Abstract:
A simulated wood shake shingle comprises a generally rectangular bottom plate having forward and rearward ends and first and second side edges intermediate the forward and rearward edges. The shingle includes a generally rectangular top plate having forward and rearward ends and first and second side edges intermediate the forward and rearward ends. The top plate is attached to the bottom plate and is forwardly and transversely offset therefrom. In addition, the top plate is rearwardly tapered. The top plate includes a layer of corrugated material for dissipating or resisting impact forces thereon.

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     This invention relates generally to roofing materials and, more particularly, to a more durable simulated shake shingle having a layer of corrugated material between acrylonitrile butadiene polymer surfaces. 
     Wooden shake shingles have been used for roofing houses for many years. In fact, there is a growing shortage of the best wood for making wood shake shingles. Consequently, the wood presently being used is of inferior quality and yields inherent flaws in the final product such as faster deterioration, discoloration, and mold and fungus buildup. An inherent disadvantage with wood shake shingles is an increased fire hazard in comparison with other roofing materials. In addition, nearly all types of presently used roofing materials, including wood shake shingles, can be damaged significantly by severe weather such as wind or hail. 
     Simulated wood shake shingles have been proposed in the art as a suitable option to genuine wood shake shingles, such as those proposed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,295,339 and 3,899,855. The shingles proposed in these patents, however, still do not overcome all of the disadvantageous described above. 
     Therefore, it is desirable to have a simulated wood shake shingle which is resistant to damage from severe weather elements. It is also desirable to have a simulated wood shake shingle which does not deteriorate as a result of extreme temperature changes. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     Accordingly, a simulated wood shake shingle according to the preferred embodiment of the present invention includes a generally rectangular plate having forward, rearward, and side edges. A generally rectangular top plate also includes forward, rearward, and side edges. The top plate is attached to and partially overlaps the bottom plate. In the standard shingle, the top plate is forwardly and transversely offset from the bottom plate such that the top plate overlaps the side and rearward portions of the bottom plates of adjacent shingles in use. Edge and starter shingles are constructed in a manner substantially similar to the standard shingle except that the top plate is not transversely offset, not forwardly offset, or both. The top and bottom plates are formed of an acrylonitrile butadiene polymer having rubber-like characteristics which resist deterioration that normally results from the repeated freezing and thawing of other materials. 
     Each top plate includes one or more layers of a corrugated material. The corrugated material may be a series of radially folded elastic steel disks having a rigid filler material therein. This configuration is particularly suited to absorb or dissipate strong impact forces, such as those caused by hail or falling debris. Alternatively, the corrugated material may include several layers of material having specifically varied pitches for distributing impact forces amongst the several layers. This configuration is particularly useful to withstand forces such as strong wind by enhancing the strength and rigidity of the shake shingle. 
     Therefore, it is an object of this invention to provide a simulated wood shake shingle which is durable against strong impacts, such as falling debris or hail. 
     Another object of this invention is to provide a simulated wood shake shingle, as aforesaid, which minimizes contraction and expansion due to extreme fluctuations in ambient air temperature. 
     Still another object of this invention is to provide a simulated wood shake shingle, as aforesaid, which precludes precipitation from contacting the roof surface. 
     Yet another object of this invention is to provide a simulated wood shake shingle, as aforesaid, that is lightweight. 
     A further object of this invention is to provide a simulated wood shake shingle, as aforesaid, which can inhibit the formation of mildew, fungi, and algae. 
     Other objects and advantages of this invention will become apparent from the following description taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, wherein is set forth by way of illustration and example, an embodiment of this invention. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     FIG. 1 is a perspective view of four simulated wood shake shingles according to the present invention; 
     FIG. 2 is a top view of a standard simulated wood shake shingle; 
     FIG. 3 is a top view of an edge simulated wood shake shingle; 
     FIG. 4 is a left side view of a standard simulated wood shake shingle as in FIG. 2; 
     FIG. 5 is a left side view of an edge simulated wood shake shingle as in FIG. 3; 
     FIG. 6 is a sectional view of a simulated wood shake shingle taken along line  6 — 6  of FIG. 2; 
     FIG. 7 is an alternative embodiment of the simulated wood shake shingle of FIG. 6; 
     FIG. 8 is a perspective view of the simulated wood shake shingles according to the present invention positioned on a roof surface; and 
     FIG. 9 is a top view of a starter simulated wood shake shingle coupled to an edge simulated wood shake shingle. 
    
    
     DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT 
     Turning more particularly to the drawings, FIG. 1 shows four simulated wood shake shingles in side by side engagement according to the preferred embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 8 shows a portion of a roof surface covered with the shingles. Each type of shingle will be further described below. 
