Patent Publication Number: US-2021169046-A1

Title: System for mounting and displaying a flag, and related and methods

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS AND INCORPORATION BY REFERENCE 
     This application claims priority from U.S. Provisional Patent Application 62/936,871 filed 18 Nov. 2019 and titled “Wag-a-Flag”. This application also incorporates by this reference the entirety of U.S. Provisional Patent Application 62/936,871. 
    
    
     BACKGROUND 
     There are many ways that fans of sport&#39;s teams can show their loyalties. A common way of doing this is to wear a copy of a jersey of a player who plays for the team. Another common way of doing this is to place a sticker showing a team&#39;s colors and/or icon on an object. 
     Sometimes, fans show their sport&#39;s team loyalties by decorating their pet such as a dog, a cat, a bird, a snake, a rabbit, and/or a guinea pig. This is typically done by having the pet wear a collar, a shirt, a sweater, a rain slick, and/or stockings that include one or more references to a sport&#39;s team. Unfortunately, such attire is typically configured to fit an animal having a specific body shape and a specific size. Thus, if one has two or more pets, then one has to purchase two or more sets of attire—one that fits one of the pets and another one that fits another of the pets. 
     Thus, there is a need for a system that allows one to decorate his/her pet or pets regardless of the pet&#39;s shape and size. 
     SUMMARY 
     In one aspect of the invention, a system for mounting and displaying a flag on an animal includes: a flag, a mast and a coupler. The flag includes any desired design and often includes the colors and design associated with a specific football team. The mast is attached to the flag and is operable to hold the flag in a position away from an animal&#39;s body when the system is coupled with an animal. The coupler is attached to the mast and is operable to couple the mast to an animal and position the mast such that the mast extends away from the animal. 
     With the coupler and mast, one can releasably couple the system to an accessory worn by an animal such as a collar, a shirt, a sweater, a rain slick, or stockings, or to the animal itself such as the animal&#39;s tail or back. In this manner, one can couple the system to a variety of different animal&#39;s each of which have different body shapes and/or sizes. 
     In another aspect of the invention, a method for mounting and displaying a flag on an animal includes: 1) coupling to an animal a mast of a system that is attached to a flag of a system; and 2) positioning the mast such that the mast extends away from the animal. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         FIG. 1  shows a perspective view of a system for mounting and displaying a flag on an animal, according to an embodiment of the invention. 
         FIG. 2  shows a view of a coupler of the system shown in  FIG. 1 , according to an embodiment of the invention. 
         FIG. 3  shows the system shown in  FIG. 1  mounted on an animal, according to an embodiment of the invention. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
       FIG. 1  shows a perspective view of a system  10  for mounting and displaying a flag on an animal, according to an embodiment of the invention. The system  10  includes a flag  12 , a mast  14 , and a coupler  16 . The flag  12  may represent a country, a state, a brand for a product or service, and/or a sport&#39;s team. For example, as shown in  FIG. 3 , the flag represents the Seattle Seahawks of the North American National Football League and includes the phrase, “Go Hawks!”. The mast  14  couples the flag  12  with the coupler  16 , and positions the flag  12  away from the animal&#39;s body when the system  10  is worn by an animal. The coupler  16  releasably couples the mast  14 , and thus the flag  12 , with an animal or an accessory worn by the animal, such as a collar, a shirt, a sweater, a rain slick, or stockings. 
     With the coupler  16  one can releasably couple the system  10  to an accessory worn by an animal or to the animal itself, such as the animal&#39;s tail or back. Thus, one can couple the system  10  to a variety of different animal&#39;s each of which may have a different body shape and/or a different body size. 
     The flag  12  may be sized and configured as desired. For example, in this and other embodiments the flag  12  includes a conventional cloth fabric that extends, when fully unfurled, five inches away from the mast  14 , and three inches along the mast  14 . At this size and with this fabric, the flag  12  will not unduly burden a small pet such as a dog, cat or guinea pig while the system  10  is mounted to the animal and the animal walks or runs around. Other embodiments of the flag include a different size and/or a different material, such as a material that is water proof or at least water resistant, and/or battens to help keep the flag  12  extending away from the mast  14  and easily recognizable by anyone. 
     The mast  14  may be sized and configured as desired, too. For example, in this and other embodiments the mast  14  includes a cylindrical wooden pole having a diameter of ¼ of an inch and six inches long. More specifically, the mast  14  includes a first end  18  that the flag  12  is attached to, a second end  20  that the coupler  16  is attached to, and a spring  22  disposed between the first and second ends  18  and  20 , and that couples the first end  18  with the second end  20 . By lying between and coupling the first and second ends  18  and  20 , the spring  22  allows the first end  18 , and thus the flag  12 , to move relative to the second end  20 , and thus the coupler  16 . This helps the system  10  stay mounted to the animal while the animal moves about, and helps the mast  14  maintain the position of the flag  12  away from the animal&#39;s body during such activities. 
