Patent Application
20090028640
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to delineator poles that may be used for delineating boundaries in different applications. Specifically, the present invention relates to an anchoring base and spring cartridge for self-aligning, pivotable delineator poles used in snow sports, and more specifically to self-aligning, pivotable delineator poles for ski racing applications, and for temporary or movable markings, netting, or barriers for trail safety applications.
2. Description of Related Art
Many different types of pivotable delineator poles for snow-based applications are used for such things as slalom gates or hazard markers, to name a few. Delineating poles are often damaged or cause damage when a moving object comes into contact with the pole. Ski racing, for example, involves full contact between skiers traveling at high velocities and slalom poles resulting in damage to the poles and, in many instances, harm to the skiers.
Poles used in ski racing to delineate the racecourse are called alternatively slalom gates or simply gates. As depicted in
Spring cartridge 14 is typically constructed as depicted in
During bending, rings 26 assume angular positions along the curvature of the bent surface of slalom gate 10. Rings 26 provide for a flexible bend radius of flexure for slalom gate 10, thereby minimizing the danger of breakage of slalom gate 10 due to over bending and to reduce the chances of injury to the skier. Rings 26 also serve to keep out dirt and snow from normally entering the pole.
One such structure is identified in U.S. Pat. No. 4,588,324, issued to Goeliner, entitled “SLALOM POLE.” Goeliner discloses a delineating pole which is supported by a lower part placed in the ground, and an upper part which is made to pivot against the lower part when subjected to an impact force. In the Goeliner design, the upper, middle, and lower portions of the pole are held together in tension by a sprung axial cable. The upper and lower portions each include a respective spring. The tension spring cooperates with collars to provide for a flexible bending radius of flexure of the pole.
Another approach is taught in U.S. Pat. No. 4,270,873 issued to Laehy, et al., entitled “PIVOTABLE DELINEATOR POST.” The Laehy pole includes upper and lower segments with a biasing spring completely housed within the lower pole segment. The upper and lower pole segments are joined by the spring and are held in axial alignment by the mating cooperation of a rounded edge lip portion adjacent the lower pole segment and a rounded groove flange adjacent the upper pole segment. Whenever the upper and lower pole segments are moved out of axial alignment, the force of the spring together with the rounded edge lip portion and the groove of the flange interact to guide the segments back into axial alignment.
The form of current slalom gates has so developed in order to provide certain desirable functions. First, the gate must define a particular point on the slope in a highly visible manner. Second, as the ski racer strikes the slalom gate, the pole must move quickly to the skier's impact force while remaining securing anchored in the snow. Third, the pole must, after responding to the skier's impact force, return to its original vertical position, thereby re-aligning itself. The three major components of the slalom gate discussed above work together to provide these functions.
Slalom poles are usually anchored in a layer of snow or ice on a ski slope, commonly referred to as a snow pack. In most cases the anchoring is made by drilling a hole in the packed snow or ice, whereupon the pole or an anchoring device connected to the pole is fixed in the snow pack. It is desirable for the slalom pole to be fixable in and removable from the snow pack in a quick and easy manner. At the same time, the slalom pole fixed in the snow pack must be held in a stable manner even when subjected to impacts and blows from the skier.
Referring to
As it is advantageous for a ski race to be held on packed snow, it is commonplace for the snow to be very hard, dense, and icy in the vicinity of the racecourse, and most likely where the gates must be installed. In fact, often various means are employed to facilitate installation of the gates, such as salting or injecting water to make the snow surface harder and more resistant to wear during the race.
The anchoring device takes a long time to screw it in position, as well as to unscrew it. As such, setting a course, even for simple training exercises, is timely and labor intensive. Generally, using prior art slalom poles, three people are required to set a racing course: one to drill a hole, a second to carry and supply the slalom poles, and a third to rotate the anchoring base. Furthermore, when screwing an anchoring base into a hard snow pack, a substantial amount of torque is required at the anchoring base since spring cartridges of the prior art cannot withstand the rotational extraction force. Thus, the insertion and operation of the specialized wrench requires an operator to stoop down or bend on the slope in an unnatural position for a lengthy insertion and extraction process, which can cause physical exertion.
