Patent Grant
11519176
U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 63/125,158, filed Dec. 14, 2020, is specifically incorporation by reference herein as if set forth in its entirety.
This disclosure relates generally to roofing shingles and stacks of roofing shingles, and in particular to roofing shingles configured to reduce and/or minimize compression of sealant materials applied thereto.
In some examples, roofing shingles can include a sealant applied (e.g., in a strip, in discrete segments, etc.) to a lower surface of the roofing shingle for securing a portion of the roofing shingle to a previously-applied roofing shingle and/or to a portion of a roof deck. However, the sealant can become compressed when the roofing shingles are arranged in a stack for packaging, storage, shipping, etc. due to the weight of the shingles in the stack. A need therefore exists for roofing shingles and systems and methods of forming roofing shingles configured to reduce the compression of a sealant applied to the roofing shingles when the roofing shingles are packaged in stacks; and other related and unrelated problems in the art.
Briefly described, roofing shingles are formed with a pressure relief channel extending along a surface thereof. A sealant material can be applied to form a strip of sealant material or other pattern along a lower surface of the roofing shingles for bonding each roofing shingle to a previously-installed roofing shingle when installing the roofing shingles on a roof deck or substrate. During formation of the roofing shingles, a release strip can be applied over the pressure relief channel to help prevent the sealant material from bonding to an adjacent roofing shingle. When the roofing shingles are paired and arranged in stacks for packaging and storage or transport, the strip of sealant material can be aligned with the pressure relief channel so that the strip of sealant material is at least partially in registration with the pressure relief channel. The pressure relief channel can provide clearance for the sealant material of the strip of sealant material between stacked roofing shingles, to help reduce the pressure on the strip of sealant material during packaging and storage. This reduction in pressure can in turn help reduce caliper loss of the sealant material that can occur when the roofing shingles are stacked together.
The pressure relief channel thus can enhance the sealant performance by helping to maintain a sealant caliper, in embodiments, substantially cutting the caliper loss of the strip of sealant material. The reduction in caliper loss of the strip of sealant material can lead to less added sealant material needed to compensate for caliper loss, which further can lead to a reduction in manufacturing costs.
Various aspects of roofing shingles having a sealant pressure relief channel, stacks of roofing shingles, and methods of forming roofing shingles, are provided by the present disclosure.
In one non-limiting aspect, a roofing shingle is provided, comprising a substrate including an upper surface having a headlap portion configured to be overlapped by at least one additional roofing shingle arranged in a next higher course of roofing shingles on a roof, and a lower surface opposite the upper surface, the lower surface having a pressure relief channel defined therein and extending along at least a portion of the lower surface; a strip of sealant material applied to the lower surface of the substrate; and a release strip positioned: (i) along the lower surface of the substrate and (ii) over the pressure relief channel; wherein, when the roofing shingle is aligned with a second roofing shingle in a stack of roofing shingles, the pressure relief channel of the roofing shingle is aligned with a strip of sealant material applied to a lower surface of the second roofing shingle.
In embodiments of the roofing shingle, the substrate further comprises a coating layer on the lower surface, and wherein the pressure relief channel is in the coating layer.
In some embodiments of the roofing shingle, the pressure relief channel comprises a depression in the lower surface at a depth of 0.001 inch to 0.075 inch.
In embodiments of the roofing shingle, the pressure relief channel comprises a depth that is less than or substantially equal to a thickness of the sealant material of the strip of sealant material.
In some embodiments of the roofing shingle, the substrate further comprises a coating layer on the lower surface, the coating layer having a thickness, and wherein the pressure relief channel is in the coating layer at a sufficient depth to at least partially receive the strip of sealant material of the second shingle therein.
In embodiments, the pressure relief channel comprises a depression in the lower surface of the substrate opposite the headlap portion and wherein the depression is at a sufficient depth to at least partially receive the strip of sealant material of the second roofing shingle aligned therewith.
According to another aspect of the disclosure, a stack of roofing shingles is provided, comprising a plurality of roofing shingles, each of the roofing shingles comprising an upper surface having a headlap portion configured to be overlapped by at least one additional roofing shingle arranged in a next higher course of roofing shingles on a roof, a lower surface having a pressure relief channel defined therein, a strip of sealant material disposed along at least a portion of the lower surface, and a release strip positioned over the pressure relief channel defined along the lower surface of each roofing shingle, wherein the roofing shingles are stacked such that the strip of sealant material of a first roofing shingle is aligned with the pressure relief channel of a second roofing shingle.
In embodiments, each roofing shingle of the plurality of roofing shingles further comprises a substrate with a coating layer applied to at least one surface thereof, the coating layer having a thickness and defining the lower surface the roofing shingle.
