U.S. patent application number 11/151519 was filed with the patent office on 2005-11-10 for standing seam roof and method of manufacturing same.
Invention is credited to Rood, Rodney JR..
Application Number | 20050246992 11/151519 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 32868061 |
Filed Date | 2005-11-10 |
United States Patent
Application |
20050246992 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Rood, Rodney JR. |
November 10, 2005 |
Standing seam roof and method of manufacturing same
Abstract
A continuous joint between and along the upwardly projecting
side walls of a pair of channel-shaped panels each having a central
web with first and second side edges. The first side wall of one
panel initially comprises first and second vertical legs and a nail
strip connected to the bottom of said first vertical leg. The
opposing side wall of the other panel is a vertical leg with an
upper, inverted U-shaped channel and formed by: a) locating a first
panel with said nail strip to overlay a roof support surface, b)
driving fasteners through the nail strip into the roof support
surface, c) placing the second side wall of a second roof panel
into engagement with the first side wall wherein the inverted
U-shaped channel is interfitted over the first side wall, and d)
deforming the interfitted side walls to form a deformed standing
seam.
Inventors: |
Rood, Rodney JR.; (South
Ryegate, VT) |
Correspondence
Address: |
STITES & HARBISON PLLC
1199 NORTH FAIRFAX STREET
SUITE 900
ALEXANDRIA
VA
22314
US
|
Family ID: |
32868061 |
Appl. No.: |
11/151519 |
Filed: |
June 14, 2005 |
Related U.S. Patent Documents
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Application
Number |
Filing Date |
Patent Number |
|
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11151519 |
Jun 14, 2005 |
|
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10369105 |
Feb 20, 2003 |
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Current U.S.
Class: |
52/450 ;
52/506.07 |
Current CPC
Class: |
E04D 3/364 20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
052/450 ;
052/506.07 |
International
Class: |
E04B 002/00; E04H
005/00; E04H 009/00 |
Claims
What is claimed is:
1. In a building structure, the combination of a supporting
surface, a series of rigid interlocked metal panels affixed to said
supporting surface, each of said panels having a central web with
first and second side edges, a side wall connected to and
projecting upwardly from each side edge of said central web, a
first said side wall comprising: a first vertical leg and a first
base member connected to the upper end of said first vertical leg
and having an outer edge located over said first side edge, a nail
strip flange in the same plane as said central web connected to the
bottom of said first vertical leg, a second vertical leg contiguous
to said first vertical leg, said second vertical leg being
connected to a second base member having an outer edge located over
said first base member and a connection between the edges of said
first and second base members, said second side wall comprising a
third vertical leg with an upper, inverted U-shaped channel formed
from a base member having one edge connected to the upper end of
said third vertical leg and another edge extending outwardly beyond
said second side edge and having a vertical lip member connected to
said edge, said side walls being dimensioned so that the inverted
U-shaped channel on one said edge fits on and interlocks with the
base and first and second vertical legs of the first side wall of
an adjacent metal panel.
2. In a building structure, the combination of a plurality of
spaced supporting members, a series of rigid interlocked metal
panels affixed to and enclosing the space between said spaced
supporting members, each of said panels having a central web with
first and second side edges, a side wall connected to and
projecting upwardly from each side edge of said central web, a
first said side wall comprising: a first vertical leg and a first
base member connected to the upper end of said first vertical leg
and having an outer edge located over said first side edge, a nail
strip flange in the same plane as said central web connected to the
bottom of said first vertical leg, a second vertical leg contiguous
to said first vertical leg, said second vertical leg being
connected to a second base member having an outer edge located over
said first base member and a connection between the edges of said
first and second base members, said second side wall comprising a
third vertical leg with an upper, inverted U-shaped channel formed
from a base member having one edge connected to the upper end of
said third vertical leg and another edge extending outwardly beyond
said second side edge and having a vertical lip member connected to
said edge, said side walls being dimensioned so that the inverted
U-shaped channel on one said edge fits on and interlocks with the
base and first and second vertical legs of the first side wall of
an adjacent metal panel.
3. The invention of claim 1 wherein said nail strip flange defines
a plurality of longitudinally spaced holes.
4. The invention of claim 3 wherein said holes are an elongated
shape.
Description
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
[0001] This application is a divisional of U.S. application Ser.
No. 10/369,105, filed Feb. 20, 2003.
