DK181397B1 - Batten installation marking tool and a method for positioning roof battens - Google Patents

Abstract

The invention relates to a method of positioning roof battens (14) for subsequent fixture of roof tiles thereto and furthermore for a marking tool (20) for marking the batten positions. The marking tool includes a plurality of marking means (51) which by pounding said marking tool against a rafter leaves marks on it indicating positions for battens.

Description

DK 181397 B1 1

BATTEN INSTALLATION MARKING TOOL AND A METHOD FOR POSITIONING ROOF

BATTENS

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to roof tile installation. More specifically, the present invention relates to the roof batten installation procedure and a marking tool to be used herewith.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Upon construction of a roof, a series of inclined rafters are fixed at their upper ends to a — horizontal ridge board, the ridge board marking the apex of the roof. At their lower ends, the rafters are typically fixed to a horizontal fascia board. A number of battens are subsequently fixed to the rafters such that the longitudinal axes of each of the roof battens lies in the horizontal plane, substantially perpendicular to the longitudinal axes of the rafters. — An important factor in the laying out of roof tiles is accurately setting of the battens. If this is not adhered to, the tiles will not fit correctly. Hence, preferably the battens are evenly spaced between the lowermost point of the roof, namely the eaves, and the uppermost point of the roof, namely the ridge. The battens support the roof tiles and thus the distance between the battens must be made suitable for the roof tiles to be fixed thereto in order to ensure an overlap of the roof tiles being sufficient to prevent access of water and minimise the risk of the wind passing underneath the tiles and forcing the tiles away from the battens.

A first step is to mount an eave batten, i.e. the lowermost roof batten to the rafters. The position of the eave batten is typically as far down on top of the rafters as possible. Typically, this will be just behind the fascia board. The distance between the lowermost roof batten and the ridge board is then measured. Based on this, the minimum number of layers of tiles required can be found and from this the desired batten spacing for the specific roof.

Once knowing the desired batten spacing, the user typically uses a carpenter's ruler to measure this batten spacing upwards and marks with a pencil or the like on the respective rafters one, two, three, etc. batten spacings.

A drawback with this method is that it is a time-consuming and difficult method, as each and every batten spacing for each rafter needs a separate marking. Furthermore, precision may be at — risk, since the user cannot spend too much time ensuring that each and every mark is in the exact correct place. Finally, for the markings furthest away from the user, the user needs to

DK 181397 B1 2 stretch his body far out along the direction of the rafters, which may best case worsen the precision and worst case cause a risk for overbalancing.

The present invention seeks to provide a solution to these drawbacks.

US4527337A discloses a template using a number of blocks slidable along a blade provided with a rule scale, each releasably held in place by a thumb screw. Each block has a pair of parallel cutting edges for scribing the stringers thereacross by the simple expedient of tapping the blocks with a hammer, such that, during assembly of the framework, each stud need merely be held between a pair of marks inscribed into the stringer while nailing the stud in place.

GB2319284A discloses a positioning apparatus, particularly for positioning laths on a roof, including clamping jaws for mounting the apparatus in a datum position and for adjustably positioning a plurality of guides relative to the jaws and fixing the guides in the selected positions. When used on a roof the jaws can locate the apparatus in the datum position and laths can be positioned by way of the prepositioned guides for securing to respective rafters of the roof.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

— The invention relates to a marking tool for assisting installation of roof battens for subsequent fixture of roof tiles thereto, said marking tool comprising: - an elongate main part comprising at least one elongate slot; and - a plurality of marking elements mounted on said elongate main part; said plurality of marking elements being in one of two configurations; a first configuration allowing slidable movement of itself along said at least one elongate slot, and a second configuration fixing in position itself along said at least one elongate slot; said plurality of marking elements comprising fastening means for changing between said first and said second configuration, and marking means protruding away from said main part on an opposite side of said fastening means, wherein the tips of said marking means of said plurality of marking elements follow a first straight line non-parallel to a second straight line that is parallel with said elongate main part.

