Modular Birding Pole With Adjustable Clamps for Compact Shipping
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing birding pole systems are bulky for shipping, limit accessory placement height, require difficult adjustments, and have stabilizers that are hard to adjust after installation.
Innovation Solution
A pole system with an elongated hollow outer tube and swaged end for ground engagement, featuring a cross-bore for tool use, clamps with pivotable jaws and locking mechanisms, and a doubler for increased accessory support, allowing for compact packaging and adjustable accessory placement.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Volume of moving object
If traditional mounting collars and stabilizers are used, then the pole assembly provides stable support, but the packaging size becomes large and accessory placement is limited
Solution Approach 1:
The pole system is divided into modular components: a telescoping pole with multiple sections, separate clamps for accessory mounting, and detachable stabilizers. This segmentation allows each component to be compactly packaged while maintaining full functionality when assembled, resolving the contradiction between small packaging size and accessory placement flexibility.
Solution Approach 2:
The pole features a telescoping design with adjustable length and height, allowing the structure to adapt to different space requirements. The dynamic adjustment capability enables compact storage when retracted while providing extended reach and multiple mounting positions when deployed, simultaneously addressing packaging size and placement flexibility needs.
2Ease of manufacture
If mounting collars are threaded onto the pole before the feeder assembly, then the assembly process is simplified, but the mounting collars limit the vertical location of accessories
Solution Approach 1:
The telescoping pole sections can be extended or retracted to achieve different vertical heights, allowing accessories to be positioned at various elevations without being constrained by fixed collar locations. This dynamic height adjustment maintains simple assembly while providing versatile vertical placement options.
3Stability of the object's composition
If the stabilizer is fixed to the pole, then the structure is stable, but the stabilizer becomes difficult to adjust after use
Solution Approach 1:
The stabilizer is designed with adjustable components that can be modified in the field. The telescoping design allows the stabilizer length to be adjusted to compensate for settling or ground conditions, maintaining structural stability while providing ongoing adjustability after initial installation.
4Device complexity
If a single pole structure is used, then the device complexity is reduced, but multiple accessories at the same height cannot be mounted
Solution Approach 1:
The pole is segmented into multiple telescoping sections that can be independently positioned at different heights. This allows multiple clamps to be attached at various elevations on different sections, enabling multiple accessories to be mounted at the same or different heights while maintaining a relatively simple single-pole structure.
Solution Approach 2:
The telescoping mechanism adds a radial dimension to height adjustment, allowing the pole to achieve multiple effective mounting heights through section extension rather than adding multiple fixed-length poles. This resolves the contradiction by providing multi-level mounting capability within a simplified single-structure design.
Data Source
AI summary
A pole system is provided for supporting birding accessories, such as bird feeders, perches or bird houses. The pole system includes a hollow outer tube and an elongated post extending therethrough. The post has an auger at one end and an opposite end configured to engage a tool for rotating the post. An extension tube can be provided to extend the height of the pole system and that can be used as a tool for driving the auger into the ground. A clamp is provided for engagement with the outer tube, in which the clamp includes a recess for removably slidably receiving a tongue of an accessory. A doubler is also provided that can be received within the clamp recess and which includes a pair of sleeves for receiving the tongue of other accessories.