AU664638B2 - Roofing tile - Google Patents

Description

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AUSTRALIA

Patents Act 1990 COMPLETE SPECIFICATION For a Standard Patent

ORIGINAL

Name of Applicant: Actual Inventor(s): Address for Service: PER MORITZ ROSE PER MORITZ ROSE WRAY ASSOCIATES, Primary Industry House, 229 Perth, Western Australia, Australia, 6000.

Adelaide Terrace, Attorney code: WR Invention Title: "ROOFING TILE" The following statement is a full description of this invention, including the best method of performing it known to me:- 1

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ri 7- Oy 1 _i__7 -2- The present invention relates to a roofing tile.

Roofing tiles are manufactured in a variety of materials for a varety of buildings.

The materials most commonly used are any of a number of clays, to produce for example terracotta tiles, and also asbestos, slate and fibro cement. Of course, the most common application for such tiles is for domestic dwellings whether those be houses, units or apartment blocks.

It will also be appreciated that roofing tiles are manufactured in a variety of sizes and thicknesses, and also with a variety of configurations. The variation in configuration from one tile to another may be provided for aesthetic reasons, for benefits in interaction of a plurality of tiles, and also possibly tc provide benefits in water drainage and/or insulation properties.

It almost every instance, a building will be required to have some form of passageway from the interior of the building to the exterior of the building, generally through the roof, to provide ventilation of various gases and vapours from within. In particular, exhaust fans from bathrooms and kitchens that are required to ventilate steam and/or kitchen vapours generally require an exhaust pipe to be passed through the roof, while a pipe providing an outlet for gases escaping from drains or sewers is often also provided through the roof. This latter type of pipe is often colloquially referred to a s a "stinkpipe". Further still, there is of course a common need for flues to be provided through a roof, which are passages or channels through which products of combustion may exit from the interior of a building.

For the purposes of the specification the term "ventilating means" will be used to collectively describe all of the above forms of passageways and ducts that are generally required to pass through the roof of a building.

Traditionally, allowances for the passage of a ventilating means through roofing tiles is made by cutting or breaking one or more roofing tiles to create an opening

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F- -41 -3therein, passing the ventilating means through the opening and securing the ventilating means in some form below the roofing tile and possibly within the roof space, and then by providing flashing about the ventilating means and the nearest roofing tiles to provide a watertight seal therebetween. Alternatively, tiles are sometimes provided with holes or openings therein such that the tiles do not need to be broken or cut on site prior to erection. This general requirement for flashing provides an unsightly obstruction on a roof and also is often the cause for internal damage where the flashing has leaked due to wear through age or inadequate installation. Further, the need to cut or break a tile often results in a tile being destroyed which causes unnecessary waste.

The aim of the present invention is to provide a roofing tile that overcomes, or at least partly alleviates, the above mentioned difficulty.

The present invention provides a roofing tile comprising a generally planar tile portion having an integral, generally upwardly projecting pipe capable of being connected to or interacting with a ventilating means via an aperture in the tile portion, the ventilating means being responsible for the passage of gases and/or vapours from the interior of a building to the exterior of the building, said building having a roof with a predetermined pitch, wherein the pipe has an integral cover at its top end, the roofing tile thus being provided as a one piece unit.

The pipe is of the same material as the tile portion, and is preferably provided 'Aring manufacture of the tile portion such that the tile is made in one piece.

Alternatively, the pipe may be secured or connected to the tile portion by any appropriate means such that after that connection the pipe is rigidly secured thereto and is considered to be integral therewith prior to the placement of the tile on a roof.

The pipe is preferably configured so as to project substantially vertically, which results in the pipe being arranged at an angle to the tile that may be any of a variety of angles, depending upon the required pitch of the roof. In this respect, it OR is common for rooves to have a pitch in the order of 18 to 200, which would result -oo L r7-o~ -4in the longitudinal axis of the pipe being at an angle of about 70 to 720 to the plane of the tile.

It will also be appreciated that the ventilating means may itself be a pipe that is placed to have its top end thereof located within the pipe of the tile, so as to allow the exiting of the gases and/or vapours through the pipe of the tile but without the pipe of the ventilating means being visible. Alternatively, flexible ventilating tubing may be secured in the aperture in the tile that communicates with the pipe, to allow the passage of the gases or vapours therefrom through the pipe to the atmosphere.

The cover of the roofing tile serves to prevent rain or other matter from entering the pipe and also may assist in the dispersion of the gases and/or vapours. In a preferred form, the cover also includes a vapour dispersion means that assists in reducing any resistance to flow that might be created by the presence of a cover.

In order to strengthen the roofing tile, reinforcing means may be utilised within the thickness of the tile. In particular, reinforcing wire may be located within the material of the tile to improve the strength of the connection between the pipe and the cover. This is particularly useful due to the possibility of the roofing tile being carried by a person gripping only the cover portion thereof.

The present invention will now be described in relation to the accompanying drawings which illustrate a preferred embodiment thereof. However, it must be understood that the following description is not to limit the generality of the above description.

In the drawings: Figure 1 is a side view of a roofing tile; Figure 2 is a top perspective view of the tile of Figure 1; a..

