Roof clamp for fall protection safety equipment

Abstract

This is a multi-part clamp assembly used for fall protection used on standing seam metal roofs. One component of the clamp is a clamp body measuring 2″×2½″×6″ made of extruded aluminum. This part is designed to allow attachment to multiple styles of standing seam roofs without having to slide the clamp body onto the end of a seam. Another component of the clamp assembly is a series of six (6) ½″×1¼ concave set screws horizontally opposed to a series of six (6) ⅜″×1¼″ convex set screws with a thread-locking compound designed for non-removal from the clamp body. These twelve (12) set screws are torqued at 200 inch pounds and apply pressure and dimple the roof seam to secure the clamp to the standing seam without puncturing or tearing the seam metal. The final component is a D-ring secured by a special non-removable bolt with thread-locking compound screwed in the clamp body for attaching a safety fall arrest system or harness. The D-Ring is slotted with a 1″×¾″ hole allowing for ease of attachment and 360 degree movement.

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

This invention relates to roof safety devices for roof workers, and more specifically to a clamp used to attach a fall safety device to standing seam roof systems. A standing seam metal roof is made up of many formed metal panels that are connected together. These connections, or seams, run the length of the roof and are spaced evenly along its width providing the building protection from exterior elements and are also formed in such a way as to be esthetically appealing. These seams are standardized within the roofing industry and create a convenient attachment point for a fall safety protection device. Presently, the brackets used to attach a safety device to a roof consist of a plate that needs holes drilled or other fastening methods which deform or create holes in the roof panel. These holes or other deformations must be repaired and sealed from leaks causing considerable time and effort. Moreover, this fixed bracket method does not allow easy movement over the roof and further limits the work area unless multiple brackets are installed over the entire work space of the roof. The safety environment and potential danger of falls related to both construction and maintenance performed on seamed roof systems has been widely recognized and has been under government regulatory scrutiny for protection of workers. Accordingly, there is a need for a roof safety clamp that can be attached to a standing seam roof system which can exceed present OSHA standards for fall protection and does not deform or create holes in the metal panels.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Accordingly, it would be highly desirable to provide an improved fall protection system which will allow secure attachment of safety devices to a standing seam metal roof while providing ease of movement over the roof by way of multiple tie-off points that will not deform the roof panels. It would also be desirable to have a system which will exceed support weights recommended by OSHA standards that will hold approved personal fall protection devices.

This invention provides a clamp assembly for securing a fall protection safety line to a roof with formed seams. The clamp, preferably, is used by the residential or commercial construction industry as an anchor point from which construction or contractor personnel may attach an approved lifeline that connects to an approved personal fall arrest device.

The foregoing and additional advantages and characterizing features of the present invention will become clearly apparent upon reading the detailed description together with the included drawings herein.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is an elevation view of a fall protection clamp according to the present invention as it would appear in use;

FIG. 2 Is a plan view of the fall protection clamp;

FIG. 3 Is an isometric view of the fall protection clamp attached to a raised seam;

FIG. 4 Is an exploded isometric view of a clamp assembly;

FIG. 5 Is a plan view of a raised seam roof;

FIG. 6A Is an elevation view a standing seam metal roof;

FIG. 6B Is a elevation view of the clamp installed on a raised seam;

FIG. 7 Is an plan view of the clamp installed on a raised seam;

FIG. 8 Is an elevation view of the clamp installed on a raised seam;

FIG. 9 Is an plan view of the clamp connector D-ring and bolt;

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE ILLUSTRATED EMBODIMENT

Referencing to FIG. 1, there is shown a fall protection clamp assembly 200 according to the present invention for securing a safety fall protection line 401 to a seam roof 302 and the raised seam 301 present in this roof construction method. The safety fall protection system line 401 coming from the fall protection clamp assembly 200, in turn, is secured to an approved fall protection device 400 such as an approved safety belt, harness or the like as worn by roof workers. The seam roof 302 is made up of formed panels connected together in such a way to secure them to a building and also prevent outside weather elements from entering. These connections, or seams, run the length of the roof and are spaced along its width. The clamp assembly 200 is comprised of a single piece main body 201 made with a unique profile as illustrated in FIG. 2 and may be formed by machine milling or extrusion and is made of aluminum. The profile slot is longitudinal and has an opening 208 along its bottom. This slot is large enough to easily fit over the raised roof seam 301. The profile slot 207 allows multiple profiles of roof seams to fit within the main body piece 201. The opening 208 along the bottom of the main body 201 allows the clamp assembly 200 to be installed along the length of the raised seam 301.

