US3042193A - Self-sealing shingle - Google Patents

Description

July 3, 1962 F. J. WENDT 3,042,193

SELF-SEALING SHINGLE Filed Feb. 13, 1958 2 Sheets'Sheet 1 %m% Wax/z y- W i y 3, 1962 F. J. WENDT 3,042,193

SELF-SEALING SHINGLE Filed Feb. 13, 1958 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 United States Patent i 3,042,193 SELF-SEALING SHINGLE Frank J. Wendt, Chicago, Ill., assignor to United States Gypsum Company, Chicago, 111., a corporation of Illinois Filed Feb. 13, 1958, Ser. No. 715,129 5 Claims. (Cl. 206-60) This invention relates to self-sealing shingles which are normally laid in overlapping courses, and more particularly to means of packing them in bundles.

This invention concerns asphalt saturated and coated composition felt strips, each having a head portion and a bottom or exposed portion which is divided into sections or butt portions by vertical slots or cut-outs. The lifting of these butt portions by wind can cause both an unsightly appearance and a breakdown of the weather protection of the roof sheet because of the access of moisture to the plies or layers underneath the butt portions. Severe winds may even tear entire strips from the roof or side surface due to the lifting action of raised butt portions.

Many proposals have been made to counteract this difliculty. Among the most common are methods in which the butt portions are sealed to the underlying surface. The generally accepted technique is to apply a spot of bituminous cement under each butt portion after the laying of the strips. However, this is time consuming and costly due to the labor involved. To overcome the extra labor cost, attempts have been made to apply the adhesive at the time of manufacture, the adhesive being applied to the underside of the butt portions or to the underlying face of the strip. This introduces a new problem to be overcome, i.e., how to pack the strips into a bundle without causing them to permanently adhere to one another, and without destroying the self-sealing quality. Attempts to accomplish a satisfactory means of packaging have not been completely successful because of increases in packing and unpacking costs which tend to vitiate any advantage over older methods of sealing the butt portions on the job. In modern high-speed machine operations, a difiicult packing problem leads to markedly increased costs over the standard practice of stacking the strips in a bundle.

Packing the strips in face-to-tace or back-to-back relation, especially where the individual strips must be pulled apart, results in a definite disadvantage to the applicator because of the necessary added effort to separate the strips. Since this operation must be accomplished as application is being pursued, separation of the strip makes for an inefficient operation. This added step is also somewhat precarious because of the added motion involved due to the nature of the strips and the roofers position on a roof or ladder. In addition, in some cases the shingles must not only be turned over but reversed end to end.

It is, therefore, an object of the invention to provide an improved means of applying adhesive to the shingles in the factory which will give a bonding of overlapping courses when applied to a roof.

It is a further object of the invention to provide an improved manner of applying adhesive to the shingles in the factory which will seal the shingles together when placed upon the roof, but which will not cause adhesion in the bundle.

It is a further object of'the invention to provide an improved type of self-sealing shingle which not only does not require extra work upon the job to break apart the shingles in the bundle, but also requires no turning over of certain of the shingles.

It is a still further object of this invention to provide 3,042,193 Patented July 3, 1962 an improved sealing means which is adapted to the regular type bundle of shingles, thus permitting the regular roofing machinery to be used without change and thereby resulting in no increase in the cost of bundling.

Various other objects will readily occour to those skilled in the art, of which this invention is a part.

For a better understanding of the invention, reference should be had to the accompanying drawings, in which FIGURE 1 is a view of the face or granule side of a shingle according to the invention;

FIG. 2 is a back view of the same shingle;

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of a bundle of the shingles shown in FIGS. 1 and 2;

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of a section of a roof laid from the self-sealing shingles forming the subject of this invention and illustrates how the shingles are applied without the necessity of turning or reversing, and

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of another form of bundle of the shingles shown in FIGS. 1 and 2.

Referring to the drawings, the objects of the invention are accomplished by the application to shingles 10, preferably in the factory during the manufiacture thereof, of spots 11 of an adhesive of a character and in a location so that when the shingles 10 are applied in succeeding overlapping courses, the lower ends of the butt portions or butts 12 of the exposed portion of each shingle will adhere to the one below and hence resist the action of wind, rain and other weathering elements to raise the butts and thus penetrate or damage the covering.

