U.S. patent application number 14/530289 was filed with the patent office on 2015-05-07 for roofing underlayment.
The applicant listed for this patent is TAMKO Building Products, Inc.. Invention is credited to Robert L. Bradley, Zachary J. Guza, David C. Humphreys, Steven L. Russell, Michael R. Shifferd.
Application Number | 20150126088 14/530289 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 53007361 |
Filed Date | 2015-05-07 |
United States Patent
Application |
20150126088 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Shifferd; Michael R. ; et
al. |
May 7, 2015 |
ROOFING UNDERLAYMENT
Abstract
A roofing underlayment comprising a carrier substrate included a
felt mixture and a binder mixture, and a volume of asphalt flux
saturating the carrier substrate. The felt mixture may comprise
between about seventy-five percent and about ninety-five percent by
weight corrugated paper/cardboard fibers and between about five
percent and about twenty-five percent by weight fiberglass fibers.
The volume of asphalt flux may comprise between about twenty-five
and fifty percent of a total weight of the roofing shingle
underlayment and may saturate the carrier substrate at a saturation
percentage between about thirty and about one hundred percent. The
binder mixture may include a mixture of alum and rosin having a
mixture ratio by weight of alum to rosin in a range between one to
one (1:1) and four to one (4:1).
Inventors: |
Shifferd; Michael R.; (Webb
City, MO) ; Humphreys; David C.; (Joplin, MO)
; Bradley; Robert L.; (Joplin, MO) ; Russell;
Steven L.; (Oronogo, MO) ; Guza; Zachary J.;
(Knoxville, TN) |
|
Applicant: |
Name |
City |
State |
Country |
Type |
TAMKO Building Products, Inc. |
Joplin |
MO |
US |
|
|
Family ID: |
53007361 |
Appl. No.: |
14/530289 |
Filed: |
October 31, 2014 |
Related U.S. Patent Documents
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Application
Number |
Filing Date |
Patent Number |
|
|
61899054 |
Nov 1, 2013 |
|
|
|
Current U.S.
Class: |
442/165 |
Current CPC
Class: |
E04D 12/002 20130101;
Y10T 442/2869 20150401; D06N 2201/082 20130101; D06N 2201/042
20130101; D06N 5/003 20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
442/165 |
International
Class: |
E04D 12/00 20060101
E04D012/00 |
Claims
1. A roofing underlayment comprising: a carrier substrate
comprising a felt mixture and a binder mixture; a volume of asphalt
flux saturating said carrier substrate; wherein said felt mixture
comprises between seventy-five percent and ninety-five percent by
weight corrugated paper/cardboard fibers and between five percent
and twenty-five percent by weight fiberglass fibers; and wherein
said binder mixture comprises a mixture of alum and rosin having a
mixture ratio by weight of alum to rosin in a range between one to
one (1:1) and four to one (4:1).
2. The roofing underlayment of claim 1 wherein said volume of
asphalt flux comprises between twenty-five and fifty percent of a
total weight of said roofing shingle underlayment and saturates
said carrier substrate at a saturation percentage between thirty
and one hundred percent.
3. The roofing underlayment of claim 2 wherein said volume of
asphalt flux saturates said carrier substrate at a saturation
percentage between forty and sixty percent.
4. The roofing underlayment of claim 1 wherein said carrier
substrate comprises between fifty and seventy-five percent of a
total weight of said roofing underlayment.
5. The roofing underlayment of claim 4 wherein said volume of
asphalt flux saturates said carrier substrate at a saturation
percentage between forty and sixty percent.
6. A roofing underlayment comprising: a carrier substrate
comprising a felt mixture and a binder mixture, said felt mixture
comprises between seventy-five percent and ninety-five percent by
weight corrugated paper/cardboard fibers and between five percent
and twenty-five percent by weight fiberglass fibers and said binder
mixture comprises a mixture of alum and rosin having a mixture
ratio by weight of alum to rosin in a range between one to one
(1:1) and four to one (4:1); and a volume of asphalt flux
saturating said carrier substrate, wherein said volume of asphalt
flux results in a carrier saturation of between forty and
fifty-five percent.
Description
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION
[0001] This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional
Patent Application No. 61/899,054 filed Nov. 1, 2013, the entire
disclosure of which is hereby incorporated by reference.
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
[0002] This present invention relates to a roofing underlayment
having a substrate which allows the underlayment to maintain water
resistant and performance characteristics while requiring less
asphalt to be absorbed than a traditional underlayment.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0003] The costs of asphalt and other petroleum based products have
steadily risen, thereby, influencing the market prices for all
products which contain asphalt and/or other petroleum based
products. The increase in the cost of asphalt flux that is used for
producing conventional asphalt-saturated roofing felt has resulted
in manufacturers attempting to optimize the amount of asphalt that
is used in conventional roofing felt.
