Resettable break-away joint for a pole assembly

A break-away pole assembly, comprising:

• an upper pole member;
• a lower pole member;
• and
• a resettable break-away joint connecting a lower end of the upper pole member to an upper end of the lower pole member, the resettable break-away joint having a biasing mechanism connected to the upper and lower pole members, the biasing mechanism urging the upper pole member into an upright position, wherein the resettable break-away joint includes at least one aperture defined in the lower end of the upper pole member and at least one elongated aperture defined in the upper end of the lower pole member, and wherein the biasing mechanism includes a pin received through the at least one aperture and the at least one elongated aperture, relative movement between the pin and the at least one elongated aperture from a first position to a second position corresponds to the upper pole member moving from the upright position to a collapsed position.

A break-away pole assembly comprising:

• an upper pole member;
• a lower pole member;
• and
• a resettable break-away joint connecting a lower end of the upper pole member to an upper end of the lower pole member, the resettable break-away joint having a biasing mechanism connected to the upper and lower pole members, the biasing mechanism urging the upper pole member into an upright position, wherein the biasing mechanism includes:
• a spring having a first end secured to a lower end of the upper pole member and a second end secured to an upper end of the lower pole member;
• and
• a tension member having a first end secured to the upper pole member and a second end secured to the lower pole member, the tension member offset relative to the spring to allow the upper pole member to bend relative to the lower pole member against the urging of the spring only in a single direction where a compression force is applied to the tension member.

A resettable break-away joint for a pole assembly, comprising:

• a lower end of an upper pole member;
• an upper end of a lower pole member;
• and
• a biasing mechanism urging the lower end of the upper pole member toward engagement with the upper end of the lower pole member to urge the upper pole member toward an upright position until the upper pole member is moved to a collapsed position wherein the lower end includes spaced apart plates each having a protruding V-shape and the upper end includes spaced apart lower plates each defining a complementary V-shaped recess, the biasing mechanism urging the protruding V-shape of each of the upper plates into the respective V-shaped recess of the lower plates, and wherein a fitted aperture is defined in the upper end of the lower pole member and an elongated aperture is defined in each of the plates of the upper pole member, the elongated apertures in registry with the fitted aperture.