WO2022055380A1

WO2022055380A1 - Modular roofing panel and method of installing roof covering

Info

Publication number: WO2022055380A1
Application number: PCT/PL2021/050065
Authority: WO
Inventors: Mariusz Lach
Original assignee: Blachprofil 2 Spolka Z Ograniczona Odpowiedzialnoscia
Priority date: 2020-09-10
Filing date: 2021-09-09
Publication date: 2022-03-17
Also published as: PL435257A1

Abstract

The subject-matter of the present invention is a modular roofing panel a body (1) of which is made of sheet metal and comprising a main plane, two transverse edges (5a, 5b) and two side edges (4a, 4b), wherein the transverse edges (5a, 5b) have bends (6, 7), i.e. an upper bend (6) and a lower bend (7), one of which is bent downward towards the lower surface (3) and the other is bent upward towards the upper surface (2), where the lower and upper bends (6, 7) form so-called flat lock seam formed by joining the appropriate transverse edges (5a, 5b) of adjacent roofing panels during roof installation, and wherein the body (1) together with the male leg (9), the female leg (8), the upper bend (6) and the lower bend (7) constitutes a completely prefabricated machine-stamped component.

Description

Modular roofing panel and method of installing roof covering

Technical field

The invention generally relates to the field of construction products used as roofing material or building facades. More particularly, the invention relates to a modular roofing panel made of sheet metal and a method of installing roof covering with such modular roofing panels which are joined by so-called snap lock.

Background

One of the oldest techniques used in the construction of roof coverings is the standing seam roofing. Standing seam sheet metal roofing requires specialized know-how in the field of roofing work and the need to use many tools (such as pliers, tongs, bending machine, scissors, etc.) to cut sheet metal to the appropriate size, form locks for panels to be joined and bend the edges into a seam.

Due to an ever-smaller number of specialized roofers who can install roof coverings with the traditional standing seam roofing method, and in order to facilitate work and shorten the working time of roofers, sheet metal roofing panels with so-called snap lock seam have been developed. A snap lock roofing panel has the form of a pre-prefabricated sheet metal stamped in the factory with special presses, having suitably profiled side edges which are joined by a snap lock. This solution does not require bending seams, but the panels still require some sheet metal working related to cutting the locks or bending the transverse edges when joining the panels along the length of the roof.

Polish patent application P.423222 discloses a roofing panel comprising on its left side a hump forming a female leg, the end part of which is bent at an acute angle inwardly, on its right side a hump forming a male leg terminated with a mounting strip, and the upper and lower side of the panel are elongated. A similar panel joining system is disclosed, for example, in US patent application US5519974A.

The modern technology of joining snap lock roofing panels makes roofing construction much easier, but due to the limited possibilities of cutting and processing panels with pre-formed snap lock seam, such panels usually have to be customized for the individual size of the roof, and in the case of joining transverse edges along the length of the roof - additional sheet metal working is needed, typically consisting in cutting out the locks and bending the edges or just bending the edges.

Therefore, there are no solutions on the market in the form of modular sheet metal roofing panels which would enable installation of roofing without professional roofing knowledge and specialized tools, and at the same time would be a standard modular product with uniform dimensions delivered in packets that would allow installation of roofing or facade on buildings with various dimensions.

Summary of the invention

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a modular roofing panel a body of which is made of sheet metal and comprising: a main plane having an upper surface and a lower surface, which main plane is to be arranged substantially parallel to the plane of the roof; two transverse edges, the first of which being an upper edge and the other being a lower edge; two side edges, i.e. a left edge and a right edge, wherein one side edge is formed into a male leg, and the other side edge is formed into a female leg, which together form so-called snap lock seam formed by joining the appropriate side edges of adjacent roofing panels during roof installation, wherein the transverse edges have bends, i.e. an upper bend and a lower bend, one of which is bent downward towards the lower surface and the other is bent upward towards the upper surface, where the lower and upper bends form so- called flat lock seam formed by joining the appropriate transverse edges of adjacent roofing panels during roof installation, wherein the body together with the male leg, the female leg, the upper bend and the lower bend constitutes a completely prefabricated machine-stamped component.

