TECHNICAL FIELD

The present disclosure relates to an interchangeable mount system typically used for indoor as well as outdoor applications, and more particularly to interchangeable heads which can be mounted on a pole of the mount system.

BACKGROUND

People are increasingly moving towards innovative mounting systems for lighting and decorative mounting typically for indoor applications. This trend warrants better use of technology to have various improvements in the mount system to the very basic level of surface mounted poles and associated interchangeable heads. However, there have been constraints regarding proper and secure assembly and disassembly of the interchangeable heads with the poles, particularly for applications involving a common user.

An example of a pole and interchangeable head system is disclosed by US20170089509A1 (hereinafter ’509 reference). The ’509 reference discloses an interchangeable ground mount system which includes a ground mount, at least one post segment, and an interchangeable head. A variety of interchangeable heads can be mounted to one or more post segments, which are inserted into a semi permanently installed ground mount. However, the ’509 reference seems less likely to address assembly and disassembly issues faced by the common user, such as for ease of changing the interchangeable heads.

Thus, there is a need for improvements related to pole and interchangeable heads which inherently allows better application of different interchangeable heads with the pole.

SUMMARY

In view of the above, it is an objective of the present invention to solve or at least reduce the drawbacks discussed above. The objective is at least partially achieved by an adaptor. The adaptor finds application for coupling a pole with one or more interchangeable heads. The adaptor has a first end and a second end and a body portion in between. The adaptor is associated with at least one of the pole and one of the one or more interchangeable heads. The first end has a mounting seat mounting the adaptor with at least one of the pole and one of the one or more interchangeable heads. The second end has a female coupling member. The adaptor is characterized in that the adaptor is formed as the female coupling member that includes a sleeve movably mounted on the body portion. A movement of the sleeve allows a locking contour to selectively decouple and non-removably couple the pole and one of the one or more interchangeable heads. Thus, the present disclosure provides a simple, convenient and user-friendly mounting of different interchangeable heads with the pole by application of the adaptor of the present disclosure.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, coupling the pole and one of the one or more interchangeable heads involves coupling of the female coupling member with a male coupling member. The male coupling member includes at least one indent or at least one protrusion adapted to selectively couple the locking contour.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, a pole is associated with the adaptor according to the present disclosure, where at least one of the one or more interchangeable heads includes the male coupling member.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, an interchangeable head is associated with the adaptor according to the present disclosure, where the pole includes the male coupling member.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, one of the one or more interchangeable heads is a lighting fixture. Similarly, one of the one or more interchangeable heads is a decorative item, or any other mounting as used or known in the art. Further, option of the interchangeable heads makes the pole and the interchangeable heads of the present disclosure applicable for various indoor and outdoor applications.

Other features and aspects of this invention will be apparent from the following description and the accompanying drawings. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The invention will be described in more detail with reference to the enclosed drawings, wherein:

FIG. 1 shows a perspective view of a pole along with an adaptor having a female coupling member, in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 2 shows a perspective view of the pole and the adaptor before coupling with an interchangeable head having a male coupling member, in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 3 shows a perspective view of the pole and the adaptor ready for coupling with the interchangeable head, in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 4 shows a perspective view of the interchangeable head in place for coupling after the step of FIG. 3, in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 5 shows a perspective view of the pole and the adaptor of FIG. 3 coupled with the interchangeable head having the male coupling member, in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 6 shows a perspective view of the pole having the male coupling member ready for coupling with the interchangeable head having the female coupling member, in accordance with another embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 7 shows a perspective view of the interchangeable head in place for coupling after the step of FIG. 6, in accordance with another embodiment of the present invention; and

FIG. 8 shows a perspective view of the pole of FIG. 6 coupled with the interchangeable head having the female coupling member, in accordance with another embodiment of the present invention. DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS

The present invention will be described more fully hereinafter with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which example embodiments of the invention incorporating one or more aspects of the present invention are shown. This invention may, however, be embodied in many different forms and should not be construed as limited to the embodiments set forth herein; rather, these embodiments are provided so that this disclosure will be thorough and complete, and will fully convey the scope of the invention to those skilled in the art. For example, one or more aspects of the present invention can be utilized in other embodiments and even other types of structures and/or methods. In the drawings, like numbers refer to like elements.

Certain terminology is used herein for convenience only and is not to be taken as a limitation on the invention. For example, "upper", "lower", "front", "rear", "side", "longitudinal", "lateral", "transverse", "upwards", "downwards", "forward", "backward", "sideward", "left," "right," "horizontal," "vertical," "upward", "inner", "outer", "inward", "outward", "top", "bottom", "higher", "above", "below", "central", "middle", "intermediate", "between", "end", "adjacent", "proximate", "near", "distal", "remote", "radial", "circumferential", or the like, merely describe the configuration shown in the Figures. Indeed, the components may be oriented in any direction and the terminology, therefore, should be understood as encompassing such variations unless specified otherwise.

