Decorative snow guard and attachment device
A one piece snow brake which attaches to the vertical leg of a formed metal roof seam utilizing the formed seam and a movable wall portion to attach the snow brake without the use of penetrations or seam deformations. The snow brake is attached to a vertical seam by the use of threaded screws creating pressure on a movable wall portion or portions that form a side of a slot for enclosing the vertical seam. Roof accessories other than a snow brake can be connected to a raised seam using the disclosed movable wall attachment device. The location of the screws is such that they force the movable wall portion(s) to engage the seam.
The present invention relates to decorative snow brakes and to apparatus for securely mounting a snow brake or other roof accessories on a raised seam metal roof.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTIONSnow brakes are used for preventing large sheets of ice or snow from sliding and falling from roofs, harming persons standing nearby or striking objects below such as shrubbery, cars or property located about the roof drip.
Typically, snow and ice accumulated on a roof melts or its weight causes it to fall. The snow may melt from above by warmth from the sun, or from below by warmth from the roof. Water flows through the snow and runs along the roof and drips off edges of the roof. Such water frequently causes loss of adhesion between the remaining snow and ice and the roof.
Particularly on standing seam metal roofs, or any metal roof with raised seams, the water makes the roof surface slick, causing heavy sheets of snow or ice to slide along the roof. Snow brakes are used so that the snow bank or ice sheets formed on the roof are retained until they melt or slide off the roof in small pieces. Snow brakes have been designed for attaching to the flat surface of the roof, and some snow brakes have been designed for attaching to the roof seams. Many of the snow brakes designs found in the prior art are fashioned to affix to such seams by attachment means which either puncture or deform the roofing material substantially in the operation of the device. Other snow brake devices found in the prior art are of designs which require multiple parts to function.
Multi-part snow brakes are expensive. Snow brakes which attach to the flat surface of the roof make holes through the roof and promote water entry and destruction of the roof and its supporting surface. Snow guards which use adhesives to mount to the roof can work loose from exposure to the elements, discolor the roofing materials and are not generally preferred. Snow brakes which attach to the seams of roofs can penetrate the seams or tend to deform the seams unnecessarily for locking the snow brakes on the roof. Examples of such snow brakes can be found in prior art which provides for recesses or detents in the construction of the snow brake, which are designed to accept the deformed seam.
A need exists for snow brakes which may be easily and inexpensively constructed, and which provide adequate support for snow and adequate locking to formed seams without utilizing substantial deformation of the seams as the primary anchoring point for retention of the snow brake.
DESCRIPTION OF THE PRIOR ARTU.S. Pat. No. 5,282,340 issued Feb. 1, 1994 to Cline et al. illustrates the problem with the prior art. Cline et al. suggest the use of a set screw which attaches the snow brake to a roof seam and holds it in place by deforming the opposite of the vertical portion of the roofs seam and pressing the displaced seam into a depression or dimple in the snow brake base on the opposite side of the set screw. Other patents, such as U.S. Pat. No. 5,732,513 issued to Williams on Mar. 31, 1998, continue to show deformation of a roof seam by set screws as a primary affixing means of a snow brake. In the Williams '513 patent, the deformation of the seam is necessary by the application of set screw pressure on both sides of a seam thereby creating opposing depressions or displacements of the roof seam sufficient to effectively hold the roof brake to a seam by causing a counter displacement immediately adjacent to a first displacement of the seam by one set screw. In effect, the Williams '513 patent creates opposing recesses of a roof seam by displacing the seam in the opposite direction immediately adjacent to a first displacement by a first set screw.
Such issued patents, as well as prior art patents which teach attachment means for snow brakes on existing fabricated metal roof seams do not teach the firm attachment of snow brakes by primarily utilizing the geometry of the existing standing seam as more fully described in the present disclosure.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTIONThe present invention provides a light weight, easily attachable, and one piece snow brake for attachment to standing seams commonly used in fabricated metal roofs. The present invention provides an improved attachment means, transversely oriented to the roof seams used at the attachment point of metal roofs which are comprised of generally rectangular pieces. The described snow brake attaches through its mounting base by interlocking with the existing seam to hook the snow brake onto a standing seam by utilizing set screws and a movable wall portion of the base. The present invention relies on set screws affixed through the base of the snow brake to move the movable wall portion into secure engagement with the standing seam. The disclosed snow brake can be used by hooking under the roll portion of the standing seam as more fully described in the following disclosure. The disclosed snow brake provides an improvement to the state of the art by not requiring opposing indentations, recesses or openings within the internal area of the snow brake which would receive any seam engaging fastener such a set screw.