With the present invention, a plurality of measurements and markings are carried out in one process step. This makes the process faster than for individual markings. Further, the user can — avoid reaching too far out when measuring and marking a plurality such as four or five. Finally, as it is the same marking tool being used on all rafters, the precision is improved as the measurements and markings will be identical for roof battens on all rafters. Finally, the present invention is fully functional in rain as well as contrary to standard markings with a pencil, which

DK 181397 B1 3 are known to be potentially problematic in rainy weather. Consequently, the present marking tool facilitates improved precision and safety at the same time as time-savings.

The tool includes an elongate main part of a length of typically 1-2 m, and width and height comparable to a typical spirit level (less than 10cm in both height/width), which means it is easy to carry along onto the roof. A plurality of marking elements is slidably mounted in an elongate slot in the main part, which marking elements can be fixed in position to establish desired distance between the marking elements corresponding to a desired distance between adjacent battens.

Each marking element comprises a fastening means suitable for fixing/releasing the marking element to the main part, which facilitates the possibility of putting each of the marking elements into a desired position on the marking tool. In a preferred embodiment, each marking element is mounted through the elongate slot in the main part, which means that each marking element in use has an upper part and a lower part. The upper part comprises the fastening means and the lower part below the main unit comprises the marking means protruding from the main unit. The marking means are suitable for leaving a mark during use of the marking tool.

In an embodiment of the invention, said elongate main part comprises distance measurement indications along said at least one elongate slot. It is preferable to be able to directly view distances on the marking tool as such, even though measuring distances with an external ruler would also work.

In an embodiment of the invention, said distance measurement indications are indicating a — length from an offset from the end of said marking tool of at least 1cm and said marking elements comprises a marker offset with a similar distance from the real fixing position.

By shifting the measuring scale in this way, the adjusting hand of the user and/or the fastening means of the marking tool are less in a risk of obstructing the view to the measuring scale.

Hereby, a shift of e.g. at least 2cm improves the user experience and precision.

In an embodiment of the invention, said marking means protrudes at least 1cm from said main part and/or the tip of said marking means has a cross-sectional area of less than 0,2cm?.

In a most simple but non-limiting design, the protruding part protrudes in a direction substantially perpendicular to the direction of the length of the elongate main part. Further, the marking means protrudes at least 1 cm, such as at least 2cm away from the main part. Further preferably the tip of said marking means has a cross-sectional area of less than 0,2cm?, such as less than 0,1cm?, in order to provide sufficient pressure to create clear marks in the rafters.

DK 181397 B1 4

In an embodiment of the invention, said plurality of marking elements is at least three, such as at least four. In the shown embodiment herein, four marking elements are used. This is believed to be preferable combination for a typical batten distance and a manageable length of the marking tool. However, in the specific use other marking tool lengths and other batten distances may — require another number of marking elements.

In an embodiment of the invention, the marking tool may include a built-in spirit level. As a spirit level of similar dimensions as the inventive marking tool are needed some places as well, for some uses a combination of the two tools would be advantageous.

In an embodiment of the invention, said marking tool has a length of at least 1m, such as at least 1,5m. Further, a preferred width and height is below 10cm.

In an embodiment of the invention, said elongate main part is made mainly in aluminum. The marking tool needs to have strength for the pounding procedure but at the same be light-weight to be more easy handle for the user. Hence, a light-weight metal such as aluminum is considered preferable.

In an embodiment of the invention, said fastening means comprises a handle and a locking — element suitable for locking against said main part in said second configuration.

The invention furthermore relates to a method of positioning roof battens for subsequent fixture of roof tiles thereto, the method comprising: a. installing a first roof batten on a plurality of rafters; b. engaging an end of an elongated marking tool as described above, including a plurality of marking means, to abut one of the rafters and said first roof batten; and c. pounding said elongated marking tool against said one of the rafters thereby leaving marks on said one of the rafters indicating positions on a plurality of additional battens.

In an embodiment of the invention, said method further comprises the step of installing a plurality of additional roof battens.

The method according to embodiments of the invention obviously also cover using the marking tool for multiple rafters and for multiple batten positions on a single rafter with many battens, and any combination hereof. Further, all additional steps in the roof tile laying process, as known to the skilled person can be carried out following the present invention, such as known methods of fixing the battens and mounting the tiles.

