Patent Publication Number: US-2007101676-A1

Title: Method and apparatus fo protecting a shingled roof

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
      The present invention relates to a process and to an apparatus for protecting a shingled roof of a building and especially to a custom made net shaped to fit a roof and having rapid attaching components so that a net can protect the shingles from being blown off during strong winds.  
      Most residential buildings today are built with angled roofs and are covered and made waterproof using various types of shingles which are applied in overlapping rows to the roof of the building. The shingles protect the building roof from leakage during rain and inclement weather. The most common type of shingle used for covering roofs are made of asphalt materials and especially with asphalt shingles reinforced with fiberglass or the like. A typical building roof is built with truss or roofing joist which are covering with plywood or one inch lumber. The wooden roof is then covered with asphalt impregnated builder&#39;s paper and then covered with overlapping shingles. Shingles are attached with roofing nails and typically have an adhesive placed on the ends to protect the shingles from blowing off and pulling loose from the nails. These shingled roofs have been found to have a long life and to withstand all types of inclement weather. However, very strong storms of hurricane force have been shown to lift the shingles and blow them from the roof which would then let rain and water from the storm enter the building, damaging the roof, the building, and the contents of the building.  
      The present invention is directed towards a method for protecting a shingled roof during hurricanes or strong storms to prevent them from blowing off the roof and which system can be quickly attached over the roof when a storm is approaching and then removed and compactly stored at other times.  
      Prior patents have been directed towards holding roofs down during strong winds. These are mostly directed towards preventing the entire roof from being pulled from the house. One prior patent may be seen in the Frye U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,388,378 and 5,355,640 for an anchoring system for completed structures which includes an apparatus for securing shingles against wind damage on a sloped or shingled roof and an apparatus for securing the roof structure of a building to the adjacent upper wall structure and an apparatus for securing a roof structure directly to the foundation of the building or to the ground. The system for securing shingles against wind damage includes threaded eyes which are attached through the shingles to the joists of a building for holding wires covering the shingles which are then attached at periodic points through the shingles. The J. E. Allsteadt U.S. Pat. No. 1,137,689 is a roof structure for storage bins which has hold-down cables passing from the roof down to the earth which are held by stakes. In the A. Mann U.S. Pat. No. 822,143, a haystack cover is provided in which a roofing cover is placed over a haystack and has cables with weights hanging therefrom. The E. D. Owen &amp; H. Lichtenberger U.S. Pat. No. 352,424 is a roofing retainer in which wire is attached on threaded fasteners at each end over a roof and is held in different positions with a plurality of wire guides attached to the roof. The U.S. Pat. No. 3,309,822 to Dunkin is an exterior anchoring apparatus for surface sheets. The Double et al. U.S. Pat. No. 3,949,527 is a material supported cover and method for securing a cover to the ground. A plurality of cables, ground anchors, cover sheets and load distribution devices are utilized for shielding and securing a stack of material to the ground. The Gerhardt U.S. Pat. No. 4,015,376 is an apparatus for stabilizing a mobile home roof which uses a plurality of tensioning straps extending transversely across a membrane roof and in contact with the roof. The Rasmussen U.S. Pat. No. 4,257,570 is a tie down assembly for use in securing a camper to a truck.  
      The present invention advantageously is a process for custom making a net of flexible material with reinforced edges which custom fit over a shingled roof and has preattached rapid coupling or fastener means for attaching the cover to the edge of the roof. This system allows a shingled roof cover to be folded and put away and then rapidly installed in the event of an approaching storm.  
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
      Other objects, features, and advantages of the present invention will be apparent from the written description and the drawings in which:  
       FIG. 1  is a perspective view of a residential building having the protective roof net of the present invention installed thereon;  
       FIG. 2  is a top plan view of the roof net and building of  FIG. 1 ;  
       FIG. 3  is a partial perspective of one corner of the building of  FIGS. 1 and 2 ; and  
       FIG. 4  if a perspective view of a roof fastener anchor; and  
       FIG. 5  is a sectional view of a second embodiment of a roof fastener anchor; and  
       FIG. 6  is a third embodiment of a roof fastener anchor. 
    
