Tile And Tile Roofing

Abstract

A tile used for a weather seal on a roof comprises a curved sheet substantially straight in its longitudinal dimension and curved in its transverse dimension so that it has a convex side and a concave side. The edges of the tile converge toward each other so that one end is in the form of an arc which is smaller than the arc at the opposite end. A pocket is formed in one end on the convex side with its opening facing toward the opposite end and another pocket is formed at the opposite end at the concave side with an opening facing the first mentioned end. By reason of this construction a number of tiles may be attached together in tandem by inserting a pocket member on the convex side into a pocket member on the concave side and visa versa. A tandem series of such tiles can be used to form so-called valleys on a roof and also to form so-called ridges which overlie the edges of adjacent valleys. Hooked tab means are provided for insertion in pockets of the individual tiles for securing them to a roof.

Description

This invention relates to weather seals and more particularly to such seals of the type commonly known as tiles.

It is a common practice to provide weather sealing for roofs, sheds and the like in the form of an assembly of individual tiles arranged so that rain water falling on them runs downward on an incline from one tile to another until the water drips or is led off the tiles at the edge of the roof. It is well-known to provide such tiles in the form of curved or convex units designed to overlap each other in such a manner as to prevent water from escaping from the tile assembly to the roof on which the tiles are placed.

In arranging such tiles on a roof it is common to provide parallel columns of the tiles extending downwardly along the incline of the roof. These columns are formed as so-called valleys and also as so-called ridges. The valleys are assembled by placing a number of the individual tiles with their convex sides downward with their edges extending upwardly, and with each succeeding tile somewhat overlapping the one immediately below it on the incline. The spaces between the parallel valley columns are then covered by so-called ridge columns formed by turning the convex side of the individual tiles upward, with each succeeding tile somewhat overlapping the one immediately below it on the incline. These ridge tiles are placed so that the edges of the individual tiles of the ridge overlap the adjacent upstanding edges of the valley tiles. Thus, water falling on the ridge tiles flows downward onto valley tiles to join the water falling on the valley tiles, which then carry the water down to the edge of the roof.

It has heretofore been customary to use ceramic materials for such tiles and to hold the individual tiles in place by cement. Owing to the relatively brittle and fragile nature of the ceramic it has been necessary to construct ceramic tiles of substantial bulk and weight, which is a disadvantage in many applications. Furthermore owing to the physical limitations thus imposed on ceramic, such tiles can not be used on a low pitch roof or cover, otherwise there would be risk of water seepage through the tiles to the roof. There are many instances where low pitch is not practical. For example, mobile trailers, owing to their inherent nature, must have a low pitch and furthermore any roofing material such as tiles must be non-breakable. Accordingly, ceramic tile is ruled out for trailers and the like because they are breakable and require low pitch.

In accordance with the present invention there is provided a tile and tiling system which is of relatively low weight and substantially unbreakable and of moderate thickness and which can be used satisfactorily on low pitch roofs. The invention is carried out by provision of curved tiles, convex on one side and concave on the other and provided with pockets at each end, one of the pockets being on the concave side and the other on the convex side. The tile is substantially straight in the longitudinal direction but tapers toward one end so that one end is in the form of an arc shorter than that at the other end. By reason of this construction, the tiles are reversible, that is each tile can be used as part of a ridge or alternatively as part of a valley. To form the ridges and valleys, a plurality of the tiles are connected to each other in tandem, the pocket member at a small end of one tile being connected with the pocket at the large end of the next tile.

To prevent the ridges and valleys thus formed from sliding downward on the incline of the roof, at least some and preferably all of the individual tiles are fastened to the roof itself by clips inserted into the pockets.

The material of the tiles are preferably of a plastic material of substantial strength which thereby permits the use of relatively thin tiles and of relatively light weight. A suitable material can be made from polyvinyl chloride which may be modified with an acrylic plastic. Such material weighs about 32 pounds per cubic foot which is relatively light as compared with ceramic. Other plastic or material equivalent for the purpose may be used such as for example, polystyrene.

In assembling the tiles to form ridges and valleys for the roofing the larger ends of the tiles should be placed downward in the valleys and upward in the ridges, with reference to the direction of incline of the roof.

The foregoing and other features of the invention will be better understood from the following detailed description and the accompanying drawing of which:

FIG. 1 illustrates a portion of a roof with covering tiles arranged according to this invention;

FIG. 2 is a cross-section view taken at line 2--2 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a top view of an individual tile according to this invention;

FIG. 4 is an end view of the tile of FIG. 3 taken from line 4--4 of FIG. 3;

FIG. 5 is an edge view of the tile of FIGS. 3 and 4 looking from line 5--5 of FIG. 4;

FIG. 6 is a cross-section view of a portion of a pair of valley tiles fitted together and held by a clip to a roof;

FIG. 7 is a cross-section view of a portion of a pair of ridge tiles fitted together and fastened by a clip to a roof;

FIG. 8 is a side elevation view of a clip used in holding tiles according to this invention; and

FIG. 9 is a front elevation view of the clip of FIG. 8.

Referring to the drawing FIG. 1 shows a portion of an upper surface of a sloping roof 10 covered with an arrangement of tiles 11 (FIGS. 3, 4 and 5) according to this invention. These individual tiles 11 are referred to in FIG. 1 either by numerals 11a to represent their position as "valley" tiles and 11b to indicate their position as "ridge" tiles. All of the individual tiles 11a and 11b are alike and of the same dimensions and are like that shown in FIGS. 3 to 5.