In embodiments, the pressure relief channel of each roofing shingle is in the coating layer and has a depth less than or substantially equal to the thickness of the coating layer and sufficient to at least partially receive at least a portion of the strip of sealant material of an adjacent roofing shingle in the stack of roofing shingles.
In some embodiments, the pressure relief channel comprises a depression formed in the lower surface at a depth of 0.001 inch to 0.075 inch.
In some embodiments, the strip of sealant material comprises a self-seal sealant material.
In embodiments, the strip of sealant material of the first roofing shingle is aligned with a pressure relief channel of the second roofing shingle such that the strip of sealant material of the first roofing shingle is at least partially received within the pressure relief channel of the second roofing shingle.
In embodiments, the pressure relief channel of each roofing shingle comprises a depth that is substantially equal to a thickness of the strip of sealant material.
In embodiments, the pressure relief channel of each shingle includes a substantially concave surface and has a width that is greater than a width of the strip of sealant material; and wherein the release strip extends along the substantially concave surface of the pressure relief channel, defining a liner between the strip of sealant material and the substantially concave surface of the pressure relief channel.
In another aspect, the method is provided, comprising: (a) moving a substrate of roofing shingle material along a path; (b) applying a coating layer to at least one surface of the substrate of roofing shingle material; (c) forming a pressure relief channel in the coating layer, the pressure relief channel extending along the coating layer in a machine direction; (d) applying a self-seal sealant material to at least one surface of the substrate of roofing shingle material to form a strip of sealant material along the at least one surface of the substrate of roofing shingle material; and (e) applying a release strip over the pressure relief channel.
In embodiments of the method, forming the pressure relief channel in the coating layer comprises removing a portion of the coating layer. In some embodiments, forming a pressure relief channel in the coating layer comprises forming a depression having a depth that is substantially equal to a thickness of the strip of sealant material.
In embodiments, the method further comprises cutting the substrate of roofing shingle material to form a plurality of roofing shingles, and stacking the roofing shingles, wherein the strip of sealant material of a first roofing shingle is aligned with a pressure relief channel of a second roofing shingle such that the strip of sealant material of the one roofing shingle is at least partially received within the pressure relief channel of the adjacent roofing shingle.
In embodiments of the method, forming the pressure relief channel in the coating layer comprises forming a depression within the coating layer at a depth less than or substantially equal to a thickness of the coating layer.
In embodiments of the method, forming the pressure relief channel in the coating layer comprises forming a depression in the coating layer; wherein the pressure relief channel of a first shingle has a depth sufficient to at least partially receive at least a portion of the strip of sealant material of a second roofing shingle, and the pressure relief channel of the first roofing shingle has a depth sufficient to at least partially receive at least a portion of the strip of sealant material of the first roofing shingle.
The foregoing and other aspects, features and components of roofing shingles with sealant pressure relief channels defined therein, and systems and methods of forming such roofing shingles and embodiments thereof, in accordance with the principles of the present disclosure, will be better understood upon review of the detailed description set forth below, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawing figures, which are briefly described as follows.
Those skilled in the art will appreciate and understand that, according to common practice, the various features of the drawings discussed below are not necessarily drawn to scale, and that the dimensions of various features and elements of the drawings may be expanded and/or reduced to more clearly illustrate the embodiments of the present disclosure as described herein.
The embodiments of the present disclosure will now be described in more detail with reference to the attached drawing figures.
According the present disclosure, as illustrated in
As schematically shown in
As shown in
As additionally shown in
As further shown in
As illustrated in
As also shown in
In addition, in some embodiments, a pressure relief channel 37 (
In some embodiments, the coating layer can have a thickness, and the pressure relief channel 37 can have a depth in the coating layer that is less than the thickness of the coating layer. Alternatively, the pressure relief channel 37 could extend into multiple coating layers of the roofing shingle 10. By way of non-limiting example, in some embodiments, the pressure relief channel can be formed depression having a depth that can be varied depending on the thickness of the coating layer and/or the thickness of the sealant material.
