Patent Application
20140237930
This invention relates to the field of roofing tiles and their installation.
Roofing tiles, such as stone and artificial stone roof tiling, are among the most popular as well as durable and attractive roofing options for both residential and commercial structures. However, a persistent concern with such roof tiling installations is water leakage and migration to the underlying roof, especially with respect to rain water that may migrate into the seams formed by adjacent tiles.
What is needed and provided by the present invention is a manner of installing roofing tiles that results in improved resistance to water leakage and other advantages as described herein.
One embodiment of the invention provides a roofing tile hanger plate that includes:
a vertical dimension, a horizontal dimension and an expansive surface on each of two sides,
at least one tile hanging portion having a horizontal dimension and sized and configured to attach to one at least substantially rectangular roofing tile, said tile hanging portion having a vertically-oriented horizontal midline and including:
A related embodiment of the invention provides a roofing tile mounting assembly, that includes:
a roofing tile hanger plate as described herein; and
an at least substantially rectangular at least substantially flat roofing tile, such as a rectangular roofing tile, having a top edge, a bottom edge, two side edges and an expansive surface on each side,
wherein a top part of the roofing tile is attached to and overlaid by the overlaying and connecting portion of a roofing tile hanging portion of the roofing tile hanger plate such that at least substantially all, or all, of said tile overlaying and connecting portion overlays the roofing tile and the roof attachment portion of the tile hanging portion of the tile hanger plate extends vertically above the top edge of the roofing tile.
Other objects and advantages of this invention will become apparent from the following description taken in conjunction with any accompanying drawings wherein are set forth, by way of illustration and example, certain embodiments of this invention. Any drawings contained herein constitute a part of this specification and include exemplary embodiments of the present invention and illustrate various objects and features thereof.
The invention provides roofing tile hanger plates for mounting one or multiple roofing tiles to the roof of a structure and related assemblies of the hanger plates and tiles. The hanger plates are designed to direct water away from the seams between horizontally adjacent roofing tiles and thereby reduce water penetration to an underlying roof. In addition, the roofing tile hanger plates of the invention permit less of an actual tile to be used below an overlying tile in comparison to a conventional tile roofing installation. Since the per area weight of the roofing tile plates of the invention may be much less than that of the tile itself, the overall weight can be reduced in comparison to a conventional roofing tile installation. Thus, roofing tile installations according to the present invention can mitigate the need for reinforcement of a roof structure that is otherwise commonly encountered with conventional roofing tile installations.
One embodiment of the invention provides a roofing tile hanger plate that includes:
a vertical dimension, a horizontal dimension and an expansive surface on each of two sides,
a roof attachment portion extending above and from the lower, tile overlaying and connecting portion.
The tile hanger plate may, for example, have one or a plurality, such as two, three, four, five, or more horizontally sequential tile hanging portions. Multiple-tile, tile hanging portion embodiments also provide the advantage of permitting roofs to be installed in a more rapid and streamlined manner than one-tile-at-time installations.
Each of the recesses is positioned between the midline of the tile hanging portion of the hanger plate and the lateral (horizontal) boundaries of the portion which corresponds to (is coextensive with) where the sides of an attached tile will be disposed. In this manner, when tiles are installed in a standard configuration in which the midline of an overlying tile coaligns with the seam between two adjacent underlying tiles (see
The vertical recesses may be any shape, for example, arch-shaped. In one variation, the vertical recesses are arch-shaped with vertical sides perpendicular to the horizontal axis of the tile hanger plate. The vertical recesses may, for example, extend upward to any height below the top edge of the lower, tile overlaying and connecting portion, for example, at least 25%, at least 50%, at least 60%, at least 70%, at least 80%, at least 90% of the height of said portion and/or up to 90%, up to 95% or up to 99.9% of said portion. The vertical recesses may, for example, extend upward in the range of 25% to 99.9%, such as 50% to 99.9%, of the height of the lower, tile overlaying and connecting portion of the tile hanging portion of the tile hanger plate.
A related embodiment of the invention provides a roofing tile mounting assembly, that includes:
a roofing tile hanger plate as described herein; and
an at least substantially rectangular roofing tile, such as a rectangular roofing tile, having a top edge, a bottom edge, two side edges and an expansive surface on each side, wherein a top part of the roofing tile is attached to and overlaid by the overlaying and connecting portion of a roofing tile hanging portion of the roofing tile hanger plate such that at least substantially all, or all, of said tile overlaying and connecting portion overlays the roofing tile and the roof attachment portion of the tile hanging portion of the tile hanger plate extends vertically above the top edge of the roofing tile.
Tile hanger plates and tiles may be assembled together at any time prior to installation. In one embodiment, an installation kit including a plurality of tile hanger plates according to the invention with roofing tiles attached thereto is provided. The assembly of tile hanger plates and roofing tiles may be performed manually and/or via automation, e.g., by one or more industrial robots or machines.