In addition, a strip or lane 13 of an anti-sticking or nonadhering material is also applied, preferably in the factory, to the surface of the shingle upon the opposite face from that containing the adhesive so that when the sheets are packed, one above the other in either all faceup or all face-down relation, the strip or spots of adhesive on each shingle are in contact with the strip or spots of anti-adhering material. In this way, none of the adhesive on one shingle will come into direct contact with another shingle while packed so that sticking of the shingles together in the bundle is avoided. As shown in FIG. 3, the face of the shingle 14 uppermost in the bundle containing the unprotected spots of adhesive is covered with a strip of wax paper 15, or the like.

When the shingles are unpacked and placed in succeeding overlapping layers, the spots 11 of adhesive and the nonadhering layers are out of register and the adhesive on one shingle is permitted to come into contact with the appropriate surface of the overlying butt portions, as shown in FIG. 4. The adhesive through the aid of solar radiation adheres to the surface of the shingle against which it comes into contact, and the butt portions or butts are, therefore, sealed down. Adhesion may be delayed for some time depending on the amount of radiation, but eventual scaling is assured if a proper type of sealing a compound is used, as will be explained. Some of the nonadhering material may transfer to the strip or spots of the cement. If the nonadhering layer is limited in thickness such that it will not flake off, the degree of such transfer will be small and will not permanently interfere with later bonding on the roof.

Specifically, a good practice is to apply the laneof spots of cement or adhesive lengthwise astraddle the longitudinal center line of the shingle so that they are just above the tops of the exposed butts and just above the bottom edges of the butts of the shingles applied thereover in overlapping relation. It is, of course, not necessary that the row of self-sealing adhesive be applied along the center line as long as it is located so that the lower portions of the butts of the next upper row of shingles will be contacted by the adhesive.

The lane 13 of nonadhering material is placed on the back of the sheet along the longitudinal center line of the sheet and is of such width that the spots 11 of adhesive on the face of the adjacent shingle in the bundle will be completely covered. This allows the sheets to be laid face to back in the bundle without sticking. This is the usual arrangement and fits in well with production in the factory and also when applied to the roof. As will be noted in FIGS. 3 and 4, the shingles need not be turned over nor reversed but are applied directly from the bundle to the roof with a single sweeping motion.

The improvement in the self-sealing of asphalt shingles forming the subject of this invention can readily be made upon the ordinary roofing machine with only minor modifications. Both the adhesive and the nonadhering agents can be applied in a line parallel with the length of the strip as the shingles are being formed upon the asphalt roofing machine. The sealing adhesive may be applied hot with a single roll applicator to the top of the strip and it may be applied by other means such as some type of flinge-r. The nonadhering agent may also be applied in liquid form by an applicator situated underneath the strip or in tape form, such as of cloth, paper or metal, from rolls and adhered to the shingle by any suitable adhesive. The shingles are cut and bundled, face up, as shown in FIG. 3, without any alteration in the ordinary procedure with the exception that an anti-sticking sheet 15 is applied over the sealing spots upon the top shingle only, see FIG. 3.

The sealing material is rendered tacky by the heat from the sun as the overlapped shingles rest upon the roof, thus causing them to adhere. The best type of sealing adhesive is that made from bituminous or pitchlike substances for they may be tailored such that they are very tacky at temperatures attained upon exposure to solar radiation but are essentially not tacky at ordinary temperatures. A straight steam-refined asphalt of 160- 190 F. softening point has been found to be satisfactory as an adhesive, though blended asphalt or other bituminous compositions may be used.

The anti-sticking or nonadhering agent can be any of many waxes, Wax-polyethylene mixtures, metal stearates and other Well known materials repellent to asphalt. It is understood that these substances can be applied to the sheet in any of many ways, for example, as an emulsion, a hot-melt solution, or in tape form, such as aluminum foil.

