US-20260126132-A1 - Roller Equipped Pipe Support with Elastomeric Base

US20260126132A1US 20260126132 A1US20260126132 A1US 20260126132A1US-20260126132-A1

Abstract

A novel pipe support features a block of elastomeric material, a roller cavity defined in the block and open at a topside thereof, and a roller rotatably supported on the block of elastomeric body in a position borne partially within the roller cavity thereof and rotatable about a laterally oriented rotation axis, and with an upper peripheral region of the roller elevated above the topside of the block for rested support of a pipe atop the upper peripheral region of the roller in a position lying axially of the block and transversely the rotation axis. A shaft of the roller is borne by the elastomeric material of the block, in shaft cavities or bores intersecting the left and right sides of the roller cavity. Identical blocks may be used in both roller-equipped and rollerless implementations of the pipe support.

Inventors

Neil Krovats

Assignees

CLEARLINE TECHNOLOGIES LTD.

Dates

Publication Date: 20260507
Application Date: 20251028

Claims (20)

1 . A pipe support comprising: a block of elastomeric material comprising an underside, a topside of opposing relationship to the underside in a height direction, a front side, a rear side of opposing relationship to the front side in an axial direction, a left side, and a right side of opposing relationship to the left side in a lateral direction; a roller cavity defined in said block and that is open at the topside thereof and is bound by the elastomeric material of the block at least at left and right sides of the roller cavity that reside opposite of one another in the lateral direction; and a roller rotatably supported on the block of elastomeric body in a position borne partially within the roller cavity thereof and rotatable about a laterally oriented rotation axis, and with an upper peripheral region of the roller elevated above the topside of the block for rested support of a pipe atop the upper peripheral region of the roller in a position lying axially of the block and transversely the rotation axis.
2 . The pipe support of claim 1 wherein the block is part of a unitary body of said elastomeric material that further comprises first and second pliable arms integrally joined to said block and upstanding therefrom at positions spaced apart from one another in a lateral direction to form a pipe cavity between said first and second pliable arms in which the pipe can be laid axially across said block and laterally constrained between said pliable arms, which pliable arms terminate at terminal ends of non-attached relation to one another at an elevation above the block, at which terminal ends said pliable arms are spreadable apart, via resilient flexure of the pliable arms relative to the block, to increase a gap space between said terminal ends to permit admission of the pipe into said pipe cavity through said gap space.
3 . The pipe support of claim 1 wherein said roller cavity comprises left and right cavity sidewalls at the left and right sides of the roller cavity, at least one of which has a respective shaft cavity recessed therein, and the pipe support further comprises a roller shaft on which the roller is supported, and a respective end of which is received in said respective shaft cavity to support said roller shaft in a position spanning laterally across the roller cavity.
4 . The pipe support of claim 3 wherein the left and right cavity sidewalls each have respective left and right shaft cavities recessed therein, and opposing left and right ends of the roller shaft are respectively received in said left and right shaft cavities.
5 . The pipe support of claim 1 wherein said roller cavity comprises left and right cavity sidewalls at the left and right sides of the roller cavity, at least one of which is intersected by a respective shaft bore that penetrates into the roller cavity from a respective one of the left or right side of the block, and the pipe support further comprises a roller shaft that passes through the shaft bore to rotatably support the roller in the roller cavity.
6 . The pipe support of claim 5 wherein the left and right cavity sidewalls are respectively intersected by left and right shaft bores that penetrate into the roller cavity from the left and right sides of the block, respectively, and the roller shaft passes through both the left and right shaft bores.
7 . The pipe support of claim 3 wherein the roller shaft is borne directly by elastomeric material of the block.
8 . The pipe support of claim 1 wherein the roller cavity is bound by the elastomeric material of the block at least at one of axially opposing front and rear sides of the roller cavity.
9 . The pipe support of claim 8 wherein the roller cavity is bound by the elastomeric material of the block at both the front and rear sides of the roller cavity.
10 . The pipe support of claim 8 wherein the roller cavity is bound by the elastomeric material of the block at said one of the front and rear sides of the roller cavity, and is at least partially open at the other of said front and rear sides of the roller cavity.
11 . The pipe support of claim 1 wherein the base comprises at least one drain opening communicating the roller cavity with an exterior of the unitary body to facilitate drainage from said roller cavity.
12 . A method of producing roller-equipped and rollerless pipe supports, comprising producing or otherwise obtaining a plurality of elastomeric blocks having respective roller cavities therein of open character at topside of the elastomeric blocks, and installing rollers in the respective roller cavities of only a subset of said elastomeric blocks, for use of said subset of said elastomeric blocks in applications where axial pipe expansion and contraction is anticipated, and leaving another subset of said elastomeric blocks rollerless, for use of said another subset of the elastomeric blocks in applications where lesser, or no, axial pipe expansion and contraction is anticipated.
13 . The method of claim 12 wherein installing at least one of said rollers in the respective roller cavity of a respective one of the subset of said elastomeric blocks comprises inserting one end of a roller shaft of said roller into a respective shaft cavity in one of two laterally opposing sidewalls of the roller cavity.
14 . The method of claim 13 wherein said installation of said at least one of said rollers in the respective roller cavity of the respective one of the subset of said elastomeric blocks comprises inserting a second end of said roller shaft into a second respective shaft cavity in a second of said two laterally opposing sidewalls of the roller cavity.
15 . The method of claim 12 wherein installing at least one of said rollers in the respective roller cavity of a respective one of the subset of said elastomeric blocks comprises inserting a roller shaft of said roller into the roller cavity via a respective shaft bore that penetrates an exterior side of the elastomeric block and a respective side of the roller cavity.
16 . The method of claim 15 wherein said installing of said at least one of said rollers in the respective roller cavity of said respective one of the subset of said elastomeric blocks comprises passing one end said roller shaft full through the roller cavity and the elastomeric block to a second exterior side of the elastomeric block via second shaft bore that penetrates said second exterior side of the elastomeric block and a respective second side of the roller cavity.
17 . The method of claim 15 wherein said installing of said at least one of said rollers in the respective roller cavity of said respective one of the subset of said elastomeric blocks comprises inserting the roller separately of the roller shaft through an open side of the roller cavity, and then inserting the roller shaft into the roller cavity and said roller.
18 . The method of claim 12 wherein at least one of the elastomeric blocks is a base of a pipe support that further comprises first and second pliable arms integrally joined to said block and upstanding therefrom at positions spaced apart from one another in a lateral direction to form a pipe cavity between said first and second pliable arms in which the pipe can be laid axially across said block and laterally constrained between said pliable arms, which pliable arms terminate at terminal ends of non-attached relation to one another at an elevation above the block, at which terminal ends said pliable arms are spreadable apart, via resilient flexure of the pliable arms relative to the block, to increase a gap space between said terminal ends to permit admission of the pipe into said pipe cavity through said gap space.
19 . The method of claim 18 wherein at least one of said elastomeric blocks is an armless block lacking said first and second pliable arms.
20 . A pipe support comprising: a unitary body of elastomeric composition comprising: a base; and first and second pliable arms integrally joined to said base and upstanding therefrom at positions spaced apart from one another in a lateral direction to form a pipe cavity between said first and second pliable arms in which a pipe can be laid across said base, in an axial direction transverse to said lateral direction, and laterally constrained between said pliable arms, which pliable arms terminate in respective terminal ends of non-attached relation to one another, at which terminal ends said pliable arms are spreadable apart, via resilient flexure of the pliable arms relative to the base, to increase a gap space between said terminal ends to permit admission of the pipe into said pipe cavity through said gap space; and a roller cavity defined in said base of the unitary body in a position of open communication with said pipe cavity at a bottom thereof.