Preferably, the lower and the upper bends on the transverse edges, i.e. on the lower edge and the upper edge, comprise a first section with semicircular cross section and a second straight section connected thereto, extending substantially parallel to the main plane of the body.

In a preferred embodiment of the invention, the male leg comprises a first standing wall connected to the side edge, which first standing wall has a longitudinally extending snap lock socket for receiving an engaging element of the female leg to form a snap lock joint, a second standing wall connected to the first standing wall and a mounting strip comprising a plurality of openings connected to the second standing wall, which mounting strip extends substantially parallel with respect to the main plane of the body.

In a preferred embodiment of the invention, the female leg comprises a first standing wall connected to the side edge, a second standing wall connected to the first standing wall, the second standing wall having an engaging element, especially in the shape of a hook or a lip bent inwardly, which engaging element is pressed into a snap lock socket of the male leg to form a snap lock joint.

To facilitate locking of the transverse edges of the adjoining roofing panels, the side edges constituting the male leg and the female leg may have at their ends locks facing the upper bend.

In one of the preferred embodiments, the lock is formed by flattening the walls of the male leg or the female leg.

In another preferred embodiment, the lock has the form of a cutout formed in the side edge which constitutes the male leg or the female leg.

To seal the snap lock seam, the side edges are terminated with a stopper in the form of a vertical wall that is bent after the roofing panels are joined.

In a preferred embodiment of the invention, the roofing panel may have a seal to prevent water penetration into the flat lock seam.

For example, the seal may have the form of a seal extending along the free edges of at least one of the bends.

In another preferred embodiment, the seal is positioned in the gaps between the at least one bend and the male leg and the female leg.

In an even more preferred embodiment, the seal is positioned in the gap between the lower bend and/or the upper bend as well as the male leg and the female leg, and more particularly between the shorter bend edge parallel to the side edge and the first standing wall of the male leg and the female leg.

The seal is preferably made of material which is a water penetration-resistant plastic, and is machine produced.

The modular roofing panel may also have a noise attenuation layer, e.g. in the form of a piece of tape that is placed on the lower surface of the body. The noise attenuation layer reduces the sounds emitted due to the contact of the roofing panels with the roof surface as a result of thermal expansion of the sheet metal and the influence of weather conditions (rain, wind, snow, etc.).

According to a second aspect, the present invention relates to a method of installing a roof covering consisting in joining a plurality of roofing panels by snap locks. The method comprises the following steps: providing a plurality of modular roofing panels according to the first invention; installing and fixing of the first roofing panel called the start panel; subsequently, systematically attaching successive roofing panels along the length and width of the roof by locking the adjacent edges of the adjoining roofing panels, wherein the side edges of the adjacent roofing panels are snap locked by placing the female leg over the male leg and obtaining a snap lock joint wherein the engaging element is inserted into the snap lock socket, whereas the transverse edges of the adjacent roofing panels are flat locked by engaging the lower bend with the upper bend.

Brief description of the Drawings

The invention is shown in an embodiment in the attached drawings, wherein:

Fig. 1 - shows a modular roofing panel according to the invention in a perspective view.

Fig. 2 - shows a roofing panel in side projection.

Fig. 3 - shows a more detailed perspective view of the roofing panel.

Fig. 4 - shows a partial top view of the roofing panel.

Fig. 5 - shows a flat lock joint of the upper and lower bends of adjacent roofing panels. Fig. 6 - shows a roofing panel in top view with visible locks and a seal between the upper bend and the male and the female legs.

Fig. 7 - shows a flat lock joint in a perspective view.

Fig. 8 - shows a snap lock joint in cross section.

Fig. 9 - shows a roofing panel in bottom view with a visible seal on the lower surface.

Detailed description of preferred embodiments of the invention

Figs. 1-9 show a preferred embodiment of a modular roofing panel, the body 1 of which is made of sheet metal. The sheet metal can be made of steel (or alloy steel) or other metals or metal alloys, such as aluminium, copper or zinc. The preferred material is a low elasticity steel.