     Other embodiments are possible. For example, the mast  14  may have a pole that is longer or shorter than six inches, and made of a material other than wood such as plastic. For another example, the mast  14  may not include the spring  22 . For yet another example, the spring  22  may be stiff and only allow the first end  18  to move a little bit relative to the second end  20 , or the spring  22  may be flexible and allow substantial movement of the first end  18  relative to the second end  20 . 
     Still referring to  FIG. 1 , the flag  12  may be attached to the mast  14  in any desired manner. For example, in this and other embodiments the flag  12  is fixed to the mast  14  with staples. In other embodiments, the flag  12  may be releasably attached to the mast  14 . For example, the flag  12  may include a sleeve or sock sized and configured to receive the first end  18  of the mast  14 . For another example, the flag  12  may include one or more laces that one can use to tie the flag  12  to the mast  14 . In such embodiments, the one or more laces would wrap around the mast  14  and would be tied to either a corresponding lace that wraps around the mast  14  in another direction, or to a loop located on the flag adjacent the mast  14 . 
       FIG. 2  shows a view of a coupler  16  of the system  10  shown in  FIG. 1 , according to an embodiment of the invention. The coupler  16  releasably couples the mast  14 , and thus the flag  12 , with an animal or an accessory worn by the animal, and allows the system  10  to be mounted on any animal such as a dog (as shown in  FIG. 3 ), a cat, a bird, a snake, a rabbit, and/or a guinea pig. 
     The coupler  16  may be configured as desired to perform this function. For example, in this and other embodiments the coupler  16  includes a first jaw  24  pivotally coupled with a second jaw  26  that together pinch to hold the mast  14  to an animal. More specifically, the first jaw  24  and the second jaw  26  are coupled together with a pin  28  that allows each jaw  24  and  26  to rotate relative to the other jaw  26  and  24  about the axis of the pin  28  as shown by the arrows labeled  30  and  32 . The coupler  16  also includes a spring  34  to pinch and maintain the pinch of the animal or accessory worn by the animal. In this and other embodiments the spring  34  is a torsion spring that has each of its ends in contact with a respective one of the jaws  24  and  26  to urge each end  36  and  38  of a respective one of the jaws  24  and  26  against each other. Depending the size, weight, and configuration of the system  10 —i.e. the size, weight, and configuration of the mast  14 , flag  16 , and coupler  16 —the spring  34  may have a high spring constant to more securely mount the system  10  to the animal, or a low spring constant to allow the system to more easily detach from the animal when needed. A high spring constant may be desirable when the system  10  is to be mounted to a large, active dog, for example, that could easily cause the system  10  to prematurely detach while running or jumping. A low spring constant may be desirable when the system  10  is to be mounted to a small, less active dog, for example, that could become unduly burdened by the system  10  if the system  10  becomes snagged on something. 
     Other embodiments are possible. For example, the coupler  16  may be an adjustable strap that is configured to wrap around the tail or hindquarters of an animal. In this embodiment, the strap may also include a saddle contoured to match the curvature of an animal&#39;s tail or back to help the mast  14  position the flag  12  away from the animal&#39;s body. For another example, the coupler  16  may be built-into or permanently fixed to the sweater  42  or any other accessory worn by an animal. 
     The mast  14  may be attached to the coupler  16  in any desired manner. For example, in this and other embodiments the mast  14  is fixed to the coupler  16 . More specifically, the second end  20  of the mast  14  does not move relative to the first jaw  24  of the coupler  16 . In other embodiments, the second end  20  may rotate relative to the first jaw  24  to allow mast  14  to automatically position the flag  12  in alignment with the direction of the wind experienced by the flag  12 . In still other embodiments, the second end  20  may be releasably attached to the first jaw  24  to allow one to quickly change the mast  14  and flag  12  configuration of the system  10 . 
       FIG. 3  shows the system  10  shown in  FIG. 1  coupled with a dog  40 , according to an embodiment of the invention. Here the system  10  is mounted to a sweater  42  that the dog  40  wears. In other embodiments the system may be mounted to a collar worn by the dog  40 , or a belt worn by the dog  40  around his hindquarters. 
     The preceding discussion is presented to enable a person skilled in the art to make and use the invention. Various modifications to the embodiments will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art, and the generic principles herein may be applied to other embodiments and applications without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention. Thus, the present invention is not intended to be limited to the embodiments shown, but is to be accorded the widest scope consistent with the principles and features disclosed herein.