AU2018201847B2 - Improved method and apparatus for non-penetratively attaching to a roof - Google Patents

Abstract

An outside roof crest engagement clip comprises first and second opposed legs extending downward from a head portion and first and second feet located at ends of the first and second legs, the first and second feet having return portions extending inwardly from the first and second legs respectively; wherein the first and second feet are interspaced to snap lock over a crest of a roof profile. The clip may be used in a method for installing a weight distribution assembly on roof sheeting of a type including a plurality of spaced apart longitudinal crests. The method comprises installing a plurality of the outside roof crest engagement clips onto the crests of the roof profile and then locating weight bearing members over the pairs of said clips the weight bearing members are preferably rectangular metal sections having mitered ends, said members being elongate with sufficient length to span between pairs of said clips and fastening the mitered ends of the weight bearing members to the clips. CC-) CYa) - - - ----- 4-O C)

Description

COMPLETE SPECIFICATION

IMPROVED METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR NON PENETRATIVELY ATTACHING TO A ROOF

The following statement is a description of the invention:

ι

2018201847 14 Mar 2018

IMPROVED METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR NONPENETRATIVELY ATTACHING TO A ROOF

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention relates to roofing that involves the use of profiled steel roofing sheets for concealed fixing. The steel roofing sheets include central crests or ribs that are designed to be snap locked over complementary decking clips which are screwed to purlins of the roof. Such profiled roofing sheets are typically used in large commercial roofing applications for example where roofing must be quickly installed over a large area such as a warehouse or factory roof.

BACKGROUND

Any references to methods, apparatus or documents of the prior art are not to be taken as constituting any evidence or admission that they formed, or form part of the common general knowledge.

Figure 1 is a perspective view of the topside of an area of profiled roof sheeting 3, or as it is sometimes simply called “roof profile”.

Referring now to Figure 1a, there is depicted an axonometric view of a prior art decking clip assembly 1. The decking clip 1 is comprised of four clips

6a,..,6d which are fastened to a interconnecting elongate, rigid support member 10.

Figure 2 is an end view of a section of roof 3 showing a portion of clip assembly 1 in use fastening a sheet of concealed profile roofing 3 to a purlin

5. It will be observed that the clips 6e, 6f, are screwed to purlin 5 with hexhead self-drilling and threading screws 7a, 7b. The crests 9a, 9b of the roofing sheet 3 are pushed down and over the clips 6e and 6f so that they are

2018201847 14 Mar 2018 snap locked in place on the inside of the crests. Accordingly, the clips 6e and 6f may be referred to as “inner roofing crest clips”.

One issue that occurs with commercial roofing which involves large areas of roofing sheets, such as sheet 3 of Figure 2, is that it is frequently necessary to make attachments to the roof. It may be necessary to attach to the roof for any one of a number of reasons such as to:

• Connect a roof sheet on top of a roof sheet whether that be for re-roofing over the top of existing roofing or to cover a penetration such as a vent through the existing roof • Installation of solar systems (connection point) • Installation of a roof walkway (connection point) • Installation of TV antenna/satellite antenna or other roof mounted devices · Installation of roof mounted lights

Figure 3 shows one prior art approach to mounting a solar panel to roof sheeting 3. This approach involves screwing mounting brackets 4a, 4b to the crests of the roofing sheet 3 and then fastening a beam 6 between the brackets. The solar panel 2 is then mounted to the beam 6. Obviously it is time consuming to screw the brackets to the crests of the mounting sheet. Furthermore, each bracket 4a, 4b requires fastening with screws 8 that penetrate the roofing sheet 3. Although rubber washers and silicon waterproofing may be used to try to prevent ingress of water the fact remains that the integrity of the roofing sheet 3 is destroyed.

Referring now to Figure 4, there is shown a typical prior art approach for attaching a covering roofing sheet 20 over an existing sheet 3 beneath. In the example of Figure 4 it will be observed that the roofing clips 6g, 6h of the roofing clip assembly 17 have been screwed through the crests 9g, 9h of the roofing sheet 3 below, by means of screws 7c and 7d. It will be realized that screwing through the roofing sheet 3 is highly undesirable since it results in holes being formed through the roofing sheet and thus the integrity of the roof being compromised.

2018201847 14 Mar 2018

It is an object of the present invention to provide an improved apparatus and method for attaching to profiled steel roofing sheets whilst avoiding the problems described above.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

According to a first aspect of the present invention there is provided an outside roof crest engagement clip comprising:

first and second opposed legs extending downwardly from a head portion; and first and second feet located at ends of the first and second legs, the first and second feet having return portions extending inwardly from the first and second legs respectively; wherein the first and second feet are interspaced to snap lock over a crest of a 15 roof profile.

Preferably the first and second feet include crest contact surfaces that converge inwardly and upwardly to assist in pressing the engagement clip over the crest.

It is preferred that the crest engagement clip is formed with at least one crest head stop member that extends into a space between the legs and which is dimensioned to abut an upper surface of the crest as the first and second feet pass a head of the crest.

Preferably the at least one crest head stop member comprises first and second head stop members that extend inwardly toward each other from the first and second legs.

In a preferred embodiment of the invention the first and second legs bend outwardly and downwardly from adjacent the first and second head stop members.

2018201847 14 Mar 2018

The head portion of the roof crest engagement clip may comprise a planar spacer between the two legs. In other embodiments the head portion could be arcuate or may comprise an angle.