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
[0002] The present invention generally relates to standing seam
metal roofs and, more particularly, to an improved roof profile for
the attachment and interconnection of adjacent field-seamed metal
roof panels.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0003] With the increased use of sheet metal panels in building
construction, there has been an increased need to address ways in
which the traditional standing seam roof can be manufactured. For
example, the typical standing seam roof utilizes adjacent metal
panels which are affixed at their edges and utilize separate
attachment clips spaced along the standing seam by which the
standing seam is attached to the roof underlayment whether it be in
the form of rafters, plywood or other conventional underlayment.
The use of such attachment clips involves several problems. First,
the use of clips means that the fabricator has additional parts to
manipulate and utilize when manufacturing a standing seam roof on a
structure. Furthermore, the use of and manipulation of such clips
requires additional labor steps thereby increasing the labor costs
of attaching a standing seam roof assembly. Moreover, in the case
of dissimilar metals between the clips and the standing seam
roofing material (e.g., copper versus iron-based clips), there is a
potential problem of galvanic reaction between the dissimilar
metals. In part, this problem is resolved by the use of relatively
expensive stainless steel clips in order to reduce the potential or
galvanic corrosion.
[0004] Moreover, the use of clips leads to distortion of the seamed
vertical leg of the standing seam roof where the overlapped edges
of the roofing panels and the attachment clip have been seamed into
the final standing seam configuration.
[0005] Accordingly, it is highly desirable to make a more efficient
standing seam roof structure and method compared to such prior art
which does not require the use of attachment clips and the
attendant drawbacks. Thus, the elimination of such attachment clips
has the potential to lead to faster standing seam roof application,
more cost effective application and more durable application with a
more pleasant final appearance than the prior art.
[0006] The prior art connector clip generally discussed above is
exemplified by U.S. Pat. No. 3,312,028 to Schroyer. In particular,
the '028 patent is an example of the use of a standing seam roof
formed of interlocked channel sections which utilize a connector to
tie down a series of connected panels upon a plurality of
underlying rafters. The prior art connector clip is fabricated of a
thin metal strip, bent to provide an intermediate body and an open
curl at one end thereof and a foot bent at right angles from the
other end. The foot is adapted to be secured to a rafter by a nail
driven through a nail hole in the foot. The body of the connector
clip is adapted to be sandwiched between adjacent side flanges of
attached panels and the curl is adapted to be locked between the
coupled bead and sleeve of the panels. As best seen in FIG. 9 of
the '028 patent, the connector clip is nailed into the underlayment
rafter and adjacent rafters have similar connector clips and nails
to securely hold the roof structure to the rafters.
[0007] The prior art also includes a self locking roofing system
wherein a nail strip is incorporated into one edge of the self
locking panel. Such self locking roof systems are available from
Copper Sales, Inc. under the trademark UNA-CLAD, model UC-4 "No
Clip" Architectural Series Roofing System. This system does not
involve a field-seamed standing seam connection wherein adjacent
panels are deformed at the work location to form a roof as
disclosed herein.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0008] The present invention is generally directed toward an
improvement in the method of mounting a field-seamed metal standing
seam roof.
[0009] In one aspect of the present invention, the combination of a
plurality of spaced supporting surfaces and a series of rigid
interlocked metal panels is involved. The combination utilizes the
spaced supporting surfaces of a building structure (e.g., rafters,
plywood sheathing). The plurality of spaced supporting surfaces are
spanned by a series of rigid, interlocked metal panels affixed to
and enclosing the space between the spaced supporting surfaces.
Each of the metal panels has a central web with first and second
side edges. Furthermore, each metal panel has a side wall connected
to and projecting upwardly from each side edge of the central web.
According to the present invention, a first side wall comprises a
vertical leg and a first base member connected to the upper end of
the first vertical leg and having an outer edge located over the
first side edge. In addition, a nail strip flange is provided in
the same plane as the central web and is connected to the bottom of
the first vertical leg. The nail strip flange may define a
plurality of longitudinally spaced nail holes which are round or
elongated slots. The first side wall further comprises a second
vertical leg contiguous to the first vertical leg, the second
vertical leg being connected to a base member having an edge
located over said first base member. The first base member and the
second base member are connected at their free edges.
[0010] Each metal panel also has a second side wall comprising a
third vertical leg with an upper, inverted U-shaped channel. The
U-shaped channel is formed from a base member having one edge
connected to the upper end of the third vertical leg and another
edge extending outwardly beyond the second side edge of the metal
panel and having a vertical lip member connected to the free edge.
