Heat shield shingle

The present invention provides a shingle for covering a roof or other surface. The shingle has an integral heat shield for shielding the roof from direct solar radiation. The shingle is substantially L-shaped when viewed from above and comprises two main parts, a shingle portion that is fastened to the outer surface of the roof in the usual overlapping courses, and a heat shield portion projecting upwards from the plane of the shingle portion. The heat shield portion extends over a part of an adjacent shingle, shading the shingle. The heat shield portion also provides an air passage with open top and bottom ends allowing air flow under the heat shield thereby preventing a heat build-up beneath the heat shield.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
The present invention relates to roof coverings for covering a roof or 
similar surface. 
BACKGROUND 
In many areas, particularly those In hot climates, heat transferred to the 
roof of a building by the sun can cause a significant rise in the internal 
temperature of the building. This can be a problem in those areas where it 
is warm year round or where temperatures rise to extreme levels, since it 
can lead to increased energy costs for air conditioning and increased 
insulation costs. 
The present invention is concerned with a roof covering that mitigates this 
problem. 
SUMMARY 
According to one aspect of the present invention there is provided a 
roofing shingle comprising: 
a substantially flat shingle portion with laterally spaced apart sides; and 
a heat shield portion projecting upwardly from the shingle portion and 
extending laterally with respect to the shingle portion. 
In use, the shingle portions are attached to a roof in the same way as 
conventional roofing shingles. This forms a waterproof covering on the 
roof. The heat shield portions overlie the roof, to shade respective 
portions of the roof. The preferred arrangement provides open air passages 
between the heat shield portions and the shingle portions. 
The heat shield portion of each shingle may extend upwards and laterally 
outwards from the shingle portion, over a section of an adjacent shingle 
thereby shading said section. Preferably the heat shield portion is 
configured such that the associated air passage has open top and bottom 
ends. The heat shield portion may be arch shaped, to resemble the 
configuration of a roofing tile. 
The shingles also preferably include interlocking means for interlocking 
shingles which are arranged adjacent one another. The Interlocking means 
comprise a slot in a first side of the heat shield member, and a tongue 
projecting outwards from a second side of the heat shield member arranged 
such that the tongue of each heat shield member may engage within the slot 
in the heat shield member of an adjacent shingle. 
The shingles are preferably composed of a rigid, water resistant material 
including UV inhibitors. 
According to another aspect of the present invention there is provided a 
roof having an outer surface and comprising: 
a waterproof covering extending over the outer surface; 
a plurality of heat shield members fixed to the waterproof covering, each 
heat shield member projecting upwards from the waterproof covering and 
extending over a respective portion of the waterproof covering at a 
position spaced above said portion, each heat shield member providing an 
air flow passage between the heat shield member and the waterproof 
covering. 
The waterproof covering preferably comprises a plurality of shingles 
arranged to lie in a plane substantially parallel to the outer surface of 
the roof. Each one of the plurality of shingles includes a shingle 
portion, and one of the plurality of heat shield members as a heat shield 
portion. The shingles are arranged side by side in offset courses such 
that each course of shingles is arranged to overlap a top portion of the 
shingles in a lower course. 
The finished roof has an attractive, relieved appearance, similar to the 
appearance of a tiled roof where the heat shields are arched upwardly.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
Referring to FIG. 3, the heat shield shingles are shown covering the roof 
12 of a building 14 to provide a waterproof covering and to reduce the 
amount of heat from the sun that is transferred to the interior of the 
building via the roof 12. The shingles 10 are arranged side by side in 
offset courses, in the usual manner, such that each course of shingles 10 
is arranged to overlap a top portion of the shingles 10 in a lower course. 
