GB2306982A

GB2306982A - Flagpole assembly

Info

Publication number: GB2306982A
Application number: GB9623069A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Paul Leslie Liddle; Michael Thurgood
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1995-10-26
Filing date: 1996-10-28
Publication date: 1997-05-14
Also published as: GB9623069D0

Abstract

A flagpole (12) carries a support (14) for supporting an arm (16) from which a flag is suspended. The arm (16) can rotate about the flagpole (12) and the support means includes the facility for lowering the arm (16) down the flagpole (12) that a flag may be attached to or removed from the arm (16) without lowering the flagpole (12) itself. The raising of the arm (16) up the flagpole (12) is facilitated by means of a counterweight. The support (14) and arm (16) may be arranged to be retrofitted to an existing flagpole.

Description

TITLE: FLAGPOLE ASSEMBLY Field of the Invention This invention relates to a flagpole assembly and to a set of parts for modifying a flagpole so as to produce such an assembly. This invention is particularly concerned with a flagpole assembly where a flagpole is provided with a laterally projecting arm from which a flag may be suspended.

Background to the Invention It is knows to have a flagpole assembly in which a rotatable arm projects from a flagpole, a flag being suspended from the arm. As wind direction alters, the arm and flag rotate, thus ensuring that the flag is displayed for all wind directions. However when lowering or changing of the flag is required, the entire flagpole must be lowered to permit access to the rotating arm and so remove the flag. As the flagpoles are typically 6 to 14 metres long, this can take considerable time and manpower. This is of particular disadvantage when strong winds are imminent and the flags must be removed with some haste to ensure they are not damaged.

Disclosure of the Invention According to one aspect of the invention a flagpole assembly is provided, comprising a flagpole, an arm for carrying a flag and support means for supporting the arm, in which the arm is supported so as to project laterally from the flagpole, the support means allowing the arm to be rotatably moveable about the flagpole. wherein the arm is moveable with respect to the flagpole between a raised position for displaying a flag and a lower access position for changing the flag. This ensures that a flag can be attached or removed from the arm without the flagpole being lowered.

Preferably the flagpole assembly further comprises a biasing means connected to the arm, so as to urge the arm towards the raised position and movement of the arm to the lower access position is achieved by exerting a downward force to counteract the biasing means.

Preferably the support means limits the maximum raised position of the arm along the flagpole. This ensures that the arm is not able to reach a position along the flagpole where movement of the arm by use of the biasing means would be complicated.

According to a further aspect of the invention, there is provided a set of parts for modifying an existing flagpole, comprising an arm for carrying a flag, in which the arm can be connected to a flagpole so as to project laterally from the flagpole, wherein the arm is rotatably movable about the flagpole and moveable with respect to the flagpole between a raised position for displaying a flag and a lower access position for changing the flag.

Preferably the set of parts further comprises a support means for supporting the arm so as to project laterally from a flagpole, the support means allowing the arm to be rotatably moveable about the flagpole.

Preferably the support means includes limit means for limiting the maximum raised position of the arm along the flagpole. This ensures that the arm is not able to reach a position along the flagpole where lowering of the arm would be complicated.

The set of parts may further comprise a biasing means to provide a force for urging the arm so as to achieve movement of the arm with respect to the flagpole.

According to either aspect of the invention, the invention may also comprise the further preferred features below.

Where a flagpole is hollow, the biasing means may be substantially contained within the flagpole or if the flagpole is solid, a chamber may be created in the flagpole in which the biasing means may be contained.

Preferably a sealing means is provided at the upper end of the flagpole to ensure that, at least when the arm is in the maximum raised position, the biasing means is encased in a watertight seal. This is of particular advantage to provide protection against environmental effects. The vibrations within the flagpole caused by wind is an additional stress on the rope means which may exacerbate the wear of the rope means if it is constantly exposed to the environment. This is of particular importance when the rope means is made from strands of steel which will fray and eventually snap on prolonged weathering. Therefore providing a sealing means for the biasing means acts to reduce these factors.

The biasing means is preferably also watertight when the arm is moved with respect to the flagpole to the lower access position, although this is less important as the time for which this exposure of the biasing means to the environment occurs will be minimal as such exposure only occurs when the arm is lowered to change or remove the flag.

