Patent Publication Number: US-10787833-B1

Title: Flagpole having decorative sporting equipment section

Description:
CROSS REFERENCES TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
     Not Applicable 
     STATEMENT REGARDING FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH 
     Not Applicable 
     REFERENCE TO APPENDIX 
     Not Applicable 
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     Field of the Invention 
     The present invention relates to the field of lawn ornamentation, more specifically, a flagpole having decorative sporting equipment section. 
     SUMMARY OF INVENTION 
     The flagpole having decorative sporting equipment section comprises a pole that incorporates a decorative section into its design. The decorative section is functional because it substitutes for a portion of the pole and provides elevation for a flag. The decorative section may be the topmost portion of the flagpole or it may divide the pole into an upper pole and a lower pole with the decorative section in the middle. The flagpole having decorative sporting equipment section may provide a path through the center of the flagpole for a portion of the halyard to travel. The decorative section may be designed to resemble a sporting object such as a lever rifle. A section of the rifle resembling a gun sight may comprise a light source to provide illumination for the flag at night. 
     An object of the invention is to provide a flagpole that incorporates a decorative section into its design. 
     Another object of the invention is to provide a flagpole where the decorative section reassembles a lever rifle. 
     Yet another object of the invention is to provide a path through the center of the flagpole for a portion of the halyard to travel. 
     A further object of the invention is to provide a gun sight on the rifle that provide illumination for a flag. 
     These together with additional objects, features and advantages of the flagpole having decorative sporting equipment section will be readily apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art upon reading the following detailed description of the presently preferred, but nonetheless illustrative, embodiments when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. 
     In this respect, before explaining the current embodiments of the flagpole having decorative sporting equipment section in detail, it is to be understood that the flagpole having decorative sporting equipment section is not limited in its applications to the details of construction and arrangements of the components set forth in the following description or illustration. Those skilled in the art will appreciate that the concept of this disclosure may be readily utilized as a basis for the design of other structures, methods, and systems for carrying out the several purposes of the flagpole having decorative sporting equipment section. 
     It is therefore important that the claims be regarded as including such equivalent construction insofar as they do not depart from the spirit and scope of the flagpole having decorative sporting equipment section. It is also to be understood that the phraseology and terminology employed herein are for purposes of description and should not be regarded as limiting. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS 
       The accompanying drawings, which are included to provide a further understanding of the invention are incorporated in and constitute a part of this specification, illustrate an embodiment of the invention and together with the description serve to explain the principles of the invention. They are meant to be exemplary illustrations provided to enable persons skilled in the art to practice the disclosure and are not intended to limit the scope of the appended claims. 
         FIG. 1  is a side view of an embodiment of the disclosure. 
         FIG. 2  is a detail view of an embodiment of the disclosure focusing on the truck assembly indicated in  FIG. 1 . 
         FIG. 3  is a front view of an embodiment of the disclosure. 
         FIG. 4  is a cross-sectional view of an embodiment of the disclosure across  4 - 4  as shown in  FIG. 1 . 
         FIG. 5  is a cross-sectional view of an embodiment of the disclosure across  5 - 5  as shown in  FIG. 1 . 
         FIG. 6  is a side view of an embodiment of the disclosure while in use. 
         FIG. 7  is a side view of a second embodiment of the disclosure where the decorative section divided the pole into an upper pole and a lower pole. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENT 
     The following detailed description is merely exemplary in nature and is not intended to limit the described embodiments of the application and uses of the described embodiments. As used herein, the word “exemplary” or “illustrative” means “serving as an example, instance, or illustration.” Any implementation described herein as “exemplary” or “illustrative” is not necessarily to be construed as preferred or advantageous over other implementations. All of the implementations described below are exemplary implementations provided to enable persons skilled in the art to practice the disclosure and are not intended to limit the scope of the appended claims. Furthermore, there is no intention to be bound by any expressed or implied theory presented in the preceding technical field, background, brief summary or the following detailed description. As used herein, the word “or” is intended to be inclusive. 
