Novel Bracket for Use in Installing a Target Material on a Target Substrate

Abstract

The invention describes a novel roofing and siding bracket that replaces traditional battens and tile hangers. The bracket can be used for installation of a variety of shingles, tiles, slates, or panels for siding or roofing. The bracket is comprised of a fastener area, a riser lip, and a headlap area. The riser lip joins the fastener area and headlap area at preformed opposite angles, however these angles are independently adjustable so that the fastener area can match the substrate slope and the headlap area can accommodate a wide range of roof materials having either uniform or variable thicknesses. The riser lip allows for rapid and uniform installation of roof materials such as tiles, shingles, slates, or panels. The bracket optionally comprises many desirable features including pre-punched fastener holes in the fastener area of the bracket for easy roofing deck installation; adjustable retaining tabs for engaging with and securing the butt edge of roof materials in a wide range of thicknesses; and rattle-preventing one-way locking tension friction pawl tabs in the headlap area that engage with and retain an adjacent overlapped course of roof materials. The bracket can be manufactured in a variety of lengths, but is modular and is readily cut to size as needed for each course. The bracket can be used with traditional moisture barriers and fasteners on traditional substrates (roofing decks, walls, etc.). The bracket can be manufactured in a variety of strong and weather resistant materials, or in combination with weather resistant or grip enhancing coatings. The bracket can be produced in a variety of finishes to enhance the beauty or aesthetics of the finished roof. The roofing and siding bracket results in a more secure, durable, adjustable, and beautifully minimalistic alternative to traditional shingle, tile, slates, or panel roofing and siding installation products.

Description

STATEMENT REGARDING FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH OR DEVELOPMENT

Not Applicable

REFERENCE TO SEQUENCE LISTING, A TABLE, OR A COMPUTER PROGRAM LISTING COMPACT DISC APPENDIX

Not Applicable

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

There is a tension between roof owners who are concerned about the installation cost, roof performance, roof durability, and roof aesthetic, and the roof installers who are concerned with product costs, installation ease, installation speed, and product reliability. Yet presently there is not a single product on the market that can address these concerns for a wide range of roofing and siding materials. In part, the issue is due to the physical parameters of the roofing material. For example, if using natural stone slates, wood shingles, etc. there is the issue of how to uniformly, rapidly, and reliably install courses (rows of the roofing material) despite a greater dimension variance compared to ceramic tiles, fiber reinforced cement boards, engineered composite panels, etc. Additionally, roofing materials can be difficult to install because of the tendency to slide out of position before being secured unless it is well supported by the installer. But if an installer must hold the roofing materials in place by hand, then it greatly impacts the safety, speed, and cost of installation. A unique installation solution is needed to address these issues while appealing to both the owners and installers. The solution should be readily adaptable to a wide selection of roofing materials and address the issue of material sliding. The solution should work with typical construction methods such as common substrate builds (roof decks, walls, etc.), commonly used fasteners (screws, nails, etc.), and underlay barrier layers (asphalt liner, plastic liner, or metal flashing, etc.).

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

It is a goal of the present invention to provide a novel bracket for use in installing a target material onto a target substrate. The bracket is configured for roofing and siding applications. The bracket can be used with many different types of roofing and siding materials and installation methods.

It is a goal of the present invention to overcome many of the limitations and drawbacks of the roofing and siding attachment means traditionally used by providing a bracket that is strong, secure, adaptable, adjustable, modular, customizable, thin, light-weight, self-aligning, weather-resistant, can be readily designed to accommodate many different roofing styles and materials on site, and can be manufactured to the aesthetic preferences of any particular roofing and siding application.

It is another goal of the present invention to reduce the cost and increase the safety of installation by simplifying the installation process. The present invention will accomplish this in part by providing a mechanism to engage with adjacent overlapped courses (rows of roofing material).

It is another goal of the present invention to provide a mechanism to easily remove damaged roofing materials and install replacement roofing materials with greater ease.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWING

FIG. 1 depicts a perspective view of a first implementation of the bracket of the present disclosure.

FIG. 2 depicts the same perspective view of the first implementation of FIG. 1 with a roofing material unit installed over the bracket, where the retaining tabs of the bracket are engaged with and secure the roofing material unit's butt edge.

FIG. 3 depicts the same perspective view of the first implementation of FIG. 1 with a roofing material unit installed under the bracket, where the pawl tabs of the bracket are engaged with and secure the roofing material unit's outward face.

FIG. 4 depicts the same perspective view of the first implementation of FIG. 1 with a roofing material unit installed over the bracket and a roofing material unit installed under the bracket.

