Abstract:
In one embodiment, a roof covering system includes at least two ridge post members, a tarp at least two cables, at least two poles, at least two pole attachment members, and at least two winches. Each ridge post member may include a base configured to attach to a ridge of a roof, a head member; and a post having a bottom end and a top end, the bottom end secured to the base, and the top end secured to the head member. The tarp may have a top edge and a bottom edge, and connection points disposed near the top and bottom edges, wherein the head members are configured to attach to the connection points near the top edge. The cables may be configured to attach to the connection points near the bottom edge of the tarp. The poles may be configured to each guide a respective cable. The two pole attachment members may each be configured to attach a respective pole to a location on the roof below the ridge of the roof. The winches may each be configured to apply tension to a respective cable, thereby suspending the tarp above the roof.

Description:
BACKGROUND 
     The present disclosure relates generally to temporary roof coverings. In particular, modular temporary roof covering systems are described. 
     During construction and maintenance of roofed structures, it may be desirable to temporarily cover the roof the structure. For example, when replacing the shingles and/or roof sheathing of a shingled home, it may desirable to shield the interior of the home from the elements e.g., rain, sun, leaves and other debris, etc. Known temporary roof coverings are not entirely satisfactory for the range of applications in which they are employed. 
     The most common existing method of protecting against the elements when replacing a roof is to simply lay a sheet of plastic or a tarp across the roof substructure and attempt to secure the edges of the plastic or tarp using nails or other common fasteners. This crude method of protecting against the elements has many limitations and drawbacks. For example, handling an untethered large tarp/plastic sheet while on top of a roof is dangerous and awkward, especially in high winds. Additionally, the tarp/plastic may be ripped free rather easily by the wind. 
     Another significant draw back to the conventional tarp/plastic sheet covering method is that work cannot be performed while the covering is in place. Thus, the tarp/plastic sheet must be removed and replaced at the beginning and end of each work day, and a rainstorm will halt work altogether. Furthermore, penetrating the roof fascia or soffit with nails may result in aesthetic damage. Thus, there exists a need for temporary roof coverings that improve upon and advance the design of known temporary roof coverings. Examples of new and useful roof coverings relevant to the needs existing in the field are discussed below. 
     SUMMARY 
     In one embodiment, a roof covering system includes at least two ridge post members, a tarp at least two cables, at least two poles, at least two pole attachment members, and at least two winches. Each ridge post member may include a base configured to attach to a ridge of a roof, a head member; and a post having a bottom end and a top end, the bottom end secured to the base, and the top end secured to the head member. The tarp may have a top edge and a bottom edge, and connection points disposed near the top and bottom edges, wherein the head members are configured to attach to the connection points near the top edge. The cables may be configured to attach to the connection points near the bottom edge of the tarp. The poles may be configured to each guide a respective cable. The two pole attachment members may each be configured to attach a respective pole to a location on the roof below the ridge of the roof. The winches may each be configured to apply tension to a respective cable, thereby suspending the tarp above the roof. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         FIG. 1  is a perspective view of a first example of a modular temporary roof covering system. 
         FIG. 2  is a side view of a modular pole member in accordance with the embodiment of  FIG. 1 . 
         FIG. 3  is a side view of a spike type ground anchor in accordance with the embodiment of  FIG. 1 . 
         FIG. 4  is a side view of a foot type ground anchor in accordance with the embodiment of  FIG. 1 . 
         FIG. 5  is a side view of a winch in accordance with the embodiment of  FIG. 1 . 
         FIG. 6  is a side view of a pulley cap in accordance with the embodiment of  FIG. 1 . 
         FIG. 7  is a perspective view of a cable in accordance with the embodiment of  FIG. 1   
         FIG. 8  is a side view of a ridge post member in accordance with the embodiment of  FIG. 1 . 
