Banner Support Assembly with Rotating Ring for Universal Pole Mounting
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing flag attachment devices for poles are often overly complex, costly, and require significant maintenance, and fail to accommodate various pole cross-sectional shapes and heights, making them commercially unviable and unreliable in weather conditions.
Innovation Solution
A banner support assembly featuring C-shaped pole brackets with band clamps and a slideable ring system that allows the flag to rotate freely around the pole, compatible with round, square, and hexagonal pole sections, and designed for minimal maintenance and cost-effective manufacturing.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If complex prior art devices are used to prevent flag entanglement, then the flag can rotate without wrapping around the pole, but the device becomes overly complicated and requires great amounts of maintenance
Solution Approach 1:
The device is divided into distinct functional segments: pole brackets that attach to the pole, a ring that rotates freely, and a flag frame that connects to the ring. This segmentation allows each component to perform its specific function independently, reducing overall complexity while maintaining the flag rotation capability.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention extracts the essential function of preventing flag entanglement from complex mechanical systems and implements it through a simple rotating ring mechanism. By taking out only the necessary rotational freedom element, the device achieves reliability without complexity.
2Reliability
If prior art devices are installed to prevent flag entanglement, then the flag can rotate freely, but the cost and expense of installation becomes prohibitively high
Solution Approach 1:
The invention uses simple, inexpensive materials such as metal bands, basic brackets, and a plain ring structure. These components can be manufactured at low cost using standard fabrication processes, making the device economically viable compared to complex prior art solutions.
Solution Approach 2:
The design copies the essential rotational function from complex devices but implements it through a simplified geometric form - a basic ring within brackets - that can be manufactured using standard, cost-effective processes without requiring specialized or expensive tooling.
3Adaptability or versatility
If a banner support assembly is designed to accommodate various pole cross sections, then it can be attached to any type of pole, but the device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The pole brackets are designed with a universal attachment mechanism using band clamps that can secure to any pole cross-section shape (round, square, hexagonal). The brackets serve multiple functions: attaching to the pole, supporting the ring, and accommodating different pole geometries, all through a single standardized design.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention accommodates different pole cross-sections by changing the geometric parameters of the bracket-pole interface while maintaining the same basic bracket structure. The band clamps adapt to different pole shapes through parameter adjustment rather than requiring different bracket designs for each pole type.
4Reliability
If a banner support assembly is designed for minimal maintenance, then it remains reliable in weather conditions, but the ability to accommodate various pole types may be limited
Solution Approach 1:
The rotating ring mechanism is designed to self-lubricate through its bearing surface and to naturally shed water and debris through its open structure. The band clamps are designed to self-adjust to pole dimensions, eliminating the need for frequent maintenance while maintaining universal pole compatibility.
Solution Approach 2:
The design uses material parameter changes (corrosion-resistant materials) and geometric parameter changes (open ring structure, adjustable band clamps) to simultaneously achieve weather resistance and pole compatibility without requiring frequent maintenance interventions.
Data Source
AI summary
The present invention is a banner support assembly for mounting to poles of any surface or shape. The banner support assembly includes a plurality of pole brackets abutting the outer surface of the pole which are demountably secured at preselected intervals around the pole with at least one band clamp received through band slots defined in each pole bracket. A ring is slideably received within a channel defined in each of the pole brackets such that the ring is free to rotate around the pole about a longitudinal axis of the pole.