US3902280A

US3902280A - Prefabricated roofing systems

Info

Publication number: US3902280A
Application number: US528200A
Authority: US
Inventors: Lynn Michael Spoar; Andrew Steven Zakrzewski
Original assignee: Dominion Foundries and Steel Ltd
Current assignee: Dominion Foundries and Steel Ltd
Priority date: 1973-12-05
Filing date: 1974-11-29
Publication date: 1975-09-02
Anticipated expiration: 1992-09-02
Also published as: GB1477140A; CA1014321A

Abstract

In a prefabricated roofing system using steel members and intended for rapid fabrication locating means such as vertical protruding pins are provided on each of two parallel end walls, and a longitudinal roof truss member is mounted on these pins extending between the two walls. Gable members are then mounted over the locating means in register with the walls and are then locked to the adjacent ends of the roof truss member.

Description

United States Patent 1 1 1111 3,902,280

Spear et a1. Sept. 2, 1975 PREFABRICATED ROOFING SYSTEMS 2,943,366 7/1960 Sanford 52/643 x 3,312,018 4/1967 Fourmanoit 52/90 [75] Inventors Mlchael SP0", Tharflesfordi 3,841,040 10 1974 Toulson et a1. 52 92 Andrew Steven Zakrzewskn, Burlington, both of Canada FOREIGN PATENTS OR APPLICATIONS 1,432,691 2/1966 France 52/92 [73] Asslgnee' gfiza ifi' fgl i i f 959,642 10/1949 France 52/90 Filed: 1 1974 Primary Examiner-4. Karl Bell [21] AppL NOJ 528,200 Attorney, Agent, or Firm-Stanley .1. Rogers 30 Foreign Application Priority Data [57] ABSTRACT Dec. 5, 1973 United Kingdom 56375/73 In a Prefabricated roofing System using Steel members and intended for rapid fabrication locating means such 52 us. c1. 59/92; 52/585; 52/643 as vertical protruding Pills are provided on each of 51 Int. 01. E04B 7/02 two parallel end walls, n a longitudinal roof truss 58 Field of Search 52/90 93, 639, member is mounted on these pills extending between 52/643 47 54, 5 5 the two walls. Gable members are then mounted over the locating means in register with the walls and are 5 References Cited then locked to the adjacent ends of the roof truss UNITED STATES PATENTS member- 2,7l4,782 8/1955 Dinn 52/92 X 11 Claims, 3 Drawing Figures PATENTEUSEP 2 ms SHEET 2 [If 2 PREFABRICATED ROOFING SYSTEMS The present invention is concerned with improvements in or relating to prefabricated roofn g systems, and especially to such systems employing prefabricated steel members.

There have been a number of proposals hitherto for systems employing different degrees of prefabrication for houses and similar structures. These proposals range from a small amount of prefabrication, such as prefabrication of the roof trusses, to complete manufacture of a house within a plant and subsequent transport of the completed house to the site. There is also a continuing endeavour to make use of steel in the construction of domestic housing, in view of the shortage of suitable woods at a reasonable price. The use of steel increases the possibility of economically using prefabricated housing sections, but many of the structures used hitherto appear to be relatively complicated in the manner in which the prefabricated sections fit and are connected together, increasing the expense of manufacture and the difficulty of erection without the use of relatively skilled labour.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a new prefabricated roofing system employing steel members.

It is a more specific object to provide a new prefabricated roofing system employing steel members that is particularly suited for use in domestic housing.

It is a further object to provide a prefabricated roof structure that can be quickly and simply erected with positive alignment of the parts thereof and without the use of special equipment or fixtures on site.

In accordance with the present invention there is provided a prefabricated roofing system comprising two spaced parallel walls, locating means disposed on each wall, a longitudinal roof truss member extending between and supported by the two walls, and engaging the said locating means at its opposite ends to locate the truss member in position relative to the walls, and two gable members each registerable with one of the walls and engaging the said locating means, and means for locking together each gable member and its adjacent truss end.

Preferably the longitudinal truss member is provided with respective projecting end members for engagement of the truss with the locating means on the walls so as to permit location of the gable members on the walls with the truss member ends abutting the gable members.

The said locating means may comprise a pair of spaced vertically-extending pins disposed centrally of the length of the respective wall, and another pair of verticallyextending pins each disposed adjacent one end of the respective wall, the central pins being longer than the other pins.

Means for locking together each gable member and its adjacent truss end may comprise a horizontal member on the gable member engaging a bracket adjacent the top of the truss end, and means fastening the horizontal member and the bracket together.

