Patent Publication Number: US-11384542-B2

Title: Roof shingle tile and method of installing the same

Description:
PRIORITY 
     This application claims priority to U.S. Provisional Application No. 62/825,364, filed Mar. 28, 2019, the entirety of which is incorporated herein by reference. 
    
    
     FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention relates to roof shingles for use on, for example, a building roof deck surface, and methods of installing the same. 
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     Molded plastic and/or composite roof shingles for exterior roof surfaces are known in the prior art. These molded panels or shingles may be made from, for example, thermoplastic polymers, including polypropylene, polyethylene, and various mixtures and copolymers thereof. 
     Many prior art molded or composite shingles are generally rectangular in shape and have substantially flat top and bottom surfaces. Such shingles are often installed by securing a first horizontal row along a bottom of the roof. Such shingles are then typically secured independently to the roof deck, one shingle at a time, using fasteners inserted through an upper portion of the shingle. In such examples, successive courses of shingles may be installed overlaying the previous course by as much as 50% or more so that water or other precipitation will cascade down the roof, from one course to the next, until it is shed from the roof. Such significant overlap is necessary to not only cover the fasteners used to secure the shingles to the roof deck, but also to mitigate against any water that may be blown upwards underneath overlapping rows of shingles and ultimately onto the underlying roof deck. 
     A disadvantage of such existing designs is, for example, requiring such significant overlap and the wasted surface area covered by adjacent rows, thereby necessitating more shingle material than would be required if such overlap could be minimized. However, shingles utilizing less material suffer from challenges associated with, for example, the leaking concerns from wind-driven water as mentioned above, along with a risk of shingles lifting and blowing off the roof in high-wind scenarios because a significantly overlapping shingle is not present to maintain the shingle in its desired position. For example, rather than secure a lower portion of the shingle to the roof deck or the lower-vertically adjacent row, such prior art shingles often rely on the significant overlap from the upper-vertically adjacent row to prevent undesired lifting of the roof shingle in such high-wind or other similar situations. 
     Some prior art solutions have sought to overcome certain of the disadvantages discussed above. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 8,590,270 to Martinique proposes so-called “anchor tabs” extending from one side of such shingles that receive an additional fastener at the lower end of the shingle. Such designs have the disadvantages, however, of requiring additional fasteners, which slows installation and puts more holes in the underlying roof deck, thereby increasing the risk of undesirable water infiltration. 
     To overcome these and other disadvantages, the present application discloses various shingle embodiments and methods for installing the same that provide mechanisms for securing the upper portions of the shingle to the roof deck and securing the lower portions of the shingles to the lower-adjacent row of shingles, rather than the roof deck itself. Such designs advantageously allow for, among other things, draining precipitation that gathers in gutter portions of the shingles onto the weather facing surface of vertically adjacent rows of shingles, thereby maximizing the shingles&#39; ability to withstand high winds and other stresses and minimizing risk of precipitation leaking between courses of shingles to the underlying roof deck. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     In some embodiments, a roof shingle tile is provided that may a first side opposite a second side, a top edge opposite a bottom groove, a top gutter, and a side gutter. In some embodiments, the bottom groove may extend along a bottom edge of the tile that includes a bottom edge of the side gutter, and the top edge may include a tongue portion sized to fit within the bottom groove of a vertically adjacent tile. The roof shingle tile may also be configured such that the second side includes an overhang portion sized to overlap the side gutter of a horizontally adjacent tile. 
     It is also contemplated that the roof shingle tile may include an overhang extending from the bottom edge of the tile, and/or the top gutter may include a sloped lower portion for directing water to the side gutter when installed on a roof. In some embodiments, the top gutter may also include an end stop on the sloped lower portion opposite the side gutter. The side gutter may, in some embodiments, include one or more raised partitions forming water channels. The roof shingle may also include a notched recessed portion on a back surface of the tile for receiving, for example, all or part of the top gutter of a vertically adjacent tile. In some embodiments, the notched recessed portion may be sized such that the bottom surface of the tile and a bottom surface of the vertically adjacent tile form a substantially continuous surface. 
     The roof shingle tile presented herein may also be configured such that the second side includes a side edge extending substantially to and along the side gutter of the horizontally adjacent tile. In some embodiments, the side gutter may include a slope enabling the side gutter to overhang the bottom groove that extends along the bottom edge of the side gutter. 