     Detailed reference will now be made to a first potential embodiment of the disclosure, which is illustrated in  FIGS. 1 through 7 . 
     The flagpole having decorative sporting equipment section  100  (hereinafter invention) comprises a decorative section  300 , a pole  200 , and a halyard  260 . The decorative section  300  may functionally substitute for a length of the pole while simultaneously providing a novel appearance. 
     The decorative section  300  may couple to the pole  200  and may serve as an extension of the pole  200 . The decorative section  300  may be shaped like a sporting object. As non-limiting examples, the decorative section  300  may be shaped like a fishing rod, a hockey stick, a baseball bat, an oar, a golf club, or a pair of skis. In some embodiments, the decorative section  300  may be shaped like a rifle. A realistic appearance of the rifle may be achieve by including simulated rifle features. As non-limiting examples, the simulated rifle features may comprise any combination of a recoil pad  310 , a buttstock  315 , a finger lever  320 , a trigger  325 , a trigger guard  330 , a hammer  335 , an ejection port  340 , a forestock  345 , a barrel  350 , a gun sight  450  or other components of the rifle. 
     In some embodiments, the bottom of the decorative section  300  may couple to the top of the pole  200  and a truck assembly  400  may couple to the top of the decorative section  300  (see  FIG. 1 ). 
     In some embodiments, the decorative section  300  may divide the pole  200  into an upper pole  210  and a lower pole  220 . In these embodiments, the bottom of the upper pole  210  may couple to the top of the decorative section  300 , the bottom of the decorative section  300  may couple to the top of the lower pole  220 , and the truck assembly  400  may couple to the top of the upper pole  210  (see  FIG. 7 ). 
     Throughout the remainder of this disclosure, the term ‘top section of the flagpole’ shall be understood to mean either the decorative section  300  or the upper pole  210  depending upon whether the embodiment places the decorative section  300  at the top of the invention  100  or uses the decorative section  300  to divide the pole  200  into the upper pole  210  and the lower pole  220 . 
     The pole  200  may be a hollow metal cylinder that serves to elevate a flag  900 . The bottom of the pole  200  may be embedded into ground  910  to hold the invention  100  upright. 
     In some embodiments, the invention  100  may comprise a cleat  250 . The cleat  250  is generally no higher than 6 ft above the ground  910  level so that a user may reach it. The halyard  260  is wrapped around the cleat  250  to prevent the flag  900  from moving up or down once the flag  900  has been placed at a desired height. In some embodiments, the cleat  250  may be coupled to the pole  200 . In some embodiments, the cleat  250  may be located on the decorative section  300 . 
     The halyard  260  allows the flag  900  to be raised and lowered from the ground  910 . The halyard  260  is a loop of rope having a first run of rope  270  and a second run of rope  275 . The flag  900  is clipped onto the first run of rope  270 . As a non-limiting example, a pair of snap hooks  265  may be used to couple the flag  900  to the first run of rope  270 . The flag  900  may be raised by pulling down on the second run of rope  275 . The flag  900  may be lowered by pulling down on the first run of rope  270 . 
     In some embodiments, the invention  100  may comprise a halyard aperture  295 . The halyard aperture  295  may allow the second run of rope  275  to pass through the center of the pole  200  and through the decorative section  300  to reach the truck assembly  400 . The first run of rope  270  may run from the truck assembly  400  to the bottom of the invention  100  outside of the pole  200  and outside of the decorative section  300 . The halyard aperture  295  may be located on either the pole  200  or the decorative section  300 . 
     In some embodiments, the pole  200  may be angled with respect to vertical. As a non-limiting example, for the embodiment of the invention  100  shown in  FIG. 1 , a longitudinal axis of the barrel  352  of the rifle and a longitudinal axis of the buttstock  317  intersect at a first angle of intersection  225  which may be approximately 10 to 20 degrees. The pole  200  may form a second angle of intersection  230  with respect to a vertical vector  235 . The second angle of intersection  230  may be oriented to place its apex at the point where the bottom of the pole  200  meets the ground  910 . If the second angle of intersection  230  is the same angular measurement as the first angle of intersection  225  then the first angle of intersection  225  and the second angle of intersection  230  are alternate interior angles of two parallel lines intersected by a third line. The two parallel lines are the vertical vector  235  and the longitudinal axis of the barrel  352  and the intersecting line is the longitudinal axis of the buttstock  317 . This means that the barrel  350  of the rifle is parallel to the vertical vector  235  and therefore the barrel  350  points straight up. 
