Patent Application
20240063524
The present invention relates generally to a smart pole assembly, and more specifically, to a cabinet of a smart pole assembly and an opening mechanism for the same.
Smart poles serve various functions by hosting a vast array of technologies such as cellular networks, internet of things (IoT), smart devices, and vehicle applications. As more technologies are incorporated into smart poles, the amount of devices and cables in cabinets of smart pole assemblies will also increase. In general, a single door/opening is provided to a portion of conventional cabinets of smart poles, and it is difficult to install and manage devices in the cabinet by accessing via the single door/opening. Oftentimes, the door may be swung open such that the open door is hanged externally or the door is completely detached from the conventional smart poles. Such design of the conventional smart pole assemblies may pose danger to the environments such as sidewalks or roads, imposing potential injuries to people around the smart poles.
Further, since most smart poles are located in outdoor environments, cabinets of smart pole assemblies and their access doors should be built to withstand harsh conditions. Therefore, a need exists for improved smart pole assemblies that allow easy access to devices stored therein while being weather-proof. The present disclosure is directed to such a smart pole assembly that provides easy access to stored devices, at the same time, ensuring a weather-proof design.
The term embodiment and like terms, e.g., implementation, configuration, aspect, example, and option, are intended to refer broadly to all of the subject matter of this disclosure and the claims below. Statements containing these terms should be understood not to limit the subject matter described herein or to limit the meaning or scope of the claims below. Embodiments of the present disclosure covered herein are defined by the claims below, not this summary. This summary is a high-level overview of various aspects of the disclosure and introduces some of the concepts that are further described in the Detailed Description section below. This summary is not intended to identify key or essential features of the claimed subject matter. This summary is also not intended to be used in isolation to determine the scope of the claimed subject matter. The subject matter should be understood by reference to appropriate portions of the entire specification of this disclosure, any or all drawings, and each claim.
According to certain aspects of the present disclosure, a smart pole assembly for a telecommunication network is disclosed. According to various embodiments, the smart pole assembly includes a base frame having a hollow interior space for receiving at least one telecommunication device; a pole fixed to the base frame and having a pole top configured to facilitate transmitting or receiving of communications between the telecommunication device and another telecommunication device; and a cover assembly coupled to and enclosing the base frame. The cover assembly includes a telescoping mechanism that is configured to move the cover assembly between a closed state and an open state. The cover assembly fully encloses the hollow interior space in the closed state for protecting the at least one telecommunication device. The cover assembly exposes and provides access to at least a portion of the hollow interior space in the open state.
In some examples, the cover assembly includes a plurality of cover segments, each of a subset of the cover segments being of progressively smaller perimeters nested within each other. For example, the plurality of cover segments includes at least a first cover segment and a second cover segment, the second cover segment being slidably coupled to the first cover segment. A perimeter of the second cover segment is smaller than a perimeter of the first cover segment.
In some examples, the plurality of cover segments further includes a third cover segment that is slidably coupled to the second cover segment, a perimeter of the third cover segment being smaller than the perimeter of the second cover segment. In some examples, each cover segment has a cylindrical shape.
In some examples, each cover segment has a wall, an upper flange coupled to or extending from a top of the wall, and a lower flange coupled to or extending from a bottom of the wall. Further, in some examples, the upper flange has an externally protruded upper ridge and an internally protruded upper ridge. Furthermore, in some examples, the lower flange has an internally protruded lower ridge.
In some examples, the first cover segment has a first cover segment upper flange and a first cover segment lower flange, the first cover segment upper flange including a first cover segment externally protruded upper ridge and a first cover segment internally protruded upper ridge, and the first cover segment lower flange including a first cover segment internally protruded lower ridge. Further, in some examples, the second cover segment has a second cover segment upper flange and a second cover segment lower flange, the second cover segment upper flange including a second cover segment externally protruded upper ridge and a second cover segment internally protruded upper ridge, and the second cover segment lower flange including a second cover segment internally protruded lower ridge. Furthermore, in some examples, the second cover segment externally protruded upper ridge is movable between the first cover segment internally protruded upper ridge and the first cover segment internally protruded lower ridge.
In some examples, the cover assembly further includes a waterproof element located on a surface of the first cover segment internally protruded lower ridge or on a surface of the second cover segment externally protruded upper ridge, the waterproof element being positioned in between the first cover segment internally protruded lower ridge of the first cover segment and the second cover segment externally protruded upper ridge of the second cover segment. For example, the waterproof element includes an O-ring, a gasket, or a glue material.
