Patent Abstract:
A roofing trim strip and multi-piece trim strip product is provided. There is shown a roofing trim strip base that may be applied to a suitable roofing surface, such as a thermoplastic membrane roof. The trim strip base includes a cap coupling portion extending away from a base portion. The cap coupling portion includes cap engagement features. A roofing trim cap strip includes a web portion and a base coupling portion. The base coupling portion of the cap strip may be placed over the cap coupling portion to couple the cap strip with the base strip. The cap strip may take any suitable configuration and may be particularly adapted to simulate a standing seam metal roof.

Full Description:
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION 
       [0001]    This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application Ser. No. 61/494,202 filed Jun. 7, 2011. The disclosure of the above application is incorporated herein by reference. 
     
    
     TECHNICAL FIELD 
       [0002]    The present invention generally relates to roofing materials and, more particularly, to roofing trim strips for in situ type of attachment to a roof. 
       BACKGROUND 
       [0003]    It is generally known in the art to apply one-piece decorative thermoplastic strips to underlying thermoplastic roofing membranes. Current strips have several disadvantages. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0004]      FIG. 1  is a perspective view of an exemplary embodiment of a roofing trim base strip for application to a surface; 
           [0005]      FIG. 2  is a cross-sectional view of the roofing trim base strip of  FIG. 1  taken along line  2 - 2  thereof; 
           [0006]      FIG. 3  is a perspective view of an exemplary embodiment of a roofing trim cap strip for assembly to the roofing trim base strip of  FIG. 1 ; 
           [0007]      FIG. 4  is a cross-sectional view of the roofing trim cap strip of  FIG. 3  taken along line  3 - 3  thereof; 
           [0008]      FIG. 5  is a cross-sectional view of a multi-piece roofing trim product including the roofing trim cap strip of  FIG. 3  assembled to the roofing trim base strip of  FIG. 1 ; 
           [0009]      FIG. 6  is a perspective view of another exemplary embodiment of a roofing trim cap strip for assembly to the base strip of  FIG. 1 ; 
           [0010]      FIG. 7  is a cross-sectional view of the roofing trim cap strip of  FIG. 6  taken along line  7 - 7  thereof; and 
           [0011]      FIG. 8  is a cross-sectional view of a multi-piece roofing trim strip product including the roofing trim cap strip of  FIG. 6  assembled to the roofing trim base strip of  FIG. 1 . 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
       [0012]      FIGS. 1 and 2  show one exemplary embodiment of a roofing trim base strip  10  that may be applied in situ to any suitable roofing surface. The roofing surface may include a sheet of material, for example, a roofing membrane of single or multiple ply construction. In one embodiment, the membrane may be molded from polyvinyl chloride, or may be produced in any other suitable manner of any other suitable thermoplastic material. Suitable membranes are available from Duro-Last Roofing, Inc., of Saginaw, Mich. In one embodiment, the material of the surface is identical to the material of the strip  10 . The strip  10  may be molded, extruded, or otherwise formed or produced in any other suitable manner and may be composed of polyvinyl chloride, or any other suitable thermoplastic material. In other embodiments, the materials of the base strip  10  and the roofing membrane may be similar or may be dissimilar. If any given strip  10  is not long enough for a particular application, a plurality of the strip  10  may be laid end-to-end, and may be butt-welded or otherwise coupled together in end-to-end fashion. 
         [0013]    The base strip  10  extends longitudinally along a longitudinal axis A 1  and perpendicularly to a base axis B 1  that is perpendicular to the longitudinal axis A 1  and perpendicularly to a projection axis C 1  that is perpendicular to the longitudinal and base axes A 1 , B 1 . The base strip  10  includes a base portion  12  including opposed flanges  14 ,  16  extending in opposite directions, and a cap coupling portion  18  extending in a direction transversely away from the base portion  12  a location between the flanges  14 ,  16 . As used herein, the term “opposed” includes face-to-face opposition or back-to-back opposition. The flanges  14 ,  16  may extend transversely away from the projection axis C 1 , and generally parallel to the base axis B 1 . The base strip  10  may be of generally inverted T-shape as shown wherein the cap coupling portion  18  forms a central or vertical leg of the “T” and the base flanges  14 ,  16  form a transverse or horizontal leg or legs of the “T.” The base portion  12  may be generally planar and includes a base surface  20  that may include flange base surfaces  22 ,  24  of the flanges  14 ,  16  and also may include another portion  23  extending between the flange base surfaces  22 ,  24 . The base portion  12  also may include angled sides  26 ,  28  on the flanges  14 ,  16 , and shoulder surfaces  30 ,  32  on the flanges  14 ,  16  oppositely disposed from the flange base surfaces  22 ,  24 . The shoulder surfaces  30 ,  32  may be flat or of any other suitable shape. 
