WO2013163667A1

WO2013163667A1 - Rail clamp

Info

Publication number: WO2013163667A1
Application number: PCT/AU2012/000454
Authority: WO
Inventors: Qiming Chen
Original assignee: Clenergy (Xiamen) Technology Co., Ltd.
Priority date: 2012-04-30
Filing date: 2012-04-30
Publication date: 2013-11-07
Also published as: JP2015523507A; EP2844929A1; AU2012378827A1; EP2844929A4

Abstract

The invention relates to a rail clamp which allows a mounting rail to be clamped to a mounting bracket using connection formations of a rail connecting portion which also supports the mounting rail. It can be seen that the invention provides a rail clamp wherein pivotal movement of the base portion about the pivot surface causes in use a mounting rail inter-engaged with the rail connecting portion to be pivoted onto the mounting bracket thereby to anchor a free end of the mounting rail and the mounting bracket thereby to cause pivotal movement of the inter-engaged connection formations relative to each other to cause a torsional clamping action.

Description

Rail Clamp

Field of the Invention

The invention generally relates to a clamp and more particularly is concerned with a clamp for use with a mounting rail. Although the invention is applied to any type of rail clamp, for convenience sake it shall be described herein in terms of a rail clamp used to provide support to solar panel or solar heating installations mounted on a roof or the like but is not limited to such.

Background to the Invention Solar panel or solar heating components are mounted to a section of a building such as a roof of a house. In such installations typically a mounting bracket is secured to an underlying roof support structure, for example a roof truss. The mounting bracket then allows the components to be supported by the roof support structure. The conventional attachment arrangements used to secure the components to the mounting bracket can be difficult to operate. These arrangements include a number of small parts or require fastening of a nut in order to achieve holding attachment. Furthermore, often the electrical components, such as solar panels, are relatively large and heavy thereby requiring multiple points of support on the roof support structure. It is difficult to achieve effective attachment over multiple points using the conventional attachment arrangements.

In particular generally holding clamps on rails need to be slid in from the end of the rail and therefore all the rails and clamps need to be mounted at the correct positions prior to then mounting the solar panels to the rails. A complete measurement is required prior to mounting the panels and any variation in panel sizes, errors in calculation, or complications at the site of mounting, cannot be adjusted at the time. Therefore, the conventional attachment arrangements are inadequate to provide, on the one hand secure attachment, and on the other hand ease of operation to allow for ready adjustment to correctly position the components on the roof before being secured in place. A need therefore exists for improvement in the attachment arrangements when securing componentry onto a roof.

Accordingly, it is an aim of the present invention to overcome or at least ameliorate at least one of the disadvantages of the prior art or to provide a useful alternative. Summary of the Invention

In accordance with the invention there is provided a rail clamp for use with a mounting rail having at least one connection formation; the rail clamp includes a body having a base portion and a rail connecting portion carried by the base portion; wherein the base portion includes a central connection receiving portion for receiving a connection means for mounting the base portion to a mounting surface or bracket, and a pivot surface on an undersurface of the base portion at the other side of the central connection receiving portion to the rail connecting portion; wherein the rail connecting portion includes one or more outwardly extending connection formations which are configured to be inter-engageable with the at least one connection formation of the mounting rail; and wherein the pivot surface forms a pivot axis and allows a pivotal arc movement of the rail connecting portion around the central connection receiving portion and the rail connecting portion is configured to provide support through the connection formations to the mounting rail and is capable with the connection means of being operated through the pivot surface to provide a clamping action to anchor the mounting rail to the body.

The connection means can be a fastener for holding the central connection receiving portion to a mounting surface or bracket. This can be a bolt and nut fastener and the central connection receiving portion includes a hole or slot for holding the central connection receiving portion to a mounting surface or bracket.

Preferably the connection means further includes a biasing member; wherein the biasing member is configured to allow limited partial pivotal rotation of the base portion about the pivot surface thereby in use to pivot the connection formations of the rail connecting portion relative to the mounting rail thereby to cause a clamping action with the inter-engaged formations to anchor the mounting rail to the body.