FIG. 5 depicts an orthographic cross sectional side view of several courses installed over a substrate and moisture barrier using a second implementation of the bracket.

FIG. 6 depicts a partial enlargement of the view of FIG. 5.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

For ease of understanding the disclosure, the terms outward facing, outside, highest, lowest, top, bottom, etc. may be used to describe the position of any part or surface with respect to the others. A person having ordinary skill in the art of roofing will understand that the substrate is known as a “roofing deck” which has a topmost edge called the “ridge,” a bottom most edge called the “eave,” and side edges that are either in a “hip,” “valley,” or “rake” configuration. The present description may therefore use, “outward facing” to describe the side that faces away from the roofing deck; “inward facing” describes the side that faces the substrate (roofing deck or wall); “bottom” means closest to the eave; “top” means closest to the ridge; and “side” means the side oriented toward the edges of the substrate (hip, valley, or rake edges if a roof and corner if a wall). For convenience of understanding, “deck” is used as shorthand for roof or wall substrates below.

The invention describes a novel bracket, hereinafter “bracket,” for use in installing a target material on a target substrate that replaces traditional battens and tile hangers. The bracket can be used for installation of a variety of shingles, tiles, slates, or panels for siding or roofing. A first exemplary embodiment, bracket 100, is shown in FIG. 1. The bracket 100 has a body that is comprised of a fastener area 101, a riser lip 103, and a headlap area 105. The riser lip 103 connects the fastener area 101 and headlap area 105. Bracket 100 in FIG. 1 shows riser lip 103 comprising a first bend 107 and a second bend 109. In some embodiments, the riser lip is preformed having opposite angles, however these angles are independently adjustable so that the fastener area can match the substrate slope and the headlap area can accommodate a wide range of roof materials having either uniform or variable thicknesses. The riser lip allows for rapid and uniform installation of roof materials such as tiles, shingles, slates, or panels. The bracket optionally comprises many desirable features including pre-punched fastener holes in the fastener area of the bracket for easy roofing deck installation; adjustable retaining tabs for engaging with and securing the butt edge of roof materials in a wide range of thicknesses; and rattle-preventing one-way locking tension friction pawl tabs in the headlap area that engage with and retain an adjacent overlapped course of roof materials. Returning to FIG. 1, bracket 100 includes fastener holes 111, retaining tabs 113, and pawl tabs 115. The bracket can be manufactured in a variety of lengths, but is modular and is readily cut to size as needed for each course. The bracket can be used with traditional moisture barriers and fasteners on traditional substrates (roofing decks, walls, etc.). The bracket can be manufactured in a variety of strong and weather resistant materials, or in combination with weather resistant or grip enhancing coatings. The bracket can be produced in a variety of finishes to enhance the beauty or aesthetics of the finished roof. The roofing and siding bracket results in a more secure, durable, adjustable, and beautifully minimalistic alternative to traditional shingle, tile, slates, shakes, or panel roofing and siding installation products. In a particular embodiment, the bracket is manufactured by using a laser CNC to cut large sheets of metal that can be bent into the correct shape via brake press.

In a basic embodiment, the bracket body can be generally described as a mostly flat strip having two bends along its length, where the top-most flat section is the fastener area, the first bend starts the riser lip, and the second bend starts the headlap area at the bottom-most section.

The bracket may be installed directly onto a substrate such as a wood roof deck using at least one fastener selectable from traditional fasteners such as screws, nails, staples, bolts, and adhesives. Each of the at least one fastener engages with the fastener area and the deck. In the case of screws, nails, staples, and bolts, the fastener passes through the fastener area and into the deck. In the case of adhesives, the adhesive binds the inward facing side of the fastener area to the outward facing side of the deck. In some embodiments, the fastener area further comprises at least one pre-formed fastener hole. In some preferred embodiments, there is a plurality of fastener holes spaced at regular intervals along the length of the fastener area. The bracket 100 in FIG. 1 is such an example, having fastener holes 111. In some implementations, the bracket may be installed over a barrier layer, wherein the barrier layer is comprised of a material selected from common water barrier materials such as plastic, asphalt, metal, and composites. See FIG. 5 and FIG. 6 showing the bracket 200 installed over barrier layer 221. The barrier layer 221 of FIG. 5 and FIG. 6 is covering target substrate 219. The bracket 200 of FIG. 5 and FIG. 6 is attached to barrier layer 221 and target substrate 219 using fastener 223.