The first and second side walls of adjacent metal panels are
dimensioned so that the inverted U-shaped channel on one side edge
fits on and interlocks with the base and first and second vertical
legs of the first side wall. The U-shape interlock is typical but
the invention is not limited to a U-shaped interlock. Any interlock
requiring field-seaming is anticipated. Further, the side wall
configuration increases the structural strength of each panel which
leads to easier handling in the field, etc.
[0011] According to a further aspect of the invention, the nail
strip flange is provided with slot-shaped nail holes to allow for
the expansion and contraction of the metal panel.
[0012] According to a further aspect of the present invention, the
metal panels have side walls which can be of a height and shape as
to be classified as structural and self-supporting profile or as an
architectural profile which requires installation over a solid
substrate.
[0013] According to another aspect of the present invention, the
interlocked metal panels are manufactured of any metal deemed
suitable for roofing applications, such as sheet steel, copper
sheet or aluminum sheet.
[0014] According to the present invention, a method of coupling
together and simultaneously forming a continuous rigid waterproof
joint between the adjoining and upwardly projecting side walls of a
pair of channel-shaped panels is provided. According to the method,
the channel-shaped panels are formed of a central web having first
and second side edges. The joint between adjacent panels extends
along the entire length of the panels. The first side wall of one
panel comprises a vertical leg and first base member connected to
the upper end of the first vertical leg and having an outer edge
located over the first side edge. Additionally, the first side wall
comprises a nail strip located in the same plane as the web and
connected to the bottom of the first vertical leg. The nail strip
may be plain or define a plurality of nail holes along the
longitudinal length of the panels. The holes, if used, may be
elongated slots. Further, the first side wall comprises a second
vertical leg contiguous to the first vertical leg. The second
vertical leg is connected to a second base member having an edge
located over the first base member. The free edges of the first and
second base members are connected together.
[0015] According to the method of the present invention, the
opposing side wall of the other adjacent panel is comprised of a
vertical leg with an upper, inverted U-shaped channel formed by a
base member having an edge extending outwardly beyond the second
side edge of the panel. Further, the edge of the base member has a
vertical lip connected to it extending downwardly toward the
surface of the web. The present invention comprises the steps of
locating a panel with said nail strip positioned in an orientation
to overlay a roof supporting surface into which nails, fasteners or
staples may be driven. Next, it comprises the step of driving
fasteners through the nail strip and into the roof supporting
structure to secure the first side wall to the roof underlayment.
The next step involves placing the side wall of an adjacent roof
panel into engagement with the first side wall of the first panel
wherein the inverted U-shaped channel of the second side wall is
situated over the base and first and second vertical legs of the
first side wall. After this step, the next step involves placing a
pressure-applying means to the side walls and effecting a seaming
deformation thereof whereby said lip is deformed to a position
laying directing beneath the first base member on the first
vertical leg. An additional step of the present invention may
comprise further deforming the interfitted side walls to form a
deformed seam wherein the base of the first leg is bent toward the
surface of the central web and is thereby positioned substantially
parallel to the first and second vertical legs.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0016] FIG. 1 is an orthogonal view illustrating a plurality of
spaced supporting members and series of rigid interlocked metal
panels with side edges according to the present invention.
[0017] FIG. 2 is a partial cross sectional view taken along II-II
of FIG. 1 of a metal panel according to the present invention prior
to being deformed once attached to a roof underlayment.
[0018] FIG. 3 is a blown up partial cross sectional view taken
along III-III of FIG. 1 illustrating the interlocking relationship
between the side walls of adjacent metal roof panels and the
position of the nail strip at the bottom of the first vertical leg
which forms part of one side wall.
DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
[0019] Turning to FIG. 1, an orthogonal view of one embodiment of
the present invention is illustrated. FIG. 1 depicts a plurality of
rigid interlocked metal panels 10 affixed to and enclosing the
space between spaced supporting members 11 of a building structure.
Each metal panel 10 has a central web 12 with first and second side
edges 13 and 14, respectively. Each side edge has a side wall 15
and 15' connected to and projecting upwardly from the edge of the
central web 12.
[0020] In the left-hand portion of FIG. 1, there is provided a
first side wall 15. The side wall 15 comprises a first vertical leg
16 and a first base member 17 connected to the upper end of the
first vertical leg 16. In turn, the first base member has an outer
edge located over the first side edge 13. Additionally, a nail
strip 18 located in the same plane as the central web 12 is
connected to the bottom of the first vertical leg 16. As indicated
in FIG. 1, the nail strip may define a plurality of longitudinally
spaced nail holes 19 with an elongated nail hole configuration.
