Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
~8~2~7
The present invention relates to a shingle-type build-
ing element in the form of a sheet or composite structure
imitating a plurality of shingles in side-by-side arrange-
ment.
From applicant's Canadian Pa~-e~t 1,133,224 issue~ October
12, 1982 such shin~le-like building elements have been known. They
consist of a panel-shaped upper member 1 of rectangular
cross section of a width b and a height h and a lower mem-
ber 2 in the form of a truncated wedge whose truncated side
4 ends flush with the side of the upper member 1 which later
~aces the ridge or the upper wall end, respectively, ~he
wedge-shaped lower member 2 being an attachment composea,
i~ cross section, of the triangle ABC and a polygon there-
beneath which, after the building elements have been put
in place~ form a base structure of rectangular cross section
whose side BC is smaller than half of the width b, said
upper member 1 consisting of a plate of weather-resistan~
material and the lower member 2 consisting of a foamed
material~ thz upper member 1 having incisions 5 in the
region not in contact with the lower member 2 to attain a
shingle-like effect, and said upper member 1 consisting oE
commercially available shingle plates imitating a plurality
of shinyles and made from any desired material, preferably
o asp~àlt shinc~le plates, and in ~he foamed plastic of the
lower member ~ there is preferably provided a reinforcement~
pre~erably in the form of an optionally perforated channel.
For additional attachment of the upper member 1 to the
lower member 2 preferabl~ consisting of hard polyurethane
~oam a flalt strip of material 6 is provided on the top side
of the upper member 1 and a twisted strip of material is
provided on the bottom side of the upper member 1, said
s~rips being fastened by means of staples to the upper mem-
ber 1 so tha~ the staples 8 simultaneously grip the upper
and the lower strip, and the twisted strip 7 is imbedded
in the foam of the lower member 2.
Meanwhile it has proved in practice that such shingle-
like building elements perfectly answer all the requir~-
ments in respect to physical performance and statics;
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2~
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however, they have one disadvantage which becomes notice-
able onl~ after years. Normally the upper members 1 with-
s-tand the influences of weather for only about 15 years
and then the shingle-type building elements must be ex-
changed either completely or in part, depending on their
condition.
Therefore, it is the object of the invention ~o modify
the known shingle-type building element so that later only
the upper member 1, rather than the entire building element,
needs to be exchanged.
This object is realized in that in the known shingle-
type roofing elements the twisted strip of material 7 is
replaced by a dowel slat 7 which preferably is so strong
that at the same time it performs the function of the re-
inforcement in the known shingle-type roofing elements.
Figure 1 is a cross sectional view through a plurality
of shingle elements forming a joint shingle structure in
accordance with the present invention.
Figure 2 shows on an enlarged scale a cross-section
of one of the shingle elements of Figure 1, with a portlon
of the element broken of~.
Figure 3 is a perspective view of a portion of a
shingle element.
Figure 4 is a partial cross-sectional view taken along
line IV-IV of Figure 3.
Figure 5 is a partial cross-sectional view showing ad-
joining portions of two separate shingle elements.
Hence, the subject matter of the invention is a shingle-
like building element in the form of a sheet or composite
structure imitating a plurality of shingles in side-by-side
arrangement, said structure consisting of a panel-shaped
upper member 1 of rectangular cross section of a width b
and a heighk h, and a lower member 2 in the form of a
truncated wedge whose truncated side 4 is flush with -the
side of the upper member 1 which later faces the ridge or
the upper wall end, respectively, the wedge-shaped lower
member 2 being an attachment composed, in cross section,
of the triangle ABC and a polygon therebeneath which,
after the building elements have been put in place, form
a base structure of rectangular cross section whose side
~2~
BC is smaller than half of the width b, said upper member 1
consisting of a plate of weather-resistant material and the
lower member 2 consisting of a foamed material, the upper
member 1 having incisions 5 in the region not in contact
with the lower member 2 in order to impart thereto a shingle-
like appearance, and said upper member 1 consisting of com~
mercially available shingle plates imitating a plurality of
shingles and made from any desired material, preferably
asphalt shingle plates, and in the foamed plastic of the
lower member 2 there is preferably provided a longitudinally
extending reinforcement, characteri~ed in that for later and
additional fastening of the upper member 1 to the foamed
lower member 2 a dowel slat 7 extending parallel to the
longitudinal edges of the building element is arranged in
the upper region of the lower member 2.
