US3124100A

US3124100A - Flag pole

Info

Publication number: US3124100A
Authority: US
Publication date: 1964-03-10
Anticipated expiration: 1981-03-10

Description

vMlrch 10, 1954 F. w. MoRLEY FLAG POLE Filed Jan. 25, 1962 HHHHIIUIILA- INVENTOR, fera Vif/7047455 BY r Arroz/vifs United States Patent O 3,124,100 FLAG POLE Fred W. Morley, 917 E. 49th, Indianapolis, Ind. Fiied Jau. 25, 1962, Ser. No. 168,609 12 Claims. (Cl. 116-173) This invention relates to flag poles or like structures having at a remote and relatively inaccessible end a device or mechanism to which access may be necessary for purposes of replacement or repair. It is an object of the invention to facilitate such access. The invention will be described as embodied in a vertical, hollow flag pole having at its upper end a pulley to which access may be desired, as for the purpose of re-stringing a broken halyard, but it is to be understood that the invention is not limited to such a structure.

As embodied in a hollow, vertical llag pole, the invention contemplates a cap removably mounted in a definite position at the upper end of the pole. Conveniently, the cap is provided with a downwardly opening annular groove adapted to receive the upper end of the pole. Extending through the pole is a Bowden Wire comprising the conventional inner and outer elements, the former of which is secured at its upper end to the cap. At the lower end of the Bowden wire, the inner element projects beyond the outer element for a distance approximately equal to the height of the pole, the projecting length of the inner element preferably being stored within the pole in any convenient manner. Desirably, the upper end of the outer Bowden-wire element is equipped with a compression spring having, when unstressed, a length sufficient to extend upwardly well beyond the upper end of the pole. When the cap is in position at the top of the pole, such spring is resiliently compressed and exerts and upward effort on the cap, which is held in position against such eifort by the inner Bowden-wire element. When access to the cap is desired, the inner Bowden-wire element is released and its excess length forced upwardly through the outer element to unseat the cap and permit it to descend into an accessible position under the inuence of gravity.

Further objects and features in the invention will become apparent from the more detailed description which follows and from the accompanying drawing, in which:

FIG. l is an axial section through a vertical flag pole embodying the invention showing the cap in place at the upper end of the pole;

FIG. 2 is a fragmental elevational View on a reduced scale of the upper end of the pole showing the cap in the process of being lowered;

FIG. 3 is a detailed view, in partial section, illustrating means for releasably locking the inner Bowden-wire element against upward movement; and

FIG. 4 is a fragmental vertical section through the lower end of a pole illustrating an alternative means for storing the excess length of the inner Bowden wire.

The flag pole shown in the drawing comprises a tubux lar, preferably tapered, body provided at its lower iend with a base 11 through which it is' supported in upright position. A removable cap, designated in its entirety by the reference numeral 12, is removably supported at the upper end of the pole. As shown, the cap carries a pair of halyard-pulleys 13 and is provided at its lower end with a guide 14 of inverted conical form and having at its top a ange 15 formed with a downwardly opening annular groove adapted to receive the upper end of the pole 10.

Connected to the cap 12 is the inner element 17 of a Bowden-wire assembly which extends vertically through the pole. For most of the height of the pole, the inner element 17 is enclosed in a tubular sheath 18 supported 3,124,100 Patented Mar. 10, 1964 from the pole by cross-members including a lower crossmember 19, an upper cross-member 20, and a third crossmember 21 spaced a short distance below the crossmember 2t). Above the cross-member 21, the tubular sheath 18 is replaced by a helical compression spring 22 which, when the cap 12 is in position, is in at least a partially compressed state and bears against the guide 14. Between the two

cross-members

20 and 21, the spring 22 is enclosed within a tube 23, which is replaced above the upper cross-member 20 by a second helical compression spring 24. Like the springl 22, the spring 24 is compressed when the cap 12 is in position, being held in compressed state by the engagement of its ends with the cross-member 20 and the guide 14. The lengths of the

springs

22 and 24, is such that both springs, when released, project through and beyond the top of the pole with the inner spring 22 preferably projecting beyond the outer spring 24.

While friction between the inner element 17 and its enclosing sheath (18, 22) might be relied upon to hold the cap 12 in position against dislodging forces such as the upward effort exerted by the

springs

22 and 24, I prefer that the inner element 17 fit rather loosely within the sheath 1S and that means be provided at the lower end or" such sheath to lock the inner element in place. One form of such a locking means is illustrated in FIG. 3, where the lower end of the sheath 18 is shown as provided with a clamp comprising a collar 25 having a downwardly projecting, frusto-conical boss 26 longitudinally slit as indicated at 27 to provide two or more resilient fingers adapted to be clamped against the inner element 17 to lock it in place. For the purpose of forcing the ngers against the inner element, a cap 2S is screw-threadably mounted on the collar 25, such cap having a hollow frusto-conical lower portion 29 engaging the outer surface of the split-boss 26.

The inner element 17 of the Bowden wire, which is preferably a stranded cable, projects beyond the lower end of the tubular sheath 13 for a distance approximately equal to the height of the pole 10. The excess length of such inner element may be stored in a vertical tube 31 extending upwardly within the pole, as shown in FIG. l, or may be wound on a rotatable reel 32, as shown in FIG. 4. To provide access to the interior of the pole for the purpose of manipulating the inner element 17, the pole has near its lower end an opening 33 provided with a movable closure 34.

