Roof hooks for fastening a substructure of a support element to a roof structure

Description

[0001] The present invention relates to a roof hook for fastening a substructure, preferably a mounting rail, for support elements, in particular photovoltaic and / or solar thermal panels, to or on a roof structure according to the preamble of claim 1.

[0002] Roof hooks of this type, particularly angled roof hooks, serve as mounting or connecting elements between support elements and a roof structure. Typically, a substructure, for example, made of mounting or profile rails, is first constructed to connect several roof hooks before the support elements are attached to the substructure. The support elements are intended to be positioned above the roof covering, and the load of these support elements is to be borne by the underlying roof substructure. These support elements are preferably plate-shaped photovoltaic and / or solar thermal panels, which are preferably mountable on a mounting rail. The roof structures typically consist of a wooden roof truss as the roof substructure and roof tiles or shingles as the roof covering, which must be taken into account when installing the roof hooks.

[0003] For this purpose, the roof hook features a bracket for at least partially gripping the roof covering. The brackets are shaped so that, after the roof hooks are installed, the roof covering is fully or almost completely restored – if necessary, after minimal modification of individual roof tiles to allow the bracket to pass through – and the roof is fully covered.

[0004] Furthermore, the roof support can have a base support for resting on the roof substructure, which, if possible, allows the mounting of the roof hook to be so flexible in three spatial directions that no or only minimal processing of the roof covering / roof tiles is necessary to restore the roof covering after the installation of the roof hooks.

[0005] On a roof substructure and / or the end of the roof hook facing away from the main support, the devices belonging to this category already have rail receptacles into which the mounting rails can be inserted and fastened. The rail receptacles known to date are sometimes designed in such a way that, preferably manually, the mounting rails can be locked, clipped in, and / or pre-assembled, thus allowing for an initial, albeit not sufficiently strong, fastening / clamping of the mounting rails to the roof hooks or bracket supports. Furthermore, it is already known to permanently fasten / secure the pre-assembled mounting rails using locking devices, for example, locking screws, whereby the locking devices improve / increase the fastening or holding force of the clipped / locked mounting rails.

[0006] In current technology, multi-part rail mounts are used, which, in addition to the locking device, regularly include pretensioning elements, such as springs, and separate clamping blocks attached to the bracket support along with the locking devices. These solutions result in high manufacturing and assembly costs, as many individual parts must be produced and assembled / pre-assembled.

[0007] US 2009 / 025313 A1 and EP 2 733 439 A2 describe roof hooks according to the preamble of claim 1.

[0008] The present invention is based on the objective of proposing a roof hook that overcomes the disadvantages of the prior art and in particular achieves material savings and a reduction in the number of individual parts of the roof hook.

[0009] This problem is solved with respect to the roof hook by the features of independent claim 1.

[0010] Advantageous embodiments are the subject of the following description, the description of the figures, and the dependent claims. Hereinafter, all features disclosed by way of the device shall also be deemed disclosed and claimable by way of the method, and vice versa.

[0011] According to the invention, a roof hook for fastening a substructure, preferably a mounting rail, for support elements, in particular photovoltaic and / or solar thermal panels, to a roof substructure is claimed, wherein the roof hook has a bracket for gripping a roof covering and which, in further development of the prior art, forms at a first end, in particular spaced apart from the roof substructure, a one-piece, monolithic rail receptacle formed with the bracket for receiving a mounting rail of a substructure.

[0012] The invention surprisingly demonstrates that even with a one-piece, monolithic design of the rail holder, it is possible to simultaneously design it to be sufficiently stable to ensure lasting stability of the roof hook and to exert a holding effect on the mounting rail, while at the same time being deformable, preferably elastically or partially elastically, so that the mounting rail can be clipped / locked into place in a single assembly or pre-assembly step, without the need for a multi-part construction. This significantly simplifies the production and assembly of the bracket, as it can then be manufactured entirely or partially as a one-piece, monolithic component, including the rail holder.Thus, the bracket support, or at least a part of the bracket support including the rail mount, can be manufactured, for example, as a single extruded component, which requires no or only minimal post-processing and can therefore be manufactured quickly, cost-effectively and efficiently and assembled or pre-assembled to a corresponding roof hook.

[0013] As already mentioned, the roof hook and especially the bracket support can be made of metal. The bracket support is preferably manufactured as an extruded component. For example, aluminum is used as a suitable material.