The dowel slat 7 which preferabl~ ends flush with the
top side of the lower member 2 preferably consists of a
material capable of being secured with nails and/or screws,
especially of wood; according to a preferred embodiment of
the invention the dowel slat is made strong enough to
simultaneously perform the function of a reinforcement so
that the roofing elements can be stepped on after they have
been installed on the roof.
On the top side of the upper member 1 there is a flat
strip of material 6 which extends in parallel to the dowel
slat and consists of a material capable of being secured
with nails and/or screws, preferably of a plastic material
or a perforated strip. For the purposes of the invention
plas-tic strips, e.g. nylon strips, are preferred such as
those used in practice for packaging crates and crate-like
containers.
The wooden slat has a rectangular cross section, pre~
ferably 2.4 cm x 4.8 cm, and is preferably flush with the
upper surface of the lower member 2. It may be either foam-
embedded in the course of the production of the lower member
2, or it may be inserted later - which is advantageous under
~the aspect of production. To this end a matching groove is
cut and then the slat is glued into said groov~. Since the
wooden slat preferably simultaneously functions as a rein-
~orcement, ~he U-~haped rein~orclng member 9 becomes un-
z~
necessary. Then the upper member 1 is adhered to the thusprepared lower member 2 and is additionally "nailed" to the
wooden slat with wide staples. Since the new element is al-
ways cut at the lateral abutting ends 12 as shown in Fig. 6,
the wooden slat is cut accordingly.
This new embodiment offers the significant advantage
that upon later replacemen-t of the upper member 1 the lower
member 2 can in any event remain on the rafters. Depending
on the condition of the shingles (upper member 1) they are
then removed from the lower member 2 and new shingles are
adhered and nailed to the lower member 2, or the new shingles
are adhered to the o]d shingles and secured through the old
shingles to the wooden slat in the lower member by means of
wide staples.
The shingle-type building element itself is nailed con-
ventionally directly to the rafters so that the nails 16 ex-
tend through the wooden slat.
As upper member all types of shingles or shingle plates
which are available on the market can he used, regardless
of what substance. The upper member consists of preferably
asphalt shingles or asphalt plates. The lower member shows
in the cross-section in form of a trapeze and it should
consist of polyester preferably polyurethane. In accordance
with the invention the lower member of the shingle-type
building element is concealed with preferably aluminum foil,
creating a sandwich construction (also known as light core
composite structure).
Sandwich construction is the name given to sectional
elements, boards or three-dimensional members consisting
of strong, pre~erably thin or very thin, covering layers
which are joined to a core layer of low specific weight
and are supported thereby over a large area. The ability
of the core of lisht material to support the covering
layers is dependent upon its weight per unit volume and
upon its bond with the covering layers. The preferred cores
of light material, which also have a thermal insulating
effect are made of expanded plastic materials, particularly
expanded hard polyurethane, which can be produced in a very
wide variety of weishts per unit volume.
The hard expanded polyurethanes, particularly those
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based on polyisocyanurate (expanded PIR) are -therefore pre-
ferably used according to the invention. These expanded
plastic materials preferably contain flame prooflng addi-
tives, or use is made of such initial materials having
flame-inhibiting or flame proofing effect. Furthermore,
these expanded plastic materials may contain considerable
quantities of fillers, which may be based on finely divided
mineral materials or in the form of wood~dust, so that com-
pressive strength, for example, can be increased. It is
also possible to use systems wherein, during the forming
of the polymer, different reactions occur in parallel, for
e~ample the formation of polyurethane and the formation of
polyester, the two systems being simultaneously linked by
the unsaturated polyester which participate in the two re-
actions and contain resultant OH groups. The me-thod of pro-
ducing these products, particularly the expanded hard poly-
urethanes are well known to the expert in the field. For
example reference may be made to Kunststoffe volume VII,
Polyurethane, by Vieweg/Hochtlen (Karl ~anser-Verlag Munich
1966), in connection with the production of hard expanded
polyurethanes.
