Roof mount for dish antenna

A roof mount for securely attaching dish antennae to roofs of houses typically supported by a plurality of spaced rafters has a two piece frame attached to a selected portion of a roof with one piece on top of the roof supporting the dish and its adjusting mechanism and the other piece of the frame underlying the first frame beneath the roof. A plurality of fasteners penetrate the roof and both frames and draw the frames toward each other to clamp them about the selected portion of the roof and provide steady support for the antenna.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
This invention relates to a roof mount for parabolic dish antennae 
specifically oriented to receive signals transmitted by satellites in 
geostationary orbit about the earth. 
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
Television signals transmitted by geostationary satellites are generally 
received on the ground by parabolic dish antennae. The strength of the 
signal being transmitted determines the size or diameter of the dish 
required for reception. Weaker signals require larger dishes. Many signals 
require a dish having a diameter of three meters or more for proper 
reception. 
It is anticipated, however, that the strength of the signal will be 
increasingly stronger as more satellites are put into orbit, thereby 
reducing the size of the dish required for good reception. The smaller 
dishes will probably cost less than the relatively larger dishes generally 
in use today, and it is anticipated that the reduced cost and size of 
parabolic dish antennae will increase the popularity of these antennae 
among homeowners, many of whom will probably want to mount their dish 
antenna on the roof of their home. The structure for mounting dish 
antennae on the roofs of dwellings has to be capable of supporting the 
dish on a variety of rooftops of varying shapes and slopes in a fixed, 
unvarying preselected attitude because proper reception requires that the 
dish accurately maintain its preset alignment with the transmitting 
satellite. 
U.S. Pat. No. 4,510,502 issued Apr. 9, 1985 to Lyle W. Hovland for DISH 
ANTENNAE MOUNTING STRUCTURE discloses a roof mount with angularly 
adjustable components specifically intended for use in mounting dish 
antennae on a variety of rooftops of varying slopes, but the mounting 
structure of Hovland is attached by bolts to individual rafters spaced 
from each other beneath the roof. This type of attachment to the roof may 
be unsteady in high winds and is objectionable because it depends for 
support on a relatively small area of the portion of the roof it spans. 
U.S. Pat. No. 3,094,303 issued June 18, 1963 to Myron P. Belger for ANTENNA 
SUPPORTING BRACKETS shows a mount for a television antenna which clamps 
over the eave of a roof to avoid drilling holes in the roof. Belger's roof 
mount is not intended for use with dish antennae and the single bolt used 
to tighten the clamp would be insufficient to provide the steady support 
required for dish antennae. 
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
The present invention provides a strong lightweight mounting structure for 
a dish antenna which rigidly and securely fixes the antenna to a roof 
supported by rafters at any angle and of the type generally found on 
residential houses and apartments. 
The mounting structure includes an upstanding post on which the dish is 
mounted and a framework for adjusting the mounting post to a selected 
position and steadily supporting it in the selected position. The frame 
structure of this invention is specifically designed to maintain the 
preset alignment of the dish with the transmitting satellite in winds 
approaching hurricane force. 
The framing structure of this invention literally incorporates the dish 
antenna into a selected portion of a roof made of typical roofing 
materials and supported by typically spaced rafters. A first frame, 
preferably in the shape of an equilateral triangle, is positioned on the 
outside of the selected portion of the roof and includes adjusting 
mechanism for orienting and supporting the antenna to receive the signal 
from a satellite. A second complementary frame underlies the first frame 
beneath the selected portion of the roof with the legs of the second frame 
extending across and bearing against the several rafters supporting the 
selected portion of the roof. The first and second frames are connected by 
bolts extending through the roof and joining the two frames together. The 
frames extend across and sandwich between them a minimum of 25 square feet 
(2.32 square meters) of roof and extend transversly across at least three 
rafters. The roof mount becomes, in effect, a part of the roof and 
steadily supports the antenna in its adjusted position against force that 
does not move the roof. 
The first frame that contains the adjusting mechanisms for supporting the 
dish antenna can be used without the second frame as a temporary set-up on 
the ground.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
Referring more specifically to the drawings, the numeral 10 broadly 
designates a roof mount for a dish antenna 11. The roof mount 10 comprises 
a triangularly shaped support frame broadly indicated at 12 intended to be 
positioned on a selected portion of a roof 13 and bolted to a triangularly 
shaped anchor frame 14 complementary to the support frame 12 and seated 
against the underside of several rafters 15 beneath the selected portion 
of roof 13. The rafters are typically spaced apart about 16 inches (103.23 
cm). 
The triangular support frame 12 comprises legs 16, 17, and 18. Each of 
these legs is a minimum of about 5 feet long and of sufficient length to 
extend transversly across at least three rafters. The legs 16, 17, and 18 
are shown to be formed of angle iron, but they can be of a longer length 
and formed from any material having the requisite strength to maintain the 
antennna in its selected orientation. 
The legs 16, 17, and 18 are interconnected at their junctures by mounting 
flanges 20. The mounting flanges 20 each include a flat upper plate 21 
spanning the juncture of adjoining legs and connected to the legs by bolts 
22. Each mounting flange extends downwardly as at 23 over the ends of 
adjoining legs and terminates in an outwardly extending lug 24 parallel 
with the plate 21. Each lug 24 has a bore 25 therethrough to receive an 
enlongated bolt 26. 
A crossbar 30 which may be formed of square steel tubing extends between 
the legs 17 and 18 of the support frame 12 to support a post 31 and the 
dish antenna 11. The post 31 is braced by angular struts 32 between the 
post and crossbar 30. 
The crossbar 30 is fitted with a cap 33 at each end to receive bolts 34 
which pivotally mount the crossbar at a selected elevation in brackets 35 
rising from the legs 17 and 18 at points spaced about 25% of the distance 
between the leg 16 and the juncture of the legs 17 and 18. 
A telescopic rod 40 is pivotally connected at its outer end to the post 31 
at a point 41 preferably about 20% of the distance from the top of the 
post to the crossbar 30. The inner-end of telescopic rod 40 is pivotally 
connected to a bracket 42 rising from the plate 21 on top of the mounting 
flange 20 at the juncture of legs 17 and 18. The angularity of the post 31 
is adjusteable by manipulating the telescopic rod 40. 
The anchor frame 14 corresponds to the support frame 12 in shape and 
dimension and is composed of legs 16a, 17a, and 18a formed from angle iron 
and welded together to underlie the legs 16, 17, and 18 on the support 
frame 12 when the roof mount 10 is assembled. The anchor frame 14 has 
threaded bores at the junctures of the legs 16a, 17a, and 18a to receive 
the bolts 26. 
The bolts 26 extend through the bores 25 in support frame 12, through a 
seal S (to prevent leakage), and into the threaded bores in the anchor 
frame. The bolts are tightened to draw the anchor frame upwardly against 
the rafters beneath the selected portion of the roof 13 and clamp that 
portion of the roof between the support frame 12 and the anchor frame 14. 
With about 25 square feet of the roof tightly clamped between the support 
frame and the anchor frame, the post 31 is then firmly anchored at a 
selected angle to steadily hold the dish antenna 11 at the desired 
orientation for proper reception of the satellite signal at all times. 
It is recognized that larger frames may be required for installations in 
geographical areas subject to strong winds and/or to support large dishes. 
Additional bolts should be used on frames having legs longer than five 
feet so that there is a bolt connecting the two frames at least every five 
feet. 
There is thus provided an effective roof mount for a dish antenna which is 
effective, inexpensive, and easy to install. 
Although specific terms have been used in describing the invention, they 
are used in their generic sense only and not for purposes of limitation.