         FIG. 9  is a side view of a pole attachment member in accordance with the embodiment of  FIG. 1 . 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
     The disclosed temporary roof coverings will become better understood through review of the following detailed description in conjunction with the figures. The detailed description and figures provide merely examples of the various inventions described herein. Those skilled in the art will understand that the disclosed examples may be varied, modified, and altered without departing from the scope of the inventions described herein. Many variations are contemplated for different applications and design considerations; however, for the sake of brevity, each and every contemplated variation is not individually described in the following detailed description. 
     Throughout the following detailed description, examples of various temporary roof coverings are provided. related features in the examples may be identical, similar, or dissimilar in different examples. For the sake of brevity, related features will not be redundantly explained in each example. Instead, the use of related feature names will cue the reader that the feature with a related feature name may be similar to the related feature in an example explained previously. Features specific to a given example will be described in that particular example. The reader should understand that a given feature need not be the same or similar to the specific portrayal of a related feature in any given figure or example. 
     With reference to  FIGS. 1-9 , a first example of a modular temporary roof covering system, system  100 , will now be described. System  100  functions to cover. The reader will appreciate from the figures and description below that system  100  addresses shortcomings of conventional temporary roof coverings. 
     For example, system  100  is easy and safe to deploy, even in windy conditions. Furthermore, once system  100  has been deployed, it is secure against the wind. Additionally, system  100  may be left in place while work occurs underneath, thus allowing roofing work to continue uninterrupted even in heavy rainstorms. Finally system  100  is modular, making it easy to scale the system up or down depending on the size of the structure to be covered. 
     System  100  includes ridge post members  500 , a tarp  400 , poles  200  to guide cables  240 , pole attachment members  300  to attach the poles to a roof structure, ground anchors  270  to anchor the poles, and one or more winches  220  to tension the cables  240 . Poles  200  may comprise modular pole members  210  connected end to end. Each ridge post member  500  may comprise a base  510 , a head member  520 , and a post  502 . 
       FIG. 1  illustrates one side of the system  100 , including a ridge post member  500  securing one upper corner of tarp  400 , and pole  200  securing one lower corner of tarp  400 . The other side of system  100  (not pictured) may be substantially similar to the illustrated side. For example the other side of system  100  may be essentially a mirror image of the illustrated side. In other embodiments, the other side may include additional ridge post members or a pole placed in a different configuration relative to the roof, depending on the configuration of the other side of the roof. 
     As illustrated in  FIG. 1 , the ridge post member  500  securing the tarp may be secured to the ridge lines of roof structure  600 . As can be seen on the right side of  FIG. 1 , for illustrative purposes, additional ridge post members  500  are shown secured to the ridge of a gable  620 . This configuration may be useful, for example, to stand the tarp off gable  620  when, for example, a roofing crew using system  100  is ready to switch the tarp to that side of the roof. 
     Pole  200  functions to secure a lower corner of tarp  400  via cable  240 . To deploy system  100 , a user may secure the upper corners of tarp  400  to ridge post members  500  and the lower corners to of tarp  400  to poles  200  via cables  240 . Then cables  240  may be tensioned via winches  220 , thereby stretching tarp  400  taught over roof  600 . Ridge post members  500  may be telescoping, and thus adjustable in height. Similarly, poles  200  may be comprised of modular pole members  210 , and thus the length of poles  200  may be adjusted by adding or removing modular pole members. Furthermore, by adjusting the placement of pole attachment member  300 , and/or the placement of ground anchor  270 , the angle of the pole may be adjusted. Therefore, the pitch of tarp  400  may be adjusted as desired. Furthermore the height of tarp  400  off the surface of roof  600  may be adjusted as desired. In this manner, system  100  allows workers to work on roof  600  even with tarp  600  in place. Thus, system  100  allows for roofing work to continue, uninterrupted during rainstorms. 
     As can be seen in  FIG. 1 , tarp  400  may include reinforced grommets  420  along the perimeter to allow the tarp to connect to cable  240  and/or head member  520  of ridge post member  500 . Tarp  400  may comprise reinforcing  410  to prevent the tarp from tearing. 
