Patent ID: 9534390
Date: 2017-01-03
CPC Classifications: E04D

Claim:
1. A side rail for use in supporting an overlying load on a roof, wherein such roof comprises a plurality of metal roof panels which collectively define a plurality of elongate upstanding roof ribs, extending between an eave and a ridge of such roof as part of the roof, said roof ribs having roof rib tops, said side rail having first and second opposing side rail sides, and a length, and comprising: (a) an upstanding elongate web, said upstanding web having a first top and a first bottom, a first length, and first side; and (b) an upstanding elongate cavity wall laterally displaced from, and extending alongside, said upstanding web, said cavity wall having a second length, and first and second opposing cavity wall sides, an upper portion of said cavity wall being connected to an intermediate portion of said upstanding web between the top and the bottom of said upstanding web, the combination of said upstanding cavity wall and said upstanding web defining a cavity between said upstanding web and said upstanding cavity wall, the cavity having a cavity top and a cavity bottom, and an elongate opening along the bottom of the cavity and proximate the bottoms of the upstanding web and the cavity wall, and wherein, when said side rail is viewed relative to x, y, and z coordinates, wherein the x, y, and z coordinates define an xy plane, an xz plane, and a yz plane, the xy plane, the xz plane, and the yz plane all being mutually perpendicular to each other, and when said upstanding web is upright, and the bottom of said upstanding web and the bottom of said upstanding cavity wall, at a given point along the length of said side rail, are at substantially equal elevations relative to the xz plane, said upstanding web is parallel to the yz plane.