GB2159848A

GB2159848A - Flat unit roofing material

Info

Publication number: GB2159848A
Application number: GB08509146A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Robert Burette
Original assignee: NORD COMPTOIR TUILIER
Current assignee: NORD COMPTOIR TUILIER
Priority date: 1984-04-10
Filing date: 1985-04-10
Publication date: 1985-12-11
Also published as: NL8501050A; DE3512762A1; FR2562588A1; GB8509146D0; BE902127A

Abstract

A roofing or cladding system comprises units having, on the upper part of their lower surfaces, at least one hook, whereby they are fixed to at least one horizontal crosspiece secured to the surface to be covered and which has a groove enabling the upper part of the flat units (2) to be wedged, the groove (3) is, for this purpose, narrower at its entrance than at the bottom and has a lower flange (4) on which the hook (5) of the flat unit (2) rests, while its upper flange (6) is turned down so as to cover the upper edge of the unit, in order that, firstly, the unit and its hook may be inserted when the base of the unit concerned is lifted away from the upper part of another unit and secondly the upper edge of the flat unit (2) will become wedged when the unit is returned to its normal position with its base resting on the unit below it, the upper part of the flat unit (2) with hook (5) being shaped so as to become wedged in the sectional crosspiece (1). <IMAGE>

Description

SPECIFICATION Flat unit roofing material Technical aspects This invention concerns a roofing material consisting of flat units which, on the upper part of their reverse sides, have at least one hook, sometimes called a clip, catch or cusp, by means of which they are fixed to at least one crosspiece such as a lath or batten.

The roofing material which is the subject of the present invention is equally applicable to sloping roofs and to vertical surfaces, on which it becomes "cladding"; in the first case, the flat units are referred to as "tiles"; in the second case, they are referred to as "shingles".

Statement of the problem, present techniques and disadvantages As laid down, for instance, in the unified "technical documentation" relating to the laying of such materials, the construction rules governing the use of any imaginable kind of tile, whether flat, interlocking, deep or shallow mould, earthenware or concrete tiles-allow for certain cases where it will be necessary to resort to extra fixing devices apart from ensuring that the hooks provided for the purpose on the underside of the units are resting properly on the crosspieces.

This will be necessary, for instance, when tiles are being laid: ---on a slope which exceeds 1.5 m. per m.; -in locations exposed to high winds.

In such cases, the extra fixing devices have, up to now, consisted of nailing or screwing the tiles to the battens, or by clipping or hooking them on.

For their use on roofs, these operations involve either a certain percentage of tiles (1/5 for example) or all the tiles, depending on the risk of their shifting. For their use as cladding, however, every single unit must be secured with extra fixing devices.

It is obvious that these operations are both costly and time-consuming.

This invention therefore provides for a means of cutting back these extra costs.

Description of the invention The invention is characterised principally by the combination of: a) at least one crosspiece for securing the tiles, consisting of a horizontal section fixed in ratio to the surface to be covered, supplied with a groove enabling the upper part of the flat units to be wedged; for this purpose, the groove is narrower at the top than at the bottom, and has a lower flange on which the hook of the flat unit rests, while its upper flange is turned down so as to cover the upper edge of the unit in such a way as, firstly, to enable the unit and its hook to be inserted when the base of the unit concerned is lifted away from the upper part of another unit; and secondly, to wedge the upper edge of the said flat unit when the unit is returned to its normal position with its base resting on the unit below it; b) and a flat unit, with hook, catch or cusp, the upper part of which is shaped so as to become wedged in the sectional crosspiece referred to under (a).

The supporting crosspiece, which advantageously replaces the usual battens, therefore has a semitubular cross-section, the upper flange of which is hooked.

The upper flange may take various shapes and, in particular, it may be turned down vertically; it may also be turned down obliquely according to a slope directed outwards or inwards; or again it may be curved or bent in accordance with a slope leading towards the outside and curving back towards the inside.

All these shapes may, as need dictates, be used without departing from the principle and context of the invention.