Alternatively, the nail strip may be plain and, in use, fasteners
are driven through the nail strip by conventional means such as a
nail gun.
[0021] Further referring to FIG. 1, the first side wall 15 further
comprises a second vertical leg 20 extending upwardly from the
first side edge of metal panel 10. Further, the vertical leg 20 is
connected to a second base member 21 which has an edge located
under the first base member 17. The first and second base members
17 and 21, respectively, have a connection at their free edge at
22.
[0022] The further reference to FIG. 1, particularly the portion
circled to indicate partial enlargement, the second side wall 15'
comprises a third vertical leg 23 with an upper inverted U-shaped
channel 24 formed from a base member 25 which has one edge
connected to the upper end of the third vertical leg 23 and another
edge extending outwardly beyond the second side edge 14. In
addition, the outer edge of the base member 25 has a vertical lip
member 26 connected thereto. As depicted in a normal illustrative
schematic in the circled portion of FIG. 1, the first and second
side walls are dimensioned so that the inverted, U-shaped channel
24 on one edge fits on and interlocks with the base and first and
second vertical legs of the side wall of an adjacent metal
panel.
[0023] FIG. 2 is an enlarged partial cross section taken along line
II-II in FIG. 1. FIG. 2 has like numbers applied to the cross
section members or elements already described in connection with
FIG. 1. In particular, FIG. 2 depicts a central web 12 having a
first edge 13 and a second edge 14. These edges are provided with
side walls 15 and 15' connected to and projecting upwardly from
respective side edges of the central web 12. In the left-hand
portion of FIG. 2, a first side wall 15 is depicted. It comprises a
first vertical leg 16 and a first base member 17 connected to the
upper end of the first vertical leg 16. The first base member has
an edge located over the first side edge 13. Also, a nail strip 18
is located in the same plane as the central web 12 and is connected
to the bottom of the first vertical leg 16. The nail strip may
define a plurality of longitudinally spaced nail holes depicted
with a cross section of one nail hole being depicted as 19 in FIG.
2. Further, the first side wall 15 includes a second vertical leg
20 contiguous to the first vertical leg 16. The second vertical leg
20 is connected to a base member 21 which is connected to the upper
end of the second vertical leg 20. The base member 21 has a free
edge located under the first base member 17 connected to the upper
end of first vertical leg 16. Also, the inward facing edges of the
first and second base members are connected at location 22. As
depicted in FIG. 2, connection 22 is merely a fold, bend or crease
formed by bending the sheet metal of the metal panel to form a
U-shaped ledge structure overlying location 13, the one edge of
metal panel 10.
[0024] Further referring to FIG. 2, the second side wall 15'
comprises a third vertical leg 23 with an upper, inverted U-shaped
channel 24 formed from a base member 25 which has one edge
connected to the upper end of the third vertical leg 23 and another
edge extending outwardly beyond the location of second side edge 14
of the metal panel. The outer edge of base member 25 has a vertical
lip member 26 connected thereto and extending downwardly toward the
upper surface of web 12.
[0025] It should be apparent from the description in the
specification to this point that the side walls 15 and 15' are
dimensioned so that the inverted, U-shaped channel 24 on one side
edge of web 12 fits on and interlocks with the base and first and
second vertical legs forming the side wall of an adjacent metal
panel.
[0026] FIG. 3 is a schematic partial cross sectional view, taken
along line III-III of FIG. 1, of a deformed standing seam utilizing
the deformed first and second side walls according to one
embodiment of the present invention. The cross section is taken
along lines 3-3 in FIG. 1. The numerals in FIG. 3 correspond to the
parts numbered in FIGS. 1 and 2 as described above. It will be
apparent from FIG. 3 that no separate attachment clip or connector
is necessary when nailing or otherwise attaching the standing seam
roof of the present invention to the roof underlayment. For the
detailed reasons given below, this elimination of the attachment
clip or connector from the prior art construction, is a significant
advance in the art of standing seam roof configurations and
methods.
[0027] The figures of the drawings depict the present inventive
method of coupling together and simultaneously forming a continuous
rigid waterproof joint between the adjoining and upwardly
projecting side walls of a pair of channel-shaped panels 10 formed
of a central web 12 having first and second side edges 13 and 14.