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS This application claims benefit under 35 U.S.C. 119(e) of U.S. Provisional Application No. 63/716,489, filed Nov. 5, 2024, the entirety of which is incorporated herein by reference. FIELD OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates generally to pipe supports, and more particularly to pipe supports particularly useful for rooftop support of gas lines or other pipes on roofs of buildings. BACKGROUND In the practice of supporting gas lines or other pipework on the roof of a building, there have been a variety of pipe support types proposed and commercialized within the prior art. U.S. Pat. No. 6,682,025 discloses a pipe support embodied in a singular unitary body of rubber-like material with a hollow triangular base for sitting atop the roof, and a pair of curved flexible clamping arms standing upright from an upper apex of the triangular base in symmetrically disposed relation to one another with concave inner sides thereof facing together to create a pipe receiving cavity in which a pipe is receivable through gap between the upper tips of the clamping arms, particularly during a temporary widening of the gap via squeezing of the triangular base to spread the arms momentarily apart. A conceivable shortcoming of this design is a lack of accommodation for axial expansion and contraction of a pipe as a result temperature fluctuations experienced thereby in the environment of use. In contrast, other pipe supports, such as those seen in U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,364,256 and 7,475,513, includes rollers to accommodate such axial pipe expansion and contraction. In these prior designs, a metal or plastic base is seated atop the roof, and a roller is rotatably supported on the base through some arrangement of mechanical couplers in a suitable position for receiving the pipe atop the roller in a position lying perpendicularly of the roller's rotational axis. A second upper roller or pipe strap is installed in an elevated position overhead of the roller to reside overtop the pipe for positive capture thereof in its roller-seated position. Threaded support shafts standing upright from the base allow are used for height adjustable support of the pipe supportive roller, pipe strap or upper roller. Examples of other roller-equipped pipe supports includes those available from C-Port, a division of Clearline Technologies Ltd. of Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada, the present applicant, in their existing roller support product line. While the foregoing roller-equipped pipe supports address the need to accommodate axial expansion and contraction or other axial movement of rooftop pipes, they do have drawbacks in terms of the notable part count in the pipe support assembly, and the amount of assembly and/or adjustment of componentry involved in the pipe installation process. Accordingly, there remains room for improvement in the field of roller-equipped rooftop pipe supports. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION According to a first aspect of the invention, there is provided a pipe support comprising: a block of elastomeric material comprising an underside, a topside of opposing relationship to the underside in a height direction, a front side, a rear side of opposing relationship to the front side in an axial direction, a left side, and a right side of opposing relationship to the left side in a lateral direction; a roller cavity defined in said block and that is open at the topside thereof and is bound by the elastomeric material of the block at least at left and right sides of the roller cavity that reside opposite of one another in the lateral direction; and a roller rotatably supported on the block of elastomeric body in a position borne partially within the roller cavity thereof and rotatable about a laterally oriented rotation axis, and with an upper peripheral region of the roller elevated above the topside of the block for rested support of a pipe atop the upper peripheral region of the roller in a position lying axially of the block and transversely the rotation axis. According to a second aspect of the invention, there is provided a method of producing roller-equipped and rollerless pipe supports, comprising producing or otherwise obtaining a plurality of elastomeric blocks having respective roller cavities therein of open character at topside of the elastomeric blocks, and installing rollers in the respective roller cavities of only a subset of said elastomeric blocks, for use of said subset of said elastomeric blocks in applications where axial pipe expansion and contraction is anticipated, and leaving another subset of said elastomeric blocks rollerless, for use of said another subset of the elastomeric blocks in applications where lesser, or no, axial pipe expansion and contraction is anticipated. According to a third aspect of the invention, there is provided a pipe support comprising: a unitary body of elastomeric composition comprising: a base; andfirst and second pliable arms integrally joined to