In one form the rail clamp according to the invention includes at least two connection formations; the rail clamp includes the rail connecting portion including at least two connection formations which are configured to be in use inter-engageable with the at least two connection formations of the mounting rail; and wherein the biasing member is configured to cause at least partial pivotal rotation of base portion about the pivot surface thereby in use to pivot the connection formations of the rail connecting portion relative to the rail thereby to cause a clamping action with the inter-engaged formations to anchor the mounting rail to the body.

The rail connecting portion can extend with a perpendicular angle from the base portion.

The connection formations of the rail connecting portion and the mounting rail are preferably complementary to each other. The rail connecting portion has a counterpart connection formation for each of the connection formations of the mounting rail. These rail connecting portion can have spaced connection formations each with a constant cross section and extending along the rail connecting portion and interfitting in a hook arrangement with respective interfitting connection formations of the mounting rail such that pivotal arc movement around the connection means of the rail connecting portion relative to the pivotal surface forms the hook interfitting. ln one form the connection formations of the rail connecting portion is in the form of ribs and the connection formations of the mounting rail is in the form of a grooves; and wherein each of the ribs is slidingly engaged with the engaged with grooves thereby allowing the rail connecting portion to be slid along a length of the mounting rail.

The pivot surface can be formed by an end of the base portion which is bent relative to a remainder of the base portion. In another formed it has a protrusion on an undersurface.

The biasing member is preferably a spring and could be a compression spring. The compression spring is fitted to a fastener which is used to secure the body to a support structure. The support structure is a mounting rail.

The rail clamp in use for securing the rail clamp to a mounting bracket, wherein the pivot surface is bordered by a pair of spaced apart shoulders; and wherein the shoulders are positioned on either side of the mounting bracket thereby anchoring the body against lateral movement of the body relative to the mounting bracket to confine the pivotal arc of the body about the pivot surface into a plane which aligns linearly with the mounting bracket to increase the clamping force.

The rail connecting portion can have at least three connection formations to a mounting bracket with the rail connecting portion carried by the base portion and extending at a perpendicular angle from the base portion, which includes the pivot surface and a compression spring which is fitted to a fastener which is used to secure the body to a mounting bracket; wherein the rail connecting portion including a connection formation for each one of the at least three connection formations of the mounting rail and which are configured to be complementary to and inter-engageable with the connection formations of the mounting rail; and wherein in use the fastener attaches the body to the mounting bracket to allow the compression spring to cause at least partial pivotal rotation of base portion about the pivot surface thereby in use to pivot the connection formations of the rail connecting portion relative to the rail thereby to cause a clamping action with the inter-engaged formations to anchor the mounting rail to the body.

The invention also provides a method of anchoring a mounting rail to a mounting surface or bracket using a rail clamp, the method including the steps of:

a) connecting a base portion of the rail clamp to a bracket body of the mounting bracket so that the base portion is capable of being pivotally moved about a pivot surface of the base portion;

b) connecting the mounting rail to the rail clamp by inter-engaging connection formations of a rail connecting portion of the rail clamp with connection formations of the mounting rail;

c) clamping the mounting rail onto the mounting bracket by causing pivotal rotation of the base portion through operation of a biasing member of the base portion thereby causing pivotal rotation of the connection formations of the rail connecting portion relative to the connection formations of the mounting rail thereby to cause a clamping action in between the inter-engaged connection formations to lock the mounting rail to the mounting bracket.

The method can include the steps of:

i. connecting a base portion of the rail clamp to a bracket body of the mounting bracket so that the base portion is capable of being pivotally moved about a pivot surface of the base portion;

ii. connecting the mounting rail to the rail clamp by inter-engaging connection formations of a rail connecting portion of the rail clamp with connection formations of the mounting rail;

iii. clamping the mounting rail onto the mounting bracket by causing pivotal rotation of the base portion through operation of a biasing member of the base portion thereby causing pivotal rotation of the connection formations of the rail connecting portion relative to the connection formations of the mounting rail thereby to cause a clamping action in between the inter-engaged connection formations to lock the mounting rail to the mounting bracket. In use there is provided a rail clamp assembly which includes a rail clamp including a body including a base portion and a rail connecting portion which extends from the base portion, and a mounting bracket; the base portion includes a pivot surface and a biasing member; the rail clamp is attached to the mounting bracket to allow operation of the biasing member to cause pivotal movement of the base portion about the pivot surface; the rail connecting portion includes a number of connection formations which in use is inter- engageable with a number of connection formations of a mounting rail; wherein pivotal movement of the base portion about the pivot surface causes in use a mounting rail inter-engaged with the rail connecting portion to be pivoted onto the mounting bracket thereby to cause a clamping action to secure the mounting rail to the mounting bracket.