In carrying out a preferred embodiment of this invention, ordinary asphalt strip shingles with cut-outs 16 to form exposed butt portions are used. These shingles are adapted to be laid in overlapping relation. During the manufacture of the shingles, spots of asphalt adhesive 11 are applied along the center line of the face of the shingle, such as shown in FIGS. 1, 3 and 4. An asphalt having a 165 F. softening point has been found to be suitable though its properties may vary over a Wide range depending upon the climate in which the shingle is to be used, as well as upon the degree of hardness desired at room temperature. To keep the adhesive from compressing unduly while the bundles are stacked during storage at high temperatures, the adhesive should be relatively hard as measured by the penetration at 115 F. A preferred location of the spots is to place one near each end of the sheet and one on each side of the cut-outs. The spots must not be of such width that they will be exposed when the next overlying course of shingles is applied. The nonadhering medium is likewise applied along the center line of the shingle but upon the back face. This may be done simultaneously with the application of the sealing adhesive or at a different time. The nonadhering material in a preferred embodiment is applied as a continuous band but substantially wider than the adhering spots so as to assure that none of the adhesive touches the shingle while in the bundle. One form of nonadhering material may be a thin coating of calcium stearate on an aluminum foil.

During application to a roof, the shingles are removed from the bundle which is tied with wire loops 17 passing around protective edge members 18, for example, and are nailed to the roof framework 19 without any additional steps, as shown in FIG. 4. The shingles need not be reversed and/ or turned over as required by some other systems of sealing shingles forming the subject of the prior art. After the roof has been applied, the sealing spots become tacky during warm days and ultimately adhere the but-ts to the shingles below. The butts being so secured will not blow up under severe wind conditions, thereby extending the life of the roof and preventing the formation of leaks.

While sealing spots 11 are shown, a single continuous lane of adhesive may be used, if desired, and if sealing spots are used, cooperating spots of nonadhering material may be used.

Asphalt wetting agent substances such as certain fatty acids having appropriate melting points may also be used as nonadhering agents in the layer 13 and will have the further advantage of assisting in the bonding of the as phalt adhesive to the shingle on the roof.

Stearic acid, palmitic acid, margaric acid and myristic acid are examples of these substances, having melting points within the range of about F. to 160 P. which have been found satisfactory. Mixtures of such acids as well as somewhat impure forms of such acids, so long as the melting point thereof is within the range indicated, may be used.

Asphalt strip shingles are made to withstand a temperature of 120 F. in the storage warehouse and at this temperature or below the fatty acids indicated will act as nonadhering agents similarly to waxes and will thus prevent bonding between shingles stacked together as described. After the shingles are applied to a roof, the temperature thereof rises above the 120" F. limit to about 150 F. or higher and at the appropriate temperature the particular fatty acid melts (stearic acidl57 F., palmitic acid F., margaric acid-142 F. and myristic acid129 F.). After melting, the fatty acid ceases to be a nonadhering agent and acts as a wetting agent for asphalt, thereby enabling the asphalt adhesive to more readily adhere to the adhering surface. In effect, a selective nonadherence and adherence effectively are obtained.

Referring to FIG. 3, it will be seen that when the shingles are packed in the mundle, the fatty acid layer in lane 13 will be in contact with the adhesive spots 11. Some of the fatty acid now in its unmelted form rubs off onto the adhesive spots and continues to adhere thereto when the shingles are taken from the bundle in the act of applying them to the roof. Referring now to FIG. 4, it will be seen that the spots of adhesive 11 having thereon a thin film of fatty acid will at first prevent the bonding of the butt portions 12 of the overlying shingle to the adhesive spots 11 for the reason already stated. However, when the temperature of the shingle rises due to solar radiation, the fatty acid film melts and wets the spot of asphalt adhesive 11 and thereby more readily enables the adhesive to adhere to the under surface of the butt portions of the overlying shingle.

The fatty acid may also be applied to the surface 0 the adhesive spots 11 as an alternative construction.

If found necessary, a layer of wax may be applied to the shingle first in lane 13 and the layer of fatty acid applied thereover both in the manner described.

In FIG. 5, shingles 10 of the construction described, including the lane 13 of nonadhering material, are packed, face down, in the carton 21 according to one form of practice. Since the adhesive material, not shown in this figure, is on the underside of the shingles as packed, the adhesive material on the shingle on the bottom of the stack comes into contact with the bottom of the carton and may, under some conditions, adhere thereto. To prevent this, a lane 22 of nonadhering material such as described is applied to the bottom of the carton as shown in such a position as to fully cover the lane or spots of adhesive material.

The carton 21 may extend substantially around the bundle of shingles as shown and the shingles and carton may be held together by wire loops 23, for example.

