Utility or meter pole top reinforcement method and apparatus

Abstract

An apparatus for reinforcing an upstanding utility/meter pole having a worn top includes an elongate brace adapted to bear against the pole near a top end of the pole. A washer plate is disposed in overlying relation to the elongate brace. A front support is secured to an opposite side of the pole by an elongate bolt that extends diametrically through the pole and is engaged by a nut to secure the brace and front support in sandwiching relation to the pole. A second embodiment reinforces a cross arm of a pole and a third embodiment ensleeves a pole at its uppermost end in a cylindrical body that serves as a prosthesis for a disintegrating pole top.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A prosthetic apparatus for reinforcing a top of an upstanding pole, comprising:
 a cylindrical main body having an upper rim at a first end of said main body;   a pair of legs depending from a second end of said main body in diametrically opposed relation to one another;   a plurality of apertures formed in said cylindrical main body in circumferentially and longitudinally spaced relation to one another.   
     
     
         2 . The prosthetic apparatus of  claim 1 , further comprising:
 said upper rim adapted to project above an uppermost end of said upstanding pole when said uppermost end of said upstanding pole is ensleeved by said cylindrical main body;   a top cap having a skirt having a length substantially equal to a distance of said upper rim above said uppermost end of said upstanding pole so that said skirt fits within the hollow interior of said cylindrical main body when said top cap engages said cylindrical main body.