Roofing Fork

Abstract

A roofing fork removing multiple shingles in rolls is disclosed. The effective width of the roofing fork tines ranges in measurement size between fourteen to twenty inches. During use, a critical mass of shingles creates roll of shingles allowing for easy removal of the shingles and other roofing materials.

Description

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

This invention relates generally to a roofing fork for effective removal of shingles and other roofing materials.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Roofing construction generally includes removal of pre-existing shingles prior to installation of a new shingles on an existing roof surface. Roofing forks are typically used to pry the shingles and other roofing materials from the roof surface.

Prior to the instant invention, roofing forks have a width comprised of a plurality of individual tines. The prior art width of the plurality of tines ranges in measurement size from seven inches to ten inches.

Prior art roofing forks, given the prior art dimensions with regard to the width of the plurality of tines, are ineffective for removing multiple shingles. There is a long felt need to make shingle removal more effective, thereby saving time and money.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Accordingly, it is an object of embodiments of the present invention to provide a roofing fork. Additional objects, advantages and novel features of the invention will be set forth in part in the description which follows, and in part will become apparent to those skilled in the art upon examination of the following or may be learned by practice of the invention. The objects and advantages of the invention may be realized and attained by means of the instrumentalities and combinations particularly pointed out in the appended claims.

To achieve the foregoing and other objects, and in accordance with the purposes of the present invention, as embodied and broadly described herein, the roofing fork comprises a shaft, a support and a plurality of tines, the shaft attaching to the support, the support attaching to the plurality of tines attaching opposite the shaft and the plurality of tines spanning a width, the width of the plurality of tines ranges in measurement from fourteen inches to twenty inches in one embodiment, from fifteen inches to nineteen inches in another embodiment and from sixteen inches to eighteen inches in yet another embodiment.

Benefits and advantages of the present invention include, but are not limited to, providing a highly effective roofing fork, which is portable and can effectively function to remove roofing shingles and a variety of roofing materials from roofs. Importantly, the instant invention provides a means to remove three to five shingles in rolls, thereby saving time and effort as roofing shingles and other roofing materials are removed from roof surfaces.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The invention can be best understood by those having ordinary skill in the art by reference to the following detailed description when considered in conjunction with the accompanying drawings in which:

FIG. 1 illustrates a direct front view of one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 illustrates a front and view of one embodiment of the present invention highlighting various measurements of the shaft, the width of the plurality of tines, the individual tine length and width, the spacing between the tines and the brace.

FIG. 3 illustrates a perspective front side view of one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 illustrates a side view of one embodiment of the present invention where the fork tines are straight, lying in the same plane as the handle.

FIG. 5 illustrates a perspective front side view of one embodiment of the present invention wherein the timings have an arcuate shape.

FIG. 6 illustrates a side view of one embodiment of the present invention wherein the tines are arcuate in shape, not lying in the same plane as the handle due to the arcuate shape.

FIG. 7 illustrates a demonstration of the present invention wherein the increased width of the plurality of tines (not pictured) enable the roofer to remove multiple shingles from a roof, the shingles forming a roll of multiple shingles.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

Reference will now be made in detail to embodiments of the invention, examples of which are illustrated in the accompanying drawings. Throughout the following detailed description, the same reference characters refer to the same or similar elements in all figures. The figures are not drawn to exact scale and are meant to be representative in order to easily show the elements as discussed herein.

FIG. 1 depicts a front view of one embodiment of the present invention, illustrating the handle 20 attached to one end of the shaft 5. The other end of the shaft 5 is attached to the support 10. Individual tines 15A, 15B, 15C, 15D, 15E, 15F, 15G, 15H and 15I comprising the plurality of tines are attached to the support 10. The plurality of tines attach to the support 10 on the opposite side as the shaft 5. FIG. 1 also depicts two braces 25A and 25B. One brace 25A is attached to one end of the support 10 and the shaft 5 while the other brace 25B is attached to the opposite end of the support 10 and the shaft 5.

The tines have two ends. One tine end attaches to the support 5 and the other distal end is pointed. The pointed roofing tine allows for puncturing and gripping the shingle or other roofing materials. In one embodiment of the instant invention, the tines are integrally formed with the support. In another embodiment of the instant invention, the support is integrally formed with the shaft. In yet another embodiment of the instant invention, the tines, support and shaft are all integrally formed.

