Patent Application
20100212251
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a roof securing system and, more particularly, to a strap for securing a plywood roof panel to an underlying support beam of a roof structure.
2. Discussion of the Related Art
A typical roof structure, particularly in residential home construction, uses a parallel arrangement of trusses that are spaced apart to provide support beams upon which individual plywood roof panels are secured. The trusses, including the support beams, as well as the roofing panels, are usually wood products. For instance, the trusses are constructed of wood beams and the roofing panels typically consist of ¾ inch plywood sheets that have a large surface area and side edges. The plywood sheets are fastened to the support beams with the side edges of the plywood edges disposed in abutting relation to one another. The individual plywood sheets (i.e., roof panels) are secured to the support beams with the use of nails that are hammered through the thickness of the roof panels, near the side edges, and into the underlying support beams.
It has been discovered that the use of nails to secure roof panels to the support beams is not sufficient to withstand the tremendous uplift forces exerted by hurricane strength winds. My prior invention, as disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,390,460, provides a roof securing system that includes a plurality of steel straps to securely anchor the roof panels to the underlying support beams. The straps of my prior invention include a central zone that extends over the top surface of the roof panel, and opposite distal zones that are adapted to be wrapped around and nailed to the support beams. The distal end zones of the strap are wrapped around the support beams by bending the strap with the use of a hammer so that each distal end zone of the strap engages the opposite side faces and the bottom face of the support beam. Once the distal end zones of the strap are bent and wrapped around the support beam, the distal end zones of the strap are nailed to the support beam.
While the roof securing system of my prior invention is a significant advancement in the roof construction industry, and provides a highly effective means for anchoring the roof panels to the support beams, a problem arises when attempting to bend the distal end zones of the strap around the beams. Specifically, when hammering the ends of the strap, in order to bend the strap around the support beam, the central zone of the strap tends to slide and move out of proper alignment on the top surface of the roof panel as a result of the force from the hammer. My present invention, as described and claimed herein, provides an improvement to my prior roof securing strap and overcomes the problem of the central zone of the strap moving out of proper alignment when bending the strap ends around the support beam. Specifically, my present invention provides for a plurality of pointed prongs disposed in spaced arrangement along the length of the central zone, and extending downwardly and generally perpendicular from the bottom side of the central zone of the strap. The pointed prongs are specifically structured and disposed to penetrate through the top surface of the underlying roof panel by applying a hammer force to the top side of the central zone when the strap is properly aligned on the roof panel, prior to bending of the distal end zones of the underlying support beam, to thereby attach the straps to the roof panel and hold the strap in the desired proper alignment.
Considering the foregoing, it is a primary object of the present invention to provide an improved roof securing system that uses one or more straps for securing wood roof panels to underlying support beams, and wherein the straps include a spaced arrangement of pointed prongs for penetrating into the roof panels to increase holding strength.
It is still a further object of the present invention to provide an improved roof securing system, including the roof securing strap as described above, and wherein the strap is easier to install compared to previously known roof strap devices.
It is still a further object of the present invention to provide an improved roof securing system including a one or more roof straps, as described above, and wherein the roof straps include a plurality of pointed prongs extending downwardly from a bottom side of the strap, in spaced arrangement, for penetrating attachment into the top surface of wood roof panels to thereby hold the strap in place during installation, while also increasing the overall holding strength of the strap on the roof system under hurricane force winds.
These and other objects and advantages of the present invention are readily apparent with reference to the detailed description and drawings.
The present invention is directed to an improved roof securing system for providing increased strength and resistance to wind uplift forces in the construction of a roof structure. The system is intended for use with a roof structure of the type that includes a spaced, parallel arrangement of support beams, each with a top face, a bottom face, and opposite side faces, and an arrangement of roof panels. The roof panels, which are primarily plywood sheets, have a top surface and a bottom surface and are positioned and disposed in overlying, spanning relation along the top face of at least two adjacently positioned support beams, to thereby enclose the roof structure.