     The gun sight  450  may be a decorative part of the rifle and may also perform the function of providing an illumination  460  for the flag  900  at night. A light source (not illustrated in the figures) may be located at the top of the gun sight  450  and may point up towards the flag  900 . The light source may be powered by an external power source  465 , by batteries (not illustrated in the figures) located within the decorative section  300 , by solar cells (not illustrated in the figures), or by a combination thereof. As non-limiting examples, the external power source  465  may be an AC or DC power source coupled via wiring  935  to an AC circuit of a nearby building  930 . As a non-limiting example, the batteries may be located within the gun sight  450  and may be replaceable by removing the light source or another part of the gun sight  450 . As a non-limiting example, the solar cells may be incorporated into the decorative aspect of the decorative section  300 , such as appearing to be a buttstock cuff  480 , and the solar cells may be used to recharge the batteries during daylight hours. The invention  100  may comprise a timer circuit (not illustrated in the figures) and/or a light sensor circuit (not illustrated in the figures) to turn the light source on at dusk. 
     The truck assembly  400  comprises a cap  415 , an external pulley  405 , a threaded aperture for the finial  420 , and a finial  440 . The truck assembly  400  may provide a mechanism at the top of the top section of the flagpole that reduces the friction of the halyard  260  as it turns 180 degrees. The cap  415  may form a protective barrier at the top section of the flagpole and may provide a point of attachment for the finial  440  in the form of the threaded aperture for the finial  420 . The finial  440  may be a ornament for the top of the top section of the flagpole. As a non-limiting example, the finial  440  may be a round ball, a spread-wing eagle, a spike, or other decorative adornment. The design of the finial  440  may be selected to appropriately match the theme of the decorative section  300 . The bottom of the finial  440  may provide a threaded interface that couples to the threaded aperture for the finial  420  located on the cap  415 . 
     The external pulley  405  may be coupled to an extension of the cap  415 , which places the center of the external pulley  405  outside of the top section of the flagpole. This may position the external pulley  405  to direct the first run of rope  270  down vertically from the external pulley  405  and outside of the top section of the flagpole. In some embodiments where the halyard  260  is entirely outside of the top section of the flagpole, the external pulley  405  may be positioned entirely outside of the top section of the flagpole so that the second run of rope  275  is also directed down vertically from the external pulley  405  and outside of the top section of the flagpole. 
     In some embodiments, the truck assembly  400  may further comprise a halyard redirector  410 . As non-limiting examples, the halyard redirector  410  may be an internal pulley (not illustrated in the figures) or a round, horizontal bar. The halyard redirector  410  may be located directly under the cap  415  and inside of the top section of the flagpole. The halyard redirector  410  may redirect the movement of the halyard  260  by 90 degrees so that vertical movement of the second run of rope  275  up or down through the top section of the flagpole is translated into horizontal movement of the second run of rope  275  between the halyard redirector  410  and the external pulley  405 . In this configuration, the first run of rope  270  travels vertically outside of the top section of the flagpole, the second run of rope  275  travels vertically inside of the top section of the flagpole, and a segment of the halyard  260  travels horizontally between the external pulley  405  and the halyard redirector  410  just below the cap  415  to get from outside of the top section of the flagpole to inside the top section of the flagpole or vice versa. 
     Unless otherwise stated, the words “up”, “down”, “top”, and “bottom” should be interpreted within a gravitational framework. “Down” is the direction that gravity would pull an object. “Up” is the opposite of “down”. “Bottom” is the part of an object that is down farther than any other part of the object. “Top” is the part of an object that is up farther than any other part of the object. 
