Patent Publication Number: US-6706366-B2

Title: Curved roofing tile structure

Description:
BACKGROUND AND OBJECTS OF THE INVENTION 
     This application is related in some aspects to pending patent application Ser. No. 09/934,432, filed Aug. 22, 2001, now U.S. Pat. No. 6,558,773. 
     This invention is generally related to the covering arts and, in particular, to a roofing tile system of greatly improved strength and fire resistance capabilities. 
     The roofing tiles described herein are of the curved type and are known in some areas of the art as cienda or barrel-type tiles. The overall appearance is that of a Spanish-type tile configuration. 
     Attempts have been made to reproduce clay-type tiles in the art. Such reproductions have proven to be very costly to manufacture and cumbersome to install. Prior art systems have also lacked the long-life strength and pleasing appearance desired in the art. 
     Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to set forth a novel curved roofing tile. 
     It is a further object of the invention to demonstrate a roofing tile of superior strength such that it may be compression molded in a double-wide configuration for improved installation efficiency. 
     It is also an object of the invention to show a roofing tile comprised of recycled materails and binders so as to achieve a Class A fire resistance rating, i.e. the highest rating possible in the art. 
     These and other objects and advantages of the invention will be apparent to those of skill in the art from the description which follows. 
     PRIOR ART PATENTS AND DESIGNS 
     U.S. Pat. No. 6,105,328 issued on Aug. 22, 2000 teaches a method and apparatus for manufacturing and installing roof tiles having improved strength and stacking features. The tiles are formed of clay and include ribs for stacking and strength usages. 
     U.S. Pat. No. 6,314,704 issued in 2001 shows a composite structural building panel and connection system. The patent emphasizes various complex connectors for building wall systems. 
     In contrast, the present invention shows a curved double-wide roofing tile of a novel curved shape and having materials of higher strength and fire resistance features. The recycled materials utilized in the present invention may be used in a very economical compression molding process. The use of recycled materials results in a great benefit to the ecology. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     An extra-wide roofing tile is made which includes at least two peaks and three valley areas. 
     Connector-type ridges are included at lateral edges of the tile. 
     Reinforcing and rain directing channels are positioned at at least three regions of the roofing tile, e.g. top, center and bottom. 
     The roofing tile may be manufactured using a unique compression molding manufacturing process which enables a very cost effective fabrication in a relatively low-cost plant. 
     Recycled products such as rubber and plastics are combined with binders resulting in a strong tile which helps the ecology by using materials which would normally be placed in landfills. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING FIGURES 
     FIG. 1 is an end view of a roofing tile of the invention and shows the dual peaks formed with central and lateral valley sections. End views of the interlocking ridge elements are also shown. 
     FIG. 2 is a top view of the roofing tile and indicates the peak and valley sections along with the reinforcing ridges which are compression mold formed at top, central and bottom portions of the tile element. 
    
    
     FULL DESCRIPTION OF A PREFERRED EMBODIMENT 
     Referring to the drawing FIG. 1, an end view of roofing tile  10  is shown as having dual peaks  21  and  22 . 
     A central valley portion  31  is shown as located between the peaks. Lateral partial valley sections  32  and  33  are also shown in FIG.  1 . 
     As shown, the right lateral valley  32  has ridges  53  and  54  formed on a lower portion thereof. As will be appreciated, these ridges  53  and  54  are used to join with an adjacent roofing tile by utilizing weather-resistant adhesives or other connection elements. 
     The left lateral valley  33  has ridges  51  and  52  formed on a top portion thereof. These ridges  51  and  52  are used to join and interlock with an adjacent roofing tile—again by adhesive or other equivalent attaching means. 
     The width of tile  10  is on the order of 12-13 inches wide. This is significant in the art since normal curved clay tiles can only be about six inches wide because of strength and brittleness limitations. 
     The height of the peaks  21  and  22  is on the order of two inches. This dimension may be varied depending upon the particular application or building construction. 
     The enhanced width of tile  10  is important since installation time is greatly reduced by reason of fewer tiles required to completely cover the roof of a house or commercial building. 
     Because of the strength of the materials used in manufacture, even wider tiles, e.g. tiles with three to five peaks, may be constructed. 
     The particular recycled materials used in the manufacturing process are described later in this specification. The materials have been given a Class A fire resistance rating and are of superior strength. 
     Referring to the top view of FIG. 2, the peak and valley sections  21 ,  22  and  31 - 33  respectively are again shown. 
     Roofing tile  10  has lateral edges  11  and  12  and top and bottom edges  15  and  16 . 
     At the top edge  15 , a pair of rib sections  41  and  42  run nearly the entire width of the tile  10 . These rib portions serve the purposes of strengthing the tile and providing rain channels to direct rain water to lateral edges of the tile. They may also serve as snow-melting elements which are sometimes attached to roofs in colder environments. 
     The tile  10  also includes a pair of central ribs  43  and  44 . These serve a similar purpose as the upper ribs. It is an important aspect of the invention that all the ribs shown are one-piece molded into the overall tile  10 . 
     Lower ribs  45  and  46  and the top lateral connecting ridges  51  and  52  are also shown in FIG.  2 . 
     Through lengthy experimentation, applicant has found that the following combination of elements is highly effective for use in a compression molding process to produce the desired roofing tile: 
     EPDM(ethylene propylene diene monomers), scrap from rubber seals or car parts and 
     SBR(styrene butadiene rubber), up to 50% by weight, 
     EVA(ethylene vinyl acetate) and ULDPE(ultra low density polyethylene) at 10-20% by weight, 
     ATH(aluminum tri-hydrate), fire retardant at 35% by weight in combination with 4% by weight zinc oxide, 
     HDPE(high density polyethylene at 10-30% by weight. 
     In practice, a red clay coloring is added at the time of blending. 
     The mixture is extruded and the extruded mass is placed into a water cooled compression mold producing the desired roofing tile product. Importantly, the above compound allows the use of compression molding rather than the more complex injection molding processes. 
     Among the many advantages of the invention are: strength and long-life due to the particular structure and formula utilized, benefit to the ecology by utilizing recycled materials which would normally be disposed of in landfills, a process of compression molding manufacture which may be economically effected to produce a high-quality product at low cost for widespread commercial appeal. 
     It is noted that the method of manufacture is a separate patentable invention for which a patent application will be filed. 
     While a particular design and compound have been shown and described, it is intended in this specification to broadly claim all equivalent structures and compounds which would reasonably occur to those of skill in the art. 
     The invention is further defined by the claims appended hereto.