AU2007200832B2 - Hinge assembly - Google Patents

Abstract

A hinge assembly including: a first hinge half and a second hinge half connected to the first hinge half for pivoting movement relative thereto between a closed position and an open position, the first hinge half and the second hinge half being adapted to be secured to separate upper and lower parts of a light pole respectively; first securing means for securing the first hinge half to the upper part and second securing means for securing the second hinge part to the lower part of the light pole; and locking means for selectively locking the hinge halves in the closed position. 37 -36 _ _3-2 - -14,16 17 21,' 2 23 ) 9 2 28 )21 3

Description

HINGE ASSEMBLY The present invention relates to a hinge assembly. The invention has particular application to light poles but may have 5 application in other fields. The maintenance of conventional light poles, particularly the types used in mine sites and other industrial environments, typically requires the use of ladders, safety harnesses, cherry pickers, cranes and the like, to give maintenance workers access 3 to bulbs, tubes and light fittings at the upper end of the pole. Such equipment can be expensive and undesirably dangerous and inconvenient to use. The present invention is aimed at improving the accessibility of light fittings on a light pole. Other aims and 5 advantages of the invention may become apparent from the following description. With the foregoing in view the invention in one aspect resides broadly in a hinge assembly including: a first hinge half and a second hinge half connected to the first hinge half for pivoting movement relative thereto between a closed position and an open position, the first hinge half and the second hinge half being adapted to be secured to separate upper and lower parts of a light pole respectively; first securing means for securing the first hinge half to 5 the upper part and second securing means for securing the second hinge part to the lower part of the light pole; and locking means for selectively locking the hinge halves in the closed position. In another aspect, the invention resides broadly in a light ) pole including: an upper pole part and a lower pole part adapted to be aligned end to end; /BAK04101 -filed 26 February 2007 2 a first hinge half secured to the upper pole part at or adjacent one end thereof and a second hinge half secured to the lower pole part at or adjacent one end thereof; the first and second hinge halves being connected to each 5 other for movement relative to each between a closed position in which the upper and lower pole parts are aligned end to end and an open position in which the ends are no longer aligned and the upper pole part is tilted relative to the lower pole part; and locking means for selectively locking the hinge halves 0 together when the first and second hinge halves are in the closed position. In yet another aspect, the invention resides broadly in a method of modifying a light pole in situ including: cutting an upper part from the light pole to be modified so 5 as to leave a lower part in situ; securing a first hinge half to the upper part at or adjacent its cut end and a second hinge half to the lower part at or adjacent its cut end; connecting the first hinge half and second hinge half for ) movement relative to each other between a closed position in which the upper and lower pole parts are aligned end to end and an open position in which the ends are no longer aligned and the upper pole part is tilted relative to the lower pole part; and locking the hinge halves together when the upper and lower pole 5 parts are in the closed position. Preferably, the first hinge half is connected to the second hinge half by a first pivot pin which allows pivoting movement about a first pivot axis. Preferably, the locking means is adapted to selectively 0 allow pivoting movement about a second pivot axis thus allowing a maintenance worker a choice as to the direction the pole may be tilted for maintenance purposes. In such form, it is preferred /BAK04101 -filed 26 February 2007 3 that the locking means be a second pivot pin and further that the first and second pivot pins be bolts. Preferably, each hinge half includes two or more clamping members adapted to be connected together for relative movement 5 towards each other to form a clamp about the respective pole parts. In a preferred form, each hinge half includes two clamping members releasably connected to each other along one side for pivoting movement relative thereto and are adapted to be secured together along the opposite side. ) Preferably, said locking means is adapted to lock the first and second hinge parts together in the closed position to prevent pivoting movement about both pivot axes. The expressions "upper" and "lower" have been used herein to describe the invention in its normal in use orientation and are 5 not to be taken as limiting the invention to use in any particular orientation. The term "half" and its derivatives are intended to refer to the two complementary halves of the hinge assembly and is not to be taken as limiting the hinge halves to being exact mathematical halves. In order that the invention may be more easily understood and put into practical effect, reference will now be made to the accompanying drawings which illustrate preferred embodiments of the invention and wherein: Fig. 1 is a front view of a hinge assembly according to the 5 invention; Fig. 2 is a side view of the hinge assembly of Fig. 1; Fig. 3 is a pictorial representation of some disassembled parts of the hinge assembly of Fig. 1; Fig. 4 is a pictorial