In some examples, the open state includes a first open state and a second open state. In some examples, the cover assembly exposes only a portion of the hollow interior space in the first open state, and the cover assembly exposes all of the hollow interior space in the second open state.
In some examples, the smart pole assembly further includes a top fastener configured to secure the cover assembly to the base frame. Further, in some examples, the cover assembly includes a plurality of cover segments, and the top fastener penetrates a portion of a cover segment having a largest perimeter to secure the cover assembly to the base frame
In some examples, the smart pole assembly further includes a bottom fastener configured to secure the cover assembly to the base frame. The bottom fastener penetrates a portion of a cover segment having a smallest perimeter to secure the cover assembly to the base frame.
In some examples, the smart pole assembly further includes a side fastener configured to secure the cover assembly in the open state. The side fastener prevents the cover assembly from being closed when engaged with the cover assembly.
According to certain aspects of the present disclosure, a smart pole cabinet is disclosed. The smart pole cabinet includes a frame and a cover assembly coupled to and enclosing the frame. According to various embodiments, the cover assembly includes at least a first cover segment having a largest diameter and a second cover segment having a smallest diameter. The cover assembly is in a fully extended configuration when the cover assembly is in a closed state. The cover assembly is in a collapsed configuration when the cover assembly is in an open state. The first cover segment is at a top position and the second cover segment is at a bottom position when the cover assembly is in the closed state. The first cover segment is at an outermost position and the second cover segment is at an innermost position when the cover assembly is in the open state.
In some examples, the smart pole cabinet further includes a plurality of waterproof elements. Each waterproof element is positioned between two adjacent cover segments among a plurality of cover segments. Further, each waterproof element is in contact with the two adjacent cover segments when the cover assembly is in the closed state. Furthermore, the waterproof element includes an O-ring, a gasket, or a glue material.
In some examples, the open state includes a first open state and a second open state. The cover assembly surrounds a first portion of an interior space of the frame in the first open state. The cover assembly surrounds a second portion of the interior space in the second open state.
According to certain aspects of the present disclosure, a method for opening a cover assembly of a smart pole assembly is disclosed. According to various embodiments, the cover assembly includes a plurality of cover segments. According to various embodiments, the method includes releasing a top fastener from a first cover segment among the plurality of cover segments progressively coupled with each other by a telescoping mechanism, causing the cover assembly to collapse in a first direction to be in a second open state. The method further includes releasing a bottom fastener from a second cover segment among the plurality of cover segments, causing the cover assembly to collapse in a second direction opposite the first direction to be in a first open state.
In some examples, a first perimeter of the first cover segment is largest among perimeters of the plurality of cover segments. Further, in some examples, a second perimeter of the second cover segment is smallest among the perimeters of the plurality of cover segments. In some examples, the method further includes causing a side fastener to contact a bottom surface of the second cover segment. When the side fastener is engaged with the second cover segment after the cover assembly is placed in the first open state, the cover assembly is maintained in the first open state.
The above summary is not intended to represent each embodiment or every aspect of the present disclosure. Rather, the foregoing summary merely provides an example of some of the novel aspects and features set forth herein. The above features and advantages, and other features and advantages of the present disclosure, will be readily apparent from the following detailed description of representative embodiments and modes for carrying out the present invention, when taken in connection with the accompanying drawings and the appended claims. Additional aspects of the disclosure will be apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art in view of the detailed description of various embodiments, which is made with reference to the drawings, a brief description of which is provided below.
The disclosure, and its advantages and drawings, will be better understood from the following description of representative embodiments together with reference to the accompanying drawings. These drawings depict only representative embodiments, and are therefore not to be considered as limitations on the scope of the various embodiments or claims.
While the present disclosure is susceptible to various modifications and alternative forms, specific implementations have been shown by way of example in the drawings and will be described in further detail herein. It should be understood, however, that the present disclosure is not intended to be limited to the particular forms disclosed. Rather, the present disclosure is to cover all modifications, equivalents, and alternatives falling within the spirit and scope of the present disclosure as defined by the appended claims.
The present disclosure relates to a smart pole assembly with a cover assembly including a telescoping mechanism. The cover assembly including a plurality of cover segments allows easy access to a desired interior space within the smart pole assembly without affecting the environment around the smart pole assembly.
Various embodiments are described with reference to the attached figures, where like reference numerals are used throughout the figures to designate similar or equivalent elements. The figures are not necessarily drawn to scale and are provided merely to illustrate aspects and features of the present disclosure. Numerous specific details, relationships, and methods are set forth to provide a full understanding of certain aspects and features of the present disclosure, although one having ordinary skill in the relevant art will recognize that these aspects and features can be practiced without one or more of the specific details, with other relationships, or with other methods. In some instances, well-known structures or operations are not shown in detail for illustrative purposes. The various embodiments disclosed herein are not necessarily limited by the illustrated ordering of acts or events, as some acts may occur in different orders and/or concurrently with other acts or events. Furthermore, not all illustrated acts or events are necessarily required to implement certain aspects and features of the present disclosure.
