Patent Application
20230392405
Not applicable.
The invention pertains to the fields of support poles and outdoor lighting assemblies comprising such support poles.
Support poles, and more particularly support poles for outdoor lighting assemblies, such as overhead lighting for streets, parking lots, walkways, etc., are conventionally monolithic and made of concrete or wood; alternatively, they may be fabricated from metal tubing. While generally suited to their purpose, such poles are not aesthetically suited to all outdoor environments, and they are otherwise open to improvement.
Disclosed herein is a support pole, as well as an outdoor lighting assembly comprising such a support pole, which is at once attractive, relatively easy to manufacture and assemble, and robust.
The vertically-extending support pole comprises three or more vertically-extending sidewall panels arranged adjacent to each other to define lateral surfaces of the support pole, and a plurality of rigid, vertically-extending structural supports. Each sidewall panel has a width and opposite lateral edges extending between vertically spaced-apart upper and lower ends of said sidewall panels. Each of the structural supports has a width that is less than the width of each of the three or more sidewall panels, and each of the structural supports has opposite lateral edges extending between vertically spaced-apart upper and lower ends of the structural supports. Each of the structural supports is disposed between, and interconnects, two of the three or more sidewall panels. The sidewall panels overlap the structural supports proximate at least the respective lateral edges thereof. The overlapping portions of the sidewall panels and structural supports are secured together only with adhesive.
In one embodiment, the adhesive is a double-sided adhesive tape.
In one embodiment, the support pole comprises four sidewall panels and four structural supports, and the support pole is characterized by a quadrilateral shape in cross-section.
Each sidewall panel may be a metal sheet and may be provided with a decorative exterior surface. In one embodiment, each sidewall panel may be aluminum that is printed with a simulated wood grain appearance.
In one form of the invention, each structural support is a corner extrusion having laterally-extending wings and a vertically-extending, exteriorly-facing channel disposed between the wings. In one form, a LED lighting strip is disposed in the exteriorly-facing channel. The LED lighting strip is selectively operable to generate illumination that is visible from an exterior of the support pole. In one form, a polymer cover overlies each LED lighting strip. The polymer cover may have a decorative exterior surface through which the illumination selectively generated by is LED strip is visible from the exterior of the support pole.
Per another feature, the support pole comprises a base fixedly connected to the support pole at a lower end thereof. In one form, the base is fixedly connected to the lower end of one or more of the structural supports.
An outdoor lighting assembly including the support pole further comprises a luminaire secured to the support pole at an upper end thereof. In one form, the outdoor lighting assembly further comprises a luminaire anchor plate fixedly connected to the upper end of the support pole via one or more of the structural supports. The luminaire is connected to the support pole via luminaire anchor plate. The outdoor lighting assembly may further include any one or more of the aforedescribed features of the pole.
Referring now to the drawings, wherein like numerals refer to like or corresponding parts throughout the several views, the present invention comprehends a support pole, such as may be utilized to support a luminaire for an outdoor lighting assembly, as well as, in one embodiment, such an outdoor lighting assembly. The following description is more specifically directed to the embodiment of an outdoor lighting assembly comprising the pole and a luminaire supported thereby, although those skilled in the art will appreciate from this disclosure that the pole may be readily adapted to other uses and need not, therefore, be limited to supporting a luminaire.
As used herein, “luminaire” refers to a light fixture including at least a housing for more or more light sources, and either a source for powering the one or more light sources or means for connecting the one or more light sources to a power source therefor.
Turning first to
Referring also to
Each sidewall panel 15 may be a metal sheet and may be provided with a decorative exterior surface. For instance, each sidewall panel 15 may be printed with a simulated wood grain appearance. Of course, it will be appreciated that a decorative exterior surface, if optionally employed, may be of an appearance according to user desire and may be provided by any conventional means.
In the illustrated embodiment, each sidewall panel 15 is a sheet of aluminum. A sheet thickness of 5 mm has been demonstrated to be satisfactory in the outdoor lighting assembly of this disclosure, although such dimensions and/or material are not intended to be limiting of other dimensions and/or materials that may be employed.
The support pole 10 further comprises a plurality of rigid, vertically-extending structural supports 20, as best shown in
Structural supports 20 are vertically coextensive with sidewall panels 15, extending between upper and lower ends of the support pole. Each of the structural supports 20 has opposite lateral edges 21, 22, and each of the structural supports 20 has a width that is less than the width of each sidewall panel 15.
In the illustrated embodiment, the support pole 10 comprises four such sidewall panels 15 and four structural supports 20. As shown best in
Referring specifically to
The adhesive may be a double-sided adhesive tape 30 and, more particularly, an acrylic foam tape comprised of an acrylic foam core supporting an acrylic adhesive on opposite surfaces of the core. In the exemplary embodiment, the acrylic foam tape is characterized by a thickness of approximately 0.6 mm. The acrylic foam tape of the exemplary embodiment is characterized by good adhesion to metal surfaces (37N/25 mm according to Chinese National Standard for measuring the peel adhesion properties of adhesive tapes GB/T 2792-2014), good holding power (24H according to Chinese National Standard for measuring the static shear adhesion of adhesive tapes GB/T 4851-2014), and high temperature resistance. Double-sided acrylic adhesive tapes of the kind suitable to the present invention are commercially available, including, for instance, from 3M COMPANY (St. Paul, Minnesota). Those commercially available adhesive tapes designated for outdoor applications are especially well suited to the present invention.
