Pack For Roofing Shingles

Abstract

A pack is provided, the pack having a shingle container. The shingle container has a floor; a right wall and a left wall spaced apart and orthogonally connected to the floor; and a front wall and a rear wall spaced apart and orthogonally connected to the floor, the right wall, and the left wall. The four walls and the floor form an open-topped box shape. A first shoulder strap and a second shoulder strap each have a first end connected to an upper portion of the shingle container and a second end attached to a lower portion of the shingle container. The length of the shoulder straps may be adjustable. The shingle container is sized to contain at least a bundle of shingles.

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application claims the benefit of priority to U.S. provisional patent application Ser. No. 61/154,253, filed on Feb. 20, 2009, now pending, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The invention relates to a device and method of transporting bundles of roof shingles.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Roof shingles, especially asphalt roof shingles, are typically packaged and sold in bundles. For example, three-tab shingles (having three faux-shingles connected to form a single piece) are typically packaged in bundles of 26. Architectural three-tab shingles are typically packaged in bundles of 22. The bundles are unwieldy being approximately three feet long and weighing over 75 pounds.

Transporting roof shingles to the worksite is often done manually by a roofing professional (“roofer”) using a ladder. Typically, the roofer will lift a bundle of shingles onto his or her shoulder, stabilizing it with one hand, and climb the ladder using the other hand to stabilize himself in the climb—which can be more than ten feet. Not only is climbing a ladder with one hand unsafe, but doing so while carrying a 75 pound bundle of shingles on one's shoulder increases the risks of a fall. Other factors, such as wind, balance, climb height, weather conditions (e.g., rain, damp, dew, ice, snow), also increase the risks of a fall.

Devices to assist in carrying bundles of roofing shingles have been designed, but each of the previous attempts suffers certain shortcomings. Some prior art devices do not fully enclose the bundle and are meant to be carried on the front of an individual. See, e.g., U.S. Pat. No. 5,148,956. However, such carrying devices create interference for the roofer in climbing a ladder using either hand, since the typical length of a bundle of shingles is over three feet long and the load is carried between the roofer and the ladder.

Accordingly, there is a need for a device which allows a roofer to more safely climb a ladder with a bundle of roof shingles, by using two hands to stabilize himself.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention meets the above-described need by providing a pack having a shingle container. The shingle container has a floor; a right wall and a left wall spaced apart and orthogonally connected to the floor; and a front wall and a rear wall spaced apart and orthogonally connected to the floor, the right wall, and the left wall. The four walls and the floor form an open-topped box shape.

A first shoulder strap and a second shoulder strap each have a first end connected to an upper portion of the shingle container and a second end attached to a lower portion of the shingle container. The length of the shoulder straps may be adjustable.

The shingle container is sized to hold a typical bundle of shingles. As such, the floor is sized to contain at least the length of a bundle of shingles between the right wall and the left wall. The floor is sized between the front wall and the rear wall to contain at least the height of a typical bundle of shingles.

The components of the shingle container may be constructed from fabric or a rigid material. Each of the components (e.g., floor, walls) may be constructed from a different material.

The pack may have a top flap which is hingedly connected to a top edge of the rear wall. In this way, the top flap may cover a bundle of shingles when in the shingle container. For at least this reason, the height H of the walls may be sized to contain at least a width of a bundle of shingles. A fastener, such as one or more buckles, may be provided to selectively secure the top flap to the front wall.

DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

For a fuller understanding of the nature and objects of the invention, reference should be made to the following detailed description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a device according to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 2a is a perspective view of the device of FIG. 1 with the top flap in an open position;

FIG. 2b is a perspective view of a bundle of shingles;

FIG. 3 is a diagram of the component parts of a shingle container lying flat in a plane;

FIG. 4a depicts a person climbing a ladder while using a device according to the present invention;

FIG. 4b depicts an anterior view of a person using a device according to the present invention; and

FIG. 4c depicts the posterior view of the person in FIG. 4b.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

FIGS. 1 and 2b depict a device (pack 10) that is in keeping with the invention having a shingle container 12. The shingle container 12 has a floor 14. A right wall 16 and a left wall 18 are spaced apart and orthogonally connected to the floor 14. A front wall 20 and a rear wall 22 are spaced apart and orthogonally connected to the floor 14. The front wall 20 and the rear wall 22 are orthogonally connected to the right wall 16 and the left wall 18 such that the four walls 16, 18, 20, 22 together with the floor 14 form an open-topped box (generally parallelepiped) shape.

