Patent Publication Number: US-2023160562-A1

Title: Ridgeline roof clip

Description:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
     The present disclosure relates generally to a ridgeline roof clip, and, more specifically, to a clip for holding lights of decorative light strings securely to a ridgeline of a roof. 
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     Homeowners and businesses enjoy arranging decorative lights during special seasons (such as Christmas) to create illuminated patterns of light visible primarily at nighttime. One popular place to install decorative lights is on the ridgeline or ridge of a roof structure covering a dwelling or other housing structure. A ridgeline, in the context of a roof, is the apex or topmost peak of the roof, which is typically covered by tiles or shingles. One particularly appealing visual effect is to arrange lights, such as light bulbs connected together to form a light string, in a straight line on the ridgeline of the roof. Conventional installation and disassembly of light strings into and out of ridge clips used on roof ridgelines are needlessly time-consuming and can cause damage to the string light wires and/or to the clips themselves. 
     What is needed is an improved ridge clip for a roof ridgeline that facilitates rapid and tangle-free installation of bulbs of a variety of diameters and sizes, hold the bulbs in a straight and secure manner centered on the apex of the ridgeline of the roof, include wire management features to keep wires tidy, straight, and un-entangled, accommodates shingles and tiles of different dimensions, retains the bulbs securely against wind and other deleterious weather events when installed but allows the bulbs to be removed rapidly and easily without causing any damage to the clip or the roof shingles or tiles, among other needs. 
     The present disclosure is directed to address these and other needs. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     According to one aspect of the present disclosure, a clip device is disclosed. The clip device includes: a front side and a back side opposite the front side, a top side and a bottom side opposite the top side, and a first side and a second side opposite the first side; a body having a first shoulder, a second shoulder opposite the first shoulder, and an upper surface between the first shoulder and the second shoulder; a first leg coupled to the first shoulder and a second leg coupled to the second shoulder; a top portion formed along the upper surface, the top portion including a first finger portion proximate the first shoulder and a second finger portion proximate the second shoulder, the first finger portion including a first clip portion at a tip of the first finger portion; the second finger portion including a second clip portion at a tip of the second finger portion; a first tab and a second tab, the first tab being along the front side and projecting toward the first side of the clip device, the second tab being along the back side and projecting toward the second side of the clip device; a first hook along or at an end of the first leg angled toward the upper surface and the second side; a second hook along or at an end of the second leg angled toward the upper surface and the first side, the first leg and the second leg being configured such that spreading the first and second legs away from one another causes the first and second finger portions to bend toward one another, and squeezing the first and second legs together causes the first and second finger portions to bend away from one another. 
     The first tab can be on the first finger and the second tab can be on the second finger. The first and second tabs can be configured to interlock with corresponding tabs of another clip device. A width of the first leg can taper from the first shoulder toward the first hook such that the width at the first shoulder is at least 30% greater than the width at the first hook. A width of the second leg can taper from the second shoulder toward the second hook such that the width at the second shoulder is at least 30% greater than the width at the second hook. 
     The first tab can include a first member extending toward the second tab and terminating at a second member extending away from the front side. The first finger portion can include a first elongated slot dimensioned to receive therein a corresponding tab configured as the first tab of a second clip device. The first member can have a surface facing toward the back side, and the second member can have a depth dimension dimensioned to pass through the first elongated slot of the second clip device. 
     The first finger portion can include a first elongated slot dimensioned to receive therein a corresponding tab configured as the first tab of another clip device. The second finger portion can include a second elongated slot dimensioned to receive therein a corresponding tab configured as the second tab of another clip device. 
     Two or more clip devices can be clipped together by their corresponding first and second tabs to form a stacking arrangement in which the clip devices are stacked at an offset corresponding to at least a thickness of the first tab. 
     The first clip portion can have a sloped upper surface facing away from the top side and a bottom engagement surface facing toward and generally parallel with the upper surface. The clip device can be generally mirror-image symmetrical about a central axis extending along a height dimension of the clip device such that a gap between the first finger portion and the second finger portion is generally centered relative to the upper surface. 