[0014] According to the invention, the one-piece rail receptacle is deformable between an open position and a locked position. It is further advantageous that the rail receptacle is designed or manufactured such that it assumes the open position in a relaxed or unloaded state. It is then further advantageous, preferably when manually snapping or clipping a mounting rail into the rail receptacle, to deform the rail receptacle in such a way that, despite its one-piece monolithic design, the rail receptacle is moved into the locked position as part of the bracket support, in which at least a basic securing or fastening of the mounting rail is achieved.

[0015] Furthermore, according to an advantageous embodiment, the rail receptacle may have a substantially U-shaped contour with a first, longer leg and a second, shorter leg. This advantageously allows for elastic or partially elastic deformation of the legs relative to each other, thus enabling the rail receptacle to be moved from an open position to a locked position. The substantially U-shaped contour can advantageously transition into the adjacent part of the bracket support in a bottom area or a lateral section. This transition is then also a single piece or monolithic. The longer leg can advantageously facilitate the snapping or clipping of the mounting rail into place.

[0016] Further embodiments may also provide that the rail receptacle has three fastening contours for securing the mounting rail, preferably by clamping. In particular, a first fastening contour may be provided for positioning and supporting a mounting rail in the open position of the rail receptacle. The second and third fastening contours can then engage with the mounting rail when the rail receptacle deforms to achieve the locking position. For this purpose, it may be advantageous for the mounting rail to perform a pivoting and / or rotational movement about an axis parallel to a longitudinal axis of the mounting rail. The force required for this can advantageously be applied manually and / or without tools.

[0017] According to the invention, the rail receptacle has two opposing support ribs, which are arranged at an obtuse angle to each other in the open position and parallel to each other in a locked position. The support ribs can preferably be arranged inwards or towards each other on the legs of a U-shaped rail receptacle and can also be formed monolithically with the rail receptacle. The angle between the support ribs advantageously corresponds to the total degree of deformation of the rail receptacle during the transition from the open position to the locked position. In this case, in the locked position of the rail receptacle, the two support ribs can advantageously come into contact with a flat or flush underside of the mounting rail, thus providing stable support for the mounting rail.

[0018] In a further advantageous embodiment, the rail mount can be secured with a locking device, preferably a locking screw. The locking device(s) can be designed as separate components from the rail mount, which is monolithically and integrally connected to the bracket support. The locking device(s) can be adjustable relative to the rail mount using a tool, preferably via a tool receptacle, such as an internal or external hexagon. This adjustment allows the locking device(s) to be set or positioned so that the rail mount is secured or clamped in the locked position. This achieves the final securing of the mounting rail and / or supports and / or reinforces the securing mechanism by snapping / clipping.

[0019] Further measures can be taken to ensure that the locking device is designed to exert force on the two legs of the rail mount against each other. For example, the locking device can extend through two bores in the legs or be supported by such bores. One bore can be threaded, so that screwing in a locking screw causes the legs to exert force against each other, particularly when the screw head rests against or comes into contact with an opposite leg. Alternatively, a nut can be used in conjunction with a locking screw instead of an (internal) threaded bore.

[0020] In a further preferred embodiment, the bracket support can be designed in two parts. A first part of the bracket support includes, at one end, connecting means for linking it to a base support encompassed by the roof hook for resting on the roof substructure. A second part of the bracket support forms, at one end, the rail receptacle, which is formed monolithically with the bracket support. This can be particularly advantageous for keeping the size or volume of the roof hook and / or the bracket support compact before installation. For example, in a two-part embodiment, the bracket support can be designed to be hinged, so that the parts are arranged and, if necessary, secured in a first compact arrangement before installation and, during installation, are transferred or reoriented into a second relative arrangement forming the bracket shape.

[0021] Furthermore, it may be advantageously provided that the first part and the second part of the bracket support are detachably and / or height-adjustably connected to each other, preferably in an area of ​​maximum bulge of the bracket support.

[0022] Height adjustment can be achieved, for example, by toothed or otherwise complementarily structured contact surfaces of the parts, which allow the parts to be moved incrementally relative to each other. The first part and the second part can advantageously be detachably connected to each other by a locking device, preferably a locking screw, wherein the locking device(s) are preferably arranged and designed such that the contact surfaces of the first part and the second part can be subjected to force against each other.

[0023] Further advantages and details of the invention will become apparent from the following description of preferred embodiments of the invention and from the schematic drawings.

