US3545147A

US3545147A - Sheet metal roofing panel

Info

Publication number: US3545147A
Application number: US747705A
Authority: US
Inventors: Ray Eastham; Irvin E Goertzer
Original assignee: Winbro Inc
Current assignee: Winbro Inc
Priority date: 1968-07-25
Filing date: 1968-07-25
Publication date: 1970-12-08
Anticipated expiration: 1987-12-08

Description

Dec. 8., 1970 EASTHAM ETAL 3,545,147

' SHEET METAL ROOFING PANEL Filed July 25, 1968 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 FIG. 2' a; 24x f a; V9

g FIG. 4

IN V/LN'IURS RAY EASTHAM IRVIN E. GOERTZER ATTORNEY Dec. 8, 1970 R. EASTHAM ETAL 3,545,147

. SHEET METAL ROOFING PANEL I Filed July 25, 1968 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 FIG. 8

BY E 7 ATTORNEY United States Patent 3,545,147 SHEET METAL ROOFING PANEL Ray Eastham and Irvin E. Goertzer, Halstead, Kans., assignors to Winbro Incorporated, Michigan City, Ind., a corporation of Indiana Filed July 25, 1968, Ser. No. 747,705 Int. Cl. B61d 17/12; E04d 1/36 U.S. CI. 52-96 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE Sheet metal roofing material for mobile homes, trailers and similar shaped structures in which the sheet metal is preformed and is provided with angularly extending flanges along each side for folding over the upper edge of the side walls of the structure to which it is to be applied. The flanges are formed at such an angle, relative to the plane of the center portion of the material, that the material can readily be rolled into a coil for shipping and handling.

In the trailer and mobile home industry, large panels of material are used to form roofs, and these panels are normally fabricated from strips of sheet metal two or three feet in width, joined together along their lateral edges by water tight joints. The panel material, which is shipped in rolls, is furnished to the builder in the desired width to cover the vehicle top and to extend downwardly a few inches over the upper margin of the side walls, and

is cut into the lengths required to extend continuouslyfrom one end of the vehicle to the other. Difiiculty has been experienced in the past in bending or folding the lateral edges of a panel downwardly along the sides after the material has been laid onto the vehicle top, the difficulty partially being caused by the multiple layer structure at the joints and by lack of any uniform and firm support along the line on which the material is creased. Thus, the crease is often irregular and without a distinct line at the bend from one end of the vehicle to the other. It is therefore one of the principal objects of the invention to provide a roofing panel material which is fabricated to provide a break along the edges of the material so that a distinct line forms where the panel material is folded downwardly over the upper marginal edge of the side walls, and which can readily be reformed during installation to the contour of the vehicle roof structure.

Another object of the invention is to provide, in a roofing panel material composed of a series of sections joined together by joints of overlapping material, a structure which facilitates installation of the panel on the vehicle with the lateral edges folded downwardly along the sides thereof, and which can readily be formed in the panel material during the fabricating operation.

Still another object of the invention is to provide a panel material of the aforesaid type containing the structure for forming the downward folding margin, which can readily be coiled into an easily handled roll and which can thereafter be applied to the vehicle structure using standard equipment and tools.

A further object of the invention is to provide a roofing material having sections joined together by multiple thickness joints, which can effectively be folded along lines transverse to the joints without damaging the joints or causing any appreciable irregularities in the line on which the crease is made, and which can quickly be installed with attractive marginal edges extending the length of the vehicle on opposite sides thereof.

Additional objects and advantages of the invention will become apparent from the following description and accompanying drawings, wherein:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the upper portion of ice a mobile home showing the present roofing structure secured thereto;

FIG. 2 is an end view of the structure shown in FIG. 1 with the roofing structure partially applied to the vehicle body;

FIG. 3 is a top plan view of the present roofing structure before it is applied to the vehicle body;

FIG. 4 is an edge view of the roofing panel structure shown in FIGS. 2 and 3 before it is secured to the support structure for the roof while in the final fabricated condition;

FIG. 5 is an enlarged fragmentary plan view of the roofing panel;

FIG. 6 is a fragmentary edge view of the roofing portion shown in FIG. 5;

FIG. 7 is an enlarged view of the joint used to secure the sections of the panel together, the section of FIG. 7 being taken on line 7-7 of FIG. 5 and FIG. 8 is a drawing of the machine elements used in the formation of a portion of the roofing panel.