Accordingly, one object of the present invention is to provide a snow brake which has a simplified method of attachment of the brake to a seam in a metal roof which utilizes a folded seam for attachment.
It is further the object of the invention to provide a snow brake in which the attachment does not rely on a depression or a recess in the snow guard base which is used to compliment the depression formed by the snow guard attachment means in the seam being displaced by the attachment means.
It is still a further an object of the present invention to provide a roof snow brake which is symmetrical in design such as to allow the brake to be useable and functional when rotated 180 degrees on its longitudinal axis. In furtherance of such object, the disclosed snow brake provides a 90 degree angle from the base of the snow brake to the snow plate of the snow brake thereby allowing the rotation of the snow brake to match a given roof seam alignment whether the seam is located to the left or right of the seam.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide an attachment device for attaching accessories to the raised seams of a roof.
The novel features that are considered characteristic of the invention are set forth below in the disclosure and claims. The invention itself, both as to its construction and its method of operation, together with additional objects and advantages thereof, will best be understood from the description of specific embodiment which follows when read in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, wherein like numbers refer to like parts. These, and many other objects will become readily apparent to those skilled in the art of making snow brakes, upon reading the following detailed descriptions which disclose specific embodiments of the invention.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
Reference will now be made to the various Figures wherein like numbers represent like parts. Referring to
One advantage of the snow brake of the present invention is that it is a reversible design. Whether rolled on the left side or right side of a given standing seam, as described below, the snow brake of the present invention can be fixed to the seam.
Metal roofs are formed from an array of separate roof panels which interconnect along their lateral edges by what are generally referred to as standing seams. Whether formed on the site by automatic machinery or forming brakes, the standing seams are one of the most commonly found attachment means for connecting adjacent roofing panels. Roof seams are formed by rolling the edges in a fashion which provides for a watertight and secure joint.
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It should be understood that the embodiment of
It can be appreciated from the foregoing description and various embodiments provided that numerous changes or modifications may be made without departing from the spirit or the scope of the invention as defined by the following claims. Although certain preferred embodiments are presented for the purpose of describing the present invention either, other species or derivations from the specific embodiment of the invention are to be considered within the scope of the invention.
Claims
1. A snow brake comprising
- (a) a base with a bottom and a top, the base having a longitudinally extending body with first and second longitudinal ends, a slot extending upward from the bottom toward the top and terminating spaced from the top and extending through the first and second ends for receiving a rolled seam of a metal roof in the slot, the slot dividing the base into first and second opposite sides connected at the top, said first side having (1) holes extending transversely through at least part of the side for receiving and holding anchor screws, and (2) a movable wall portion shaped to interlock with a rolled roof seam,
- (b) a snow brake plate connected to the base and extending laterally beyond the opposite sides of the base and extending upward to beyond the top of the base,
- said second opposite side being shaped to interlock with a rolled roof seam to prevent removal of said snow brake from said seam when said anchor screws force said movable wall portion inwardly toward said second side and said seam of the roof.
2. A snow brake for attachment to a rolled style of roof seam wherein said seam has a rolled portion forming an asymmetrical head, comprising:
- (a) an inverted, rectangular, U-shaped base having a central slot for receiving a rolled seam of a metal roof, first and second sides extending along the central slot and a top interconnecting the sides, the first side defining openings for receiving fasteners and a movable wall portion movable toward said second side,
- (b) a snow plate extending upward from the base, the snow plate having a surface portion extending laterally beyond the sides of the base,
- said fastener-receiving openings being located to align the fasteners in said openings with one side of said movable wall portion to force said wall portion toward the portion of said seam located below the rolled portion of said seam.