In a system including roof panels extending between each immediately adjacent pair of gable members, the means for securing each panel to its respective gable member may comprise at least one headed pin extending generally vertically from each gable member, each pin being engageable by a respective pear-shaped aperture of the panel member, each aperture having its narrow end uppermost and of too small diameter to pass over the head of the pin.

A roofing system which is a particularly preferred embodiment of the invention will now be described, by way of example, with reference to the accompanying diagrammatic drawings, wherein:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a complete house to show the general arrangement of the roof structure,

FIG. 2 is an exploded view showing one end only of the structure with a longitudinal truss member in position and an end gable member positioned for mounting thereon, and

FIG. 3 is an exploded perspective view to a larger scale to show a constructional detail of the manner in which roof members are mounted on the end gable members.

FIG. 1 illustrates one of the simplest types of housing unit to which the roofing system of the present invention is likely to be applied, consisting of a structure that is rectangular in plan comprising two end walls 10 and two side walls 12. The entire :roof structure is located above the insulation envelope of the house, and accordingly the top edges of the

walls

10 and 12 are constituted by at least one layer 114 of material providing a suitable thermal break, so that the layer or layers are interposed between the walls and the members sup ported thereby.

At the centre of each of the two end walls there is provided a respective fixture 16, which is fastened to the wall by any suitable means (not shown) and has two longer locating pins 18 extending vertically upward therefrom. A lightweight central locating truss member is indicated generally by the reference 20 and is constituted by vertical end posts 22, parallel horizontal longitudinal bars 24 and transverse bracing members, such as 26. Each vertical truss end post is fastened at its bottom end to a horizontally-extending plate 28 provided with locating apertures 30, which fit accurately over the locating pins 18. With the truss 20 in position the two end walls 10 are firmly braced apart thereby at the required distance to receive prefabricated roof panels. The top edges of the walls 10 are also provided adjacent to the walls 12 with members 32 carrying verticallyupward projecting locating pins 34, the pins 34 being of shorter length than the pins 18.

An end gable truss is indicated generally by the reference 36 and is constituted by a horizontal bottom member 38, two inclined members 40 and vertical struts 42. The bottom member 38 is provided with locating holes 44 for engagement on the

pins

18 and 34 and will first engage the pins 18, because of their longer length. Thereafter the other holes 44 are readily engaged on the pins 34, and with all pins engaged the gable end is located accurately in position on top of the wall and is also accurately located in its abutting relation to the longitudinal truss, while locking the end plate 28 to the wall. A horizontal member 46 between the two central struts 42 engages a bracket 48 on the adjacent end post 22 and is fastened thereto, for example by bolting.

It will be seen that a rigid, cross-braced frame structure is now provided upon which rectangular roof panels 50 may be located. As indicated above the truss member 20 is of relatively light construction, since its principal purpose is to brace the end gables which support the roof panels; the truss may also receive and support ceiling supporting beams. In view of the small size of the unit particularly illustrated only a single longitudinal truss and two gable end members 36 are required, but it will be apparent that in larger structures one or more intermediate gable members may be used, and in addition more than one longitudinal truss may be employed.

Referring now especially to FIG. 3, each roof panel preferably consists of a rectangular structure formed of a plurality of shallow C-section joists 52 connected at their ends by a header 54 and covered on the upper face with a sheet 55 of a suitable material such as plywood. A supporting flange 56 extends from each header 54 and is provided with a down-turned retaining edge 58. Each locating flange is provided with one or more pear-shaped locating holes 60, each of which can engage with a corresponding headed locating pin 62 on the inclined member 40 of a corresponding gable truss. Thus, the lower roof panel members 50 are first lowered into position until the holes engage over the pins, and thereafter the panels are slid downwards until the pins engage in the smaller ends of the pear-shaped holes, these ends being too small for the pin heads to pass through. The pins quickly and accurately locate the panels, while the heads prevent any lifting of the panels, for example by winds, so that a safe structure is immediately obtained. The crane used to lift the panels into position may now be disengaged without danger that the roof decks will move out of position. A second upper set of roof panel members 50 may then be placed in position with spacing bars 64 in between accurately locating them relative to the first-mentioned panels 50. Thereafter the gaps between the panels are filled with strips of suitable material, such as plywood, to give a continuous surface to which conventional roofing such as shingles can be applied.

In the embodiment illustrated the roof decks span between the two gable walls 36, which are end walls, and have their side flanges 56 placed over the top of the gable walls. In other embodiments the edges of the panels may rest directly upon the members 40 of the gables which will be correspondingly shorter in length. The plywood cover on the roof decks is locally cut out around the hole to permit passage of the locating pins. At any convenient time the roof panels can be permanently secured to the gable walls by screws or by welding together the abutting metal members.

We claim:

1. A prefabricated roofing system comprising two spaced parallel walls, locating means disposed on each wall, a longitudinal roof truss member extending between and supported by the two walls, and engaging the said locating means at its opposite ends to locate the truss member in position relative to the walls, and two gable members each registerable with one of the walls and engaging the said locating means, and means for locking together each gable member and its adjacent truss end.

2. A roofing system as claimed in claim 1, wherein the longitudinal truss member is provided with respective projecting end members for engagement of the truss with the locating means on the walls so as to permit location of the gable members on the walls with the truss member ends abutting the gable members.

3. A roofing system as claimed in claim 1, wherein the said locating means comprise a pair of spaced vertically-extending pins disposed centrally of the length of the respective wall, and another pair of verticallyextending pins each disposed adjacent one end of the respective wall, the central pins being longer than the other pins.

4. A roofing system as claimed in claim 2, wherein the said locating means comprise a pair of spaced vertically-extending pins disposed centrally of the length of the respective wall, and another pair of verticallyextending pins each disposed adjacent one end of the respective wall, the central pins being longer than the other pins.

5. A roofing system as claimed in claim 1, wherein means for locking together each gable member and its adjacent truss end comprise a horizontal member on the gable member engaging a bracket adjacent the top of the truss end, and means fastening the horizontal member and the bracket together.

6. A roofing system as claimed in claim 2, wherein means for locking together each gable member and its adjacent truss end comprise a horizontal member on the gable member engaging a bracket adjacent the top of the truss end, and means fastening the horizontal member and the bracket together.

7. A roofing system as claimed in claim 3, wherein means for locking together each gable member and its adjacent truss end comprise a horizontal member on the gable member engaging a bracket adjacent the top of the truss end, and means fastening the horizontal member and the bracket together.

8. A roofing system as claimed in claim 1, including roof panels extending between each immediately adjacent pair of gable members, wherein the means for securing each panel to its respective gable member comprise at least one headed pin extending generally vertically from each gable member, each pin being engageable by a respective pear-shaped aperture of the panel member, each aperture having its narrow end uppermost and of too small diameter to pass over the head of the pin.

9. A roofing system as claimed in claim 2, including roof panels extending between each immediately adjacent pair of gable members, wherein the means for securing each panel to its respective gable member comprise at least one headed pin extending generally vertically from each gable member, each pin being engageable by a respective pear-shaped aperture of the panel member, each aperture having its narrow end uppermost and of too small diameter to pass over the head of the pin.

10. A roofing system as claimed in claim 3, including roof panels extending between each immediately adjacent pair of gable members, wherein the means for se curing each panel to its respective gable member comprise at least one headed pin extending generally vertically from each gable member, each pin being engageable by a respective pear-shaped aperture of the panel member, each aperture having its narrow end uppermost and of too small diameter to pass over the head of the pin.

1 l. A roofing system as claimed in claim 5, including roof panels extending between each immediately adjacent pair of gable members, wherein the means for securing each panel to its respective gable member comprise at least one headed pin extending generally vertically from each gable member, each pin being engageable by a respective pear-shaped aperture of the panel member, each aperture having its narrow end uppermost and of too small diameter to pass over the head of the pin.

Claims

3. A roofing system as claimed in claim 1, wherein the said locating means comprise a pair of spaced vertically-extending pins disposed centrally of the length of the respective wall, and another pair of vertically-extending pins each disposed adjacent one end of the respective wall, the central pins being longer than the other pins.

4. A roofing system as claimed in claim 2, wherein the said locating means comprise a pair of spaced vertically-extending pins disposed centrally of the length of the respective wall, and another pair of vertically-extending pins each disposed adjacent one end of the respective wall, the central pins being longer than the other pins.

10. A roofing system as claimed in claim 3, including roof panels extending between each immediately adjacent pair of gable members, wherein the means for securing each panel to its respective gable member comprise at least one headed pin extending generally vertically from each gable member, each pin being engageable by a respective pear-shaped aperture of the panel member, each aperture having its narrow end uppermost and of too small diameter to pass over the head of the pin.

11. A roofing system as claimed in claim 5, including roof panels extending between each immediately adjacent pair of gable members, wherein the means for securing each panel to its respective gable member comprise at least one headed pin extending generally vertically from each gable member, each pin being engageable by a respective pear-shaped aperture of the panel member, each aperture having its narrow end uppermost and of too small diameter to pass over the head of the pin.