A method and a fastener for installing devices to be mounted on a roof
Patent Information
- Authority / Receiving Office
- EP · EP
- Patent Type
- Applications
- Current Assignee / Owner
- Filing Date
- 2024-05-15
- Publication Date
- 2026-04-08
AI Technical Summary
Existing fasteners for attaching devices to roof seams, such as roof ladders and solar panels, face challenges due to variations in seam thickness, leading to instability and the need for different fasteners for each type of seam, as they cannot maintain a vertical position securely.
A bracket and fastening element system with adjustable slots and protrusions allows for secure vertical alignment and attachment to various seam thicknesses, using a joint with multiple slots and a protrusion to determine the vertical position and distance, and clamping mechanisms for firm fixation.
The solution ensures stable and secure fastening of devices across different roof seam types and thicknesses, eliminating the need for multiple fasteners by allowing adjustable positioning and clamping, thereby enhancing the reliability of device installations on roofs.
Smart Images
Figure FI2024050234_05122024_PF_FP_ABST
Abstract
Description
[0001] A METHOD AND A FASTENER FOR INSTALLING DEVICES TO BE MOUNTED ON A ROOF
[0002] The invention relates to the fastening of devices to be mounted on a roof, such as roof ladders, solar panels, and safety devices. More precisely, the invention relates to a method for installing such devices, and a fastener for use in the method.
[0003] Devices to be mounted on a roof are typically fastened to the roof surface or its edge by means of various fasteners. On seam tin roofs, standing seam tin roofs, and machine seam tin roofs, the fasteners are typically attached to upward protruding seams of roofing sheets.
[0004] A problem with attaching fasteners to these roof seams is that the fastener cannot be arranged in a vertical position with respect to the roof surface upon fastening, and it does not stand firmly upright, due to variation in the thickness of the seams in various seam or machine seam tin roofs, whereby it tends to fall in the direction it is leaning when the load on the fastener increases. Proper mounting of fasteners for all these different types of seams would require different fasteners for each seam type and thickness.
[0005] With the solution of the present invention, it is possible to eliminate fastening problems due to variation in the thickness of seams by providing a bracket which has a simple structure and is adjustable to fit various types of roof seams, whereby the vertical straightness of the bracket and its firm attachment to the seam can be secured.
[0006] In the method according to the invention, for fastening devices to be mounted on a roof, the device is fastened by a plurality of fasteners to be attached to a vertical seam of the roof, whereby the fastener comprises a bracket and a separate fastening element, whereby the joint between the bracket and the fastening element comprises a number of slots in one and a protrusion to be inserted in said slot in the other, whereby the vertical position of the fastening element with respect to the bracket is determined by inserting the protrusion in a selected slot, and whereby the bracket and the fastening element are placed and clamped on opposite sides of the vertical seam of the roof for attaching the fastener to the vertical seam of the roof, wherein the selection of the slot is also used to determine the distance between the vertical surface of the fastening element and the vertical surface of the bracket to be suitable for the thickness of the vertical seam of the roof. In this context, the vertical direction refers to the direction perpendicular to the roof surface when the fastener according to the invention is fixed on the vertical seam of the roof. Thus, said vertical direction is typically also perpendicular to the mounting surface of the fastener provided for fastening the device.
[0007] In an embodiment of the method according to the invention, the position of the fastening element with respect to the bracket is adjusted by moving the protrusion in the fastening element from one slot to another in the bracket.
[0008] In this embodiment, by changing the position of the protrusion of the fastening element in the vertical direction from a lower slot to an upper slot in the bracket, the distance between the vertical surface of the fastening element and the vertical surface of the bracket is advantageously increased.
[0009] The invention also provides a fastener for installing devices to be mounted on a roof, wherein the fastener comprises a bracket and a separate fastening element, wherein the bracket and the fastening element are configured to be placed on opposite sides of a vertical seam of the roof, for attaching the fastener to the vertical seam of the roof; a joint between the bracket and the fastening element, wherein the joint comprises a plurality of slots in one and a protrusion to be inserted in said slot in the other, for determining the vertical position of the bracket by inserting said protrusion in the selected slot; as well as means for clamping the bracket and the fastening element against the edge surfaces of the vertical seam of the roof; wherein the joint between the bracket and the fastening element is configured such that in at least two different slots, the distance between the vertical surface of the fastening element and the vertical surface of the bracket is different.
[0010] In an embodiment of the fastener according to the invention, said protrusion is provided in the fastening element and said plurality of slots are provided in the bracket. Thus, the distance between the vertical surface of the fastening element and the vertical surface of the bracket is preferably greater when the protrusion of the fastening element is arranged in at least one vertically upper slot than when the protrusion of the fastening element is arranged in the vertically lowermost slot.
