US3519293A

US3519293A - Pole lamp for trucks and trailers

Info

Publication number: US3519293A
Application number: US812977A
Authority: US
Inventors: Donald S Henning; Llano L Smith
Original assignee: Phoenix Products Co Inc
Current assignee: Phoenix Products Co Inc
Priority date: 1969-04-03
Filing date: 1969-04-03
Publication date: 1970-07-07
Anticipated expiration: 1987-07-07

Description

July 7, 1970 D. s. HENNING ET AL 3,519,293

POLE LAMP FOR TRUCKS AND TRAILERS Filed April 5, 1969 2 Sheets-Sheet l INVENTORS l m'zazd 5. HE'TZTLIZ'Z United States Patent ()1 :"fice 3,519,293 POLE LAMP FOR TRUCKS AND TRAILERS Donald S. Henning, Thiensville, and Llano L. Smith,

Milwaukee, Wis., assignors to Phoenix Products Company, Inc., Milwaukee, Wis., a corporation of Wiscousin Filed Apr. 3, 1969, Ser. No. 812,977 Int. Cl. F16b 7/14 U.S. Cl. 287 -58 3 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE from the exterior of the upper pole section.

This invention relates to pole lamps and has more particular reference to industrial type pole lamps such as are especially suited for illuminating the interiors of the bodies of trucks, trailers, rail cars, and other freight carriers wherein cargo is supported on a rigid floor, under a rigid roof.

Since the ceiling heights of trucks, trailers and rail cars are apt to vary substantially, it is one of the objects of this invention to provide a pole lamp which is readily lengthwise adjustable over an exceptionally wide range to enable it to be used for the illumination of the interiors of truck, trailer, or rail car bodies despite wide variation in their size.

Another object of the invention resides in the provision of a pole lamp featuring improved latch means for re leasably holding the pole in any of its positions of lengthwise adjustment.

With these observations and objects in mind, the mannor in which the invention achieves its purpose will be appreciated from the following description and the accompanying drawings. This disclosure is intended merely to exemplify the invention. The invention is not limited to the particular structure or method disclosed, and changes can be made therein which lie within the scope of the appended claims without departing from the invention.

The drawings illustrate one complete example of the physical embodiment of the invention constructed according to the best mode so far devised for the practical application of the principles thereof, and in which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a pole lamp embodying this invention;

FIG. 2 is an elevational view of the lamp seen in FIG.

1, but illustrating the same adjusted to its shortest length;

FIG. 3 is an elevational view similar to FIG. 2 but showing the pole adjusted to maximum length;

FIGS. 4 and 5 are fragmentary sectional views, at an enlarged scale, showing details of construction.

Referring now more particularly to the accompanying drawings, the numeral 10 generally designates a light head assembly which forms a part of the pole lamp of this invention. The light head assembly is mounted on the upper section 11 of a pair of elongated upper and

lower pole sections

11 and 12. The lower pole section 12 provides a leg for the assembly, and it can have a foot 13 of rubber-like materials thereon to hold it against slippage along the floor of a truck or the like.

The upper pole section 11 is provided by an elongated tubular member of square cross section, and it can have a pad 14 of rubber-like material at its top to prevent slippage thereof along a ceiling with which the pole is en- 3,519,293 Patented July 7, 1970 gaged. Preferably, the pad 14 has a cup-like shape so that it can accommodate to slanted or uneven ceiling surfaces. The upper pole section 11 is telescopically engaged over an elongated inner tubular member 15, likewise of square cross section to preclude rotation of either tubular member relative to the other about their common longitudinal axis.

The inner tubular member 15 is only slightly smaller in its cross sectional dimension than the upper tubular pole section 11 telescoped over it, so that their adjacent wall surfaces are disposed in contiguous relation to one another. The bottom end of the upper pole section has a washer 17 fixed thereto for engagement with the bottom end 18 of the inner tubular member 15 to define the upper limit of motion of the upper pole section 11. The.

central hole 19 in the washer, of course, slidingly accommodates the lower pole section 12.