     Turning to  FIG. 2 , one embodiment of a modular pole member  210  is shown. Pole member  210  includes a male end  212  and a female end  214 . The male end  212  is configured to mate with the female end of another modular pole member. For example male end  212  may have a stepped shoulder and smaller diameter configured to slide into the male end of another pole member. Male end  212  may include a spring-loaded pin connector  211 . The pin connector  211  may be depressed to allow male end  212  to be inserted into a female end of another pole member. Pin connector  211  may then spring into place once aligned with a hole in the female end. Thus, female end  214  includes such a hole, hole  213  to accept a pin connector of another pole member. 
     In the illustrated embodiment, modular pole member  210  comprises circular hollow tubes. In other embodiments (not pictured), the modular pole members may comprise other tubular members having any other suitable shape(s). For example, in one embodiment, the modular pole members may comprise square tubing. In other embodiments, the modular pole members may comprise rectangular tubing. 
     Modular pole members may be made of a material having sufficient strength to support the cable and the tarp. For example, the modular pole members may comprise a structural steel, aluminum and/or other metal material. In other embodiments, the modular pole members may comprise polymer materials including polyethylene, PVC, and/or polypropylene, among many others. 
     Modular pole member  210  may include one or more cable guides  250 . Cable guides  250  function to guide cable  240  down the length of the pole  200 . In the illustrated embodiment, the cable guides  250  are shown as eyelets. In other embodiments, the cable guides may comprise grooves, flexible hose, and/or an interior channel within the pole member  210 . 
     Turning now to  FIG. 3 , one embodiment of a ground anchor, ground anchor  280  is shown. Ground anchor  280  comprises a downward pointing spike  286 , a collar  284  and a male end  282 . The spike  286  functions to penetrate the ground. Male end  282  is configured to be inserted into a female end of a pole member. Collar  284  functions to prevent the spike  286  from being driven too far into the ground and to prevent the male end from being inserted too far into female end. Male end  282  includes a spring-loaded pin connector, as described above. 
     Turning now to  FIG. 4 , a second embodiment of a ground anchor, ground anchor  270  is shown. Ground anchor  270  comprises a base plate  276  connected to a male end  272  via an articulable elbow. The elbow comprises an upper arm  277  joined to a lower arm  275  via a pivot  278 . Pivot  278  may be selectively lockable, for example, via a wing nut (not pictured). Further, the abutting faces of the lower arm  275  and upper arm  277 , respectively, may include interlocking teeth to prevent rotation of the elbow when the wingnut is tightened. 
     Ground anchor may include a collar  274  to prevent male end  272  from being inserted too far into a female end of a pole member. Male end  272  may include a spring-loaded pin connector, as described above. In other embodiments (not pictured), the ground anchor may comprise one or more containers configured to hold an amount of water. 
     Turning now to  FIG. 5 , one embodiment of winch, winch  220  is shown. The winch may include a main body  225 , legs  224 , a sleeve  223  and a handle  222  having a grip  221 . The handle functions to wind the winch in order to tension the cable  240 . The sleeve is configured to slide over pole  200  in order to secure the winch to any point along the pole  200 . 
     Turning now to  FIG. 6 , a pulley cap  260  is shown. In the illustrated embodiment, pulley cap includes a female end  264  and pulley  262 . Female end  264  is configured to accept the male end of a pole member. Female end  264  may include a hole  213  to accept the spring-loaded pin connector a male end. Pulley  262  functions to guide cable  240  from the tip of pole  200  to the tarp  400 . 
     Turning now to  FIG. 7 , cable  240  is shown. Cable  240  may include a clip  244  and cord  242 . Clip  244  functions to attach to tarp  400 . Cord  242  may comprise a polymer such as nylon, polyethylene, and or Kevlar, among many others. Cord  242  may alternatively or additionally comprise metal wire. 