[0024] They show: Fig. 1: a schematic perspective view of a roof hook according to the invention with a rail receptacle in an open position; Fig. 2: a schematic side view of the roof hook Fig. 1 ; Fig. 3: a schematic side view of a second part of a bracket support; Fig. 4: a schematic side view of a roof hook according to the invention with a rail receptacle in a locking position and a mounting rail secured therein.

[0025] Identical elements or elements with the same function are designated with the same reference numbers in the figures and in the following description.

[0026] The Fig. 1 Figure 1 shows a roof hook 01 according to the invention. The roof hook comprises a bracket 02 and a base support 03. The base support is preferably screwed to a roof substructure (not shown), for example, roof rafters (not shown). The bracket 02 serves to guide the hook past an existing / restored roof covering (also not shown). At one end 04 of the bracket 02, a rail receptacle 05 is formed for a mounting rail of a substructure for support elements, in particular photovoltaic and / or solar thermal panels. This rail receptacle 05 is formed in one piece and monolithically with the bracket 02, in particular with a second part 06 of the bracket 02.

[0027] To enable a compact, space-saving, and transportable configuration of the roof hook, while simultaneously allowing height adjustment of the bracket 02, the bracket 02 comprises a first part 07 and the aforementioned second part 06, which also forms the rail receptacle monolithically and integrally with the second part 06. The first part and the second part are connected to each other via a first locking element 08, preferably a locking screw. In the embodiment of the Fig. 1 Toothed contact surfaces 09 are provided, which allow for stepwise height adjustment of parts 06 and 07 of the yoke support 02 and a defined relative arrangement of parts 06 and 07 to each other in a fixed state. By releasing or partially releasing the locking means 08, the second part 06 can be folded / pivoted downwards about a longitudinal axis of the locking means 08 to create a transport configuration relative to the position shown (not shown). It can be seen that parts 06 and 07 are detachably and / or height-adjustably connected to each other in an area 28 of maximum bulge of the yoke support 02.

[0028] In the presentation of the Fig. 1 The rail receptacle 05 is shown in an open position, which advantageously corresponds to the position in which the second part 06 is in an unloaded, unprestressed state. In the open position shown, a mounting rail can be inserted into the rail receptacle 05, and the rail receptacle 05, together with the mounting rail, can be moved into a locking position in which the mounting rail snaps or clips into place. This movement occurs without the rail receptacle 05 being designed in multiple parts, solely through the elastic or partially elastic deformation of the rail receptacle 05.

[0029] To permanently and securely fasten or fasten the mounting rail, the rail receptacle works in conjunction with second securing devices 10, which can also be designed as a locking screw.

[0030] In the side view of the Fig. 2 It is clearly evident that, in the illustrated embodiment, the second locking means 10 are suitable for applying a force, in particular a tensile force, to two legs 11, 12 of a substantially U-shaped profile 13 of the rail receptacle. The U-shaped profile 13 of the rail receptacle comprises a longer leg 11 and a shorter leg 12. The U-shaped profile 13 also monolithically forms two inwardly directed or mutually facing support webs 14, 15. These support webs 14, 15 are arranged at an obtuse angle α to each other in the open position of the rail receptacle 05.

[0031] The rail receptacle 05 preferably has three fastening contours 16, 17, 18. Preferably, a first fastening contour 16 is formed on the shorter leg 12 and allows for the insertion and / or hooking of a corresponding counterpart or counter-profile of a mounting rail. The longer leg 11 can advantageously have two further fastening contours that can engage with the mounting rail and its corresponding counter-contours when the rail receptacle 05, together with the mounting rail, is moved from the open position to the closed position.

[0032] In the side view of the Fig. 2 The connecting means 29 arranged at one end of the first part 07 are also shown, which are designed as springs or webs and serve to connect to the base support 02 by engaging in corresponding grooves 30.

[0033] In the presentation of the Fig. 03 The second part 06 of the bracket carrier is shown in isolation in a side view. This shows that the second part 06 has two elongated holes 19, 20. The elongated holes serve to receive and / or guide the first and second locking elements 08, 10. The first elongated hole 19 allows the relative position or height of the second part 06 to be changed relative to the first part 07 by the extent of the elongated hole 19. The elongated hole 20 allows the second locking element 10 to be tilted. This is because the second locking element 10 is guided such that, in the locked position of the rail receptacle 05, its longitudinal axis runs substantially perpendicular to the legs 11, 12, or a portion thereof, of the U-shaped rail receptacle 05. To achieve this, however, it is advantageous if the second locking device 10 is arranged slightly tilted relative to the longer leg 11 in the open position of the rail receptacle 05, as shown in the Fig. 2 recognizable.