     A method of instructing installation of a plurality of clip devices on a roof having a plurality of shingles or tiles arranged on a ridgeline of the roof is also disclosed. The method includes the steps of (a) instructing an installer to insert a bulb socket of a light string including a plurality of bulbs between the first finger portion and the second finger portion of a first of the plurality of clip devices until the bulb socket is secured by the first clip portion and the second clip portion between the first finger portion and the second finger portion; (b) instructing the installer to spread the first leg and the second leg away from each other to cause the first and second clip portions to bend toward one another to clamp the bulb socket between the first and second finger portions, and then installing the first clip device to straddle a first shingle or tile of the plurality of singles or tiles on the ridgeline by causing the first and second hooks to hook under respective ends of the first shingle or tile to hold the first clip device in an upright manner on the ridgeline with a first bulb coupled to the bulb socket pointing away from the roof; and repeating the steps (a) and (b) for each of the remaining ones of the bulb sockets of the light string until a desired number of clip devices are installed on the ridgeline of the roof. 
     The method can optionally further include the step of (al) instructing the installer to arrange wires of the light string so that they run underneath, relative to the top side, the first tab and the second tab, wherein the repeating includes repeating the step of (al) for each of the remaining ones of the bulb sockets. 
     A method of instructing uninstallation of a plurality of clip devices on a roof having a plurality of shingles or tiles arranged on a ridgeline of the roof is disclosed. The method includes the steps of: (a) instructing an installer to unhook the first and second legs of a first clip device of the plurality of clip devices from the roof to free the first clip device from the roof; (b) instructing the installer to squeeze the first leg and the second leg together to cause the first and second finger portions to bend away from one another until a bulb socket is released from the first clip portion and the second clip portion; and repeating the steps (a) and (b) for each of the remaining ones of the bulb sockets of the light string until the plurality of clip devices are uninstalled from the roof. 
     The first finger portion of each of the plurality of clip devices can include a first elongated slot formed along the first finger portion, and the second finger portion of each of the plurality of clip devices can include a second elongated slot formed along the second finger portion. The method can further include the step of instructing the installer to stack at least some of the plurality of clip devices together for storage, responsive to removing the bulb sockets from the at least some of the plurality of clip devices, by interlocking corresponding pairs of the first and second tabs of a given one of the plurality of clip devices into corresponding first and second elongated slots of an other one of the plurality of clip devices that is adjacent to the given one of the plurality of clip devices. 
     Additional aspects of the disclosure will be apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art in view of the detailed description of various embodiments, which is made with reference to the drawings, a brief description of which is provided below. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         FIG.  1    is a top isometric view of a clip device according to an aspect of the present disclosure. 
         FIG.  2    is an enlarged view of a top portion of the clip device shown in  FIG.  1   . 
         FIG.  3    is a side view (the other side being a mirror image) of the clip device shown in  FIG.  1    without a bulb socket inserted into the top portion of the clip device. 
         FIG.  4 A  is side view of the top portion of the clip device of  FIG.  1    with a bulb socket and bulb inserted into the top portion and held in place by clip devices and tabs arranged on the top portion. 
         FIG.  4 B  is a side view of the clip device of  FIG.  4 A  with the bulb socket installed showing a direction of spreading the legs of the clip device apart to secure the bulb socket in the top portion of the clip device. 
         FIG.  4 C  is a side view of the top portion of the clip device shown in  FIG.  4 B  after the legs have been stretched apart and showing the corresponding inward rotation of the fingers of the top portion grabbing onto the bulb socket to hold it securely in the clip device. 
         FIG.  5 A  is a side view of the clip device of  FIG.  1    with a bulb socket installed showing a direction of squeezing the legs together to release the bulb socket from the clip device. 
         FIG.  5 B  is a side view of the clip device shown in  FIG.  5 A  with the legs squeezed together to release the bulb socket from the top portion of the clip device. 
         FIG.  6 A  is a top isometric view of five clip devices interlocked together by their corresponding tabs in a stacked arrangement for storage or packing. 
         FIG.  6 B  is an enlarged view of the top portions of the clip devices shown in  FIG.  6 A  with the tabs interlocked to clip the clip devices to one another. 
         FIG.  7 A  is a top view of two clip devices about to be interlocked by moving one in the direction of arrow E 1 . 
         FIG.  7 B  is a top view of the two clip devices shown in  FIG.  7 A  in which one device is slid past while in contact with the other along the direction of arrow E 1 . 
         FIG.  7 C  is a top view of the two clip devices shown in  FIG.  7 A  interlocked together such that one tab of each device is inserted through a corresponding slot of the other to form an interlocked pair. 
         FIG.  8    is an isometric view of an example ridgeline of a roof with six clip devices installed on respective roof shingles carrying a string of light bulbs with the wires running underneath the tabs of the clip devices. 