     As used in this disclosure, “AC” is an acronym for alternating current. 
     As used in this disclosure, an “aperture” is an opening in a surface. Aperture may be synonymous with hole, slit, crack, gap, slot, or opening. 
     As used in this disclosure, a “ball” refers to an object with a spherical or nearly spherical shape. 
     Throughout this document the terms “battery”, “battery pack”, and “batteries” may be used interchangeably to refer to one or more wet or dry cells or batteries of cells in which chemical energy is converted into electricity and used as a source of DC power. References to recharging or replacing batteries may be construed to mean recharging or replacing individual cells, individual batteries of cells, or a package of multiple battery cells as is appropriate for any given battery technology that may be used. 
     As used in this disclosure, a “cleat” is an object around which a rope, cord, or wire can be secured. 
     As used herein, the words “couple”, “couples”, “coupled” or “coupling”, mean connected, either directly or indirectly and does not necessarily imply a mechanical connection. 
     As used in this disclosure, a “cylinder” is a geometric structure defined by two identical flat and parallel ends, also commonly referred to as bases, which are circular in shape and connected with a single curved surface which may be referred to as the face. The axis of the cylinder is formed by the straight line that connects the center of each of the two identical flat and parallel ends of the cylinder. Unless otherwise stated within this disclosure, the term cylinder specifically means a right cylinder, which is defined as a cylinder wherein the curved surface perpendicularly intersects with the two identical flat and parallel ends. 
     As used in this disclosure, “DC” is an acronym for direct current. 
     As used in this disclosure, an “external power source” is a source of the energy that is externally provided to enable the operation of the present disclosure. Examples of external power sources include, but are not limited to, electrical power sources and compressed air sources. 
     As used in this disclosure, a “flag” is a textile or sheeting material that attached by one edge to a pole or a rope. In general usage, a flag will display an image that often contains some form of symbolic meaning or message. This definition maps to the common patent classification definitions and is therefore explicitly intended to include flag like objects commonly referred to as a “banner”. 
     As used in this disclosure, “horizontal” is a directional term that refers to a direction that is perpendicular to the local force of gravity. Unless specifically noted in this disclosure, the horizontal direction is always perpendicular to the vertical direction. 
     As used in this disclosure, the word “interior” is used as a relational term that implies that an object is located or contained within the boundary of a structure or a space. 
     As used in this disclosure, a “light” is an electrical device that generates visible light to illuminate objects so they can be seen. 
     As used herein, the word “longitudinal” refers to a lengthwise direction. 
     As used in this disclosure a “pulley” is a wheel with a grooved rim around which a cord (or other form of rope, line, or cable) passes. The pulley is used to change the direction of a force applied to the cord. 
     As used in this disclosure, a “sensor” is a device that receives and responds in a predetermined way to a signal or stimulus. 
     As used in this disclosure, “vertical” refers to a direction that is parallel to the local force of gravity. Unless specifically noted in this disclosure, the vertical direction is always perpendicular to horizontal. 
     Throughout this document references to “wire”, “wires”, “wired”, or “wiring” may describe and/or show a single conductor when, in fact, two conductors may be required to power or control a subsystem; a convention used herein is to not show the common return conductor to which all electrical subsystems are connected—this common return conductor is a continuous electrical path and does not pass through any type of switch or other electrical component other than the possibility of passing through one or more connectors. 
     With respect to the above description, it is to be realized that the optimum dimensional relationship for the various components of the invention described above and in  FIGS. 1 through 7 , include variations in size, materials, shape, form, function, and manner of operation, assembly and use, are deemed readily apparent and obvious to one skilled in the art, and all equivalent relationships to those illustrated in the drawings and described in the specification are intended to be encompassed by the invention. 
     It shall be noted that those skilled in the art will readily recognize numerous adaptations and modifications which can be made to the various embodiments of the present invention which will result in an improved invention, yet all of which will fall within the spirit and scope of the present invention as defined in the following claims. Accordingly, the invention is to be limited only by the scope of the following claims and their equivalents.