[0011] In an embodiment of the fastener according to the invention, said protrusion has a stepped shape, and the different sizes and / or shapes of said slots correspond to the stepped shape and / or design of the protrusion. Thus, the same protrusion is inserted to a different depth in the different slots, according to its stepped shape. In an alternative embodiment, the fastening element comprises at least one auxiliary protrusion, and the bracket comprises at least one corresponding auxiliary slot in which said at least one auxiliary protrusion is inserted when the protrusion of the fastening element is inserted in the lowermost vertical slot of the bracket. Thus, said at least one auxiliary slot of the bracket is preferably arranged only in connection with one of the slots in the bracket, such as the lowermost slot.
[0012] In an embodiment of the fastener according to the invention, the joint between the bracket and the fastening element comprises at least one threaded bolt and nut connection for clamping the fastener onto the vertical seam of the roof.
[0013] In an embodiment of the fastener according to the invention, the bracket and the fastening element are formed of a metal sheet.
[0014] In the solution according to the invention, for attaching the fastener, the vertical seam of the roof can also be replaced by another section extending vertically from the roof surface or substantially from the roof surface, for example by a vertical guide rail or seam to be attached to the roof structure.
[0015] More precisely, the features of the method according to the invention are presented in claim 1 , and the features of the fastener according to the invention are presented in claim 4. Dependent claims present preferred features and embodiments of the solution according to the invention.
[0016] In the following, the invention will be described in more detail with reference to the appended drawings, in which
[0017] Fig. 1 shows a schematic view of a fastener according to the invention,
[0018] Fig. 2 shows a schematic view of the bracket of Fig. 1 , and
[0019] Fig. 3 shows a schematic view of the fastening element of the embodiment of Fig. 1.
[0020] Figure 1 shows a schematic view of a fastener 1 according to the invention, comprising a bracket 2 and a fastening element 3. Figure 2 shows the bracket 2 of Fig. 1 in more detail, and Fig. 3 shows the fastening element 3 of Fig. 1 in more detail.
[0021] As shown in Fig. 1 , the bracket 2 and the fastening element 3 of the fastener 1 are attached to each other with bolt and nut connections 4. Furthermore, the joint between the bracket 2 and the fastening element 3 comprises a protrusion 5 of the fastening element as well as slots 6 provided for the protrusion of the fastening element at different height levels in the vertical direction of the bracket, the number of slots being three in this embodiment. By moving the protrusion 5 of the fastening element 3 to a different slot 6 in the fastening element 2, it is possible to change the vertical position of the fastening element. Openings 7 formed for the bolt and nut connection 4 in the fastening element 3 are made elongate in the vertical direction, to enable this change in the vertical direction.
[0022] Flush with the lowest slot 6, the bracket 2 is also provided with auxiliary slots 8 in which auxiliary protrusions 9 of the fastening element 3 are inserted when the protrusion 5 of the fastening element is inserted in the lowest slot 6 of the bracket. Because no auxiliary slots 8 are provided in connection or flush with the upper slots 6 of the bracket 2, the auxiliary protrusions 9 of the fastening element 3 can only be inserted in the auxiliary slots in the lowest slot of the fastening element, whereby the gap between the vertical surfaces 10 and 11 of the fastening element and the bracket is the narrowest. When the protrusion 5 of the fastening element 3 is inserted in the upper slots 6 of the bracket 2, the gap between the vertical surfaces 11 and 10 of the fastening element and the bracket 2 increases by the depth of the auxiliary protrusions 9. It is thus possible in this embodiment to adjust the gap between the vertical surface 11 of the fastening element 3 and the vertical surface 10 of the bracket 2 by changing the vertical position of the fastening element with respect to the bracket by moving the protrusion 5 between the lowest slot 6 and the slots above it.
[0023] The bracket 2 also comprises a mounting surface 12 to which a device to be installed is attached and fixed. The mounting surface 12 is provided at the top edge of the bracket 2.
[0024] The fastener 1 is fastened to a vertical seam of a roof (not shown in the figures) by first placing the bracket 2 and the fastening element 3 on opposite sides of the vertical seam of the roof, by fitting the protrusion 5 of the fastening element in one slot of the slots 6 of the fastening element, determined by the shape and type of the vertical seam of the roof, whereby also the vertical position of the fastening element with respect to the bracket, as well as the distance between the vertical surfaces 10 and 11 of the bracket and the fastening element, are determined to fit the vertical seam of the roof, and finally the bracket and the fastening element are clamped against the vertical surfaces of the vertical seam of the roof by bolt and nut connections 4. After this, the device to be mounted can be fastened to the mounting surface 12 of the bracket 2.
