Patent Grant
11491592
This application claims priority of European patent application 20213107.4 filed Dec. 10, 2020 the contents of which is incorporated herein by reference.
The example and non-limiting embodiments of the present invention relate to a structure of pole or mast that is applicable for serving as an installation platform for outdoor lighting, for telecommunication transceivers, for electrical and/or communication appliances of other type etc. Such an entity may be referred to as a smart pole.
Many installations of outdoor electrical and/or communication appliances require installation at a certain height from a ground level to ensure or enable their proper operation. Typical examples of such appliances include luminaires for outdoor lighting, transceivers of a telecommunication or broadcasting system, surveillance cameras, sensor devices applied for meteorological measurements, solar panels, etc. While in some cases such appliances can by installed in existing structures such as walls of buildings, in may scenarios their installation at a proper operating height require usage of a pole, a post, a mast, a pylon, a tower or another vertical support structure that enable their positioning at a suitable height with respect to their environment.
Traditionally, vertical support structures of the type discussed above have traditionally served for a single primary purpose (such as outdoor lighting or telecommunications), while the support structure may have found further use as an installation platform for one or two additional electrical and/or communication appliances. Recent developments in the field of telecommunications especially in terms of bandwidth available for data transmission have paved the way also for increased number of services that may make use of such appliances, thereby calling for solutions where such support structures are designed to serve multiple purposes form the outset instead of serving a single primary purpose such as outdoor lighting or telecommunications. Without losing generality, such a vertical structure that enables installation of a plurality of such electrical and/or communication appliances may be referred to as a smart pole.
Due to increase and continuous evolution of various services that may make use of electrical appliances installed in a smart pole, the smart pole is required to accommodate electrical and/or communication appliances of different types in different numbers and to cater for their requirements for power supply and connectivity in a manner that makes it applicable for different usage scenarios.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a pole structure that enables convenient and flexible installation at its usage location and that allows for convenient and flexible manner of connecting and disconnecting electrical and/or communication appliances of different types.
According to an example embodiment, a pole module for attachment to one or more adjacent pole modules to provide a pole assembly comprising two or more pole modules is provided, the pole module comprising: an elongated body that defines a cavity extending from a first end of the pole module to a second end of the pole module; a first installation interface for attaching the first end of the pole module to a second end of a first adjacent pole module and a second installation interface for attaching the second end of the pole module to a first end of a second adjacent pole module; a first connection interface and a second connection interface; and a cabling arrangement arranged in said cavity, comprising a plurality of cables connecting the first connection interface to the second connection interface, wherein the first connection interface enables selectively coupling each of said plurality of cables to one of the following: a corresponding cable of a cabling arrangement of the first adjacent pole module, a first electrical appliance mountable to the pole segment, and wherein the second connection interface enables selectively coupling each of said plurality of cables to one of the following: a corresponding cable of a cabling arrangement of the second adjacent pole module, a second electrical appliance mountable to the pole segment.
According to another example embodiment, a pole assembly comprising a first pole module according to the example embodiment described in the foregoing and a second pole module according to the example embodiment described in the foregoing is provided, wherein the first installation interface of the first pole module is attached to the second installation interface of the second pole module to arrange the first pole module and the second pole module into the pole assembly, and wherein first one or more cables of the cabling arrangement of the second pole module are coupled, via the second connection interface of the second pole module and the first connection interface of the first pole module, to corresponding one or more cables of the cabling arrangement of the first pole module.
According to another example embodiment, a method for assembling a first pole module according to the example embodiment described in the foregoing and a second pole module according to the example embodiment described in the foregoing into a pole assembly is provided, the method comprising: attaching the first pole module to the second pole module via attaching the first installation interface of the first pole module to the second installation interface of the second pole module; and coupling first one or more cables of the cabling arrangement of the second pole module via the second connection interface of the second pole module and via the first connection interface of the first pole module to corresponding one or more cables of the cabling arrangement of the first pole module.
The exemplifying embodiments of the invention presented in this patent application are not to be interpreted to pose limitations to the applicability of the appended claims. The verb “to comprise” and its derivatives are used in this patent application as an open limitation that does not exclude the existence of also unrecited features. The features described hereinafter are mutually freely combinable unless explicitly stated otherwise.
Some features of the invention are set forth in the appended claims. Aspects of the invention, however, both as to its construction and its method of operation, together with additional objects and advantages thereof, will be best understood from the following description of some example embodiments when read in connection with the accompanying drawings.