FIG. 2 depicts the same drawing as referenced in FIG. 1. FIG. 2 highlights the dimensions of the various elements of the roofing fork. In one embodiment of the present invention, the plurality of tines (15A, 15B, 15C, 15D, 15E, 15F, 15G, 15H and 15I in FIG. 1) spans a width “X”. The width “X” of the plurality of tines ranges in measurement size from fourteen inches to twenty inches. In another embodiment of the instant invention, the width “X” of the plurality of tines ranges in measurement size from fifteen inches to nineteen inches. In yet another embodiment of the instant invention, the width “X” of the plurality of tines ranges in measurement size from sixteen inches to eighteen inches.

FIG. 2 depicts the shaft having a measurement length “B”. In one embodiment of the present invention the shaft 5 has a length “B” ranging in measurement size from twenty-five inches to thirty-five inches. In yet another embodiment of the present invention the shaft 5 has a length ranging in measurement size from twenty-eight inches to thirty-two inches.

FIG. 2 also depicts the plurality of tines (each time shown as 15A, 15B, 15C, 15D, 15E, 15F, 15G, 15H and 15I in FIG. 1). Each tine has a length “Y”. In one embodiment of the present invention, of length “Y” of the tines range in measurement size from ten inches to sixteen inches. In another embodiment of the present invention, the length of the tines range in measurement size from twelve inches to fourteen inches.

Each tine has a width and shown as “Z” in FIG. 2. In one embodiment, the width “Z” of each tine ranges in measurement size between one quarter inch to one inch. In another embodiment the width “Z” of each tine ranges in measurement size between one quarter inch and five-eighths inch.

FIG. 2 also depicts the plurality of tines comprising a plurality of spaces between each of the tines. The spaces between the tines have a length “A” ranging in measurement size between two inches and four inches.

The roofing fork further comprises at least one brace 25 attached between the shaft 5 and the support 10. FIG. 2 depicts brace 25A and 25B having a length “C”. The length of the brace varies depending upon the size of the support 5 and where the brace 25 attaches to the shaft 10.

FIGS. 3 and 4 depict one embodiment of the present invention wherein the plurality of tines are straight and are parallel to the handle and lie in the same plane as the handle.

FIGS. 5 and 6 depict another embodiment of the present invention wherein the tines have an arcuate shape. The arcuate shape of the plurality of tines provides additional leverage for the removal of shingles and other roofing materials.

FIG. 7 depicts one embodiment of the invention in actual use. Whereas the prior art roofing fork has plurality of tine width dimensions of seven inches to ten inches and is able to remove typically one shingle at a time, the instant invention, as depicted in FIG. 7, is approximately double the width of the plurality of tines and is able to remove triple to quintuple the number of shingles in the same amount of time.

In operation, the instant invention removes more than triple to quintuple the amount of shingles and other roofing material. The multiple shingle removal often occurs as shingles remain attached to each other and form a roll during removal. The roll of shingles maintains a critical shingle mass and the non-linear many shingles and toher roofing materials are removed. This invention provides a means for a roofer to remove a roll of four to five shingles during roughly the same amount of time as the prior art removed one shingle. It would be predicted that doubling the width of the plurality of tines would remove double the number of shingles and other oofing materials; however, the instant invention provides non-linear results by removing triple, quadruple and even quintuple the number of shingles and other roofing materials. Thus, the instant roofing fork invention, having a wider plurality of tines, surprisingly provides a more effective, time saving advancement in the art of shingle and roofing material removal.

The plurality of tines is typically comprised of metal and other materials known in the roofing arts. The shaft and handle may be comprised of metal, plastic, fiberglass, wood and other materials known in the roofing arts.

It is believed that the apparatus of the present invention and many of its attendant advantages will be understood from the foregoing description. It is also believed that it will be apparent that various changes may be made in the form, construction, and arrangement of the components without departing from the scope and spirit of the invention and without sacrificing its material advantages. The forms described are merely exemplary and explanatory embodiments thereof. It is the intention of the following claims to encompass and include such changes.

Claims

1. A roofing fork comprised of a shaft, a support and plurality of tines, wherein the shaft attaches to and is perpendicular to the support, the support attaches to and is perpendicular to the plurality of tines, the plurality of tines extend in the opposite direction from the support as the shaft and the plurality of tines have a width, said with of the plurality of tines ranges in measurement size from fourteen inches to twenty inches.

2. The roofing fork of claim 1, wherein the width of plurality of tines ranges in measurement size from fifteen inches to nineteen inches.