The second important factor in this invention, i.e. the flat tiling unit, has-preferably on its upper end, a cusp which is equivalent in size to the thickness of the unit at its lower end, the distance between the cusp of the flat unit concerned and the cusp of the unit immediately below it being equal to the space between the crosspieces to which it is hooked.

In the special case of recessed or salient angles which are to be met with both on roofs and in vertical cladding, special units are provided both for the recessed angles and for the salient angles, these special units fitting perfactly against neighbouring units.

Solution to the problem, advantages and industrial results The device forming the subject of the invention makes it possible to achieve a stable, orderly layout of the flat units comparable to that obtained when using the traditional extra fixing devices, and to do so without having to resort to nailing, screwing, clipping or hooking.

Not only does the invention make for easier tiling by abolishing these extra fittings, but it also facilitates the replacement of any tiles or shingles which come loose or break as a result of accidental impact.

The invention will be better understood with the help of the following description which gives some non-restrictive examples of practical application, illustrated by the appended drawings.

Brief description of the figures In these drawings: Figure 1 is a perspective drawing of a tiled roof or cladding in accordance with the invention. I Figures 2 to 7 are perspective drawings of the various shapes that can be imparted to the sectional crosspieces used in conjunction with the flat unit in order to apply this invention.

Figure 8 shows one method of achieving the end-to-end connection of two sections, such as the type shown in Fig. 4.

Figure 9 shows a special unit for a recessed angle.

Figure 10 shows a special unit for a salient angle.

Figures 11 to 13 show the three main stages in fitting the protective units which are the subject of the invention, namely: Fig. 11 is a vertical cross-section of a unit and of the sectional crosspiece to which it is to be attached, during the first stage of laying: Figure 12 is a drawing similar to Fig. 11, showing the intermediate stage of the fitting; and Figure 13 is a drawing similar to Fig. 11, showing the final stage of the fitting.

Description of some methods of application Referring to Fig. 1, a covering as per the invention is shown which is applicable to roofing and cladding alike. it consists of a combination of a sectional crosspiece (1) and a flat unit (2). One shape in which the sectional crosspiece (1) may be made is shown in detail in Fig. 3. Other variants are shown in Figs. 2 to 7 and are designed by the reference numbers (11, 111, 112, 113, 114).

The general characteristic of the sections (1, 111, 112, 113, 114) is for itto be designed with a groove (3), the neck of which is narrower than the bottom. All of them have a lower flange (4) which is horizontal (Figs. 2, 5, 7, 8) or raised (Figs. 3, 4, 6), on which the hook (5) of the flat unit (2) (tile or shingle) comes to rest. The upper flange (6) is bent downwards to cover, and hence wedge, the upper edge of the flat unit (1) when the base of the latter is resting on the unit immediately below it, as shown in Figs. 1 and 1 3.

According to the different shapes it can take, the upper flange of the sectional crosspiece (1) has a vertical lip (7) (Fig. 2), an oblique lip (8) slanting outwards (Fig. 3), an oblique lip (9) slanting inwards (Fig. 4), or a lip curving downwards (12) (Fig. 5), or both downwards and inwards (13), or again a lip slanted outwards (14) and ending in a curve inwards (15) (Fig. 7).

According to one particularity of this invention, the unit (2) has a cusp (16) on the upper side, the height "h" of which is equivalent to the thickness "e" of the lower part of the unit. The distance "d" between the cusp (16) of the unit concerned and that of the unit immediately below it is equal to the space between two sectional crosspieces (1).

For the connection between two planes of the roof there is provided, as shown in Figs. 9 and 10, dihedral units (17) (Fig. 9) for recessed angles and/or dihedral units (18) for salient angles. The angle of the dihedrons matches that of the roof planes. At least one side of these dihedral units (17) and (18) is fitted with hooks (5), and their attachment can be further reinforced by nailing. The dihedral units (17) and (18) can, of course, be supplied with a cusp equivalent to the cusp (16) of the flat units.