The embodiments of the invention are illustrated by way of example, and not by way of limitation, in the figures of the accompanying drawings, where
The pole module 100 further comprises a cabling arrangement 105 provided in the cavity within the elongated body 101, as shown in
The pole module 100 is intended for attachment to one or two adjacent pole modules 100, the two or more pole modules 100 thereby serving as building blocks that may be arranged into a pole assembly that comprises the two or more pole modules 100. The pole assembly may serve as a pole or a segment thereof. To this end, the elongated body 101 of the pole module 100 may comprise or may be made of durable and substantially rigid material that is suitable for outdoor use and that is able to bear the weight of further pole modules 100 above it when arranged into the pole assembly. As non-limiting examples in this regard, the elongated body 101 may comprise or it may be made of a suitable metal, alloy or composite material.
In a non-limiting example, the elongated body 101 may comprise a hollow tube having a predefined length and a substantially circular cross-section of substantially uniform width (e.g. a diameter) throughout its length, whereas in other examples the cross-section of the tube may have a shape different from a circle (such as rectangular, hexagonal, oval-shaped, an arbitrary shape, etc.) and/or the width of the tube may not by substantially constant throughout its length. Each end of the elongated body 101 may be open or may comprise an opening that enables making connections between the cabling arrangement 105 therein and respective cabling arrangements of any adjacent pole modules to be attached to the pole module 100. The elongated body 101 may be provided with a maintenance door that enables accessing the cavity therein to facilitate, for example, assembly of a plurality of pole modules 100 into the pole assembly as well as maintenance and repair operations.
The length of the pole module 100 may be chosen according to requirements set by the intended usage scenario of the pole assemblies constructed using two or more pole modules 100 in consideration of aspects that relate to storage, transport and handling of the pole modules 100. The length may be, for example, chosen from a range from half a meter to a couple of meters, e.g. one meter. The width (e.g. the diameter) of the elongated body 101 may be selected, for example, according to requirements set by the elements of the pole module 100 installed in the cavity within the elongated body 101. The width may be e.g. chosen from a range from 15 centimeters to a few tens of centimeters
In order to facilitate straightforward installation of the pole modules into the pole assembly, the first end 102 of the pole module 100 may comprise a first installation interface 106 for attaching the pole module 100 to a second end of a first adjacent pole module and the second end 103 of the pole module 100 may comprise a second installation interface 107 for attaching the pole module to a first end of a second adjacent pole module. As an example in this regard,
In the example of
While in terms of a mechanical structure of the pole module 100 the first and second installation interfaces 106, 107 are identical or at least similar across pole modules, the pole modules may differ from each other in terms of design (of other aspects) of the elongated body 101 without compromising the possibly of attaching any pole module to any other pole module. As an example in this regard, in some pole modules the elongated body 101 may be provided, on its exterior, a mounting arrangement for mounting one or more electrical (and/or other) appliances to the pole module 100. According to an example, the mounting arrangement may comprise a mounting rack, a mounting rail, etc. coupled to the exterior of the elongated body 101 or a mounting groove, a perforation, an aperture, etc. arranged on the exterior of the elongated body 101. An electrical appliance mounted to the pole module 100 may be further (communicatively) coupled to the cabling arrangement 105 of the pole module 100 or that of another pole module included in the pole assembly 150.
Along with the physical attachment between adjacent pole modules via the respective first and second installation interfaces, pole modules may be provided with respective connection interfaces to enable coupling the cables 105-k of the cabling arrangement 105 in the pole module 100 to corresponding cables of the respective cabling arrangements of one or two adjacent pole modules. In this regard, the pole module 100 may comprise a first connection interface 108 in or close to its first end 102 and a second connection interface 109 in or close to its second end 103, where the cabling arrangement 105 of the pole module 100 is arranged to connect the first connection interface 108 to the second connection interface 109. In particular, each of the first and connection interfaces 108, 109 may comprise a respective plurality of sockets for plugging respective installation cabling, whereas each cable 105-k of the cable arrangement 105 may serve to connect a respective socket of the first connection interface 108 to a corresponding socket of the second connection interface 109. In this regard, the first connection interfaces across the pole modules are similar to each other while the second connection interfaces across the pole modules are likewise similar to each other, arranged to enable straightforward coupling between the first connection interface of any pole module to the second connection interface of any other pole module attached thereto.
The schematic illustration of
The cabling arrangements 205, 305 are similar to the cabling arrangement 105, mutatis mutandis, whereas the schematic illustration of
Hence, one end of the installation cable 110-k may be connected to the respective socket of first connection interface 108 and the opposite end of the installation cable 110-k may be connected to the respective socket of the second connection interface 209 to couple the cable 105-k of the cabling arrangement 105 to the corresponding cable 205-k of the cabling arrangement 205, whereas one end of the installation cable 310-k may be connected to the respective socket of the second connection interface 109 and the opposite end of the installation cable 310-k may be connected to the respective socket of the first connection interface 308 to couple the cable 105-k of the cabling arrangement 105 to the corresponding cable 305-k of the cabling arrangement 305. Hence, the installation cables 110-k, 310-k enable providing a respective connection through the pole modules 200, 100, 300. The ends of each installation cable 110-k, 310-k may be provided with respective plugs that are detachably connectable to the respective sockets of the first connection interfaces 108, 308 and the second connection interfaces 109, 209.