In embodiments, the pressure relief channel will have a depth that is less than or substantially equal to the thickness of the sealant material of the strip of sealant material such that the strip of sealant material can be seated within the pressure relief channel without a substantial reduction in the thickness of the sealant material when a plurality of the roofing shingles are stacked together as shown in
In an exemplary embodiment, the pressure relief channel 37 can have a depth of approximately 0.001 inch to approximately 0.075 inch. In other embodiments, the pressure relief channel can have a depth of 0.001 to 0.050 inch; 0.001 inch to 0.025 inch; 0.001 inch to 0.020 inch; 0.001 inch to 0.010 inch; 0.001 inch to 0.009 inch; 0.001 inch to 0.008 inch; 0.001 inch to 0.007 inch; 0.001 inch to 0.006 inch; 0.001 inch to 0.005 inch; 0.001 inch to 0.004 inch; 0.001 into to 0.003 inch; 0.001 inch to 0.002 inch; 0.002 inch to 0.075 inch; 0.002 inch to 0.050 inch; 0.002 inch to 0.0025 inch; 0.002 inch to 0.020 inch; 0.002 inch to 0.010 inch; 0.002 inch to 0.009 inch; 0.002 inch to 0.008 inch; 0.002 inch to 0.007 inch; 0.002 inch to 0.006 inch; 0.002 inch to 0.005 inch; 0.002 inch to 0.004 inch; 0.002 inch to 0.003 inch; 0.003 inch to 0.075 inch; 0.003 inch to 0.050 inch; 0.003 inch to 0.025 inch; 0.003 inch to 0.020 inch; 0.003 inch to 0.010 inch; 0.003 inch to 0.009 inch; 0.003 inch to 0.008 inch; 0.003 inch to 0.007 inch; 0.003 inch to 0.006 inch; 0.003 inch to 0.005 inch; 0.003 inch to 0.004 inch; 0.004 inch to 0.075 inch 0.004 inch to 0.050 inch; 0.004 inch to 0.025 inch; 0.004 inch to 0.020 inch; 0.004 inch to 0.010 inch; 0.004 inch to 0.009 inch; 0.004 inch to 0.008 inch; 0.004 inch to 0.007 inch; 0.004 inch to 0.006 inch; 0.004 inch to 0.005 inch; 0.005 inch to 0.075 inch; 0.005 inch to 0.050 inch; 0.005 inch to 0.025 inch; 0.005 inch to 0.020 inch; 0.005 inch to 0.010 inch; 0.005 inch to 0.009 inch; 0.005 inch to 0.008 inch; 0.005 inch to 0.007 inch; 0.005 inch to 0.006 inch; 0.006 inch to 0.075 inch; 0.006 inch to 0.050 inch; 0.006 inch to 0.025 inch; 0.006 inch to 0.020 inch; 0.006 inch to 0.010 inch; 0.006 inch to 0.009 inch; 0.006 inch to 0.008 inch; 0.006 inch to 0.007 inch; 0.007 inch to 0.075 inch; 0.007 inch to 0.050 inch; 0.007 inch to 0.025 inch; 0.007 inch to 0.020 inch; 0.007 inch to 0.010 inch; 0.007 inch to 0.009 inch; 0.007 inch to 0.008 inch; 0.008 inch to 0.075 inch; 0.008 inch to 0.050 inch; 0.008 inch to 0.025 inch; 0.008 inch to 0.020 inch; 0.008 inch to 0.010 inch; 0.008 inch to 0.009 inch; 0.009 inch to 0.075 inch; 0.009 inch to 0.050 inch; 0.009 inch to 0.025 inch; 0.009 inch to 0.020 inch; 0.009 inch to 0.010 inch; 0.010 inch to 0.075 inch; 0.010 inch to 0.050 inch; 0.010 inch to 0.025 inch; 0.010 inch to 0.020 inch; 0.020 inch to 0.075 inch; 0.020 inch to 0.050 inch; 0.020 inch to 0.025 inch; 0.025 inch to 0.075 inch; 0.025 inch to 0.050 inch; or 0.050 inch to 0.075 inch. Other depths also can be used.
In embodiments, the pressure relief channel 37 can have a width that can vary based upon a width of the release strip 35. In embodiments, the pressure relief channel can have a width of ¼ inch to 1 inch, ¼ inch to ⅞ inch; ¼ inch to ½ inch; ¼ inch to ⅜ inch; ⅜ inch to 1 inch, ⅜ inch to ⅞ inch; ⅜ inch to ½ inch; ½ inch to 1 inch; or ½ inch to ⅞ inch, which can be used with for a release strip with a width of approximately 1½ inch or less. Other widths also can be used. For example, if a wider release strip if used, the pressure relief channel can likewise have a greater width. Still further, in some embodiments, multiple, e.g. 2, strips of sealant material can be applied, with the strips of sealant material extending parallel to and in close proximity to each other. In such embodiments, multiple pressure relief channels, including a pressure relief channel for each strip of sealant material can be used, or a single pressure relief channel having an expanded width sufficient to cover multiple strips of sealant materials can be used.
