs being adapted to form a sliding, releasable contact with a terminal end of an electric cable when the cable is inserted into the respective passageways of said legs, in combination with a first and second cable mounted respectively in the passageways of said first and second legs in electrical contact with the conductive elements therein, and further combined with a high voltage bushing having a rigid frustoconical outer surface that complements the tapered surface of the passageway of said first leg, said bushing being mounted in said tapered passageway to form a watertight seal therewith and to complete an electrical circuit between a contact mounted in said bushing and the conductive element extending into the tapered passageway, whereby said module affords a common electrical connection between both of said cables and and the contact in said bushing while providing a uniform voltage grading shield around all of the connections between it and said cables and bushing contact.

Claim 8

An electric power cable termination apparatus comprising a termination module having an elastomeric insulating body with an electrically conductive coating bonded to substantially the entire outer surface thereof, said module having a central portion with integrally formed first, second and third legs extending outward therefrom, said first leg including wall means that define a tapered passageway through it generally concentric with the longitudinal axis thereof, and further including a rodlike conductive element mounted in said passageway and spaced approximately equidistant from the tapered walls thereof, said second and third legs being generally parallel to one another and each including wall means that define generally cylindrically shaped passageways therethrough, and further each including a conductive element mounted in said passageway and electrically connected to the conductive element in the first leg, said conductive elements in the first and second legs being adapted to form a sliding, releasable contact with a terminal end of an electric cable when the cable is inserted into the respective passageways of said legs, in combination with a first and second cable mounted respectively in the passageways of said first and second legs in electrical contact with the conductive elements therein, and further combined with a high voltage bushing having a rigid frustoconical outer surface that complements the tapered surface of the passageway of said first leg, said bushing being mounted in said tapered passageway to form a watertight seal therewith and to complete an electrical circuit between a contact mounted in said bushing and the conductive element extending into the tapered passageway, whereby said module affords a common electrical connection between both of said cables and and the contact in said bushing while providing a uniform voltage grading shield around all of the connections between it and said cables and bushing contact.