BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING
FIG. 1 is a detail view of an improved flagpole ornament shown mounted on an upper bracket or truck member of a flagpole;
FIG. 2 is a longitudinal central section view of the flagpole ornament shown in FIG. 1;
FIG. 3 is a side elevation of an alternate embodiment of a post member for use with the ornament shown in FIGS. 1 and 2; and
FIG. 4 is a longitudinal central section view of an alternate embodiment of a flagpole ornament in accordance with the invention.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
In the description which follows, like parts are marked throughout the specification and drawing with the same reference numerals, respectively. The drawing figures are not necessarily to scale and certain elements may be shown in somewhat schematic form in the interest of clarity and conciseness.
Referring to FIG. 1, there is illustrated a flagpole ornament in accordance with the invention and generally designated by the numeral 10. The flagpole ornament 10 is illustrated mounted on the peak of a vertical oriented flagpole 12 having a conventional upper bracket or truck assembly 14 suitably mounted thereon. Truck assembly 14 includes a somewhat inverted cup-shaped truck member 16 mounted on the peak of flagpole 12 in a conventional manner and supporting a conventional rotatable pulley 18 over which is trained a flag halyard 20. Flagpole ornament 10 is characterized as a generally spherical member or ball 11 and includes an upstanding post member 22 suitably connected to the truck member 16 as will be described in further detail herein.
Referring now to FIG. 2, the flagpole ball 11 is characterized by opposed hollow, shelllike, hemispherical parts 24 and 26 which are interengaged to form a substantially spherical member. Hemispherical parts 24 and 26 are each, preferably formed of relatively thin-walled aluminum, for example, and are fabricated in a conventional manner by suitable forming technique, known to those skilled in the art. However, hemispherical ornament part 26 includes a slightly radially inwardly displaced circular rim 28 delimited by a circumferential edge 30 and dimensioned to fit snugly within and engaged with the inside wall 24a of part 24, as illustrated. The radially inwardly displaced rim 28 provides an annular shoulder 32 which is adapted to engage circumferential edge 25 of part 24 in a snug-fitting relationship to form the spherical ball member 11.
Ball member 11 is held in assembly and strengthened against deformation by an internal diametral column or brace member 34 preferably comprising a cylindrical aluminum rod which is provided with opposed axially extending internally threaded bores or tapped holes 36 and 38, as shown. Hemispherical part 24 is preferably somewhat flattened at a circular portion 24b opposite another somewhat flattened circular portion 26b of part 26. Parts 24 and 26 are also provided with fastener receiving openings 24c and 26c, respectively. A pan-head machine screw 40 is operable to be inserted through opening 24c and threadedly engaged with brace member 34 at threaded bore 36, as shown, for securing part 24 to brace member 34.
Referring further to FIG. 2, ornament post member 22 includes an externally threaded end part 23 which is shown threadedly engaged with truck member 16 and suitably locked in engagement therewith by a conventional hex-shaped locknut 43. The opposite end of post member 22 includes an internally threaded bore 27 opening to a transverse end-face 29 of post member 22 which is engageable with the flattened part 26b of hemispherical ornament part 26. An externally, continuous threaded or “allthread” fastener member 46 extends through opening 26c, is threadedly engaged with brace member 34 at threaded bore 38 and is threadedly engaged with post member 22 at threaded bore 27. Fastener member 46 is preferably formed of steel while post member 22 and, as mentioned previously, brace member 34 are preferably formed of aluminum. Generally planar transverse end faces 34a and 34b of brace member 34 are tightly engaged with the respective flattened or planar circular portions 24b and 26b of the hemispherical parts 24 and 26. Accordingly, the head 41 of fastener 40 may be in complete area contact with a surface of the hemispherical part 24 and the end-face 29 of post member 22 is also in substantially total area contact with the flattened or planar portion 26b of hemispherical part 26. In this way, upon assembly of the ornament 10, the brace member 34 is in engagement with the hemispherical parts 24 and 26 over relatively large areas to distribute stresses thereon while aiding in maintaining the assembly as a consequence of tightening the fastener 40 and tightening the post 22 against hemispherical part 26, thanks to the allthread fastener member 46. Still further, the flagpole ornament 10 may advantageously utilize thread locking and sealant compositions coated on the cooperating threads of the brace member 34 and the fasteners 40 and 46, including a thread locking composition available under the trademark LOCTITE, for example.
Referring briefly to FIG. 3, an alternate embodiment of a post member for use with the ornament 10, in place of post member 22, is illustrated and generally designated by the numeral 52. Post member 52 includes a transverse end face 53, an internally threaded bore 54 and an axially extending externally threaded part 55 which may be of a different thread size than the threaded portion 23 of post member 22. In this way, post members may be interchanged as required by the particular flagpole upper bracket or truck member to which the ornament 10 is to be connected.
As previously mentioned, parts 24 and 26 are preferably formed of relatively thin-walled aluminum. For a ball diameter of about 4.0 inches, the wall thickness may be about 0.030 inches and the height “x” of the rim 28, FIG. 2, is preferably about 0.38 to 0.50 inches. The brace member 34 and the post members 22 or 52 may be formed of aluminum cylindrical rod having a diameter of about 0.625 inches. The overall length of the post members 22 and 52 may be about 4.0 inches with the externally threaded portions being about 2.0 inches and the internally threaded portions 27 and 54 being about 1.0 inch deep and being of a thread size 5/16-18NC, for example. The allthread faster member 46 is preferably at least about 1.0 inches to 2.0 inches in length. Fabrication and assembly of the ornament 10, based on the foregoing description, is believed to be within the purview of one skilled in the art.
Referring now to FIG. 4, another embodiment of a flagpole ball ornament in accordance with the invention is illustrated and generally designated by the numeral 60. The flagpole ornament 60, utilizes the components of the flagpole ball ornament 10, as indicated in FIG. 4, including the opposed hemispherical parts 24 and 26 and the post or column member 22. However, the internal brace member 34 has been replaced by a similar brace member 34g, which is provided with a fastener clearance bore 38a for receiving an elongated machine screw or bolt 62 having a distal threaded portion 63 engageable with threaded bore 27 of post member 22. Brace member 34g also includes the opposed transverse end faces 34a and 34b. Machine screw or bolt 62 includes a conventional hexhead 64 and is of a diameter slightly less than the diameter of the bore 38a. Accordingly, fastener 62 comprising the hexhead machine screw or bolt is operable to secure the hemispherical parts 24 and 26 tightly together and braced by the brace member 34g and further wherein a single fastener may be utilized to secure the ball ornament to the post or column member 22. When assembling the flagpole ornament 60, a thread locking and sealant composition as mentioned hereinabove is preferably used on the threads of the threaded shank part 63 and/or the bore 27. The brace member 34g may, in fact, be identical to the brace member 34 except for the bore 38a, which may be of the same diameter as required for pre-drilling the brace member 34 to accommodate the threaded bores 36 and 38 when such bores are tapped in the brace member 34.
Although preferred embodiments of the invention have been described in detail herein, those skilled in the art will recognize that various substitutions and modifications may be made without departing from the scope and spirit of the appended claims.
Patent Application
20080053362