[0004] Traditional saturated felt roofing underlayment is typically
offered in No. 15 and No. 30 grades. Current manufacturers have
economized the construction of traditional No. 15 grade felt
underlayment by using as little asphalt as possible. However, the
optimization of asphalt in conventional roofing felt must also
factor in maintaining the user expected and industry-standard
performance characteristics. Accordingly, conventional
asphalt-saturated roofing felt requires at least a seventy percent
to eighty percent (70%-80%) minimum saturation percentage to
maintain the industry-standard minimum performance characteristics.
Synthetic woven fabrics and mat-type products have been introduced
in an attempt to entirely replace asphalt-saturated roofing felt
for use in both residential and commercial construction. However,
these specialty mats still are more expensive to produce than the
conventional asphalt-saturated roofing felt having a seventy
percent to eighty percent (70%-80%) minimum saturation. While
asphalt-saturated roofing felt remains the lowest cost material to
use as a roof underlayment, this trend may not continue due to the
increase in the price of crude oil and derived petroleum
products.
[0005] Thus, there is a need in the art for a roofing underlayment
that includes an asphalt-saturated substrate, but requires less
asphalt than conventional roofing felt to increase material
efficiency, and also retains the industry-standard minimum
performance characteristics for roofing underlayment.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0006] The present invention relates to a roofing underlayment
material which may also be used as an underlayment for siding,
floors, or for any other water resistant applications similar to
conventional asphalt-saturated roofing felt. The substrate of the
present invention improves on existing roofing felt through a new
composition of the substrate. The substrate composition allows the
substrate to absorb less asphalt than conventional roofing felt,
but while still maintaining the industry-standard minimum
waterproofing and performance characteristics. As such, the present
roofing underlayment construction may provide a substantial cost
savings while providing identical, if not improved, waterproofing
and performance characteristics.
[0007] The present roofing underlayment comprises a carrier
substrate comprising a felt mixture and a binder mixture, and a
volume of asphalt flux saturating said carrier substrate. One
embodiment of the present roofing underlayment includes the felt
mixture comprising between seventy-five and ninety-five percent
(75-95%) by weight corrugated paper/cardboard fibers and between
five and twenty-five percent (5-25%) by weight fiberglass fibers.
In addition, an embodiment of the present roofing underlayment may
include the felt mixture including wood fibers in a percentage
between zero and twenty percent (0-20%).
[0008] Another embodiment of the present roofing underlayment
includes the binder mixture comprising a mixture of alum and rosin
having a mixture ratio by weight of alum to rosin in a range
between one to one (1:1) and four to one (4:1) and may further
include the felt mixture comprising between seventy-five and
ninety-five percent (75%-95%) by weight corrugated paper fibers and
between five and twenty-five percent (5%-25%) by weight fiberglass
fibers. This embodiment may include the volume of asphalt flux
comprising between twenty-five and fifty percent (25-50%) of a
total weight of said roofing shingle underlayment, wherein the
asphalt flux saturates said carrier substrate at a saturation
percentage between thirty and one hundred percent (30-100%), with a
preferred embodiment including the volume of asphalt flux saturates
said carrier substrate at a saturation percentage between forty and
sixty percent (40-60%).
[0009] The carrier substrate may comprise between fifty and
seventy-five percent (50-75%) of the total weight of said roofing
underlayment in one or more embodiments of the present roofing
underlayment.
[0010] Other aspects and advantages of the present invention will
be apparent from the following detailed description of the
preferred embodiments and the accompanying drawing figures.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWINGS
[0011] The accompanying drawings form a part of the specification
and are to be read in conjunction therewith, in which like
reference numerals are employed to indicate like or similar parts
in the various views.
[0012] FIG. 1 is a table presenting the listing of components and
relative percentages for one embodiment of a roofing underlayment
in accordance with the teachings of the present invention;
[0013] FIG. 2 is a table presenting a listing of components and
relative percentages for another embodiment of a roofing
underlayment in accordance with the teachings of the present
invention; and
[0014] FIG. 3 is a table presenting felt gauge, saturation
percentages, and components for two embodiments of a roofing
underlayment in accordance with the teachings of the present
invention.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
[0015] The following detailed description of the present invention
references the accompanying drawing figures that illustrate
specific embodiments in which the invention can be practiced. The
embodiments are intended to describe aspects of the present
invention in sufficient detail to enable those skilled in the art
to practice the invention. Other embodiments can be utilized and
changes can be made without departing from the spirit and scope of
the present invention. The present invention is defined by the
appended claims and, therefore, the description is not to be taken
in a limiting sense and shall not limit the scope of equivalents to
which such claims are entitled.
