TRAPEZOIDAL RIB MOUNTING BRACKET
First Claim
1. A mounting bracket for trapezoidal rib panels, comprising:
- an upper wall comprising a mounting hole;
first and second side legs that each extend downwardly from said upper wall in non-parallel relation to one another when said mounting bracket is positioned on a trapezoidal rib, said first side leg being disposable adjacent to a first side of a trapezoidal rib and said second side leg being disposable adjacent to a second side of a trapezoidal rib when said mounting bracket is positioned on a trapezoidal rib;
at least one hollow space between said first and second side legs; and
at least one rib offsetting member that is disposed within said at least one hollow space, that extends from at least one of said first and second legs, that is spaced from said upper wall, and that is engageable with an upper rib wall of a trapezoidal rib when said mounting bracket is positioned on a trapezoidal rib to offset said upper wall of said bracket from an upper rib wall of a trapezoidal rib.
1 Assignment
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
A mounting bracket (220) for a trapezoidal rib (204) is disclosed. The mounting bracket (220) includes an upper wall (224) in the form of a flat surface for supporting various types of attachments. An attachment may be secured relative to the mounting bracket (220) using a mounting hole (226) on the bracket upper wall (224). The bracket upper wall (224) is disposed above the trapezoidal rib (204) by a pair of rib offsetting members (246a/b) that are disposed within a hollow interior (248) of the mounting bracket (220), and that are seated on the upper wall (206) of the trapezoidal rib (204). A threaded fastener (114), engaged with the mounting hole (226) on the bracket upper wall (224) to secure an attachment relative to the mounting bracket (220), terminates within the hollow interior (248) of the mounting bracket (220).
25 Citations
58 Claims
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1. A mounting bracket for trapezoidal rib panels, comprising:
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an upper wall comprising a mounting hole; first and second side legs that each extend downwardly from said upper wall in non-parallel relation to one another when said mounting bracket is positioned on a trapezoidal rib, said first side leg being disposable adjacent to a first side of a trapezoidal rib and said second side leg being disposable adjacent to a second side of a trapezoidal rib when said mounting bracket is positioned on a trapezoidal rib; at least one hollow space between said first and second side legs; and at least one rib offsetting member that is disposed within said at least one hollow space, that extends from at least one of said first and second legs, that is spaced from said upper wall, and that is engageable with an upper rib wall of a trapezoidal rib when said mounting bracket is positioned on a trapezoidal rib to offset said upper wall of said bracket from an upper rib wall of a trapezoidal rib. - View Dependent Claims (4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25)
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2. A mounting bracket for trapezoidal rib panels, comprising:
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an upper wall comprising a mounting hole, wherein said upper wall defines an uppermost extreme of said mounting bracket when installed on a trapezoidal rib, wherein an entirety of said upper wall is in the form of a single flat surface that incorporates said mounting hole, and wherein said single flat surface has a perimeter that defines an area of at least 2.5 in.2; first and second side legs that each extend downwardly from said upper wall in non-parallel relation to one another when said mounting bracket is positioned on a trapezoidal rib, said first side leg being disposable adjacent to a first side of a trapezoidal rib and said second side leg being disposable adjacent to a second side of a trapezoidal rib when said mounting bracket is positioned on a trapezoidal rib; at least one hollow space between said first and second side legs; and at least one rib offsetting member, wherein each said rib offsetting member offsets said upper wall of said bracket from an upper rib wall of a trapezoidal rib when said mounting bracket is positioned on a trapezoidal rib, and wherein said at least one hollow space comprises a first open space disposed directly below said upper wall having a vertical extent of at least ½
inch. - View Dependent Claims (3)
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26. A photovoltaic system, comprising:
a mounting assembly comprising; a mounting bracket comprising an upper wall and an oppositely disposed bottom, said upper wall comprising a mounting hole, said bottom comprising a rib receptacle that is sized to receive at least an upper portion of a trapezoidal rib of a trapezoidal rib panel, and said rib receptacle being defined by first and second inner side surfaces that are disposed in non-parallel and spaced relation to one another; a mounting plate positioned on said upper wall of said mounting bracket; a clamping member comprising first and second clamping legs, said first clamping leg being engageable with a photovoltaic module and said second clamping leg being engageable with an adjacent photovoltaic module; and a clamp fastener that extends through said clamping member, then through said mounting plate, and then at least into said mounting hole of said mounting bracket. - View Dependent Claims (27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 43, 44, 45, 46, 47, 48, 49, 50, 51, 52, 53, 54, 55, 56, 57, 58)
Specification