Referring more specifically to the drawings, numeral 10 indicates generally a mobile home structure having side and

end walls

12 and 14 and a roofing structure on which the present roofing panel material 16 has been applied. For the purpose of the present invention, the mobile home structure may be considered conventional, with sheet metal material covering the side and end walls, over which the marginal edges or

flanges

18 and 20 of the roofing panel extend.

The roofing panel material is of the fabricated type consisting of a plurality of sections 22 positioned transversely on the top of the vehicle. The sections are joined together along their edges by a joint 24, and consist of standard sheet metal, preferably of 28 or 30 inch widths of 12 to 20 gauge material, the width and gauge being varied from one panel to another depending upon the intended use to which the panel will be put. The sheet metal is normally of the standard galvanized material delivered in relatively large rolls from which sections of the desired length to produce the required width of the panel are severed.

The present joint 24 employed to secure sections 22 together in the manner illustrated in the drawings consists of flanges 30 and 32 turned in a substantially U-shaped form to cover the adjacent edges of the respective sections. The inner edges of the two sections are placed sideby-side, preferably substantially together, and a slip-cap 34 having a back 36 and two inwardly extending

flanges

38 and 40 is slipped longitudinally along flanges 30 and 32 with

flanges

38 and 40 being positioned between the flanges on the panel section and the main body portion of the panel. The slip-cap 34 with sealing strip 42 on the internal side of back 36, is assembled in place with

flanges

38 and 40 interlocking with flanges 30' and 32, respectively, and the joint is rolled or otherwise pressed to deform the flanges, i.e. bending the two flanges together against the respective portions of the panel sections and slip-cap. This results in the structure shown in FIG. 7 with the flanges firmly interlocking one another and the slip-cap securely holding the two panels together. When the joint has been formed in the manner shown in FIG. 7, the two panel sections are rigidly held together and prevented from slipping or otherwise moving, either longitudinally or transversely in the joint, relative to one another. During the deforming operation, the sealing strip 42 is extruded outwardly through the small space 44 between the panel sections and also laterally on the internal surface of back 36 of cap 34. When the panel 16 has been formed, it is a continuous length consisting of the parallel side-by-side sections connected by the joints 24, and the material is rolled continuously into a coil which can be conveniently handled and shipped.

During the formation of the roofing material in the foregoing manner and after the joints have been fully formed, the lateral edges of the sheet material are bent downwardly at crease 50, forming

creases

50 and 52 and

flanges

54 and 56. The flanges may be at various angular positions; however, a distinct bend or crease at 50 is preferably formed in the sheet material and across the joints. In view of the structure of the joints, previously described herein, the creasing'and folding of the sheet material to form the

flanges

54 and 56 do not distort or deform the joints in any way which would cause leakage or other failure.

The manner in which

flanges

54 and 56 and the

respective creases

50 and 52 may be formed is illustrated in FIG. 8. In this arrangement, the sheet material, including sections 22 and the interconnecting joints 24, is supported on a conveyor structure 60 having rollers 62 thereon engaged by the underside of the sheet material. The edges of the sheet material project laterally and pass between a pair of

operating rollers

64 and 66 mounted on

shafts

68 and 70. The rollers are supported by a mechanism 72 having a pivoted arm 74 for roller 64 and shaft 68 and a rigid arm 76 for roller 66 and shaft 70. Arm 74 is pivoted on pin 78 and is urged in the direction to cause the roller to move toward the other roller by a coil spring 82 reacting between the outer ends of members 74 and 76. The two rollers have

cylindrical portions

84 and 86 and conical portions 88 and 90, respectively. As the material passes between the rollers, the conical portions deflect the edge of the sheet material to form flange 54 on one side and flange 56 on the other side of the material. In order to permit the thicker material at the joints to pass between the rollers,'the arm 74 is pivoted on the pin 78 and the two rollers are yieldably held in clamping relationship by the spring 82. Another set of identical rollers and supports therefor is also employed on the opposite side of the sheet material.

