Rail assembly with invertible side-mount adapter for direct and indirect mounting applications

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-12516848-B2
Application number	US-202318479610-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Oct 2, 2023
Priority date	Oct 9, 2017
Publication date	Jan 6, 2026
Grant date	Jan 6, 2026

Abstract

A rail assembly includes a rail and an adapter. The adapter may be slidably interconnected with the rail via a first rail channel on a first rail side of the rail, and may also be slidably interconnected with the rail via a second rail channel on a second rail side of the rail. The adapter may be inverted (whether installed via the first rail channel or the second rail channel) between two different orientations that dispose a mounting flange at different elevations to accommodate two different mounting configurations.

First claim

What is claimed:

1 . A rail assembly attachable to a building surface, comprising:
a rail comprising:
a first end and a second end that are spaced from one another in a longitudinal dimension by a length;
a rail top and a rail bottom that are spaced from one another in a vertical dimension;
first and second rail sides that are spaced from one another in a lateral dimension that is orthogonal to the longitudinal dimension, wherein the rail top comprises an attachment fastener slot that extends from the first end to the second end, and wherein the first rail side comprises a first rail channel that extends from the first end to the second end, wherein the first rail channel has a maximum channel height in the vertical dimension defined by the rail top and the rail bottom, the maximum channel height extending from the rail top to the rail bottom;
a first pocket having a first pocket closed perimeter and that extends from the first end to the second end, wherein the first pocket has a first maximum height in the vertical dimension defined by the rail top and the rail bottom, wherein the first maximum height is approximately equal to the maximum channel height of the first rail channel;
a second pocket having a second pocket closed perimeter and that extends from the first end to the second end; and
a third pocket that is disposed between the first rail channel, the first pocket and the second pocket in the lateral dimension and that extends from the first end to the second end, wherein the attachment fastener slot extends to and intersects the third pocket; and
an adapter that is slidably engageable with the first rail channel, comprising:
a coupling section with an inner coupling portion positionable within the first rail channel; and
a mounting flange.

2 . The rail assembly of claim 1 , wherein the first rail channel is defined in part by a first rail lip captured between the inner coupling portion and an outer coupling portion of the adapter when the adapter is slidably engaged with the first rail channel.

3 . The rail assembly of claim 1 , wherein the attachment fastener slot separates a first section of the rail top from a second section of the rail top, and:
a first portion of the first section of the rail top defines an upper extreme of the first rail channel and of the first pocket; and a first portion of the second section of the rail top defines an upper extreme of the second pocket.

4 . The rail assembly of claim 1 , wherein the first pocket is located between the first rail side and the third pocket in the lateral dimension, and wherein the second pocket is located between the second rail side and the third pocket in the lateral dimension.

5 . The rail assembly of claim 1 , wherein:
the second pocket has a second maximum height in the vertical dimension defined by the rail bottom and the rail top; and the third pocket has a third maximum height in the vertical dimension defined by the rail bottom and the rail top, the third maximum height being less than the first and second maximum heights.

6 . The rail assembly of claim 5 , further comprising:
a first wall between the first pocket and the third pocket; and a second wall between the second pocket and the third pocket.

7 . The rail assembly of claim 1 , wherein the rail top further comprises first and second cutouts that intersect the attachment fastener slot to collectively define a rail mounting fastener access through the rail top, wherein an effective diameter of the rail mounting fastener access is larger than a width of the attachment fastener slot outside of the rail mounting fastener access, and wherein the rail assembly further comprises:
a threaded rail mounting fastener selectively positioned in the third pocket and extendable through the rail bottom, wherein a maximum diameter of the threaded rail mounting fastener is less than the effective diameter of the rail mounting fastener access.

8 . The rail assembly of claim 1 , wherein the third pocket comprises:
an upper section with a first width; and a lower section with a second width that is less than the first width, wherein the upper section is located between the attachment fastener slot and the lower section in the vertical dimension, and wherein the attachment fastener slot has a third width that is less than the first width.

9 . The rail assembly of claim 8 , wherein
the first pocket is spaced from the second pocket by a distance greater than or equal to the second width.

10 . The rail assembly of claim 8 , wherein the lower section is defined by a lower portion of a first interior wall and a lower portion of a second interior wall, the lower portions of the first and second interior walls being approximately parallel.

11 . The rail assembly of claim 1 , further comprising:
a first interior wall between the first pocket and the third pocket, the first interior wall extending from the rail top to the rail bottom and comprising an upper portion, a lower portion, and a medial portion with a first end and a second end, the first end of the medial portion extending from the upper portion and the second end of the medial portion extending from the lower portion, wherein the medial portion extends in the lateral dimension approximately parallel to the rail top; a second interior wall between the second pocket and the third pocket, the second interior wall having an upper portion and a lower portion, the lower portion of the second interior wall being approximately parallel to the lower portion of the first interior wall; and a vertical wall between the first rail channel and the first pocket, the vertical wall extending in the vertical dimension from the rail top to the rail bottom.

12 . The rail assembly of claim 11 , wherein the third pocket further comprises:
an upper section positioned between the upper portion of the first interior wall and the upper portion of the second interior wall, the upper section having a first width, wherein the first width is a maximum interior width of the third pocket; and a lower section positioned between the lower portion of the first interior wall and the lower portion of the second interior wall, the lower section having a second width that is less than the first width.

13 . The rail assembly of claim 12 , wherein:
the attachment fastener slot extends to and intersects an upper section of the third pocket; and the attachment fastener slot has a third width that is less than the second width.

14 . The rail assembly of claim 12 , further comprising an attachment fastener that is movable along the attachment fastener slot in the longitudinal dimension, the attachment fastener comprising a first head, a threaded shaft, and a second head, wherein at least one of the first and second heads is rotatable relative to the threaded shaft, wherein the threaded shaft extends through the attachment fastener slot and the first head is disposed beyond the rail top, wherein the second head comprises a flange and a body, wherein the flange is disposed and retained within the upper section of the third pocket, and wherein the body is disposed at least partially within the lower section of the third pocket.

15 . The rail assembly of claim 14 , wherein the second width of the lower section of the third pocket is selected to limit rotation of the body of the second head of the attachment fastener, the second width being greater than a diameter of the threaded shaft of the attachment fastener.

16 . The rail assembly of claim 1 , wherein a lower surface of the rail bottom opposite to the first rai

Assignees

• Rmh Tech Llc

Inventors

• Leitch Paul Benjamin
• Haddock Dustin M M
• Holley Nikolaus Jo

Classifications

• F24S2025/6003

  by clamping · CPC title

• F24S2025/801

  having hollow parts with closed cross-section · CPC title

• F24S25/615

  for fixing to protruding parts of buildings, e.g. to corrugations or to standing seams · CPC title

• F24S2025/807

  having undercut grooves · CPC title

• F24S25/65

  for coupling adjacent supporting elements, e.g. for connecting profiles together · CPC title