Unitary Rooftop Equipment Support With Extruded U-Channel Strength
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing rooftop equipment support systems require on-site assembly of multiple components, leading to increased installation costs and uneven degradation from environmental factors, as they are typically formed from different materials and processes.
Innovation Solution
A unitary, extruded roof equipment support system with a platform, sidewalls, and strut extensions forming a U-shaped channel, made from a single material to reduce assembly needs and enhance structural strength, while allowing for customizable lengths and integration of a roller element for axial movement.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If multiple components are assembled on-site to form rooftop equipment support, then the support system can be flexible in configuration, but installation costs increase and structural strength decreases due to joints and seams
Solution Approach 1:
The patent combines multiple separate components (base member, strut member, and equipment support components) into a single unitary extruded member. This eliminates joints and seams that would weaken the structure, while the integrated design maintains configuration flexibility through varying geometries and features within the single extruded profile.
2Adaptability or versatility
If multiple components are assembled on-site to form rooftop equipment support, then the support system can be flexible in configuration, but installation complexity and time increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent integrates multiple functional components into a single unitary extruded member, eliminating the need for on-site assembly of separate parts. This reduces installation complexity and time while maintaining configuration flexibility through the designed geometry of the extruded member, which incorporates features previously requiring multiple components.
3Ease of manufacture
If components are formed from different materials and processes, then each component can be optimized for its specific function, but uneven degradation occurs from environmental factors
Solution Approach 1:
The patent forms the entire equipment support structure from a single material using one extrusion process, creating a homogeneous structure. This ensures uniform degradation resistance across the entire member when exposed to environmental factors, eliminating the mismatched durability issues that arise from assembling components made from different materials with different degradation rates.
4Strength
If a unitary extruded member is used, then structural strength increases and installation costs reduce, but manufacturing flexibility for different configurations decreases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent uses extrusion technology to create a unitary member with variable cross-sectional geometry along its length. By changing the parameters of the extrusion die, different configurations, profiles, and features can be produced from the same basic extrusion process, maintaining manufacturing flexibility while achieving the structural benefits of a seamless unitary construction.
Data Source
AI summary
A roof equipment support includes a platform, a pair of sidewalls extending from the platform, and a top wall extending between the pair of sidewalls and offset from the platform. The platform, the pair of sidewalls, and the top wall define an interior cavity that extends a length of the support from a first end to a second end. A pair of strut extensions extend above the top wall, and each of the pair of strut extension include a hook at a distal end. The pair of strut extensions and the top wall define a substantially U-shaped channel that extends at least a portion of the length of the support, and the platform, the pair of sidewalls, the top wall, and the pair of strut extensions are unitarily formed.