The adhesive comprehended by the present invention may also be a glue of comparable strength to the double-sided tapes as described above.
Per the illustrated embodiment, double-sided adhesive tape is applied to all or substantially all of the vertical length of each structural support in the area proximate edges 21, 22 where sidewall panels 15 overlap in the assembled condition of the support pole.
As best shown in
It will be appreciated that the relative angle of the wings 23 of each structural support 20 define, in combination with the number of such supports 20 and sidewalls 15, the cross-sectional shape of the support pole 10.
Each of the illustrated structural supports 20 further includes a vertically-extending, exteriorly-facing channel 24 defined between walls 25, and an interiorly-facing channel 26 defined between walls 27. As best shown in
Per the illustrated embodiment, the foregoing construction characterizes the entire vertical length (i.e., between the upper and lower ends) of each structural support 20. In other words, a transverse cross-section of the structural support 20 wherever taken along its length will have generally the same geometry. However, it will also be understood that, as per the exemplary embodiment, the support pole 10 may optionally taper in dimensions in the vertical direction, such that the width of the support pole is greater toward the lower end and narrower toward the upper end. This is best seen in
Structural supports 20 may be made from any suitable material. In the illustrated embodiment each structural support 20 is an aluminum extrusion.
Optionally, and as shown in the illustrated embodiment, an LED lighting strip 40 is disposed in the exteriorly-facing channel 24 of one or more of the structural supports 20 and is selectively operable to generate illumination that is visible from an exterior of the support pole 10. The LED lighting strip 40 may be coextensive with the length of the channel 24 so as to provide illumination along the vertical length of the support pole 10. It may also be of shorter dimensions or even comprised of a plurality of discrete LED lighting strips arranged in spaced apart fashion along the length of the channel 24. A polymer cover 50 overlies the LED lighting strip 40, being secured to the channel walls 25 by adhesive, for instance. The polymer cover 50 may be transparent or, alternatively, may have light-transmissive exterior surface decoration through which the illumination selectively generated by the LED lighting strip 40 is visible from the exterior of the support pole 10. By way of example and not limitation, such decorative surface decoration could be a printed with a simulated wood-grain appearance to match or compliment a decorative simulated wood-grain appearance applied to the sidewall panels 15. Power for each LED lighting strip may be provided in any conventional manner.
Of course, the LED lighting strips as described need not be employed at all, depending on user preference.
Referring to
Openings 64 through the base 60 permit fasteners (such as screws 70) to be inserted from the bottom surface 61 into the interiorly-facing channels 26 to securely fasten structural supports 20 to the base 60. This is best shown in
Turning next to
Upper surface 82 of anchor plate 80 includes a centrally-located mount 83 for receiving a complimentarily-shaped opening 91 provided in a mounting base 90 secured to the luminaire 100. In the illustrated embodiment, the mount 83 and opening 91 define corresponding halves of a bayonet-style, quarter-turn mount. Upon receipt of mount 83 within opening 91, the entire luminaire 100 is rotated 90 degrees to effect engagement of tabs or flanges 84 provided in one of the mount 83 or opening 91 with corresponding slots 92 in the other of the mount 73 or opening 91. Of course, it is contemplated that any other conventional means may be employed to secure the luminaire 100 to support pole 10 in an outdoor lighting assembly according to the present invention.
In an outdoor lighting assembly according to the present invention it is to be understood that any suitable power source may be employed. That is, the luminaire and LED lights may be battery and/or solar powered or may be connected to an external power source in any conventional manner. For example and without limitation, an external power source may be provided which is connected to the lighting assembly via wiring that extends upwardly through the base 90 and the interior of the support pole 10, similar to the manner in which conventional outdoor lighting assemblies are powered.
In practice, an outdoor lighting assembly of the aforedescribed construction, in vertical heights as great as 20 feet, has demonstrated better wind-loading strength than comparable-sized round support poles of conventional construction, this despite the fact that the support pole of the present invention is characterized by a construction which is largely limited to the employment of adhesive as particularized herein.
It is to be understood that the disclosed embodiments exemplify how to make and use the invention, but are intended to enable rather than limit the invention. Variations and modifications of the illustrated examples in the foregoing written specification and drawings may be possible without departing from the scope of the invention.
It should further be understood that to the extent the term “invention” is used in the written specification, it is not to be construed as a limiting term as to the number of claimed or disclosed inventions or discoveries, or to the scope of any such invention or discovery, but instead as a term which has long been used to describe new and useful improvements in science and the useful arts. The scope of the invention supported by the above disclosure should accordingly be construed within the scope of what it teaches and suggests to those skilled in the art, and within the scope of any claims that the above disclosure supports.
The claims are representative of the invention and are not intended to limit the claimed invention with respect to other features which are supported by or might become apparent from the description, and which might be claimed subsequently.