3. The roofing fork of claim 1, wherein the width of plurality of tines ranges in measurement size from sixteen inches to eighteen inches.

4. The roofing fork of claim 1, wherein the shaft has a length, said length ranges in measurement size from twenty-five inches to thirty-five inches.

5. The roofing fork of claim 1, wherein the shaft has a length, said length ranges in measurement size from twenty-eight inches to thirty-two inches.

6. The roofing fork of claim 1, wherein the plurality of tines comprise one or more tines, each of said one or more tines having a length ranging in measurement size from ten inches to sixteen inches.

7. The roofing fork of claim 1, wherein the plurality of tines comprise one or more tines, each of said one or more tines having a length ranging in measurement size from twelve inches to fourteen inches.

8. The roofing fork of claim 1, wherein the plurality of tines comprise one or more tines, each of said one or more tines has a pointed end opposite an end which attaches to the support.

9. The roofing fork of claim 1, wherein the plurality of tines comprise one or more tines, each of said one or more tines having a width ranging in measurement size from one quarter inch to one inch.

10. The roofing fork of claim 1, wherein the plurality of tines comprise one or more tines, each of said one or more tines having a width ranging in measurement size from one quarter inch to five-eighths inch.

11. The roofing fork of claim 1, wherein the plurality of tines comprises a plurality of spaces between the one more tines that comprise the plurality of tines, the spaces between the tines having a length ranging in measure size between two inches to four inches.

12. The roofing fork of claim 1, further comprising at least one brace having two ends, the first brace end attaching to the shaft and the second brace end attaching to the support.

13. (canceled)

14. (canceled)

15. The roofing fork of claim 1, further comprising a handle attached to the shaft opposite and distal to the support.

16. (canceled)

17. The roofing fork of claim 1, wherein the support and the plurality of tines are integrally formed.

18. The roofing fork of claim 1, wherein the support and the shaft are integrally formed.

19. The roofing fork of claim 1, wherein the support, the shaft and plurality of tines are integrally formed.

20. (canceled)

21. A roofing fork comprised of:

-a shaft,

a support, and

plurality of tines,

wherein the shaft attaches to and is perpendicular to the support,

wherein the support attaches to and is perpendicular to the plurality of tines,

wherein the plurality of tines extend in the opposite direction from the support as the shaft,

wherein the plurality of tines have a width, said width of the plurality of tines ranging in measurement size from fourteen inches to twenty inches,

wherein said the plurality of tines comprise one or more tines,

wherein each of said one or more tines have a length ranging in measurement size from ten inches to sixteen inches,

wherein each of said one or more tines comprise a face plain pointed end opposite an end which attaches to the support,

wherein said plurality of tines has a width ranging in measurement size from one quarter of an inch to one inch,

wherein said the plurality of tines comprises a plurality of spaces between said one more tines that comprise the plurality of tines, the spaces between the tines having a length ranging in measurement size between two inches to four inches,

wherein said plurality of tines are straight and parallel to the shaft; and

wherein said plurality of tines has an arcuate shape.

22. A roofing fork comprised of:

a shaft,

a support and

plurality of tines,

wherein the shaft attaches to and is perpendicular to the support,

wherein the support attaches to and is perpendicular to the plurality of tines,

the plurality of tines extend in the opposite direction from the support as the shaft,

wherein the plurality of tines have a width, said width of the plurality of tines ranging in measurement size from sixteen inches to eighteen inches,

wherein said the plurality of tines comprise one or more tines,

wherein each of said one or more tines have a length ranging in measurement size from twelve inches to fourteen inches,

wherein each of said one or more tines comprise a face plain pointed end opposite an end which attaches to the support,

wherein said plurality of tines has a width ranging in measurement size from one quarter of an inch to five-eighths of an inch,

wherein said the plurality of tines comprises a plurality of spaces between said one more tines that comprise the plurality of tines, the spaces between the tines having a length ranging in measurement size between two inches to four inches,

wherein said plurality of tines are straight and parallel to the shaft; and

wherein said plurality of tines has an arcuate shape.

23. The roofing fork of claim 21, and further comprising at least one brace having two ends, the first brace end attaching to the shaft and the second brace end attaching to the support.

24. The roofing fork of claim 21, wherein the support has two outside ends, and further comprising:

a first brace having two ends and attaching at one end to the shaft, and at the other end to a first outside end of said support, and

a second brace having two ends and attaching at one end to the shaft, and at the other end to a second outside end of said support.