Bearing in mind the problems and deficiencies of the prior art, it is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a slalom gate that reduces the time required to set-up and take-down in packed snow.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a slalom gate that can be secured in packed snow without extra, or specialized tools.
A further object of the invention is to provide a slalom gate that can be secured in packed snow or ice without substantial physical exertion, and then be subsequently removed as needed, also without substantial physical exertion or specialized tools.
Still other objects and advantages of the invention will in part be obvious and will in part be apparent from the specification.
The above and other objects, which will be apparent to those skilled in the art, are achieved in the present invention which is directed to an anchoring base for a delineator pole for snow based applications comprising an insertion rod having a longitudinal axis, the insertion rod including a plurality of resilient mechanical members extending outwards relative to the insertion rod longitudinal axis, the plurality of resilient mechanical members bending or configuring upon insertion of the anchoring base, into a first position or configuration that facilitates insertion while impeding and resisting axial extraction forces, and upon subsequent rotation of the anchoring base, the plurality of mechanical members bending or reconfiguring into a second position or configuration reducing the anchoring base extraction resistance force. The anchoring base may include a flange and a connector portion having a first end attached to the insertion rod and a second end attached to the flange. The anchoring base may include a stabilizer for limiting lateral movement. The stabilizer may be connected or integral with the insertion rod. The anchoring base may also include having the plurality of resilient mechanical members comprise flexible metal, wire, plastic, or rubber segments. The insertion rod may comprise a wire brush structure.
The plurality of resilient mechanical members may be arranged in an upward direction at an angle less than ninety degrees from the longitudinal axis. The resilient mechanical members may also comprise flexible discs or vanes, or a plurality of bristles or bristle tufts. Spacers may be placed between the mechanical members.
In a second aspect, the present invention is directed to a delineator pole for snow-based applications comprising: an anchoring base including an insertion rod having a longitudinal axis, the insertion rod including a plurality of resilient mechanical members extending outwards relative to the insertion rod longitudinal axis, the plurality of resilient mechanical members bending or configuring upon insertion of the anchoring base, into a first position or configuration that facilitates insertion while impeding and resisting axial extraction forces, and upon subsequent rotation of the anchoring base, the plurality of mechanical members bending or reconfiguring into a second position or configuration such that the anchoring base extraction resistance force is reduced; and a spring cartridge comprising: a flexible tendon; at least one spring; and a plurality of rings or collars having interlocking members, such that each ring interlocks with an adjacent ring to form a rigid mechanical structure during rotation. The interlocking members may include alternate protrusions and indentations, such as teeth and notches, on top and bottom surfaces of the plurality of rings.
In a third aspect, the present invention is directed to a method of extracting a delineating pole comprising a shaft, a spring cartridge, and an anchoring base having a plurality of resilient mechanical members, the method comprising: reconfiguring the plurality of resilient mechanical members within a snow pack by rotating the anchoring base; and applying a vertical extracting force to the delineating pole.
The features of the invention believed to be novel and the elements characteristic of the invention are set forth with particularity in the appended claims. The figures are for illustration purposes only and are not drawn to scale. The invention itself, however, both as to organization and method of operation, may best be understood by reference to the detailed description which follows taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings in which:
In describing the preferred embodiment of the present invention, reference will be made herein to
In a preferred embodiment, the present invention uses the reconfiguration of protruding mechanical members from an anchoring base of a slalom pole during the insertion process to facilitate insertion and resist the subsequent extraction of the pole. The protruding mechanical members are flexible upon insertion such that the insertion force is relatively small. Upon impact, the reconfigured mechanical members oppose any directional removal motion that would result in an inadvertent extraction. However, the preferred embodiment also provides a means for a second reconfiguration of the mechanical members, initiated by the user, which allows the slalom gate to be extracted with minimum effort.
As depicted in
Other features of the preferred embodiment that contribute to proper function are identified in
Connector 34 is hollow, thereby providing an internal cavity to receive all or a portion of spring cartridge 42. The outer diameter of connector 34 is preferably the size of the pre-drilled hole to form a tight, friction fit that helps stabilize the slalom gate in the lateral direction in snow pack 40. Connector 34 is shown having a hard, smooth outer surface; however, in alternative embodiments, connector 34 may comprise a compliant surface, formed from foam or rubber, and may include mechanical members extending radially outward, such as those extending from insertion rod 36. Mechanical members on connector 34 are preferably the same length or a shorter length than the mechanical members extending from insertion rod 36.
