U.S. patent application number 11/455550 was filed with the patent office on 2006-12-28 for hinged ridge vent cover for mounting loose laid shingles over a ridge vent.
Invention is credited to Brian C. Stearns.
Application Number | 20060292979 11/455550 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 37568181 |
Filed Date | 2006-12-28 |
United States Patent
Application |
20060292979 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Stearns; Brian C. |
December 28, 2006 |
Hinged ridge vent cover for mounting loose laid shingles over a
ridge vent
Abstract
Two rigid surfaces are joined by a hinge to form a cover for a
building ridge vent formed at the apex of a pitched roof. The hinge
lies along the building ridge vent with the two rigid surfaces
extending down each side of the pitched roof. The rigid surfaces of
the cover affixed to the roof using standard roofing fasteners
provide a rigid stable mounting surface for heavy loose laid
roofing shingles.
Inventors: |
Stearns; Brian C.; (Stowe,
VT) |
Correspondence
Address: |
Albin H. Gess, Esq.;SNELL & WILMER L.L.P.
Suite 1400
600 Anton Boulevard
Costa Mesa
CA
92626-7689
US
|
Family ID: |
37568181 |
Appl. No.: |
11/455550 |
Filed: |
June 19, 2006 |
Related U.S. Patent Documents
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Application
Number |
Filing Date |
Patent Number |
|
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60692614 |
Jun 22, 2005 |
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Current U.S.
Class: |
454/365 |
Current CPC
Class: |
F24F 7/02 20130101; E04D
13/174 20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
454/365 |
International
Class: |
F24F 7/02 20060101
F24F007/02 |
Claims
1. A ridge vent cover for a pitched roof, comprising: a first rigid
surface having a first hinging member; and a second rigid surface
having a second hinging member swivably connected to the first
hinging member.
2. The ridge vent cover of claim 1 wherein the first and second
rigid surfaces are plywood.
3. The ridge vent cover of claim 1 wherein the first and second
hinging members are aluminum.
4. The ridge vent cover of claim 1 further comprising a first L
shaped drip edge coupled to the first rigid surface opposite the
first hinging member and a second L shaped drip edge coupled to the
second rigid surface opposite the second hinging member.
5. The ridge vent cover of claim 4 wherein the L shaped drip edges
are copper.
6. The ridge vent cover of claim 1 further comprising one or more
screws for fastening the rigid surfaces to the pitched roof.
7. The ridge vent cover of claim 1 wherein the first hinging member
and the second hinging member are slideable along their
longitudinal axes.
8. The ridge vent cover of claim 1 wherein the first hinge surface
and second hinge surface slide completely apart.
9. A ridge vent cover for a pitched roof, the ridge vent cover
comprising: a plurality of first rigid surfaces, each having a
first hinging member; and a plurality of second rigid surfaces,
each having a second hinging member connectable to one of the first
hinging members for swivable motion therebetween; whereby the
plurality of first rigid surfaces and second rigid surfaces form a
ridge vent cover over the pitched roof when the first and second
surfaces are connected together, with the plurality of first rigid
surfaces extending down one side of the roof and the plurality of
second rigid surfaces extending down the other side of the
roof.
10. The ridge vent cover of claim 9 wherein the first and second
rigid surfaces are plywood.
11. The ridge vent cover of claim 9 wherein the hinging members are
aluminum.
12. The ridge vent cover of claim 9 further comprising a waterproof
membrane covering the rigid surfaces.
13. The ridge vent cover of claim 12 further comprising one or more
loose laid shingles fastened to the first and second rigid
surfaces.
14. The ridge vent cover of claim 13 wherein the loose laid
shingles are slate shingles.
15. The ridge vent cover of claim 14 further comprising a copper
drip edge fastened to one or more of the rigid surfaces.
16. A shingle mounting device for mounting shingles over a ridge
vent, comprising: a first shingle mounting surface having a first
hinging member; and a second shingle mounting surface having a
second hinging member connectable to the first hinging member for
swivable motion.
17. The shingle mounting device of claim 16 further comprising one
or more copper drip edges fastened to the shingle mounting
surfaces.
18. The shingle mounting device of claim 16 wherein the first and
second shingle surfaces are wood composites.
19. The shingle mounting device of claim 16 wherein the first and
second hinging members are aluminum.
20. The shingle mounting device of claim 16 wherein the first and
second hinging members are copper.
Description
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION
[0001] Applicant claims the benefit of provisional application No.
60/692,614 filed on Jun. 22, 2005 for a Hinged Roof Ridge Vent
Cover and incorporates the entire disclosure thereof herein by
reference.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0002] 1. Field of the Invention
[0003] The invention relates generally to roofing surfaces. More
particularly, the invention relates to ridge vent covers.
[0004] 2. Description of the Related Art
[0005] The oil embargo in the early 1970's drove builders to make
their buildings more energy efficient. To reduce energy
consumption, builders began insulating their buildings more
thoroughly. Modem buildings are well insulated thereby containing
heat more effectively and requiring less energy to maintain an
internal temperature.
