US2482835A - Roofing tile - Google Patents

Description

SePt- 27, 1949 w, S. BREMER 2,482,835

ROOFING TILE 2 Shee'ts-Sheet l Filed Deo. ll, 1945 l/l//7//0/77 5. re/77er l N V E N T O R Sept 277 1949. w. s, BREMER 2,482,835

ROOFING TILE Fi1ed Dec. 11, 1945 2 sheets-sheet 2 l jwmfwm@ ATTORNEYS Patented Sept. 27, 1949 1f UNITED S'AFEZS,A PATENTA OFFICE `2,482,835'

ROQFING TILE Y William S. Bremer, New Washington, Ohiok c Application December 11, 1945, Serial No. 634,214

This invention relates to roong tiles and in particular to substantially hat interlocking edge metallic tile.

Tiles for roong purposes have been produced in various designs in attempts to secure Weatherproof roof coverings of pleasing appearance. These tiles,yin general. provide good water shedding properties as long as the rain is not accompanied by high winds. If rain and high wind occur simultaneously Water is often driven upwardly between the successive courses of tile, the water then running down through the roof boards and into the building below. Another disadvantage of many ordinary roofing materials including tile is the lack of ventilation immediately beneath the outside roof surface. Under certain conditions this lack of ventilation will allow the snow and ice on the higher portions of' the roof, which portions are warmed by heat lost through the roof, to melt and to gather in a puddle just above the snow and ice remaining over the eaves. Inasmuch as any tile roof is not absolutely water-tight the puddle of water drains through the roof and into the building beneath;

The principal object of this invention is to provide a flat tile with interlocking edges and horizontal water barriers adapted to prevent leakage of wind-driven rain.

Another object of the invention is to provide a roofing tile having adequate air circulation to prevent formation of ice-held puddles on the roof surface.

A still further object is` to provide a roof having a heat reflecting surface to reduce the absorption of solar heat.

VThese and other objects and advantages are pointed out in the following description of an improved roong tile.

According to the invention the. leakage of winddriven rain is prevented by providing a trough extending along one side of each individual roofing tile and water barriers or ridges extending transversely across the upper surface of each tile and draining into the trough. The water barriers are in each case covered by the bottom'edge of the next higher course of tile so that they are not exposed directly to the weather and act primarily to separate the water from the air and 2 Claims. (Cl. 108-10) water that is driven under the next, higher tile. .Y

in the form of a comparatively thin sheet rein-y forced by ribs and the depending edge and trough arrangement. Although aluminum is preferred in the construction of the tile the advantages of the improved design may be attained with tile composed of ceramic materials, molded asbestos or other materials. The metals are to be preferred because they result in a stronger roof which is impervious to hail, to other unusual weather conditions and, if properly grounded, to lightning.

A tile illustrating the improvements provided by the invention and its method of use are illustrated in the accompanying drawings.

In the drawings:

Figure I is a perspective View of an individual tile.

Figure II shows a fragment of a roof, the lower course of tile being completed and succeedingly higher courses being shown in the process of completion to illustrate the general cooperation of the tile in producing a weather-tight covering.

Figure III is avertical section taken substantially along the line III-III of Figure II.

Figure IV is a fragmentary vertical section taken substantially along the line IV-IV of Fgure II.

Figure V is atransverse vertical section taken substantially along the line V-V of Figure III.

These specic figures and the accompanying description are intended merely to illustrate a preferred form of the improved roofing tile and are not intended to imply limitations 'upon the claims.

The improved roong tile, as seen in Figure I, has a substantially at upper surface comprising a flat portion l exposed to the weather and a contiguous substantially coplanar portion 2 which is lapped by the next higher course of tile. Water barriers in the form of ridges 3 and 4 are formed on the 'upper surface of the portion 2. A number of gaps 5 are left in the rst or lower ridge 3 through which water may drain from the area between the barriers onto the remainder of the surface 2 and thence downwardly across the exposed portion l. The side edges of the exposed portion l and the contiguous portion '2 have depending flanges E and l while the bottom end of the exposed portion I' has a downwardly directed flange 8 of a width somewhat greater than the side flanges l and 'l` The side ange 'l is con- .tinued horizontally and then upwardly to form .a trough 9 having a bottom `lll and an'upstand- Ving side Wall Il extendingfrom vthe uppermost water barrier 4 nearly to the flange 8 at the bottom end of the tile. The trough 9 is of sufficient width and depth to loosely receive the depending side ange 6 of a laterally adjacent tile.

Each tile is provided with two countersunk holes I2 and I3 drilled through bosses I4 and I5. The boss I4 extends laterally from the vertical side wall I I of the trough 9 at a point spaced from the lower flange 8 a distance slightly greater than the lap over the next lower course of tile. The boss I5 is located between the water barriers 3 and 4 and slightly to the right of the longitudinal center line of the tile as seen in Figure I.

Each tile is secured to a substructure or frame I6 of the roof by two screws II, one passed through each of the holes I2 and I3.'