         FIG.  9 A  is a side view of the top portion of a clip device with a section of PVC pipe secured on top of the tabs under the hook-like clip portions according to another installation option for use with the clip devices. 
         FIG.  9 B  is an isometric view of an example ridgeline of a roof with three clip devices installed on roof shingles carrying a pipe around which an LED light string is wound according to another installation option for use with the clip devices and a pipe structure. 
         FIG.  10 A  is a top view of an alternate embodiment of the clip device having a wire retention feature and a bulb holding feature arranged on fingers of the clip device. 
         FIG.  10 B  is a side view of the clip device shown in  FIG.  10 A . 
         FIG.  11    is a flow chart of an example method of installing clip devices together with bulb sockets on a ridgeline of a roof. 
         FIG.  12    is a flow chart of another example method of uninstalling clip devices hooked to a ridgeline of a roof and freeing the bulb sockets therefrom. 
         FIG.  13    is an isometric top right view of a roof ridgeline clip device. 
         FIG.  14    is an isometric bottom right view of the roof ridgeline clip device of  FIG.  13   . 
         FIG.  15    is a side view of a left side of the roof ridgeline clip device of  FIG.  13   . 
         FIG.  16    is a front view of the roof ridgeline clip device of  FIG.  13   . 
         FIG.  17    is a rear view of the roof ridgeline clip device of  FIG.  13   . 
         FIG.  18    is a side view of a right side of the roof ridgeline clip device of  FIG.  13   . 
         FIG.  19    is a top view of the roof ridgeline clip device of  FIG.  13   . 
         FIG.  20    is a bottom view of the roof ridgeline clip device of  FIG.  13   . 
         FIG.  21 A  is a shingle clip device according to another aspect of the present disclosure having a V-shaped clip configured to be inserted underneath a shingle or tile of a roof. 
         FIG.  21 B  shows the shingle clip device of  FIG.  21 A  installed under a shingle of a roof. 
     
    
    
     While aspects of the present disclosure are susceptible to various modifications and alternative forms, specific embodiments and configurations have been shown by way of example in the drawings and will be described in detail herein. It should be understood, however, that the present disclosure is not intended to be limited to the particular forms disclosed. Rather, the present disclosure is to cover all modifications, equivalents, and alternatives falling within the spirit and scope of the invention as defined by the appended claims. 
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
     Elements and limitations that are disclosed, for example, in the Abstract, Summary, and Detailed Description sections, but not explicitly set forth in the claims, should not be incorporated into the claims, singly, or collectively, by implication, inference, or otherwise. For purposes of the present detailed description, unless specifically disclaimed, the singular includes the plural and vice versa. The word “including” means “including without limitation.” Moreover, words of approximation, such as “about,” “almost,” “substantially,” “approximately,” and the like, can be used herein to mean “at,” “near,” or “nearly at,” or “within 3-5% of,” or “within acceptable manufacturing tolerances,” or any logical combination thereof, for example. 
     Referring to  FIG.  1   , an isometric view of a clip device  100  is shown according to an aspect of the present disclosure. In general, for ease of discussion, reference numbers first introduced in a figure will begin with the number of that figure. Some features as indicated have been omitted for ease of illustration. The dimensions, height, width, and depth are used herein, and an example legend is shown in  FIG.  1    et seq., where D, H, W can approximately correspond to conventional X, Y, Z axes. The clip device  100  as shown in  FIG.  1    is oriented in an upright configuration relative to earth. Thus, the clip device  100  has a front side  102  and a back side  104  opposite the front side, a top side  106  and a bottom side  108  opposite the top side, and a first side  110  and a second side  112  opposite the first side. The terms “top” and “bottom” are relative to earth. 
     The clip device includes a body  120  having a first shoulder  122 , a second shoulder  124  opposite the first shoulder  122 , and an upper surface  126  between the first shoulder  122  and the second shoulder  124 . An exemplary radius of a bend of the shoulder  122 ,  124 , R 1 , shown in  FIG.  2   , can be 1.0 inch. The clip device includes a first leg  110  coupled to the first shoulder  122  and a second leg  112  coupled to the second shoulder  124 . The clip device  100  includes a top portion  140  formed along the upper surface  126 . The top portion  140  includes a first finger portion  142  proximate the first shoulder  122  and a second finger portion  144  proximate the second shoulder  124 . The first finger portion  142  includes a first clip portion  150  at a tip of the first finger portion  142  toward the top side  106  of the clip device  100 . The second finger portion  144  includes a second clip portion  152  at a tip of the second finger portion  152  toward the top side  106  of the clip device. 