A rotatable joint may be provided in the biasing means so as to reduce twisting of the biasing means caused by successive rotations of the arm about the flagpole. Such a rotating joint may be provided by a swivel joint or equivalent.

Preferably the biasing means is contained within the flagpole by means of a sealed hollow cylindrical member. This acts to ensure that the biasing means is maintained within the flagpole at a substantially constant vertical angle.

The biasing means may comprise a rope means and a counterweight.

In a preferred embodiment the dimensions of the sealed hollow cylindrical member are chosen so as to be a tight fit around the counterweight, but not an air tight fit, so that the cylindrical weight and the counterweight form a piston. This ensures some degree of control on the upwards travel of the arm when it is released from a position below the limit defined by the stop means. The control is achieved as a result of the air in the sealed hollow cylindrical member acting as a pressure cushion to slow the travel of the biasing means. and thus to slow the travel of the arm. The system proposed is of additional advantage in that the weight of a flag attached to the arm is counterbalanced and the tendency of the arm to bend and distort is substantially reduced, thus improving the life time of the arm.

Preferably the arm and the support means are provided with tapered elements which are complementarily shaped so as progressively to locate within one another as the arm reaches the maximum raised limit defined by the support means. This ensures that the arm is not subjected to undue stress such as to cause it to buckle.

In a preferred embodiment of the invention, a rotatable weighting element is provided about the flagpole axis and the arm is attached to the weighting element by means of a cable. Thus in accordance with either aspect of the invention, there is also provided a lowering means comprising an extendable elongate member and an engaging member, such that in use the lowering means is extended to reach the weighting element and engage with the weighting element so as to allow a downward force to be exerted on the weighting element and thereby displace the arm.

Obviously the lowering means may simply act on the arm, although for extremely tall flagpoles the inter-engagement of the lowering means with the weighting element is preferred for ease of control.

A flagpole assembly in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the invention will now be described, by way of example with reference to the accompanying drawings in which: Figure 1 is a side elevation of a flagpole assembly according to the invention, Figure 2 is a detailed side elevation in partial section of the flagpole assembly to an enlarged scale, with some of the length of the flagpole omitted.

Figure 3 shows a plan view of the flagpole assembly shown in Figure 2, Figure 4 shows a detailed side elevation of a support means of the assembly as viewed along the direction of the arrow IV in Figure 2, Figure 5 shows a detailed side elevation of a socket member contained in the support means, Figure 6 shows a detailed orthogonal elevation of the socket member as viewed in Figure 5, Figure 7 shows a side elevation of a plug member to interconnect with the socket member, Figure 8 shows a detailed orthogonal elevation of the plug member as shown in Figure 7, Figure 9 shows a plan view of the plug member, Figure 10 shows a partial side elevation of a lowering means with engaging element for use with the flagpole assembly; and Figure 11 shows a partial detailed front view of the engaging element.

The flag assembly shown in Figure 1 is shown mounted in the ground and comprises a vertical flagpole 12, a support means 14 and an arm 16 for carrying a flag 24. The arm 16 is supported by the support means 14 so as to project laterally from the flagpole 12 and enable the flag 24 to be displayed. The flagpole 12 is typically a hollow tapered cylinder having a length of 12 to 16 metres, made from material such as glass reinforced plastics.

The support 14 is located on the uppermost end of the flagpole 12 and comprises a locating means (which is in the form of a spigot 18), a cylindrical body 20 and a stop 22.

The locating means 18 is placed over the end of the flagpole 12 and is mounted on bearings so as to allow full rotational movement of the support and the supported arm 16 about the flagpole, i.e. through 360". The spigot 18 is attached to one end of the cylindrical body 20 with the other end of the cylindrical body 20 being attached to the stop 22 which is largely cylindrical and will be discussed later with reference to Figures 4 to 6. The stop means 22 acts to limit the movement of the arm 16 along the flagpole 12 and defines a maximum raised position. The arm 16 is a hollow cylindrical tube, typically 11.5 meters in length and made from 7/8" aluminium tube. Each end of the arm 16 is provided with connecting means for attaching a flag, typically an eyebolt 26 and an eyelet 28.