According to this example, with reference to Fig. 1, a modular roofing panel has a steel sheet body 1, which body 1 has a main plane comprising an upper surface 2 and a lower surface 3. The main plane extends substantially parallel to the roof surface, on which the roof covering is being installed, using the modular roofing panels. Further, the body 1 has an upper edge 5a, a lower edge 5b and two side edges 4a and 4b, i.e. the left edge 4a and the right edge 4b, respectively. The lower and upper surfaces 2 and 3 of the main plane formed between the side edges 4a and 4b and the upper and lower edges 5a and 5b are preferably flat. Alternatively, it may be corrugated or include a plurality of longitudinal ribs running equidistantly parallel to the side edges.

The side edges 4a and 4b are shaped into a so-called snap lock seam, shown, for example, in Figs. 3 and 4. For this purpose, one side edge 4a is formed into a male leg 9 and the other side edge 4b is formed into a female leg 8 - together they form a snap lock joint that is created by joining the respective side edges 4a and 4b of the adjacent roofing panels to snap together without the need of bending the sheet metal - the snap lock joint is shown in more detail in Fig. 8 and will be described below.

The male leg 9 has a first standing wall connected integrally to the side edge 4a of the body 1, i.e. a wall raised upwards with respect to the upper surface 2. In the presented example, the first standing wall extends obliquely upwards and at an obtuse angle with respect to the upper surface 2. The first standing wall has also a longitudinally extending snap lock socket which receives the engaging element of the female leg 8 to form a snap lock joint. The first standing wall then turns into a second standing wall which is also raised upwards with respect to the upper surface 2. In the presented example, the second standing wall extends obliquely at an acute angle to the upper surface 2. The second standing wall is terminated with a mounting strip with a plurality of openings used for fixing the modular roofing panel with screws to the roof support structure or to the previously made roof boarding on which the roof covering is installed. The mounting strip extends substantially parallel to the main plane.

The female leg 8 has a first standing wall integrally connected to the side edge 4b. The first standing wall is raised upwards and extends obliquely at an obtuse angle to the upper surface 2. The first standing wall then turns into a second standing wall which is raised upwards and extends obliquely at an acute angle to the upper surface 2. This second standing wall has an engaging element which is pressed into the snap lock socket of the male leg 9 to form a snap lock joint. The engaging element is formed as an end edge of the second standing wall folded inwardly towards the first standing wall. For example, the engaging element may have the form of a hook or a lip extending over the entire length of the second standing wall.

In a preferred embodiment, the side edges 4a and 4b, which constitute the male leg 9 and the female leg 8, have at their ends facing the upper bend 6 the locks 13 to facilitate joining of the transverse edges of the adjacent roofing panels being joined with each other - this is shown in more detail in Fig. 6. The lock 13 can be made by flattening the walls of the male leg 9 or the female leg 8, possibly as a cutout in the side edge 4a and 4b, which constitutes the male leg 9 or the female leg 8.

To seal the snap lock seam, the side edges 4a and 4b may be terminated with a stopper 11 in the form of a vertical wall, as seen, forexample, in Fig. 2. After joining the side edges 4a and 4b by the snap lock, the stopper 11 is bent, making the snap lock joint less visible and at the same time protected against water penetration.

The transverse edges 5a and 5b, i.e. the upper edge 5a and the lower edge 5b, have bends 6 and 7 - as seen, for example, in Figs. 2-6. For example, the lower edge 5b has a lower bend 7 bent downwards, i.e. under the bottom of the lower surface 3 towards the opposite upper edge 5a. The upper edge 5a, in turn, has an upper bend 6 which is bent upwards and extends over the upper side of the surface 2 towards the opposite lower edge 5b. In the illustrated example, the lower and upper bends 6 and 7 comprise a first section with semicircular cross section and a second straight section connected thereto, extending substantially parallel to the main plane or the upper and lower surfaces 2 and 3, respectively.

The lower and upper bends 6 and 7 form so-called flat lock joint formed by joining the appropriate transverse edges 5a and 5b of the adjacent roofing panels. This joint is shown in detail in Fig. 5.