FIG. 1 illustrates a pole 100 which can be removably mounted in a surface such as for indoor and outdoor applications. The present disclosure illustrates various embodiments of the pole 100, however it may be readily implemented with any pole or rod-like element which is capable of mounting one or more interchangeable heads 130 (shown in FIG. 3). The interchangeable heads 130 can belong to any application for the indoor and outdoor applications such as, but need not necessarily, decorative elements, light fixtures, markers among others.

As illustrated, the pole 100 is cylindrical shaped and removably mounted in/on ground, fixed to a stand, a balustrade or any other surface (not shown). The pole 100 includes an adaptor 120 having a first end 122 and a second end 124. The first end 122 has a mounting seat 126 mounting the adaptor 120 with the pole 100. The adaptor 120 can be mounted with the pole 100 by means of threads, welding, press-fit or any semi-permanent or permanent means as used or known in the art. The second end 124 has at least one of a male coupling member 170, and a female coupling member 150, while the present figure illustrates the adaptor 120 having the female coupling member 150. The adaptor 120 further includes a body portion 140 defining an outer surface of the adaptor 120. Moreover, the adaptor 120 is formed as the female coupling member 150 that includes a sleeve 128 movably mounted on the body portion 140. The sleeve 128 can be a ring-like element disposed circumferentially around the body portion 140 of the adaptor 120. The sleeve 128 can be engaged when a user places fingers, say around diametrically opposite ends of the sleeve 128 whenever the sleeve 128 is to be moved in between the first end 122 and the second end 124.

In some embodiments, the sleeve 128 can be movably mounted on threads (not shown) provided on the body portion 140 of the adaptor 120, or by any other means used or known in the art. In the present figure, the sleeve 128 is moved to the second end 124 to bias the locking contours 142 whenever the adaptor 120 is setup for receiving the male coupling member 170 of the interchangeable head 130 of the present embodiment. As illustrated in FIGS. 2, 3, movement of the sleeve 128 towards the first end 122 sets up the locking contours 142 of the adaptor 120 to allow desired engagement with the male coupling member 170 of to the interchangeable head 130. In some embodiments, the pole 100, the adaptor 120, the sleeve 128 can be made of a plastic, metal, composite or any other material as known or used in the art.

In some embodiments, coupling the pole 100 and one of the one or more interchangeable heads 130 involves coupling of the female coupling member 150 with the male coupling member 170. The male coupling member 170 includes at least one indent 152 or at least one protrusion 152 adapted to selectively couple the locking contour 142.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, the pole 100 is associated with the adaptor 120 according to the present disclosure, where at least one of the one or more interchangeable heads 130 includes the male coupling member 170.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, the interchangeable head 130 is associated with the adaptor 120 according to the present disclosure, where the pole 100 includes the male coupling member 170.

The locking contour(s) 142 are typically claw-like elements which allow insertion of the male coupling member 170 within the body portion 140 of the adaptor 120. The locking contours 142 can be typically held in place and biased when the sleeve 128 is positioned towards the second end 124. In some embodiments, the locking contours 142 can be made of a material which allows ease of biasing of the locking contours 142 to ensure ease of assembly of the interchangeable head 130 as illustrated in FIGS. 4, 5. For similar reasons, the locking contours 142 can be made of a plastic, rubber, composite or any other material as used or known suitable for the purpose detailed by the present disclosure.

Further as illustrated in FIG. 5, movement of the sleeve 128 towards the second end 124 of the adaptor 120 allows biasing (or say locking) of the locking contours 142 against the male coupling member 170 to lock the interchangeable head(s) 130 with the pole 100. This ensures desired coupling of the interchangeable head 130 with the pole 100 and prevents any inadvertent decoupling of the interchangeable head 130 from the pole 100. Moreover, in order to change or replace the interchangeable head 130, the sleeve 128 needs to be moved towards the first end 122 as illustrated in FIG. 4, and the whole process needs to the repeated in reverse order till FIG. 2.

FIGS. 6, 7 illustrate embodiments where the adaptor 120 is attached with the interchangeable head 130. In particular, FIG. 6 illustrates the pole 100 which includes the male coupling member 170 while the interchangeable head 130 includes the adaptor 120 and the female coupling member 150. The male coupling member 170 includes at least one indent 152 or at least one protrusion 152 which are disposed around periphery of the male coupling member 170. The indent 152 or the protrusion 152 are adapted to selectively couple the locking contour 142 with the male coupling member 170 of the interchangeable head 130. The indent 152 or the protrusion 152 are provided on the male coupling member 170 to ensure secure coupling of the locking contour 142 of the adaptor 120 with the indent 152 or the protrusion 152 of the male coupling member 170.