Referring to FIGS. 3 to 5 the tile 11 comprises a body in the form of a curved sheet 12 one surface 13 of which is convex and the opposite surface 14 of which is concave. The longitudinal center line 14 along the surface 13 is straight, as is a similar center line along surface 14. The side lines 15 and 16 along the opposite side edges of the surface 13 are also straight, and the side edge lines 15 and 16 converge toward each other. Each end of sheet 11 is substantially in the form of an arc of a circle. The radii of curvature of the arcs of the respective ends are substantially the same, although the arc at one end (FIG. 4) has a greater length than the arc at the other end. The edges 15 and 16 are provided with respective side strips 17 and 18 extending substantially radially inwardly from the respective side edges at the concave side of the sheet.

The larger end (FIG. 4) of the sheet 11 is provided with a pocket 19 formed by attaching a strip 20 at the concave side at the larger end and attaching over it a larger strip 21 which extends for a distance toward the smaller end of sheet 11.

At the smaller end of sheet 11 there is formed another pocket 22, similar to pocket 19, formed by an end strip 23 at the convex side at the smaller end and over it a larger strip 24 which extends for a distance toward the larger end. The dimensions of the pockets 19 and 22 in relation to the strips 21 and 24 are such that a pair of the tiles 11 can be fitted to each other by inserting the strip 24 at pocket 22 of one tile into pocket 19 of the other tile as shown in FIG. 2. Thus the small end of one tile is joined to the large end of the next tile. In this manner a series of the tiles may be joined in tandem to each other to constitute either a valley or a ridge of a tile roofing.

In the use of these tiles, the roof on which they are placed will have some pitch so that the tiles will not be lying on a horizontal surface. In building up the valleys of the tile roof, a series of the tandem-joined tiles will be laid on the roof with the smaller ends of the individual tiles placed downward on the roof incline which is indicated by the arrow 25 in FIG. 1. The columns of the valley formations are separated from each other by a suitable amount so that similar tandem-arranged series of the tiles may be placed over the upwardly protruding edges of the valley tiles as shown in FIG. 1. The ridge tiles are fitted to each other in a series in the same manner as described for the series of valley tiles, but the positions of the ridge tiles are reversed, that is, the larger ends of the ridge tiles are in the downward position on the roof incline.

At least some, and preferably all, of the tiles on the roof should be attached to the roof beneath the tiles to insure against downward sliding of the tiles on the incline. For this purpose there are provided clips 26 one of which is shown in FIGS. 8 and 9 in the form of a flat strip 27 formed into a rigid hook 28 at one end which hooks into a pocket of a tile. The hooks are attached to the roof beneath the tiles by suitable means, ordinarily nails 29.

The manner of attaching the clips is illustrated more clearly in FIGS. 6 and 7. FIG. 6 shows a pair of the valley tiles 11a fitted to each other as described and illustrated in FIG. 2, and shows one of the clips 26 hooked into the upper pocket of the lowermost tile 11a, in the manner shown in FIG. 1. The dimensions of the pockets and pocket strips are such that there is sufficient room for the hook portion 28 of the clip in the pocket.

In FIG. 7 there is shown one of the clips 26 hooked into the upper pocket of the lower one of two ridge tiles 11b. The arrangement is the same as in FIG. 6 excepting that the hook portion of the clip in FIG. 7 is brought further out from the roof 10 than in FIG. 6 by reason of the fact that the center line of the ridge tile to which the clip is hooked is further out from the roof because of the convex curvature of the tile.

As best illustrated in FIG. 5 the individual tiles are preferably tapered lengthwise so that the greater thickness of the sheet 12 is at the larger end and the least thickness at the small end. The side strips 17 and 18 taper similarly. This tapering, though not essential, serves to enhance the appearance of the tiles and creates a substantial appearance at the lower edges of the ridge tiles which are visible in the completed roofing.

It will be recognized that the specific embodiment of the invention illustrated and described herein is given by way of illustration and not of limitation. Modifications and changes may suggest themselves to those skilled in the art, which may be made without departing from the scope of the invention.

Claims

What is claimed is:

1. A tile comprising a body having a center line lengthwise and being curved in the plane of its cross-section perpendicular to the center line so that the surface at one side of the body is convex and the surface at the other side concave, each end of the body being curved and having a pocket, the pocket at one end being at the concave side and the pocket at the other end being at the convex side, each pocket being formed by an engaging strip conforming with, and spaced from, the surface of the body at its end and having an opening facing toward the opposite end of the tile, said body having side edges at the concave surface having side strips raised above the last mentioned surface, whereby a plurality of tiles can be interlocked end-to-end and also inverted to form ridges and valleys with protection against entry of rain or water beneath the ridges.

2. A tile according to claim 1 in which the center line is substantially straight.

3. A tile according to claim 1 in which said side edges converge from the end having the pocket at the concave surface l8c toward the opposite end.

4. A tile according to claim 3 in which each end has substantially the same radius of curvature.

5. A column comprising a plurality of tiles according to claim 1 in which each of the tiles is attached to the next tile by insertion of the engaging strip of the pocket at the concave side of each tile into the pocket of the next tile.

6. A roof covering comprising a plurality of parallel columns according to claim 5 in which alternate columns are valley columns separated from each other and of which the concave surfaces of the tiles face upward, and the other alternate columns are ridge columns separated from each other and of which the concave surfaces of the tiles face downward, the edges of the side tiles of each ridge column overlapping the side edges of the tiles of the adjacent valley columns.

7. A roof covering according to claim 6 in which at least some of the tiles in each column are fastened to the roof by clips, each clip comprising a strip formed in a hook at one end attached to the pocket of its respective tile, and fastening means in the strip for fastening the strip to the roof.