Patent ID: 8176691

Claim:
A beaded soffit panel for building roofs of the type having at least one eave with a soffit thereunder, comprising: a plurality of generally flat, integrally formed imperforate base portions extending longitudinally along said soffit panel, with opposite sides thereof arranged in a mutually parallel, laterally spaced apart and coplanar relationship to enclose at least a portion of the soffit when said soffit panel is mounted in a generally horizontal installed orientation under the eave; a plurality of integrally formed, contoured bead portions disposed between said opposite sides of said base portions and having a generally M-shaped configuration when in said installed orientation under the eave defined by pairs of generally flat, oppositely inclined sidewalls with exterior faces oriented away from the soffit and interior faces oriented toward the soffit, and center walls extending between said sidewalls to create a decorative external appearance on said soffit panel; and a plurality of integrally formed, narrow, elongate vent slits configured to permit ambient air to flow therethrough to vent the eave, and extending through said exterior faces of said sidewalls of said bead portions at a predetermined acute angle therewith to define angled tabs that extend from said interior faces of said sidewalls inwardly away from said center walls at said predetermined acute angle relative to said sidewalls, whereby when said soffit panel is installed in said generally horizontal installed orientation, vision through said vent slits from a position generally underneath the eave is substantially blocked by said angled tabs.