Referring to FIGS. 3, 6, the adaptor 120 is illustrated as coupled with the pole 100 and one of the one or more interchangeable heads 130 respectively. The adaptor 120 has the first end 122 and the second end 124 and the body portion 140 in between. The adaptor 120 can be associated with at least one of the pole 100 and one of the one or more interchangeable heads 130 which increases the application of the adaptor 120 for different indoor as well as outdoor applications (say balcony, terrace and the like). For mounting purposes, the first end 122 has the mounting seat 126 mounting the adaptor 120 with at least one of the pole 100 and one of the one or more interchangeable heads 130. The second end 124 has the female coupling member 150. Further, at least one of the pole 100 and one of the one or more interchangeable heads 130 not associated with the adaptor 120 includes the male coupling member 170. The adaptor 120 includes the sleeve 128 movably mounted on the body portion 140. During implementation, a movement of the sleeve 128 allows the locking contour 142 to selectively decouple and non- removably couple the pole 100 and one of the one or more interchangeable heads 130. As illustrated in FIG. 6, the pole 100 further includes the at least one indent 152 or the at least one protrusion 152 adapted to selectively couple the locking contour 142 with the male coupling member 170 of the pole 100.

In some embodiments, coupling the pole 100 and one of the one or more interchangeable heads 130 involves coupling of the female coupling member 150 of the adaptor 120 with the male coupling member 170.

In some embodiments, one of the one or more interchangeable heads 130 is a lighting fixture. Similarly, one of the one or more interchangeable heads 130 is a decorative item, or any other mounting as used or known in the art. Further, option of the interchangeable heads 130 makes the pole 100 and the interchangeable heads 130 of the present disclosure applicable particularly for various indoor and outdoor applications. The pole 100 can be associated with the adaptor 120 as illustrated in FIGS. 1-5 of the present disclosure. More particularly, the pole 100 is coupled with the mounting seat 126 of the adaptor 120, where the female coupling member 150 of the pole 100 couples with the male coupling member 170 of the one or more interchangeable heads 130.

The interchangeable head 130 can be associated with the adaptor 120 as illustrated in FIGS. 6-8 of the present disclosure. More particularly, the interchangeable head 130 is coupled with the mounting seat 126 of the adaptor 120, where the female coupling member 150 of the interchangeable head 130 couples with the male coupling member 170 of the pole 100.

Referring again to FIG. 6, the adaptor 120 is illustrated with the female coupling member 150. The male coupling member 170 includes the at least one indent 152 or the at least one protrusion 152 adapted to selectively couple the locking contours 142 with the male coupling member 170 of the pole 100 as illustrated in FIG. 7. The interchangeable head 130 has the locking contour 142 of the adaptor 120 fully engaged with the indent 152 or protrusion 152 of the male coupling member 170 to allow secure mating with the male coupling member 170 of the pole 100 as best illustrated in FIGS. 7, 8. In some embodiments, any of the male coupling member 170 and the female coupling member 150 can have only one or both of the indent 152/protrusion 152 and the sleeve 128, or a combination thereof, so as to have desired mating/locking of the male coupling member 170 and the female coupling member 150.

FIG. 7 illustrates the interchangeable head 130 in place for coupling with the male coupling member 170 while the sleeve 128 is disposed on the body portion 140 around the first end 122. As will be appreciated by FIGS. 6, 7, the locking contour(s) 142 have substantial gaps between them to allow desired engagement of the male coupling member 170 of the pole 100 with the female coupling member 150 of the adaptor 120. Further, a movement of the sleeve 128 towards the second end 124, as illustrated by FIG. 8, biases the locking contour 142 to selectively lock with the male coupling member 170 of the pole 100. This completes the locking of the pole 100 and the interchangeable head 130. In particular, movement of the sleeve 128 towards the second end 124 biases the locking contours 142. Moreover, this biasing of the locking contour 142 by the sleeve 128 and presence of the indent 152 or protrusion 152 allows for a secure and tight coupling of the interchangeable head 130 with the adaptor 120 of the pole 100.

In some embodiments, the one or more interchangeable heads 130 are lighting fixtures, decorative items or any other interchangeable mounting as used or known in the art. Further, different embodiments of the present disclosure illustrate similar male and female coupling members 150, 170 being interchangeably attached to the interchangeable head 130 and the pole 100 as illustrated by FIGS. 3, 6. However, actual implementation of the present disclosure may have similar or different type, number, dimension, placement of male and female coupling members with the pole 100 and the interchangeable head 130, and all such variations are well within the scope of the present disclosure.

In the drawings and specification, there have been disclosed preferred embodiments and examples of the invention and, although specific terms are employed, they are used in a generic and descriptive sense only and not for the purpose of limitation of the scope of the invention being set forth in the following claims.

LIST OF ELEMENTS

100 Pole 120 Adaptor 122 First End 124 Second End 126 Mounting Seat 128 Sleeve

130 Interchangeable Heads 140 Body Portion 142 Locking Contour 150 Female Coupling Member 152 Indent/Protrusion

170 Male Coupling Member