The rail clamp for use with a mounting device a mounting rail has a number of connection formations; the rail clamp includes

i. a body including

ii. a base portion

iii. and a rail connecting portion which is carried by the base portion iv. the rail connecting portion including a number of connection formations which are configured to be in use inter-engageable with the connection formations of the mounting rail;

v. the base portion includes

vi. a pivot surface

vii. and a biasing member

viii. and wherein the biasing member is configured to cause at least partial pivotal rotation of base portion about the pivot surface thereby in use to pivot the connection formations of the rail connecting portion relative to the rail thereby to cause a torsional clamping action between the inter-engaged formations to anchor the mounting rail to the body.

A method of locking a mounting rail to a mounting bracket using a rail clamp, includes the steps of:

a. connecting a base portion of the rail clamp to a bracket body of the mounting bracket so that the base portion is capable of being pivotally moved about a pivot surface of the base portion;

b. connecting the mounting rail to the rail clamp by inter-engaging connection formations of a rail connecting portion of the rail clamp with connection formations of the mounting rail;

c. clamping the mounting rail onto the mounting bracket by causing pivotal rotation of the base portion through operation of a biasing member of the base portion thereby causing pivotal rotation of the connection formations of the rail connecting portion relative to the connection formations of the mounting rail thereby to cause a torsional clamping action in between the inter-engaged connection formations to lock the mounting rail to the mounting bracket.

A rail clamp assembly can include

a. a rail clamp including a body including a base portion and a rail connecting portion which extends from the base portion,

b. and a mounting bracket;

c. the base portion includes a pivot surface and a biasing member;

d. the rail clamp is attached to the mounting bracket to allow operation of the biasing member to cause pivotal movement of the base portion about the pivot surface;

e. the rail connecting portion includes a number of connection formations which in use is inter-engageable with a number of connection formations of a mounting rail;

f. wherein pivotal movement of the base portion about the pivot surface causes in use a mounting rail inter-engaged with the rail connecting portion to be pivoted onto the mounting bracket thereby to anchor a free end of the mounting rail and the mounting bracket thereby to cause pivotal movement of the inter-engaged connection formations relative to each other to cause a torsional clamping action. It can be seen that the invention provides a rail clamp wherein pivotal movement of the base portion about the pivot surface causes in use a mounting rail inter-engaged with the rail connecting portion to be pivoted onto the mounting bracket thereby to anchor a free end of the mounting rail and the mounting bracket thereby to cause pivotal movement of the inter-engaged connection formations relative to each other to cause a torsional clamping action.

Brief Description of the Drawings

In order that the invention can be more readily understood embodiments of the invention are further described by way of example only with reference to the accompanying drawings, wherein:

Figure 1 is a perspective view showing a schematic representation of a rail clamp according to the principles of the invention and mounted to a mounting bracket.

Figure 2 is a side view showing a schematic representation of the rail clamp of Figure 1.

Figure 3 is an end view showing a schematic representation of the rail clamp of Figure 1.

Figure 4 is a perspective view showing a schematic representation of only the rail clamp.

Figure 5 is a side view showing a schematic representation of the rail clamp of Figure 4.

Figures 6 to 10 are side views showing photographic representations of the rail clamp in use.

Figure 1 1 is a perspective view showing a schematic representation of a variation of the rail clamp according to the principles of the invention. Figure 12 is a side view showing a schematic representation of the rail clamp of Figure 11.

Figure 13 is a perspective view showing a schematic representation of the rail clamp of Figure 1 supported by a variation of the mounting bracket according to the principles of the invention.

Description of Illustrated Embodiments of the Invention

Referring to the accompanying representations, Figures 1 , 2 and 3 illustrate a rail clamp 10 according to the principles of the invention. The rail clamp is supported by a bracket body of a mounting bracket 12 which, in turn, is secured to a roof support structure such as a roof truss 1 .