Along the inside of the main body piece 201, the horizontally opposed set screws 205 (concave) and 206 (convex) are made from stainless steel and have surfaces that mate to each other causing a dimple affect in the raised seam 301. The set screws 205 (concave) and 206 (convex) cause pressure on the panel vertical leg. The set screws 205 (concave) compress against 206 (convex) positioned along the length of one side and opposite side as illustrated in FIG. 4. The set screws 205 apply pressure to the set screws 206 and transpose through the raised roof seam 301. Along the length of the main body 201 the pressure imparted to the set screws 205, 206 presses against the raised seam 301 forcing a portion of the raised seam 303 and 304 to also press into the concave recess 205 which is part of the main body 201 profile. The pressure exerted is spread along the length of the raised seam 303 and 304.

FIGS. 5 & 6A illustrates a common profile of a raised seam roof system. The panels 302 are placed longitudinally on the roof and have a profile with vertical sides 303 and 304 and a seam top 301. The panels 302 are formed to allow locking together along the seam 301 and provide a roof system made up of individual panels. These interlocking panels 302 are arranged along the length as denoted in FIG. 6A as letter “B”. The panels 302 are also arranged along the width of the roof as denoted in FIG. 6A as letter “A”. FIG. 7 illustrates the clamp assembly 200 installed properly along the raised seam 301. The set screws 205 impart force to the set screws 206. The screws 205, 206 use longitudinal length of 303, 304 as shown in FIG. 5 and as hidden lines in FIG. 6A.

FIG. 9 shows a bolt with thread-locking material that has slots for a special wrench that can tight the bolt but not loosen. The attachment D-ring 202 is made from stainless steel material and is mounted to the top of the main body 201 by way of threads and non-removable attachment shoulder bolt 204 through an oblong hole 211 with non-removable slots 210. The attachment D-ring 202 has an oblong hole 211 which allows the attachment ring 202 to move up and down and back and forth along the length of the shoulder bolt 204 and also rotate around the center hole 360 degrees. The D-ring 202 is allowed to slide up for ease of attachment and rotation around the attachment bolt 203 to a fall protection harness 401. The attachment D-ring 202 can also slide down along the shoulder bolt 204 and into the recess 209 as shown in FIG. 7 along the length of the main body 201 to prevent movement by high winds when not in use. The attachment ring 202 has one “D” shaped cut-out 212 for ease of attachment of any commercially available fall protection device 401 which further attaches to the fall protection harness assembly 400 worn by the roof worker as shown in FIG. 1.

The foregoing description of the present invention has been presented for purposes of illustration and description. Furthermore, the description is not intended to limit the invention to the form disclosed herein.

Claims

1. (A method of connecting a safety fall arrest system to a standing seam roof)

2. (A method that allows attachment of a safety fall arrest system to a standing seam roof without deforming the roof seam or having to puncture the roof)

3. (A method of attachment that allows a single clamp design to be used on several different commonly used profiles of standing roof seams without having to slide the clamp body onto the end of a seam.)

4. (A method of attachment that meets government recommended safety standards for fall protection)

5. (A method that allows permanent attachment of a safety fall arrest system.)

6. A device used to connect a safety fall arrest system to a standing seam roof by means of twelve horizontally opposing convex and concave screws that dimple the roof seam.

7. The device of claim 6 that allows attachment of a safety fall arrest system to a standing seam roof without having to puncture the roof

8. The device of claim 6 that utilizes a clamp design to be used on standing roof seams.

9. The device of claim 6 that meets government required safety standards, namely, OSHA 1926 Subpart M for fall protection.

10. The device of claim 6 that utilizes an attachment of a safety fall arrest system that can not be removed without being destructive to the block and make it non usable.