     The clip device includes a first retention tab  160  and a second retention tab  162 . The first retention tab  160  is along the front side  102  and projects toward the first side  110  of the clip device  100 . The second retention tab  162  is along the back side  108  and projects toward the second side  112  of the clip device  100 . The clip device  100  includes a first hook  170  along or at an end of the first leg  130  angled toward the upper surface  126  and the second side  112 . The clip device  100  includes a second hook  172  along or at an end of the second leg  132  angled toward the upper surface  126  and the first side  110 . The first leg  130  and the second leg  132  are configured such that spreading the first and second legs  130 ,  132  away from one another causes the first and second finger portions  142 ,  144  to bend toward one another, and, conversely, squeezing the first and second legs  130 ,  132  together causes the first and second finger portions  142 ,  144  to bend away from one another. These actions can be seen in more detail in  FIGS.  4 B,  4 C,  5 A, and  5 B . In  FIG.  4 B , the legs  130 ,  132  are spread apart from one another in the directions of arrows A 1 , A 2 , which, in turn, causes the clip portions  150 ,  152  to pinch inwardly toward one another (see arrows B 1 , B 2  in  FIG.  4 C ) to retain the top of the bulb socket  210  in the clip device  100 , as shown in  FIG.  4 C . 
     The first retention tab  160  is on the first finger  142  and the second retention tab  162  is on the second finger  144 . The first and second retention tabs  160 ,  162  are configured to interlock with corresponding tabs of another clip device  100 . A width D 1  of the first leg  130  tapers from the first shoulder  122  toward the first hook  170 ,  174  such that the width, D 1 , at the first shoulder  122  is at least 30% or at least 35% or at least 40% greater than the width, D 2 , at the first hook  170 ,  174 . Correspondingly, a width, D 1 , of the second leg  132  tapers from the second shoulder  124  toward the second hook  172 ,  176  such that the width D 1  at the second shoulder  124  is at least 30% or at least 35% or at least 40% greater than the width, D 1 , at the second hook  172 ,  176 . For example, D 1  can be 0.38 inches, and D 2  can be 0.22 inches, and the legs  130 ,  132  taper so that they narrow from the shoulders  122 ,  124  toward the most distal hooks  170 ,  172  at the bottom side  108 . 
     The first retention tab  160  includes a first member  220  extending toward the second retention tab  162  or toward the second finger  144  and terminating at a second member  222  (see  FIG.  2   ) extending away from the front side  102 . The second retention tab  162  includes a second member  230  extending toward the first retention tab  160  or toward the first finger  142  and terminating at a second member  228  (see  FIG.  2   ) extending away from the back side  104  of the clip device  100 . 
     The first finger portion  142  includes a first elongated slot  202  (best seen in  FIG.  2   ) dimensioned to receive therein a corresponding tab configured as the first tab  142  of a second clip device  100 . The first member  220  has a surface  224  facing toward the back side  108 , and the second member  222  has a depth, D 3 , dimensioned to pass through the first elongated slot  202  of an adjacent clip device  100  when stacked together. 
     The first finger portion  142  includes a first elongated slot  202  ( FIG.  2   ) dimensioned to receive therein a corresponding tab configured as the first retention tab  160  of another clip device like the clip device  100  shown in  FIG.  1   , and the second finger portion  162  includes a second elongated slot  204  ( FIG.  2   ) dimensioned to receive therein a corresponding tab configured as the second retention tab  162  of another clip device like the clip device  100  shown in  FIG.  1   . An example width or distance, D 4  ( FIG.  2   ), of the elongated slot  202 ,  204  is 0.19 inches, which is equal to the depth, D 3  ( FIG.  2   ), of the second member  222 ,  228  of the retention tabs  160 ,  162 . The dimension, D 3 , can be slightly larger than D 4   
     Adjacent clip devices, each like the clip device  100  shown in  FIG.  1   , can be clipped together by their corresponding first and second retention tabs  160 ,  162  to form an interlocking stacking arrangement in which the clip devices  100   a - e  (shown in  FIG.  6 A ) are stacked at an offset corresponding to at least a thickness, D 3 , of the first retention tab  160  (see  FIG.  6 B ). Each clip device, e.g.,  100   a , is slightly offset from the immediately adjacent clip device, e.g.,  100   b , by a distance, W 7 , seen in  FIG.  3   , such that the total width of the stacked assembly of clip devices  100   a,b,c,d,e , seen in  FIG.  6 A , corresponds to a dimension W 6  corresponding to W 7  ( FIG.  3   ) multiplied by the number of clip devices  100   a - e . In one example, the offset distance, W 7 , is about 0.12 inches. Thus, when five clip devices  100  are stacked together as shown in  FIG.  6 A , W 6  increases the overall width by 0.12 inches×5=0.6 inches. This allows multiple clip devices  100   a - e  when not being used to be stacked in a compact assembly in a neat and organized manner without having the legs and hooks intertwine, creating a tangled mess that would be difficult to singulate all the clip devices from one another. Conventional clips are typically stored in a bag, but the legs and hooks and other grabbing surfaces tend to become discombobulated and intertwined together. The present disclosure avoids this scenario. The retention tabs  160 ,  162  have another purpose, which is to retain a bulb socket  410  (see  FIG.  4   ) securely between the fingers  142 ,  144 , so that the bulb socket  410  does not tilt or fall out of the clip device  100 . 
