Static structures (e.g. – buildings) – Lapped multiplanar surfacing; e.g. – shingle type
Reexamination Certificate
1999-03-03
2001-05-22
Kent, Christopher T. (Department: 3635)
Static structures (e.g., buildings)
Lapped multiplanar surfacing; e.g., shingle type
C052S314000, C052S535000, C052S539000, C052S519000, C052S521000, C052S536000, C052S553000, C052S550000, C052S302400
Reexamination Certificate
active
06233895
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND
1. The Field of the Invention
This invention relates to building products and, more particularly, to cast and extruded, cementitious tiles covering structures such as roofs.
2. The Background Art
Tiles have been used since ancient times. Clay tile is ubiquitous throughout Europe, the Americas, and other continents. Tiles produce many benefits. One of the benefits is longevity. Tiles, being manufactured predominantly of earthen materials, can survive the ravages of the elements. Nevertheless, tiles are heavy. Moreover, tiles can be rather fragile. High tensile strength is not normally available in tile materials. Moreover, adding the thickness of particular sections in order to improve strength properties becomes a very weighty proposition.
In modern construction, manufacturing processes, shipping, handling, breakage, installation, and so forth affect the utility of the materials. Lightweight is desirable, but unavailable in certain materials. Strength is a benefit, and is often relied on in materials, such as steel in place of wood, and so forth, in order to reduce weight while improving strength therein.
In roofing systems, asphalt shingles have been used for many years. In addition, other types of roofing based on manufacturing materials have been used. In addition, cedar shakes have been a preferred roofing material in certain environments. Nevertheless, wood being a plant material, inherently rots over time and decays, unlike earthen materials such as tiles.
Sealing a roof is a fundamental purpose of roof-covering materials. As a practical matter, a roof must have sufficient slope to shed rain, snow, and heat, effectively. A steeper pitch on a roof becomes problematic. Installation, maintenance, support, and the like for tiles may become a major issue. Thus, tiling systems are needed, which can provide sufficient structural integrity of tiles and which can be installed by methods that are sufficiently durable and economical.
Tiles may be walked upon by workmen during or after installation. Accordingly, breakage of tiles, especially near the overlap regions or in the center or unsupported region, is a common problem.
Breakage may expose, eventually, the interior of a building to water. Roofing systems must shed water and resist leaks. Roofing systems will typically support snow as it freezes, thaws, cycles through freezing and thawing, and eventually is melted or otherwise eliminated from a rooftop.
However, ventilation is not typically provided underneath a tile. Tiles typically close off the spaces underneath so that air is not able to flow upwardly or downwardly along the surface of a roof or otherwise underneath a tile. Moreover, condensation of humidity creates moisture underneath a tile. Wood strips, battens, cleats along the top edge of the tile, and other obstructions used in typical tiling systems may obstruct the flow of water resulting from the condensation. Accordingly, water cannot drain from underneath the tiling system. Also, a tile may break and produce a leakage path of moisture underneath the tile. Conventional tiling systems do not provide for ready runoff of such water. Thus, condensation, leakage, and ventilating air, are obstructed in conventional tiling systems.
What is needed is a tiling system for roofing that provides several advantages. A required advantage is lighter net weight of the roofing load. An additional advantage is greater strength for tiles in order to support against breakage by poor handling and walking on the roof by workmen. Also needed is a ventilation system for providing evaporation of any moisture that may accumulate beneath tiles in a roofing system, as well as providing drainage along the roof surface underneath the tiles.
Another need is a reduction of the damage produced by a tile system on the sealing material that may be placed over the fundamental structure of a roof. For example, rafters may support some kind of decking material, such as plywood or other sheathing. Over the sheathing may be placed a barrier, such as a vapor barrier, moisture barrier, or the like. For example, elastomeric polymer sheets may be used. Likewise, tar paper or asphalt roll paper, or felt, may be used.
Many sealing materials are available, but these materials are no match for the hardness, and abrasiveness of materials typically used in tiles. Accordingly, any tile resting on a surface covering may be cut through by tile edges with time, motion, and the presence of people walking thereon.
Thus, a tiling system is provided in accordance with the invention that obtains several structural advantages and advantages in installation.
BRIEF SUMMARY AND OBJECTS OF THE INVENTION
Roofing tiles made in accordance with the invention may be made by extrusion, casting, or other processes known in the art. The dimensions of the tiles are changed dramatically from those of conventional tiles. The tiles may be manufactured in a size that is substantially greater than conventional tile sizes. Accordingly, the tiles may be installed more rapidly, since each piece of material must be separately installed and a single tile may cover a greater area. Additional ribs are added underneath the interior portion, rather than around the border or edge of each tile. Moreover, the rims extend substantially deeper, through the thickness, of the tile. Material has been removed from the main surface portion, or the actual surface opposite the weather-exposed surface, to reduce the weight therefrom. However, the ribs are spaced appropriately such that a person walking over the tile would have the weight of a single foot distributed over one or more ribs at all times.
In the tiles made in one embodiment in accordance with the invention, longitudinal ribs and lateral ribs may both be provided. In addition, multiple longitudinal ribs and multiple lateral ribs may be provided. A lug or cleat may be provided for engaging a furring strip or batten. Nevertheless, the lugs may support the tile without resort to a batten or furring strip. Moreover, open air channels are maintained underneath each tile up and down the entire roof. Accordingly, in one presently preferred embodiment, tiles may be and should be installed with no batten boards or furring strips, thus providing a complete availability of drainage and ventilation underneath the tiling system.
The net thickness of the gutter section of each tile, engaging the next adjacent tile, is substantially thicker to greatly increase strength. For example, in most designs known in the art, engagement sections, keyed sections, overlaps and the like maintain less than half the net material dimension (transversely normal to the roof surface of the tile). These present less than an eighth of the nominal tile strength in the gutter area of the tile as opposed to the strength over the main area, for the engagement or overlap sections. In a design in accordance with the invention, the gutter thickness is substantially greater. Moreover, net width laterally is comparatively less. Since the strength is related to the third power of thickness, increasing the transverse dimension of any portion of the tile is substantially more effective than increasing the width in a longitudinal or lateral direction.
Thus, overlaps and ribs greatly increase strength, borrowing material from the thickness of clear spans therebetween. In one embodiment, a slanted edge or bottom surface of the ribs may be provided for fitting flat on a roof. This avoids any corners touching sealing materials or surfacing materials that may be placed underneath the tiles. Thus, the lower edge of a tile is ribbed, but each rib is angled to fit flat on the roof, while leaving a reinforced clear channel (for ventilation and drainage). Meanwhile, the top cleat at the top edge sits on the next tile up.
REFERENCES:
patent: 3862532 (1975-01-01), Markos
patent: 4262466 (1981-04-01), Roe
patent: 4372090 (1983-02-01), Shichijo
patent: 4574536 (1986-03-01), Bamber et al.
patent: 4606164 (1986-08-01), Mendez
patent: 4731969 (1988-03-01), Baker et al.
patent: 4783944 (1988-11-01), Me
Evans Lewis M.
Evans Michael M.
Evans Brothers Investments
Kent Christopher T.
Madson & Metcalf
Thissell Jennifer I.
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