     The present disclosure also teaches a method of installing a plurality of roof shingle tiles on a roof deck. In some embodiments, the method may include providing a plurality of roof shingle tiles such as, for example, those discussed herein and hereinabove. In some embodiments, the method may also include installing a first horizontal row of such tiles along all or part of a substantially lowermost portion of the roof deck, wherein installation may include installing a first tile to the roof deck, and installing a second tile horizontally adjacent the first tile, wherein the overhang of the second side of the second tile overlaps the side gutter of the first tile. The method may also include installing one or more tiles in a second horizontal row vertically adjacent the first row of tiles such that the grooves of the second-row tiles receive the tongues of the first-row tiles. 
     In some embodiments, the method may include installing each tile by fastening the tile to the roof deck with one or more fasteners (e.g., nails or screws or the like) inserted through an upper portion of the top gutter. The method may also include installing the tiles such that an overhang extending from the bottom edge of the second-row tiles overlaps the top gutter and top edge of the first-row tiles. The method may also include installing the tiles such that a water flow surface of the side gutter of the second-row tiles extends to the upper surface of the first-row tiles. 
     The method may also include the step of installing a starter strip on the roof deck, wherein the starter strip may include a tongue substantially similar to the tongue of the plurality of roof shingle tiles, and wherein the tongue of the starter strip may be received by the groove of each first-row tile. Such starter strip or installation strip may include a plurality of starter strip pieces installed adjacent one another to form a continuous starter strip. The strip may also include a fastener receiving area, and further wherein the fastener receiving area is overlapped by the first row of tiles during installation. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         FIG. 1  is a top plan view of an exemplary roof shingle tile according to one embodiment of the present disclosure. 
         FIG. 2  is a top perspective view of an exemplary roof shingle tile according to one embodiment of the present disclosure. 
         FIG. 3  is a rear perspective view of an exemplary roof shingle tile according to one embodiment of the present disclosure. 
         FIG. 4  is a rear plan view of an exemplary roof shingle tile according to one embodiment of the present disclosure. 
         FIG. 5  is a side plan view of first side of an exemplary roof shingle tile according to one embodiment of the present disclosure. 
         FIG. 6  is side plan view of a second side of an exemplary roof shingle tile according to one embodiment of the present disclosure. 
         FIG. 7  is a diagram showing an exemplary installation of a plurality of roof shingle tiles according to one embodiment of the present disclosure. 
         FIG. 8  is a photograph of two exemplary roof shingle tiles in an exemplary vertical configuration according to one embodiment of the present disclosure. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
     Specific exemplary embodiments of the inventive subject matter now will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings. This inventive subject matter may, however, be embodied in many different forms and should not be construed as limited to the embodiments set forth herein; rather, these embodiments are provided so that this disclosure will be thorough and complete, and will fully convey the scope of the inventive subject matter to those skilled in the art. In the drawings, like numbers refer to like elements. It will be understood that when an element is referred to as being “connected” or “coupled” to another element, it can be directly connected or coupled to the other element or intervening elements may be present. As used herein the term “and/or” includes any and all combinations of one or more of the associated listed items. 
     The terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing particular embodiments only and is not intended to be limiting of the inventive subject matter. As used herein, the singular forms “a”, “an” and “the” are intended to include the plural forms as well, unless expressly stated otherwise. It will be further understood that the terms “includes,” “comprises,” “including” and/or “comprising,” when used in this specification, specify the presence of stated features, integers, steps, operations, elements, and/or components, but do not preclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, integers, steps, operations, elements, components, and/or groups thereof. 
     Unless otherwise defined, all terms (including technical and scientific terms) used herein have the same meaning as commonly understood by one of ordinary skill in the art to which this inventive subject matter belongs. It will be further understood that terms, such as those defined in commonly used dictionaries, should be interpreted as having a meaning that is consistent with their meaning in the context of the specification and the relevant art and will not be interpreted in an idealized or overly formal sense unless expressly so defined herein. 
     Some embodiments of the inventive subject matter arise from a realization that improved performance may be obtained from distribution transformers by using them in conjunction with a solid-state power flow controller that may be configured to be coupled in line with the transformer, e.g., between the transformer and the load in a service drop. Millions of distribution transformers are currently used in power distribution systems, and replacement of these devices with solid state or hybrid transformers would generally be prohibitively costly. In addition, replacing existing devices is also potentially wasteful, as existing devices are generally rugged and stand to provide years of additional service with relatively low maintenance. However, conventional distribution transformers typically provide no reactive power control. Such capability may be provided, however, by transformer power flow controller units configured for retrofit of existing distribution transformer installations. Such devices can be relatively low-cost, low voltage devices that are installed on the secondary side of the transformer. 
