U.S. Patent 12,716,466 B2 • Issued August 25, 2026
Off-Set Seismic Mount
A patented low-profile vibration isolator with built-in seismic restraint — engineered by PANACHE ENGINEERING INC and the basis of the SSI-Series production isolators.
Over 5 inches lower
The mount sits beside the equipment frame, not under it. On a typical generator installation this lowers the machine profile by about 5 inches (130 mm) — critical in rooms with tight overhead clearance.
Isolation + restraint in one unit
A compression spring isolates vibration while rubber-sleeved guide assemblies and guide bolts restrain the equipment vertically and laterally. No separate snubbers or restraint brackets.
Side attachment
Lateral attachment plates bolt to the equipment frame at its existing rail. The mount can replace under-frame isolators on new or existing equipment with only minor frame modifications.
How it works
Load path
The equipment frame bolts to a lateral attachment plate. A rigid frame of L-shaped side walls and stiffener plates carries that offset load down onto a compression spring, converting the eccentric load into a stable vertical force.
Vibration isolation
The spring isolates the supported equipment from operating vibration, the same way a conventional spring isolator does — but without adding the spring's height under the machine.
Seismic restraint
Guide bolts with paired nuts limit vertical travel, and rubber-sleeved guide assemblies restrain horizontal movement. Restraint is integral to the mount rather than a bolt-on accessory.
Pre-load adjustment
A pre-load bolt compresses the spring at installation, setting the operating gap and keeping the isolator seated under seismic uplift.
Applications
Standby generator sets · chillers and pumps · air handlers · data-center mechanical equipment · hospital and essential-facility equipment · retrofit of existing installations where overhead clearance or door heights control.
Backed by the engineering
Every mount is supported by Panache Engineering's seismic qualification practice: project-specific sizing and selection, anchorage design per ACI 318 Chapter 17, ASCE 7 Chapter 13/15 seismic calculations sealed by a California P.E., and support for AC156 shake-table qualification and California HCAI (OSHPD) preapproval submittals.
Patent at a glance
- Patent number
- US 12,716,466 B2
- Title
- Vibration Isolator with an Off-Set Seismic Mount
- Inventor
- Ahmed Haider — Arcadia, California
- Grant date
- August 25, 2026
- Application
- 18/222,921 — filed July 17, 2023
- Priority
- Provisional 63/390,119 — July 18, 2022
- Classification
- F16F 15/085; F16M 5/00; F16M 7/00
- Scope
- 14 claims, 8 drawing sheets
Why it matters on a project
- Lower installed height. The lateral support plate removes the stacked spring height, which matters for rooftop curbs, generator enclosures and data center equipment with fixed connection elevations.
- No bolt-on snubbers. Integral restraint keeps the assembly out of the open-spring provisions of ASCE 7-22 §13.6.4 and eliminates the loose air-gap impact amplification.
- Predictable travel. Paired nuts on the guide bolts set a hard vertical travel limit, so lift-off and re-impact are bounded by design rather than by field adjustment.
- Submittal-ready. Pair it with PE-stamped vibration isolator calculations and anchorage calculations for IBC/CBC and HCAI/OSHPD review.
Frequently asked questions
What does US Patent 12,716,466 B2 cover?
The patent, titled 'Vibration Isolator with an Off-Set Seismic Mount', covers a shock mount using four guide bolts and two rectangular guide assemblies — parallel guide plates separated from a bracing plate by a rubber sleeve — to control vertical travel of the sprung portion, plus an embodiment with a horizontally offset support plate that attaches to the machinery beside the spring rather than above it. It was granted August 25, 2026 to inventor Ahmed Haider (Application 18/222,921, filed July 17, 2023, from provisional 63/390,119).
Why does the off-set support plate matter?
Conventional spring isolators stack the equipment base on top of the spring, so the installed height grows by the full isolator height. The off-set support plate attaches laterally, beside the spring axis, so the equipment sits lower. That saves headroom in mechanical rooms, generator enclosures, rooftop curbs and data center white space where vertical clearance is the binding constraint.
Does the isolator still need external seismic snubbers?
No. The guide plates, bracing plate and guide-bolt/nut stack act as integral restraint in all three axes, so the isolator is a housed restrained mount rather than an open spring. Under ASCE 7-22 §13.6.4 that avoids the open-spring penalties and the loose-fit air-gap amplification associated with bolt-on snubbers.
Is the patented isolator seismically qualified?
The SSI-Series production isolators built on this design have been independently shake-table tested to ICC-ES AC-156 acceptance criteria, and Panache Engineering provides PE-stamped anchorage calculations per ACI 318-19 Chapter 17 for IBC/CBC and HCAI/OSHPD submittals.
Specifying isolators on a tight-clearance project?
Send us the equipment weights, mounting points and available headroom — we'll return an isolator selection schedule and the stamped seismic anchorage package.
Related guides in this topic hub
Continue through the connected code, certification, and design references.