For purposes of the present detailed description, unless specifically disclaimed, and where appropriate, the singular includes the plural and vice versa. The word “including” means “including without limitation.” Moreover, words of approximation, such as “about,” “almost,” “substantially,” “approximately,” and the like, can be used herein to mean “at,” “near,” “nearly at,” “within 3-5% of,” “within acceptable manufacturing tolerances of,” or any logical combination thereof. Similarly, terms “vertical” or “horizontal” are intended to additionally include “within 3-5% of” a vertical or horizontal orientation, respectively. Additionally, words of direction, such as “top,” “bottom,” “left,” “right,” “above,” and “below” are intended to relate to the equivalent direction as depicted in a reference illustration; as understood contextually from the object(s) or element(s) being referenced, such as from a commonly used position for the object(s) or element(s); or as otherwise described herein.
Referring to
To achieve the telescoping mechanism, the cover assembly 104 includes a plurality of cover segments 114a, 114b, 114c, 114d, each of a subset of the cover segments being of progressively smaller perimeters nested within each other, as shown in
For example, as shown in
According to some embodiments, the first cover segment 114a is at a top position and the fourth cover segment 114d is at a bottom position when the cover assembly 104 is in the closed state, as shown in
According to some embodiments, the cover assembly 104 does not need to be completely removed or detached from the base frame 101 to expose the interior space of the base frame. That is, the cover assembly 104 can be opened by sliding the plurality of cover segments 114a, 114b, 114c, 114d upward or downward to expose the interior space of the base frame 101. Thus, the cover assembly 104 remains coupled to the base frame 101 even when the cover assembly is in an open state.
Although the number of cover segments exemplified in various drawings is four, the number is not limited to 4. The number of cover segments may be 2, 3, 4, or 5. Furthermore, the number of the cover segments may be more than 5 in some embodiments.
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As shown in
For example, the waterproof element 108 includes an O-ring, a gasket, or a glue material. Addition of the waterproof element 108 to the cover assembly 104 may be more effective in protecting the base frame 101 from harsh weather conditions.
Referring to
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However, in some embodiments, a locking mechanism is provided to protect the smart pole assembly 100 from unauthorized access. For example, as exemplified in
Referring to
According to certain aspects of the present disclosure, a method for opening the cover assembly 104 of the smart pole assembly 100 is disclosed. Referring to
Referring to
In some embodiments, the method further includes causing the side fastener 107 to contact a bottom surface of the fourth cover segment 114d, as shown in
While various embodiments of the present disclosure have been described above, it should be understood that they have been presented by way of example only, and not limitation. Numerous changes to the disclosed examples can be made in accordance with the disclosure herein without departing from the spirit or scope of the disclosure. Thus, the breadth and scope of the present disclosure should not be limited by any of the above described examples. Rather, the scope of the disclosure should be defined in accordance with the following claims and their equivalents.
One or more elements or aspects or steps, or any portion(s) thereof, from one or more of any of claims below can be combined with one or more elements or aspects or steps, or any portion(s) thereof, from one or more of any of the other claims or combinations thereof, to form one or more additional implementations and/or claims of the present disclosure.
Although the disclosed embodiments have been illustrated and described with respect to one or more implementations, equivalent alterations and modifications will occur or be known to others skilled in the art upon the reading and understanding of this specification and the annexed drawings. In addition, while a particular feature of the invention may have been disclosed with respect to only one of several implementations, such feature may be combined with one or more other features of the other implementations as may be desired and advantageous for any given or particular application.
The terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing particular examples only and is not intended to be limiting of the disclosure. As used herein, the singular forms “a,” “an,” and “the” are intended to include the plural forms as well, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. Furthermore, to the extent that the terms “including,” “includes,” “having,” “has,” “with,” or variants thereof, are used in either the detailed description and/or the claims, such terms are intended to be inclusive in a manner similar to the term “comprising.”
Unless otherwise defined, all terms (including technical and scientific terms) used herein have the same meaning as commonly understood by one of ordinary skill in the art to which this disclosure belongs. Furthermore, terms, such as those defined in commonly used dictionaries, should be interpreted as having a meaning that is consistent with their meaning in the context of the relevant art, and will not be interpreted in an idealized or overly formal sense unless expressly so defined herein.
