Patent Application
20060272228
The subject invention relates to roofing membranes and in particular to a roofing membrane temperature indicator that enables a roofing contractor to readily determine whether the temperature of a roofing membrane or a plurality of roofing membranes in a package is suitable for the installation of the roofing membrane(s) in a roofing system and thereby prevent an inadvertent installation of the roofing membrane(s) in a roofing system at a temperature below a minimum recommended installation temperature for the roofing membrane(s) and/or a minimum recommended installation temperature for the membrane(s) for a particular roofing membrane installation procedure.
Asphaltic roofing membranes with smooth or granular top surfaces, other roofing membranes (such as but not limited single ply PVC, TPO, and EPDM membranes sold by Johns Manville International, Inc. and other roofing product manufactures), and asphaltic, single ply, or other roofing membranes that have smooth or granular thermochromic top surfaces that undergo a visible color change at a specific temperature to promote energy conservation within a building should only be installed under conditions that conform to the application specifications set forth by the manufacturer. These application specifications permit the application of these roofing membranes only when the roofing membranes are at temperatures that are at or above minimum recommended installation temperatures. By requiring these roofing membranes to be at or above minimum recommended installation temperatures, the roofing membranes are not damaged during application due to a lack of sufficient pliability and good strong bonds are formed between the individual roofing membranes of a roofing layer and the roofing membranes of that layer and an underlying roofing layer. In general, application specifications require the roofing membranes set forth in this paragraph to be installed in a roofing system only when the roofing membranes are at temperatures of 40° F. (4° C.) or higher. Where these roofing membranes are self-adhering roofing membranes, the adhesion of these roofing membranes to other roofing membranes and roofing layers is highly dependent on the temperatures of the roofing membranes at the time of installation. Thus, these self-adhering roofing membranes should only be installed when the temperatures of these roofing membranes are sufficiently high to assure a good strong bond between these roofing membranes and between these roofing membranes and other roofing layers e.g. at temperatures of 50° F. (10° C.) or higher.
When a roofing system is being installed, the ambient temperature and the temperature of the roofing membranes to be installed in the roofing system may not and frequently do not coincide. Thus, ambient temperature alone cannot be relied upon to determine whether conditions are acceptable for the installation of the roofing membranes. For example, while the ambient temperature at the job site might be 40° F. or higher, the temperature of the roofing membranes to be installed, e.g. after being stored at the job site over night, might not be at or above the temperature required to meet application specifications, but at a temperature below that required to meet application specifications, e.g. at a temperature below 40° F. By way of another example, self-adhering roofing membranes should be at or above a specified temperature to meet application specifications, e.g. at or above 50° F. (10° C.), but can be installed when ambient temperatures are less than that temperature, e.g. at temperatures of 45° F. (7° C.) and rising during installation. Thus, a contractor cannot rely solely on knowing the ambient temperature when determining if application specifications for a roofing membrane are being met during the installation of the roofing membrane. The contractor must know both the ambient temperature and whether or not the roofing membranes to be installed are at or above a minimum recommended installation temperature for the roofing membranes.
The roofing membrane temperature indicator of the subject invention enables roofing contractors to readily determine if the temperature of a membrane, such as but not limited to a self-adhering membrane, is suitable for the installation of the roofing membrane in a roofing system and thereby prevents the installation of the roofing membrane at a temperature below a minimum recommended installation temperature for the roofing membrane. It is also contemplated that the roofing membrane temperature indicator of the subject invention can be used with a roofing membrane to enable roofing contractors to readily determine if the temperature of the membrane is suitable for a particular installation procedure and thereby prevents the installation of the roofing membrane at a temperature below a minimum recommended installation temperature for the roofing membrane for a particular installation procedure.
The membrane temperature indicator of the subject invention is visibly associated with the roofing membrane(s) and includes a thermochromic indicator (thermo-chromatic indicator) that changes color with temperature. The membrane temperature indicator of the subject invention has a first color below a designated temperature and a second color visibly different from and normally lighter than the first color at and above the designated temperature. Thus, the membrane temperature indicator of the subject invention lightens from a darker color (e.g. black or dark gray) to a lighter color (e.g. white or light gray) when the temperature of the roofing membrane(s) and membrane temperature indicator rises to and above the designated temperature and darkens from the lighter color (e.g. white or light gray) to the darker color (e.g. black or dark gray) when the temperature of the membrane(s) and membrane temperature indicator drops below the designated temperature. The designated temperature at which the color of the membrane temperature indicator changes is at or above a minimum recommended installation temperature for the roofing membrane and/or the minimum recommended installation temperature for the roofing membrane for a particular installation procedure. Thus, when the membrane temperature indicator changes from the first, e.g. darker color, to the second, e.g. lighter color, the membrane(s) with which the membrane temperature indicator is associated are at a temperature that is at or above the minimum recommended installation temperature for the membrane(s).