The method of coupling the channel-shaped panels 10 includes the
following steps: locating a panel 10 with the nail strip 18
positioned in an orientation to overlay a roof supporting surface
11 into which nails or other fasteners may be driven, driving
fasteners through the nail strip into the roof supporting structure
11, placing an adjacent roof panel into engagement with the first
side wall of the first roof panel wherein the inverted U-shaped
channel is interfitted over the base and first and second vertical
legs of the first side wall 15, placing pressure-applying or
seaming means to the interlocked side walls and effecting
deformation thereof whereby the lip 26 is deformed to a position
laying directly beneath the first base member 17 which is attached
to the top of the first vertical leg 16. There may be further
deforming of the interfitted side walls to form a deformed seam
wherein the base member of the first leg 16 is bent toward the
central web 12 and is thereby positioned substantially parallel to
the first and second vertical leg 16 and 20, respectively.
[0028] The following are exemplary dimensions wherein the present
invention may be used to form a 11/2 inch standing seam roof. The
invention is not limited to these examples. The central web may
vary between about 12 and 24 inches in width. The first vertical
leg and the second vertical leg located on one edge of the web have
a height of 37 mm. The third vertical leg on the other edge of the
panel has a height of 38 mm. Further, the width of the first base
member connected to the top of the vertical leg is approximately 10
mm while the width of the base member connected to the third
vertical leg is approximately 12 mm. The height of the lip
extending downwardly from the outer edge of this said base member
may be approximately 10 mm. It should also be apparent that while a
height of 11/2 inches for the standing seam is exemplary, the
standing seam may also be shorter in height such as one inch or
higher in height, depending upon the specific roof design.
[0029] As will be apparent to one skilled in the art, the present
invention may be utilized on a variety of sheet metal materials
having a composition, size and thickness suitable for standing seam
roof construction. Exemplary materials include steel, copper and
aluminum. Also, as is conventional, the metal sheeting may be
coated or bare. Thus, in connection with steel, it may be
galvanized and painted and/or painted. Moreover, with respect to
copper, it would typically be used in a bare and unpainted and
uncoated condition. With respect to aluminum, it could have a
coating of paint as well. The thickness of the sheet metal
materials used would allow for proper engagement of panels and be
acceptable to standard metal roof specifications.
[0030] Exemplary thicknesses for steel sheeting for use in the
present invention would include those having a thickness of 0.45 mm
to 0.61 mm. With respect to exemplary copper sheeting utilized in
the present invention, that could be 16-20 ounce material. With
respect to aluminum, an exemplary thickness can be approximately
0.68 mm to 0.81 mm. With respect to all of these metal materials,
an exemplary width can be approximately 15 to 28 inches.
[0031] It should be apparent from the above discussion that the
present invention leads to an improved method of manufacture of a
field-seamed standing seam roof that requires no separate clips or
attachment connectors. Thus, the application of the roofing raw
material to the roof and the formation of a final roofing structure
can be performed in a faster manner than the prior art that
utilizes connector clips. Additionally, this provides the advantage
of lowering labor costs as well as material costs involved in
application as well as in handling and stocking. The slotted nail
holes in accordance with one aspect of the present invention allow
for relative movement between the panels and/or the panel and the
roof underlayment. Moreover, because of the use of two contiguous
first and second vertical legs to form the first side wall of the
roof panel of the present invention, substantial strength and
stability is added to the panel thereby leading to easier panel
handling during the application process. Moreover, the elimination
of a separate attachment clip or connector has the advantage of
eliminating possible galvanic corrosion created in the prior art
devices by the utilization of differing composition metal
attachment clips and panel materials. Thus, stainless steel clips
found in the prior art used for copper panels are no longer
necessary, thereby leading to a reduction in cost. Moreover, since
the present invention eliminates the clips or attachment
connectors, there are no additional structures to show through on
the formed vertical seam formed by the three legs which form the
standing seam of the final product according to the present
invention.
[0032] Although illustrative embodiments of the present invention
have been described in detail with reference to the accompanying
drawings, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited
to those precise embodiments. Various changes or modifications may
be effected therein by one skilled in the art without departing
from the scope or spirit of the invention. For example, the angles
of various disclosed bends can be modified as well as the
dimensions of the various portions of the metal panels.
[0033] Further, if the nail strip flange is left plain without nail
holes, then the nail strip flange can be fastened to the support
surface using conventional nailing tools such as a hammer or nail
gun and nails.
* * * * *