     With reference to  FIG. 8 , Ridge post member  500  may comprise telescoping members  501 ,  502 ,  503 . Lower telescoping member  503  may include a series of holes  504 . Middle telescoping member  502  may include a spring-loaded pin connector configured to mate with any one of the series of holes  504 , thereby securing the lower and middle telescoping members  503 ,  502  to each other. Depressing the spring loaded pin connector may allow the telescoping members to once again slide relative to each other. In this regard, the height of ridge post member  500  may be adjustable. 
     In a similar manner, middle telescoping member may include a series of holes  505  and upper telescoping member  501  may include a spring-loaded pin connector. Thus the upper and middle telescoping members  501 ,  502  may be adjustable relative to each other. In some embodiments, the spacing between holes  505  may be different than the spacing between holes  504 . For example the spacing between holes  504  may be larger than the spacing between holes  505 . In this regard, the ridge post member may feature a rough height adjustment via holes  504  and fine height adjustment via holes  505 . 
     In the illustrated embodiment ridge post member  500  comprises three telescoping members. In other embodiments, the ridge post member may have more or less telescoping members. Furthermore, in some embodiments, the telescoping members may be secured to each other via clamps or other means, instead of or in addition to the spring-loaded pin member. 
     Ridge post member  500  includes a base. In the illustrated embodiment, the base includes a pair of attachment plates  510 . In some embodiments, the attachment plates  510  may be placed with one plate on each side of the ridge of a roof. The attachment plates  510  may be joined by a hinge  530 . In this manner, the angle formed by the attachment plates may be adjusted to match the angle formed by the two roof pitches at the ridge. 
     Each attachment plate  510  may include a plurality of holes  512  configured to receive fasteners. In some embodiments, the fasteners may comprise ring shank nails. The ridge post member may further include a head member  520 . The head member  520  is supported by the telescoping post members  501 ,  502 ,  503 . Head member  520  may have a rounded profile to avoid damage to the tarp  400 . 
     Turning now to  FIG. 9 , one embodiment of a pole attachment member, pole attachment member  300  is shown. Pole attachment member  300  comprises a clamp  330  connected to a sleeve  350  via a pivoting connector  340 . In the illustrated embodiment the pivoting connector is connected to clamp  330  via a pivot  302 . 
     Clamp  330  comprises an upper jaw  320 , opposing teeth  322 , pivots  306  and  304 , threaded shaft  312 , threaded pivot  308  and handle  310 . By turning the handle  310 , the threaded shaft extends, pushing against the threaded pivot and causing the jaws to close. Thus, the jaws may be clamped to roof edge  610 . 
     Sleeve  350  is configured to grip pole  200  in order to secure the pole  200  against the roof. The pivoting connector  340  allows the angle of the pole  200  to be adjusted with respect to the roof edge  610 . 
     The disclosure above encompasses multiple distinct inventions with independent utility. While each of these inventions has been disclosed in a particular form, the specific embodiments disclosed and illustrated above are not to be considered in a limiting sense as numerous variations are possible. The subject matter of the inventions includes all novel and non-obvious combinations and subcombinations of the various elements, features, functions and/or properties disclosed above and inherent to those skilled in the art pertaining to such inventions. Where the disclosure or subsequently filed claims recite “a” element, “a first” element, or any such equivalent term, the disclosure or claims should be understood to incorporate one or more such elements, neither requiring nor excluding two or more such elements. 
     Applicant(s) reserves the right to submit claims directed to combinations and subcombinations of the disclosed inventions that are believed to be novel and non-obvious. Inventions embodied in other combinations and subcombinations of features, functions, elements and/or properties may be claimed through amendment of those claims or presentation of new claims in the present application or in a related application. Such amended or new claims, whether they are directed to the same invention or a different invention and whether they are different, broader, narrower or equal in scope to the original claims, are to be considered within the subject matter of the inventions described herein.