[0025] In the embodiment shown in the figures, the bracket 2 and the fastening element 3 are preferably made of a metal sheet by bending, and by providing them with the appropriate slots by cutting and / or working.
[0026] The adjustment of the distance between the vertical surfaces 10 and 11 of the bracket 2 and the fastening element 3, described above and shown in the figures, can also be implemented in an alternative way without auxiliary slots 8 and auxiliary protrusions 9, for example by making the slots 6 in different sizes and by making the protrusion 5 stepped, whereby only the narrowest section of the stepped protrusion can be fitted in the smallest (e.g. uppermost) slot, in which case the distance between the vertical surfaces 10 and 11 is the greatest. In the lowermost slot 6, the size of the slot would match the widest step of the protrusion 5, whereby the distance between the vertical surfaces 10 and 11 would be, in turn, the smallest.
[0027] With respect to the examples of the invention shown in the figures and described above, it should be noted that they are not intended to limit the invention in any way. Persons skilled in the art are capable, on the basis of their own knowledge, of modifying the above presented examples in a number of obvious ways within the scope of protection defined by the appended claims. Consequently, the invention is not limited solely to the above presented examples.
Claims
Claims1 . A method for installing devices to be mounted on a roof, wherein the device is fastened by a plurality of fasteners (1 ) to be attached to the vertical seam of the roof, whereby the fastener comprises a bracket (2) and a separate fastening element (3), whereby the joint between the bracket and the fastening element comprises a plurality of slots (6) in one and a protrusion (5) to be inserted in said slots in the other, whereby the vertical position of the fastening element with respect to the bracket is determined by inserting the protrusion in a selected slot, and whereby the bracket and the fastening element are placed and clamped on opposite sides of the vertical seam of the roof for attaching the fastener to the vertical seam of the roof, characterized in that the selection of the slot (6) is also used to determine the distance between the vertical surface (11 ) of the fastening element (3) and the vertical surface (10) of the bracket (2) to be suitable for the thickness of the vertical seam of the roof.
2. The method according to claim 1 , wherein the position of the fastening element (3) with respect to the bracket (2) is adjusted by moving the protrusion (5) provided in the fastening element from one slot (6) to another in the bracket.
3. The method according to claim 2, wherein by changing the position of the protrusion (5) of the fastening element (3) from a slot (6) in the bracket (2) to a vertically upper slot, the distance between the vertical surface (11 ) of the fastening element and the vertical surface (10) of the bracket is increased.
4. A fastener (1 ) for installing devices to be mounted on a roof, wherein the fastener comprises a bracket (2) and a separate fastening element (3), whereby the bracket and the fastening element are configured to be placed on opposite sides of a vertical seam of the roof, for attaching the fastener to the vertical seam of the roof; a joint between the bracket and the fastening element, wherein the joint comprises a plurality of slots (6) in one and a protrusion (5) to be inserted in said slots in the other, for determining the vertical position of the bracket by inserting said protrusion in the selected slot; as well as means (4) for clamping the bracket and the fastening element against the edge surfaces of the vertical seam of the roof; characterized in that the joint between the bracket (2) and the fastening element (3) is configured such that in at least two different slots (6), the distance between the vertical surface5. The fastener (1 ) according to claim 4, wherein said protrusion (5) is provided in the fastening element (3) and said plurality of slots (6) are provided in the bracket (2).
6. The fastener (1 ) according to claim 5, wherein the distance between the vertical surface (11 ) of the fastening element (3) and the vertical surface (10) of the bracket (2) is greater when the protrusion (5) of the fastening element is inserted in at least one slot (6) at a vertically higher level than when the protrusion of the fastening element is placed in a slot at a vertically lower level.
7. The fastener (1 ) according to any of the claims 4 to 6, wherein said protrusion (5) has a stepped shape, and the different sizes and / or shapes of said slots (6) correspond to the stepped shape and / or design of the protrusion.
8. The fastener (1 ) according to claim 5 or 6, wherein the fastening element (3) comprises at least one auxiliary protrusion (9) and the bracket (2) comprises at least one corresponding auxiliary slot (8), in which said at least one auxiliary protrusion is inserted when the protrusion of the fastening element is inserted in the slot (6) of the bracket.
9. The fastener (1 ) according to claim 8, wherein said at least one auxiliary slot (8) of the bracket (2) is provided only in connection with one slot (6) of the bracket.
10. The fastener (1 ) according to any of the claims 4 to 9, wherein the joint between the bracket (2) and the fastening element (3) comprises at least one bolt and nut connection (4) for clamping the fastener on the vertical seam of the roof.11 . The fastener (1 ) according to any of the claims 4 to 10, wherein the bracket (2) and the fastening element (3) are formed of a metal sheet.