DK 181397 B1

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The above and other aspects of the invention will now be described, by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: 5 Fig. 1 shows parts of a typical roof skeleton;

Fig. 2 shows a marking tool seen from above;

Fig. 3 is fig. 2 seen from the side;

Fig. 4 is a close-up of the circled part of fig. 2;

Fig. 5 shows a marking element seen close-up inside the elongate main part;

Fig. 6 is fig. 5 seen from the side; and

Fig. 7 shows the marking tool in use on a roof.

Note that features that are the same or similar in different drawings are denoted by like reference signs.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Fig. 1 shows one roof side of a typical roof skeleton. Part of four rafters 10 can be seen, all connected to a ridge board 12 marking the apex of the roof. On the shown roof side, six roof battens 14 are shown positioned equidistant. Below the lowermost roof batten typically a horizontal fascia board would be present (not shown). It should be understood that the number of rafters and roof battens is closely related to the size of the roof. Hence obviously the tool according to the present invention can be used on roofs with any number of rafters and roof battens. — As described in the background section, it is important to get the roof battens positioned equidistant and horizontal, which in the prior art has some drawbacks.

Figs. 2 and 3 show a marking tool 20 according to an embodiment of the present invention, where the length of the marking tool is approximately 150 cm long. The marking tool 20 comprises an elongate main part 21 comprising an elongate slot 22 along the length hereof. Next to and along the elongate slot preferably distance measurement indications 23 are engraved, which preferably are similar to what is known as ruler demarcations from a metric ruler showing centimeters and millimeters. Obviously, e.g. an English ruler measuring inches and 1/8" or 1/16" inches or similar could work as well.

Inside the elongate slot 22 is positioned a number of marking elements 24, shown here is four but this number may vary as desired. These will be explained further in detail with respect to the following figures. Finally, the marking tool has a first end 30 and a second end 32.

DK 181397 B1 6

Fig. 4 shows an enlarged portion of fig. 2 (marked with 35 in fig. 2). Here again is seen the main part 21 which in this enlarged portion is actually two separate portions, divided by the elongate slot 22, inside of which one marking element 24 is positioned, adjustable in position along the elongate slot 22.

In the case of having distance measurement indications 23, these may be engraved to align with one of the ends 30,32 of the marking tool 20. In a most simple embodiment, the distance measurement indications simply mark the distance to the end of the marking tool. However, in a — preferred embodiment, the indications are slightly shifted compared to the end of the marking tool. This provides the benefit that the place to read the real distance from the end of the marking tool is not directly below the marking element (and thus below the hand of the user during adjustment) but instead the real distance is shown with a marker 40, the same distance in front of the marking element. This distance is here in fig. 4 shown as 2 cm, but it is clear that this — could be designed according in any way desired.

A single marking element 24 is shown in more details in figs. 5 and 6. An x,z-coordinate system is added in fig. 5 to be able to explain with up-/downward directions (along the z-axis). In use the tool will be inclined due to the inclination of the raters on a roof. However, obviously such terms are solely for explanation and are not to be considered limiting, and “upper” herein means upwards in relation to the rafters, and similarly for “lower”. As previously mentioned, the marking elements 24 are slidable along the elongate slot 22 of the main part 21 of the marking tool 20.

However, an important issue is that each marking element 24 in each position along the elongate slot 22 can also be fixed in place as desired. This is the case as each marking element 24 comprises an upper side on top of the main part 21 and a lower side below the main part 21.

The upper side comprises a fastening means 50 via which the position of the marking element 24 can be fixed in position along the elongate slot 22. Here the fastening means is shown as a rotatable handle which via threads below can squeeze a part of the upper side and a part of the lower side towards each other around a part of the main part 21, thereby fixing the position. This is in the shown embodiment facilitated via a locking element 52 which moves closer to the fastening means during rotation thereof. The rotatable handle as fastening means is just one example, and any other means could be used suitable for fixing/unfixing in the present context.

For example, a push/push handle is known for establishing a similar squeezing function, and — further means will be known to the skilled person in the art.