A toroidal weight 30 encircles the flagpole 12 and attachment of the flag 24 to the weight 30 ensures that the flag 24 remains taut. In addition a safety cable 32 is provided to attach the arm 16 to the toroidal weight 30. The flag 24 may also be provided with positioning elements 34 and 36 which loosely secure the body of the flag 24 to the flagpole 12.

Figure 2 illustrates a detailed side elevation in partial section of the flag assembly shown in Figure 1, with a distorted scale in order to reduce the depicted length of the flagpole for ease of reproduction. The partial section shows the interior of the hollow flagpole 12 and a biasing means 38. The biasing means 38 is contained within the flagpole 12 in a cylindrical sealed tube 40 which is typically made of plastic. The tube 40 may be adhered to the location means 18 so as to rotate with the location means, or alternatively may be fixed in relation to the flagpole 12 so that it does not rotate. The biasing means 38 comprises a counterweight 42 attached to a rope means 44, typically by securing the rope means 44 to an eyebolt 46 fixed in the upper end of the counterweight 42.The counterweight 42 is a solid cylinder which forms a close fit within the sealed tube 40, but does not form an airtight fit. The rope means 44 is typically a steel cord made from a number of individual steel strands.

As is shown in Figure 2, the cord 44 passes through the upper end of the plastic tube 40 by means of aperture 48 and passes through a guide 50 to an aperture 52 in the stop means 22. The cord 44 passes down through the aperture 52 (not shown) to attach to the arm 16.

As earlier discussed, the support 14 is located on the flagpole 12 by a spigot 18 and as shown in Figure 2, this location is typically achieved by two rows of bearings placed at the lower and upper end 54, 56 of the spigot 18 so as to provide a rotatable mount for the arm 16.

Figure 3 shows a plan view of the flag assembly. This Figure shows how guide arms 57, 57' are provided to ensure that the arm 16 is guided along the flagpole 12 as it is raised and lowered. In addition a positioning element 58 may be provided from the guide arms 57, 57' to loop around the flagpole 12 so as to ensure that the guide arms 57, 57' cannot be dislodged from their position either side of the flagpole 12, for example in high winds.

The positioning element 58 is typically made of plastic tubing.

Figures 4 to 6 show in detail the construction of the stop means 22 which is attached to the support means 14. The stop means 22 comprises two separate parts, an outer protective sleeve 60 shown in Figure 4, and a socket member 62 shown in Figures 5 and 6. The protective sleeve 60 is shown viewed along the direction of arrow IV in Figure 2 and is a hollow cylinder. The lower end of the cylinder is provided with a cut away channel 64 over the diameter of the cylinder. The channel 64 has a diameter corresponding to that of the arm 16 so that when the arm 16 is moved to the maximum raised position the channel inter-engages with the arm 16. The upper end of the protective sleeve 60 is provided with an aperture 66 which corresponds to the diameter of the cylindrical body 20 of the support. The aperture 66 extends diametrically through the sleeve 60.An aperture 68 is provided in the upper portion of the sleeve 60 through which a bolt may be inserted for securing the stop means 22 to the cylindrical body 20 of the support means 14.

The second part of the stop means, the socket member 62 is shown in Figures 5 and 6.

The socket member 62 comprises a main body 72 which is a solid cylinder with a sealed upper end 76. The main body 72 has a cylindrical bore 74 over the diameter of the body which corresponds in diameter to that of the cylindrical body 20. The upper end 76 is provided with a cylindrical bore 52 through which the guide 50 containing the steel cord 44 passes. The steel cord 44 continues through channel 77 so as to connect with the arm 16, as already discussed in connection with Figure 2. An aperture 78 is provided in the upper portion of the body 72 through which a bolt may be inserted for securing the stop means 22 to the cylindrical body 20 of the support means 14.

The lower body 80 of the socket member 62 is formed with an upper cylindrical portion 82, which is attached to the main body 72, and a lower shaped portion 84. The shaped portion 84 is provided by cutting a triangular wedge diametrically across the cylinder.

This produces a curve 86 and a triangular groove 88 in the lower portion of the cylinder.