The pack 10 further comprises a first shoulder strap 24 and a second shoulder strap 26. Each of the shoulder straps 24, 26 have a first end 28, 30 connected to an upper portion 36 of the shingle container 12. The shoulder straps 24, 26 have a second end 32, 34 attached to a lower portion 38 of the shingle container 12. The shoulder straps 24, 26 may be adjustable in length.

The shingle container 12 is sized to hold a typical bundle of shingles 90 (depicted in FIG. 2a). As such, the floor 14 is sized (length L in FIG. 2b) to contain the length of a bundle of shingles 90 between the right wall 16 and the left wall 18. The floor 14 is sized (depth D) to contain the height of a typical bundle of shingles 90 between the front wall 20 and rear wall 22. Length L and depth D may be sized slightly larger than the length and height (respectively) of a bundle of shingles 90 so that a bundle of shingles 90 may be inserted and/or removed from the single container 12 without difficulty. In a non-limiting example, the length L may be approximately 38 inches and the depth D may be approximately 3½ inches.

The floor 14 and walls 16, 18, 20, 22 may be constructed from fabric, for example (but not limited to), woven polyester or canvas. Alternatively, the floor 14 and/or any one or more of the walls 16, 18, 20, 22 may be made from a rigid material, for example (but not limited to), plastic sheeting. In this way, components may be selected from rigid materials (for easier insertion of shingles) or fabric (for easier storage and portability) or a combination of these.

The pack 10 may further comprise a top flap 40 which may be hingedly connected to a top edge 42 of the rear wall 22. The top flap 40 may be configured to selectively cover the open portion of the shingle container 12. The height H of the walls 16, 18, 20, 22 may be sized to contain a width of a bundle of shingles 90. For example, the height H of the shingle container 12 may be approximately 20 inches. In this manner, the top flap 40 may serve to enclose a bundle of shingles 90 within the shingle container 12.

A fastener 44 may be provided to selectively secure the top flap 40 to the front wall 20. The fastener 44 may be, for example (but not limited to), a buckle, a snap, or a hook-and-loop fastener. The pack 10 may comprise more than one fastener 44 across the top flap 40.

A pack 10 according to an embodiment of the present invention may be constructed from individual components. Alternatively, one or more components may be cut from a single piece of fabric. FIG. 3 depicts where a floor 14, walls 16, 18, 20, 22, and top flap 40 are manufactured from a single piece of fabric which is folded along the lines indicated by A-A′, B-B′, C-C′, B-C, and B′-C′. Other cutting patterns will be readily apparent to those having skill in the art.

FIGS. 4a-4b depict a person wearing a pack 50 according to another embodiment of the present invention. In FIG. 4a, the person is shown ascending a ladder with a bundle of shingles loaded into the pack 50. As depicted, the person is able to use both hands to stabilize himself on the ladder.

Although the present invention has been described with respect to one or more particular embodiments, it will be understood that other embodiments of the present invention may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention. Hence, the present invention is deemed limited only by the appended claims and the reasonable interpretation thereof.

Claims

1. A device for transporting roofing shingles, comprising:

a) a shingle container having: i) a floor; ii) a right wall spaced from a left wall, each of the right wall and left wall orthogonally connected to the floor; iii) a front wall spaced from a rear wall, each of the front wall and the rear wall orthogonally connected to the floor, the right wall, and the left wall, such that the floor and the walls form an open-topped parallelepiped shape; and iv) wherein the length of the floor from the left wall to the right wall is at least the same as the length of a standard roof shingle, and the depth of the floor from the front wall to the rear wall is at least the same as the height of a standard bundle of roof shingles;

b) a first shoulder strap and a second shoulder strap, each of the shoulder straps having a first end attached to an upper portion of the shingle container and a second end attached to a lower portion of the shingle container;

2. The device of claim 1, wherein the length of the first and second shoulder straps are adjustable.

3. The device of claim 1, further comprising a top flap hingedly connected to a top edge of the rear wall, and wherein the height of each of the walls is at least the same as the width of a standard roof shingle.

4. The device of claim 3, further comprising a fastener configured to selectively secure a front portion of the top flap to the front wall.

5. The device of claim 4, wherein the fastener is a buckle.

6. The device of claim 5, wherein the fastener further comprises a second buckle.

7. The device of claim 1, wherein the floor is rigid.

8. The device of claim 1, wherein the rear wall is rigid.

9. The device of claim 1, wherein the walls are rigid.

10. The device of claim 1, wherein the walls are made from fabric.