     The first clip portion  150  has a sloped upper surface  214  ( FIG.  2   ) facing away from the top side  106  and a bottom engagement surface  210  ( FIG.  2   ) facing toward and generally parallel with the upper surface  126 . The clip device  100  is generally mirror-image symmetrical about a central axis A H  ( FIG.  3   ) extending along a height dimension, H, of the clip device  100  such that a gap  302  ( FIG.  3   ) between the first finger portion  130  and the second finger portion  132  is generally centered relative to the upper surface  126 . This means that when a bulb socket  410  is installed into a clip device  100 , the light bulb  400  coupled to the bulb socket  410  will be centered along the ridgeline  800  of the roof  820  ( FIG.  8   ), creating a uniform and aligned appearance when multiple bulbs  410  are attached by corresponding clip devices  100   a - f  on the ridgeline  800 . When the bulbs  400  are turned on, they all have a consistent orientation toward the sky, are spaced apart at regular distances slack in the wires, creating an organized, neat appearance. Even in inclement weather, such as in the presence of high winds or a snowstorm, the bulbs and sockets  400 ,  410  will remain securely in the clip device  100  and will not tilt or fall over or out of the retention tabs  160 ,  162 . The elongated slots  202 ,  204  also provide less drag or resistance to wind, allowing wind, no matter which direction it blows, opportunities to pass through or around the clip device  100  and bulb/socket  400 ,  410 , further reducing the chance of the bulb socket  410  becoming dislodged from or tilting out of the grasp of the finger portions  142 ,  144 , in cooperation with the bottom engagement surfaces  210 ,  212  of the clip portions  150 ,  152  and the retention tabs  160 ,  162 . A minimum of only two finger portions  142 ,  144  are needed to retain a bulb socket  410  securely within the clip device  100  without risk of falling out or over even in the presence of inclement weather such as high winds or rain/snow. 
     The gap  302  ( FIG.  3   ) is dimensioned to accommodate a C7 and C9 bulb diameter. For example, the width, W 1 , of the gap  302  can be 0.81 inches, which can accommodate both C7 and C9-type bulb sockets. Each of the finger portions  142 ,  144  has a height, H 1 , that is at least as tall as a C7/C9 bulb socket. For example, H 1  can be 1.56 inches, but the height up to the bottom engagement surfaces  210 ,  212  ( FIG.  3   ) can be 1.43 inches, which is slightly taller than a height of a standard C7/C9 bulb socket. 
     As can be seen in  FIG.  3   , the retention tabs  160 ,  162  are positioned relative to the finger portions  142 ,  144  at a distance (H 2 ) below the bottom engagement surfaces  210 ,  212  of the clip portions  150 ,  152 . In this example, H 2  is 0.625 inches, which, as can be seen in  FIG.  9 B , allows a 0.5″ diameter pipe  900  to be retained above the retention tabs  160 ,  162 , best seen in  FIG.  9 A . The clip portions  150 ,  152  also operate to retain the upper surface of the pipe  900 , which can run along the ridgeline  800  held securely above the ridgeline  800  by clip devices  100   a,b,c , as shown in  FIG.  9 B . The bottom area of the pipe  900  rests on the retention tabs  160 ,  162  as shown in  FIG.  9 A . Using a pipe  900 , such as a ½″ PVC pipe is another popular way of mounting smaller string lights, such as LED or micro LED lights to a ridgeline. The clip devices  100  herein can be used, together with a pipe  900  or equivalent structure, to mount an LED or micro LED string of lights along the pipe  900 , which is held above the ridgeline by multiple clip devices, such as the clip devices  100   a,b,c . The wires of the LED strings can be wound around the pipe and secured by zip ties  904 , such as shown in  FIG.  9 A . The bulbs  902  of the LED strings will be oriented in an upright manner toward the sky when installed on a ridgeline, which will create a uniform and neat appearance on the ridgeline. Some conventional clips produce an appearance of bulbs that are askew from one another, have a haphazard or inconsistent orientation from one bulb to the next, or do not allow them to be oriented toward the sky, but rather parallel to earth. 
