GB2259527A

GB2259527A - Roof penetrating device with water seal

Info

Publication number: GB2259527A
Application number: GB9119684A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Henry Crawford; Robert Paton Paterson
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1991-09-14
Filing date: 1991-09-14
Publication date: 1993-03-17
Anticipated expiration: 2011-09-14
Also published as: GB2259527B; GB9119684D0

Abstract

A roof penetrating device (10) includes a roof penetrating member (16). e.g. an eye-bolt for a safety line, for extending through a roof covering including a deformable member such as a lead slate piece (12). Member (16) has a first surface (18) for engaging an outer side of the deformable member (12) around an aperture (14). A retaining member (20) for receiving the penetrating member (16) has a second surface (22) for engaging the inner side of the deformable member (12), and by co-operation with surface (18) raises part of the deformable member (12) near to the centre of the first and second surfaces (18, 22) above the part of the deformable member (12) at the periphery of the first and second surfaces (18, 22) to create a water seal. <IMAGE>

Description

ROOF PENETRATING DEVICE This invention relates to a roof penetrating device, and in particular, but not exclusively, to a roof penetrating device including means for providing a seal around the point of penetration of the roof covering.

Roof penetrating devices may be in many forms, such as vent outlets, overflow pipes or safety anchors. U.K.

Patent Application Publication No. GB 2 219 826 A to Campbell discloses an anchoring system for use on a roof for providing a secure safety harness attachment. The system includes a clamp which is attached to a roof rafter and a shaft, in the form of an eye bolt, which is attached to the clamp and passes through and projects from the external roof covering to provide an external anchor to which a lanyard with a safety harness or other similar device may be secured. The point at which the eye bolt passes through the roof covering must be sealed to prevent leakage. The use of a leak-free sealant is disclosed in the application, though it is believed that, in practise, sealing is typically achieved by use of plastic inserts between the shaft and at least the outer most portions of the roof covering.The necessity of providing such inserts, or applying a sealant, complicates the fitting of the anchoring system and if the eye bolt is deformed or moved after being fitted the effectiveness of the seal may diminish.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a roof penetrating device which obviates or mitigates the aforementioned disadvantages.

It is a further object of the present invention to provide an effective, weatherproof seal for a roof penetrating device, such as a roof anchor.

Accordingly, in one aspect of the present invention there is provided a roof penetrating device comprising a penetrating member for extending through a roof covering including a deformable member, said roof penetrating member having a first surface for engaging an outer side of the deformable member around an aperture in the deformable member formed to accommodate the roof penetrating member, and a retaining member for receiving the penetrating member on the inner side of the deformable member, said retaining member having a second surface for engaging the inner side of the sheet, the roof penetrating member and the retaining member being adapted to be moved together so that the first and second surfaces engage the respective outer and inner sides of the deformable member so as to raise part of the deformable member near to the centre of said first and second surfaces above the part of the deformable member at the periphery of said first and second surfaces.

Preferably, the first surface is concave and the second surface is convex. The convex and concave surfaces may be frusto-conical or part spherical in form, or may include planar central portions and frusto-conical edge portions.

Alternatively, the first and second surfaces may be planar one of the first and second surfaces overlapping the other surface or the surfaces could be the same size. Conveniently, planar surfaces are provided by washers secured to the respective roof penetrating and retaining members, the upper washer being of larger diameter than the lower washer and overlapping the lower washer.

In use, the penetrating member is located relative to the retaining member such that, on bringing the faces together, the deformable member is deformed to conform to the shape of the area between the faces, the bending of the deformable member relative to the surrounding area tending to cause the deformable member to tightly engage the surface of the upper, concave face. The lower, preferably concave face may further tend to stretch or extend the area of the deformable member between the faces, thus pulling the deformable member into tighter contact with the surface. In most cases it is likely that the deformable member will be in the form of a lead slate piece or lead flashing.

In accordance with a further aspect of the present invention there is provided a roof penetrating device comprising an elongate penetrating member for extending through a roof covering including a deformable member, the elongate penetrating member including a radially extending sealing portion defining a first face for engaging an outer side of the deformable member around an aperture in the sheet formed to accommodate the member, and a retaining member for receiving the penetrating member on the lower side of the deformable member and defining a face for engaging the inner side of the deformable member.

The penetrating member may be in the form of an eye bolt and the radially extending sealing portion is preferably a washer fixed to the eye bolt. Most preferably the eye bolt is formed of a corrosion resistant metal, such as stainless steel.