A roofing tile may be attached to a roofing tile hanger plate of the invention by any joining or fastening means, for example, via mechanical fasteners and/or adhesives. In one manner, the overlaying and connecting portion of a roofing tile hanging portion of the roofing tile hanger plate may (optionally) be provided with one or more holes that are disposed to align with a corresponding one or holes formed in a roofing tile when the roofing tile is positioned for attachment to the roofing tile hanger plate. A fastener such as a rivet may be placed in the hole(s) and pressed to effectuate the attachment of plate and tile. Alternatively, screw-type fasteners (such as that shown in
The hole or holes that may be formed in the tile overlaying and connecting portion of a tile hanging portion of a tile hanger plate are preferably disposed between the lateral (horizontal boundary) of the tile hanging portion and the neighboring vertical recess and not between laterally neighboring vertical recesses of a tile hanging portion. This configuration inhibits water penetration since the seam between overlying tiles will be coaligned with the midline of the underlying tile hanging portion in a standard roofing installation configuration. In a related variation, no holes whatsoever are formed in the entire vertically-extending area between or above the vertical recesses of a tile hanging portion of a tile hanger plate according to the invention.
The roof attachment portion of a tile hanging portion of a roofing tile hanger plate may take different forms and shapes. It may, for example, be at least substantially rectangular and at least substantially flat sheet portion that can be bent down toward a roof to which it is fastened. The roof attachment portion of a roofing tile hanger plate according to the invention may have one or more holes through which fasteners such as screws or nails can be driven to attach the roofing tile hanger plate to an underlying roof. Such holes may be positioned at or near the vertical top of the roof attachment portion of a roofing tile hanger plate. Within each tile hanging portion of a tile hanger plate, such holes may be laterally disposed to the distant (outside) sides of the vertical recesses of the tile hanging portion (rather than above or between the vertical recesses of a tile hanging portion).
The roof attachment portion of a tile hanging portion of a roofing tile hanger plate may include:
a lower at least substantially rectangular spanning portion having a bottom edge and a top edge, the bottom edge of the lower portion continuous with and forming a bend along a horizontal bend line with the top edge of the lower, tile overlaying and connecting portion, wherein the lower at least substantially rectilinear spanning portion bends beneath the plane defined by the lower, tile overlaying and connecting portion; and
an upper at least substantially rectangular portion of the roof attachment portion having a bottom edge and a top edge, the bottom edge of the upper at least substantially rectilinear portion of the roof attachment portion continuous with and forming a bend along a horizontal bend line with the top edge of the a lower at least substantially rectilinear spanning portion, wherein the planes defined by the lower, tile overlaying and connecting portion and the an upper at least substantially rectilinear portion of the roof attachment portion are at least substantially parallel. The vertical dimension of the upper at least substantially rectangular portion of the upper roof attachment portion of the roofing tile hanger plate may be smaller than the vertical dimensions of the lower at least substantially rectilinear portion of the upper roof attachment portion of the roofing tile hanger plate.
The roofing tile hanger plates of the invention may be formed from any material such as a metal/metallic alloy, for example stainless steel or galvanized steel, or a plastic/polymer sheet, for example polypropylene, and by any means known in the art. In the case of metallic embodiments, the hanging plates of the invention may, for example, be manufactured from metallic sheet stock using conventional metal stamping, cutting and/or bending equipment. In the case of polymer embodiments, the hanging plates may, for example, be manufactured by injection molding and/or press molding of polymer sheet stock. A roofing tile hanger plate according to the invention is preferably a unitary, i.e., one-piece, structure.
The invention is further described with respect to the appended figures, as follows.
As exemplified by vertically-oriented horizontal midline 106 for tile hanging portion 105A, each of the tile hanging portions has a horizontal midline. On each side of horizontal midline 106 and each of the horizontal midlines of the tile hanging portions, there is disposed a recess, exemplified by 107A and 107B that extends vertically upward from the bottom of tile hanger plate 101. As shown, each of the vertical recesses is disposed midway between the midline of a tile hanging portion and the horizontal boundary of the tile hanging portion. The vertical recesses or “cutouts” shown have a preferred configuration of an arch with vertical sides that are perpendicular to the horizontal axis of the tile hanger plate. As exemplified by holes 108A and 108B in tile hanging portion 105A, between each cutout and the near horizontal boundary of the tile hanging portion is a hole size and configured to accommodate a fastener. In tile hanging portion 105C, a screw-type bolt fastener 118B is shown in one such hole. As exemplified by holes 109A and 109B in tile hanging portion 105A, vertical section 104 has a pair of holes formed therein for each tile hanging portion that are sized and configured to receive a fastener such as a screw or nail for attachment of roof tile hanger plate 101 with tiles joined thereto to an underlying roof structure.
As shown in the accompanying drawings, roofing tile hanger plates according to the invention may have an at least substantially rectangular profile, such as a rectangular profile, except for the interruption provided by the vertical recesses (cutouts). Edges on various corners may also be rounded.
One skilled in the art will readily appreciate that the present invention is well adapted to carry out the objectives and obtain the ends and advantages mentioned, as well as those inherent therein. The embodiments, methods, procedures and techniques described herein are presently representative of the preferred embodiments, are intended to be exemplary and are not intended as limitations on the scope. Changes therein and other uses may occur to those skilled in the art which are encompassed within the spirit of the invention and are defined by the scope of the appended claims. Although the invention has been described in connection with specific preferred embodiments, it should be understood that the invention as claimed should not be unduly limited to such specific embodiments. Indeed, various modifications of the described modes for carrying out the invention which are obvious to those skilled in the art are intended to be within the scope of the claims.
