The present invention generally relates to support systems for supporting structures intended to be elevated, including but not limited to bird houses and animal feeders. The invention particularly relates to systems that include mounting apparatuses that are configured to clamp a pole to such an elevated structure and to a rigid base structure that is able to support the elevated structure through the pole.
In general, bird houses and animal feeders are preferentially located at elevated locations above the ground so as to protect these elevated structures from tampering by animals such as raccoons or squirrels. Mounting systems currently available may include a pole coupled to a rigid base structure via a mounting device. Some of these mounting devices secure the pole with a pin, bolt, or the like which contacts the pole at effectively a single point. Such systems can be prone to damage or wear due to the stresses applied at the point of contact between the mounting device and the pole. In addition, these systems may be difficult to adjust and/or remove for cleaning the bird house or animal feeder and/or refilling the animal feeder.
In view of the above, it can be appreciated that it would be desirable if an improved system were available for supporting elevated structures that was capable of at least partly overcoming or avoiding problems, shortcomings or disadvantages of the prior art.
The present invention provides mounting systems suitable for supporting structures intended to be elevated, including but not limited to bird houses and animal feeders, and to mounting apparatuses for removably securing a pole to an elevated structure and/or to a base structure used to support the elevated structure with the pole.
According to one aspect of the invention, a mounting apparatus includes an outer member having a longitudinal axis, an elongated wall that defines at least a portion of an internal cavity that is at least partially enclosed by the elongated wall and configured to receive a pole, an end opening to the cavity configured for receiving the pole, and means for securing the mounting apparatus to a structure. The mounting apparatus further includes an inner member located within the cavity defined by the outer member, elongated in a direction parallel to the longitudinal axis of the outer member, and having a cross-sectional shape congruous or otherwise complementary to an exterior surface of the pole. Means is provided for moving the inner member within the cavity in directions perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the outer member. The mounting apparatus is configured to secure the pole within the cavity by moving the inner member toward the pole and into surface-to-surface contact with the pole and to apply surface pressure to the pole.
According to another aspect of the invention, a system is provided for mounting a first structure in an elevated position relative to a base structure. The system includes a rigid pole configured to hold the elevated structure in the elevated position, first and second mounting apparatuses, means for securing the first mounting apparatus to the first structure, and means for securing the second mounting apparatus to the base structure. Each of the first and second mounting apparatuses includes an outer member having a longitudinal axis, an elongated wall that defines at least a portion of an internal cavity that is at least partially enclosed by the elongated wall and configured to receive a pole, an end opening to the cavity configured for receiving the pole. An inner member is located within the cavity, is elongated in a direction parallel to the longitudinal axis of the outer member, and has a cross-sectional shape congruous or otherwise complementary to an exterior surface of the pole. Means is provided for moving the inner member within the cavity in directions perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the outer member. The mounting apparatuses are each configured to secure the pole within the cavity thereof by moving the inner member thereof toward the pole and into surface-to-surface contact with the pole and to apply surface pressure to the pole.
Technical effects of the system and mounting apparatus described above preferably include the ability to support an elevated structure, such as a bird house or animal feeder, in a fixed elevated position while allowing for disassembly in a manner that promotes ease of use and reduced wear.
Other aspects and advantages of this invention will be further appreciated from the following detailed description.
It should be noted that the drawings are drawn for purposes of clarity when viewed in combination with the following description, and therefore are not necessarily to scale.
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The inner member 34 is substantially prevented from rotating within the outer member 22 as a result of their complementary shapes, which results in contact between the outer and inner members 22 and 34 if the inner member 34 were to be rotated within the outer member 22. Rotation of the bolt 30 causes the end 36 of the bolt 30 to be further inserted into or retracted from the cavity 27, depending on the direction of rotation, thereby converting rotational movement into linear movement. Consequently, this action causes the inner member 34 to move perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the outer member 22 and in directions toward or away from the plate 26, again depending on the direction of rotation of the bolt 30. Once the inner member 34 is suitably clamped against the pole 12 by the bolt 30, the nut 32 may be rotated to engage the outer surface of the outer member 22 surrounding the hole 28, thereby assisting to lock the position of the bolt 30 relative to the outer member 22. The nut 32 and the entrance to the hole 28 may be chamferred to provide smooth surface-to-surface contact and reduce wear during rotation of the nut 32.