The improved tiles are laid on a roof substructure I6 in the conventional manner, the

lower course being put in place first and then successive higher courses added, each course overlapping the next lower course. The tile of each course are interlocked with the depending flanges 6 fitted into the troughs 9. The troughs 9 are of sufficiently greater width than the thickness of the flanges 6 so that the horizontal spacing of the tiles may be adjusted and the use of fractional width tiles avoided. Tiles at the end of each course such as a tile I8 terminating the lower course in Figure II have wide depending flanges I9 to overhang the end of the roof substructure I6 and provide a finished edge for the roof.

The depending flanges 8 of the bottom course of tile are spaced from the roof substructure by a blocking strip nailed to the roof frame or roofing boards I6 along the edge at the eaves. The blocking strip 20 elevates the bottom end of the lowermost course of tile the same amount as remaining courses are elevated by lapping the next lower courses.

The flanges 6 and 'I are continued around the upper corners of each tile to provide spaced bearing surfaces so that the single screw I1 inserted through the hole I3 between the bearing Surfaces may hold the tile firmly in place while the other screw inserted through the hole along side the trough keeps the exposed end of the trough from lifting. Since the side flanges E and 'I continue only a short distance around the upper corners, a clear space is left between the upper edge of the tile and the roof boards to allow a free circulation of air. The interlocking character of the tile is clearly shown in Figure V. It should be noted that the interlocking joints between the tile of each course are located midway between the joints of the next higher or lower course. Arranged in this manner any water draining down through the trough 9 of one course of tile is `dischargedonto the central portion of the next lower tile and is thus returned to the outer surface of the roof without any possibility of it finding its way onto the substructure or roof board I6.

If desired, additional strength may be impar-ted to the tile by providing longitudinal ribs 2| onits lower surface.

the tile.

The design of roofing tile shown in the drawings is particularly effective against wind-driven rain because lof the large amount of free air space provided between the lapped portions of successive courses of tile. This air space is very large in comparison with the openings through which wind or rain may be driven. The lower edge of the ange 8 at the bottom of each tile fits snugly against the upper surface of the next lower course of tile so that only a thin crack is left. The trough 9 at the joint between two tiles is, of course, open to the effect of the wind. However, the depth of the trough is great enough so that air may enter the upper portion of the opening while water flows out through the lower portion. If the trough were made too small the surface tension of the water causes the water to completely block the opening and prevent free drainage. This latter phenomenon, that which occurs with the small trough, is the cause of the leakage through an ordinary tile roof which accompanies a beating rain. The air pressure against the roof causes air to flow in through the space between the tiles and these spaces being small in cross-sectional area are bridged with water drops which are carried along by the air and left on the substructure of the roof. In a roof covered with the improved tile, water may be driven up under the'flange 8 along the bottom of the tile but the sudden increase in air space immediately behind the flange B and below the surface I allows the air and water to separate and the air to continue upwardly above the roof boards while the water remains on the surface 2 from which it drains'into the trough 9 and back onto the roof.

The improved tile, by providing adequate ventilation of the space beneath the tile with air 'drawnfrom the outside atmosphere, maintains a uniform temperature over the entire roof surface so that ice and snow will not collect over the eavesy to cause puddles and consequent leakage of water.

While the improved tile is preferably cast of aluminum, itmay also be molded from ceramic materials or cast from other metals. If aluminum or other light reflective material is used the external surface of the tile serves as a heat reflector so that the absorption of solar heat by rthe roof is materially reduced and as a result the inside temperature beneath the roof is also reduced. y j

The embodiment of the-invention described "illustrates the preferred vdesign of the improved roofing tile. `Various features of the design may be omitted or modified without losingV all of the advantages aorded by the invention. The specific embodiment should,1therefore, be considered as merely illustrating the invention and not as defining its scope.'

Having described my invention, I claim:

. 1. A tile for use as a roong material, the tile having a generally flat upper surface, a depending uninterrupted lip extending around three sides of the flat surface, the lip along one side being extended horizontally and then vertically to form a trough along the side, said trough serving to receive the depending lip of a laterally adjacent tile, a narrow water barrier extending across the upper surface of the tile in the region that is lapped by a next higher course of tile, said water barrier extending toward but failing to reach any portion of a superjacent tile, and a raised lip starting at the end of the trough and extending along the lapped end of the tile and along the opposite end of the area between the water barrier and the end of thetile to partially bound anv area between the, raised lipand the that is adapted to rest on the second area of a 10 next lower tile with the rst area and Water barrier of the lower tile lapped by the higher tile, a trough along a side of the tile, a depending lip extending along the other side of the tile, and adapted to be received in the trough of a laterally adjacent tile, said trough extending along one side of the rst area, and a raised lip extending entirely along the upper edge of the tile sub- 6 stantially parallel to the water barrier and cooperating With the water barrier to form the rst area into a pocket for receiving wind driven Water and draining it into the trough.

WILLIAM S. BREMER.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the le of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,226,888 Hughes May 22, 1917 1,434,166 Thompson Oct. 31, 1922 1,861,998 Bennett June 7, 1932 1,999,244 Ludowici Apr. 30, 1935 2,004,198 Fall June 11, 1935 2,205,080 Brown June 18, 1940

Images