     The flexible legs  130 ,  132  are mechanically coupled to the finger portions  142 ,  144  so that the opposite finger portion  144 ,  142  moves in a direction away from a direction of movement of the flexible leg  130 ,  132 . As discussed above in connection with  FIGS.  4 B and  4 C , spreading the legs  130 ,  132  apart (arrows A 1 , A 2 ) causes the clip portions  150 ,  152  to rotate inwardly toward one another (arrows B 1 , B 2 ). As long as the legs  130 ,  132  are spread wide enough to keep tension on the corresponding finger portions  142 ,  144 , the bulb socket  410  will remain securely in the clip device  100 . However, releasing the bulb socket  410  from the clip device  100  can be accomplished easily and quickly by simply squeezing the legs  130 ,  132  together in the direction of arrows C 1 , C 2  shown in  FIG.  5 A . By urging the legs  130 ,  132  toward one another, the finger portions  142 ,  144  start rotating away from each other, as shown by the arrows D 1 , D 2  in  FIG.  5 B . Once the clip portions  150 ,  152  are clear of the housing of the bulb socket  410 , the entire bulb assembly  400 ,  410  can be freely removed from the clip device  100 , without getting snagged or caught along the way. Even the wires (not shown for ease of illustrations), will easily clear the tabs  160 ,  162  by squeezing the legs together  130 ,  132 . In fact, if the entire clip device  100  is held upside down, gravity will simply allow the bulb assembly  400 ,  410  to fall away from the clip device  100  together with its wires. The installer can grab a number of clip devices  100 , squeeze the respective legs together, and release a number of bulbs simultaneously using this method. The starting width, W 4 , shown in  FIG.  4 B , reduces to a smaller width, W 3 , shown in  FIG.  4 C ; whereas in  FIG.  5 A , the starting width W 4  increases to a larger width W 5  shown in  FIG.  5 B  that is wider than a width of the bulb socket  410 . Because the bulb assembly  400 ,  410  can be released vertically away from the clip device  100 , the retaining clips  160 ,  162  will not pose any impediment to the release path of the bulb assembly  400 ,  410  including its wires  830  (see  FIG.  8   ). The clip device  100  can be composed of a plastic or metal or any other material that allows the legs  130 ,  132  and fingers  142 ,  144  to flex. 
     The tabs  160 ,  162  serve another purpose, which is to act as retaining clips to secure adjacent pairs of clip devices  100  together, such as shown in  FIGS.  6 A,  6 B, and  7 A- 7 C . To secure one clip device  100  to another clip device  100  or multiple clip devices  100 , the two clip devices  100   a ,  100   b  are offset from one another as shown in the top cross-sectional view of  FIG.  7 A . The clip device  100   b  is brought toward clip device  100   a  in the direction of E 1 , and then the clip devices  100   a ,  100   b  are slid past one another (e.g., in the direction of arrow E 2  in  FIG.  7 B ) until the tabs interlock as shown in  FIG.  7 C . In this example, the retention tab  162   b  of the clip device  100   b  slides through the elongated slot  204  of the clip device  100   a , and the retention tab  160   a  of the clip device  100   a  slides through the elongated slot  202  of the clip device  100   b . Thus, one tab of each clip device is inserted through a corresponding elongated slot of the adjacent clip device, and vice versa. 
     The clip device  100  can include optional wire management and bulb holding features, such as shown in  FIGS.  10 A and  10 B . For ease of illustration and discussion, the clip device  100  shown in  FIGS.  10 A and  10 B  include both features, but one or both of these features can be incorporated into any of the clip devices disclosed herein. The clip device  100  includes a wire management feature  1020 , which in this example is shown as having a C-shape, to retain wires  1012  of a light string connected to bulbs retained by the clip device  100 . A top view of this arrangement can be seen in  FIG.  10 A . Likewise, or alternately, the clip device can include a bulb holding feature  1010 , configured to hold a small bulb socket therein. The wires  1002  from the light string powering the bulbs  1000  run underneath the bulb holding feature  1010 , which also has a C-shaped profile to allow the bulb socket  1010  to be snapped in and out of the feature  1010 . For example, this feature  1010  would allow the installation of an LED string without the pipe  900  shown in  FIG.  9 B . The wire management feature  1020  can also be used to take up slack in the wires  1012  of a bulb light string and to ensure that the wires  1012  do not catch on the tabs  160 ,  162 . 