The riser lip joins the fastener area and headlap area via a first bend and second bend, respectively. The first bend has a first angle such that when the inward facing side of the fastener area is laid along (adjacent to) the deck, the riser lip extends outward from the deck. The second bend has a second angle such that when the inward facing side of the fastener area is laid along (adjacent to) the deck, the inward facing side of the headlap area extends above the deck leaving a gap between the two. The gap between the inward facing side of the headlap area and the deck is called the headlap gap. During installation of multiple adjacent courses, the topmost edge of the roofing material unit in the next adjacent course below will be tucked into the headlap gap. See FIG. 3 and FIG. 4 showing the relative position of roofing material units 117 on the bracket 100. See FIG. 5 and FIG. 6 showing bracket 200 installed in two adjacent parallel courses, first course 225 and second course 227. The material unit 217 is positioned with its topmost edge substantially adjacent to the riser lip 203 of the first course 225 such that the headlap area 205 of the first course 225 is over the topmost edge of the material unit 217 and the pawl tab 215 of the first course 225 engages with the top face of the material unit 217. The bottom most edge of material unit 217 is positioned over the headlap area 205 of the second course 227 and engaged by the retaining tabs 213 of the second course 227. In a preferred embodiment, the first angle will be 90 degrees so that the riser lip is perpendicular to the fastener area, and the second angle will be 270 degrees (which is understood to be equivalent to −90 degrees) so that the headlap area is perpendicular to the riser lip and parallel to the fastener area and the deck. In some preferred embodiments, the bracket will be constructed of a material that allows for mechanical deformation (malleability) of the first and second angles such that if needed, the angles may be manually adjusted to accommodate roofing materials of different dimensions. For example, a roofing material unit with a thickness dimension that exceeds the height of the riser may need a second angle that is less than 270 degrees, thereby allowing it to fit within the larger headlap gap created by the smaller angle. Similarly, a roofing material unit with a thickness dimension that is less than the height of the riser may need a second angle that is more than 270 degrees, thereby allowing it to fit within the smaller headlap gap created by the larger angle.

In certain embodiments, the headlap area further consists of at least one retaining tab. In preferred embodiments, the headlap area consists of a plurality of retaining tabs. Bracket 100 of FIG. 1 shows a plurality of retaining tabs 113. The retaining tabs are finger-like protrusions extending from the bottom edge of the headlap area that engage with and secure the butt edge of roof material units. In some embodiments, the retaining tabs are constructed of a mechanically deformable material allowing the retaining tabs to be bent as needed around the butt edge of the roof material units. In some preferred embodiments, the retaining tabs comprise at least a first and second bend such that the retaining tab extends downward, bends outward, and then bends back upward. In this way, each retaining tab is capable of engaging with a wide range of roofing material thicknesses. In some preferred embodiments, the bracket will be constructed of a material that allows for mechanical deformation (malleability) of the first and second bends of the retaining tabs such that if needed, the bends may be manually adjusted to accommodate roofing materials of different dimensions.

In certain embodiments, the headlap area further consists of at least one pawl tab located in the headlap area. In preferred embodiments, the headlap area consists of a plurality of pawl tabs. Bracket 100 of FIG. 1 shows a plurality of pawl tabs 115. The pawl tab is a member that is biased inward into the headlap gap. This inward bias is seen more clearly at the pawl tab 215 in the cross-section view of FIG. 5 and FIG. 6. The pawl tab engages with and retains the roof material unit of an adjacent overlapped course of roof materials. In some iterations the pawl tab is formed by forming a member shape into the headlap area and then bending the member at least partially into the headlap gap. In preferred embodiments, the pawl tab is a simple notch, semi-circle, or wedge shape that is formed (via casting, die cut, or laser cut) into the headlap area in an orientation such that when the pawl tab is bent into the headlap gap, the protruding tip of the pawl tab is pointing both inward and upwards towards the riser lip. By having this orientation the pawl tab will engage with the roof material unit of an adjacent overlapped course of roof materials, and it will act as a one one-way locking mechanism through tension friction. This pawl tab assists with the installation process as roofing material units that are inserted into the headlap gap will become locked into place, while also decreasing rattling (due to wind) once installed.

A roof material installation using the bracket will typically use one or more brackets per course of roofing material. Each bracket is capable of supporting one or more roof material units, where a unit is each tile, each shingle, each stone, each slate piece, each panel, each roof shake, etc. In some installations it may be preferable to additionally install a bracket course along an edge of the roof (such as at a valley, rake, or hip in the roof) that is perpendicular to the other brackets and provides roofing material unit retention along that edge. In such an installation, the bracket's riser lip may be flattened by the installer so that the bracket fastener area and headlap area will lay flat against the target roof deck along its edge such that the retaining tabs can be bent up and around the side edge of the roof material units in each course. This will prevent the lateral or side-to-side motion of the roof material units in each course.

