Abstract:
In accordance with the present invention, what is provided are materials and a method to create an intake of ventilation air at the low portion of a concrete or ceramic tile roof near the eave of the roof.

Description:
RELATED APPLICATIONS 
       [0001]    The present application is a continuation-in-part application of U.S. provisional patent application Ser. No. 61/188,069, filed Aug. 5, 2008, for TILE ROOF VENTILATOR, by John A Trischan, included by reference herein and for which benefit of the priority date is hereby claimed. 
     
    
     FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
       [0002]    The present invention relates to providing adequate ventilation in the attic of a building which has a roof covered with concrete or ceramic tile. Attic ventilation requires a source of both intake air and exhaust air. Since it is common knowledge that warm air rises above cool air the best method of creating a ventilation flow is to provide the intake air at the lower section near the eaves and the exhaust at the upper section near the ridge. This invention is specifically intended to provide the intake air at the lower section of the attic near the eaves. There are many existing forms of ventilation equipment that are suitable for the upper ventilation near the roof ridge and will operate in conjunction with this invention. 
       BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
       [0003]    The existing cost of energy has created a significant rise in the importance of saving energy, which has led to using the term “greening” for displaying such desire. Heating and cooling buildings is a necessity and requires energy which is not free. One way to shrink the required energy is to provide adequate ventilation in the attic. During the cold period, winter, poor ventilation will cause moisture to build up in the sheet rock, ceiling insulation, wood framing and roof sheathing. During the hot period, summer, poor ventilation will cause temperatures to increase in the attic by 40 degrees over the outside air temperature. Both of these conditions are detrimental and will require increased energy to offset. 
         [0004]    There are many existing forms of ventilation for attics that have a concrete or ceramic tile covering. The most prevalently used tile roof ventilator is branded “O&#39;Hagin&#39;s” which is patented and is shaped and contoured similar to two tiles on the roof field. An installation flier is included. “Lomanco” is a brand that offers a multitude of roof ventilators. They offer a turbine ventilator with a soft aluminum skirt that can be formed to the shape of a roof tile. Lomanco has various methods of eave ventilation of which all require a cornice under an extended eave; there are freeze board vents and soffit vents and all are shown on their company flier. 
         [0005]    The “O&#39;Hagins” ventilators are attractive and fit well on a tile roof; however, they only ventilate at their location and not a continuous ventilator as this invention is and would be more suitable for an upper roof ventilator near the ridge with greater circulation than down near the eaves. The eave vents offered by Lomanco are suitable but can only be used on an extended eave having a freezeboard or soffit to install the vent. The current architectural preference is to stop the roof line at the outside wall thereby eliminating the eave and making the Lomanco options unusable while this invention is installed on the roof and does not require an eave. 
         [0006]    It would be advantageous to provide a method to supply air to ventilate a building attic. 
         [0007]    It would also be advantageous to create a device that can be installed on a roof not having an extended eave, freezeboard or soffit which is not available on any existing commercial products. 
         [0008]    It would further be advantageous to provide a device easier to install than any of the roof ventilation equipment. 
         [0009]    It would further be advantageous to provide a roof ventilation device that is fabricated as one piece making it less expensive to manufacture and install than existing ventilator equipment. 
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
       [0010]    In accordance with the present invention, what is provided are materials and a method to create an intake of ventilation air at the low portion of a concrete or ceramic tile roof near the eave of the roof. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0011]    A complete understanding of the present invention may be obtained by reference to the accompanying drawings, when considered in conjunction with the subsequent, detailed description, in which: 
           [0012]      FIG. 1  is a top perspective view of a field of roof tile showing the present invention of a ventilator device installed under the third row of tile with detail on further figures; 
           [0013]      FIG. 2  is a sectional detail view of a relationship between the elements of the invention, roof tile and roof structure. tile riser  31  is detailed on  FIGS. 4&amp;5  and is a method of lifting the nose of the tile to allow flow of ventilation air. anchor batten  13 , tile  20 , fastener  14 , and flashing  33  are all fastened to roof sheathing  12 ; 
           [0014]      FIG. 3  is a sectional detail view of the relationship between the elements of the invention, roof tile and roof structure.  FIG. 3  is the same as  FIG. 2  except that it shows an optional change in the tile riser to  32 ; 
           [0015]      FIG. 4  is an elevation view of an of the molded rubber or plastic tile riser of this invention. this is a likely design for the riser; however, this design could be changed in the future for convenience; 
           [0016]      FIG. 5  is a right elevation view of a molded plastic or rubber tile riser as shown on  FIG. 4 ; 
           [0017]      FIG. 6  is a left perspective view of an optional tile riser  32  which is fabricated of wire of sufficient diameter that it will maintain its shape and of a material that won&#39;t oxidise or discolor during all conditions experienced on a roof; 
           [0018]      FIG. 7  is a left elevation view of a wire riser as shown on  FIG. 6 ; 
           [0019]      FIG. 8  is a bottom plan view of a wire riser as shown on  FIG. 6 ; 
           [0020]      FIG. 9  is a plan view of an air slot flashing  33  which can be fabricated of various lengths to arrive at the best cost of manufacture and ease of installation. each scallop would be about 6 inches on center; so the flashing depicted as 4 scallops would be about 24 inches long. this could be fabricated with any number of scallops such that its overall length could be sized to convenience; 
           [0021]      FIG. 10  is an enlarged plan view of a scallop. the two dashed lines represent the space under the flashing where the roof felt and sheathing have been cut away to provide a place for the intake ventilation air to flow into the attic; and 
           [0022]      FIG. 11  is a right sectional view of a scallop as shown in  FIG. 10  from the flashing strip, which is approximately 3″ wide to cover the ventilation slot in the sheathing. the opening height of approximately 1⅛″ would provide adequate ventilation and still be low enough to not interfere with the tile. 
       