     The present disclosure relates to methods of installing and instructing installers to install clip devices on a roof. An example flowchart of a method  1100  is shown in  FIG.  11   . The method  1100  includes instructing an installer to carry out the following steps. The installer is instructed to insert a bulb socket  410  of a light string between the first finger portion  142  and the second finger portion  144  of a clip device  100  until the bulb socket  410  is secured by the first clip portion  150  and the second clip portion  152  between the first finger portion  142  and the second finger portion  144  (see  FIG.  4 B ) ( 1102 ). The installer is instructed to spread the first leg  130  and the second leg  132  away from each other to cause the first and second clip portions  150 ,  152  to bend toward one another to clamp the bulb socket  410  between the first and second finger portions  142 ,  144 . Then, the installer is instructed to install the first clip device  1100  to straddle a shingle or tile on the ridgeline  800  by causing the first hook  170 ,  172  and the second hook  174 ,  176  to hook under respective ends of the first shingle or tile (e.g.,  802 ) to hold the clip device  100  in an upright manner on the ridgeline  800  with a first bulb  400  coupled to the bulb socket  410  pointing away from the roof (e.g., toward the sky) ( 1104 ). Optionally, the installer can be instructed to arrange wires  830  of the light string so that they run underneath, relative to the top side  106 , the first tab  160  and the second tab  162  ( 1106 ). If there are more bulb sockets  400  to install in clip devices  100  ( 1108 ), steps  1102  and  1104  and optionally  1106  are performed until a desired number of clip devices  100  are installed on the ridgeline  800  of the roof ( 1108 ). The two different locations of the hooks on the legs  130 ,  132  of the clip device  100  accommodate different shingle sizes, such as 10″ shingle and a 12″ shingle. This way, the same clip device  100  can be used to hook onto shingles of different sizes. Although two sets of hooks  170 ,  172  and  174 ,  176  are shown in  FIG.  1   , additional sets of hooks can be added to accommodate different sizes of shingles, e.g., shingles of a metric size. The lengths of the legs  130 ,  132  can be extended or shortened to accommodate hook spacing for different shingle or tile dimensions. In addition, the angle of each hook  170 ,  172 ,  174 ,  176  can be adjusted to create a more or less aggressive retention of the shingle or tile. In  FIG.  1   , the angle of the first hook  170  relative to the first leg  130  is 70 degrees, and the angle of the hook  174  relative to the leg  130  is 55 degrees. The skilled person will understand that these angles can be adjusted based on the stance of the leg, the thickness of the shingle or tile, and so forth. 
     To remove or uninstall the clip devices  100  from a ridgeline  800  and the bulb sockets  410  from the clip devices  100 , an example method  1200  instructs an installer to carry out the following steps. The installer is instructed to unhook the first leg  170 ,  174  and the second leg  172 ,  176  of the clip device  100  being removed from the roof  800  to free it therefrom ( 1202 ). The installer is instructed to squeeze the first leg  170 ,  174  and the second leg  172 ,  176  together to cause the first and second finger portions  142 ,  144  to bend away from one another until the bulb socket  410  is released from the first clip portion  150  and the second clip portion  152  ( 1204 ). If there are more clip devices and bulb sockets to be uninstalled, the method  1200  repeats steps  1202  and  1204  until all of the clip devices (e.g.,  100   a - f  in  FIG.  8   ) are uninstalled from the roof and all bulb sockets  410  are removed from the corresponding clip devices  100   a - f . It should be well understood that while only 8 clip devices are shown in  FIG.  8    as an example, more or fewer clip devices can be installed depending on the length of the ridgeline or the desired number of light bulbs to install. For example, only a few clip devices would be sufficient to add bulbs to the roof ridgeline of a dog house, but many, e.g., over 20 or over 30 would be needed to extend across an entire roof ridgeline of a residential house. 