The membrane temperature indicator of the subject invention can be visibly associated with a package of roofing membranes or with individual roofing membranes. With a package of roofing membranes the membrane temperature indicator may overlie the roofing membranes or one or more of the roofing membranes may include a temperature indicator that is integral with, overlies, or is secured to the roofing membrane. With an individually packaged roofing membrane the temperature indicator of the subject invention can also be integral with, overlie, or be secured to the individual roofing membrane.
FIGS. 8 to 13 are schematic perspective views of examples of roofing membranes incorporating the membrane temperature indicator of the subject invention with the roofing membranes and membrane temperature indicators shown both below and at or above the designated temperature of the membrane temperature indicators.
The membrane temperature indicator of the subject invention is visibly associated with the roofing membrane(s) and includes a thermochromic indicator (thermo-chromatic indicator) that changes color with temperature. The membrane temperature indicator of the subject invention has a first color below a designated temperature and a second color visibly different from and normally lighter than the first color at and above the designated temperature. Thus, the membrane temperature indicator of the subject invention lightens from a darker color (e.g. black or dark gray) to a lighter color (e.g. white or light gray) when the temperature of the membrane(s) and membrane temperature indicator rises to and above the designated temperature and darkens from the lighter color (e.g. white or light gray) to the darker color (e.g. black or dark gray) when the temperature of the membrane(s) and membrane temperature indicator drops below the designated temperature. The designated temperature at which the color of the membrane temperature indicator changes is at or above a minimum recommended installation temperature for the roofing membrane and/or a minimum recommended installation temperature for the roofing membrane for a particular installation procedure.
The membrane temperature indicator of the subject invention can be visibly associated with a package of roofing membranes or with individual roofing membranes. The membrane temperature indicator of the subject invention can perform at least two functions by being in the form of a company logo, trademark, or some other desired indicia that, in addition to performing as a membrane temperature indicator, would typically promote a company that manufactures, sells or is otherwise involved with the manufacture, marketing, and/or installation of the membrane(s) with which the membrane temperature indicator is associated. Where the membrane temperature indicator of the subject invention is intended to function only as a membrane temperature indicator, the membrane temperature indicator can simply be in the form of a dot, circle, square, rectangle, triangle, other geometric configuration, or other indicia of a sufficient size and in a location that enables the membrane temperature indicator to be easily seen by the installers.
The membrane temperature indicator of the subject invention can be used with standard or self-adhering asphaltic roofing membranes that have smooth or granular top surfaces, with other standard or self-adhering roofing membranes (such as but not limited single ply PVC, TPO, and EPDM membranes sold by Johns Manville International, Inc.), and with standard or self-adhering asphaltic, single ply, or other roofing membranes that have smooth or granular thermochromic top or exposed surfaces that undergo a visible color change at a temperature of about 70° F.±5° F. to promote energy conservation within a building.
The designated temperature at which the membrane temperature indicator of the subject invention visibly changes color is selected to be at or above a minimum recommended installation temperature for the roofing membrane and/or at or above a minimum recommended installation temperature for the roofing membrane for a particular roofing membrane installation procedure. The minimum recommended roofing membrane installation temperature for the standard roofing membranes with which the membrane temperature indicator of the subject invention has been utilized is 40° F. (4° C.) and the minimum recommended roofing membrane installation temperature for the self-adhering roofing membranes with which the membrane temperature indicator of the subject invention has been utilized is 50° F. (10° C.). Thus, the selected designated temperature at which the color of the membrane temperature indicator of the subject invention changes for these roofing membranes is at least 40° F. (4° C.) for the standard membranes and at least 50° F. (10° C.) for the self-adhering membranes. Thus, by using the roofing membrane temperature indicator of the subject invention, a roofing contractor can readily determine whether the temperature of a roofing membrane is suitable for the installation of the roofing membrane and thereby prevent an inadvertent installation of the roofing membrane at a temperature below a minimum recommended installation temperature for the roofing membrane and/or a minimum recommended installation temperature for the roofing membrane for a particular roofing membrane installation procedure.
The membrane temperature indicator of the subject invention can be selectively made to visibly change color at a designated temperature: to indicate whether a roofing membrane is either below or at or above a minimum recommended installation temperature for the roofing membrane; to indicate that whether a roofing membrane is either below or at or above a minimum recommended installation temperature for a particular roofing membrane installation procedure; or to indicate whether a roofing membrane is either below or at or above a minimum recommended installation temperature for a roofing membrane and a minimum recommended installation temperature for a particular roofing membrane installation procedure.
