Patent Application
20210221299
This disclosure relates generally to adapters enable quick connect attachment of an item to a vehicle or detachment of the item from the vehicle. More particularly, this disclosure relates to an adapter for coupling a threaded member of a flag support to a differently threaded member on an off-road or off-highway vehicle; i.e., thread conversion.
Most states require that an off-road or off-highway vehicle, such as such as an ATV (all-terrain vehicle), UTV (utility task vehicle), “quad” (four passenger vehicle) or six passenger vehicle, or an off-road motorcycle (collectively, “off-highway vehicle,” or “OHV”) to display a flag which is a bright color, such as red or orange, for safety reasons. For example, in the state of Utah, a red or orange safety flag (called a “whip flag”) must be attached to an OHV when riding in sand dune areas. The whip flag must be at least 6 inches by 12 inches in size, must be at least eight feet off the ground and must be firmly secured to the OHV.
In transporting the OHV to and from a recreational area, it is desirable to remove the whip flag because of its length and, thus, the height to which it extends, and to protect the whip flag from wind damage in transport. Typically, the base of a whip flag is formed in a machine threaded male piece that is attached to a matching female receptacle on the OHV by laboriously threading the male piece into the matching female receptacle, often by using an appropriate wrench. The attachment and detachment of a whip flag is typically difficult and time consuming.
A wide variety of flag supports have been developed to connect flags to vehicles, such as OHVs. An example of such a support is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 8,616,145, in which a flag pole is secured to an OHV by snapping a clamp on an end of the flag pole to a tubular section of the OHV. Another example is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 8,430,052, in which a mounting clip secured to a vehicle and a base that receives an end of a flag pole are rotatably attached to each other. Another flag mounting device is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 9,087,462, in which a body of a flag holder is made to conform to a support tube of a vehicle and fastening members velcro straps enable the flag holder to be quickly and easily secured to and detached from the support tube.
Other devices are designed to be mounted to panels of an OHV through which a bolt hole may be punched or drilled. One such device is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 7,017,511, in which a flag holder mounts on a panel using a threaded retaining fastener secured to a threaded hollow retainer bolt.
Many existing apparatuses do not securely attach flag poles to OHVs. When they do, it is often difficult to remove a flag pole from the existing apparatus, which typically happens when the OHV is loaded onto a trailer for transport.
A quick connect attachment according to this disclosure may enable a removable item, or a first item, such as a flag, to be simply and quickly secured to and/or removed from another item, or second item, such as an OHV. The quick connect system may firmly secure the removable item and the other item together, while enabling the removable item to be simply and readily uncoupled from the other item.
In various embodiments, the quick connect system may comprise an adapter and a quick connect fitting. The adapter may include a first end with threads of a first type and a second end with threads of a second type. The threads of the first type and the threads of the second type may differ from each other. As an example, the threads of the first type may comprise pipe threads, while the threads of the second type may comprise machine threads. As another example, the threads of the first type may have a first pitch, while the threads of the second type may have a second pitch. As yet another example, the threads of the first type may have a first diameter, while the threads of the second type may have a second diameter. In a further example, either the threads of the first type or the threads of the second type may comprise external threads on a male member, while threads of the other of the first type and the second type may comprise internal threads in an opening of a female member. By including different types of threads, the adapter may provide for thread conversion between a first type of threads of the removable item and another, second type of threads of a member of a quick connect fitting.
The quick connect fitting may include a first member securable to a removable item, such as a flagpole, and a second member securable to another item, such as an OHV. The first member of the quick connect fitting may include a first end with threads of the first type, which may be complementary to the threads of the first end of the adapter. The complementary threads may enable the first end of the adapter to be secured to the first end of the first member of the quick connect fitting. The second end of the quick connect fitting may be readily and removably secured to the second member of the quick connect fitting.
The removable item may include threads of the second type, which may complement the threads of the second type of the second end of the adapter. The complementary threads may enable the adapter to be secured to the removable item.
Together, the adapter and the quick connect fitting may enable the removable item to be quickly connected to and disconnected from the other item.
A method for securing a removable item, such as a flag pole, to another item, such as an OHV, may include securing an adapter to the removable item, securing a first member of a quick connect fitting to the adapter, and causing the first member of the quick connect fitting to readily and removably engage a second member of the quick connect fitting, which is secured to (e.g., mounted to, etc.) the other item. The first member of the quick connect fitting may be secured to the adapter with threads of a first type (e.g., pipe threads, etc.). The adapter may be threadingly secured to the removable item with threads of a second type (e.g., machine threads, etc.). Such a method may also include securing (e.g., mounting, etc.) a second member of the quick connect fitting to the other item. Once removal of the removable item from the other item (e.g., removal of the flag pole of a whip flag from an OHV, etc.) is desired, the first member and the second member of the quick connect fitting may be readily disengaged from one another and the removable item may be pulled away from the other item.
Other aspects of the disclosed subject matter, as well as features and advantages of various aspects of the disclosed subject matter, will become apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art through consideration of the ensuing description, the accompanying drawings, and the appended claims.
