Low-profile, after-aligned, universal point mount
AssigneeLightning Protection System, LLC
InventorsKirk Partridge, Todd Vought, Travis Vought
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
An anchor for lightning protection systems includes a base and pad that extend over a sufficient area and a sufficient bearing length to hold in shear and in tension against the weight, shear force, and moment of cables, points, and other components of a lightning protection systems. A universal point mount may be forged to optimize cross sectional area and contact surface area throughout the mounting system. Drilled and tapped to receive a point oriented arbitrarily, the head mounts easily on a horizontal or vertical mounting surface. Apertures and fasteners provide arbitrary positioning of a point at any necessary orientation.
Claims20
An apparatus operable to ground a lightning strike, the apparatus comprising:
- a base securable directly to a securement surface, absent penetration thereof, wherein the securement surface is selected from a horizontal surface and a vertical surface of a structure to be protected from lightning;
- and
- a head, capable of receiving therein a “point” capable of drawing the lightning strike and capable of securing to the base in a limited number of configurations, each capable of positioning the point vertically, for one of a vertical and a horizontal orientation of the base.
A method of drawing a lightning strike, the method comprising:
- providing an apparatus, operable to ground a lightning strike, comprising a base, securable directly to a securement surface absent penetration thereof, wherein the securement surface is selected from a horizontal surface and a vertical surface of a structure to be protected from lightning, and a head, capable of receiving therein a “point” capable of drawing the lightning strike and capable of securing to the base in a limited number of configurations, the base and head together being capable of positioning the point vertically, regardless of whether an orientation of the base is based on a horizontal or a vertical surface;
- determining a point orientation of the point;
- determining the base orientation of the base, based on a surface orientation of the securement surface and the point orientation;
- and
- orienting the point at the point orientation by fixing the base to the securement surface, the head to the base, and the point to the head.
A method for drawing a lightning strike, the method comprising:
- providing
- a base securable directly to a securement surface, absent penetration thereof, wherein the securement surface is selected from a horizontal surface and a vertical surface of a structure to be protected from lightning, and
- a head, capable of receiving therein a “point” capable of drawing the lightning strike and capable of securing to the base in a finite number of configurations, each capable of positioning the point vertically, based on a horizontal or vertical orientation of the base;
- fixing a point to the base, based on a surface orientation of the securement surface, without penetrating the securement surface nor yielding the base nor the head;
- and
- capturing, between the base and the head, a conductor capable of conducting the lightning strike from the point toward a ground.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.