When shingles of nonuniform thickness, such as shingles having butt portions thicker than the head portions, are packed into bundles, it is customary to place a certain proportion of the shingles with their butt portions on the opposite side of the bundle, in order to have a substantially uniformly thick bundle. This may be achieved by reversing a bunch of shingles end for end While leaving the shingles in the same face-down or faceup relation as they were. Since the adhesive spots and the nonadhering layers run substantially centrally of the shingles, the relationship of these elements in the bundle according to the invention are maintained.

While particular embodiments of the invention have been shown, it will be understood, of course, that the invention is not limited thereto since many modifications may be made, and it is, therefore, contemplated by the appended claims to cover any such modifications as fall within the true spirit and scope of the invention.

The invention having thus been described, what is claimed and desired to be secured by Letters Patent is:

1. A bundle of self-sealing flexible shingles comprising strips of Weather resistant flexible material having cutouts extending partially inwardly from an edge thereof to form butt portions, each shingle having a face side and a back side, said shingles being adapted for application in overlapping relation to form a roof with the butt portions exposed, said shingles being characterized by a band of a sealing adhesive extending lengthwise across the face side of each shingle at a distance from said edge at least as great as the width of the butt portion and a band of nonadhering material extending across and being attached to the back side thereof in superimposed relation with and of a Width at least equal to that of said band of adhesive, said shingles being stacked in coinciding face to back relation whereby said band of adhesive upon the face of each shingle except the last shingle on the face side of said bundle is contiguous to the nonadhering band upon the back of an adjacent shingle, a cover disposed over the exposed face side of the last shingle in the bundle and presenting a nonadherent surface to the adhesive band on said last shingle, and including means for retaining said stacked shingles in a self-contained bundle.

2. A bundle of self-sealing flexible shingles comprising strips of weather resistant flexible material having cutouts extending partially inwardly from an edge thereof to form butt portions, each shingle having a face side and a back side, said shingles being adapted for application in overlapping relation to form a roof with the butt portions exposed, said shingles being characterized by a series of heat-softenable adhesive spots extending lengthwise across the face side of each shingle at a distance from said edge at least as great as the width of the butt portion and a band of nonadhering material extending across and being attached to the back side thereof in superimposed relation with and of a Width at least equal to that of said band of heat-softenable adhesive spots, said shingles being stacked in coinciding face to back relation whereby said band of heat-softenable adhesive spots upon the face of each shingle except the last shingle on the face side of said bundle is contiguous to the nonadhering band upon the back of an adjacent shingle, a cover disposed over the exposed face side of the last shingle in the bundle, and presenting a nonadherent surface to the adhesive band on said last shingle, and including means for retaining said stacked shingles in a self-contained bundle.

3. A bundle of self-sealing flexible shingles comprising strips of Weather resistant flexible material having head portions and butt portions, each shingle having a face side and a back side, said shingles being stacked in coinciding relation and all facing in the same direction, a band of sealing adhesive extending lengthwise across the face side of each shingle within the head portion thereof adjacent the juncture of said head portion and said butt portion, a cover disposed over the exposed face side of the last shingle on the face side of the bundle and presenting a nonadherent surface to the adhesive band on said last shingle, and a band of nonadhering material, of a width at least equal to the width of the bands of sealing adhesive, contiguous to and covering each of said bands of sealing adhesive on the other shingles of said bundle, said bands of nonadhering material extending across and being attached to the back sides of the respective overlying shingles, and means for retaining said stacked shingles in a self-contained bundle.

4. A bundle of self-sealing shingles as in claim 3 and wherein each of said bands of nonadhering material comprises a length of tape.

5. A bundle of self-sealing shingles as in claim 3 and wherein said bundle includes a carton, and said cover comprises a part of said carton.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,150,455 Rudolph et al. Aug. 17, 1915 1,168,986 Whittemore Ian. 18, 1916 1,460,833 Abraham July 3, 1923 2,173,989 Wilbur Sept. 26, 1939 2,210,209 Kirschbraun Aug. 6, 1940 2,300,488 Cuno Nov. 3, 1942 2,667,131 Clarvoe et a1. Jan. 26, 1954 2,863,405 Leibrook et al. Dec. 9, 1958

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