    
    
       [0023]    For purposes of clarity and brevity, like elements and components will bear the same designations and numbering throughout the Figures. 
       DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT 
       [0024]      FIG. 1  is a top perspective view of a field of roof tile showing the present invention of a ventilator device installed under the third row of tile with detail on further figures. 
         [0025]      FIG. 2  is a sectional detail view of a relationship between the elements of the invention, roof tile and roof structure. tile riser  31  is detailed on  FIGS. 4&amp;5  and is a method of lifting the nose of the tile to allow flow of ventilation air. anchor batten  13 , tile  20 , fastener  14 , and flashing  33  are all fastened to roof sheathing  12 . 
         [0026]      FIG. 3  is a sectional detail view of the relationship between the elements of the invention, roof tile and roof structure.  FIG. 3  is the same as  FIG. 2  except that it shows an optional change in the tile riser to  32 . 
         [0027]      FIG. 4  is an elevation view of an of the molded rubber or plastic tile riser  31  of this invention. this is a likely design for the riser; however, this design could be changed in the future for convenience. 
         [0028]      FIG. 5  is a right elevation view of a molded plastic or rubber tile riser as shown on  FIG. 4 . 
         [0029]      FIG. 6  is a left perspective view of an optional tile riser  32  which is fabricated of wire of sufficient diameter that it will maintain its shape and of a material that won&#39;t oxidise or discolor during all conditions experienced on a roof. 
         [0030]      FIG. 7  is a left elevation view of a wire riser as shown on  FIG. 6 . 
         [0031]      FIG. 8  is a bottom plan view of a wire riser as shown on  FIG. 6 . 
         [0032]      FIG. 9  is a plan view of a flashing  33  which can be fabricated of various lengths to arrive at the best cost of manufacture and ease of installation. each scallop would be about 6 inches on center; so the flashing depicted as 4 scallops would be about 24 inches long. this could be fabricated with any number of scallops such that its overall length could be sized to convenience. 
         [0033]      FIG. 10  is an enlarged plan view of a scallop. the two dashed lines represent the space under the flashing where the roof felt and sheathing have been cut away to provide a place for the intake ventilation air to flow into the attic. 
         [0034]      FIG. 11  is a right sectional view of a scallop as shown in  FIG. 10  from the flashing strip, which is approximately 3″ wide to cover the ventilation slot in the sheathing. the opening height of approximately 1⅛″ would provide adequate ventilation and still be low enough to not interfere with the tile. 
         [0035]    Element  31  is shown designed with three vertical fingers pointing upward and connected at the base having a flat plane at the bottom and the top of the fingers creating a flat plane. The material must be rigid enough to hold the leading edge of tile  20  approximately one inch above the preceeding tile creating a gap between both tiles to allow the flow of air. The material must also be flexible enough for the base to follow the shape and contour of the preceeding tile as it will be bonded to both the bottom and top tiles with an adhesive. Roof tiles are supplied by many manufacturers all having different sizes and shapes which requires the afore mentioned flexibility. The most common shapes are flat, “w”, and “s”. The color and any visual characteristics are unimportant as the riser is under the top tile and will not be visible. Tiles have stiffener ribs on both the top and bottom of about ¾ inch protrusion from the normal plane of the tile; so, to create the one inch gap between the tiles the height of the riser must be 1¾ inch as it will be installed behind the leading ribs of the top tile. The design of the riser having three fingers is an initial concept; however, the riser could be redesigned as two or even single finger to improve the fabrication and installation if the change does not impede the performance. 
         [0036]    Element  32  is an alternate method of creating a riser by forming a wire able to attach to the lower tile and create the air gap by holding up the leading edge of tile  20 . The wire should be of sufficient diameter that it would not deform if a 250 pound person stepped on the tile. The wire should be made of a material that would not degrade or run color if it gets wet during any condition on the roof, such as a lower grade of stainless steel. The curl at the bottom of the wire riser is shaped to hook the top rib of the lower tile to provide stability and firm location. The flat length at the center of the riser is shaped to spread whatever load force exists across a sufficient area of the lower tile. 
         [0037]    Element  33  is an air slot flashing  33  and is used to cover the open slot where the felt underlayment and wood sheathing have been removed for passaged of air. The slot flashing is designed to have a bottom flat plane which is fastened and sealed with a calk to the roof sheathing. The slot flashing is necessary to prevent any water that has gotten under the tile and is flowing down the felt underlayment from entering the attic through the open slot. Above the level of the bottom plane are raised scallops integrally formed about 5 inches wide and 1⅛ inch high with a top that slopes front to back down to the bottom plane and both sides are sloped outward. The scallops located 6 inches on center leave a space of 1 inch between each scallop for water to pass over the device without entering the attic. The slot flashing can be made any length on 6 inch increments as it is not permissible to cut a scallop. The bottom of the flashing can be fastened with about anything: nails, screws, staples or mastic. The material could be stamped of sheet metal such as aluminum or galvanized steel, but probably a better choice would be vacuum formed plastic. The slot flashing is installed under tile  20  and would not be visible so that color and texture is not important. As the slot will generally be the full length of the roof while the slot flashings would probably be manufactured with 5 foot lengths, the seam where the flashings butt together must be calk sealed. 
         [0038]    Since other modifications and changes varied to fit particular operating requirements and environments will be apparent to those skilled in the art, the invention is not considered limited to the example chosen for purposes of disclosure, and covers all changes and modifications which do not constitute departures from the true spirit and scope of this invention. 
         [0039]    Having thus described the invention, what is desired to be protected by Letters Patent is presented in the subsequently appended claims.