The leg or lower pole section 12 comprises an elongated tube of circular cross section that extends upwardly into the lower portion of the upper pole section 11 and into the interior of the inner tubular member 15. It has the aforementioned foot 13 secured to its bottom, and it has a plug 20 secured in its upper end. A flange 21 on the plug extends over the top of the tube to provide a flat bottom seat for a helical compression spring 22 that is confined in the interior of the inner tubular member 15. The other end of the spring engages against the underside of a square cross section plug 23 that is secured in the inner tubular member 15 by a pin 24, at a location near to but spaced from the top of said member.

The spring 22, of course, at all times exerts force on the lower pole section 12 tending to propel it downwardly out of the lower end of the inner tubular member. The lowermost position of the leg or bottom pole section 12 with respect to the inner tubular member 15 is defined by the engagement of the overhanging edge portions of the flange 21 at the top of the lower pole section with an upwardly facing internal abutment 26 on the inner tubular member 15. The abutment 26 is spaced a substantial distance from the bottom end 18 of the inner tubular member, and it comprises the upper end of a length of circular cross section tubing 27 that is fixed to the inner tubular member 15, in its interior, and is closely slidingly telescoped over the upper end portion of the leg or bottom pole section 12. Hence, the tubing 27 not only reinforces the lower end portion of the inner tubular member 15, but it also provides a stabilizing guide for the lower pole section 12, engaging over a sufficient length thereof to prevent sidewise wobbling motion thereof in any position of lengthwise adjustment of the lower pole section permitted by the spring 22 and the

cooperating stops

21, 26. This is important, since in use, the leg or lower pole section will always occupy a position displaced upwardly from that seen in FIG. 4, and in which it loads the spring so that the force thereof can be utilized in holding the pole in place between a floor surface and the ceiling thereabove.

The upper pole section 11 can be held in any of a great number of positions of height adjustment along the length of the inner tubular member 15. For this purpose, it is provided with a multiplicity of uniformly spaced apart holes 29 in one flat side thereof, into any selected one of which the pin 30 of a latch device is engageable to hold the vertical adjustment of the upper pole section.

The pin 30 is yielding biased toward an operative position by spring means which can be of any suitable type. The U-shaped leaf spring 31 shown in the drawings is one example of a biasing means that will serve the purpose; and it has the important further advantage that it is self supporting. It is mounted inside the upper end portion of the inner tubular member 15, above the spring seat 23 therein, with its bight portion lowermost. The pin is secured to one arm 33 of the spring in any suitable manner, as by a screw 32, and the spring normally holds the pin projected outwardly into a selected hole 29 in the upper pole section 11, through a hole 34 in the adjacent side of the inner tubular member 15 with which said selected hole registers. The other arm of the U-shaped spring is disposed fiatwise against the opposite wall of the inner tubular member, in good frictional contact therewith.

Because the arms of the spring 31 tend to spread apart, the spring holds itself in place, and the arm 33 at all times yieldingly resists inward displacement of the pin 30 from any hole 29 in which it is engaged. The pin, of course, must be depressed to disengage it from the selected hole 29 before the upper pole section can be adjusted lengthwise relative to the inner tubular member 15.

It is one of the more important features of the invention that, for safety reasons, the upper pole section is adjustable in only relatively small increments. This results from the fact that the pin 30 is projectable automatically by its spring 31 into any hole 29 that is brought into register with the hole 34 in which the pin is always engaged. As soon as the pin 30 is depressed by an operator, the operator has no more control over it and the pin will be projected outwardly into another hole 29 during height adjustment of the upper pole section, to stop such adjustment without any effort on the part of the operator. Accordingly, the upper pole section cannot be dropped accidentally through its entire range of adjustment, as can happen when a latch device equivalent to the spring pressed pin is mounted on the outside of the upper pole section where it can be controlled by the operator and held in an inactive condition at his option.

