Roof and Shingle Protector

Abstract

A system for protecting shingles or a roof includes a screen for covering a portion of the roof and a fastening device for fastening the screen. The screen may be retracted and extended by a motor. The screen may include a six sided element. The screen may include a four sided element. The screen may include a three sided element.

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

In the manufacture of shingles, it has been known that when shingles are subjected to strong winds, the winds can engage the lower edges or tab portions of the shingles and bend them upwardly.

On occasion, under strong winds, the tabs can bend upwardly in amounts sufficient that the inherent, internal resistance to substantial bending and perhaps cracking, can be overcome, in that the mat that is formed internally of the shingle, and the asphaltic material on the surfaces of the shingle, may not be sufficient to withstand certain wind conditions.

Various approaches have been made to resist shingle failure via cracking and the like, not all with substantial success.

For example, strips of adhesive material along lower ends of tabs of shingles have been applied, which, when subjected to hot weather conditions, softens an amount sufficient that such adhesive will adhere to the next-subjacent shingle on a roof, eventually harden and thereafter resist upward deflection of shingle tabs under severe wind conditions. However, such adhesive sometimes dries out, offering reduced adhesion. In other cases, the wind conditions can exist during high temperature conditions when such adhesive located under tabs remains soft, and thus the adhesive does not function in its intended manner.

Other approaches have resorted to thickening the mat and/or asphaltic material, to offer internal resistance to bending, but nonetheless, failures due to wind-related bending of tabs of shingles continue to exist.

U.S. Pat. No. 4,835,929 to Bondoc ('929 patent) provides a roofing hip and ridge shingle. The Bondoc shingle is a laminated design to provide a shingle with a three-dimensional effect. As a hip or ridge shingle, the Bondoc shingle is used on a roof at the intersection of two sloping sides of the roof, the roof forming a ridge or valley thereat. While the Bondoc design provides a laminated dimensional effect, the panels 2 and riser strips 4 are adhered only within a restricted lamination area between dotted lines 6 and 6′ as shown in FIG. 1, of the '929 patent, thereby enabling the shingle to bend over the ridge or in the valley. Thus, the exposed portion of the hip is not laminated, and the non-laminated layers are therefore exposed to the atmosphere, which could cause the shingle to lift off in certain high wind situations.

U.S. Pat. No. 5,271,201 to Noone, et al. ('201 patent) provides another dimensional hip or ridge shingle. Noone laminates each layer on only one side and uses a release tape on the other side, so the layers may slide relative to one another during installation over a ridge or in a valley. The release tape is removed after the shingle is bent, so the layers may adhere at installation. This reduces the non-laminated exposed portion discussed above with respect to Bondoc, but increases cost and effort to install the shingles. Furthermore, the leading edge of the shingle is not laminated, and in a similar manner to Bondoc, the non-laminated exposed portion at the leading edge may experience lift off in high wind situations.

U.S. Pat. No. 6,494,010 discloses a hip and ridge shingle includes a base sheet having colored granules adhered to the top surface. A chip is adhered to the base at the trailing edge of the base sheet. A sealant bead is provided parallel to and adjacent the leading edge of base sheet.

U.S. Pat. No. 7,118,794 discloses a wind-resistant shingle and a method of making it is provided in which the rear surface of the shingle is provided with an attached reinforcement layer, which resists upwardly wind-applied bending torque when the shingle is installed on a roof, such that the failure of the shingle when it is bent beyond its elastic limit, is resisted until the shingle has absorbed a high percentage of applied torque.

Referring now to the drawings in detail, reference is first made to FIG. 1, wherein a prior art shingle is illustrated as comprising a shingle generally designated by the numeral 10, constructed as a mat of preferably fiberglass mesh, having asphalt, or some other form of bitumen material impregnated therein, and forming layers on each surface thereof, with a granular material on each exposed surface. On the upper exposed surface, will be granules of a size desired to resist sun and other weather conditions, and on the opposite, or undersurface 11, there will be preferably smaller granules of a mica or like material, for example. The shingle 10 has a headlap portion 12 and a tab portion 13, having slotted openings 14 dividing the tab portion 13 into a number of discrete tabs 15. On the undersurface 11 there is provided preferably a sheet of release paper or tape 16, which is removed when the shingle is installed on a roof, but which, for stacking shingles for shipment prevents the shingle from sticking to a subjacent shingle in the stack, which subjacent shingle has a similarly located strip of adhesive material, such as more bitumen, extending longitudinally from edge 17 to edge 18, on the front surface of the subjacent shingle.

