FLAG RAISING AND LOWERING DEVICE

Abstract: A flag raising and lowering device (11) for raising the flag (18) up the flagpole (10) and for lowering the flag, the said device comprising a protective tube (12) for the flag and a driving motor (13). The device is an accessory separate from the actual flagpole, which device is located on the lower part of the flagpole, on its side. The accessory includes a protective tube (12) for the flag and a driving motor (13). The halyard (15) is passed at the upper end of the flagpole via the flagpole's own original sheave (17) and at the lower end of the flagpole via the sheave (14) of the protective tube and the driving motor (13), so that by moving the halyard, the flag (18) can be pulled inside and out of the protective tube.

Description: - 1 FLAG RAISING AND LOWERING DEVICE The object of the invention is a flag raising and lowering device for raising the flag up the flagpole and for lowering the flag, the said device comprising a protective tube for the flag and a driving motor. Flags are usually raised and lowered manually. Taking care of this task is, however, nowadays often inconvenient, because housing corporations no longer engage persons who would see to it. This is why maintenance companies usually take care of flag raising and lowering. Even for maintenance companies, however, the task is arduous as manual work, because one maintenance person will not have time to manage very many locations. This means that flag raising and lowering are often delayed. This service is, in addition, expensive for housing corporations. Due to the foregoing, attempts have been made to automate flag raising and lowering procedures by means of various mechanical devices. One such device is disclosed, for example, in US patent no. 3,675,615, in which the flag is pulled inside the flagpole by means of a motor. An opening has been formed in the flagpole for this purpose. It is obvious that this type of arrangement is only applicable to new flagpoles. It is not suited for already existing flagpoles. In addition, the openings made in the flagpole reduce the strength of the flagpole substantially. US patent no. 3,417,732 also discloses an automatic flag raising and lowering device. In this device, the flag moves inside a tube which is located outside the flagpole. The flag is fixed to a sleeve-like part which is lowered into a space between the tube located at the bottom of the pole and the pole. This equipment is also unsuitable for use with old flagpoles. Another disadvantage of the construction is that the tube attached around the flagpole is supported only at its lower end. The durability of such a support is poor. The aim of the present invention is to eliminate the above- mentioned problems and to achieve a novel flag raising and lowering device which can also be used with old flagpoles. It is characteristic of the device relating to the invention - that the flag raising and lowering device is an accessory separate from the actual flagpole, which device is located on the lower part of the flagpole, on its side, - that the device includes a protective tube for the flag and a driving motor located at the lower end of the flagpole, on its side, - that the halyard is passed at the upper end of the flagpole via a sheave, which is preferably the flagpole's own original sheave, - and that at the lower end of the flagpole, the halyard is passed via the sheave of the protective tube of the accessory and the driving motor located at the side of the flagpole, so that by moving the halyard, the flag can be pulled inside and out of the protective tube of the separate accessory at the side of the flagpole. The flag raising and lowering device relating to the invention makes it possible to automate all existing flagpoles. When the flag is lowered, it is pulled by means of a driving motor inside the separate protective tube located at the lower end of the flagpole, and when raised, the flag is pulled out of the protective tube. The invention is described in the following by way of an example, with reference to the appended drawings in which Figure 1 shows the separate flag raising and lowering device located on the flagpole as seen from the side and in partial cross-section. Figure 2 shows the accessory of figure 1 with the flag lowered. Figure 3 shows the control elements of the device of figure 1 diagrammatically. Figure 1 shows a flagpole 10, to which the separate flag raising and lowering device 11 relating to the invention is connected as an accessory. The device 11 incorporates a protective tube 12 and a driving motor 13. The halyard forms a closed loop which runs via sheaves located at the upper and lower ends of the flagpole 10. At its lower end, the halyard 15 is passed via the protective tube 12 of the accessory 11 to the sheave 14 of the driving motor 13 of the accessory. At the upper end, the halyard 15 is passed in the usual manner via the flagpole's own sheave 17, which is located on the finial 16 of the flagpole 10. When the halyard 15 passed through the protective tube 12 of the accessory is moved by means of the driving motor 13 of the accessory and the sheave 14 connected to it, the flag 18 connected to the halyard 15 can be raised or lowered. When the flag 18 is lowered, it is pulled inside the separate protective tube 12 located at the lower end of the flagpole, on the side of the flagpole, and when raised, the flag is pulled out of this protective tube 12. At the upper end of the protective tube 12 a lead-through 23 is fitted, which prevents the entry of water and snow inside the protective tube 12 at least for the most part. The flag raising and lowering device 11 is a separate accessory unit which can be installed even afterwards on an old flagpole 10. In such a case, the lower end of the protective tube 12 and the driving motor 13 housing are connected to the flagpole 10, for example, by means of the same bolts 24 with which the flagpole itself is fixed to its base. At its upper end, the protective tube 12 is fixed to the flagpole 10 by means of a band 25. In figure 2, the flag 18 has been lowered by means of the flag raising and lowering device 11 of figure 1. It can be seen in the figure that the flag 18 has been lowered. This has been done by pulling the halyard 15 by means of the sheave 14 rotated by the driving motor 13 so that the flag 18 has been lowered inside the protective tube 12 on the side of the flagpole 10. Similarly, the flag 18 may be raised by rotating the sheave 14 in the other direction. Figure 3 shows a diagrammatic view of the halyard 15 control mechanism. To the halyard are connected control elements which the control mechanism sensor 19 detects. These are, for example, small pieces of metal which can be detected by a metal detector. In figure 3, the halyard 15 has three control elements. The control mechanism operates so that when the control element 20 for the upper position is at the sensor 19, the flag 18 is in its upper position, that is, at normal flag height on the flagpole. When the following control element 21 is at the sensor 19, the flag 18 is at half-mast. Similarly, when the control element 22 for the lower position is at the sensor 19, the flag 18 is lowered, in other words completely inside the protective tube of the device relating to the invention. Thus the equipment is capable of detecting whether the flag is in the upper position, at half-mast or in the lower position, and therefore of controlling the operation of the device. Alternatively, for example a step motor can be used to move the halyard, in which case control elements attached to the halyard and sensors to detect them are not necessarily required. A timing mechanism which raises and lowers the flag according to a desired schedule may also be connected to the driving motor 13. It is furthermore possible to add a hot-air fan to the driving mechanism of the device, which RECTIHEDSHEET(RULE91) fan dries the flag in the protective tube if wet. At the same time the fan prevents the halyard and flag from freezing in winter. The hot-air fan can be programmed so that it heats the flag, the halyard and other equipment for a desired time subsequent to the flag having been lowered, and similarly also for some time before the flag is raised. As the device relating to the invention is an accessory, it can easily be connected to old flagpoles. A unit comprising a protective tube outside the pole and a housing with the driving mechanism and control devices, is connected to the flagpole. It is obvious to a person skilled in the art that the different embodiments of the invention may vary within the • scope of the claims presented below.