These and other aspects of the present invention will now be described, by way of example, with reference to the accompanying drawings in which; Figs. 1 and 2 show part sectional views of a roof penetrating device in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention; Fig. 3 is a diagrammatic view of a cross-section through a roof showing part of a rafter fitted with an anchoring device provided with a roof penetrating device in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention shown in Figs. 1 and 2; Fig. 4 is a sectional view taken on line 4-4 of Fig.

1; Fig. 5 is a sectional view taken on line 5-5 of Fig. 3; Fig. 6 is a perspective diagrammatic view of a roof, partly broken away, with a rafter fitted with a further form of anchoring device provided with a roof penetrating device in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention; and Figs. 7a and 7b depict enlarged top and side views of part of the anchorage bracket shown in Fig. 6.

The roof penetrating device of the present invention is adapted for use in many applications, but will be described below with reference to roof anchors, the preferred application of the present invention.

Reference is first made to Figs. 1 and 2 of the drawings which illustrate a roof penetrating device 10.

The Figures illustrate the device 10 in place in a portion of a sloping roof, but it will be noted that elements of the roof covering, such as sarking and roof tiles have been omitted, and only a lead slate piece 12 is shown.

In practise, the slate piece 12 is located over a tile and beaten into the shape of the tile. In use, the roof penetrating device 10 extends upwardly through the sarking and an aperture in the tile, and finally through an aperture 14 in the slate piece 12, which forms the outermost element of the roof covering.

The roof penetrating device 10 includes a penetrating member in the form of an eye bolt 16 provided with a sealing portion in the form of a cupped washer 18. The eye bolt 16 is received in a retaining member, in the form of a tubular pedestal 20, also including a sealing portion in the form of a cone-shaped washer 22. Fig. 1 shows the device 10 just prior to final tightening, and Fig. 2 shows the device 10 in the fully tightened configuration. In the tightened configuration, the portion of the slate piece 12 around the aperture 14 is clamped tightly between the washers 18,22. The cupped washer 18 defines a concave face 24 for engaging the outer side of the slate piece 12, while the cone-shaped washer 22 defines a convex face 26 for engaging the inner side of the slate piece 12. The seal thus formed between the washers 18,22 and the slate piece 12 is substantially watertight.

As seen in Fig. 2, it is preferred that the deformed portion 28 of the slate piece 12 stands proud of the adjacent planar portion of the slate piece, such that water does not gather around the deformed portion 28.

Also, when the tightening force is applied to the device 10 to bring the washers 18,22 together the lower surface of the cupped washer 18 is brought into tight engagement with the slate piece 12 which bends around the edge to form a sealing line around the deformed portion 28.

In order to resist corrosion it is desirable that at least the eye bolt 16 and the cupped washer 18 are formed of corrosion resistant material, such as stainless steel. It is most preferred that the eye bolt 16 is formed of stainless steel, which would be expected to provide useful service for over fifty years in urban locations. The cupped washer 18 is preferably also of stainless steel and is MIG welded to the eye bolt 16, which welding also closes the eye of the bolt 16. It should be noted that stainless steel requires careful treatment to preserve its corrosion resistant properties through the necessary forming and welding processes, which treatment may include annealing and quenching steps.

The pedestal 20 and cone-shaped washer 22 may be formed of a less corrosion resistant material, such as mild steel, the washer 22 being welded to the upper end of the pedestal 20.

Reference is now also made to Fig. 3 of the drawings which depicts a roof anchor generally indicated by reference numeral 40 shown mounted on a rafter 42 and including a roof penetrating device 10. The roof anchor 40 consists of rafter attachment means 44 for securing the anchor 40 to the rafter 42 and harness attachment means 46 in the form of a tubular pedestal 20 which projects through the roof sarking 48, tiles 50 and lead slate piece 12, and which terminates in an eye bolt 16, to which a lanyard with safety harness can be fastened in the usual manner. The eye bolt 16 extends through the length of the pedestal 20 and is fastened at the other end by a nut 52 at the bottom of a bracket in the form of a plate 54.

The pedestal is circular in cross-section and is welded on each side by welds 56 to the rafter attachment means 44 as best seen in Figs. 3 and 4.

The rafter attachment means 44 comprises a first generally L-shaped bracket 58 of substantially the same depth as the rafter 42 and which extends along the length of the rafter for a distance which is greater than the length of the pedestal 20. The L-shaped bracket is fastened to the rafter 42 at upper and lower ends by upper and lower brackets generally indicated by reference numbers 60 and 62. Upper bracket 60 consists of a primary bracket portion 64 which is generally L-shaped and which fits around the rafter as shown and which projects or extends beyond the base of the rafter to form the plate 54 beneath the pedestal 20 and to which the nut 52 is secured.The other end of the bracket portion 64 has a lug 66 which is connected by a bolt connection to the top plate 68 which also extends beyond the top of the rafter on either side of the pedestal 20 and which has apertures for receiving bolts 70 which also pass through the sarking to be received in a similar aperture in the L-shaped plate 54.