representation of the same parts of D the hinge assembly shown in Fig. 3 assembled but in a non clamping attitude; /BAK04101 -filed 26 February 2007 4 Fig. 5 is a pictorial representation of part of the hinge assembly of Fig. 1 connecting two pole parts together in the upright attitude with the hinge halves in the closed position; Fig. 6 is a pictorial representation of the light pole shown 5 in part in Fig. 5 being moved to a tilted position with the hinge partly open; Fig. 7 is a pictorial representation of the hinge assembly section of the light pole of Fig. 6 with the pole tilted further with the hinge assembly fully open; and ) Fig. 8 is a pictorial representation of the light pole shown in part in Fig. 5, tilted about the other pivot axis with the hinge assembly fully open. The hinge assembly 10 illustrated in Fig. 1 includes an upper hinge half 12 and a lower hinge half 13 connected to the 5 upper hinge half for pivoting movement relative thereto about either of two pivot axes 14 and 16, from a closed position as shown in Figs. 1 and 2, and one or the other of two open positions as desired as shown in Figs. 7 and 8 respectively. The two hinge halves are identical except for the portions around the pivot axes 14 and 16, as will be described in more detail later. Each hinge half has two complementary semi cylindrical clamping portions 17 and 18 which are adapted to fit around the end portion of a round tubular light pole 19 of corresponding size and to clamp thereabout. For that purpose, 5 cylindrical portion 17 of each hinge half has two spaced apart slots 21 along one side which are adapted to receive therein complementary tongues 22 which extend from the other semi cylindrical portion so that one semi-cylindrical portion can pivot towards and away from the other portion by rocking the D tongues in their respective slots. Along the other side, complementary flanges 23 and 24 extend from the semi-cylindrical portions along their full length and complementary spaced apart /BAK04101 -filed 26 February 2007 5 holes 25 and 26 are provided therein which when aligned can receive therethrough spaced apart bolts 27 which can be tightened to draw the two flanges together so as to tighten the semi cylindrical portions about the tubular light pole as can be seen 5 in part in Fig. 5. Each clamping member includes a U-shape hinge bracket welded to the outer face of the semi-cylindrical portion, the hinge brackets 28 on the lower half being different from the hinge brackets 29 on the upper half to allow one to connect to the ) other as foreshadowed earlier. In this respect, the two sides of the legs of the U on the lower hinge half 12 are narrower at the upper end (shown generally at 31) than the legs of the U on the upper hinge half at its lower end (shown generally at 32) so that the legs of the lower hinge half can fit between the legs of the 5 upper hinge half in the region of the pivot axes 14 and 16 so that the wider leg portions 32 overlay the narrower leg portions 31. The overlaid portions of both the upper and lower leg portions have holes 33 therethrough and the wider legs of the upper hinge half have aligned holes 34 therethrough, the holes of both hinge halves aligning when in the closed position so that a bolt 36 can pass through the aligned holes to lock the two hinge halves together on one side and a bolt 37 can pass through the identical aligned holes on the other side to secure the hinge halves together on that side. 5 In use, a light pole 41 which is intended to be modified can be cut with pipecutters or a similar tool at a position where it is desired to hinge the pole. It will be appreciated that typically, the pole will have a power cable 42 passing therethrough to the light 43 at the top of the pole so that a D tool such as pipecutters can be used to cut the pole without damaging the cable. Once the pole has been cut and the upper half of the pole laid down at right angles (or other suitable /BAK04101 -filed 26 February 2007 6 angle) to the lower part, one hinge half can be fitted to the lower part of the pole which remains in situ by simply placing the two clamping members of one hinge half about the end portion of the lower pole part and securing them together with the two 5 bolts 27. A similar operation can be carried out with respect to the upper pole part and then the two hinge halves can be connected by placing a bolt 36 through the aligned holes 33 and 34 (the axis of the holes forming pivot axis 14) on one side to reconnect the two poles whilst the upper part is in the "lying D down position". Once that bolt is in place, the upper part of the pole can be pivoted upwards relative to the lower part about the pivot axis 14 and when in the upright position, the holes 33 and 34 (the axis of the holes forming pivot axis 16) on the other side of the hinge assembly should be aligned whereupon a bolt 37 5 can be placed in the aligned holes to secure the two hinge halves together on that side as well. Thus, it will be seen that the pole will be in its normal upright position once the hinge assembly has been fitted but can be easily moved to the lying down position by simply removing either pin 36 or pin 37 to tilt the upper part one way about pivot axis 14 or the other about pivot axis 16 relative to the lower part so that maintenance can be carried out on the light 43. The foregoing description has been given by way of illustrative example of the invention and many modifications and 5 variations which will be apparent to persons skilled in the art may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as defined by the appended claims. /BAK04101 -filed 26 February 2007

