Supports – Brackets – Specially mounted or attached
Reexamination Certificate
1999-09-30
2001-09-18
Chin-Shue, Alvin (Department: 3634)
Supports
Brackets
Specially mounted or attached
C248S231850
Reexamination Certificate
active
06290195
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates generally to a system for providing a support for mounting accessories to a generally cylindrical structure and, more particularly, to a system including a bracket which may be mounted to a wide range of structure diameters and which may be easily mounted to the structure without compromising the structural integrity of the structure.
There is a need for means to provide a mounting bracket on an existing structure, such as a vertically extending cylindrical structure, in order to support equipment or accessories which were not contemplated when the structure was erected. For example, cell towers comprising upwardly tapered, generally cylindrical structures, have been erected throughout the country to facilitate cellular phone usage. As usage of cellular phones and other electronic equipment increases, there is an increasing need for additional equipment and accessories, such as additional antennas and cables, to be placed on the cell towers. Alternatively, in some locations, there is a need to attach additional equipment or accessories to other elevated structures, such as attachment to the cylindrical legs of water towers and the like.
Various mechanisms for supporting the equipment and accessories have been proposed and typically include a support bracket which is attached to the vertical structure. In some instances, holes are drilled in the structure to permit bolts to be used to mount the brackets directly to the structure. However, the structural requirements of the structure are carefully engineered and provision of additional holes, particularly if a large number of brackets must be mounted to the structure, may structurally compromise the structure and therefore often requires reengineering to ensure that the additional holes do not jeopardize the strength of the structure.
In other instances, the brackets may be welded to the structure. Welding has its own limitations in that the welded surfaces must be clean in order to obtain a good weld, and the welding equipment is often heavy and bulky, which is not conducive to operations involving extreme heights.
A further method for supporting brackets on cylindrical structures involves providing a flexible clamping strap extending around the structure and having opposing ends attached to the bracket. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 1,432,561 shows a bracket which is held to a telephone pole by means of a chain wrapped around the pole and having ends tensioned at the bracket. U.S. Pat. No. 5,598,995 also shows a tensioned flexible member which forces a clamp assembly into contact with a cylindrical support to thereby hold the clamp assembly at a desired location.
The prior art devices incorporating flexible straps to hold clamp assemblies or brackets at a desired location on a structure are typically designed for a limited size diameter structure and are not designed for universal use on a wide range of structures. Further, it should be noted that on large structures, the frictional forces between the strap and structure are such that it is difficult to manually draw the strap to eliminate all slack in the strap prior to exerting a clamping force through the strap. As a result, it has been found that the mechanism for drawing the clamping force may not have enough travel to both take up the remaining slack in the strap and exert the required clamping force for holding the clamp assembly or bracket at the desired location.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The present invention provides a system for providing a support for mounting accessories to generally cylindrical structures. The system includes a support bracket including a facing surface for locating in a position on the cylindrical structure with the facing surface facing toward the surface of the structure. The support bracket includes first and second opposing ends and first and second attachment portions located at each of the first and second ends. A flexible member extends around the structure and attaches to the first and second attachment portions. In addition, a deformable portion is located on and extends from the facing surface for engaging the surface of the structure. The deformable portion deforms in response to tension on the flexible member.
In the preferred embodiment, the deformable portion comprises first and second discrete members formed as lanced tabs extending from the facing surface, and the tabs extend at an obtuse angle relative to the facing surface. When the bracket is initially supported on the cylindrical structure, the tabs hold the facing surface in spaced relation to the structure. As tension is applied to the flexible member, the tabs deform outwardly in opposing directions from each other and toward the facing surface of the bracket, thereby permitting the bracket to move toward contact with the surface of the structure. Upon contact of the facing surface with the structure, three points of contact between the bracket are defined to provide a stable engagement configuration between the bracket and structure which is designed to prevent wobbling or other movement of the bracket.
It should be understood that the deformation of the tabs will vary depending on the particular diameter of the structure. Thus, the bracket of the present invention may accommodate a wide range of structural diameters.
In a further aspect of the invention, the bracket includes an accessory mounting side facing oppositely from the facing surface wherein the accessory mounting side includes means to detachably mount a first tensioning device for applying a first, pretension force to the flexible member. In addition, at least one of the first and second attachment portions include a second tensioning device for applying a second force to the flexible member greater than the first, pretension force, the second force being a clamping force for maintaining the bracket in a desired position on the structure.
The first tensioning device is removed from the bracket subsequent to application of the first, pretension force, and an accessory is attached to the bracket at the accessory mounting side, such that the same location on the bracket may be used both for a first tensioning device and for an accessory mounting device.
Therefore, it is an object of the present invention to provide a system for mounting an accessory to a structure wherein the system may be used with a wide range of structure diameters.
It is a further object of the invention to provide a system for mounting an accessory to a structure including first and second tensioning devices for tensioning a flexible member holding the system to the structure.
It is yet another object of the invention to provide a mechanism for removably mounting a tensioning device for providing a first, pretension force to the flexible member.
It is still another object of the invention to provide a mounting bracket designed to alternatively mount a tensioning device and an accessory supported by the bracket.
Other objects and advantages of the invention will be apparent from the following description, the accompanying drawings and the appended claims.
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Biebel & French
Chin-Shue Alvin
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