The rail clamp 10 is attached to the mounting bracket 12 with a fastener 16. The fastener is fitted through a slot 18 which allows the fastener to move longitudinally inside opposed ends of the slot. Thus, the slot allows positioning of the rail clamp 10 to be adjusted, to a limited extent, relative to the mounting bracket.

The rail clamp 10 is shown in greater detail in Figures 4 and 5. The rail clamp includes a body 22 which has a base portion 24 and a rail connecting portion 26 which is carried by the base portion and which extends substantially perpendicular from the base portion. The rail connecting portion includes a number of connection formations 28, shaped to interfit in a hook manner. The base includes a pivot surface 30. A hole is formed through the base to accommodate the fastener 16.

The pivot surface 30 includes a pair of spaced apart shoulders 32 The shoulders are positioned on either side of the mounting bracket 12 thereby anchoring the body against transverse movement of the body relative to the mounting bracket. The pair of shoulders 32 confines the pivotal arc A of the body 22 about the pivot surface 30 into a plane which aligns linearly with the mounting bracket to increase the clamping force. Thus, the pair of shoulders allow for longitudinal movement of the fastener inside the slot 18 without substantially allowing for lateral movement of the rail clamp 10 relative to the mounting bracket 12.

Figures 6 to 10 show the rail clamp 10 in use. Although not shown in these representations, in use the mounting bracket 12 most likely will be first secured to the roof truss 14 with suitable fasteners.

The rail clamp 10 will be fitted to the mounting bracket 12 once the mounting bracket 12 is secured to the roof truss. The fastener 16 is registered with the hole of the base portion 24 and the slot 18 of the mounting bracket before a nut 34 of the fastener is secured to a threaded shank of a bolt 36 of the fastener. A biasing member or compression spring 38 is fitted around the threaded shank of the bolt so that the compression spring operates between the nut 34 and the base portion 24. It should be noted that, although in the illustrated example the nut is shown to be above the base portion 24, the nut and bolt arrangement can be inverted if required. The invention should therefore not be seen as limited in this regard.

As best can be seen in Figure 8, the pivot surface 30 rests on the mounting bracket 12 so that the base portion 24 is initially angled relative to the mounting bracket. However, the compression spring 38 allows the base portion to pivot relative to the mounting bracket about the pivot surface 30. Thus, compressing of the compression spring is achieved when the rail connecting portion 26 is moved in a direction 40.

Movement of the rail connecting portion 26 allows the connection formations 28 to be moved away from the mounting bracket to the position substantially shown in Figure 7. This allows for connection formations 42 of a mounting rail 44 to be moved underneath the connection formations 28 of the rail connecting portion 26 as is shown in Figure 8. The connection formations 28 and 42 are inter-engageable with and complementary to each other. Movement of the rail connecting portion 26 by the compression spring 38 causes the connection formations 28 to clamp down onto the connection formations 42 as is shown Figure 9. The nut 34 can then be fastened onto the bolt 36 to secure the rail clamp 10 onto the mounting rail 44.

The rail connecting portion 26 is therefore capable of providing support through the connection formations 28 to the mounting rail 44 and is capable of being operated through the pivot surface 30 to provide a clamping action to anchor the mounting rail to the body 22.

Furthermore, the compression spring 38 is configured to cause at least partial pivotal rotation of the base portion 24 about the pivot surface 30 thereby in use to pivot the connection formations 28 of the rail connecting portion 26 relative to the mounting rail thereby to cause a clamping action of the inter-engaged formations to anchor the mounting rail to the body.

In the illustrated example the rail connecting portion 28 has three surface mating formations 28. The mounting rail 44 has a number of connection formations 42. The connection formations provides three channels 48 which face upwardly in order to receive the connection formations 28 to the clamping action.

The configuration of the connection formations 28 and 42 allow the rail connecting portion 26 to be slid along a length of the mounting rail 44. The rail connecting portion 26 is moved in the arc direction A in order to release, at least partly, the clamping action achieved through the compression spring 38. This allows the mounting rail 44 to be slid relative to the rail clamp 10 to adjust the positioning of the rail clamp on the mounting rail 44.