The lower side of the marking element 24 protrudes a distance below the main part 21 (such as at least 1 cm) and comprises a marking means 51 with a tip 55 as the lowermost part used to

DK 181397 B1 7 add a marking to the rafter in relevant places by the marking tool 20 being pounded against the rafter. This means that at least parts of the marking element 24 may preferably be made in steel or another material much harder than the rafters, which are typically made in wood.

As shown in figs. 5 and 6, in a preferred embodiment, the marking means 51 includes a pointy tip 55 similar to an end of a screw or a nail. The exact design of the marking means 51, however, is not critical as long as the surface area of the tip 55 is sufficiently small for the pounding force of the marking tool 20 to be transferred into a sufficient pressure to create a visible mark in the rafters 10. Hence, examples can be a pointy end, a linear end (similar to a flat-blade screwdriver — end), or simply any flat area smaller than the remaining lower side of the marking element 24.

The marking process itself will now be described, with reference also to fig. 7 disclosing parts of five rafters 10 in place and ready for mounting of the battens 14. (Fig. 7 shows a simplified view of a one roof side). It is noted that the lowermost batten 14 is already mounted. The user may — decide which distances are needed between the individual battens 14. Such distance is typically decided through a combination of a target range of distances provided by the manufacturer of the tiles to be mounted to the battens afterwards to build up the roof and the total distance available between the ridge board and the fascia board. To exemplify, in the following we will assume a situation where this leads to a desired distance of 30 cm between each of the first four battens.

The user then, on the marking tool 20, adjusts the four marking elements 24 along the elongated slot 22 such that a first marking element 24 is positioned 30cm from the first end 30, and the second, third and fourth marking elements 24 are positioned 60cm, 90cm and 120cm, respectively, from the first end 30. In this process it obviously preferred to use engraved distance measurement indications as described above, but it may also be possible to simply use an external ruler or the like to measure out.

Once these desired distances have been fixed on the marking tool 20 with the marking elements — 24, the first end 30 of the marking tool 20 is set to engage the lowermost roof batten 14 at the intersection with the rafter 10 in question and the marking tool is then pounded a number of times (preferably at least twice to be sure that contact is made) against the rafter in question, whereby the marking means 51 of each marking element 24 will leave pound mark(s) visible on that rafter 10. This process is then repeated for each rafter whereby the exact same distances from the lowermost roof batten 14 is marked on all rafters 10.

Fig. 7 discloses the pounding movement 70 on the fifth of five rafters 10 with the pound marks 72 emphasized on all five rafters. Needless to say, this marking process is much faster than using a

DK 181397 B1 8 pencil to mark one batten position at a time on each rafter, but also the precision level is much higher, as the marking tool 20 will ensure that the distances from the lowermost roof batten 14 are exactly the same on each rafter, and hence a more precise batten spacing may be obtained.

The batten installation procedure afterwards may be done according to conventional methods — known to the skilled person.

In a most simple embodiment of the invention, the lower side of the main part 21 and the first and second ends 30,32 is flush. As the marking means 51 of each marking element 24 is protruding below the main part 21 in order to be able to mark, this means that a first straight line — going through each tip 55 of said marking means 51 and the lower side of said first end 30 of the marking tool 20 is non-parallel to a second straight line following the lower side of the main part 21. Instead a pound angle between the lower side of the main part 21 and said first straight line could be between 0.25? and 5°, such as between 0.5” and 3°. However, in another embodiment, the lower side of the first end 30 could be lowered and manufactured non-flush with the main part 21, such that the above-mentioned first straight line could be parallel with the lower side of the main part 21.

The above-mentioned pound angle is obviously created by making the protruding lower length varying among the individual marking elements 24. This varying length may be built into the individual marking elements 24 as a function of the position along the elongate slot 22, or more preferably the elongate slot may be shaped such that the marking elements 24 by themselves move the marking means 51 further downwards as the distance away from the first end 30 is increased.