     Referring generally to  FIGS. 1-2 , a roof tile or roof shingle  100  according to one exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure is presented. In some embodiments, shingle  100  may include a first side  110  opposite a second side  120 , a top edge  130  opposite a bottom edge  140 , a top gutter  170 , and a side gutter  175 . Roof shingle tile  100  may also include an upper surface  115 . Roof tile shingle  100  may also include, in some embodiments, a side overhang portion  128  sized to substantially overlap side gutter  175  of a laterally adjacent tile  100  when installed. In some embodiments, top edge  130  may include a tongue portion  135 , and bottom edge  140  may include a bottom overhang portion  148 . 
     In some embodiments, side gutter  175  may include a bottom edge  142  that may form all or a part of bottom edge  140 . Side gutter  175  may also include one or more raised partitions  177 . Such raised partitions  177  may advantageously channel any water flowing into or within gutter  175  (e.g., on a water flow surface  176 ) into a substantially vertical flow direction and mitigate against any lateral flow of water within side gutter  175 . Such mitigation of lateral water flow may be advantageous when, for example, wind or other forces may drive water flowing in side gutter  175  in a lateral direction that may then be somehow forced out of the side gutter  175  and undesirably onto, for example, an underlying roof deck surface. 
     Roof shingle tile  100  may also include, in some embodiments, a side edge portion  122  along the second side  120  and/or overhang portion  128 . In some embodiments, side edge portion  122  may extend from substantially the upper surface  115  of overhang portion  128  downwards or substantially perpendicularly downwards towards the plane of a roof-facing surface  118  (e.g.,  FIG. 3 ). In some embodiments, side edge portion  122  of a first roof shingle  100  may be shaped to substantially align with the side gutter  175  of a laterally adjacent second roof shingle  100  when installed. In such arrangements, side edge portion  122  may serve, among other things, to further block any lateral flow of water in side gutter  175  in a manner similar to raised partition(s)  177 . Side edge portion  122  may also serve, in some embodiments, to aid in installation by providing, for example, a spacing guide for laterally adjacent placement of one or more roof shingles  100 , support for overhang portion  128 , and/or additional support and strength generally for roof shingle  100 . 
     Referring now to  FIGS. 3 &amp; 4 , a rear or roof-facing side of roof shingle or tile  100  is presented. Roof shingle or tile  100  may include a rear facing or roof facing surface  118 . In some embodiments, the bottom edge  140  and/or the side gutter bottom edge  142  may include a bottom groove  145 . In some embodiments, tongue  135  may be sized and shaped to substantially fit into and otherwise mate with bottom groove  145  such that when a first roof shingle  100  is installed on a roof deck (discussed in greater detail below with reference to, for example,  FIG. 7 ), a second roof shingle  100  may be installed on a vertically adjacent row with tongue  135  of the first shingle  100  fitting substantially within the bottom groove  145  of the second shingle  100 . In such embodiments, water traveling on or within side gutter  175  (including, for example, on water flow surface  176 ) of the second roof shingle  100  may advantageously flow directly onto the upper surface  115  of the first roof shingle  100 , thereby directing water to the shingle surface and ultimately to a roof edge and off the roof deck to be protected. 
     In some embodiments, roof shingle  100  may also include a notch  129  extending along a lower portion of roof-facing surface  118 . Notch  129  may, in some embodiments, be sized and shaped to generally receive the top gutter  170  of a lower vertically adjacent shingle  100 . In such arrangements, roof-facing surface  118  of a first shingle  100  and roof facing surface  118  of a vertically adjacent shingle  100  may form a substantially continuous and/or substantially flat surface for placement on an underlying roof deck. Notch  129  may also be useful, in some embodiments, for facilitating proper alignment and/or spacing of vertically adjacent tiles during installation. 