The pivot surface 30 is formed by an end 50 of the base portion which is being relative to a remainder of the base portion. The pivot surface is configured to allow the base portion 24 to extend substantially parallel to the mounting bracket when the nut 34 is fastened to the bolt 36 as is shown in Figure 10. This promotes an equal distribution of the clamping force across the rail connecting portion through the connection formations 28 and 42. Prior to the fastening of the bolt the body 22 is capable of limited pivotal movement relative to the mounting bracket 12. The biasing force of the compression spring 38 causes the anchoring of the mounting rail 44 to the rail clamp through the clamping action achieved by the inter-engaged connection formations 28 and 42.

The rail clamp 0 therefore could provide a method of locking the mounting rail 44 to the mounting bracket 12 using the rail clamp by firstly connecting the base portion 24 of the rail clamp to the mounting bracket so that the base portion is capable of being pivotally moved about the pivot surface 30 of the base portion. Thereafter the mounting rail is connected to the rail clamp by inter-engaging connection formations 28 of the rail connecting portion 26 with connection formations 42 of the mounting rail 44. The mounting rail 10 is then allowed to clamp onto the mounting bracket by causing pivotal rotation of the base portion through operation of biasing member 38 of the base portion thereby causing pivotal rotation of the connection formations of the rail connecting portion relative to the connection formations of the mounting rail thereby to cause a clamping action in between the inter-engaged connection formations to lock the mounting rail to the mounting bracket.

Figures 11 and 12 illustrate a variation 10A of a rail clamp according to the principles of the invention. Like reference numerals are used to designate like components between the rail clamps 10 and 10A.

The rail clamp 10A includes a pivot surface 30A which is in the form of a shoulder which projects from a base portion 24A of a body 22A. The shoulder rests on the mounting bracket 12 to allow for pivotal movement of the base portion about the pivot surface.

Furthermore, a cross-sectional thickness 58 of surface mating formations 28A are such that the surface mating formations fits with a substantial tight fit into the channels 48 created by the connection formations 42 of the mounting rail 44. This tight fitment causes a torsional clamping force to be created between the inter-engaged connection formations 28A and 42 when the rail connecting portion 26A is pivoted towards the mounting rail. With the rail clamp 0 some rotational movement of the connection formations 28 is allowed inside the channels 48. However, with the rail 10A the tight fitment of the connection formations 28A inside the channels substantially prevents rotational movement of the connection formations inside the channels. Thus, a side of the mounting rail facing the rail clamp 10A is therefore locked to the rail connecting portion. An opposed, free end of mounting rail bears against the mounting bracket 12 when the rail connecting portion is pivoted about the pivot surface 30A. When the free end of the mounting rail rests on the mounting bracket, placing a further rotational force on the rail connecting portion will cause a torsional clamping force to be created by the inter-engaged connection formations 28A and 42. This increases the force with which the mounting rail"44 is anchored to the rail clamp 10A.

Figure 13 illustrates a variation 60 of the mounting bracket. The mounting bracket 60 is formed from two portions 62 and 6 which are slidingly connected to each other through a faster 66. The portion 64 includes a slot which allows for adjustment of the positioning of the faster 66 relative to the portion 64. Thus, movement of the faster 66 along the slot allows for the height adjustment of the rail clamp 10 relative to the portion 62. The invention could therefore provide a rail clamp which allows a mounting rail to be clamped to a mounting bracket using connection formations of a rail connecting portion which also supports the mounting rail. The rail connecting portion 26 extend substantially vertical relative to a base portion 24 of the rail clamp thereby providing vertical support to the mounting rail. The rail clamp includes a biasing member or compression spring which allows for pivotal movement of the base portion about a pivot surface. The natural resilience of the compression spring biases the rail connecting portion towards the mounting rail which causes a clamping action of the connection formations 28 of the rail connecting portion onto the connection formations of the mounting rail. The connection formations of the rail clamp can also be dimensioned to create a torsional clamping force. The invention therefore also provide a rail clamp which pivots thereby to cause clamping of a mounting rail supported by the clamp though pivotal movement of the rail clamp relative to the rail.

