Roofing bracket for supporting a platform

Abstract

A base element for assembly of a roofing bracket comprises a fastening means for temporarily or attaching the base element to a metal or non-metal roof and an upper surface. The upper surface comprises a means for engagement of an underside of an upper member of the roofing bracket. The upper member can be selectively attached to the base element in a first or second position.

Description

RELATED APPLICATIONS[0001]This application claims priority from U.S. Provisional patent application Ser. No. 60 / 893,250 entitled “Roofing Bracket for Supporting a Platform” filed Mar. 6, 2007. This application is incorporated by reference herein in its entirety.BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION[0002]The present invention relates to a base element used in the assembly of roofing brackets, and to roofing brackets used for the support of roofing accessories and equipment.[0003]Roofing brackets have been used for many years for supporting roofing accessories and equipment. Usually, a roofing bracket is designed for the attachment of a specific type of accessory. For example, a certain class of roofing brackets has been designed for the support of one or more planks to provide a generally horizontal platform for use by roofers. Another class of roofing brackets can be used only for the attachment of safety lanyards. Yet a third class includes roofing brackets designed solely for the attachment...

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

[0032]In accordance with another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a roofing bracket for supporting a platform on a sloping roof such that the platform may be generally horizontal. The roofing bracket comprises a base element. The base element comprises a fastening means for removably attaching the base element to a roof. The base element also has an upper surface that engages an upper member. The upper member has an underside readily attachable to the upper surface of the base element in first and second positions. The upper member has two platform support surfaces oriented so that one platform support surface lies at a relatively shallow angle to the underside, and the other support surface lies at a relatively steep angle to the underside. The upper member can be removably attached to the base member in the first position resulting in the first platform support surface being generally horizontal when the roofing bracket is used on a relatively shallow angled roof. Alternatively, the upper member can be removably attached to the base member in the second position resulting in the second platform support surface being generally horizontal when the roofing bracket is used on a relatively steeply angled roof.

Problems solved by technology

These means are typically not used for metal roofs, due to the resulting permanent puncture damage to the roof.

However, in practice many roofing brackets do not permit any angular adjustment, suggesting the need for a simple and sturdy roofing bracket that can easily be used at different angles and does not rely on the engagement of a prop.

The prior art in this field suffers from a number of drawbacks.

In U.S. Pat. No. 6,164,033, the seam is disfigured permanently by bolts that attach the clamp to the seam directly, which increases the likelihood of roof leakage.

In both U.S. Pat. No. 6,725,623 and US Patent Publication No 2006 / 0096238, the clamp is specifically designed for a particular type of roofing attachment, thereby making the clamp unable to adapt to other roofing accessories.

A similar drawback is present in both U.S. Pat. No. 6,725,623 and Canadian Patent No. 2,094,310, wherein the clamp has a specific design for a particular shape of the metal roof seam.

Finally, the clamps disclosed in the above prior art require a number of small parts and screws for attachment to the seam, thereby increasing the complexity of clamp assembly.

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