Claims: AMENDED CLAIMS [received by the International Bureau on 10 February 1997 (10.02.97); original claim 1 amended; remaining claims unchanged (2 pages)] 1. A flag raising and lowering device (11) for raising the flag (18) up the flagpole (10) and for lowering the flag, the said device comprising a protective tube (12) for the flag and a driving motor (13), c h a r a c t e r i z e d in - that the flag raising and lowering device (11) is an accessory separate from the actual flagpole (10), which device is located on the lower part of the flagpole, on its side so that it is not necessary to make any amendments to the flagpole itself, - that the device includes a protective tube (12) for the flag and a driving motor (13) located at the lower end of the flagpole, on its side, - and that the halyard (15) is passed at the upper end of the flagpole via a sheave (17), which is preferably the flagpole's own original sheave so that the parts of the halyard coming from the different sides of the sheave locate outside the flagpole, - and that the both parts of the halyard coming from the different sides of the sheave at the upper end have been passed into the protective tube (12) at the lower end of the flagpole, so that by moving the halyard by the sheave (14) of the the driving motor (13) the flag (18) can be pulled inside and out of the protective tube of the separate accessory at the side of the flagpole. 2. A flag raising and lowering device (11) as claimed in claim 1, c h a r a c t e r i z e d in that the flag raising and lowering device (11) incorporates a sensor (19) which detects the control elements (20, 21, 22) located on the halyard (15) so that the flag (18) can be adjusted to the desired height. 3. A flag raising and lowering device (11) as claimed in claim 2, c h a r a c t e r i z e d in that the control elements (20, 21, 22) located on the halyard (15) are small pieces of metal which are detected by a metal detector sensor (19) included in the flag raising and lowering device. 4 :. A flag raising and lowering device (11) as claimed in cclaim 1, c h a r a c t e r i z e d in that the driving motor (13) of the flag raising and lowering device (11) is a step motor. 5. A flag raising and lowering device (11) as claimed in any of the claims 1 to 4, c h a r a c t e r i z e d in that the lower end of the protective tube (12) and the driving motor (13) housing are fixed to the flagpole (10) by means of the same bolts (24) as those with which the flagpole itself is fixed to its base. 6. A flag raising and lowering device (11) as claimed in any of the claims 1 to 5, c h a r a c t e r i z e d in that a lead-through (23) is fitted at the upper end of the protective tube (12), which prevents the entry of water and snow inside the protective tube.

Inventors: KOTILAINEN OLLI, KOTILAINEN, OLLI
Applicants: KOTILAINEN OLLI, KOTILAINEN, OLLI
Application year: 1996
Main classification: E04H12
IPC codes: E04H12, G09F17