SUMMARY

A system for protecting shingles or a roof includes a screen for covering a portion of the roof and a fastening device for fastening the screen.

The screen may be retracted and extended by a motor.

The screen may include a six sided element.

The screen may include a four sided element.

The screen may include a three sided element.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The invention may be understood by reference to the following description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which, like reference numerals identify like elements, and in which:

FIG. 1 illustrates a shingle;

FIG. 2 illustrates a shingle been distorted in wind;

FIG. 3 illustrates a shingle and roof protection screen in accordance with the teachings of the present invention;

FIG. 4 illustrates another view of the shingle and roof protection system;

FIG. 5 illustrates a side view of a retracted shingle and roof protection screen;

FIG. 6 illustrates a side view of an extended shingle and roof protection screen;

FIG. 7 illustrates a first embodiment of the shingle and roof protection screen;

FIG. 8 illustrates a second embodiment of the shingle and roof protection screen;

FIG. 9 illustrates a third embodiment of the shingle and roof protection screen.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

FIG. 2 illustrates the effect of the wind on a shingle. Furthermore, when the wind become sufficiently strong, the entire roof can be lifted off. When either the shingles or entire roof has been removed, the interior of the House is subject to further damage by subsequent rain. Additionally, any solution to the above-mentioned problems should be aesthetically pleasing that does not detract from the appearance of the roof.

It will be understood that up to some level of force applied by wind in the direction 43, the shingle tab portion 44 will bend within its elastic limit in accordance with Hook's law. In this regard, any given weight of shingle, under any particular conditions, will have its own modulus of elasticity, which is a measure of the stiffness or rigidity of the shingle, generally arrived at on an empirical basis, and within which the shingle will return to its original, flat condition when the force of wind is removed.

With reference now to FIG. 2, it will be seen that a roof 40 is fragmentally illustrated, having a shingle 41 fastened thereto by means of a nail, staple, 42 or the like. When wind forces occur in the general direction indicated by the arrow 43 in FIG. 2, such that they tend to bend the tab portion 44 of the shingle upwardly to an angle. If the wind should become too strong, the shingle 41 will break or tear to the point where replacement is necessary

FIG. 3 illustrates a shingle and roof protection system 300 for protecting the shingles 41 and roof 40. FIG. 3 illustrates a shingle and roof protection screen 302 which can be extended and retracted from covering the shingles 41 and roof 40. The shingle and roof protection screen 302 is sufficiently close to the shingles 41 and roof 40 so that it prevents the wind from raising the shingles 41 or the roof 40. This prevents the destruction of the shingles 41 or the roof 40, saving the owner considerable expense. The shingle and roof protector screen 302 may be extended or be retracted by a motor 304 or alternatively by hand. The shingle and the roof protector screen 302 is connected on one end to a shaft 306 which is connected to the motor 304. They shingle and roof protection screen 302 is extended over the apex of the roof 40 and down the other side in order to cover the entire roof 40 or a portion thereof. The shingle and roof protection screen 302 may be secured at any point on the roof. FIG. 4 illustrates a fastening device 402 such as hooks or other devices to fasten the shingle and roof protector screen 302 on the opposing edge of the roof 40.

FIG. 5 illustrates the shingle and roof protection system 300 with the shingle and roof protector screen 302 being retracted from the roof 40.

FIG. 6 illustrates a side view of the roof 40 with the shingle and roof protection screen 302 extended over the shingles 41 and roof 40.

FIG. 7-9 illustrates various designs for the shingle and roof protection screen 302. FIG. 7 illustrates a six sided elements for the shingle and roof protection screen 302. FIG. 8 illustrates a rectangular or four sided elements for the shingle and roof protection system 302, and FIG. 9 illustrates a triangular or three sided elements for the shingle and roof protection system 302. Other designs are within the scope of the present invention.

While the invention is susceptible to various modifications and alternative forms, specific embodiments thereof have been shown by way of example in the drawings and are herein described in detail. It should be understood, however, that the description herein of specific embodiments is not intended to limit the invention to the particular forms disclosed.

Claims

1) A system for protecting shingles or a roof, comprising:

a screen for covering a portion of the roof;

a fastening device for fastening the screen.

2) A system for protecting shingles or a roof as in claim 1, wherein said screen is retracted and extended by a motor.

3) A system for protecting shingles or a roof as in claim 1, wherein said screen includes a six sided element.

4) A system for protecting shingles or a roof as in claim 1, wherein the screen includes a four sided element.

5) A system for protecting shingles or a roof as in claim 1, wherein the screen includes a three sided element.