While we have described herein a particular embodiment of a rail clamp, it is further envisaged that other embodiments of the invention could exhibit any number and combination of any one of the features previously described. However, it is to be understood that any variations and modifications which can be made without departing from the spirit and scope thereof are included within the scope of this invention as defined in the following claims.

Claims

The claims defining the invention are as follows:

1. A rail clamp for use with a mounting rail having at least one connection formation; the rail clamp includes:

a body having a base portion and a rail connecting portion carried by the base portion;

wherein the base portion includes a central connection receiving portion for receiving a connection means for mounting the base portion to a mounting surface or bracket, and a pivot surface on an undersurface of the base portion at the other side of the central connection receiving portion to the rail connecting portion;

wherein the rail connecting portion includes one or more outwardly extending connection formations which are configured to be inter-engageable with the at least one connection formation of the mounting rail;

and wherein the pivot surface forms a pivot axis and allows a pivotal arc movement of the rail connecting portion around the central connection receiving portion and the rail connecting portion is configured to provide support through the connection formations to the mounting rail and is capable with the connection means of being operated through the pivot surface to provide a clamping action to anchor the mounting rail to the body.

2. A rail clamp according to claim 1 wherein the connection means is a fastener for holding the central connection receiving portion to a mounting surface or bracket.

3. A rail clamp according to claim 1 wherein the connection means is a bolt and nut fastener and the central connection receiving portion includes a hole or slot for holding the central connection receiving portion to a mounting surface or bracket.

A rail clamp according to claim 1 including a connection means with a biasing member;

wherein the biasing member is configured to allow limited partial pivotal rotation of the base portion about the pivot surface thereby in use to pivot the connection formations of the rail connecting portion relative to the mounting rail thereby to cause a clamping action with the inter- engaged formations to anchor the mounting rail to the body

A rail clamp according to claim 1 including at least two connection formations; the rail clamp includes

i. the rail connecting portion including at least two connection formations which are configured to be in use inter-engageable with the at least two connection formations of the mounting rail;

ii. and wherein the biasing member is configured to cause at least partial pivotal rotation of base portion about the pivot surface thereby in use to pivot the connection formations of the rail connecting portion relative to the rail thereby to cause a clamping action with the inter-engaged formations to anchor the mounting rail to the body.

A rail clamp according to claim 1 wherein the rail connecting portion extend with a perpendicular angle from the base portion.

A rail clamp according to claim 1 wherein the connection formations of the rail connecting portion and the mounting rail are complementary to each other.

A rail clamp according to claim 1 wherein the rail connecting portion has a counterpart connection formation for each of the connection formations of the mounting rail.

9. A rail clamp according to claim 1 wherein the rail connecting portion has spaced connection formations each with a constant cross section and extending along the rail connecting portion and interfitting in a hook arrangement with respective interfitting connection formations of the mounting rail such that pivotal arc movement around the connection means of the rail connecting portion relative to the pivotal surface forms the hook interfitting.

10. A rail clamp according to claim 1 wherein the connection formations of the rail connecting portion is in the form of ribs and the connection formations of the mounting rail is in the form of a grooves; and wherein each of the ribs is slidingly engaged with the engaged with grooves thereby allowing the rail connecting portion to be slid along a length of the mounting rail.

1 1. A rail clamp according to claim 1 wherein the pivot surface is formed by an end of the base portion which is bent relative to a remainder of the base portion.

12. A rail clamp according to claim 1 wherein the biasing member is a spring.

13. A rail clamp according to claim 1 wherein the biasing member is a compression spring.

14. A rail clamp according to claim 1 wherein the compression spring is fitted to a fastener which is used to secure the body to a support structure.

15. A rail clamp according to claim 1 wherein the support structure is a mounting rail.

16. A rail clamp according to claim 1 wherein the rail clamp in use for securing the rail clamp to a mounting bracket, wherein the pivot surface is bordered by a pair of spaced apart shoulders; and wherein the shoulders are positioned on either side of the mounting bracket thereby anchoring the body against lateral movement of the body relative to the mounting bracket to confine the pivotal arc of the body about the pivot surface into a plane which aligns linearly with the mounting bracket to increase the clamping force.

