U.S. patent application number 10/707285 was filed with the patent office on 2004-07-01 for system and method for removing roof material.
Invention is credited to Slack, Keith E..
Application Number | 20040123554 10/707285 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 32658836 |
Filed Date | 2004-07-01 |
United States Patent
Application |
20040123554 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Slack, Keith E. |
July 1, 2004 |
SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR REMOVING ROOF MATERIAL
Abstract
A method and apparatus for removing roof material includes
providing a saw that is adapted for use in cutting roof material
into sections of roof material and removing the sections of roof
material from the roof. A set of generally flexible tines may be
provided with a carriage to guide the tines along the roof. The
tines are propelled toward and away from the roof in order to
loosen the roof material.
Inventors: |
Slack, Keith E.; (Battle
Creek, MI) |
Correspondence
Address: |
VAN DYKE, GARDNER, LINN AND BURKHART, LLP
2851 CHARLEVOIX DRIVE, S.E.
P.O. BOX 888695
GRAND RAPIDS
MI
49588-8695
US
|
Family ID: |
32658836 |
Appl. No.: |
10/707285 |
Filed: |
December 3, 2003 |
Related U.S. Patent Documents
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Application
Number |
Filing Date |
Patent Number |
|
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60319827 |
Dec 31, 2002 |
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Current U.S.
Class: |
52/749.12 |
Current CPC
Class: |
E04D 15/003
20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
052/749.12 |
International
Class: |
E04D 015/00 |
Claims
1. A method of removing roof material, comprising: providing a saw
and sawing the roof material with said saw into sections of roof
material; and removing the sections of roof material from the
roof.
2. The method of claim 1 wherein said saw comprises a circular
saw.
3. The method of claim 1 wherein said saw includes a handle for use
by a standing user.
4. The method of claim 1 including providing a set of tines for
lifting the sections of roof material from the roof.
5. The method of claim 4 wherein said tines are flexible.
6. The method of claim 1 including shredding the sections of roof
material removed from the roof.
7. The method of claim 6 including removing roofing nails from the
shredded roof material.
8. The method of claim 7 including providing at least one magnet
and using said at least one magnet to remove said roofing
nails.
9. The method of claim 8 including rotating said at least one
magnet past a scrapper to dislodge roofing nails.
10. The method of claim 6 including discharging shredded roof
material from the roof.
11. The method of claim 10 including providing a blower and using
said blower to discharge the shredded roof material from the
roof.
12. The method of claim 1 used to remove asphalt shingles.
13. The method of claim 12 including providing a guard for said saw
and a cleanout opening in said guard for providing access to the
saw.
14. The method of claim 1 including adjusting a depth of cut of
said saw.
15. A roof material removal apparatus, comprising: a saw, said saw
adapted for use in cutting roof material into sections of roof
material.
16. The apparatus of claim 15 including a handle to allow a
standing user to cut roof material into sections of roof
material.
17. The apparatus of claim 15 including an adjustment device to
allow adjustment of depth of cut of said saw.
18. The apparatus of claim 15 including a guard for said saw and a
cleanout opening in said guard to allow access to the saw.
19. The apparatus of claim 15 wherein said saw comprises a circular
saw.
20. The apparatus of claim 19 wherein said circular saw is diamond
tipped.
21. The apparatus of claim 15 wherein said saw comprises a blade
coated with an anti-stick material.
22. A roof material removal apparatus, comprising: a set of
generally flexible tines and a carriage to guide said tines along a
roof; and said tines propelled toward and away from the roof.
23. The apparatus of claim 22 wherein said carriage includes a
plurality of support wheels and wherein at least one of said
support wheels has non-round segments in order to propel said tines
toward and away from the roof as said at least one of said support
wheels rotates.
24. The apparatus of claim 23 including a prime mover for
propelling said plurality of support wheels.
25. The apparatus of claim 20 wherein said tines are generally
curved away from the roof.
26. The apparatus of claim 20 including a shredder for shredding
roof material removed with said tines.
27. The apparatus of claim 26 including a conveyor for conveying
roof material to said shredder.
28. The apparatus of claim 26 including at least one magnet for
removing nails from the shredded roof material.
29. The apparatus of claim 26 including a discharge for discharging
shredded roof material from said shredder.
30. The apparatus of claim 29 wherein said discharge is pneumatic
assisted gravity discharge.
31. The apparatus of claim 26 including a hopper for receiving
shredded roof material from said shredder.
32. The apparatus of claim 31 wherein said hopper is lined with an
anti-stick coating.
33. The apparatus of claim 22 including a saw, said saw adapted for
use in cutting roof material into sections of roof material.