     Referring now to  FIGS. 5 &amp; 6 , an exemplary side view of first side  110  of shingle  100  is presented. In some embodiments, the top gutter  170  may include a sloped lower trough  172  and a water blocking segment  173 . In some embodiments, lower trough  172  may be configured to slope such that when roof shingle  100  is installed on a roof deck, any water collected or otherwise impinging on or in top gutter  170  will tend to flow toward side gutter  175  by virtue of at least the slope and the force of gravity. Any water collected in top gutter  170  and within trough  172  that is somehow directed away from side gutter  175  (for example, by a force of wind pushing water up sloped trough  172 ) may be blocked by water blocking segment  173  and thereby prevented from exiting top gutter  170 . In some embodiments, water blocking segment  173  is disposed substantially opposite side gutter  175  substantially near, for example, second side  120 . 
     In some embodiments, side gutter  175  may include a slope  179  to facilitate flow of water or any other matter in side gutter  175  over bottom groove  145  in bottom edge  142  of side gutter  175 , and onto upper surface  115  of a vertically adjacent tile. Slope  179  may be, for example, an angle such that water may still flow freely down side gutter  175  by virtue of gravity and the slope provided by the roof deck on which shingle  100  is mounted, yet move the water flow closer to the upper surface  115  relative to roof-facing surface  118  such that water may flow freely onto upper surface  115  of a vertically adjacent shingle. 
     Referring now to  FIG. 7 , an exemplary method of installing a plurality of roof tile shingles (e.g., roof tile shingle  100 ) on a roof deck (e.g., roof deck  700 ) is presented. Roof deck  700  may be any roof surface or other surface where installation of a roof or other system (e.g., siding system) to substantially prevent, among other things, infiltration of water on roof deck  700  is desired. For example, roof deck  700  may include the roof deck of a residential or other building or structure. 
     In preferred embodiments, roof deck  700  may include some amount of pitch such that water or other liquids/objects incident on any roof system or other system installed thereon will tend to drain or otherwise move downwards towards a roof edge  710  of the roof deck  700 . For example, roof deck  700  may be pitched between 1 degree and 90 degrees, or in some embodiments, 20 degrees, and water or other matter incident on roof deck  700  or any roof or other system installed thereon will tend to flow substantially downward towards roof edge  710  where such water may be collected (for example, in a roof gutter (not depicted)) and channeled or otherwise transported advantageously away from the building structure. In some embodiments, roof deck  700  may be treated with a primary protective covering (not shown) before installation of any roofing system (e.g., a plurality of roof shingles  100 ). 
     In some embodiments, a plurality of roof shingle tiles  100  may be provided and subsequently installed in one or more successive lateral courses. In some embodiments, installation may begin with a first lateral course substantially along roof edge  710 , followed by installation of one or more subsequent courses vertically adjacent the first course. 
     Referring to the exemplary embodiment shown in  FIG. 7 , a first shingle tile  100 A may be installed on roof deck  700  at a lowermost portion of the roof deck  700 , for example, substantially at or near roof edge  710 . Roof shingle tile  100 A may be secured to roof deck  700  in any appropriate manner. In one embodiment, roof shingle tile  100 A may be secured to roof deck  700  using one or more fasteners such as, for example, nails or screws. In some embodiments, such fasteners may be installed through roof shingle tile  100 A at a substantially upper portion of top gutter  170 . For example, one or more fasteners may be installed at or within fastener region  780 . 
     With first shingle  100 A installed, a second shingle  100 B may be installed laterally adjacent shingle  100 A. In some embodiments, shingle  100 B is installed such that overhang portion  128  of shingle  100 B overlaps side gutter  175  of shingle  100 A. In some embodiments, upper surface  115  of shingle  100 B may contact upper surface  115  of shingle  100 A, while in other embodiments, a gap  750  may remain. In some embodiments, top gutter  170  of shingles  100 B and  100 A may abut one another (see, for example,  FIG. 9 ). 
     Roof shingle  100 C may be installed in like manner, with subsequent shingles in the first lowermost row being installed and secured to the roof deck as described herein. 
     A vertically adjacent second row may also be installed. For example, in some embodiments, shingle  100 D may be installed such that shingle  100 D overlaps both shingle  100 A and  100 B. Shingle  100 D may also be installed, in some embodiments, so as to overlap all or part of the top gutter  170  of each of shingles  100 A and  100 B, thereby advantageously covering any laterally abutting edges of top gutters  170  of shingles  100 A and  100 B. 