[0016] The roofing underlayment of the present invention includes
an asphalt-saturated carrier substrate. Embodiments of the present
roofing underlayment may be manufactured into any number of
versions; however, two preferable versions have the functional
equivalence of both conventional No. 15 and No. 30 grade
asphalt-saturated roofing felt. Thus, these two embodiments may be
put into the market as meeting equivalent building
specifications.
[0017] The present carrier substrate may comprise a combination of
a felt mixture and a rosin/alum mixture. The felt mixture may
comprise around eighty-five to ninety-eight percent (85-98%) of the
total carrier substrate by weight. The felt mixture may include a
combination of corrugated paper fibers, fiberglass fibers, and/or
wood fibers. The corrugated paper/cardboard fiber component may
comprises a range of around seventy to around ninety percent
(70%-90%) of the total felt mixture by weight and the fiberglass
fiber component may comprise a range of about ten percent to about
thirty percent (10%-30%) of the total felt mixture by weight. The
felt mixture may include additional components.
[0018] Embodiments of the carrier substrate may have a thickness
between 17 gauge and 28 gauge as recognized in the art. Other sheet
thicknesses are also within the scope of the present invention. For
example, felt sheet thicknesses between 10 and 40 gauge are
envisioned, but a gauge thickness between 15 gauge and 30 gauge may
be preferred. The carrier substrate is a non-woven sheet material
made with methods well known in the art. In one embodiment, the
substrate is formed by means of a pressurized or open head box, and
Fourdrinier or a vat and pick-up felt. The substrate may then be
dried by mechanical and vacuum pressing as well as thermal drying.
After drying, the substrate may or may not be calendered. The
non-woven carrier substrate is then wound and slit for processing
and saturation.
[0019] The rosin/alum mixture comprises a range of two to ten
percent (2-10%) of the total carrier substrate by weight. The
rosin/alum mixture may comprise a ratio of alum to rosin (by
weight) in a range from about one part alum to one part rosin (1:1)
to about four parts alum to about one part rosin (4:1). In one
embodiment, the rosin/alum may be added upstream before the
non-woven sheet is formed. The combination of the felt mixture and
the rosin/alum mixture may result in a carrier substrate that is
waterproof or water resistant.
[0020] Once the carrier substrate is formed, the continuous
non-woven sheet may be submersed in liquid asphalt flux wherein the
asphalt flux coats and/or is absorbed into the carrier substrate.
Saturating the carrier substrate of the present invention with
conventional asphalt can be performed using any process known in
the art and with currently existing machinery. One embodiment
includes the carrier substrate itself being waterproof or water
resistant. As a result, less asphalt may be absorbed into the
carrier substrate and the asphalt may coat the outer portion of the
carrier substrate. Thus, the asphalt flux that coats and/or
saturates the carrier substrate may comprise only around twenty
percent to fifty percent (20%-50%) of the total weight of the
present roofing underlayment. Therefore, a saturation percentage in
a range between about thirty percent and about one-hundred percent
(30%-100%) is generally observed, with the preferred saturation
being under seventy percent (70%). Currently, a lower saturation
percentage when compared to conventional roofing felt is preferred
in the commercial embodiment which also maintains or improves the
performance characteristics.
[0021] FIG. 1 is a summary table of the component make up for one
embodiment of the present roofing underlayment corresponding to
conventional No. 15 roofing felt. The chart lists the range from
lower to upper for each component in this embodiment. As such, the
rows list the range of the component, but the columns do not
identify the composition of a particular embodiment of the present
roofing underlayment. An embodiment corresponding to a conventional
No. 15 roofing felt may include the carrier substrate comprising a
total weight percentage in a range between around fifty percent to
around seventy-five percent (50-75%) of the total weight of the
present roofing underlayment. The gauge of the carrier substrate
may be between seventeen (17) gauge and twenty-one (21) gauge. The
carrier substrate of this embodiment of the present roofing
underlayment comprises a combination of a felt mixture and a
rosin/alum mixture. The felt mixture comprises ninety to
ninety-eight percent (90%-98%) of the total carrier substrate by
weight and the rosin/alum mixture comprises around one and one-half
percent to around six and two-tenths percent (1.5%-6.2%).
[0022] As shown in FIG. 1, the embodiments described include the
felt mixture being a combination of corrugated paper and fiberglass
fibers, but other components may also be incorporated. The
corrugated paper/cardboard component comprises a range of
seventy-five to ninety-five percent (75%-95%) of the felt mixture
and the fiberglass component comprises a range of five to
twenty-five percent (5%-25%) of the felt mixture.