34. The apparatus of claim 33 including a handle to allow a
standing user to cut roof material into sections of roof
material.
35. The apparatus of claim 33 wherein said saw is mounted for
movement with said carriage.
36. The apparatus of claim 33 including an adjustment device to
allow adjustment of depth of cut of said saw.
37. The apparatus of claim 33 including a guard for said saw and a
cleanout opening in said guard to allow access to the saw.
38. The apparatus of claim 33 wherein said saw comprises a circular
saw.
39. The apparatus of claim 38 wherein said saw is diamond
tipped.
40. The apparatus of claim 22 wherein said saw comprises a blade
coated with an anti-stick material.
Description
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
[0001] This application claims priority from U.S. provisional
patent application Ser. No. 60/319,827, filed on Dec. 31, 2002, the
disclosure of which is hereby incorporated herein by reference in
its entirety.
BACKGROUND OF INVENTION
[0002] The present invention is directed to a system and method for
removal of roof material. Although the invention is especially
adapted for the removal of roof shingles, such as asbestos
shingles, it may be used to remove other types of roof materials,
such as cedar shakes, membrane roofing systems, and the like.
[0003] Even though various devices have been proposed, the common
technique for removing roof materials is manual labor. The user
utilizes a pry bar, or the like, to pry off a section of shingles
and throws the shingles over the side of the roof to the ground.
From there, the shingles are deposited into a dumpster. This is a
relatively slow and dangerous operation and leaves roofing nails in
the homeowner's yard. Moreover, the roofing material is deposited
in a landfill where is accumulates along with other discarded
materials.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS
[0004] FIG. 1 is a side elevation of a roof material removing
apparatus, according to the invention;
[0005] FIG. 2 is a top plan view of the apparatus in FIG. 1;
[0006] FIG. 3 is a detailed drawing of a tong assembly;
[0007] FIG. 4 is a side elevation of the tong assembly in FIG.
3;
[0008] FIG. 5 is a side elevation of a saw assembly, according to
the invention;
[0009] FIG. 6 is a front elevation of the saw assembly;
[0010] FIG. 7 is a side elevation of a saw guard;
[0011] FIG. 8 is a top plan view of the saw guard in FIG. 7;
[0012] FIG. 9 is a further view of the saw guard in FIG. 8;
[0013] FIG. 10 is a side elevation of a shredder blade
assembly;
[0014] FIG. 11 is a side elevation of another shredder blade
assembly;
[0015] FIG. 12 is the same view as FIG. 1 of an alternative
embodiment thereof;
[0016] FIG. 13 is a side elevation of a spring bolt; and
[0017] FIG. 14 is a side elevation of discharge duct.
DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT
[0018] Referring now specifically to the drawings, and the
illustrative embodiments depicted therein, a roof material removal
apparatus 10 includes a set of flexible lifting tines 12 and a
carriage 14 to guide the tines along a roof (FIG. 1). The tines 12
are moved toward and away from the roof. This may be accomplished
by providing a set of wheels 16, one of which is out of round,
preferably the wheel closest to the set of tines. In the
illustrative embodiment, the front wheel 16 is made in a hexagonal
shape, although other shapes may be possible. The rear wheels may
be used to steer the machine. In the illustrative embodiment, the
front wheels propel the carriage, although this may be accomplished
by the rear wheels. Alternatively, tines 12 may be moved toward and
away from the roof by an actuator, such as by mechanical linkage or
by an electromagnetic actuator in order to move the tines up and
down. In order to provide flexibility, tines 12 may be attached to
carriage 14 by spring-loaded bolts 18. Carriage 14 includes a prime
mover 20, which may be in the form of an electrical motor or a gas
engine, such as a two-stroke engine. A gear box 22 may be provided
in order to convert the output of prime mover 20 to the appropriate
ratio for driving wheel 16. A conveyor 24 may be provided in order
to convey roof material loosened by tines 12 upwardly. The roof
material may then be diverted by a diverter 26 toward one side or
the other of carriage 14. Diverter 26 may also function as a
guiding handle. Tines 12 may be bent downwardly, as illustrated in
FIG. 4, in order to further lift the roof material upwardly as
carriage 14 is moved forward. Tines 12 may be made of a strong
resilient material, such as stainless steel, or the like. A tip 28
of the tines may be rounded.