[0006] The hottest air in thoroughly insulated buildings rises and
is trapped in the highest points in the buildings, such as the
attic. This trapped heat presents a couple of challenges to
builders and roofers. First, the trapped heat causes water to
condense on the underside of the roof substructure. The
condensation deteriorates the underside of the roof causing
structural problems. Second, the trapped heat causes snow and ice
to melt on the upper most portions of the roof. The water from the
melted snow and ice runs down the roof to the eaves. If the outside
air temperature is cold enough, the water runoff refreezes at the
eaves causing an ice dam. Subsequent water runoff blocked by the
ice dam backs up and refreezes causing damage to the roof.
[0007] To ameliorate problems caused by trapped heat, roofers
commonly do not place shingles over the top two inches of a
building ridge, leaving an uncovered area. The uncovered area,
known as a ridge vent, allows heat to escape. A semi-rigid covering
is applied over the ridge vent to keep water from entering. A
variety of semi-rigid coverings are available under trade names
such as Cora Vent, Cobra Vent, Roll Vent or ProfileVent. These
products which are flexible prevent water from entering while
allowing hot air to escape.
[0008] Roofers, however, have encountered two significant problems
when mounting shingles directly to flexible ventilation material.
First, the shingles have a tendency to "blow off" during high wind
conditions. Second, the flexible ventilation material cannot
support the weight of heavier shingles, such as slate, for example.
Heavier shingles will cause the semi-rigid ventilation covers to
sag and fall off. Applicant's invention, a solid ridge vent cover,
does not have any of these problems, besides bringing a degree of
sturdiness to ridge vent covers not possible before.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0009] The ridge vent cover of the present invention has two rigid
elongated surfaces joined by a hinge. The hinge allows the ridge
vent to be easily adjusted to the pitch of the roof. Multiple
unhinged elongated surfaces, of at least two different lengths are
hinged together so the left and right elongated surfaces overlap,
along the entire open ridge of the roof. The hinge joining the
elongated surfaces allows the rigid surfaces to rest on either side
of a laid roof, along the entire open ridge of the roof, regardless
of pitch. The rigid surfaces are affixed to the roof by standard
roofing fasteners. The hinged solid surfaces present a stable rigid
surface for mounting heavy loose laid shingle such as slate,
synthetic slate and tile.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0010] The exact nature of this invention as well as its objects
and advantages will be readily understood upon consideration of the
following specification along with the attached drawings, wherein
like reference numerals throughout the drawings indicate like
parts, and wherein:
[0011] FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a preferred embodiment of
hinged ridge vent cover of the present invention.
[0012] FIG. 2 is an exploded view of the hinged ridge vent cover of
FIG. 1.
[0013] FIG. 3 is an end view of a roof that has been shingled
leaving a ridge vent.
[0014] FIG. 4 is a top perspective of a roof with solid surfaces
joined together in an interleaved manner by their hinges to form a
complete ridge cover.
[0015] FIG. 5 is a top perspective of a roof having a porous
membrane applied over the ridge cover of FIG. 4.
[0016] FIG. 6 is a top perspective of a roof having shingles laid
over the porous membrane on the ridge cover of the present
invention.
DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
[0017] The hinged ridge vent cover 1 of the present invention has a
rigid elongated left surface 2 and a rigid elongated right surface
4 joined by a hinge 6. The rigid surfaces 2, 4 are preferably made
of plywood approximately four feet long, seven inches wide, and
five eighths inches thick. Other material of comparable rigidity,
strength and size are also contemplated.
[0018] The hinge 6 is slightly less than four feet long; and is
preferably made of aluminum. The hinge 6 has an outer receiving
member 8 and an inner rotating member 10. The members 8, 10 rotate
relative to one another along the radial axis. The members 8, 10
are connected together by inserting member 10 into member 8 at an
end and sliding it along the longitudinal axis, allowing the right
surface 2 and left surface 4 to be translated relative to one
another.
[0019] As more clearly seen in FIG. 2, hinging members 8, 10 each
have hinge plates 12, 13 respectively, with ridges 14 that lie
adjacent to and contact the right and left rigid surfaces 2, 4.
Each hinge plate 12, 13 has through holes 16 that accommodate 3/8
inch screws (not shown) for securing the hinge plates to the
underside of the rigid surfaces 2, 4.
[0020] Copper drip edges 18, 19 are fitted over the lower edges of
rigid surfaces 2, 4 respectively. The drip edges 18, 19 are L
shaped, approximately four feet long, five eighths inches wide,
with an outside surface 20 that extends approximately one and one
quarter inches up the outside of the respective rigid surface
covers 2, 4. An inside surface 22 of the drip edge extends
approximately five eighths of an inch up the underside of rigid
surfaces 2, 4. The copper drip edges 18, 19 fit snugly over the
lower edges of the rigid surfaces 2, 4 respectively and are affixed
to the surfaces 2, 4 with staples 24 or some other convenient
fastening means.