~ he covering layers used for producing such sandwich
constructions can likewise consist of any required ma-terial
and can likewise be suitably profiled or left smooth to
suit particular tastes. The covering layers may, of course,
be decorated in other ways; for example a wood-like appear-
ance can be imparted to them. The sandwich construction can
be produced on an intermittent or continuous basis, and Eor
this pu.rpose it is possible to use both the bonding method
(also known as the "layup method" or the "sheating process")
and the foam-in-situ method (also called "filling process").
According to the invention preference is given to the foam-
in-situ method, since it enables the core of expanded
plastic material to be formed in a manner very well suited
to the material.
According to the invention, such roof-sheeting ele-
ments are particulariy preferred that are made of hard ex-
panded polyurethane and which have an outer coating, pre-
ferably one made of "silverpaper", i.e. an aluminum foil
lined with paper.
32~6~
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After the shingle-type building element in accordance
with the in~ention is placed, the lower part of both of its
longitudinal sides show a corresponding V-shaped indentation,
tongue and groove. Of course, one can think of other ways to
join the element for example similar to this; in accordance
with -the invention preferred the longitudinal sides are cut
on one narrow side to show a wedge-shaped extension and on
the other side show a corresponding wedge-shaped indentation
of which the base of the wedge is equal to the entire width
of the building element.
The invention will now be described in greater detai]
by reference to Figures 1 to 5 , to which, however, the in-
vention is not limited. A list of reference numerals used
in the drawings can be found at the end of the description.
Figure 1 shows a cross-section of part of a shingle
roofing element that is arrived at in form of a row of
preferred shingle-type building elements in accordance with
the invention. These preferred building elements show a
lower member 2 with on its longitudinal sides a stepped
indentation extension, thus after the element is laid one
arrives in the cross-section at a rectangular basic member,
on top of which shows in the cross-section a wedge-shaped
stump also referred to as a triangular part and on top
of that rests the upper member 1. In accordance with the
invention said element can be nailed directly to the rafters
and/or walls.
Figure 2 shows an enlarged cross-section of the said
element as shown in Figure 1 by which the upper member 1
is not illustrated in its full wid-th. This enlargement
shows the total height dl equal to the height of the upper
member 1 and the lower member 2, the same as the height
d2 of the lower member 2 as shown on the left side. Hence
the lower member 2 forms in principal a truncated wedge
of which 4 is the shorter side. In addition the lower member
2 has on its front and rear right angle indentations II,
the shape of which i8 such that the height dl equals height
d2. After the building elements are laid one arrives in
the cross-section at a rectangular basic member, on top
of which is found a wedge that shows in the cross-section
the triangle ABC.
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Figure 3 is a perspective illustration of the start of
a preferably 4 m long shingle-type building elemen-t in
accordance with the invention, the upper member 1 shows
the shingle-type cuts 5 and the lower member 2 is illustrated
as in Figures 1 and 2, it shows on the upper surface of the
upper member 1 a smooth strip of material 6.
Figure 4 shows the section A-A demonstrating how the
smooth upper strip of material 6 which is located on the
upper surface of the upper member 1 is held together with
the dowel slat 7 with the help of a staple 8, as previously
mentioned in Figure 3.
Figure ~ shows a cross-section in accordance with the
invention the preferred wedge-type connection of two shingle-
type building elements, on their front to back sides a trunc-
ated wedge stump 14. Due to the wedge-shaped connection the
4 m long said elements can be pushed together between -the
rafters in a longitudinal direction without losing its
strength to walk on. For example should one step on the right
side of the left building element in that case the pressure
is transferred from the upper part of the wedge-shaped
groove 14 to the upper part of the wedge-shaped tongue 13.
Alternatively should one step on the left si.de of the ri~h-t
building element the pressure is transferred from the lower
part of the wedge-shaped tongue 13 to the lower part of the
wedge-shaped groove 14.
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LIST OF REFERENCE NUMERALS
1 upper member
2 lower member
3 point of wedge
4 truncated side of wedge stump
shingle-like cuts
6 smoo-th strip of material
7 dowel slat
8 staple
longitudinal sides
11 V-shaped indentation
12 thrust side edges
13 wedge-shaped tongue
14 wedge-shaped groove
16 nail