As illustrated in
The pressure relief channel 37 is shown in dashed lines in
As schematically shown in
The release strips 35 can help reduce adherence of the sealant material 31 in each roofing shingle 10 in a stack 41 to an adjacent roofing shingle 10. As shown in
In embodiments, the pressure relief channel also can be used for strip shingles, where the release strip and the strip of sealant material are located at the center of the shingle. An example of such shingles can include Royal Sovereign® shingles from GAF of Parsippany, N.J., which shingles have a strip of sealant material on the face of the shingle and the release strip on the back of the shingle. The release strips can have widths that typically range from 1″ to 4″ if multiple strips of sealant materials are applied to a shingle (e.g. such as in Grand Sequoia® shingles from GAF of Parsippany, N.J.), but can be of greater widths to provide a buffer range on each side of the strips of sealant material. In embodiments, the release strip will have of an overlap on each side of the pressure relief channel of at least ⅛ inch to 1 inch, ⅛ inch to ¾ inch, ⅛ inch to ½ inch, ⅛ inch to ¼ inch, ¼ inch to 1 inch, ¼ inch to ¾ inch, ¼ inch to ½ inch, ½ inch to 1 inch, ½ inch to ¾ inch, or ¾ inch to 1 inch, to ensure good bonding of the release strip is maintained.
As schematically shown in
By way of illustration and as a non-limiting example, in one embodiment, the pressure relief channel 37 can have a depth that substantially matches the thickness of the sealant material and will be lined with a release strip 35 that can have a thickness of 0.005-0.006 inch or less, which can reduce compression of a sealant material 31 that applied in a thickness of 0.030 inch by 0.005 inch or less, i.e. compressed to less than approximately 0.025 inch, and is received within the pressure relief channel upon stacking of a plurality of roofing shingles. In contrast, the same sealant material 31 applied in a thickness of 0.030 inch could be substantially compressed to 0.020 inch or less if the pressure relief channel 37 is omitted (e.g.,
Since a reduction in the thickness of the sealant material 31 can reduce the ability of the sealant to form a contact bond with an adjacent roofing shingle upon installation, roofing shingles without the pressure relief channel 37 may require additional sealant material applied thereto in order to compensate for the reduced performance due to compression of the sealant material during packaging and storage. The pressure relief channel 37 in the roofing shingles 10, thus can reduce the compression on the sealant material 31 so that less sealant material is needed to compensate for the reduction in the thickness of the sealant material. In some embodiments, this can result in reduced usage of sealant material applied during manufacturing of the roofing shingles and reduced manufacturing costs. The sealant material 31, the release strip 35, and/or the pressure relief channel 37 also could be otherwise configured, positioned, arranged, and/or shaped without departing from the disclosure.
In an alternative embodiment, the roofing shingles 10a, 10b (
In another embodiment, the anterior layers 21 and the posterior layers 23 of multiple roofing shingles 10 can be formed so as to define a shingle body or web of a roofing shingle material. For example, the web can include one or more anterior portions 21 and one or more posterior portions 23, with the tabs 25 of each pair of anterior portions 21 being intermeshed. In an exemplary embodiment, the web can be formed by moving a substrate of roofing shingle material along a processing path or path of travel as layers of material are added to the substrate to form the anterior layers 21 and the posterior layers 23 of the web.
In still another embodiment, the pressure relief channel 37 can be formed in one or more layers of roofing shingle material applied along the lower surface of the substrate as the layers of roofing shingle material are added to the substrate or shortly after the layers are added. For example, a coating layer can be applied to the lower surface of the substrate by a coater as it is moved along a processing path, after which scrapers or other suitable removal apparatus will engage the lower surface of the substrate so that the scrapers can be scrape off, cut out, wipe off, or otherwise remove a predetermined amount of the coating layer along the lower surface of the substrate as the substrate moves in the machine direction to form the pressure relief channel 37 therein. Subsequently, the release strips 35 can be secured to the substrate over the pressure relief channel 37, and the sealant material 31 applied to the lower surface of the substrate to form the self-seal strip (e.g., as shown in
In some embodiments, the substrate will further be cut to form individual ones of the roofing shingles 10 (
Any of the features of the various embodiments of the disclosure can be combined with, replaced by, or otherwise configured with other features of other embodiments of the disclosure without departing from the scope of this disclosure. The configurations and combinations of features described above and shown in the figures are included by way of example.
The present disclosure has been described herein in terms of examples that illustrate principles and aspects of the present disclosure. The skilled artisan will understand, however, that a wide gamut of additions, deletions, and modifications, both subtle and gross, may be made to the presented examples without departing from the spirit and scope of the present disclosure.
The present patent application claims benefit of U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 63/125,158, filed Dec. 14, 2020.
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