_F lagpole top comprising modules for ordinary halyard- flown flags and for banner flags as well as a hoisting device for both types of flags .

TECHNICAL AREA OF THE INVENTION

The present invention is based on a system with various modules that together form a flagpole top that can be used for traditional flags attached to a vertical halyard. The design also enables the use of so-called "banners". These are flown from a horizontal pole. This latter pole is fixed in a module that can be mounted to the flagpole' s upper end. Alternatively, said module can be hoisted and docked to the upper "halyard holder" (the top), which also forms a mount for the finial (which is most often ball-shaped).

The ball-shaped finials on flagpole tops have been manufactured in various ways. Earlier, glass was most common. Such glass finials had several disadvantages. One major disadvantage was that they were heavy and broke easily, especially when the flagpole was being raised or lowered. It was even known for these finials to be blown off, thereby presenting a great risk not only of personal injury, but also of damage to cars, etc. The manufacturing of glass finials is expensive and demands great precision as regards glass thickness. This is so that internal stresses are not set up during cooling (with the result that the finial easily cracks or, due to environmental conditions, shatters). Strong sunshine and rapid cooling (e.g. that induced by precipitation) subject a glass body to great stresses.

To avoid said disadvantages, a new ball-shaped finial has been developed along with a new joining or welding method. The ball is made of two halves that are joined together using ultrasound. This method eliminates the risks of the halves releasing each other and the ball splitting apart. To give a bottom half and a top half, the ball is divided horizontally. The bottom half is equipped with a fastening arrangement, a nut being the most common. However, other options (e.g. a clamping ring) may be used. Where a nut is used, the ball's bottom is so designed that a nut can be pushed into a location shaped for the nut. The plastic is so shaped that the nut is a snap-fit. Because it cannot be accessed after the ball is welded, the nut sits firmly in place.

Both to reduce the heat in the ball and to drain it of any condensation, the bottom half of the ball also has ventilation holes. The ball is made of a PMMA type thermoplastic. The shape of the ball halves is such that, when they are metallised, the metallisation reaches the very top of the ball.

THE INVENTION'S BACKGROUND

Previously, flagpoles were made from tree trunks that had grown straight and had then been dried and treated in a special way. Ball-shaped finials were blown glass and the halyard holder was most commonly metal and comprised a pulley or a slide channel. Both line parts of the halyard normally ran outside the flagpole - one on each side of the flagpole's top (where the pulley and/or slide channel were located). The ball and the halyard carrier (i.e. pulley/slide channel) were two separate units and were mounted independently of each other.

Nowadays, a flagpole is usually made as a reinforced plastic "pipe" that tapers towards its top. It is usual for both parts of the halyard to run outside the flagpole.

So-called "banners" have become common. These are flown from an arm that is supported by the flagpole and which projects from it horizontally. The use of banners has become common amongst/for businesses and similar. The banner flies horizontally from said arm and hangs down entirely independently of the wind. This means that the message is easy to read. Regardless of whether the wind is blowing, the banner is held unfurled by its own weight. Wind is necessary for the full unfurling of a "normal" flag. An arrangement with a permanently mounted pole (arm) for a banner means that the flagpole has to be lowered when replacing or repairing a flag/banner.

THE INVENTION'S PURPOSE AND SPECIAL CHARACTERISTICS The present invention aims not only to eliminate several disadvantages of traditional solutions, but also to create innovation in the sense of enabling the use of a flagpole top that makes it possible to employ a flagpole for the ordinary raising and lowering of a vertically flown flag as well as for the docking of a device to said flagpole top, the docked device having a horizontal arm (pole, bar) from which a banner can fly horizontally. The advantage of being able to undock/dock said device when repairing or

replacing a flag/banner is obvious - the flagpole does not need to be lowered/raised (these tasks require several people).

The method of manufacturing the ball-shaped finial is new. Two halves (usually in a PMMA thermoplastic - which may be metallised) are welded using ultrasound. This reduces the risk of the halves separating and falling off. The base of the bottom half is equipped with a fastening arrangement (most usually a nut, but a clamping ring is also possible) towards the upper halyard carrier.

DETAILS OF THE FIGURES Figure 1 shows a complete top. Figure 2 shows the parts of the ball-shaped finial. Figure 3 shows the lower part. Figure 4 shows a "lifting arm" for banners.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF A PREFERRED DESIGN OF THE INVENTION Figure 1 shows a fitted top where the ball-shaped finial (1) is mounted on a neck (2) that has a halyard carrier (3). Figure 2 shows a ball-shaped fmial (ball) made in two parts (22) and (23). These are the top part (22) and the bottom part (23), the latter having a fastening arrangement towards the neck (2) and the halyard carrier (3). The design of the parts is so soft (i.e. no sharp lines) that metallisation reaches all surfaces. To achieve good cohesion, ultrasound is used to weld the halves. The bottom half (23) is equipped with a fastening part that, in its simplest form, uses a nut (25). The bottom part has air holes (24) for stabilising ball temperature (through air circulation) and draining any condensed moisture.

Figure 3 shows a wear channel (32) for the halyard. The channel is designed for both internal and external halyards. Internal here means that the halyard runs inside the flagpole, which is most commonly hollow. Modern flagpoles are most often moulded plastic pipes and not, as before, homogenous tree trunks. The wear channel (32) is usually zinc and is mounted in a holder (31) that resembles a sleeve. This wear-channel holder can rotate against the wear/slip face (34) at the top of the neck (12). The holder (31) for the wear channel (32) can rotate freely against the neck (12). The top of said

neck takes up the pressure or the load exerted by the halyard when a flag/banner is flown. Acetal on PA6 has provided the best slip properties against the neck (12). Two "assembly" components (33) are shown. These are identical components that assemble the wear-channel holder (31) to the neck (12). Assembly is by means of 2 screws from each side. When these components are assembled, a bearing is formed between them. This takes up the shearing forces while, at the same time, an external slip face is obtained between the components. Together, said halves form a nut mount for different ball types, this meaning that the assembled unit constitutes a universal mount for different balls. Materials for the lower part of the ball (sleeve) are Acetal, PA6 and PP. To reduce the forces that arise, the slide/wear surface (34) is deliberately large. In the sleeve, there are reinforcements that support the wear-channel holder (31). This reinforces the unit against the shearing forces between the components when loading is high.

Figure 4 shows a design in which a "lifting arm" (41) for a "hoistable" banner is docked to a ball arrangement (1) such as described above. Using the halyard, the arm mount is hoisted until the arm is docked in the foot of the ball and in the wear-channel holder (31) that is located there (the halyard runs through this holder). The side wings of the arm mount (41) grip around the ball's foot. The counter spring (42) relieves the halyard while holding it taut. The dotted lines represent the halyard and how it runs. The halyard can run either inside or outside the flagpole.

This design of a flagpole top with a ball-shaped fϊnial and hoisting device allows a "normal" flag to be raised and lowered in the usual way while also allowing a device that carries a banner horizontally to be raised and lowered using the described procedure. Previously known banner carriers were permanently mounted at the top of the flagpole, this necessitating the lowering and raising of the flagpole when the banner had to be repaired or replaced. The docking function in this application is new and unique.