The system of the present invention provides at least one strap, having a top side and a bottom side, and a central zone between a pair of oppositely disposed distal zones. In a preferred embodiment, the strap is made of 14 gauge steel for sufficient strength. The central zone of the strap is adapted to span at least one of the roof panels of the roof structure with a bottom side of the strap disposed in mating engagement of the top surface of the roof panel. The central zone of the strap includes a spaced arrangement of pointed prongs that extend downwardly from the bottom side of the strap. The pointed prongs are structured to be fastened into the underlying roof panel by applying a striking force to the top side of the strap with a hammer. This serves to anchor the strap in place on the roof panel so that it does not move from its properly aligned position prior to securing the opposite distal zones of the strap to the underlying support beam. The pointed prongs also reinforce the holding strength of the strap on the roof panel. The distal end zones of the strap extend beyond the ends of the roof panel and are specifically structured and disposed to be fastened to the support beam by nailing the strap to the opposite side faces and the bottom face of the support beam. As a result of the wrap around securing of the distal end zones of the strap about the side faces and bottom face of the support beam, as well as the penetrating attachment of the pointed prongs into the roof panel, the strap and roof panel become securely anchored to the underlying support beam.
For a fuller understanding of the nature of the present invention, reference should be made to the following detailed description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings in which:
Like reference numerals refer to like parts throughout the several views of the drawings.
The roof securing system is shown throughout the several views of the drawings and is generally indicated as 10. The roof securing system 10 is specifically structured for use in the construction of a roof having a plurality of support beams 70 and an arrangement of roof panels 80 positioned in adjacent abutting engagement with one another. The roof panels 80 are attached to the beams 70 to provide a roof deck that completely covers the openings between the beams. Each of the support beams 70 has a top face 72, a bottom face 74, and a pair of opposite side faces 76, 78. The top face 72 of the support beam is adapted to receive the roofing panels thereon, so that each roof panel 80 spans between at least two adjacently positioned support beams 70. The roof panels 80 are first attached to the support beams with the use of nails that are hammered through the roof panels 80 and into the underlying beams 70.
The improved roofing system of the present invention provides a reinforced, anchored attachment of the roof panels 80 to the underlying support beams 70. According to a preferred embodiment, the improved roof securing system 10 includes a plurality of elongate straps 20 formed of galvanized steel. The straps 20 are preferably of a strength of at least 14 gauge galvanized steel. Each strap 20 includes a top side 21 and a bottom side 22. Each strap 20 further includes a central zone 24 and a pair of oppositely disposed distal end zones 26 and 28. The central zone 24 of the strap 20 is adapted to span across the top of at least one of the roof panels 80 with the bottom side 22 of the strap disposed in mating, overlying engagement with the top surface 82 of the roof panel 80. The length of the central zone is specifically sized to correspond to the dimension of the roof panel measure perpendicularly between opposite side edges. Accordingly, the central zone of the strap spans across the top surface of the roof panel in perpendicular relation to the opposite side edges 84, 86 of the roof panel. The opposite distal end zones 26 and 28 of the strap are adapted to extend downwardly from the central zone 24 so as to straddle the roof panel along the opposite side edges 84, 86.
The central zone 24 of the strap 20 is provided with a plurality of pointed prongs 30. The pointed prongs 30 are disposed in spaced relation along a length of the central zone and extend downwardly, generally perpendicular to the bottom side 22 of the strap 20. In a preferred embodiment, the pointed prongs 30 are also provided on the distal end zones 23 and 28 and are formed by stamping the central zone and distal end zones of the strap to the cut triangular configurations, as seen in
The pointed prongs 30 are specifically structured and disposed to be driven into the top side 82 of the roof panel 80 in order to hold the strap 20 in proper alignment prior to bending and securing the distal end zones 26, 28 to the beams 70, as described below. Specifically, with the central zone 24 of the strap properly positioned across the top of the roof panel 80, as seen in
The distal end zones 26 and 28 of the strap are adapted to be rapidly secured around the underlying support beam 70 so as to anchor the strap 20 to the support beam. More particularly, the distal end zones 26 and 28 include upper segments 40 and lower securing segments 50. In the preferred embodiment, the central zone 23 is properly positioned to be substantially parallel with the underlying support beam 70. As described above, penetration of the pointed prongs 30 into the roof panel helps to maintain the central zone 23 in this desired alignment. The upper segments 40 are provided with a twist 42 that divide the distal end zones into the top portion 40 and the lower securing segment 50. The top portion 40 extends downwardly in a substantially perpendicular orientation from the central zone 23 of the strap 20, as shown in
As shown in
While the present invention has been shown and described in accordance with a preferred embodiment thereof, it is recognized that departures from the instant disclosure are contemplated within the spirit and scope of the invention as defined in the following claims and interpreted under the Doctrine of Equivalents.