With this configuration, the mounting apparatus 20 may be secured to the pole 12 by inserting the pole 12 through either of the two end openings of the outer member 22 and into the cavity 27 thereof at least to a position at which the inner member 34 is located between the pole 12 and a wall portion of the outer member 22. The adjustment bolt 30 may then be rotated to cause the inner member 34 to move in a direction toward the plate 24 such that the inner member 34 presses against the pole 12 and creates surface-to-surface clamping of the pole 12 between the inner member 34 and an oppositely-disposed portion of the outer member 22. As such, the inner member 34 and bolt 30 may be collectively referred to as a clamping assembly. Preferably, the complementary shapes of the inner member 34 and pole 12 provide a relatively large contact surface area therebetween to avoid individual wear points. It is foreseeable that the inner member 34 may extend along the entirety or a majority of the longitudinal length of the outer member 22 or even protrude from the outer member 22. As represented by the nonlimiting embodiment of
Similar to what was described above for the mounting apparatus 20, the mounting assembly 40 may be secured to the pole 12 by inserting the pole 12 through one of its end openings into the cavity 27 of the outer member 42 at least to a position at which the inner member 34 is located between the outer member 42 and the pole 12. The adjustment bolt 30 may then be rotated within its threaded hole 48 to cause the inner member 34 to move in a direction toward side opening 29 such that the inner member 34 presses against the pole 12 and clamps the pole 12 between the inner member 34 and an oppositely disposed portion of the base structure 14.
Similar to what was described above for the previous mounting apparatuses 20 and 40, the mounting apparatus 50 may be secured to the pole 12 by inserting the pole 12 into the cavity 27 of the outer member 42 through the end opening 59 at least to a position at which the inner member 34 is located between the outer member 52 and the pole 12. The adjustment bolt 30 may then be rotated within its threaded hole 58 to cause the inner member 34 to move in a direction toward the pole 12 such that the inner member 34 presses against the pole 12 and clamps the pole 12 between the inner member 34 and an oppositely-disposed portion of the outer member 52.
It is believed that the operation and structure of the inner member 34 provide benefits over conventional mounting devices used for bird houses, animal feeders, and the like by providing a relatively large and continuous contact surface area over which pressure can be distributed when clamping the pole 12 within the outer member 22, 42, or 52, instead of being concentrated at the end of a bolt. This configuration promotes stability, a prolonged life cycle, and ease of release. Further, since the inner member 34 may interact and clamp various portions of the pole 12, the mounting apparatuses 20, 40, and 50 disclosed herein allow a user to adjust the rotational orientation and vertical position of the elevated structure 10 by rotating the pole 12 and/or increasing or decreasing the length of the pole 12 that is inserted into the mounting apparatus 20, 40, or 50.
It should be understood that the mounting apparatuses 20, 40, and 50 are exemplary and the construction and operation of their clamping assemblies could be applied to mounting apparatuses having various configurations. In addition, the mounting apparatuses 20, 40, and 50 could be modified to accommodate poles of various sizes and shapes, or modified to further promote certain benefits provided by these apparatuses. For example, the clamping assemblies could include a relatively larger inner member to increase the contact surface area with a pole to further promote stability. In addition, the clamping assemblies may include two or more adjustment bolts 30 fixed at different locations to the inner member 34 to maintain a substantially even distribution of clamping pressure during use. The clamping assembly could also be modified to provide linear movement of the inner member 34 by other methods. For example, the adjustment bolt 30 could pass freely through the hole 28, 48, or 58 and be fixed at its end 36 to the inner member 34, so that only longitudinal translation of the bolt 30 occurs to move the inner member 34.
While the invention has been described in terms of specific embodiments, it is apparent that other forms could be adopted by one skilled in the art. For example, the physical configuration of the mounting apparatuses 20, 40, and 50, the elevated structure 10, the pole 12, and the base structure 14 could differ from that shown, and various materials could be used in their fabrication. In addition, the invention encompasses additional or alternative embodiments in which one or more features or aspects of a particular embodiment could be eliminated or two or more features or aspects of different disclosed embodiments could be combined. Accordingly, it should be understood that the invention is not necessarily limited to any embodiment described herein or illustrated in the drawings. It should also be understood that the phraseology and terminology employed above are for the purpose of describing the disclosed embodiments, and do not necessarily serve as limitations to the scope of the invention. Therefore, the scope of the invention is to be limited only by the following claims.
This is a continuation-in-part patent application of co-pending U.S. patent application Ser. No. 15/647,801, filed Jul. 12, 2017.
Number | Date | Country | |
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Parent | 15647801 | Jul 2017 | US |
Child | 16120824 | US |