A first implementation of the bracket, bracket 100, is depicted in FIG. 1. FIG. 2 shows bracket 100 of FIG. 1 with a roofing material unit 117 unit installed over the bracket 100, where the retaining tabs 113 of bracket 100 are engaged with and secure the butt edge of roofing material unit 117. FIG. 3 shows bracket 100 of FIG. 1 with a roofing material unit 117 installed under bracket 100, where the pawl tabs 115 of bracket 100 are engaged with and secure the outward face of roofing material unit 117. FIG. 4 shows bracket 100 of FIG. 1 with a roofing material unit 117 installed over bracket 100 and another roofing material unit 117 installed under bracket 100. FIG. 5 shows a cross section of several courses of brackets installed over a target substrate 219 and barrier layer 221 (moisture barrier) using a second implementation of the bracket, bracket 200. The target substrate 219 appears as the dotted rectangular body positioned substantially horizontally in FIG. 5. The barrier layer 221 appears as a thin rectangular body with cross hatching that is adjacent to and over target substrate 219. The first course 225 and second course 227 of bracket 200 shown in FIG. 5 are each attached to the target substrate 219 with a simple nail fastener 223 that passes through the fastener area 201 of each bracket 200, through the barrier layer 221, and into the target substrate 219. The roofing material unit 217 in FIG. 5 is represented by several tiles that appear as thin angled rectangles with small angled dashes. FIG. 6 is a partial magnification of bracket 200 of FIG. 5 to better show the detail of how the bracket 200 engages the target substrate 219 and the roofing material unit 217. Note how the roofing material unit 217 (tiles) are secured to the target substrate 219—the top edge each roofing material unit 217 is held against the riser lip 203 of bracket 200 in FIG. 5; the outward face of each roofing material unit 217 is held against the pawl tab 215 of bracket 200 in FIG. 5; the butt edge of each roofing material unit 217 is held against the retaining tabs 213 of bracket 200 in FIG. 5. In this way each bracket engages with multiple courses of roofing material.

The retaining tabs are bent outward and then upward to engage around the butt edge of a roofing material unit (such as tiles, shingles, panels, slates, etc.) when installed. In some preferred implementations the retaining tab is bent twice at 90 degree angles, such as seen in the figures. Though any combination of curves and bends resulting in a 180 degree angle where the distal end of the retaining tab returns towards the headlap area can be used in the various implementations. For example, in one implementation, the retaining tab hooks back towards the body following a smooth arc. In some preferred implementations of the bracket, the retaining tab is initially coplanar with the headlap area but can be bent to the specific dimensions of a roofing material unit thickness by an installer during installation thus allowing the bracket to accommodate a wide range of roofing material dimension variance. Furthermore, it allows for the use of non-uniform roofing materials without needing a different bracket to accommodate individual units of the roofing material. Consider slates, which may have a certain intrinsic variability in the dimensions of each unit among the batch being used for the roofing. However, it will be understood by one having ordinary skill in the art upon reading the present disclosure that the present disclosure contemplates other implementations having a retaining tab that is pre-bent or preformed into the desired orientation. The pre-bent or preformed retaining tabs have been adapted to fit roofing materials having dimensions within a pre-set range.

The bracket dimensions, such as length (meaning the distance from one side edge to the other side edge), height (meaning the distance from the uppermost edge to the lowermost edge), and width (meaning the thickness between the innermost face and outermost face) are customizable variables that can be adapted for specific roofing materials (such as tiles, shingles, panels, slates, etc.). In some preferred implementations, each bracket is configured to be in the range of 1.000 in.-12.000 ft. in length, and 0.010 in.-0.334 in. in width. In some preferred implementations, the bracket is configured such that the fastener area is 1.024 in. in height, the riser lip is 0.295 in. in height, and the headlap area is 1.969 in. in height, with the unfolded retaining tab being 0.748 in. in height. In some preferred implementations, the first angle of each retaining tab is at 0.157 in. from the top edge of each retaining tab, and the second angle is at 0.315 in. from the first angle of each retaining tab. In some preferred implementations, the retaining tabs are approximately 0.315 in. in length. In some preferred implementations, the retaining tabs are spaced at approximately 5.984 in. intervals along the length of the bracket. In some preferred implementations, the pawl tabs are approximately 0.188 in. in height and width. In some preferred implementations, the pawl tabs are spaced at approximately 2.992 in. intervals along the length of the bracket. The preferred implementations are exemplary examples though it will be understood by one having ordinary skill in the art upon reading the present disclosure that the relative dimensions of each component and the bracket as a whole are fully customizable variables that can be adapted for specific roofing materials of construction (such as tiles, shingles, panels, slates, etc.).

