Patent Application
20130165038
This disclosure relates generally to ridge vents and more specifically to rollable mesh-type ridge vents formed of randomly aligned synthetic fibers joined with binding agents and cured to provide an air-permeable mat.
To ventilate an attic space, it is common to form a ridge slot in the roof deck extending along a ridge of the roof and to install a ridge vent over the ridge slot in conjunction with installation of soffit ventilation. The ridge vent permits heated air from the attic below to pass through the ridge slot and through the vent while preventing ingress of water, insects, and vermin into the attic. One common type of ridge vent is the so-called rollable mesh ridge vent. One rollable mesh ridge vent that has been commercially successful is the ridge vent and system disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,167,579 of Rotter entitled Roof Vent of Synthetic Fiber Matting. This patent is hereby incorporated fully by reference. Generally, the Rotter ridge vent is a unitary sheet construction of randomly aligned synthetic fibers that are opened and blended, randomly aligned into a web by airflow, joined by phenolic or latex binding agents, and heat cured to produce an air-permeable mat with a substantially constant fiber density throughout. The vent is fabricated in substantial lengths and is rolled into a roll for storage and shipment. For installation, the vent is unrolled along a roof ridge covering a ridge slot and secured to the roof decking on either side of the slot. Ridge cap shingles are then installed atop the ridge vent to form a moisture barrier and to present a traditional appearance. Warm air from the attic below passes through the ridge slot, flows through the mesh mat of the ridge vent, and exits along the edges of the ridge vent to ambience.
While the Rotter ridge vent has proven successful, it nevertheless requires that a water sealed row of ridge cap shingles be carefully installed atop the vent to prevent leakage through the mat and into an attic below. There have been attempts to make mesh ridge vents with their own water barriers so that ridge cap shingles either are not required or careless installation of ridge cap shingles is less likely to result in a water leak. U.S. Pat. No. 7,422,520 of Coulton et al., for example, discloses a roof ridge vent having a covering and a method of installing a ridge vent. The. Coulton et al. ridge vent has a ventilation component comprising a mat of openwork fibers similar to the Rotter ridge vent and a waterproof membrane bonded directly to one side of the ventilation component. The Coulton et al. vent is shipped in spiral wound rolls and is rolled out along a roof ridge having an open ridge slot with the membrane facing up. The ridge vent can then be attached with fasteners to the roof deck with the membrane left exposed to provide a moisture barrier. Alternatively, ridge cap shingles can be applied over the membrane if desired. The Coulton et al. patent is hereby fully incorporated by reference.
A need exists for rollable mesh attic vents and ridge vents in particular that provide exceptional ventilation of an attic space below using less material than traditional mesh ridge vents and that can incorporate an substantially impervious water barrier to prevent rain water from passing through the thickness of the mat. It is to the provision of ridge vents that address these and other needs and that provides other advantages that the present invention is primarily directed.
U.S. provisional patent application No. 61/580,453 to which priority is claimed above is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety.
Briefly described, an attic vent and, in a preferred embodiment, an open weave rollable mesh ridge vent is formed of randomly aligned synthetic fibers joined with binding agents and cured to provide an air-permeable mat. A water barrier can be integrally formed with the mesh ridge vent to inhibit the migration of water and moisture through the mat material while preserving the ventilating properties of the ridge vent. In one embodiment, the integral barrier can be formed by glass fibers, a glass mat, an asphalt coating, or a web of waterproof material such as underlayment bonded to the mat. In another embodiment, the integral water barrier can be formed by a layer or strata of dense fibers formed in the mesh material of the ridge vent. The layer of dense fibers may be formed on the top surface of the mesh ridge vent or at an intermediate location between the top and bottom surfaces of the ridge vent. In one embodiment, the mesh ridge vent is stratified in density with a variable fiber density through the thickness of the mat. In yet another embodiment, ventilation is provided with less material than traditional mesh ridge vents. More specifically, the mesh mat of this embodiment is relatively denser and thicker along its edge portions and relatively less dense and thinner along its mid portion. Combinations of these configurations may be used. Further, the mat may be treated for ultraviolet (UV) protection, for inhibiting the growth of fungus, bacteria, and other organisms, and/or coated with a fire retardant material if desired.
Thus, a mesh ridge vent is disclosed that can provide ventilation comparable to that of traditional constant fiber density ridge vents with less material. The ridge vent may incorporate a moisture barrier that is truly integral to the mat and not merely bonded to one side of the matt with adhesive or other bonding agents. This provides manufacturing advantages, and also results in a mesh ridge vent in which the barriers are not subject to delamination or other deterioration over long periods of time. In the embodiment with more dense thicker edge portions and a less dense thinner mid portion, the density of the edge portions can be selected to support the force of a nail driven by a nail gun through the edge portions of the ridge vent. Thus, traditional nail gun adapters used to prevent crushing of the mesh can be eliminated. A water barrier may be formed on the surface of the ridge vent by spraying or rolling on a waterproof material or it may be formed by a layer or layers of higher density fibers within the mesh itself. These and other features, advantages, and benefits will be better understood by the skilled artisan upon review of the detailed description set forth below taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawing figures, which are briefly described as follows.