         [0014]    The cap coupling portion  18  may be a solid or hollow rib or projection extending away from the base portion  12 , for example, at a central portion  13  thereof wherein the flange portions  14 ,  16  extend in a direction away therefrom. The cap coupling portion  18  may include cap engagement features  34 ,  36 . The engagement features  34 ,  36  may extend in a direction away from the projection axis C 1 , and generally parallel to the base axis B 1 . In one example, the cap coupling portion  18  also may include side surfaces  38 ,  40  extending away from the surfaces  30 ,  32  of the flanges  14 ,  16 , a terminal surface  42 , and the cap engagement features  34 ,  36  therebetween. The cap engagement features  34 ,  36  may include outwardly extending barbs. For example, the cap engagement features  34 ,  36  may include ramp surfaces  44 ,  46  and shoulder surfaces  48 ,  50  extending between the ramp surfaces  44 ,  46  and the side surfaces  38 ,  40 . The cap engagement features  34 ,  36  may be spaced from the flanges  14 ,  16  in a direction along the projection axis C 1 . 
         [0015]    The cap engagement features  34 ,  36  and the side surfaces  30 ,  32  may be shaped to form engagement slots  52 ,  54  between the cap engagement features  34 ,  36  and the opposed flanges  14 ,  16 . For example, the side surfaces  38 ,  40  may be semi-circular, as shown, or may be of any other suitable shape. Also, the terminal surface  42  may be flat, as shown, or may be of any other suitable shape. Moreover, the ramp surfaces  44 ,  46  may be angled or straight, as shown, or may be curved, radiused, or of any other suitable shape. Additionally, the shoulder surfaces  48 ,  50  may be flat, as shown, and may extend generally parallel to the base axis B 1 , forming acute angles with respect to the ramp surfaces  44 ,  46 . 
         [0016]    More particularly, the cap coupling portion  18  itself also may be generally T-shaped. For example, the cap engagement features  34 ,  36  may form a transverse or horizontal leg or legs of the “T.” Likewise, a central or vertical portion of the “T” may be formed between the side surfaces  38 ,  40 . 
         [0017]      FIGS. 3 and 4  show an exemplary embodiment of a roofing trim cap strip  310  that may be assembled to the base strip  10  of  FIGS. 1 and 2 , or to any other suitable roofing trim base strip. The cap strip  310  extends longitudinally along a longitudinal axis A 2  and perpendicularly to a base axis B 2  that is perpendicular to the longitudinal axis A 2  and perpendicularly to a projection axis C 2  that is perpendicular to the longitudinal and base axes A 2 , B 2 . The cap strip  310  may be extruded from polyvinyl chloride or may be produced in any other suitable manner of any other suitable thermoplastic material. In other embodiments, the materials of the cap strip  310  and the base strip  10  may be similar or may be dissimilar. The cap strip  310  includes a web portion  312 , and a base coupling portion  314  extending from the web portion  312 . The cap strip  310  may be of generally inverted V shape in cross-section. 
         [0018]    The web portion  312  includes two side walls  316 ,  318  extending at an inward angle from the base coupling portion  314  at one end of the web portion  312 , and forming an apex  320  at another end of the web portion  312 . The web portion  312  may be triangular shaped and the apex  320  may rounded or radiused. 