With a package of roofing membranes, the package may include one or more membrane temperature indicators that overlie the roofing membranes and are visible from outside the package or one or more of the roofing membranes within the package may include membrane temperature indicator(s) that are integral with or secured to the roofing membrane(s) and visible from outside the package. As shown in
In
With an individual roofing membrane 32 the membrane temperature indicator 24 of the subject invention can be integral with, overlie, or be secured to the individual roofing membrane. While there are many different ways the membrane temperature indicator 24 can overlie or be secured to an individual roofing membrane 32,
FIGS. 8 to 13 show examples of roofing membrane assemblies that have roofing membranes incorporating the membrane temperature indicator 24 of the subject invention. While the roofing membrane assemblies of FIGS. 8 to 13 include self-adhering roofing membranes, the membrane temperature indicator 24 can also be used with standard roofing membranes that are not self-adhering roofing membranes. The self-adhering roofing membranes of FIGS. 8 to 13 form watertight bonds with other roof components primarily with the application of pressure and without the need to use heat, flame, an additional adhesive material, or hot asphalt material. The thicknesses of the components of these roofing membrane assemblies are exaggerated to better show detail of the assemblies.
As shown in
The waterproof self-adhering base sheet 42 of the base sheet assembly 40 may be of various lengths, widths, and thicknesses, but preferably is about 30 to about 60 feet long, about 39 inches wide (typically 39% inches wide), and between about 0.04 and about 0.16 inches thick (about 10 to about 20 meters long, 880 to 1020 millimeters wide, and between about 1 and about 4 millimeters thick). The waterproof self-adhering base sheet 42 typically has a reinforcing layer, such as a non-woven polyester, fiberglass, or polyester/fiberglass reinforcement mat, encapsulated within a self-adhering bitumen material. This self-adhering bitumen material forms a bottom layer and a bottom major surface of the waterproof self-adhering base sheet 42 and a top layer and a top major surface of the waterproof self-adhering base sheet.
As shown in
The waterproof cap sheet membrane 62 of the cap sheet assembly 60 may be of various lengths, widths, and thicknesses, but preferably, is about 30 to about 45 feet long, about 39 inches wide (typically 39⅜ inches wide), and between about 0.08 and about 0.20 inches thick (about 10 to about 15 meters long, 880 to 1020 millimeters wide, and between about 2 and about 5 millimeters thick). The waterproof cap sheet membrane 62 includes a reinforcing layer, such as a non-woven polyester, fiberglass, or polyester/fiberglass reinforcement mat, encapsulated within modified self-adhering bitumen. The modified bitumen forms a bottom layer and a bottom major surface of the waterproof cap sheet membrane 62. The modified bitumen also forms a top layer and a selvage edge portion surface of the top major surface of the waterproof cap sheet membrane. The selvage edge portion surface of the top major surface of the waterproof cap sheet 62 is between about 3 inches and about 13 inches wide and preferably about 8 inches wide (between about 75 and about 320 millimeters wide and preferably about 200 millimeters wide) and extends along one lateral edge of the cap sheet membrane for the entire length of the cap sheet membrane. The remainder of the top major surface of the waterproof cap sheet membrane 62 is surfaced with a conventional surfacing material such as but not limited to roofing granules 68, sand, or other coating materials.
As shown in
The waterproof self-adhering end lap cap sheet splicing membrane 82 may be of various lengths, widths, and thicknesses, but preferably, the self-adhering end lap cap sheet splicing membrane 82 is a square in shape with each side of the square having the same dimension as the width of the cap sheets being joined by the splicing membrane. The waterproof self-adhering end lap cap sheet splicing membrane 82 has a reinforcing layer, such as a non-woven polyester, fiberglass, or polyester/fiberglass reinforcement mat, encapsulated within modified bitumen. The modified bitumen forms a bottom layer and the self-adhering bottom major surface of the waterproof self-adhering end lap cap sheet splicing membrane 82. The modified bitumen also forms an upper layer and the self-adhering top surfaces of the three self-adhering edge portions of the top major surface of the waterproof self-adhering end lap cap sheet splicing membrane 82. The remainder of the top major surface of the waterproof end lap cap sheet splicing membrane 82 is surfaced with a conventional surfacing material such as but not limited to roofing granules 88, sand, or other coating materials.
In describing the invention, certain embodiments have been used to illustrate the invention and the practices thereof. However, the invention is not limited to these specific embodiments as other embodiments and modifications within the spirit of the invention will readily occur to those skilled in the art on reading this specification. Thus, the invention is not intended to be limited to the specific embodiments disclosed, but is to be limited only by the claims appended hereto.