Reference will now be made in more detail to the drawing figures, wherein like parts are identified with like reference numerals throughout the several views.
When installed as described, hot air from the attic space 28 is free to flow through the open randomly aligned fibers 14 of the mesh mat 13 and escape to ambience through the opposed longitudinal edges of the mat. The integral moisture barrier 16, however, substantially prevents penetration of water from the top of the ridge vent. For example, rain water impinging on the ridge vent is prevented from penetrating to the mat below, from where it might otherwise leak through the ridge slot and into the attic space. Instead, the water is shed to the edges of the integral moisture barrier from where it drips onto the shingles 24 and flows down the roof in the normal manner. Ridge cap shingles can be applied over the installed mat if desired for aesthetic purposes, but this is not necessary and the ridge vent may simple be left uncovered. If ridge cap shingles are installed, the integral moisture barrier inhibits water that may leak through or between the ridge cap shingles from penetrating the ridge vent 11 and leaking into the attic space 28. The moisture barrier and/or the top of the mat may be shaped to resemble ridge cap shingles if desired for instances where ridge cap shingles are not to be used.
A moisture barrier 36 is integrally formed with the mesh mat and, in this embodiment is disposed at the upper surface of the mat; that is, the surface that is to be exposed when the ridge vent is installed. The moisture barrier 36 may be a polymeric material that is applied by spraying, rolling, or by other application techniques in a wet form and allowed to cure after penetrating a short distance into the upper surface of the underlying mat. Once cured, the moisture barrier 36 becomes an integral element of the mesh ridge vent and, when the vent is installed, prevents the penetration of water into the mat below. This represents an improvement over simply attaching a sheet of material to the top of the mat with adhesive or other bonding agents because, among other reasons, adhesives and bonding agents can fail over long periods of time and the sheet can delaminate from the mesh mat. The moisture barrier 36 also can be a glass mat bonded to the mesh material, a peel and stick underlayment type material, an asphalt coating, or any other structure that forms a barrier to inhibit water from seeping through the mat.
The fibers at the top surface of the mat may be rendered sufficiently dense in a number of ways such as by needling or blowing techniques applied during manufacture and/or by increasing the amount of phenolic or latex binding agents in this region to fill the spaces between the fibers. Other techniques may be applied and the invention is not limited to any particular technique for densifying layers within the ridge vent.
In addition to forming an integral moisture barrier, the coating 36 and/or the densified layers 43, 51, and 62 preferably incorporate UV inhibiting or blocking agents to protect the mat from deterioration by the sun's UV radiation. They may also contain antifungal, antibiotic, and/or pesticide agents to provide for protection against the growth of fungus, bacteria, or other organisms on or within the ridge vent and/or a fire retardant coating. Such protections are particularly useful when the ridge vent is to be installed without ridge cap shingles. Further, the upper surface of the mat and/or the moisture barrier at the top surface of the ridge vent, be it a coating or densified fibers, may be contoured or otherwise configured to mimic the look of overlapping ridge cap shingles or to accommodate surface or roof deck profiles. The barrier can be formed in various colors to match or complement the roofing shingles to be applied to a roof. In this way, the ridge vent may be left uncovered with ridge cap shingles yet still appear as though ridge cap shingles were applied.
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The invention has been described herein in terms of preferred embodiments and methodologies considered by the inventors to represent the best modes of carrying out the invention. It will be understood by the skilled artisan, however, that a wide range of additions, deletions, and modifications, both subtle and gross, may well be made to the illustrated and exemplary embodiments without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as delineated only by the claims. For instance, the identified density ranges above are not limiting and other densities in various regions outside these ranges are within the scope of the invention. It is not a requirement of the invention that a moisture barrier be incorporated at all and embodiments are possible with varying densities that do require ridge cap shingles to provide a moisture barrier. Other innovations such as embedded wiring for fans and other ancillary ventilating equipment may well be incorporated into the fiber mesh. Also the top layer can be made of a fire retardant material in addition to being UV and fungus resistant. The moisture barrier can be a peel-and-stick sheet applied to the mesh or plastic part modules integrated with the web. The top layer also can be provided with photovoltaic collectors or solar cells for generation of solar power, which can be transmitted through wires embedded in the ridge vent. These and other modifications should be construed to be within the scope of the invention disclosed herein.
Priority is hereby claimed to the filing date of U.S. provisional patent application No. 61/580,453 filed on 12 Dec. 2011.
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 61580453 | Dec 2011 | US |