[0021] The drip edges 18 are preferably made of copper. The
non-corroding characteristics of copper make copper a good choice
for use with long lasting roofing material such as slate. The drip
edge may be composed of any other water impermeable material with
similar characteristics.
[0022] The rigid surfaces 2, 4 provide support for slate or other
heavy, loose laid roofing material. The plywood construction of the
rigid surface provides a solid mounting surface that accommodates
standard roofing fasteners such as nails and screws, for example
The rigid surfaces 2, 4, may be made from any other wood or plastic
rigid material. A variety of hardwoods, softwoods, composite woods,
metals and plastics is contemplated.
[0023] The hinge 6 is preferably made of aluminum and is
constructed to slideably engage. Other similar non-corrosive metals
such as copper or iron, or plastic are also contemplated. The use
of a soft lightweight material, such as aluminum, allows a roofer
to easily cut the hinge 6 and rigid surfaces 2, 4 using standard
roofing tools.
[0024] The use of a slideably engagable hinge 6 has several
advantages. It allows a roofer to separate the left surface 4 from
the right surface 2, and translate the left surface 4 relative to
the right surface 2, and interleave the left and right surfaces as
will be described in more detail hereinafter. Other kinds of hinges
like slideable hinges, or bending surfaces, such as pinned hinges,
ball and socket hinges, flexible metal connecting surfaces,
inter-locking flexible joints and connecting fabric, may also be
used, but without the distinct advantage of the preferred
embodiment.
[0025] The dimensions of the rigid surfaces 2, 4, the hinge 6, the
drip edges 18 and the screws 16, 26 are exemplary. The preferred
dimensions work well with ridge vents on slate shingle roofs. The
four foot length of the rigid surface is manageable, while the
seven inch width adequately covers the ridge vent. For heavy
shingles other than slate, rigid surfaces 2, 4 having four foot
lengths and six inch widths are preferred.
[0026] FIG. 3 shows a pitched roof shingled and vented. Rows of
shingles 28 have been applied leaving a narrow vent strip 30 at the
roof ridge peak. On the right side, the last course of shingles 28
has been applied leaving a few inches of the roof exposed forming
the right side of the narrow vent strip 30. On the left side, a
nail strip 32 has been added to accommodate a final short course of
shingles 28. A few inches of the roof remain exposed on the left
side forming the left side of the narrow vent strip 30. A flexible
venting material 34 (described above) allows heat to escape while
preventing water from entering.
[0027] FIG. 4 shows the hinged ridge vent cover I applied to the
roof ridge shown in FIG. 3. The left rigid surfaces 4 and right
rigid surfaces 2 are staggered relative to one another forming an
inverted V shaped structure with the hinges 6 at the peak. To lay
the staggered rigid surfaces 4, 2, sixteen inches of a starting
rigid surface 36 is removed. Subsequent left and right rigid
surfaces are laid end to end with the left surfaces shifted into
the space provided by the removed portion of the first rigid
surface 36. The rotating member 10 of the hinge 6 attached to the
left rigid surface 4 slides into the receiving member 8 of the
hinge 6 attached to the first right rigid surface 38. At the end of
the ridge line, any excess from the final rigid surface is cut off.
Four or more three inch screws 26 are screwed through each one of
the left and right rigid surfaces 2, 4 into the shingles 28 and the
roof nail strip. Drip edges 18 are fitted over the lower edges of
the left and right rigid surfaces 4, 2 and fastened with a staple
gun.
[0028] The series of staggered interlocking hinged rigid surfaces
provide a ridge vent structure across the entire ridge line. The
screws 26 secure the ridge vent cover to the roof preventing uplift
and blow off. The left and right rigid surfaces 2, 4 provide
convenient and sturdy mounting surfaces for heavy tile, like slate
for example.
[0029] In the illustrated embodiment the rigid surfaces are
staggered by sixteen inches. Different stagger lengths could be
used. The screw 26 size and spacing are only exemplary, as are the
drip edge size and spacing. Any suitable roofing fasteners or
equivalent may be used.
[0030] FIG. 5 shows a water proof membrane 39 applied over the
ridge vent cover. The water proof membrane 39 extends over the drip
edge. An end closure 40 may be used at the gable ends of the
pitched roof to waterproof the ridge edges.
[0031] FIG. 6 shows loose laid roofing shingles 28, such as slate,
applied over the water proof membrane (not shown) and fastened to
the ridge vent cover. Two 11/2 screws concealed by the shingle
layering penetrate the shingles 28, the water proof membrane and
the hinged ridge vent cover securing the shingles to the roof.
[0032] The ridge vent cover of the present invention provides a
stable mounting platfrom for heavier loose laid shingles, and
prevents up-lift from heavy winds.
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