         [0019]    The base coupling portion  314  includes legs  323 ,  325  with fixed ends  322 ,  324  and free ends  326 ,  328 . The legs  323 ,  325  may be spaced apart in a direction extending parallel to the base axis B 2 , and disposed on either side of the projection axis C 2 . The base coupling portion  314  extends from the fixed ends  322 ,  324  at corresponding portions of the web portion  312  in a direction away from the web portion  312  and includes base engagement features  330 ,  332  proximate the free ends  326 ,  328 . As used herein, the term “proximate” includes being relatively closer to the free ends  326 ,  328  than to the fixed ends  322 ,  324 . The base engagement features  330 ,  332  may include barbs extending inwardly from inward surfaces of the base coupling portion  314 . For example, the base engagement features  330 ,  332  may include ramp surfaces  334 ,  336  and shoulder surfaces  338 ,  340  extending from the ramp surfaces  334 ,  336 . The ramp surfaces  334 ,  336  may be curved, or radiused or semi-circular, as shown, or may be or angled or straight, or of any other suitable shape. The shoulder surfaces  338 ,  340  may be flat as shown and may extend in a direction parallel with the transverse axis B 2 , forming acute angles with respect to the ramp surfaces  334 ,  336 . 
         [0020]      FIG. 5  shows one exemplary embodiment of a roofing trim cap assembly  300 . The assembly  300  may include the cap strip  310  of  FIGS. 3 and 4  assembled to the base strip  10  of  FIGS. 1 and 2  that may be applied to a roof R in any suitable manner. 
         [0021]    For example, the base strip  10  may be laid over the roof R and adhered, bonded, welded, fastened, or coupled to the roof R in any suitable in situ application. In one example embodiment, the base strip  10  may be applied to the roof R in accordance with the METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR APPLYING STRIPS TO SURFACES of U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 61/352,193, filed Jun. 7, 2010 and assigned to the assignee hereof. The content of the above application is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety. 
         [0022]    Then, the cap strip  310  may be oriented over the base strip  10  and assembled thereto. For example, the base coupling portion  314  of the cap strip  310  may be forced over the cap coupling portion  18  of the base strip  10 . The cap strip ramp surfaces  334 ,  336  may cam or ride over the base strip ramp surfaces  44 ,  46  until the cap strip shoulder surfaces  338 ,  340  move past the base strip shoulder surfaces  48 ,  50  ( FIG. 2 ). The cap strip engagement features  330 ,  332  interengage the cap strip  310  to the base strip  10 , wherein the cap strip engagement features  330 ,  332  are retained in the base strip slots  52 ,  54  ( FIG. 2 ) between the base strip engagement features  34 ,  36  and the base strip flanges  14 ,  16 . The cap strip engagement features  330 ,  332  may be sized to occupy substantially the entire slots  52 ,  54 . Accordingly, the cap strip  310  may be coupled directly to and in contact with the base strip  10  with nothing in between. Also, if any given strip  310  is not long enough for a particular application, a plurality of the strip  310  may be laid end-to-end, and may be butt-welded or otherwise coupled together in end-to-end fashion. 
         [0023]    The assembly  300  is a multiple piece or multi-piece product that may provide an aesthetic, architectural appearance to a roof. For example, the assembly  300  may simulate a standing-seam rib of a metal roof. The assembly  300  forms an interior space or void  302  between interior surfaces of the cap strip  310  and exterior surfaces of the base strip  10 . The void  302  may be generally triangular in shape, as shown, or of any other suitable shape. The assembly  300  may be customized. For example, a common base strip may be used with cap strips of other colors and/or other shapes different from the base strip. 
         [0024]    For instance,  FIGS. 6 and 7  show another exemplary embodiment of a roofing trim cap strip  410  that may be assembled to the base strip  10  of  FIGS. 1 and 2  or to any other suitable roofing trim base strip. This embodiment is similar in many respects to the embodiment of  FIGS. 3 and 4 , and like numerals between the embodiments generally designate like or corresponding elements throughout the several views of the drawing figures. Additionally, the descriptions of the embodiments are incorporated by reference into one another and the common subject matter generally may not be repeated here. 
         [0025]    The cap strip  410  extends longitudinally along a longitudinal axis A 3  and perpendicularly to a base axis B 3  that is perpendicular to the longitudinal axis A 3  and perpendicularly to a projection axis C 3  that is perpendicular to the longitudinal and base axes A 3 , B 3 . The cap strip  410  may be extruded from polyvinyl chloride or may be produced in any other suitable manner of any other suitable thermoplastic material. In other embodiments, the materials of the cap strip  410  and the base strip  10  may be similar or may be dissimilar. The cap strip  410  includes a web portion  412 , and a base coupling portion  414  extending from the web portion  412 . The cap strip  410  may be of generally “Pi” shape in cross-section. 
