This invention relates to antenna mounts generally, and particularly relates to antenna mounts for installing an antenna on a flat roof without penetrating the seal of the roof.
Commercial antenna installations on flat roof tops have traditionally been complex and expensive. This is primarily due to the wide variety of roof designs currently in use and the requirements which must be met to maintain both structural integrity and beam pointing factors after installation. Further complicating such installations is the need to waterproof or reseal the roof.
Typical flat roofs are of a lightweight construction, with widely spaced steel joists supporting wood or metal decking, and a waterproof seal overlying the decking. The usual spacing between the joists is about four feet. Installation of an antenna has typically required, first, locating either the joists or the girders that support the roof, and then providing a frame that secures the antenna directly to these joists or girders. Location of the antenna is therefore restricted to the location of these main supports, and connection of the antenna mount thus requires drilling through the roof into the structural members and connecting the mount to the structural members with bolts. Typically, these roofs are bonded by the roofing contractor against leakage for ten to twenty years--any installation that penetrates the waterproof membrane of the roof requires that the contractor reseal the roof to maintain the warranty.
With the increasing computerization of commercial information systems, and the attendant need to interconnect computers via satellites to form computer networks, there is an increasing need for roof-mounted satellite dish antennas. The mounts for such satellite dish antennas should be easily transportable and adaptable to a variety of different roofing structures. Moreover, such mounts should permit installation of the antenna without penetrating the seal of the roof, so that the need to reseal the roof to ensure the continued warranty of the roof is obviated.
Accordingly, it is one object of the invention to provide a roof antenna mount which does not require penetration of the roof.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide a nonpenetrating antenna mount which uniformly distributes the weight of the antenna on the roof, and therefore reduces any water ponding which might otherwise occur from a concentration of weight on the roof.
It is a still further object of the present invention to provide an inexpensive antenna mount which is lightweight, transportable, and easy to assemble.