When the cap 12 is in place, as shown in FIG. l, the

springs

22 and 24 are compressed, thus exerting an upward effort on the cap tending to dislodge it from its seat on the upper end of the pole. To hold the cap in place against such dislodging effort, the cap 28 is screwed upwardly on the collar 25 to force the split end of the boss 26 into gripping engagement with the inner Bowden-wire element 17. When access to the cap is desired, the closure 34 is removed and the clamp 28 released. If the upward effort exerted on the cap by the

springs

22 and 24 is insuicient to dislodge the cap from its seat, the inner Bowden-wire element 17 is forced upwardly into the sheath 18 to unseat the cap. As the cap is unseated, the

springs

22 and 24 extend, and the cap 12 tends to fall downwardly under the iniiuence of gravity, the

extended springs

22 and 24 curving, as shown in FIG. 2, to lend support to the inner element 17, and prevent it from bending so sharply that it would take a permanent set. As feeding of the inner element 17 into the lower end of the tube 18 continues, the cap 12 descends under the influence of gravity into an accessible position such that any desired operation may be readily performed upon it. When it is desired to replace the cap, the lower end of the inner element 17 is progressively pulled from the tube J 18, thus causing the cap to ascend. When the ascending cap engages the inner spring Z2, continued withdrawal from the tube 18 causes such spring to be compressed; and when further movement of the cap brings it into engagement with the upper end of the spring 24, such spring is likewise compressed. As the

springs

22 and 24 are shortened by continued inward movement of the inner element 17, they straighten to cause the cap to swing from the inverted position shown in FIG. 2 toward the upright position shown in FIG. l and to bring the cap into a disposition over the pole. During the nal stage in the operation of repositioning the cap, the guide 14 enters the upper end of the pole and centers the cap so that the upper end of the pole will seat in the annular groove in the flange 15. With the cap thus positioned, the clamp 2S is tightened and the closure 34 replaced.

I claim as my invention:

l. A ag pole, comprising an elongated hollow body supported at one end and having its other end located in an elevated, remote position, said body being provided with an opening at its remote end, a removable cap seated over said opening, a halyard-pulley mounted on said cap, and a Bowden-wire assembly extending within said body and including an inner element secured to said cap and an outer element which slidably receives the inner element and extends from the cap to an end near the supported end of the body, the inner element extending beyond said end of the outer element for a distance substantially equal to that through which said cap must be lowered from its elevated position to render it readily accessible.

2. A flag pole as set forth in claim l with the addition of means within the body for storing the extended portion of the inner element.

3. A ag pole as set forth in claim 2 with the addition that said storing means comprises an elongated tube extending longitudinally of the body.

4. A ag pole as set forth in claim 2 with the addition that said storing means is a reel rotatably mounted adjacent the supported end of the body.

5. A flag pole, comprising an elongated hollow body supported at one end and having its other end located in an elevated, remote position, said body being provided with an opening at its remote end, a removable cap seated over said opening, a halyard-pulley mounted on said cap, and a Bowden-wire assembly extending within said body and including an inner element secured to said cap and an outer element which slidably receives the inner element and extends from the cap to a position near the supported l end of the body where the inner element is manipulable to unseat and lower the cap.

6. A ag pole as set forth in claim 5 with the addition that said cap and body are provided with cooperating provisions interengageable as the cap is seated to locate the cap in predetermined position on the body.

7. A ag pole as set forth in claim 5 with the addition that said body is of circular cross-section, said cap having an annular groove receiving the end of the body when the cap is seated thereon, said cap also having within said groove a tapered pilot portion cooperating with the bodyopening as the cap is moved toward its seated position.

8. A flag pole as set forth in claim 5 with the addition that said body is of circular cross-section, said cap having an annular groove receiving the end of the body when the cap is seated thereon.

9. A ilag pole or like structure comprising an elongated body supported at one end and having its other end disposed in a remote, elevated position, a removable cap at the remote end of the body, said cap and body having cooperating provisions operable when engaged to locate the cap in predetermined seated position on the body, and a Bowden-wire assembly including an inner element secured to said cap and an outer element slidably receiving the inner element, said outer element extending from said cap along the body to an end located at a readily accessible position, said inner element extending beyond said end of the outer element and having a total length such that by forcing it into the outer element the cap may be dislodged from seated position and lowered to a position in which it is readily accessible.

10. The invention of claim 9 with the addition that the terminal portion of said outer element adjacent said opening comprises a helical compression spring compressed by movement of said cap into seated position and elastically extensible through said opening when the cap is dislodged and lowered.

l1. The invention of claim 10 with the addition of releasable means at the supported end of the body acting on said inner element to prevent its movement into the outer element.

12. The invention of claim l0 with the addition of a second helical compression spring surrounding said rst mentioned spring and similarly compressed by movement of the cap into seated position, said second spring, when the cap is dislodged, being extensible through said opening but to a lesser distance than the rst mentioned spring.

No references cited.

Claims

1. A FLAG POLE, COMPRISING AN ELONGATED HOLLOW BODY SUPPORTED AT ONE END AND HAVING ITS OTHER END LOCATED IN AN ELEVATED, REMOTE POSITION, SAID BODY BEING PROVIDED WITH AN OPENING AT ITS REMOTE END, A REMOVABLE CAP SEATED OVER SAID OPENING, A HALYARD-PULLEY MOUNTED ON SAID CAP, AND A BOWDEN-WIRE ASSEMBLY EXTENDING WITHIN SAID BODY AND INCLUDING AN INNER ELEMENT SECURED TO SAID CAP AND AN OUTER ELEMENT WHICH SLIDABLY RECEIVES THE INNER ELEMENT AND EXTENDS FROM THE CAP TO AN END NEAR THE SUPPORTED END OF THE BODY, THE INNER ELEMENT EXTENDING BEYOND SAID END OF THE OUTER ELEMENT FOR A DISTANCE SUBSTANTIALLY EQUAL TO THAT THROUGH WHICH SAID CAP MUST