In a preferred embodiment, the modular roofing panel has a seal 10 to prevent water penetration into the flat lock joint (prevents water capillary rise). The seal is provided in the area of at least one of the upper or the lower bends 6 and 7. It may have the form of a flexible seal or mastic. The seal is preferably located along the edge of one of the bends 5 and 6 and, to facilitate installation, may have a gap into which the edge of the bend is pressed. A preferred example of the seal 10 is shown in Figs. 3, 4 and 6. The seal 10 is made of polyurethane foam in the gap between the lower and/or the upper bend 6 and 7 and the male leg 9 and the female leg 8, and specifically between the shorter edge of the bend parallel to the side edges 4a and 4b of the body 1, and the first standing wall of the male leg 9 and the female leg 8. The reason for this gap is that the length of the lower and upper bend 6 and 7, as measured along its longer edge, i.e. the one parallel to the transverse edges 5a and 5b, is shorter than the distance between the first standing wall of the male leg 9 and the first standing wall of the female leg 8, as measured along the transverse edges 5a and 5b. In order not to damage the seal 10 during the joining operation of the transverse edges 5a and 5b of the adjacent roofing panels, the corners of the upper bend 6 or of the lower bend are chamfered or rounded (as seen in Fig. 9).

In yet another preferred embodiment shown in Fig. 9, a noise attenuation layer 12 is provided on the lower surface 3 of the body 1, e.g. in the form of a piece of tape extending over a part of or the entire lower surface 3. The purpose of the attenuation layer 12 is to reduce sounds and counteract undulations of the main surface of the body 1.

Such a modular roofing panel comprising a body 1 together with a male leg 9, a female leg 8, and a lower bend 7 and an upper bend 6 is entirely machine produced as a prefabricated element, stamped on special presses. Preferably, the seal 10 or the noise attenuation layer 12 is also produced in this step.

Thanks to this, the modular roofing panels can be easily and quickly installed even by less experienced roofing teams, as the need for cutting and bending the sheet metal is reduced to a minimum (only roofing panels in the eave, ridge or chimney area require roofing work). Further, modular roofing panels according to the invention can be mass-produced in standard and uniform dimensions, which significantly reduces costs and speeds up manufacturing, unlike traditional roofing panels sold in the form of metal sheets which must be cut and bent, or in customized size, which requires earlier measurements and retooling of the production line.

The installation of modular roofing panels according to the invention for the purpose of assembly of roof covering (or facade) consists in that the first roofing panel, called the start panel, is placed and fixed, and then, successive roofing panels are systematically attached along the length and width of the roof by joining the adjacent edges of the nearest roofing panels.

To connect the modular roofing panels in a horizontal plane along the roof width (transversely to the direction between the roof eave and the ridge), the side edges 4a and 4b of the adjacent roofing panels are joined by a snap lock joint. The snap lock joint is obtained by placing the female leg 8 on the male leg 9, in which the engaging element will be inserted into the snap lock socket. The dimensions of the female leg 8 and the male leg 9 are so selected that when the female leg 8 is pressed against the male leg 9, the first standing wall of the male leg 9 acts as a cam surface, expanding the second standing wall of the female leg 8 until the engaging element engages with the underlying snap lock recess and forms a snap lock joint.

On the other hand, to connect the modular roofing panels vertically along the length of the roof (from the eave to the ridge), the transverse edges 5a and 5b of the adjacent roofing panels are flat locked by engaging the lower bend 7 with the upper bend 6. To make the flat lock easier, the side edges 4a and 4b in the area of the bends have locks 13. Joining with a flat lock consists in that a modular roofing panel to be attached is placed on the roofing panel already mounted on the roof so that the bends 6 and 7 do not coincide, and then the modular roofing panel to be attached is shifted parallel to the main plane or the roof surface until the bends 6 and 7 engage with each other and form a flat lock.