     The method  1200  can optionally include instructing the installer to stack the clip devices  100  together for storage. To do so, the installer is instructed to interlock corresponding pairs of the first and second tabs  160 ,  162  of a given one of the clip devices (e.g.,  100   a ) (see  FIG.  6 A or  6 B ) into corresponding first and second elongated slots  202 ,  204  of an other clip device (e.g.,  100   b ) that is adjacent to the clip device  100   a . While the overall width of the stacked clips increases slightly, there is no theoretical limit to the number of clip devices  100  that can be stacked together in this manner except for storage or packing requirements. 
       FIG.  21 A  is an isometric top view of a shingle clip device  2100  according to another aspect of the present disclosure. Unlike the clip device  100  shown and described above, the shingle clip device  2100  lacks extending legs but rather has a V-shaped clip  2102  extending away from an upper surface  2126  of the clip device  2100 . The clip device  2100  includes two finger portions  2142 ,  2144  just like the finger portions  142 ,  142  described above in connection with the clip device  100 . The finger portions  2142 ,  2144  include tabs  2160 ,  2162  just like the tabs  160 ,  162  shown and described in connection with the clip device  100 . Optional elongated slots  2202 ,  2204  are also incorporated into the finger portions  2142 ,  1244 . The V-shaped clip  2102  can be angled relative to the upper surface  2126  by angle α as shown in  FIG.  21 A . In this example, the angle α is 180 degrees, but as can be seen in  FIG.  21 B , this angle can be reduced to accommodate a roof pitch of the roof (e.g., 4/12 to 9/12) where the clip device  2100  is installed. This angle α can be adjusted by the installer after installing the clip device  2100  under a shingle  2500 , as shown in  FIG.  4 B , to orient the bulb  400  toward the sky and orthogonal to earth. The bulb socket  410  is held between the fingers  2142 ,  2144  of the clip device  2100  between the tabs  2160 ,  2162  and the clip portions  2150 ,  2152  just like in the clip device  100  disclosed above. 
     The example dimensions given herein produce a clip device that can accommodate C7 and C9 bulbs and can be installed on 10″ or 12″ shingles. The dimensions herein are examples only, and the skilled person will understand, from the guidance given in the present disclosure, that different dimensions can be used to accommodate different bulb sizes and different shingle dimensions. For example, in installations that use metric values instead of English or imperial values, the dimensions can be readily adjusted using English-to-metric conversion factors. 
     An ornamental roof ridgeline clip device design is also disclosed. Alternately, the device can be called a roof clip, or a ridge clip, or a clip for a ridgeline, or a clip for a roof. As will be understood by those skilled in the art, there are a variety of ways to implement the functional features described herein without losing their function. The inventor has chosen a particular aesthetic design for the clip device, which is mirror-image symmetrical about its central axis and will enhance without detracting from the overall aesthetic when installed on a ridgeline of a roof. The idea was to design a clip that will not take away from the aesthetic of the roof, and that will be nearly invisible at nighttime. In one example, the clips can be black in color, or they can match the color of shingles (e.g., gray) or tiles (e.g., orange) of a roof to blend in during the daytime. The clip devices when installed along the entire length of a ridgeline can resemble ornamental roof cresting. 
       FIG.  13    is an isometric top right view of a roof ridgeline clip device, showing my new design. 
       FIG.  14    is an isometric bottom right view of the roof ridgeline clip device of  FIG.  13   . 
       FIG.  15    is a side view of a left side of the roof ridgeline clip device of  FIG.  13   . 
       FIG.  16    is a front view of the roof ridgeline clip device of  FIG.  13   . 
       FIG.  17    is a rear view of the roof ridgeline clip device of  FIG.  13   . 
       FIG.  18    is a side view of a right side of the roof ridgeline clip device of  FIG.  13   . 
       FIG.  19    is a top view of the roof ridgeline clip device of  FIG.  13   . 
       FIG.  20    is a bottom view of the roof ridgeline clip device of  FIG.  13   . 
     Although the disclosed embodiments have been illustrated and described with respect to one or more implementations, equivalent alterations and modifications will occur or be known to others skilled in the art upon the reading and understanding of this specification and the annexed drawings. In addition, while a particular feature of the invention may have been disclosed with respect to only one of several implementations, such feature may be combined with one or more other features of the other implementations as may be desired and advantageous for any given or particular application. 
     While various embodiments of the present invention have been described above, it should be understood that they have been presented by way of example only, and not limitation. Numerous changes to the disclosed embodiments can be made in accordance with the disclosure herein, without departing from the spirit or scope of the invention. Thus, the breadth and scope of the present invention should not be limited by any of the above described embodiments. Rather, the scope of the invention should be defined in accordance with the following claims and their equivalents.