In the respective illustrations of
While the examples described in the foregoing with references to
Along similar lines, in another example one or more of the installation cables 110-k may be applied to couple respective one or more cables 205-k of the cabling arrangement 205 to the electrical appliance (to be) mounted to the pole assembly 150 or to a pole including the pole assembly 150, thereby terminating the connections through the respective one or more cables 205-k of the cabling arrangement 205 at the electrical appliance to enable data transfer and/or to provide operating power. Moreover, instead of or in addition to using one or more of the installation cables 110-k for connecting the electrical appliance, one or more installation cables 310-k may be applied to couple respective one or more cables 105-k of the cabling arrangement 105 to an(other) electrical appliance (to be) mounted to the pole assembly 150 or to a pole including the pole assembly 150 or to couple respective one or more cables 305-k of the cabling arrangement 305 to the (other) electrical appliance (to be) mounted to the pole assembly 150 or to a pole including the pole assembly 150. Also in this scenario, respective ones of the installation cables 110-k, 310-k may be detachably connected to the electrical appliance.
Herein, the references to the electrical appliance are to be construed broadly, encompassing any electrical and/or communication appliance, such as luminaire for outdoor lighting, a transceiver of a telecommunication or broadcasting system, a surveillance camera, a sensor devices for meteorological measurements, a solar panel, or any other electrical appliance that is suitable for outdoor use and that may benefit from mounting or installation at a certain distance from the ground level.
The pole assembly 150 including two or more pole modules 100 described via the examples provided in the foregoing and/or in the following may serve as smart pole or a segment thereof. The pole modules 100 enable providing the pole assembly 150 as one of a suitable height by arranging a desired number of pole modules 100 into the pole assembly 150. Since the first and second installation interfaces 106, 107 and the first and second connection interfaces 108, 109 are similar (e.g. substantially identical) across the pole modules 100, the pole modules 100 are guaranteed to match each other both in terms of structure and in terms of connections available therethrough via the cabling arrangement 105. Moreover, the cabling arrangements 105 pre-installed in the pole modules 100 enable creating the connections through the pole modules 100 of the pole assembly 150 simply by using the installation cabling 110 to couple the first and second connection interfaces 108, 109 of adjacent pole modules 100 to each other. Yet further, the installation cabling 110 allows for connecting and disconnecting an electrical appliance to the pole assembly 150 at a desired position, e.g. at a desired height from the ground level, in a flexible manner:
In the foregoing, the first connection interface 108 of the pole module 100 is described as an entity comprising a respective plurality of sockets that enable selectively coupling individual cables 105-k of the cabling arrangement 105 either to the second connection interface 109 of an adjacent pole module attached to the pole module 100 or to an electrical appliance (to be) coupled to the respective cables 105-k of the cabling arrangement 105 via usage of the respective installation cables 110-k. Along similar lines the second connection interface 109 of the pole module 100 is described as an entity comprising a respective plurality of sockets that enable selectively coupling the individual cables 105-k of the cabling arrangement 105 either to the first connection interface 108 of an adjacent pole module attached to the pole module 100 or to an electrical appliance (to be) coupled to the respective cables 105-k of the cabling arrangement via usage of the respective installation cables 110-k.
In a variation of the examples described in the foregoing, the sockets of the first connection interface 108 may be omitted and the first connection interface 108 may be a conceptual one, comprising respective end points or end segments of the cables 105-k of the cabling arrangement 105 at the first end 102 of the pole module 100. In such an example, the cables 105-k of the pole module 100 may be selectively connectable to (the respective sockets of) the second connection interface 109 of an adjacent pole module attached to the pole module 100 or to an electrical appliance (to be) coupled to the respective cables 105-k of the cabling arrangement 105 without the need to apply the dedicated installation cabling 110. In a another example in this regard, the second connection interface 109 of the pole module 100 may be the one provided as a conceptual one that is provided without the sockets described in the foregoing and where the respective end points or end segments of the cables 105-k of the cabling arrangement 105 at the second end 103 of the pole module 100 may be selectively connectable to (the respective sockets of) the first connection interface 108 of an adjacent pole module attached to the pole module 100 or to an electrical appliance (to be) coupled to the respective cables 105-k of the cabling arrangement 105 without the need to apply the dedicated installation cabling 110.
In the following, an example where the second connection interface 109 is provided without the respective arrangement of sockets is described in further detail, whereas the description readily generalizes into an alternative solution where the first connection interface 108 is the one provided without the respective socket arrangement instead, mutatis mutandis.
