Self-Sealing Roof Mounting Bracket for Leak-Free Shingle Installation
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing methods for securing mounting brackets to shingled roofs often result in poor sealing and integrity issues, leading to rainwater penetration and potential leaks, especially when using tar or traditional flashing that disturbs the self-seal strips.
Innovation Solution
A self-sealing mounting bracket with downwardly open chambers filled with sealant, where plungers are used to compact and extrude the sealant during installation, creating a high-integrity seal between the bracket and the shingles, and additional lag bolts secure the bracket to the roof deck.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Object-affected harmful factors
If traditional flashing is installed by lifting shingles, then water diversion function is achieved, but the self-seal strip integrity is disturbed and shingles may be lifted in high winds
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces a mounting bracket as an intermediary component that sits on top of the shingles rather than requiring them to be lifted. The bracket includes a base plate with a central opening that receives the roof penetrator, and outwardly extending flanges that rest on the shingles. This intermediary structure achieves water diversion and sealing without disturbing the self-seal strips, thereby maintaining shingle attachment integrity while preventing water penetration.
2Object-affected harmful factors
If tar or sealant is applied around the mounting bracket, then sealing against water penetration is attempted, but the sealant develops cracks and leaks over time
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts the sealing function from the vulnerable tar or sealant application and replaces it with a mechanical sealing system. The mounting bracket incorporates a rubber grommet that receives the roof penetrator, creating a mechanical seal that is far more durable than applied sealant. The flanged base plate also creates a physical barrier and diversion system that eliminates the need for vulnerable sealant applications, thereby solving the durability problem while maintaining water penetration protection.
3Strength
If mounting brackets are secured with screws or nails, then the bracket is attached to the roof, but rainwater can leak through the screw or nail holes
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces a rubber grommet as an intermediary sealing element between the roof penetrator (screw or nail) and the mounting bracket base plate. The grommet receives the penetrator and provides a water-tight seal around it, preventing water from leaking through the fastener holes while allowing the bracket to remain securely attached to the roof through the same fasteners.
Data Source
AI summary
A self-sealing mounting bracket includes an outer shell that defines at least one downwardly facing chamber. A plunger is located in the downwardly facing chamber and is slidable within the chamber. The chamber is filled with sealant either at the manufacturing facility or in the field. Larger openings are formed in the top of the outer shell that align with and provide access to bolt holes in the top of the plunger. Smaller openings in the top of the outer shell are for attaching the shell to a roof with lag bolts. The mounting bracket is located on a shingled roof and lag bolts are inserted through the larger openings and threaded into the roof deck. The heads of these lag bolts pass through the larger openings and engage the plungers to press the plungers down in their chambers. This, in turn, compresses, squeezes, and extrudes sealant between the mounting bracket and the roof below forming a water tight seal. The outer shell is then firmly attached to the roof with additional lag bolts inserted through the smaller openings and their aligned bolt holes and threaded into the roof deck. Mounting hardware for items such as solar panels can then be secured to the bracket.