Patent Publication Number: US-6209421-B1

Title: Roof shingle remover

Description:
BACKGROUND 
     1. Field of Invention 
     This invention relates to hand tools for removing shingles in single or multiple layers, from existing roofs, laid over skip sheeting boards. 
     2. Description of Prior Art 
     Shingle removing tools of various configurations have been suggested by the prior art, such as Mills U.S. Pat. No. 3,987,827, Whitesell U.S. Pat. No. 5,159,859, Wirth U.S. Pat. No. 5,495,781, Harpell U.S. Pat. No. 5,836,222 and Carroll U.S. Pat. No. 5,893,304. However, none of these prior art devices have a structure above and parallel to a lower insertion prong that inserts in the gap between sheeting boards, so that shingles are more effectively removed from the skip sheeting boards. Wirth discloses a prying tool with a prong or tongue that may be inserted in the gap and with arms extending laterally out on each side of the rear end of the tongue, but the arms are in the same horizontal plane as the tongue; they are not spaced above and parallel to the tongue; and they are positioned only at the rear of the tongue, they do not extend the entire length of the tongue. Wirth&#39;s arms act as a fulcrum to provide lifting movement to the tongue as the tool handle shank is moved down, forcing the tongue up to lift off the roofing material; they cannot act as a fulcrum to provide pry-lifting movement to the tongue as the tool handle is moved up. 
     OBJECTS AND ADVANTAGES 
     An object of my invention is to provide a tool that effectively removes wood shake shingles and any overlying second layer of roofing from skip sheeting roof boards, by utilizing an insert prong that may be inserted into the gap between the roof boards, and a structure fixed above and parallel to the prong, extending over, and to the left and right of, the prong, so that when the handle shank of the tool is worked to lift the prong, the upper overlying structure above the prong, may act as a fulcrum for pry-lifting the prong, and may also act as a trap for trapping the shingles between the lower prong and the upper structure. Another object is to provide an upper structure that overlies substantially the entire length of the prong, so that the structure may be a fulcrum at its rear end for pry-lifting the forward part of the prong by moving the handle shank down, and may also be a fulcrum at its front end for lifting the rearward part of the prong by moving the handle shank up. The upper structure acts as a barrier or trap, trapping the roofing material to be removed between the lower prong and the upper structure, and thus very effectively removes the roofing material. These and other objects and advantages will become apparent from the ensuing description and drawings. 
    
    
     DRAWING FIGURE 
     FIG. 1 is an isometric view of a shingle removing tool embodying my invention, with a portion of the handle piece removed; 
     FIG. 2 is a side elevation view; 
     FIG. 3 is a top plan view; 
     FIG. 4 is a rear elevation view; and 
     FIG. 5 is a front elevation view. 
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
     The tool of my invention is shown constructed entirely of four pieces of rectangular cross section, one-half inch by one-eighth inch steel bar stock. The pieces are welded together. It may if desired be constructed of heavier stock, or indeed, of round bar stock or other cross section stock. 
     A straight, long piece  1  has a handle grip  10  formed at its read end, and has a central handle shank portion  11  and a forward brace portion  12 . 
     An L-shaped piece  2  has a vertical drop leg portion  20  and a horizontal prong portion  21  extending forwardly from the bottom end of the drop leg portion  20  at substantially a right angle. The angle between drop portion  20  and handle shank  11  is about seventy-five degrees. The top of the drop portion  20  is welded to long piece  1  at the rear of brace portion  12  and the front of handle shank portion  11 . 
     A U-shaped piece  3  has a rear cross bar bight portion  30 , a forwardly extending right arm  31  and a forwardly extending left arm  32 . The bight portion  30  is, at about its midpoint, welded to drop portion  20  at about the midpoint thereof. Arms  31  and  32  are parallel to each other and parallel to prong  21 . Prong  21  lies below and centrally between arms  31  and  32 . The rectangular structure formed by U-shaped piece  3  and cross-bar  4  extend to each side of prong  21  and overlie the entire length of prong  21 . 
     Near the front of arms  31 ,  32  a front cross bar piece  4  is welded at its ends to join with arm  31  on the right and arm  32  on the left. Brace portion  12  of long piece  1  is welded at its front end to the center of cross bar  4  and extends in axial alignment rearwardly with handle shank  11 . Arms  31  and  32  each extend forwardly slightly beyond the forward end of prong  21 . 
     U-shaped piece  3 , together with cross bar  4 , form a rectangular frame-like upper structure spaced above prong  21  and parallel thereto, which extends to each side of prong  21  and over the entire length of prong  21 . 
     Instead of the handle shank and handle grip being of the same piece, the handle shank may if desired, be embedded into a conventional wooden shovel handle having a standard rear end handle grip structure. If desired, the brace  12  may be a separate piece rather than part of the same piece as the handle shank. 
     The overall length of the tool preferably is about ordinary scoop shovel length. The drop portion  20  of the L-shaped piece is preferably about from 5 to 9 inches high. The prong portion  21  of the L-shaped piece is preferably about from 12 to 16 inches long. The U-shaped piece  30  is preferably about from 13 to 17 inches long and about from 4 to 8 inches wide. The vertical spacing between the prong portion  21  and the arms  31 ,  32  is preferably from 2 to 4 inches. 
     OPERATION 
     In operation of the tool, one preferably starts at the top ridge of the roof, near one end thereof, tearing enough roofing away to expose a gap between adjacent skip sheeting roof boards. The prong  21  is inserted into the gap and advanced therein under the shingles. The handle shank  11  is thus advanced forwardly and may be worked with mostly a lifting movement and also may be worked upwardly and downwardly as the prong is advanced. This provides pry-lifting motion of the prong  21 . The shingles to be removed are trapped between the prong  21  and the upper rectangular structure of arms  31 ,  32 , front cross bar  4 , and rear cross bar  30 . When moving the handle shank  11  up, the front end of the upper structure acts as a fulcrum to move the rearward portion of prong  21  upwardly. When moving the handle shank  11  down, the rear end of the upper structure acts as a fulcrum to move the forward portion of prong  21  upwardly. By so working the handle shank, the shingles are lifted from the roof boards and discarded. This operation is continued across the roof and then repeated at a lower level, and so on, until all the shingles are removed and discarded 
     The scope of the invention is to be determined not only from the embodiments disclosed, but also and mainly by the claims set forth below.