Claims

Claims A modular roofing panel comprising a body (1) made of sheet metal, comprising: a main plane having an upper surface (2) and a lower surface (3), said main plane is to be arranged substantially parallel to the plane of the roof; two transverse edges (5a, 5b), the first of which being an upper edge (5a) and the other being a lower edge (5b); two side edges (4a, 4b), i.e. a left edge (4a) and a right edge (4b), wherein one side edge (4a) is formed into a male leg (9), and the other side edge (4b) is formed into a female leg (8), which together form a so-called snap lock seam formed by joining the appropriate side edges (4a, 4b) of adjacent roofing panels during roof installation, characterized in that the transverse edges (5a, 5b) have bends (6, 7), i.e. an upper bend (6) and a lower bend (7), one of which is bent downward towards the lower surface (3) and the other is bent upward towards the upper surface (2), where the lower and upper bends (6, 7) form so-called flat lock seam formed by joining the appropriate transverse edges (5a, 5b) of adjacent roofing panels during roof installation, wherein the body (1) together with the male leg (9), the female leg (8), the upper bend (6) and the lower bend (7) constitutes a completely prefabricated machine-stamped component. The modular roofing panel of claim 1, characterized in that the lower and the upper bends (6, 7) on the transverse edges (5a, 5b), i.e. on the lower edge (7) and the upper edge (6), comprise a first section with semicircular cross section and a second straight section connected thereto, extending substantially parallel to the main plane of the body (1). The modular roofing panel according to claim 1, characterized in that the male leg (9) comprises a first standing wall connected to the side edge (4a), which first standing wall has a longitudinally extending snap lock socket for receiving an engaging element of the female leg (8) to form a snap lock joint, a second standing wall connected to the first standing wall and a mounting strip, comprising a plurality of openings, connected to the second standing wall, which mounting strip extends substantially parallel with respect to the main plane of the body (1). The modular roofing panel according to claim 1 or 3, characterized in that the female leg (8) comprises a first standing wall connected to the side edge (4b), a second standing wall connected to the first standing wall, the second standing wall having an engaging element, especially in the shape of a hook or a lip bent inwardly, which engaging element is pressed into a snap lock socket of the male leg (9) to form a snap lock joint. The modular roofing panel according to claim 1, characterized in that the side edges (4a, 4b) constituting the male leg (9) and the female leg (8) have at their ends facing the upper bend (6) locks to facilitate locking of the transverse edges (5a, 5b) of the adjoining roofing panels. The modular roofing panel according to claim 5, characterized in that the lock (13) is formed by flattening the walls of the male leg (9) or the female leg (8). The modular roofing panel according to claim 5, characterized in that the lock (13) has the form of a cutout formed in the side edge (4a, 4b) which constitutes the male leg (9) or the female leg (8). The modular roofing panel according to claim 1, characterized in that the side edges (4a, 4b) are terminated with a stopper (11) in the form of a vertical wall that is bent after the roofing panels are joined to seal the snap lock seam. The modular roofing panel according to any preceding claim 1 to 8, characterized in that the roofing panel has a seal (10) to prevent water penetration into the flat lock seam. The modular roofing panel according to claim 9, characterized in that the seal (10) has the form of a seal extending along the free edges of at least one of the bends (5 and 6). The modular roofing panel according to claim 9, characterized in that the seal (10) is positioned in the gaps between the at least one bend (6, 7) and the male leg (9) and the female leg (8). The modular roofing panel according to claim 11, characterized in that the seal (10) is positioned in the gap between the lower bend (7) and/orthe upper bend (6) as well as the male leg (9) and the female leg (8), and more particularly between the shorter bend edge (6, 7) parallel to the side edge (4a, 4b) and the first standing wall of the male leg (9) and the female leg (8). The modular roofing panel according to claim 9 or 10 or 11 or 12, characterized in that the seal (10) is made of a water penetration-resistant plastic, and is machine produced. The modular roofing panel according to claim 1, characterized in that a noise attenuation layer (12), especially in the form of a piece of tape, is placed on the lower surface (3) of the body (1). A method of installing a roof covering consisting in joining a plurality of roofing panels by snap locks, characterized in that the method comprises the following steps: providing a plurality of modular roofing panels according to any of claims 1 to 14; installation and fixing of the first roofing panel called the start panel; subsequently, attaching systematically successive roofing panels along the length and width of the roof by locking the adjacent edges of the adjoining roofing panels, wherein the side edges (4a, 4b) of the adjacent roofing panels are snap locked by placing the female leg (8) over the male leg (9) and obtaining a snap lock joint wherein the engaging element is inserted into the snap lock socket, whereas the transverse edges (5a, 5b) of the adjacent roofing panels are flat locked by engaging the lower bend (7) with the upper bend (6).