         [0026]    The web portion  412  includes a wall  413  extending across the base coupling portion  414 . The wall  413  may have an arcuate outer surface  416  and a corresponding arcuate inner surface  417 . The arcuate surfaces  416 ,  417  may be semi-circular. The wall  413  may terminate in extensions  418 ,  420  that may extend past portions of the base coupling portion  414 . 
         [0027]    The base coupling portion  414  includes opposed legs  423 ,  425  including fixed ends  422 ,  424  and free ends  426 ,  428 . The legs  423 ,  425  may be spaced apart in a direction extending parallel to the base axis B 3 , and disposed on either side of the projection axis C 3 . The base coupling portion  414  extends from the fixed ends  422 ,  424  at corresponding portions of the web portion  412  in a direction away from the web portion  412  and includes base engagement features  430 ,  432  proximate the free ends  426 ,  428 . The base engagement features  430 ,  432  may include barbs extending inwardly from inward surfaces of the base coupling portion  414 . For example, the base engagement features  430 ,  432  may include ramp surfaces  434 ,  436  and shoulder surfaces  438 ,  440  extending from the ramp surfaces  334 ,  336 . The ramp surfaces  434 ,  436  may be curved, or radiused or semi-circular, as shown, or may be or angled or straight, or of any other suitable shape. The shoulder surfaces  438 ,  440  may be flat as shown and may extend in a direction parallel with the transverse axis B 3 , forming acute angles with respect to the ramp surfaces  434 ,  436 . 
         [0028]      FIG. 8  shows another exemplary embodiment of a roofing trim cap assembly  400 . This embodiment is similar in many respects to the embodiment of  FIG. 5 , and like numerals between the embodiments generally designate like or corresponding elements throughout the several views of the drawing figures. Additionally, the descriptions of the embodiments are incorporated by reference into one another and the common subject matter generally may not be repeated here. 
         [0029]    The assembly  400  may include the cap strip  410  of  FIGS. 6 and 7  assembled to the base strip  10  of  FIGS. 1 and 2  that may be applied to a roof R in any suitable manner. Then, the cap strip  410  may be oriented over the base strip  10  and assembled thereto, for example, by forcing the base coupling portion  414  of the cap strip  410  over the cap coupling portion  18  of the base strip  10 . The cap strip ramp surfaces  434 ,  436  may cam or ride over the base strip ramp surfaces  44 ,  46  until the cap strip shoulder surfaces  438 ,  440  move past the base strip shoulder surfaces  48 ,  50  ( FIG. 2 ). The cap strip engagement features  430 ,  432  interengage the cap strip  410  to the base strip  10 , wherein the cap strip engagement features  430 ,  432  are retained in the base strip slots  52 ,  54  ( FIG. 2 ) between the base strip engagement features  34 ,  36  and the base strip flanges  14 ,  16 . The cap strip engagement features  430 ,  432  may be sized to occupy substantially the entire slots  52 ,  54 . Accordingly, the cap strip  410  may be coupled directly to and in contact with the base strip  10  with nothing in between. Also, if any given strip  410  is not long enough for a particular application, a plurality of the strip  410  may be laid end-to-end, and may be butt-welded or otherwise coupled together in end-to-end fashion. 
         [0030]    The assembly  400  is a multiple piece or multi-piece product that may provide an aesthetic, architectural standing-seam appearance to a roof. The assembly  400  forms an interior space or void  402  between interior surfaces of the cap strip  410  and exterior surfaces of the base strip  10 . The void  402  may be generally rectangular in shape, as shown, or of any other suitable shape. 
         [0031]    The foregoing description is considered illustrative only. The terminology that is used is intended to be in the nature of words of description rather than of limitation. Many modifications and variations will readily occur to those skilled in the art in view of the description. Thus, the foregoing description is not intended to limit the invention to the embodiments described above. Accordingly the scope of the invention as defined by the appended claims.

Technology Classification (CPC): 4