The schematic illustration of
The schematic illustration of
Therein, the end points of the cables 205-k may comprise respective plugs that are detachably connectable to the respective sockets of the first connection interface 108 of the pole module 100′, thereby providing the second connection interface 209′ of the first adjacent pole module 200′ that is connectable to the first connection interface 108 of the pole module 100′. Along similar lines. the end points of the cables 105-k may comprise respective plugs that are detachably connectable to the respective sockets of the first connection interface 308 of the second adjacent pole module 300′, thereby providing the second connection interface 109′ of the pole module 100′ that is connectable to the first connection interface 308 of the second adjacent pole module 300′.
The description in the foregoing with respect to providing the first connection interface 108 using the one or more first interface elements (e.g. respective ‘data boxes’) that include the respective sockets for the first plurality of data cables of the cabling arrangement 105 and one or more second interface elements (e.g. respective ‘power boxes’) that include the respective sockets for the second plurality of power supply lines of the cabling arrangement 105 (possibly further arranged into separate second interface elements for AC power supply and for DC power supply) for separating those sockets of the first connection interface 108 that are applicable for data transfer from those that are applicable for power supply applies also to the pole module 100′.
While the examples described in the foregoing with references to
While the examples described in the foregoing with references to
While the examples described in the foregoing describe the pole modules 100, 100′ and the pole assembly 150, 150′ via their structure, a method of assembling two or more pole modules 100, 100′ into the pole assembly 150, 150′ likewise falls within the scope of the present disclosure. As an example in this regard,
The method 500 comprises attaching the first pole module 100, 100′ to the second pole module 200, 200′ via attaching the first installation interface 106 of the first pole module 100, 100′ to the second installation interface 207 of the second pole module 200, 200′, as indicated in block 502, and coupling first one or more cables 205-k of the cabling arrangement 205 of the second pole module 200, 200′ via the second connection interface 209, 209′ of the second pole module 200, 200′ and via the first connection interface 108 of the first pole module 100, 100′ to corresponding one or more cables 105-k of the cabling arrangement 105 of the first pole module 100, 100′, as indicated in block 504. The method 500 may, optionally, further comprise coupling second one or more cables 205-k of the cabling arrangement 205 of the second pole module 200, 200′ via the second connection interface 209, 209′ of the second pole module 200, 200′ to the electrical appliance 411, 412, where the second one or more cables 205-k of the cabling arrangement 205 of the second pole module 200, 200′ are separate from the first one or more cables 205-k of the cabling arrangement 205 of the second pole module 200, 200′, as indicated in block 506.
Throughout the present disclosure, references to coupling between, to and/or from the cables 105-k of the cabling arrangement 105 implicitly refer to establishing an electrical coupling for transfer of an electrical signal or electrical energy or establishing an optical coupling for transfer of optical signals, depending on the type of the underlying one of the cables 105-k.
Throughout the present disclosure, references are made to ‘corresponding’ cables of two elements of the pole assembly 150, e.g. cables 105-k of the cabling arrangement 105 and corresponding cables 205-k of the cabling arrangement 200 and cables 105-k of the cabling arrangement 105 and corresponding cables 110-k of the installation cabling 110. While readily implicit to a skilled reader, in this regard the correspondence refers to spatial and functional correspondence of respective cables in two elements of the pole assembly. As examples in this regard, assuming that the cabling arrangement 105 includes cables from cable 105-1 to cable 105-K and the cabling arrangement 205 includes cables from cable 205-1 to cable 205-K, respective pairs of corresponding cables between the cabling arrangements 100 and 200 include cables 105-1 and 205-1, cables 105-2 and 205-2, . . . , and cables 105-K and 205-K. Along similar lines, further assuming that the installation cabling 110 includes installation cables from cable 110-1 to 110-K, respective pairs of corresponding cables between the cabling arrangement 100 and the installation cabling 110 include cables 105-1 and 110-1, cables 110-2 and 110-2, . . . , and cables 105-K and 110-K.
Throughout the present disclosure, the term ‘pole’ is applied to refer to the vertical support structure for installing one or more electrical and/or communication appliances. This is, however, a non-limiting choice of wording or terminology and the description readily generalizes into one pertaining to a post, to a mast, to a pylon, to a tower or to another vertical structure of similar kind instead. Along similar lines, the term ‘module’ is applied to refer to building blocks of such a vertical installation structure as a non-limiting choice of wording or terminology and the description readily generalizes into one pertaining to a segment, to a section, to a portion, to a partition, etc. instead.
| Number | Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 20213107 | Dec 2020 | EP | regional |
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| 201247857 | May 2009 | CN |
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| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 20220184758 A1 | Jun 2022 | US |