Claims (12)

1. A hinge assembly including: a first hinge half and a second hinge half connected to the 5 first hinge half for pivoting movement relative thereto between a closed position and an open position, the first hinge half and the second hinge half being adapted to be secured to separate upper and lower parts of a light pole respectively; first securing means for securing the first hinge half to 10 the upper part and second securing means for securing the second hinge part to the lower part of the light pole; and locking means for selectively locking the first and second hinge halves in the closed position wherein the first hinge half is connected to the second hinge half by a first pivot pin which 15 allows pivoting movement about a first pivot axis and the locking means is adapted to selectively allow pivoting movement about a second pivot axis.

2. A hinge assembly according to Claim 1, wherein the locking 0Q means is a second pivot pin.

3. A hinge assembly according to Claim 2, wherein the first and second pivot pins are bolts. 25

4. A hinge assembly according to any one of the preceding claims wherein each hinge half includes two or more clamping members adapted to be connected together for relative movement towards each other to form a clamp about the respective pole parts. 30 cBAK0410 laind4Taep(Nber2012 8

5. A hinge assembly according to claim 4 wherein each hinge half includes two clamping members releasably connected to each other along one side for pivoting movement relative thereto and are adapted to be secured together along the opposite side. 5

6. A light pole including: an upper pole part and a lower pole part adapted to be aligned end to end; a first hinge half secured to the upper pole part at or 10 adjacent one end thereof and a second hinge half secured to the lower pole part at or adjacent one end thereof; the first and second hinge halves being connected to each other for movement relative to each between a closed position in which the upper and lower pole parts are aligned end to end and 15 an open position in which the ends are no longer aligned and the upper pole part is tilted relative to the lower pole part; and locking means for selectively locking the hinge halves together when the first and second hinge halves are in the closed position wherein the first hinge half is connected to the second 10 hinge half by a first pivot pin which allows pivoting movement about a first pivot axis and the locking means is adapted to selectively allow pivoting movement about a second pivot axis.

7. A light pole according to Claim 6, wherein the locking means 25 is a second pivot pin.

8. A light pole according to Claim 7, wherein the first and second pivot pins are bolts. 30

9. A method of modifying a light pole in situ including: cutting an upper part from the ,light pole to be modified so as to leave a lower part in situ; cDAKO4J01amnd4Sepmber2012 9 securing a first hinge half to the upper part at or adjacent its cut end and a second hinge half to the lower part at or adjacent its cut end; connecting the first hinge half and the second hinge half by a first pivot pin for movement relative to each other about a first pivot axis between a closed position in which the upper and lower pole parts are aligned end to end and an open position in which the ends are no longer aligned and the upper pole part is tilted relative to the lower pole part; and locking the hinge halves together with locking means when the upper and lower pole parts are in the closed position, the locking means being so made and arranged as to selectively release the hinge halves for relative pivoting movement about the first pivot axis or a second pivot axis.

10. A hinge assembly as hereinbefore described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

11. A light pole as hereinbefore described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

12. A method of modifying a light pole according to Claim 9 as hereinbefore described with reference to the accompanying drawings. cBAK04 10amd5Anigo qmdber2012