Patent Publication Number: US-2007119362-A1

Title: Swiveling banner-carrying apparatus

Description:
PRIOR APPLICATION  
      This is a divisional of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/838,880 filed May 1, 2004, now U.S. Pat. No. 7,168,389 issued Jan. 30, 2007. 
    
    
     FIELD OF THE INVENTION  
      This invention relates to banner-carrying apparatuses and more particularly to flag poles for carrying flags.  
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
      The display of flags has grown in popularity, particularly with renewed patriotism and the growing popularity of seasonal flags displayed outside the home. Such flags are typically mounted upon the house wherein the flag pole is typically oriented between 30° and 90° angle from vertical. In this orientation the flag is subject to become wound upon, tangled and wrapped around the flag pole through even moderate swirling winds, reducing their display appeal. It is therefore desirable to provide a mechanism which avoids the wrapping and folding of such banners or flags.  
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
      The principal and secondary objects of the invention are to provide a banner-carrying apparatus in which the folding and winding up of the banner about the flag-carrying pole is reduced or eliminated.  
      These and other valuable objects are achieved by a tubular sleeve sized and shaped to fit annularly and rotatively about a flag pole shaft. Low friction bearing surfaces allow the sleeve to freely rotate unwinding, through the force of gravity, a flag which has been wound upon it. Specialized clamps provide adjustable and releasable securing of the flag to the sleeve. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING  
       FIG. 1  is a diagrammatic partial side perspective view of a flag pole according to the invention, carrying the flag mounted upon a wall of a house;  
       FIG. 2  is a diagrammatic cross-sectional top view of the snap clamp feature according to the invention;  
       FIG. 3  is a diagrammatic partial cross-sectional cutaway side view of a flag-carrying apparatus according to the invention;  
       FIG. 4  is a diagrammatic partial cross-sectional-side view showing an alternate embodiment of the lower bearing of the flag-carrying apparatus according to the invention; and  
       FIG. 5  is a diagrammatic partial cross-sectional side view of a sleeved flag secured upon a flag-carrying apparatus according to the invention;  
       FIG. 6  is a diagrammatic partial side perspective view showing an alternate embodiment of the sleeve portion of the pole adapted to have a longitudinal ribbed channel and toothed clamp engagement; and  
       FIG. 7  is a diagrammatic cross-sectional top view of the sleeve and clamp shown in  FIG. 6 .  
    