    
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
      A process and apparatus for protecting a shingled roof of a building which includes the steps of selecting a flexible net shaped to fit a predetermined building roof which net has a plurality of net fastener components positioned around the edge thereof. The selected net is then placed on the roof that it was custom made for over the shingles and attached to each of the net fastener components to an aligned roof fastener component attached to the edge of the building roof. The shingles of the building roof are held during strong winds with the flexible net custom fitted to a predetermined building roof which net has reinforced edges therearound and a plurality of net fasteners attached thereto and positioned in a spaced relationship around the edge of the net. A plurality of roof fastener components having a threaded portion are threadedly attached to the edge of a building roof and are shaped for attaching the net fastener thereto. The roof fastener component can be attached to a building roof edge in alignment with the net fastener components of a net covering a building roof for protecting the roofing shingles of a building during strong winds.  
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT  
      Referring to the drawings of  FIGS. 1 through 6  and especially to  FIGS. 1 and 2 , a shingled roof building  10  can be seen having a building shingled roof covering net  11  which has been cut specifically to fit the roof of the house  10 . The house  10  has the roof  12  walls  13  having an entrance door  14  and a garage door  15  and windows  16  and a vent pipe  17  and roof vent  19  through the roof  12 . Custom made net covering  11  has been cut and shaped specifically to fit the roof  12  of the building  10  and has an edge reinforcing  18  therearound. The gully  20  of the roof has the reinforcing edges  18  connected and similarly the outer edges  21  are connected together to form a custom roof net  11  that fits over the roof of the particular building  10  complete with an opening in the net having the reinforcing  21  therearound for fitting over the vent pipe  17  and roof vent  19 . The net covering may include one or more elastic bands  9  of rubber or other elastic material, if desired, to assist in holding the net taut onto the roof.  
      The outer edges of the net  11  along the reinforcing  18  has a plurality of fastener components  23  spaced therearound which fastening components can be in the nature of a quick clamp, as more clearly seen in  FIG. 3 . A plurality of fastening components or anchors  24  are attached to the edge of a roof  12 , such as along the eaves  25 . The roof fastening components may take different shapes, such as a flat plate  26  has a pair of threaded fasteners or screws  27  and a U-shaped clamp supporting bar  28  which can be attached in spaced relationships around the eaves  25  positioned for alignment with the fastener components  23 . The anchors or fastening components can also be similar to that shown in  FIG. 5  in which an anchoring bolt  30  anchors a metal plate  31  to the eave  25  and supports a clamping member  32  thereto.  
       FIG. 6  illustrates a simplified anchor post  33  having a threaded post member  34 , which may be in the form of a wood screw, and having a strap surface  35  on the end thereof. This anchor merely requires the installer to thread the threaded portion  34  into the eave and position the bar  35  in the correct position to receive the clamping racket  23 .  
      The method of the present invention requires that a special net covering  11  be made for the particular building  10  which net covering can be made of a nylon mesh or any other flexible netting material desired and has reinforced edges  18  formed therearound. Brackets  23  are attached to the reinforced edges in predetermined positions along the edge that abuts the edge of the roof  25 . The system also requires the selection of an anchoring post or fastener component  23  which is attached to the edge of the roof  25  and which is positioned for alignment with the net fastener components. Once the custom made roof net roof cover  11  has been made to a particular building and upon a storm approaching, the net  11  can be pulled from storage and placed directly on top of the roof and the clamps  23  clamped to the individual posts  24  to put a net covering over the shingled roof to protect the shingles from a storm. Once the storm threat is over, the clamps  23  can be unhooked from the posts  24  and the netting removed from the roof. The covering net is flexible and can be folded for storage.  
      It should be clear at this time that a method for protecting a shingled building roof against strong winds has been provided which, once custom made to fit a building, can be rapidly installed upon an approaching storm and rapidly removed after the storm passes. However, the present invention should not be considered as limited to the forms shown which are to be considered illustrative rather than restrictive.