The marking tool is adjustable in distance between the marking elements. and can thereby be used for a number of tasks. In an exemplary embodiment the length of the marking tool is about 1.5m and it includes four marking elements, whereby markings can be made for the next four roof battens. In this embodiment a roof batten spacing can be adjusted to be as desired up till about 0.37m. If a higher roof batten spacing is desired, one of the marking elements can be removed and the remaining three can be adjusted to have a roof batten spacing up till about 0.48m. Finally, if one more is removed, the remaining two can be adjusted to a roof batten spacing of about 0.7m. Obviously, the length of the marking tool is only exemplary and for different uses, a length of 2m or even more could also be imagined. A longer length can provide more markings at the same time, but simultaneously leads to a bit more uncertainty in getting all markings done sufficiently

It is to be noted that in order to improve the visibility of where the individual marking elements are fixed, it may be advantageous to shift the measuring scale slightly in order to avoid covering

DK 181397 B1 9 the numbers/scale used with the user's hand or the fastening means 50. This is unproblematic and advantageous by introducing a marker 40 on the marking element 24 to indicate the real distance. This shifting of the measuring scale may be at least 1cm, such as 2cm. This facilitates easier visibility and hence also a more precise adjustment of the spacings on the marking tool

S 20. If the shifting is 2cm, this means that the measuring scale starts 2cm from the end of the marking tool, and likewise a marker is shifted 2cm in front of the real fixing position of the fastening means 50.

The embodiments described above are merely examples of the invention defined by the claims — that appear below. Those skilled in the art of tilelaying will appreciate additional examples, modifications, and advantages based on the description. In light of the above, the details of any particular embodiment should not be seen to necessarily limit the scope of the claims below. For instance, it is to be noted that reference has been done to a lowermost batten as a starting point for using the marking tool. Obviously, the marking tool can be used starting from any starting batten, which will naturally be the case on a roof with a rafter size higher than the length of the marking tool. For instance, if the marking tool is used to mark up four batten positions from a lowermost batten, then after mounting additional battens, four more batten positions can be marked up in the same way, etc. All in all, any number of rafter positions can be marked as desired.

Claims (8)

DK 181397 B1 10 REQUIREMENTS 1. Marking tool (20) for assisting installation of roof battens (14) for subsequent attachment of roof tiles thereto, which marking tool comprises: - an elongated main part (21) comprising at least one elongated slot (22); and -a plurality of marking elements (24) mounted on the elongate main part (21); said plurality of marker elements (24) being in one of two configurations; a first configuration that allows sliding movement of itself along the at least one elongated slot (22), and a second configuration that fixes itself along the at least one elongated slot (22); said plurality of marking elements (24) comprises fastening means (50) for switching between — said first and said second configuration, and marking means (51) projecting away from said main part (21) on an opposite side of said fastening means (50), wherein the tips (55) of the marking means (51) of the plurality of marking elements (24) follow a first straight line that is not parallel to a second straight line that is parallel to the elongated main part (21). — 2. Marking tool (20) according to claim 1, wherein the elongated main part (21) comprises distance measurement indications (23) along the at least one elongated slot (22). 3. Marking tool (20) according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the distance measurement indications (23) indicate a length from an offset from the end of the marking tool of at least 1 cm, and — the marking elements (24) comprise a marker (40) offset by a corresponding distance from the actual attachment position. 4. Marking tool (20) according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein said marking means (51) protrudes at least 1 cm from the main part and/or the tip of the marking means (51) has a cross-sectional area of less than 0.2 cm. 5. Marking tool (20) according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein said plurality of marking elements (24) is at least three, such as at least four. — 6. Marking tool (20) according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein said fastening means (50) comprise a handle and a locking element (52) suitable for locking against the main part (21) in the second configuration. 7. Method for placing roof battens (14) for subsequent attachment of roof tiles thereto, — which method includes: a. mounting a first roof batten (14) on a plurality of rafters (10); DK 181397 B1 11 b. allowing one end of an elongated marking tool (20) according to any one of claims 1-6, including a plurality of marking means (51), to engage with and thus abut against one of the rafters ( 10) and said first roof batten (14); and c. striking (70) said elongated marking tool (20) against one of the rafters (10) thereby — leaving marks on one of the rafters (10), which marks indicate positions on a plurality of additional battens (14). 8. Method for placing roof battens (14) according to claim 7, wherein said method further comprises the step of mounting a plurality of additional roof battens.