After the material has been formed in the foregoing manner, it is coiled and shipped to the mobile home manufacturer. The material is then uncoiled and laid onto the roof structure of a mobile home with

flanges

54 and 56 extending downwardly over the sides of the mobile home and with

creases

50 and 52 parallel to and in the proximity of the joint of juncture between the roof and side structures. Since the fabricated sheet material is rolled into a coil for shipping and handling, the flanges should not be bent from the plane of the center portion 96 more than about 45 When the material has been placed on top of the roof structure in the foregoing manner, the sides of the flanges are bent downwardly firmly against the upper edge of the side structure, overlapping the metal siding material, and are secured in place by screws, nails, or other suitable securing means.

The crease along each side facilitates proper locating of the roofing material on the supporting structure, thus reducing the installation time and providingbetter conformity of the material to the support throughout the length of the roof. The flanges can easily be pressed inwardly without any tools or equipment, and conveniently held in place while they are beingsecured to the side wall.

While only one embodiment of the present invention has been described in detail herein, various changes and modifications may be made without departing from the scope of the invention.

We claim:

1. Sheet metal roofing material for subsequent installation on mobile homes, trailers and similarly shaped structures, comprising: a center portion having a width substantially the same as the width of the structure to be covered and formed of a plurality of adjacent sections, each extending transversely across said center portion and in side-by-side relation along the length of such center portion; mechanical joints connecting said sections to one another prior to installation upon the mobile homes and like structures; and a pre-formed flange joined integrally to and extending along each side outwardly from the center portion, along the length thereof, each such flange extending at an acute angle in the same direction from the plane of the center portion of the material.

2. Sheet metal roofing material as defined in claim 1 in which said pre-formed flanges alongthe sides of said center portion comprise integral extensions of said sections which are deformed with respect thereto.

3. Sheet metal roofing material as defined in claim 2 in which said sections have a distinct crease marking the juncture of said center portion and said integral flange extensions and comprising a line of deformation therebetween.

4. Sheet metal roofing material as defined in claim 1 in which said pre-formed flanges are resiliently bendable with respect to said center portion, such that the flanged material can be coiled for shipment.

5. Sheet metal roofing material as defined in claim 4, wherein said jointed sections are successively coiled about one another and define a roll form.

6. A method of manufacturing sheet metal roofing for subsequent installation, comprising the steps: arranging a succession of mutually distinct sheet metal panels in laterally-adjacent, edge-to-edge relation and securing the same together along their adjacent edges to form a unitary structure; and forming the free unsecured end edges of said panels making up said unitary roofing structure generally at the time such panels are secured and prior to installation thereof to form offset flange portions extending at an acute angle with respect to the central portion of such structure.

7. The method as defined in claim 6, including the step of coiling the secured and flanged unitary panel structure into a roll, for shipment.

8. The method as defined in claim 6, wherein said free panel edges are bent to form said flange portions.

9. The method as defined in claim 8, wherein said panel edges are bent by passing the same through pressure rollers.

10. The method as defined in claim 8, wherein said free edges of said panels are bent to form said flange portions after the attachment of one such panel to another.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 749,943 1/1904 McEvoy 52528 949,838 2/1910 Pearson 5256 2,406,559 8/ 1946 Oakes 5299 3,148,481 9/1964 Swann 5256X 3,213,583 10/1965 Winski 52472X 3,428,170 2/1969 Nyborg 20660 2,986,193 5'/1961 Howell 52745 ALFRED C. PERHAM, Primary Examiner U.S. Cl. X.R.