As previously discussed, the mechanical members may be bristles, or preferably tufts of bristles, inserted into holes within insertion rod 36 and mechanically secured according to the prevailing art associated with brush making, such as by staple, glue, or other acceptable means. The bristles may extend completely through insertion rod 36, forming at least two radial mechanical member extensions, or terminate within insertion rod 36, forming one radial mechanical member extension. When the bristles are angled during the fabrication process relative to insertion rod 36, the preferred angle is less than or equal to twenty-five (25) degrees upwards. A shaping sleeve may be used to set the bristles at the predetermined angle. The bristle tufts may be arranged in any number of rows, or other geometric pattern, such as a spiral configuration, or an equidistance spaced pattern, about insertion rod 36.
Alternatively, mechanical members 38 may be formed using a twisted wire brush fabrication technique. The twisted wires may comprise one or a plurality of wires. For the twisted wire approach, as part of the fabrication process, the bristles may be inserted into a hollow tube or shaping sleeve having a diameter smaller than the bristles in order to set a permanent angle to the bristles.
In either alternative embodiment, flexible discs 62 or spirally wound vane 72 would reconfigure during insertion in a similar fashion as the bristle tufts, bending upwards relative to the insertion rod, and remaining in an upward slanted direction once inserted in the pre-drilled hole with enough strength to resist vertical extraction forces.
At some point, each slalom gate will need to be extracted from the snow pack. The present invention provides for easy extraction through the reconfiguration, for a second time, of the mechanical members of the anchoring base, such that the mechanical members no longer strenuously impede the upward extraction forces.
As depicted in
One embodiment of the present invention provides for a mechanically strong spring cartridge in order to facilitate rotation during slalom pole extraction. In this embodiment, the rings in the spring cartridge are formed with gears, such as teeth and notches. These gears are naturally engaged by the compression forces of the spring. The engaged rings allow the transmission of the rotational torque from the shaft or pole element to the anchoring base. In this manner rotation of the slalom pole shaft or spring cartridge will in turn rotate and reconfigure the mechanical members extending from the anchoring base, allowing the anchoring base to be easily removed from the snow pack without over-twisting the spring cartridge.
As an extension to the aforementioned rings with interlocking teeth, in an alternative embodiment, the teeth and notches may be replaced with bristle elements oriented in a vertical, axial direction. The bristles elements would engage other bristle elements on other rings and provide a means for translating torque from the shaft or spring cartridge to the anchoring base.
In yet another alternative embodiment, as depicted in
Provisions may also be provided, such as wrench engaging means, on the top of the anchoring base flange or some other portion of the anchoring base to allow the user to rotate the base in the desired manner using current wrenches or wrenches specifically designed for this application.
The present invention simplifies the insertion and extraction of a slalom pole. One method for inserting a slalom pole of the present invention into a dense snow pack is to drill a hole in the snow pack, and insert the anchoring base of the slalom gate into the pre-drilled hole up to the flange. Unlike slalom poles of the prior art, rotation of a slalom pole of the present invention, although not precluded, is not required for insertion.
In order to extract a slalom pole of the present invention, one may simply rotate the anchoring base and pull upwards. If interlocking rings are employed in the spring cartridge, the user may be able to perform this function without having to bend down to grasp the anchoring base, or have to use a specialized wrench. That is, one may twist the shaft, which in turn would lock the rings of the spring cartridge and rotate the anchoring base. Or one may rotate the anchoring base itself by means of a wrench. Once the mechanical members are reconfigured, the slalom pole is easily vertically extracted.
While the present invention has been particularly described, in conjunction with a specific preferred embodiments it is evident that many alternatives, modifications and variations will be apparent to those skilled in the art in light of the foregoing description. It is therefore contemplated that the appended claims will embrace any such alternatives, modifications and variations as falling within the true scope and spirit of the present invention.
Thus, having described the invention, what is claimed is:
