WO2004046485A1

WO2004046485A1 - A roofing assembly

Info

Publication number: WO2004046485A1
Application number: PCT/GB2002/005251
Authority: WO
Inventors: Richard Smith
Original assignee: Richard Smith
Priority date: 2002-11-21
Filing date: 2002-11-21
Publication date: 2004-06-03
Also published as: AU2002356264A1

Abstract

A roofing assembly comprises a plurality of tiles, each having a plurality of projecting formations and a plurality of complementary receiving formations, the tiles being interlockable using these formations to form at least part of a roof. The tiles may snap-fit together and to frame members that form additional support for the roof tiles. Alternatively, larger panels that snap-fit together may be used to form the roofing assembly.

Description

Title: A Roofing Assembly

Description of Invention

This invention relates to a roofing assembly and to a method of assembling tiles to form a roof.

Conventionally, roofing tiles are made from slate or clay and are nailed together to a roof frame. Construction of these roofs is a skilled job which necessitates a large amount of labour.

Roofs made from slate, or clay, are durable but individual tiles often break and require replacing. Again, this is a skilled job and thus can be expensive.

Alternative roofing systems, made from plastics materials, have been suggested, but these require the cementing or welding together of individual sheets which again is a skilled and somewhat laborious task.

According to a first aspect of this invention a roofing assembly comprising a plurality of tiles is provided, each tile having a plurality of projecting formations and a plurality of complimentary receiving formations, the tiles being interlockable using these formations to form at least part of a roof.

The tiles may be easily fitted together to form a weatherproof barrier and the tiles can be shaped to provide attractive designs. The tiles may be replaced easily when they fail, with no particular skill being required to do so. Additionally, using these tiles, a roof may be assembled faster and more easily than using conventional tiles.

The tiles may comprise thin slabs which overlap when the tiles are interlocked. Such tiles may resemble conventional tiles when the roof is assembled. The formations may be shaped in various ways to enable the tiles to interlock. Preferably, the tiles are snap-fitted together, but the tiles could alternately dovetail together or other interlocking formations could be used. In preferred embodiments the projecting formations are arranged in edge regions of each tile and the receiving formations are arranged in a central region of each tile. The formations may advantageously snap together easily and the formations may be invisible from the top when the tiles are interlocked.

Preferably the projecting formations comprise resilient lugs and the receiving formations comprise apertures, conveniently holes. The resilient lugs may advantageously snap into the apertures, and could easily be drilled through to remove a tile from the roof in the event that it is broken.

In a preferred embodiment of the invention the roofing assembly further comprises frame members, with which the tiles may be engaged and whereby a plurality of tiles may be secured to each frame member. The frame members may be provided with apertures and formations may be provided on the tiles, the formations comprising lugs, each lug having a resilient portion that in use secures the lug in an aperture on the frame member.

Such apertures and formations may advantageously enable the tiles to snap fit easily together and into the frame members. A complete roofing system which is light and weatherproof can be constructed easily.

Preferably the components of the roofing assembly are made of a plastics material, conveniently ultra high density polyvinyl chloride. These tiles provide a roof that is very resistant to knocks, and the individual tiles do not break easily. These tiles are light and energy efficient. They are easy to install and easy to clean. Furthermore they can be used to keep walls and ceilings inside the loft warm and dust free. In a roofing assembly such as those described above each tile may advantageously comprise a panel, moulded in one piece from a plastics material.

According to a second aspect of this invention a method of assembling a roof is provided comprising: assembling a frame from a plurality of plastic frame members; securing the plastic frame members to a building structure, and securing a plurality of moulded plastic tiles to the frame.

The method may advantageously further comprise securing successive layers of moulded plastic tiles together.

Preferably the plastic tiles are secured together and to the plastic members by resilient projecting formations and receiving formations.

According to this invention there is also provided a roofing tile for use in the invention set out above.

Preferred embodiments of roofing assemblies, selected by way of example, will now be described, with reference to the following drawings in which:

Figure 1 shows schematically an upper perspective view of a first embodiment of a roofing tile for a roofing assembly;

Figure 2 shows schematically the underside of the roofing tile of Figure i;

Figure 3 shows schematically a section view of the connection between two tiles showing the resilient lugs by which the roofing tiles connect together;

Figure 4 shows schematically the frame members of the roofing assembly;

Figure 5 shows schematically the frame members with tiles snap fitted over them;

Figure 6 shows schematically a ftuiher embodiment of a roofing assembly, showing the roofing panels; Figure 7 shows schematically a perspective view of a roof with the panels of Figure 6 installed on it;

Figure 8 shows schematically a roofing tile for the apex of the roof;

Figure 9 shows schematically further examples of such tiles:

Figure 9a shows schematically a perspective view of an apex tile;

Figure 10 shows schematically a finished roof having a window.

Figure 1 schematically an individual tile on which the roofing system is based.

The tile 10 is generally in the form of a thin rectangular slab. It has a leading, front edge 11 which is chamfered and two chamfered side edges 12. The rear edge 13 is at right angles to the top surface 14 of the tile.

The top surface 14 of the tile 10 has a generally featureless smooth surface containing two apertures 16 which extend through the tile. The underside 18 of the tile 10 is shown in more detail in Figure 2. A pair of resilient lugs 20a are formed on the underside adjacent to the front edge 11 of the tile whilst a second pair of lugs 20b are formed on the underside 18 adjacent to the rear edge 13 of the tile 10.

When the roof is constructed the front pair of lugs 20a are generally snapped into the holes in other tiles, whilst the rear pair of lugs 20b may be snapped into the horizontal or vertical members of the roof frame. The exception to this is at the front edge of the roof, as shown in Figure 5. The first row of tiles 38 have the front lugs snapped into a frame member 40. This holds the first row of tiles in place and successive layers of tiles may be built up from this first row of tiles as described in more detail below.

The resilient lugs 20 are formed close to the four corners of the tile, whilst the apertures 16 are formed in a central region of the tile. Thus the resilient lugs 20 can snap into the apertures when the tiles are joined since the tiles are staggered, as shown in more detail in Figure 5. The tile connecting lugs 20a at the front edge 11 of the tile are snapped into corresponding holes in two of the tiles 10 on a lower layer to secure the tiles together. The pair of lugs near to the rear edge 13 of the tile may be snap-fitted into apertures in the roof frame as appropriate during the construction of the roof.

Three of the four edges of the tiles are chamfered. The front edge of the tile 11 is chamfered for neatness, the top side 14 of the tile being longer than the underside 18 of the tile. The two side edges of the tile 12 are chamfered in the same direction, the top side 14 of the tile being either longer or shorter than the underside 18 of the tile in both cases.

The manner in which these tiles may be interconnected is shown in more detail in Figure 3. Figure 3a shows a side section through the roof whilst Figure 3b shows a front section through the roof. The resilient lugs may be pushed through the holes 16 of a corresponding tile. The holes 16 are slightly narrower than projections on the top portion of the lugs 22 and these projections spring outwards once they have been pushed through the hole 16. Thus the lug is snap-fitted into the hole and cannot be easily removed without the use of a tool. The rectangular cross-section of the lugs and holes, as shown in Figures 1 and 2, prevents the lug from twisting in the hole and maintains the tiles in an appropriate orientation during assembly of the roof.

Figure 3b illustrates how the chamfered edges of adjacent tiles interlock. There are two types of tile in this roofing system: a first type 10 which has a top side 14 wider than its bottom side 18 with side edges 12 that are chamfered accordingly; and a second type 21 which has a top side 23 less wide than its underside 25 with side edges 27 that are chamfered accordingly. The first type of tile 10 is interspersed with the second type of tile 21 as the roof is constructed. When placed together the two chamfers abut each other and form a relatively well sealed joint. Thus the tile may be firmly secured to a complementary tile or to one of the roof frame members or both.

Frame members of the roofing system are shown connected together in a frame 30 in Figure 4. Each frame member 32 may be connected to other frame members 32 via bolts which are placed in holes 34 in the frame members 32. Each of the frame members 32 also has complementary holes 36 into which the resilient lugs 20 may be snap fitted.

To assemble the roof the frame members are first assembled into a compete roof frame 30 as shown in Figure 4. The frame increases the strength of the roofing system. The tiles 10 are snapped onto the frame 34 as previously described. Figure 5 shows how the layers of tiles 10 are connected together, with considerable overlap between the layers.

A first layer of tiles 38 is positioned along the lower, front edge of the roof. The tiles 10 are snapped into the frame members 40. A second layer of tiles 42 is then fitted at staggered intervals over the first layer 38 so that each tile covers the join between tiles on the first layer 38. The resilient lugs 20 on the second layer of tiles 42 are pushed into the holes 16 on the first layer of tiles 38. Each of the resilient lugs 20 of a tile 10 on the second layer of tiles 42 pushes into a hole 16 on different tiles 10 of the first layer of tiles 38 so that each of the tiles on the second layer of tiles 42 snap fits into two different tiles in the first layer 38. The second layer of tiles 42 is thus staggered with respect to the first layer of tiles 38 so that joins 44 between the tiles are staggered between different layers of tiles. As with conventional roofs, this increases the weather-proofing of the roof.

A third layer 46 of tiles is then assembled in a similar manner and a fourth layer of tiles 48 is then secured to the third layer of tiles. The third layer of tiles, and every other successive layer of tiles secures to frame members which run horizontally to the roof. Successive layers of tiles are thus secured to each other to form a roof, until the apex of the roof is reached.

The frame member securing lugs on the back end of the tiles may also be used to secure the tiles to the vertical frame members 50 as shown in Figure 5. Alternatively the resilient lugs may snap through the corresponding tiles 10 and also through holes in the frame members, so that one lug secures the tile both to another tile and to a frame member.

Each layer of tiles overlaps the previous layer of tiles to some extent, by more than half of the area of the tile. If the tiles overlap each other to this extent the joins between the tiles are completely overlaid as in conventional roofs, and there are no gaps where rain may leak through.

A further embodiment of a tiling system for a roof using panels 52 is shown in Figure 6. In this embodiment each panel 52 comprises a plurality of integrally moulded tiles.

The panels shown in Figure 6 are a corner tile panel and a main panel 52. The panels extend along the whole width of the roof from the apex of the roof to the edge of the roof. Each panel 52 has a plurality of resilient lugs 54 arranged along its side which fit into corresponding holes 56 in another panel 52. The panels are fitted together by pushing them together sideways, they snap-fit together as with the tiles described previously. There are also holes 58 along a chamfered edge of the panels 52 for fitting them into the frame members of the roof. The frame members in this embodiment have resilient lugs arranged along their length.

Figure 7 shows schematically an example of these moulded panels, which are fitted onto the frame to form a roof. These panels may be used to greatly speed up the roofing process and less skill is required to fit them together than with conventional roofs. The corners of the roof are provided with hollow frame members 59 into which the tiles or panels may fit. The apex of the roof is covered with ridge tiles 60 and decorative members 62. The ridge tiles 60 are shown in more detail in Figure 8. As can be seen from the Figure resilient lugs on the bottom of each ridged tile 60 fit into place in the complementary holes in the top layer of tiles. The ridge tiles are simply snap fitted into these holes in the tiles on either side of the apex of the roof, and the decorative members snap-fitted onto the ridge tiles.

Finally Figure 10 shows a complete roof in place together with a double glazed window 68 which is made of transparent uPVC. The window has the same resilient lugs and holes as the tiles or roof panels and is snap-fitted into the tiles or roof panels as the roof is assembled.

Figure 11 shows schematically an alternative embodiment of a roofing system that uses a dovetail to fit two tiles together. Each tile 70 has two holes 72 and two projections 74. The projections slide into a corresponding hole on the other tile to dovetail the tiles together. The tongue and groove arrangement may secure the dovetail more firmly in place. The tiles may be staggered as in a conventional roofing system and a snap-fit tongue and groove arrangement can enable greater security of the tiles.

The roofing assemblies described above maybe easily moulded from a plastic material, and are usually moulded from ultra high density polyvinyl chloride. The way in which they interconnect and the material of their manufacture enables them to provide a light, weatherproof roof that is easily to construct and is aesthetically pleasing.

As the skilled reader will recognise many improvements and alterations can be made to the roofing assembly systems outlined above without departing from the scope of the invention. In the present specification "comprises" means "includes or consists of and "comprising" means "including or consisting of.

The features disclosed in the foregoing description, or the following claims, or the accompanying drawings, expressed in their specific forms or in terms of a means for performing the disclosed function, or a method or process for attaining the disclosed result, as appropriate, may, separately, or in any combination of such features, be utilised for realising the invention in diverse forms thereof.

Claims

1. A roofing assembly comprising a plurality of tiles, each having a plurality of projecting formations and a plurality of complementary receiving formations, the tiles being interlockable using these formations to form at least part of a roof.

2. A roofing assembly according to any preceding claim in which the tiles comprise t ti slabs which overlap when the tiles are interlocked.

3. A roofing assembly according to any preceding claim in which the tiles snap-fit together.

4. A roofing assembly according to Claim 3 in which the receiving formations comprise apertures and the projecting formations comprise lugs, each lug having a resilient portion that, in use, secures the lug in an aperture on a corresponding tile.

5. A roofing assembly according to Claim 1 in which the tiles dovetail together.

6. A roofing assembly according to Claim 4 in which the projecting formations are in edge regions and the receiving formations are in a central region of the underside of each tile.

7. A roofing assembly according to any preceding claim firrther comprising frame members, with which the tiles may be engaged and whereby a plurality of tiles may be secured to each frame member.

8. A roofing assembly according to any preceding claim made of a plastics material.

9. A roofing assembly according to Claim 9 in which the plastics material is uPVC.

10. A roofing assembly according to any preceding claim in which each tile comprises a panel, moulded in one piece from a plastic material that extends from the apex to the edge of the roof.

11. A method of assembling a roof comprising: assembling a frame from a plurality of plastic members; securing the plurality of plastic frame members to a building structure, and securing a plurality of moulded plastic tile to the frame.

12. A method of assembling a roof according to Claim 11 further comprising securing successive layers of the moulded plastic tiles together.

13. A method according to Claim 11 or 12 in which the plastic tiles are secured to the plastic members by resilient projecting formations and the plastic tiles are interlocked by complementary resilient projecting and receiving formations.

14. A moulded roofing tile suitable for use in the assembly of Claims 1 to 10, or for use in the method of Claims 11 to 13.

15. A roofing assembly substantially as hereinbefore described and as illustrated in the accompanying drawings.

16. A method of assembling a roof substantially as hereinbefore described and as illustrated in the accompanying drawings.

17. Any novel feature or novel combination of features described herein and/or in the accompanying drawings.