The shape of this can be seen clearly in Figures 5 and 6, and as shown in Figure 6 the triangular groove 88 typically subtends an angle of 56".

In use the protective sleeve 60 is secured over the socket member 62 and then the two portions of the stop means placed onto the cylindrical body 20 of the support means. The cylindrical body 20 is preferably passed all the way through the stop 22 by means of the aperture 66 and cylindrical bore 74. The body 20 and stop means 22 are then connected together by inserting a bolt or similar fastening element into apertures 68 and 78, as can be seen at 70 in Figure 2. If this method of connection is used, an aperture must be drilled through the body 20 to allow the guide means 50 to pass down into the socket member 62. Alternatively the cylindrical body 20 may be welded onto the stop means 22.

A plug member 90 for interconnecting into the socket member 62 is shown in Figures 7 to 9. The plug member 90 comprises a upper solid conical body 92 which has machined flats 94 and 96, and a lower solid cylindrical body 97. The machined flats 94, 96 are inclined at a complimentary angle to that provided by the triangular groove 88 of the socket member 62. A bore 98 is provided along the vertical axis of the body 92 through which the cord 44 may pass. As shown in Figures 7 and 8, a cylindrical bore 100 is provided through the lower body 97 and two chambers 102, 104 are placed adjacent to the bore. The chambers 102, 104 receive the guide arms 57, 57' and secure them in position.

In use the flagpole assembly acts as follows. The arm 16 is inserted into the bore 100 in the plug member 90 so as to secure the arm 16 to the plug member. The arm 16 is then connected to the biasing means 38 by attaching the cord 44 to the arm 16 via the bore 98.

The counterweight 12 counteracts the weight of the arm 16 and any flag attached to it, and urges the arm 16 vertically up along the flagpole 12. The maximum raised position of the arm 16 along the flagpole 12 is limited by the stop means 22 so as to prevent the arm being pulled over the upper end of the flagpole 12 by the counterweight. The maximum position is specifically determined by the entry of the plug member 90 into the socket member 62, with the corresponding tapers of the machined tlats 94 and 96 and the triangular groove 88 inter-engaging to progressively locate the plug member into the socket member, so avoiding undue stress on the arm 16 when its upward movement along the flagpole 12 is stopped.

The arm 16 bearing the flag is free to rotate around the axis of the flagpole due to the locating means 18. Thus as the wind direction alters, the wind catches the flag and rotates the arm. The adhesion of the cylinder 40 to the spigot 18 ensures that the biasing means rotates as well, avoiding undue winding of the cord 44. The use of a single cord 44 ensures that any tangling effects that may occur in systems with more than one cord is avoided.

When the arm 16 is to be lowered to remove or attach a flag, the toroidal weight 30 is subjected to a downwards force, for example by a person pulling down on it. The safety cable 32 connecting the toroidal weight 30 to the arm 16 ensures that the downwards force is transferred to the arm 16. The downwards force acts against the upward urging force provided by the biasing means 38 and the arm 16 is slowly lowered to the ground. When the arm 16 is nearer to ground level, a lower access position is reached where' a person may reach the arm to attach or remove a flag as required.

After the appropriate action has been carried out, the downwards force on the toroidal weight 30 is released. There is now no force to counteract the upwardly urging force of the biasing means 38 and so the arm 16 rises along the flagpole. The tight fit of the counterweight 42 within the cylinder 40 ensures that as the counterweight falls within the cylinder, the air beneath the counterweight cannot readily bleed past and so acts as a cushion to limit the speed of the upward movement of the arm 16 along the flagpole 12.

The arm 16 will thus reach the upper limit defined by the stop means 22 in a controlled manner. The use of such a counterbalance arrangement avoids having to lower the flagpole 12 each time a flag needs to be attached, removed or changed. This is of particular use when bad weather conditions are approaching and also when a site has a large number of flagpoles but limited man power with which to lower the flagpoles.

The downwards force on the toroidal weight 30 is preferably achieved by a lowering means 102 as shown in Figures 10 and 11. Figure 10 shows a partial side view of the upper portion of the lowering means which comprises a telescopically extendable tube 104 which has attached at its upper end thereof an engaging element 106. The engaging element 106 is curved so that it may be placed over the toroidal weight 30 to provide a good contact for exerting a downwards force on the weight. Figure 11 shows a detailed view from the front of the upper end of the lowering means 102 showing the engagement means 106. The engagement means 106 is preferably provided by a bifurcate arm providing a hook to engage with the weight 30.