[0023] FIG. 2 is a summary table of the component make up for one
embodiment of the present roofing underlayment corresponding to
conventional No. 30 roofing felt. The chart lists the range from
lower to upper for each component in this embodiment. As such, the
rows list the range of the individual component, but the columns do
not identify the composition of a particular embodiment of the
present roofing underlayment. An embodiment corresponding to a
conventional No. 30 roofing felt may include the carrier substrate
comprising a total weight percentage in a range between around
forty-five percent to around seventy-four percent (45-74%) of the
total weight of the present roofing underlayment. The gauge of the
carrier substrate may be between twenty-four (24) gauge and thirty
(30) gauge. The carrier substrate of this embodiment of the present
roofing underlayment comprises a combination of a felt mixture and
a rosin/alum mixture. The felt mixture comprises ninety to
ninety-eight percent (90-98%) of the total carrier substrate by
weight and the rosin/alum mixture comprises around two percent to
around ten percent (2%-10%).
[0024] As shown in FIG. 2, the embodiments described include the
felt mixture being a combination of corrugated paper and fiberglass
fibers, but other components, such as wood and other fibers may
also be incorporated. The corrugated paper/cardboard component
comprises a range of seventy-five to ninety-five percent (75%-95%)
of the felt mixture and the fiberglass component comprises a range
of five to twenty-five percent (5%-25%) of the felt mixture.
[0025] Additional individual embodiments of the present roofing
underlayment including the components and percentages thereof are
presented in FIG. 3. These embodiments include one embodiment have
equivalent performance to a conventional No. 15 roofing felt and
one embodiment having equivalent performance to a conventional No.
30 roofing felt. As shown in FIG. 3, an embodiment equivalent to a
conventional No. 15 roofing felt would utilized a felt having a
target thickness of 20 gauge within a margin of +/-1 gauge. In
addition, embodiment equivalent to a conventional No. 15 roofing
felt would include a target saturation of around forty-four percent
(44%). This embodiment of the present roofing underlayment may be
equivalent to conventional No. 15 roofing felt and may include a
carrier weight of around twenty six (26) pounds per four square
roll and an asphalt weight being around eight (8) pounds per four
square roll. The carrier substrate may include around ninety-five
percent (95%) felt mix and around five percent (5%) chemicals (alum
and rosin). The felt may be comprised of around seventy six percent
(76%) corrugated fibers, around twelve percent (12%) fiberglass,
and around twelve percent (12%) wood fibers. The alum and rosin may
have a ratio of around one (1) part rosin to three and two-tenths
(3.2) parts alum.
[0026] As shown in FIG. 3, an embodiment equivalent to a
conventional No. 30 roofing felt would utilize a felt having a
target thickness of 26 gauge within a margin of +/-1 gauge. In
addition, embodiment equivalent to a conventional No. 30 roofing
felt would include a target saturation of around fifty-four percent
(54%). One embodiment of the present roofing underlayment
equivalent to conventional No. 30 roofing felt may include a
carrier weight of around eighteen (18) pounds per two square roll
and an asphalt weight being around eleven and seven-tenths (11.7)
pounds per two square roll. This embodiment may include a carrier
substrate including around ninety-five percent (95%) felt mix and
five percent (5%) chemicals (alum and rosin). The felt may be
comprised of around eighty eight percent corrugated fibers (88%)
and around twelve percent (12%) fiberglass. The alum and rosin may
have a ratio of around one (1) part rosin to three and two-tenths
(3.2) parts alum. However, an embodiment including the elements in
any percentage or ratio that falls within the ranges set forth in
FIGS. 1 and 2 are within the scope of the present invention.
[0027] In addition, because the carrier substrate may be waterproof
or water resistant on its own, it absorbs less asphalt. It was
unexpectedly found that the combination of a waterproof or water
resistant carrier substrate maintained or exceeded the consumer
expected performance when compared to conventional roofing felt
even when the carrier substrate of the present roofing underlayment
absorbs less asphalt. This allows for the use of less asphalt for
the same performance, thereby introducing significant economy into
the present roofing underlayment.
[0028] As is evident from the foregoing description, certain
aspects of the present invention are not limited to the particular
details of the examples illustrated herein. It is therefore
contemplated that other modifications and applications using other
similar or related features or techniques will occur to those
skilled in the art. It is accordingly intended that all such
modifications, variations, and other uses and applications which do
not depart from the spirit and scope of the present invention are
deemed to be covered by the present invention.
[0029] Other aspects, objects, and advantages of the present
invention can be obtained from a study of the drawings, the
disclosures, and the appended claims.
* * * * *