If desired, cleats 37 can be welded to the exterior of the upper pole section 11, at vertically spaced locations, to provide for looping an electric supply cord (not shown) thereabout, for compact storage of the cord.

From the foregoing description, together with the accompanying drawings, it will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art that this invention provides an improved pole lamp featuring safe adjustability of its upper pole section throughout an exceptionally wide range.

What is claimed as our invention is:

1. A pole lamp wherein a spring yieldingly resists endwise retractingmovement of a lower pole member into a tubular upper pole member from a defined partially extended position of the lower pole member, characterized by:

(A) an elongated inner tubular member which is closely slidably mounted within the tubular upper pole member with its lower end portion telescoped over the upper end portion of the lower pole member;

(B) cooperating abutments on the inner tubular member and on the lower pole member to prevent displacement of the latter out of the lower end portion of the former;

(C) cooperating stops on the lower ends of the inner and upper tubular members engageable with one another to define the lowermost position of the inner tubular member within the upper tubular member;

(D) a spring seat member fixed inside the inner tubular member and spaced from the upper end thereof and from the top of the lower pole member to receive said spring therebetween;

(E) the inner tubular member having a single hole in its wall;

(F) the upper tubular member having a number of holes in its wall that can be individually brought into registry with said single hole in dilferent positions of the upper tubular member lengthwise of the inner tubular member;

(G) a U-shapcd leaf spring confined in the inner tubular member with its opposite arms extending lengthwise thereof and tending to spread apart;

'(H) a pin fixed to one of said arms to be releasably held thereby in an operative position engaged in said single hole and projecting outwardly through a selected registering hole of the upper tubular member to maintain its adjustment lengthwise of the inner tubular member;

(I) and said inner and upper tubular members having a square cross section so as to be non-rotatable relative to one another about their common longitudinal axis.

2. A pole lamp wherein a spring yieldingly resists endwise retracting movement of a lower pole member into a tubular upper pole member from a defined extended position of the lower pole member, characterized by:

(A) an elongated inner tubular member having at all times its entire length confined within and closely slidably positioned in the tubular upper pole member and which has it lower end portion slidably telescoped over an upper end portion of the lower pole member received within the upper pole member, in all extended positions of the lower pole member;

(B) cooperating stops on the lower ends of said inner and upper tubular members engageable with one another inside the upper pole member to define the lowermost position of the inner tubular member within the upper pole member;

(C) cooperating abutments on said inner tubular member and on the lower pole member to prevent displacement of the latter out of the lower end portion of the former;

(D) a spring seat member fixed inside said inner member and spaced from the upper end thereof and from the top of the lower pole member to receive said spring therebetween;

(E) and cooperating means on said tubular members for releasably holding the upper pole member in any of a multiplicity of positions of adjustment along the length of the inner tubular member.

3. The pole lamp of claim 2,.further characterized by said cooperating means comprising:

(A) a multiplicity of spaced apart holes in the wall of said upper tubular member;

(B) a single. hole in the wall of the inner tubular member adapted to register selectively with any of the holes in said upper tubular member;

(C) and a spring biased pin internally carried by said inner tubular member and projectable outwardly by its spring through said single hole and any registering hole of said multiplicity of holes to releasably hold the tubular members against relative endwise movement.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,278,100 9/ 1918 Bruning. 2,225,889 12/ 1940 Rubenstein. 2,777,692 1/ 1957 Marzucco 248-408 XR 2,903,227 9/ 1959 DeKalb Key 248-356 3,161,264 12/1964 Isaacson. 3,347,575 10/ 1967 Morris.

FOREIGN PATENTS 930,073 7/ 1947 France. 167,805 3/ 1951 Austria.

DAVID J. WILLIAMOWSKY, Primary Examiner A. KUNDRAT, Assistant Examiner U.S. Cl. X.R. 248-356