The sectional crosspieces (1) are generally made of metal and thus combine the function of locking the units in place with that of buttress, as for battens. They are fixed to the surface to be covered by all traditional means (nailing, bedding, screwing with self-driving screws, etc.) on the main roof timbers (scantlings), beams, rafters whether of wood or metal, or onto the masonry, brickwork or vertical surfaces to be cladded. The said sectional crosspieces have the advantage of being manufactured of rustproof materials. If they are made of metal, galvanised or stainless qualities will be chosen.

To attach the flat unit (2) to the sectional crosspiece (1), begin by inserting it almost horizontally or at a slight angle (Fig. 11) so that the hook (5) enters the groove of the crosspiece (1) in the direction shown by the arrow (19). Then the unit (2) is lowered by rotating it in the direction shown by the arrow (20) (Fig. 11). When the unit (2) is at an angle of about 45 to the centreline of the crosspiece (1), the said unit (2) is pushed upwards in the direction of the arrow (21) while the unit (2) is finally lowered until it comes to rest on the unit immediately below it. Then the hook (5) is allowed to rest on the lower flange (4) of the crosspiece (1) (Arrow 22) as shown in Fig. 1 3.

It will be realised that the laying of the flat units is greatly facilitated, and that their replacement is a simple matter since, except for the dihedral units, it is now possible to eliminate all the extra fixing devices which, hitherto, have usually been found necessary to secure existing flat units.

Claims

1. covering of flat units, notably for roofing and cladding, the said units having, on the upper part of their lower surfaces, at least one hook, sometimes called a catch, slip or cusp, whereby they are fixed to at least one crosspiece such as a lath or batten, characterised by the combination of: a) at least one crosspiece for securing the units, consisting of a horizontal section (1) fixed in ratio to the surface to be covered, and which has a groove enabling the upper part of the flat units (2) to be wedged; the said groove (3) is, for this purpose, narrower at its entrance than at the bottom, and has a lower flange (4) on which the hook (5) of the flat unit (2) rests, while its upper flange (6) is turned down so as to cover the upper edge of the unit, in order that, firstly, the unit and its hook may be inserted when the base of the unit concerned is lifted away from the upper part of another unit; and secondly, the upper edge of the said flat unit (2) will become wedged when the unit is returned to its normal position with its base resting on the unit below it; b) and a flat unit (2) with hook (5) catch or cusp, the upper part of which is shaped so as to become wedge in the sectional crosspiece (1) referred to in (a).

2. Covering, as defined in Claim 1, characterised by the fact that the crosspiece (1) has a semi-tubular cross-section, the upper flange of which is hooked.

3. Covering, as defined in Claim 2, characterised by the fact that the upper flange of the crosspiece (11) has a vertical lip.

4. Covering, as defined in Claim 2, characterised by the fact that the upper flange of the crosspiece (1) has an oblique lip (8) slanting outwards.

5. Coverng, as defined in Claim 2, characterised by the fact that the upper flange of the crosspiece (111) has an oblique lip (9) slanting inwards.

6. Covering, as defined in Claim 2, characterised by the fact that the upper flange of the crosspiece (11) has a curved lip (12, 13).

7. Covering, as defined in Claim 2, characterised by the fact that the upper flange of the crosspiece (11) has a lip (14) sloping outwards and ending in a part (15) curving inwards.

8. Covering, as defined in Claims through 7, characterised by the fact that the flat unit (2) is a roof tile.

9. Covering, as defined in Claims 1 through 7, characterised by the fact that the flat unit (2) is a shingle for cladding.

10. Covering, as defined in either of Claims 8 or 9, taken separately, characterised by the fact that the flat unit (2) has, on its upper surface, a cusp (1 6) the height "h" of which is equivalent to the thickness "e" of the lower part of the unit, the distance "d" between the cusp (16) of the flat unit concerned and the cusp of the unit immediately below it being equal to the space between the sectional crosspieces to which they are to be attached.

11. Covering, as defined in any one of Claims 1 through 10, characterised by the fact that it comprises dihedral units (17, 1 8), at least one side of which is fitted with a hook.