17. A rail clamp according to claim 1 wherein the rail connecting portion has at least three connection formations to a mounting bracket with the rail connecting portion carried by the base portion and extending at a perpendicular angle from the base portion

i. the base portion including the pivot surface and a compression spring which is fitted to a fastener which is used to secure the body to a mounting bracket;

ii. wherein the rail connecting portion including a connection formation for each one of the at least three connection formations of the mounting rail and which are configured to be complementary to and inter-engageable with the connection formations of the mounting rail; iii. and wherein in use the fastener attaches the body to the mounting bracket to allow the compression spring to cause at least partial pivotal rotation of base portion about the pivot surface thereby in use to pivot the connection formations of the rail connecting portion relative to the rail thereby to cause a clamping action with the inter-engaged formations to anchor the mounting rail to the body.

18. A method of anchoring a mounting rail to a mounting surface or bracket using a rail clamp, the method including the steps of:

A method of anchoring a mounting rail to a mounting bracket using a rail clamp, the method including the steps of:

ii. connecting the mounting rail to the rail clamp by inter- engaging connection formations of a rail connecting portion of the rail clamp with connection formations of the mounting rail;

iii. clamping the mounting rail onto the mounting bracket by causing pivotal rotation of the base portion through operation of a biasing member of the base portion thereby causing pivotal rotation of the connection formations of the rail connecting portion relative to the connection formations of the mounting rail thereby to cause a clamping action in between the inter-engaged connection formations to lock the mounting rail to the mounting bracket.

20. A rail clamp assembly which includes

i. a rail clamp including a body including a base portion and a rail connecting portion which extends from the base portion,

ii. and a mounting bracket;

iii. the base portion includes a pivot surface and a biasing member; the rail clamp is attached to the mounting bracket to allow operation of the biasing member to cause pivotal movement of the base portion about the pivot surface; the rail connecting portion includes a number of connection formations which in use is inter-engageable with a number of connection formations of a mounting rail; wherein pivotal movement of the base portion about the pivot surface causes in use a mounting rail inter-engaged with the rail connecting portion to be pivoted onto the mounting bracket thereby to cause a clamping action to secure the mounting rail to the mounting bracket.

A rail clamp for use with a mounting device a mounting rail having a number of connection formations; the rail clamp includes

i. a body including

a base portion

and a rail connecting portion which is carried by the base portion

iv. the rail connecting portion including a number of connection formations which are configured to be in use inter-engageable with the connection formations of the mounting rail;

v. the base portion includes

vi. a pivot surface

vii. and a biasing member

viii. and wherein the biasing member is configured to cause at least partial pivotal rotation of base portion about the pivot surface thereby in use to pivot the connection formations of the rail connecting portion relative to trie rail thereby to cause a torsional clamping action between the inter- engaged formations to anchor the mounting rail to the body.

A method of locking a mounting rail to a mounting bracket using a rail clamp, the method including the steps of: connecting a base portion of the rail clamp to a bracket body of the mounting bracket so that the base portion is capable of being pivotally moved about a pivot surface of the base portion;

connecting the mounting rail to the rail clamp by inter-engaging connection formations of a rail connecting portion of the rail clamp with connection formations of the mounting rail;

clamping the mounting rail onto the mounting bracket by causing pivotal rotation of the base portion through operation of a biasing member of the base portion thereby causing pivotal rotation of the connection formations of the rail connecting portion relative to the connection formations of the mounting rail thereby to cause a torsional clamping action in between the inter-engaged connection formations to lock the mounting rail to the mounting bracket.

A rail clamp assembly which includes

a rail clamp including a body including a base portion and a rail connecting portion which extends from the base portion,

and a mounting bracket;

the base portion includes a pivot surface and a biasing member;

the rail clamp is attached to the mounting bracket to allow operation of the biasing member to cause pivotal movement of the base portion about the pivot surface,

the rail connecting portion includes a number of connection formations which in use is inter-engageable with a number of connection formations of a mounting rail;

wherein pivotal movement of the base portion about the pivot surface causes in use a mounting rail inter-engaged with the rail connecting portion to be pivoted onto the mounting bracket thereby to anchor a free end of the mounting rail and the mounting bracket thereby to cause pivotal movement of the inter-engaged connection formations relative to each other to cause a torsional clamping action.

24. A rail clamp substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to the accompanying representations.