     As shown more particularly in FIGS. 2 and 4, a standard shingle  10  includes a generally rectangular bottom plate  12  having front  14  and rear  16  edges with spaced apart first  18  and second  20  side. edges intermediate the front  14  and rear  16  edges. The standard shingle  10  also includes a generally rectangular top plate  24  having front  26  and rear  28  edges with spaced apart first  30  and second  32  side edges intermediate the front  26  and rear  28  edges. The top plate  24  includes an upper surface  34  that is decreasingly tapered between front  26  and rear edges  28  thereof and a lower surface  36  fixedly attached to an upper surface  22  of the bottom plate  12 . The top plate  24  of the standard shingle  10  partially overlaps and is forwardly and transversely offset from the bottom plate  12 . More particularly, the front edge  26  of the top plate  24  extends forwardly beyond the front edge  14  of the bottom plate  12 , and the first side edge  30  of the top plate  24  is displaced outwardly from the first side edge  18  of the bottom plate  12  (FIG.  2 ). In addition, this forward and transverse offset results in the rear  28  and second side  32  edges of the top plate  24  being inwardly spaced apart from the rear  16  and second side  20  edges, respectively, of the bottom plate  12 . The width of each standard shingle  10  may be variable to ultimately provide a random wood shake shingle appearance to a roof surface. 
     The bottom  12  and top  24  plates are constructed of an acrylonitrile butadiene polymer although other engineered grades of plastic may also be used, such as high density polyethylene (HDPE), low density polyethylene (LDPE), polypropylene (PP), polyethylene terephthalate (PET), polystyrene (PS), polyvinyl chloride (PVC), acrylonitrile styrene (ABS), nitrile rubber (NBR), or polyphtalate carbonate compounds of the Lexan family. The preferred polymer is a durable material having rubber-like characteristics, including the ability to absorb impacts and to resist cracking and splitting caused by contraction and expansion that is typical when materials are subjected to extreme temperature fluctuations. Biocides for inhibiting mildew, fungi, and algae buildup are also added to the plate material during manufacture. The upper surface  34  of the top plate  24  is textured to simulate the natural look of a wood shake shingle. 
     The top plate  24  includes a layer of lightweight corrugated material  40  between upper  34  and lower  36  surfaces thereof (FIG.  6 ). The corrugated layer  40  is tapered according to the configuration of the top plate  24 . The corrugated layer  40  includes a plurality of elastic corrugated steel disks  42  in the form of radial folds. Each fold forms a cavity filled with a rigid material. The disks  42  and filler material are compressed upon impact for dissipating impact energy. Alternatively, the corrugated layer  40  may include multiple layers for increasing the rigidity of the top plate  24  (FIG.  7 ). In this embodiment, a central layer  44  has a maximum crest pitch and is surrounded by two additional layers  48 , each having a pitch that is half the maximum pitch. Thus, when the top plate  24  is bent or impacted, a corresponding rib  46  of the central layer  44  bears against two ribs  50  of the adjacent layer  48 . The stress of the affected rib  46  is distributed between that rib  46  and the two ribs  50  of the adjacent layer  48 . This configuration increases the strength and rigidity of the top plate  24 . 
     The present invention further includes an edge shingle  60  (FIGS.  3  and  5 ). An edge shingle  60  is substantially similar in construction to the standard shingle  10  except that the first side edge  64  of the top plate  62  is aligned with the first side edge  68  of the bottom plate  66 . Thus, the first side edge  68  of the top plate  62  is not transversely offset from the bottom plate  66  and does not extend beyond the edge of the roof surface. 
     The present invention also includes starter shingles. A starter edge shingle  70  includes a construction substantially similar to that of the standard shingle  10  except that both the first side edge  74  and front edge  76  of the top plate  72  are aligned with the first side edge  80  and front edge  82  of the bottom plate  78  (FIG.  9 ). In addition, a standard starter shingle  90  has a construction substantially similar to a standard shingle  10  except that the front edge  94  of the top plate  92  is aligned with the front edge  98  of the bottom plate  96 . Therefore, the starter shingles  70 ,  90  are designed to eliminate the need to cut off portions of shingles which would otherwise extend beyond the side or front edges of a roof surface. It should be appreciated that cutting these shingles would expose the corrugated layer  40  to weather elements and be unsightly. 
     In use, a starter edge shingle  70  is positioned in the lower, left-hand corner of the roof surface to be shingled. Known roofing fasteners may be used to attach the shingle to the roof, such as nails or staples. A standard starter shingle  90  is then positioned immediately adjacent to the starter edge shingle  70 . When the bottom plates  78 ,  96  of the shingles are placed in side to side relation, the top plate  92  of the standard starter shingle  90  overlaps the seam therebetween. Another standard starter shingle  90  is then placed adjacent to the preceding starter shingle, and so on. 
     A standard edge shingle  60  is positioned above the starter edge shingle  70 . When the front edge of the bottom plate  66  of the standard edge shingle  60  abuts the rear edge of the bottom plate  78  of the starter edge shingle  70 , the top plate  62  of the standard edge shingle  60  overlaps the seam therebetween to provide a weather barrier. In like manner, a standard shingle  10  is positioned adjacent the standard edge shingle  60  and above a standard starter shingle  90 , and so on. It is understood that standard shingles  10  of varying widths can be used regardless of the width of a preceding shingle or a shingle in a previous row. 
     Accordingly, it can be seen that the simulated wood shake shingle according to the present invention provides a lightweight, durable, and easy to use alternative to genuine wood shake shingles. 
     It is understood that while certain forms of this invention have been illustrated and described, it is not limited thereto except insofar as such limitations are included in the following claims and allowable functional equivalents thereof.