3. A snow brake comprising
- (a) a base with a bottom and a top, the base having a longitudinally extending body with first and second longitudinal ends, a slot extending upward from the bottom toward the top and terminating spaced from the top and extending through the first and second ends for receiving a rolled seam of a metal roof in the slot, the slot dividing the base into first and second opposite sides connected at the top, said first side having holes extending transversely through a portion of the side for receiving and holding anchor screws and a movable wall portion shaped to protrude below the lowest portion of said rolled seam, and,
- (b) a snow brake plate connected to the base and extending laterally beyond the opposite sides of the base and extending upward to beyond the top of the base, and said second opposite side of said base being shaped to protrude below the lowest portion of a rolled roof seam.
4. An attachment device for mounting a roof accessory to a raised seam roof comprising
- (a) a base with a bottom and a top, the base having a longitudinally extending body with first and second longitudinal ends, a slot extending upward from the bottom toward the top and terminating spaced from the top and extending through the first and second ends for receiving a raised seam of a metal roof in the slot, the slot dividing the base into first and second opposite sides connected at the top, said first side having (1) holes extending transversely through at least part of the side for receiving and holding anchor screws, and (2) a movable wall portion shaped to interlock with a raised roof seam,
- (b) means connected to said base for connection to said accessory,
- said second opposite side being shaped to interlock with a raised roof seam to prevent removal of said base from said seam when said anchor screws force said movable wall portion inwardly toward said second side and said seam of the roof.
5. An attachment device for mounting a roof accessory to a rolled style of roof seam wherein said seam has a rolled portion forming an asymmetrical head, comprising:
- (a) an inverted, rectangular, U-shaped base having a central slot for receiving a rolled seam of a metal roof, first and second sides extending along the central slot and a top interconnecting the sides, the first side defining openings for receiving fasteners and a movable wall portion movable toward said second side,
- (b) means connected to said base for connection to said accessory,
- said fastener-receiving openings being located to align the fasteners in said openings with one side of said movable wall portion to force said wall portion toward the portion of said seam located below the rolled portion of said seam.
6. An attachment device for mounting a roof accessory to a raised seam roof comprising
- (a) a base with a bottom and a top, the base having a longitudinally extending body with first and second longitudinal ends, a slot extending upward from the bottom toward the top and terminating spaced from the top and extending through the first and second ends for receiving a rolled seam of a metal roof in the slot, the slot dividing the base into first and second opposite sides connected at the top, said first side having holes extending transversely through a portion of the side for receiving and holding anchor screws and a movable wall portion shaped to protrude below the lowest portion of said rolled seam, and
- (b) means connected to said base for connection to said accessory, and said second opposite sides of said base being shaped to protrude below the lowest portion of said rolled roof seam.
7. A snow brake comprising
- (a) a base with a bottom and a top, the base having a longitudinally extending body with first and second longitudinal ends, a slot extending upward from the bottom toward the top and terminating spaced from the top and extending through the first and second ends for receiving a rolled seam of a metal roof in the slot, the slot dividing the base into first and second opposite sides connected at the top, said first and second side each having (1) holes extending transversely through at least part of the side for receiving and holding anchor screws, and (2) a movable wall portion shaped to interlock with a rolled roof seam,
- (b) a snow brake plate connected to the base and extending laterally beyond the opposite sides of the base and extending upward to beyond the top of the base,
- said opposite sides being shaped to interlock with a rolled roof seam to prevent removal of said snow brake from said seam when said anchor screws force said movable wall portions inwardly toward said seam of the roof.
8. An attachment device for mounting a roof accessory to a raised seam roof comprising
- (a) a base with a bottom and a top, the base having a longitudinally extending body with first and second longitudinal ends, a slot extending upward from the bottom toward the top and terminating spaced from the top and extending through the first and second ends for receiving a rolled seam of a metal roof in the slot, the slot dividing the base into first and second opposite sides connected at the top, said first and second side each having holes extending transversely through a portion of the side for receiving and holding anchor screws and a movable wall portion shaped to protrude below the lowest portion of said rolled seam, and
- (b) means connected to said base for connection to said accessory, and said movable wall portions of said base being shaped to protrude below the lowest portion of said rolled roof seam.
Type: Application
Filed: May 24, 2004
Publication Date: Nov 24, 2005
Inventor: Mark Hockman (Westtown, PA)
Application Number: 10/851,153