The bracket of the present disclosure has a material of construction selected from the group including plastics, metals, composites, and resins. The characteristics of the material of construction include being readily pre-formable such as plastics, resins, and composites, or otherwise mechanically deformable (malleable), such as metals. Furthermore, the material should exhibit resistance to the effects of weather exposure, such as sun, precipitation, corrosion, temperature changes, etc. The preferred embodiment is one where the material of construction is a strong, light, and pliable metal such as 24-gauge steel, stainless steel, aluminum, iron, bronze, or copper. Some notable implementations use copper; while others use stainless steel; others use galvanized iron; others use copper plated steel; others use zinc coated steel; others use copper plated iron; others use multi-layered coated-metals, such as Galvalume®; and others use alloys or composites. The malleability allows the bracket to be applied to and accommodate the variability in roofing materials. As stated above, the same property accommodates the difference in angle between the deck and the subsequent roofing unit.

Although the implementations have been described and illustrated with a certain degree of detail or with reference to one or more particular embodiments, it is understood that the present disclosure has been made only by way of example. It should be understood that the invention is not intended to be limited to the particular forms disclosed. Furthermore, the invention is amenable to various modifications and alternative forms. Obvious variations and other various changes in the composition, combination, and arrangement of parts can be utilized to by those skilled in the art without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention, as herein disclosed and claimed.

Claims

1. A bracket for use in installing a target material on a target substrate comprising: a body that is generally flat, thin, and rectangular, comprising an outward face, an inner face, an upper edge, a left edge, a lower edge, a right edge, a first bend, and a second bend,wherein the distance between the upper edge and the lower edge of the body determines the height of the body, the distance between the left edge and the right edge of the body determines the length of the body, and the distance between the outward face and the inner face determines the width of the body;a fastener area, having a top-most edge that forms the upper edge of the body and has a bottom-most edge that partially forms the first bend of the body;a headlap area, having a bottom-most edge that forms the lower edge of the body and has a top-most edge that partially forms the second bend of the body; anda riser lip, positioned between the fastener area and the headlap area, having a top-most edge that partially forms the first bend of the body and has a bottom-most edge that partially forms the second bend of the body;

2. The bracket of claim 1 further wherein: the first bend comprises an angle of 90 degrees; andthe second bend comprises an angle of 270 degrees;such that when the fastener area is placed on the target substrate the riser lip will extend outward from the target substrate and the headlap area will be above and substantially parallel to the target substrate creating a headlap gap between the headlap area and the target substrate.

3. The bracket of claim 1 wherein the fastener area, comprises: at least one fastener hole.

4. The bracket of claim 1 wherein the headlap area, comprises: at least one pawl tab positioned between the second bend of the body and the bottom-most edge of the headlap area.

5. The bracket of claim 1 wherein the headlap area, comprises: at least one retaining tab positioned along the bottom-most edge of the headlap area.

6. The bracket of claim 1 wherein the headlap area, comprises: at least one pawl tab positioned between the second bend of the body and the bottom-most edge of the headlap area; andat least one retaining tab positioned along the bottom-most edge of the headlap area.

7. The bracket of claim 4 wherein each of the at least one pawl tab, comprises: a short member oriented towards the second bend that is biased inward into the headlap gap.

8. The bracket of claim 7 wherein the protrusion of each of the at least one pawl tab, comprises: a semi-circled shaped slit formed into the headlap area.

9. The bracket of claim 4 wherein each of the at least one retaining tab comprises: a protrusion extending from the bottom-most edge of the headlap area.

10. The bracket of claim 9 wherein the protrusion of each of the at least one retaining tab further comprises a first outward bend and a second upward bend such that the protrusion turns back towards and above the headlap area and can engage the target material.

11. The bracket of claim 6 wherein there is a plurality of pawl tabs spaced at regular intervals along the length of the headlap area, and a plurality of retaining tabs spaced at regular intervals along the length of the bottom-most edge of the headlap area.

12. The bracket of claim 1 wherein the material of construction has one or more of the following qualities: weather resistant, durable, stiff, strong, and malleable.

13. The bracket of claim 1 wherein the material of construction is selected from the following materials: Galvalume®, 24-gauge steel, stainless steel, aluminum, iron, bronze, zinc, or copper.

14. The bracket of claim 1 wherein the body further comprises a coating applied to at least partially cover the surface of the body to improve a characteristic selected from the following attributes: weather resistance, aesthetic appearance, grip