    
     DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT OF THE INVENTION  
      Referring now to the drawing, there is shown in  FIGS. 1-3 , a pliable banner-carrying pole  1  which avoids tangling or wrapping of the banner  2  about the pole. The apparatus is formed by an oblong substantially rigid cylindrical shaft or rod  3  having a central longitudinal axis  4  and has a lower first end  5  adapted to mount in a holder  6  attached to a fixed structure  7 . The rod is mounted in an orientation wherein the angle A formed between the axis  4  and vertical  8  is generally between 30° and 90°. A substantially rigid body in the form of a substantially cylindrical tubular hollow sleeve  10  formed from durable rigid material such as polyvinylchloride plastic is rotatively and coaxially mounted upon the opposite end portion  11  of the rod. The sleeve is formed to have an inner cavity bounded by the inner surface  12  of the substantially cylindrical sidewall  19  of the sleeve. The sidewall also forms an outer surface  13  of the sleeve. Substantially cylindrical open ended steel snap clamps  14  snap over the outer surface  13  of the sleeve and remain in place due to friction, thereby releaseably engaging the sleeve and act as fasteners for securing the banner to the sleeve. Therefore, the inner diameter “d” of the clamp is selected to be slightly smaller than the diameter of the outer surface  13  of the sleeve. Each of the clamps are formed to have a generally U-shaped hoop portion  15  which penetrates mounting rings  16  correspondingly mounted along the peripheral edge  17  of the banner  2  proximate to the pole. The opening  18  of the clamp, therefore, is located on the oposite side of the sleeve from the peripheral edge  17 .  
      The inner diameter of the sleeve  10  is substantially greater than the outer diameter of the rod  3 . The sleeve  10  is rotatively mounted upon the end  11  of the rod  3  by means of a pair of bearings  20 ,  21 . A first top bearing  20  is formed by an end cap  22  having a substantially conical inner surface  23  wherein the vertex of the conical inner surface forms a pit  24  substantially in line with the axis  4  of the rod. The cap is coaxially attached to the top end  25  of the sleeve. A bearing spike  26  extends axially upward from the upper end  11  of the rod and engages the pit  24  at a tapered, sharp end point. This provides a low friction point rotational top bearing  20 . The spike is preferably made from steel or other durable material. The end cap is preferably made from steel or other durable material which over time will not be penetrated by the spike.  
      A second bearing  21  in the form of a nylon disk  30  is attached to the opposite bottom end  31  of the sleeve. The disk is substantially washer-shaped to have a substantially circular outer wall  32  commensurate with the outer wall  10  of the sleeve and is bonded at a joint  33  to the sleeve. A substantially cylindrical central hole  34  in the disk-shaped bearing is sized to allow intimate passage and free movement of the rod therein but to prevent all but minor pitch and yaw movement of the sleeve with respect to the rod.  
      In this way, the sleeve may rotate more than 360° in relation to the fixed pole.  
      Referring now to  FIGS. 1 and 4 , there is shown an alternate embodiment of the lower bearing for poles mounted at angles A close to and beyond 90° from vertical. Such orientations can lead to the sleeve axially separating away from the upper end of the rod. In this embodiment, a retaining ring  40  is mounted to the rod  41  and axially located proximate to the second bottom disk-shaped bearing  42 .  
      The ring is made from durable, low-friction material such as nylon and provides a low friction surface  43  for bearing against the inner surface  44  of the second disk-shaped bearing  42 . The second disk-shaped bearing  42  is now formed to have an upper cylindrical prominence  45  having outer corrugations  46  for enhancing friction between the bearing and the inner wall  47  of the sleeve and thus, removably attach the second bearing to the sleeve.  
      Referring now to  FIG. 5 , there is shown the pole configuration  50  wherein a flag  51  made from a pliable sheet material such as nylon fabric and is formed to have an oblong pocket extending along the length of its peripheral edge adjacent to the pole. The pocket is slipped over the outside of the sleeve  10  rotatively mounted upon the rod  3 . For this type of flag, the snap clamps  14  are used to snap over the flag from the opposite side to secure the flag to the sleeve. In this way, the opening  18  of the clamp is located on the side of the sleeve adjacent to the flapping portion of the flag.  
      Referring now to  FIGS. 6-7 , there is shown an alternate embodiment of the pole  60  where the substantially rigid hollow and substantially cylindrical sleeve  61  has a pair of oblong longitudinal channels  62 ,  63  set into the outer surface  64  of the sleeve. Each channel is oriented substantially parallel to the axis of rotation  65  of the sleeve. The most radially inward or bottom surface  66  of each channel is formed to have a plurality of uniformly spaced apart humps  67  sized and shaped to interlock with teeth  68  formed onto the radially, inwardly projecting jaw portions  70 ,  71 , on each of the opposing arms  72 ,  73  of a snap-clamp  75 . In this way, each of the humps can act as an axially restrictive prominence preventing axial movement of the clamp with respect to the sleeve. Because there are a plurality of uniformly spaced apart humps, the axial position of the clamps is adjustable to accommodate for example flags having differently spaced apart mounting rings.  
      The clamp  75  also has a substantially U-shaped hoop  76  similar to the previous embodiment. The clamp is preferably formed from a durable, resilient material such as steel. In a further adaptation, each of the jaws are formed into a broadened prong portion  77  to facilitate easy radial insertion of the clamp over the sleeve. The orientation of this prong portion is selected to be formed at an angle B away from the directly radial direction  78  to further facilitate mounting over the sleeve. The prong can be further formed to have a convex surface  80  to further facilitate mounting over the sleeve.  
      While the preferred embodiments of the invention have been described, modifications can be made and other embodiments may be devised without departing from the spirit of the invention.