The elements as discussed in relation to the tlagpole assembly and to the lowering means, may be provided singly, or in any combination, as a set of parts for retrofitting to an existing flagpole.

Claims

1. A flagpole assembly comprising a flagpole, an arm for carrying a flag and support means for supporting the arm, in which the arm is supported so as to project laterally from the flagpole, the support means allowing the arm to be rotatably moveable about the flagpole, wherein the arm is moveable with respect to the flagpole between a raised position for displaying a flag and a lower access position for changing the flag.

2. A flagpole assembly according to claim 1, in which the flagpole assembly further comprises biasing means connected to the arm, so as to urge the arm towards the raised position.

3. A flagpole assembly according to claim 2, in which the support means limits the maximum raised position of the arm along the flagpole.

4. A flagpole assembly according to claim 2 or claim 3, in which the biasing means is substantially contained within the flagpole.

5. A flagpole assembly according to any of claims 2 to 4, in which the flagpole assembly includes sealing means at the upper end of the flagpole so that, at least when the arm is in its raised position, the biasing means is encased in a watertight seal.

6. A flagpole assembly according to claim 5, in which the sealing means also encases the biasing means in a watertight seal when the arm is moved with respect to the flagpole to the lower access position.

7. A flagpole assembly according to any of claims 2 to 6, in which a rotatable joint is provided in the biasing means so as to reduce or prevent twisting of the biasing means caused by successive rotations of the arm about the flagpole.

8. A flagpole assembly according to any of claims 2 to 7, in which the biasing means is contained within the flagpole by means of a sealed hollow cylindrical member.

9. A flagpole according to any of claims 2 to 8, in which the biasing means comprises a rope means and a counterweight.

10. A flagpole assembly according to claim 9 when appended to claim 8, in which the dimensions of the sealed hollow cylindrical member are such that the member provides a tight fit around the counterweight, but not an air tight fit, so that the cylindrical weight and the counterweight form a piston, thereby to provide control of the upwards travel of the arm when it is released from a position below the limit defined by the stop means.

11. A flagpole assembly according to any of the preceding claims, in which the arm and the support means have complementary tapered elements so as to progressively locate within one another as the arm reaches the maximum raised limit defined by the support means.

12. A flagpole assembly according to any of claims 2 to 10, in which the assembly includes a rotatable weighting element situated about the flagpole axis connected to the arm and the arm is attached to the weighting element by an elongate member, the arrangement being such that the weighting member facilitates lowering of the arm against the action of the biasing means.

13. A set of parts for modifying an existing flagpole, the set comprising an arm for carrying a flag, support means for so supporting the arm that the arm projects laterally from the tlagpole, and is rotatably movable about the flagpole and moveable with respect to the flagpole between a raised position for displaying a flag and a lower access position for changing the flag.

14. A set of parts according to claim 13, in which the support means includes means for limiting the extent by which the arm can be raised along the flagpole.

15. A set of parts according to either claim 13 or claim 14, in which the set of parts further comprises a biasing means for urging the arm towards its raised position.

16. A set of parts according to claim 15, in which the set of parts includes sealing means for mounting at the upper end of the flagpole so as to ensure that the biasing means is encased in a watertight seal when the arm is in its raised position.

17. A set of parts according to claim 16, in which the sealing means, in use, also provides a watertight seal for the biasing means when the arm is in its lowered position.

18. A set of parts according to any of claims 15 to 17, in which the set includes a rotatable joint, for connecting the biasing means to the arm so that, in use, rotation of the arm about the flagpole does not correspondingly twist the biasing means.

19. A set of parts according to any of claims 15 to 18, in which the set further includes a hollow cylindrical member for containing a counterweight forming part of the biasing means.

20. A flagpole assembly substantially as described herein with reference to, and as illustrated in, the accompanying drawings.

21. A kit of parts, substantially as described herein with reference to, and as illustrated in, the accompanying drawings.