Figure 3 is a bottom perspective view of the tile of Figure 1; Figure 4 is a schematic section view through the tile of Figure 1 in an imaginary disassembled form; and Figure 5 is a schematic section view through the upper portion of a tile according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention.

Illustrated in Figures 1, 2 and 3 is a roofing tile generally indicated by the numeral 10 having a tile portion 12 and a pipe 14 extending upwardly therefrom.

The pipe 14 is integral with the tile portion 12 at the lower end 16 thereof. The cover 18 sits on and is secured to a plurality of abutments 20 that extend from the pipe 14.

The pipe is generally cylindrical and is in fluid communication with the underside of the tile portion (as indicated in Figure 3) via an aperture 22. As can also be seen from Figures 2 and 3, the tile portion 12 is provided with the same cross section as the remaining tiles to be utilised for a particular roof.

Figure 4 illustrates a cross section of the roofing tile 10 that shows the one-piece nature of the pipe 14 and the tile portion 12. Figure 4 also illustrates a vapour dispersion means 24 provided in the form of a bull-nose hump centrally located in the concave portion of the cover 18. This bull-nose hump assists in the dispersion of the vapour as it exits the pipe 14 and also serves to reduce the pressure and prevent significant backflow.

While Figure 4 shows the cover 18 as a separate piece to the tile 10, it is preferred to form the cover 18 integrally with the pipe 14 such that the entire unit is provided in one piece. In this form, a reinforcing means, such as a reinforcing wire 28 shown in Figure 5, may be embedded within each of the abutments 20 to pass therethrough and into the body portion of the cover 18. In a preferred form, the reinforcing wires extend into the bull-nose hump 24 and down into the pipe Sportion 20 of the roofing tile.

IL. -6- Finally, it is evident from Figures 1 and 4 that the upper peripheral edge 26 of the tile portion 12 is provided at an angle to the plane of the tile portion 12 such that it is parallel to the longitudinal axis of the pipe 14. The peripheral edge 26 is provided with this angle in order to assist in the location, placement, and removal of the roofing tile 10 from a roof.

It will be seen from the above description that the present invention provides a roofing tile that is attractive and avoids the need for unsightly flashing or the like, and also avoids the need for full tiles to be cut or broken to provide apertures therethrough. Further preferred features of the present invention also allow for ease of ventilation of vapours and gases and for ease of installation of this particular tile.

It will also be appreciated that there may be other improvements and modifications to the configurations described above that are also within the scope of the present invention.

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Claims (9)

1. A roofing tile comprising a generally planar tile portion having an integral, generally upwardly projecting pipe capable of being connected to or interacting with a ventilating means via an aperture in the tile portion, the ventilating means being responsible for the passage of gases and/or vapours from the interior of a building to the exterior of the building, said building having a roof with a predetermined pitch, wherein the pipe has an integral cover at its top end, the roofing tile thus being provided as a one piece unit.

2. A roofinn tile according to claim 1 wherein reinforcing means is located within the material of the tile to improve the strength of connection between the pipe and the cover.

3. A roofing tile according to claim 1 or claim 2 wherein a plurality of abutments are arranged to extend above the top end of the pipe to support the cover and be integrally connected thereto, the reinforcing means being provided by a plurality of reinforcing wires, a reinforcing wire being configured to pass through a respective abutment and into the cover to assist in securing the cover to said abutment.

4. A roofing tile according to any one of claims 1 to 3 wherein the pipe is configured so as to project substantially vertically, which results in the pipe being arranged at an angle to the plan of the tile portion, the angle depending on the pitch of the roof.

A roofing tile according to any one of claims 1 to 4 wherein the pipe has a longitudinal axis, said longitudinal axis having an angle of about 700 to 720 to the plane of the tile portion.

6. A roofing tile according to any one of claims 1 to 5 wherein the ventilating means is a tube which in use is arranged substantially vertically and has an open TO -8- top end and a bottom end connected to a source of gases and/or vapours, said tube being arranged such that the top end is located within the pipe to allow the exiting of the gases and/or vapours through the pipe.

7. A roofing tile according to claim 6 wherein the tube is located within the pipe so that the tube is not visible.

8. A roofing tile according to any one of claims 1 to 7 wherein the ventilating means is ventilating tubing and is secured to the underside of the tile portion adjacent the aperture or is secured within the aperture in the tile portion to allow passage of the gases and/or vapours from the tubing through the pipe to the exterior of the building.

9. A roofing tile according to any one of claims 1 to 8 wherein the cover includes a vapour dispersion means that assists in reducing any resistance to flow that might be created by the presence of the cover. A roofing tile according to claim 1 substantially as herein described with reference to Figure DATED this SEVENTEENTH day of AUGUST 1995 PER MORITZ ROSE Applicant WRAY ASSOCIATES Perth, Western Australia Patent Attorneys for the Applicant. 4Z -OeT CR F- 7 ABSTRACT A roofing tile 10 comprising a generally planar tile portion 12 having an integral, generally upwardly projecting pipe 14 capable of being connected to or interacting with a ventilating means via an aperture 22 in the tile portion, the ventilating means being responsible for the passage of gases and/or vapours from the interior of a building to the exterior of the building, said building having a roof with a predetermined pitch. Ell 4t