COPYRIGHT STATEMENT

A portion of the disclosure of this patent document contains material that is subject to copyright protection. The copyright owner has no objection to the facsimile reproduction by anyone of the patent document or the patent disclosure as it appears in the Patent and Trademark Office patent file or records, but otherwise reserves all copyright rights whatsoever.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

The present application claims priority to Australian Design Number 202016293, filed on Nov. 18, 2020, and registered on Jan. 14, 2021, entirely incorporated herein by reference.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention relates to lighting devices for a flagpole, and more specifically to a lighting apparatus for illuminating a flag hoisted on the flagpole.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

A flagpole used for hoisting a flag typically consists of a pole, hardware for raising a flag (e.g., halyard and pulley) and a finial, or decorative ornament on top of the pole which may have means for lighting the flag, especially at night when there is no source of light to illuminate the flag. Such flags may be the flags of nations, flags that display logos, names or designs signifying businesses, organizations, sporting teams, or other formal or informal groups. Some flagpoles employ separate means for lighting the flag hoisted thereon.

Efforts have been made in the past to provide techniques for lighting flags at night, for example ground lights that emit beams of light in a direction toward the flag or a set of light emitting diodes (LEDs) installed in a portion of the pole or the finial to emit beams of light in a direction toward the flag. However, such techniques become costly over time. There are also lighting devices are that powered with solar power, but to date such lighting devices are ineffective at beaming the light to where it is needed. For example, such existing solar lights will send a beam of light directly down the flagpole and will illuminate a portion of the flag and in some instances almost none of the flag depending how the wind is blowing the flag.

Examples include U.S. Pat. No. 8,858,015 (Harshaw), which discloses a solar collection and illumination apparatus; U.S. Pat. No. 9,863,592 (Toner), which discloses a lighting unit; US Published Patent Appl. No. 2019/0360650 (Toner), which discloses a lighting unit; the “Solar Lamp” available at https://officialflagpole.com/products/solar-lamp-pre-sale-ships-september-8th (last visited Apr. 11, 2021); and, the “Best Flagpole Solar Light Top Mounted Commercial Grade 800 Lumen,” sold at https://fortisvex.com/best-flagpole-solar-light-top-mounted-commercial-grade-800-lumen/ (last visited Apr. 11, 2021).

What is needed is an improved lighting device that can be mounted on flagpole or virtually any post that is capable of illuminating the flag or post at all times, that is, when the flag is still and not moving and when it is being moved by the wind. The lighting device needs to be easy to manufacture, inexpensive, easy to install and have a long working life.

There is therefore a need to develop a lighting apparatus for a flagpole which is easy to manufacture, inexpensive, easy to install and has a long service life, and which is capable of addressing such deficiencies while illuminating a wider coverage of the flag.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

An aspect of the present invention relates to a lighting apparatus for a flagpole capable of illuminating a flag hoisted thereon with a wide angle light output. The lighting apparatus includes a non-convex polygon shaped disc having an upper surface and a lower surface, and a plurality of solar panels installed on the upper surface of the disc. The lower surface of the disc includes a plurality of panels, each of the plurality of panels being inclined at an angle with respect to an adjacent panel. The lighting apparatus also includes a plurality of lighting units arranged in each of the plurality of panels of the lower surface of the disc.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, the non-convex polygon shaped disc is a star-polygon shaped disc.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, each of the panels of the lower surface of the disc is inclined at an angle from center of the lower surface of the disc to an edge of the disc.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, each of the panels of the lower surface of the disc is inclined towards the upper surface of the disc at an angle from center of the lower surface of the disc to an edge of the disc.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, the plurality of lighting units comprise light emitting diodes (LEDs).

According to an embodiment of the present invention, the plurality of lighting units are arranged in a triangular pattern in each of the plurality of panels of the lower surface of the disc.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, the plurality of lighting units in a panel of the lower surface of the disc are arranged in a different pattern than the plurality of lighting units arranged in an adjacent panel of the lower surface of the disc.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, the plurality of lighting units arranged in the plurality of panels of the lower surface of the disc emit light rays in the form of a star pattern.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, the plurality of lighting units arranged in the plurality of panels of the lower surface of the disc emit a wide angle light output for illuminating a flag hoisted on the flagpole.

An object of the present invention is to provide a lighting apparatus for a flagpole which is easy to manufacture, inexpensive, easy to install and has a long service life.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a lighting apparatus for a flagpole, capable of illuminating a wide coverage of a flag hoisted on the flagpole.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a lighting apparatus for a flagpole, capable of emitting light rays in the form of a star pattern.

Still another object of the present invention is to provide a lighting apparatus for a flagpole having a star polygon shaped disc, capable of accommodating large solar panels allowing large capacity batteries for longer battery life and longer light output.

Yet another object of the present invention is to provide a lighting apparatus for a flagpole, capable of being retrofitted to conventional flagpoles.