[0034] In the Fig. 4 is shown next to the roof hook 01 on a mounting rail 21 connected to and secured in the roof hook 01. To bring the mounting rail 21 into the state of Fig. 4 The mounting rail 21 can initially be brought into position, in the state of the roof hook 01 according to Fig. 1 und 2 The mounting rail 21 is brought into engagement with a first counter contour 22 in the first mounting contour 16. Subsequently, by moving the mounting rail 18, preferably manually or without tools, the rail receptacle 05, which is monolithically formed with the second part 06 of the bracket carrier 02, is deformed elastically or partially elastically so that the counter contours 23, 24 of the mounting rail 21 also engage with the mounting contours 17, 18. This results in the mounting rail 21 snapping or clipping onto or into the rail receptacle 05. To finally secure the mounting rail 21, the second locking element 10 can then be actuated, in particular tightened. This additionally forces the legs 11, 12 towards each other, increasing or amplifying the clamping and holding effect on the mounting rail 21. The additional holding force provided by the locking device 10 prevents the mounting rail 21 from unintentionally coming loose.

[0035] In the presentation of the Fig. 4 It can be seen that the deformation of the one-piece rail receptacle 05 transforms the support webs 14, 15 into a parallel, preferably plane-parallel, arrangement, so that a bottom surface 25 of the mounting rail 21 can rest flat against the support webs 14, 15. Furthermore, it is shown that the second locking element 10 has a longitudinal axis substantially perpendicular to the legs 11, 12, so that the head 26 of the locking element 10 or a corresponding washer 27 can bear flat against the longer leg 11. Reference symbol list

[0036] 01 Roof hook 02 Bracket support 03 Base support 04 End of bracket support 05 Rail mount 06 Second part of bracket support 07 First part of bracket support 08 First securing element 09 Contact surface 10 Second securing element 11 Longer leg 12 Shorter leg 13 U-shaped profile 14 Web 15 Web 16 First mounting contour 17 Second mounting contour 18 Third mounting contour 19 First elongated hole 20 Second elongated hole 21 Mounting rail 22 First counter contour 23 Counter contour 24 Counter contour 25 Underside 26 Head 27 Washer 28 Area of ​​maximum bulge 29 Fastener 30 Groove

Claims

1. A roof hook for fastening a substructure, preferably a mounting rail (21), for support elements, in particular photovoltaic and / or solar thermal panels, to a roof substructure, the roof hook (01) having a bracket carrier (02) for engaging around a roof covering, the bracket carrier (02) realizing a one-piece rail accommodation (05) at a first end (04), which is in particular spaced apart from the roof substructure, said one-piece rail accommodation (05) being realized monolithically with the bracket carrier (02) and serving to accommodate a mounting rail (21) of a substructure, the one-piece rail accommodation (05) being deformable between an opening position and a securing position, characterized in that the rail accommodation (05) has two support webs (14, 15) facing each other, the support webs (14, 15) being disposed at an obtuse angle with respect to each other in the opening position of the rail accommodation (05) and being disposed parallel to each other in a securing position of the rail accommodation (05).

2. The roof hook according to claim 1, characterized in that the rail accommodation (05) has a profile (13) which is essentially U-shaped and has a first longer and a second shorter leg (11, 12).

3. The roof hook according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the rail accommodation (05) has three fastening contours (16, 17, 18) for fastening the mounting rail (21), preferably in a clamping manner.

4. The roof hook according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the rail accommodation (05) is securable by means of a securing means (10), preferably a securing screw.

5. The roof hook according to claim 4, characterized in that the securing means (10) is configured to apply force to two legs (11, 12) of the rail accommodation (05) so that they move toward each other.

6. The roof hook according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the bracket carrier (02) is realized in two parts, a first part (07) of the bracket carrier (02) comprising connection means (29) at an end, said connection means (29) serving to be connected to a base carrier (03) which is comprised by the roof hook and serves to be supported by the roof substructure, and a second part (06) of the bracket carrier (02) realizing the one-piece rail accommodation (05) at an end (04), said one-piece rail accommodation (05) being realized monolithically with the bracket carrier (02), in particular with the second part (06).

7. The roof hook according to claim 6, characterized in that the first part (07) and the second part (06) of the bracket carrier (02), preferably an area (28) of maximum bulging of the bracket carrier (02), are connected to each other in a detachable and / or height-adjustable manner.