As illustrated most particularly in FIGS. 1 and 2, each heat shield shingle 
10 is substantially L-shaped when viewed from above and comprises two main 
parts, a shingle portion 18, and a heat shield portion 20. The shingle 
portion 18 is substantially rectangular in shape and has a top end 22, a 
bottom end 24, a first side 26, and a second side 28. When a number of the 
shingles 10 are arranged in courses, adjacent shingles 10 in the same 
course are arranged side by side with the first side 26 of one shingle 
lying adjacent to the second side 28 of the other shingle. Each shingle in 
each course Is also arranged to lie such that a line 30 extending 
longitudinally through the center of the shingle portion 18 aligns with 
abutting first and second sides 26 and 28 of adjacent shingles 10 in the 
lower course. 
The shingle portion 18 includes at least one nail hole 32 for receiving a 
nail therethrough to fix the shingle 10 to the roof 12. There are usually 
two holes 32 arranged in an upper portion 16 of the shingle portion 18 
near the top end 22 of the shingle 10. The nail holes 32 are arranged so 
that the shingles 10 in a course arranged above cover over the nail holes 
32 of the shingles 10 in a course below. 
The heat shield portion 20 of the shingle 10 is arch shaped and is fixed to 
the shingle portion 18 along the first side 26. The heat shield portion 20 
projects upwards from the plane of the shingle portion 18 and extends 
laterally outwards from the shingle portion 18. 
The heat shield portion 20 extends over a lower portion 34 of an adjacent 
shingle portion 18a shading the lower portion 34 of the shingle portion 
18a lying beneath. By shading the shingle portion 18a the heat shield 
portion 20 prevents thermal radiation from the sun from heating the 
shingle portion 18a and causes it to heat the heat shield portion 20 
instead. The arched shape of the heat shield portion 20 results in a space 
existing between most of the heat shield portion 20 and the shingle 
portion 18a. This helps reduce the amount of heat which can be conducted 
from the heat shield portion 20 to the shingle portion 18a. 
To provide good heat dissipating characteristics the air passage 35 under 
the heat shield portion 20 has open ends 36 and 38 at the top and bottom 
ends 40 and 42 respectively of the heat shield portion such that air may 
flow through the passage 35 thereby cooling the heat shield portion 20 and 
the shingle portion 18. With the open ends 36 and 38 at the top and bottom 
of the heat shield portion 20, both air and water may flow through freely. 
Each shingle 10 includes interlocking means for interlocking adjacent 
shingles 10 to secure them relative to one another when they are arranged 
in courses on the roof 12. The interlocking means 43 include a slot 44 in 
a first side 46 of the heat shield portion 20, and a tongue 48 projecting 
outwards from a second side 50 of the heat shield portion 20. The tongue 
48 and slot 44 are arranged such that the tongue 48 of each heat shield 
portion 20 may engage within the slot 44 in the heat shield portion 20 of 
an adjacent shingle 10. In the embodiment illustrated the tongue 48 
projects outwards from the outer most side of the heat shield portion 20 
and the slot 44 is arranged at the side edge 48 adjacent the shingle 
portion 18. 
The shingle 10 is preferably composed of a rigid, water resistant material. 
This material should may also include UV inhibitors to improve the 
resistance of the shingle to ultraviolet radiation from the sun to 
increase the life of the shingle 10. 
The rigid material will allow the use of the shingles as supports for 
temporary steps or other devices allowing persons to travel across or work 
on the roof. 
Although the heat shield portion 20 is preferably arch shaped it may be any 
appropriate shape which allows it to extend over an adjacent shingle 
portion 18 such that most of the heat shield portion remains spaced above 
the adjacent shingle portion 18. 
Although in the embodiment illustrated the heat shield portion 20 is shown 
extending from the first side 26 of the shingle portion 18 it may 
alternatively extend from the second side 28. 
In another alternative arrangement the positioning of the tongue 48 and 
slot 44 may be reversed. 
While one embodiment of the present invention has been described in the 
foregoing, it is to be understood that other embodiments are possible 
within the scope of the invention. The invention is to be considered 
limited solely by the scope of the appended claims.