[0019] A saw 30 may be provided in order to sever the roof material
into a series of sections of roof material. Saw 30 is adapted to be
operated on a roof. To that extent, a handle portion 32 may be
provided in order to allow an operator to stand up while operating
the saw portion 34. Saw portion 34 is illustrated as a circular saw
of the type that is well known in the art. However, reciprocating
saws, or other types of saws, may be utilized. Circular saw 34
includes a circular saw blade 36 having a carbide tip or a diamond
pointed tip and driven by a motor 35. This makes the saw blade more
resistant to damage by roofing nails. The saw blade may be coated
with an anti-stick material, such as Teflon.TM., to reduce
adherence of roofing material. A base plate 38 supports the saw and
an adjustment mechanism (not shown) may be provided in order to
adjust the depth of the cut made by the saw portion 34 in order to
ensure that a cut is made substantially through the roofing
material with little or no damage to the sub-roof. Handle portion
32 may include a grip 40 and an operating switch 42.
[0020] Saw 30 may include a guard 44 in order to provide personal
safety as well as an actuator 46 in order to retract the guard as
is known in the art. Guard 44 may have a cleanout slot 46, which is
especially used for asbestos shingles which tend to adhere to
surfaces to allow excess material to be removed from saw blade 36.
Thus, a tool and/or a solvent, such as kerosene, can be inserted
into opening 46 in order to clean saw blade 36. A removable cover
48 may be provided over opening 46.
[0021] In an alternative embodiment, an apparatus 10' includes a
carriage 14' with wheels 16 and tines 12 connected by bolts 18 to
the carriage. Conveyor 24 elevates the roof material into a
shredder 50. Shredder 50 shreds the roof material and deposits the
material into a hopper 52. The various functions have separate
controls located on the operator handle, which enable the operator
to engage one or more of the functions, as desired. Shredder 50 may
be a single-stage shredder or, where appropriate, a multiple-stage
shredder. As illustrated in FIGS. 10 and 11, shredder 50 is made up
of synchronized shredder blade assemblies 66a, 66b that are each
rotatable about respective axles 68a, 68b. Each blade assembly is
made up of a series of curved blades 70a, 70b, which are assembled
in the fashion of a rotary grass mower and intertwine with each
other as the blade assemblies are mutually rotated by a gear or
belt connection with prime mover 20 or by a separate electric
motor. Blade 70a, 70b may be coated with an anti-stick surface,
such as Teflon.TM., to resist adherence by the roofing material.
While one set of blade assemblies are illustrated, shredder 50 may
be made up of another set of blade assemblies arranged
perpendicular to assemblies 70a, 70b. This provides a crosscut
action on the roofing material. Hopper 52 may be lined with an
anti-stick liner, such as Teflon.TM., or other such known
anti-stick liner.
[0022] A magnet 54 may be provided in the hopper in order to
attract nails, thereby separating the nails from the shredded
roofing material. A cover 56 may be provided to provide access to
the internal portion of hopper 52 for cleaning, or the like. A
discharge duct 58 discharges the shredded roofing material beyond
carriage 14'. Discharge duct 58 may be operated by an air
compressor 60 and may be provided with a valve 62 which, when
opened, allows roof material to be discharged and, when closed,
allows a buildup of pressure from an air injection nozzle 64. Once
discharged from duct 58, the material falls by gravity off the
roof.
[0023] Saw assembly 30 may be combined with apparatus 10'. Saw
portion 34 may be mounted on retractable supports 70 so that the
function of cutting the roof material into sections and removing
the sections may be combined into a single step. Saw blade 36 would
be attached to each side of, and in front of, lifting tines 12. In
this configuration, the saw will move with the carriage. The saws
can be driven from the prime mover by appropriate pulleys, gears,
or, independently, by electric motors. Shredded roof material
discharged by discharge duct 58 may be conveyed, such as through a
flexible hose, to a receptacle where it may be used for recycling,
such as into paving material, or the like.
[0024] Apparatus 10 may be guided by a handle. Alternatively, the
apparatus 10 may be remote-controlled, such as by an individual on
the ground. In order to effect such remote control, a camera 66 may
be positioned to view the area forward of the apparatus. One
advantage of remote control is that it removes the operator from
the roof environment. Also, an assembly may be provided to lift the
apparatus to the roof. This may be in the form of a ramp (not
shown) which may be foldable and which may be leaned against the
roof. For especially steep roofs, a safety guide assembly may be
used to anchor the assembly to the roof, such as a by a cable
extending over the peak of the roof and attached to the opposite
side of the roof in order to ensure that the assembly is retained
on the roof.
[0025] Changes and modifications in the specifically described
embodiments can be carried out without departing from the
principles of the invention which is intended to be limited only by
the scope of the appended claims, as interpreted according to the
principles of patent law including the doctrine of equivalents.
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