In the drawings:
In one embodiment of the present disclosure, a quick connect attachment enables a flag pole to be easily secured and securely coupled to an OHV. The quick connect system may include an adapter that may secured to an end of a flag pole to enable the flag pole to be used with a quick connect fitting. More specifically, the adapter may be threadingly secured to the end of the flag pole to enable the flag pole to be used with a quick connect fitting that includes a different, incompatible type of threads. Thus, the adapter converts threading on the end of the flag pole (e.g., machine threads, etc.) to threading of the quick connect fitting (e.g., pipe threads, etc.).
Pipe threads are used to provide an effective seal for pipes transporting liquids, gases, steam, and hydraulic fluid. Tapered pipe threads are particularly effective in providing a seal to eliminate leakage of liquids. The diameter of the tapered pipe (NPT) threads is increased over a thread distance, so that as male and female ends of adjacent pipes are screwed together, the male and female threads compress and wedge themselves together. Machine threads are more general in their use than pipe threads. A machine screw thread functions as both a simple machine and also as a fastener. Machine screw threads are used on bolts, set screws, and machine screws and are designed to mate with preformed threads in nuts or tapped holes. The width and height of a machine thread are typically consistent along a length of the machine thread. Typically, machine threads are not compatible with pipe threads because of their differing angles, shapes, and/or thread pitches.
The quick connect (or “QC”) fitting, which may also be referred to as a “quick connect coupler,” a “quick disconnect coupler,” or a “quick release coupler,” may comprise the type of coupling that is normally used to provide a fast, make-or-break connection between fluid transfer lines, whether for air, gas or liquid. Operated by hand, QC fittings replace threaded or flanged connections, enabling connection and disconnection without twisting and without a wrench. When equipped with self-sealing valves, QC fittings will, upon disconnection, automatically contain any fluid in the line.
Use of the QC fitting of a quick connect attachment according to this disclosure does not involve the transmission of fluid. Rather, the QC fitting is used to enable a removable item, or first item, such as a flag pole of a whip flag, to be quickly assembled with and disassembled from another item, or second item, such as an OHV.
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Additional embodiments of adapters 80 and 90 are shown in
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It should be understood that in some embodiments, an orientation of the adapter 50 may be reversed so that a second end 56 of the adapter 50 may be screw onto a member 32, 34 of the QC fitting 30, while the first end 52 of the adapter 50 may screw into a female end of an item, such as a frame of an OHV, to secure the adapter to that item instead of to the flag pole 14 or another replaceable item.
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As an alternative to using the embodiment of quick connect attachment shown in
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Alternatively, the first member 134 of the QC fitting 130 may be secured directly to the removable item, while the second member 132 of the QC fitting 130 may be secured to the adapter 160, which may, in turn, be secured to the other item.
There are many useful and important advantages in the embodiments of the quick connect attachment and its adapter. For example, an OHV may be transported to a recreational area without a safety flag to prevent wear and tear on the safety flag. The safety flag may then be quickly and readily attached to the OHV at the recreational area and, once use of the OHV is complete, the safety flag may be quickly and readily removed from the OHV. When a quick connect attachment according to this disclosure is used, no wrenches or other tools are needed, nor is any special skill needed, to attach and detach the safety flag.
Optionally, the first member 134 and/or the second member 132 of the QC fitting 130 may be indirectly coupled to its corresponding item (e.g., the adapter 160, the releasable item, the other item, etc.). For example, a separate conventional coupling mechanism may attach the first member 134 and/or the second member 132 to its corresponding item. As another example, two or more adapters may be used to enable conversion from threads of a first type to threads of a third, fourth, fifth, etc., type.
The adapter may be used wherever conversion from a thread of a first type (e.g., a pipe thread, etc.) to a thread of a second type (e.g., a machine thread, etc.) is useful or desirable. As an example, a first end of the adapter may include threads of the first type and a second end of the adapter may include threads of the second type. As another example, a first end of the adapter may include threads of the second type and a second end of the adapter may include threads of the first type.
In addition to using the adapter and the quick connect attachment for releasable connection of a removable item, such as an accessory or other device, to an OHV, the quick connect attachment and its adapter may be used for any of variety of other purposes. For example, a quick connect attachment and/or its adapter may be used to connect a removable item to any type of vehicle, such as a golf cart, a bicycle, a carriage, a cart, a car, a truck, or the like. As another example, the quick connect attachment and/or its adapter may be used with any mobile of stationary unit for individual, commercial, governmental, or military use, and for use both indoors and outdoors.
Although the foregoing description provides many specifics, these specifics should not be construed as limiting the scope of the invention recited by any of the appended claims, but merely as providing information pertinent to some specific embodiments that may fall within the scopes of the appended claims. Other embodiments may also lie within the scopes of the appended claims. Features from different embodiments may be employed in combination. All additions to, deletions from, and modifications of the disclosed subject matter that fall within the scopes of the claims may be embraced by the claims.