     In addition, shingle  100 D may be installed with its bottom groove  145  receiving the tongues  135  of shingles  100 A and  100 B. The interlocking of tongue  135  and bottom groove  145  may serve to, among other things, secure the lower portion of shingle  100 D to one or more of shingles  100 A and  100 B, and thereby oppose lifting forces acting on shingle  100 D such as, for example, high winds. 
     Such an arrangement may also serve to facilitate water flow down the roof to the roof edge  710 . For example, by having the tongue of shingle  100 B insert into the bottom groove  145  of the bottom edge  142  of side gutter  175  of shingle  100 D, water flowing down side gutter  175  of shingle  100 D will exit side gutter  175  directly onto the upper surface  115  of shingle  100 B. Similarly, water flowing down upper surface  115  of shingle  100 D will flow over overhang  148  of shingle  100 D and directly onto upper surface  115  of shingles  100 A or  100 B. As such, the risk of water flowing on, over, or otherwise incident upon roof shingle  100 D reaching roof deck  700  is minimized because any water flowing on or over shingle  100 D flows only onto an upper surface  115  or side gutter  175  of a lower adjacent shingle, rather than having the opportunity to become incident on, for example, a contact point between any adjacent shingles where water might infiltrate between the shingles  100  to the roof deck  700 . In some embodiments, where water from an upper surface  115  of, for example, shingle  100 D may flow into gap  750 , the water flows directly into side gutter  175  of, for example, shingle  100 A, which then flows off roof edge  710 , or would flow onto the upper surface  115  of a lower vertically adjacent shingle in the manner described above. 
     In like manner, shingle  100 E may then be installed laterally adjacent shingle  100 D, and vertically adjacent to shingles  100 B and  100 C, with additional shingles being installed laterally along this second row as desired. 
     Installation may then continue laterally and vertically as needed, including in some embodiments installation of shingle  100 F in a manner that overlaps both shingles  100 D and  100 E in a manner similar to that described hereinabove. Installation may continue both vertically and/or laterally as needed and/or desired to substantially cover the entirety of roof deck  700 . 
     Advantageously, upon installation of the plurality of roof tile shingles  100  on roof deck  700 , water incident any shingle on rows above the lowermost row may exit only to the upper surface  115  of a lower adjacent shingle or into a side gutter  175  of a lower adjacent shingle, where such water may then continue on such path of upper surfaces  115  and/or side gutters  175  all the way to the roof edge  710 , minimizing and/or virtually eliminating infiltration of water to the underlying roof deck  700 . 
     In some embodiments, an installation strip or starter strip (not shown) may be provided and installed along roof edge  710 . The installation strip may, in some embodiments, include one or more of a top gutter, tongue, and upper surface portion(s) substantially similar to top gutter  170 , tongue  135 , and upper surface  118  of roof shingle  100 . The installation strip may be substantially continuous in some embodiments, such that it is substantially similar to an upper portion of roof shingle  100  that includes top gutter  170 , tongue  135  and/or a portion of upper surface  118 . The installation strip may, in some embodiments, be installed in a manner substantially similar to shingle  100 . For example, in some embodiments, the starter strip may be installed using any appropriate fastener and/or using any appropriate adhesive or other fastening technique known in the art. For example, the tongue of the starter strip may be disposed in the groove  145  of shingles  100 A- 100 C, etc. 
     In some embodiments, the starter strip may be installed before installation of all or part of a lowermost row of shingles  100 , followed by all or part of the lowermost row of roof shingles  100  installed in a manner similar to that described hereinabove. In one embodiment, the installation strip may serve to secure the lower portion of the lowermost row of roof tile shingles  100  to counteract, for example, lifting forces that may be associated with high winds, etc., as described hereinabove. 
     Referring now to  FIG. 8 , a photograph of exemplary embodiments of roof shingle tiles  100  is presented. The two roof shingle tiles  100 A and  100 B in  FIG. 8  are arranged in a vertically adjacent arrangement similar to that shown and described with reference to  FIG. 7 . For example, tongue  135  of the lower shingle  100 A is disposed within bottom groove  145  of upper shingle  100 B. 
     The invention may be embodied in other specific forms without departing from the spirit or essential characteristics thereof. The present embodiments are therefore to be considered in all respects as illustrative and not restrictive, the scope of the invention being indicated by the claims of the application rather than by the foregoing description, and all changes which come within the meaning and range of equivalency of the claims are therefore intended to be embraced therein.