Patent ID: 8793944

Claim:
A metal panel roofing system, comprising: at least one roof eave, a roof ridge, roofing panels extending from the at least one roof eave to the roof ridge, said roofing panels forming a roof having rib elevations extending in parallel relation from the roof eaves toward the roof ridge and panel flats between said rib elevations, a roof penetration in at least one panel flat of the roof between two of the rib elevations, a skylight or other structure mounted to said side rails over said roof penetration, and side rails mounted directly to the rib elevations adjacent said roof penetration, wherein the side rails extend in the direction of said rib elevations and engage said rib elevations over substantially the entire length of the side rails, and wherein the rib elevations provide structural support for the side rails over substantially the entire length of the side rails, wherein each side rail has a length and is comprised of: a vertical riser portion, an upper flange extending from said vertical riser portion and providing a top bearing surface for supporting one side of said skylight or other structure, and a bottom shoulder structure for engaging the rib elevations of the roof adjacent said roof penetration over the length of the side rail such that the riser portion of the side rail extends upwardly from the rib elevation over the length of the side rail.