The lower bracket 62 comprises a first U-shaped bracket element 78 which fits around the rafter 42 and which has apertures for receiving bolts 80 which pass through the bracket and also through a similar aperture in the L-shaped bracket or plate 54. The bolts 80 are received by apertures of a top plate 82 so that the lower end of the rafter attachment means is securely fastened to the rafter 42.

It will be noted that the pedestal 20 is positioned relative to the slate piece 12 such that the deformed portion 28 of the slate piece 12 around the aperture 14 projects upwardly and is clamped between the washer 18, 22.

It will thus be seen that the present invention provides an effective seal in a roof penetrating element, such as a roof anchor as described above, without requiring the provision of additional sealing elements or application of sealing material.

It will be clear to those with skill in the art that the above described embodiment is merely exemplary of the present invention and that various modifications or improvements may be made without department from the scope of the invention. For example, the pedestal need not be welded to the rafter attachment means, but may be clamped by brackets so that the pedestal is adjustable to the rafter attachment means, as illustrated in Figs. 6, 7a and 7b of the drawings.

In this anchoring device the pedestal 170 is received in a channel 172 (Fig. 7a) in the anchorage bracket 174 provided by an end plate 176 and an S-shaped plate 178 which are welded at one end 180,181 to the bracket 174.

There is a gap 182 between the plate 176,178 and the pedestal 170 can be slid by the installer in-situ in the channel 172. When the pedestal is adjusted to its correct height, so that the eyebolt 183 projects above the tiles 185, it is securely fastened in position by bolting the ends of plate 176,178 together by bolts 184 as shown in Fig. 6. Thus, this device permits in-situ height adjustment of the pedestal 170 relative to the anchorage bracket 174 and allows the roof anchor to accommodate variations in roof-line above the rafter thereby avoiding, 1) the requirement of a range of sizes and, 2) pre-measurement of rafter-roof spacing prior to installation. This results in a substantial reduction in installation time and hence cost of installation.

Claims

1. A roof penetrating device comprising a roof penetrating member for extending through a roof covering including a deformable member, said roof penetrating member having a first surface for engaging an outer side of the deformable member around an aperture in the deformable member formed to accommodate the roof penetrating member, and a retaining member for receiving the penetrating member on the inner side of the deformable member, said retaining member having a second surface for engaging the inner side of the deformable member, the roof penetrating member and the retaining member being adapted to be moved together so that the first and second surfaces engage the respective outer and inner sides of the deformable member so as to raise part of the deformable member near to the centre of said first and second surfaces above the part of the deformable member at the periphery of said first and second surfaces.

2. A roof penetrating device as claimed in claim 1 in which the first surface is concave and the second surface is convex.

3. A roof pentrating device as claimed in claim 2 in which the convex and concave surfaces are frusto-conical.

4. A roof pentrating device as claimed in claim 2 in which the convex and concave surfaces are part-spherical.

5. A roof pentrating device as claimed in claim 2 in which the convex and concave surfaces include planar central portions and frusto-conical edge portions.

6. A roof penetrating device as claimed in claim 1 in which the first and second surfaces are planar.

7. A roof pentrating device as claimed in claim 6 in which one of the first and second surfaces extends beyond the other surface.

8. A roof penetrating device as claimed in claim 6 or 7 in which the planar surfaces are provided by washers secured to the respective roof penetrating and retaining members, the upper washer being of larger diameter than the lower washer.

9. A roof penetrating device comprising an elongate penetrating member for extending through a roof covering including a deformable member, the elongate penetrating member including a radially extending sealing portion defining a first face for engaging an outer side of the deformable member around an aperture in the deformable member formed to accommodate the roof penetrating member, and a retaining member for receiving the penetrating member on the lower side of the deformable member and defining a face for engaging the inner side of the deformable member.

10. A roof penetrating device as claimed in claim 9 in which the penetrating member is in the form of an eye bolt and the radially extending sealing portion is a washer fixed to the eye bolt.

11. A roof penetrating member as claimed in claim 10 in which the eye bolt is formed of a corrosion resistant metal.

12. A roof penetrating device substantially as described herein and illustrated in Figs. 1 to 5 or Fig. 6, Figs. 7a and 7b of the accompanying drawings.