The outside roof crest engagement clip is preferably formed of extruded steel though it may also be formed of other suitably strong and resilient substances, for example or other types of durable plastic may be suitable.

According to another aspect of the present invention there is provided a roof clip assembly comprising:

a rigid support member;

at least one clip for the inside of a concealed fixing roof profile; and at least one outside roof crest engagement clip of the previously described type.

According to another aspect of the present invention there is provided a method for roofing over an existing concealed fixing roof comprising the steps of:

applying outside roof crest engagement clips to the concealed fixing roof;

fastening internal roof crest engagement clips to the outside roof crest engagement clips; and snap locking a span of concealed fixing roof profile to the internal roof crest engagement clips wherein all attachments are made without penetrating roof profile.

According to a further aspect of the present invention there is provided a method for installing a weight distribution assembly on roof sheeting of a type including a plurality of spaced apart longitudinal crests, the method comprising:

installing a plurality of the outside roof crest engagement clips onto the crests;

locating weight bearing members over pairs of said clips, said members being elongate with sufficient length to span between pairs of said clips; and

2018201847 14 Mar 2018 fastening the mitred ends of the weight bearing members to the clips.

Preferably the weight bearing members comprising rectangular metal sections having mitred ends,

The weight bearing members may be disposed at right angles to the longitudinal crests.

Alternatively, the weight bearing members may be disposed along the 10 longitudinal crests and thus parallel thereto.

Preferably the step of fastening the mitred ends of the weight bearing members to the clips comprises drilling self-tapping fasteners through the mitred ends into corresponding clips.

The method may further include fastening a walking surface over the weight bearing members. For example, the method may include laying a rigid metal grid over the weight bearing members for a person to walk over.

Where the roof is steep the fastened weight bearing members may be used as rungs of a ladder.

According to a further aspect of the present invention there is provided a weight distribution assembly comprising:

a plurality of non-penetrating clips of the previously described type for fastening to crests of roof sheeting; and a number of weight bearing members each of a length corresponding to an integral number of distances between adjacent crests of the roof sheeting.

Preferably each of the weight bearing members comprises rectangular metal sections having mitered ends for fastening over pairs of said clips

2018201847 14 Mar 2018

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Preferred features, embodiments and variations of the invention may be discerned from the following Detailed Description which provides sufficient information for those skilled in the art to perform the invention. The Detailed Description is not to be regarded as limiting the scope of the preceding Summary of the Invention in any way. The Detailed Description will make reference to a number of drawings as follows:

Figure 1 is a perspective view of the outer side of a sheet of roof profile.

Figure 1a shows a prior art roof clip assembly for attachment to a purlin and having a number of clips for snap locking to the insides of crests of a sheet of roof profile.

Figure 2 is an end view of a sheet of roof profile attached to a purlin by means of a clip assembly similar to the assembly of Figure 1.

Figure 3 illustrates a prior art approach to mounting solar panel to a sheet of roof profile.

Figure 4 depicts a prior art arrangement for attaching a section of roofing over an existing roof profile.

Figure 5 is an isometric view of an outside roof crest engagement clip according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention.

Figure 6 depicts a concealed roof profile clip assembly according to a preferred embodiment of the invention and incorporating a number of clips as illustrated in Figure 5.

Figure 7 depicts an arrangement for installing a roof cover according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention.

Figures 8a to 8c progressively illustrate the installation of a clip according to the preferred embodiment of the invention being installed on to a crest of a roof sheet.

Figure 9 is a diagram illustrating the clip’s response to a lifting load.

Figure 10 is a perspective view of the outer side of a sheet of roof profile to which a number of the clips have been attached as a first step in assembling a walkway.

Figure 10a is a perspective view of the underside of weight distribution member.

2018201847 14 Mar 2018

Figure 11 illustrates the fastening of a weight distribution member between a pair of adjacent clips.

Figure 12 is a perspective view of the sheet of roofing profile with two weight distribution members attached at right angles to the crests of the profile.

Figure 13 is a top plan view of a sheet of roofing profile wherein a walkway mesh has been located over three of the weight distribution members parallel to the crests of the roof sheeting profile.

Figure 14 is a top plan view of a sheet of roofing profile wherein a 10 walkway mesh has been located over three of the weight distribution members at a right angle to the crests of the roof sheeting profile.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

Referring now to Figure 5, there is illustrated an outside roof crest engagement clip 19 according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention. It will be observed that the clip 19 has first and second opposed legs 21a and 21b which diverge downward and outwardly from a head portion 23. In the preferred embodiment that is illustrated in Figure 5, the head portion 23 of the roof crest engagement clip 19 comprises a planar spacer between the two legs 21 and 21 b though it could be arcuate or angular.

First and second feet 25a and 25b are located at the lower ends of the first and second legs 21a, 21b. The first and second feet 25a and 25b are formed with return portions 27a and 27b that extend inwardly from the first and second feet respectively. The return portions have crest contact surfaces 29a, 29b that converge inwardly and upwardly to assist in guiding the engagement clip 19 over the outside of a crest of concealed roofing sheet.

The first and second feet 25a and 25b are interspaced to snap lock over a crest of a roof profile. In a preferred embodiment the interspacing “d”, which is indicated in Figure 6, is 23.7mm. Obviously the clip dimensions may be varied depending on the shape and size of the crest of the roofing sheet to which it is intended to be fitted.

2018201847 14 Mar 2018

The clip 19 is formed with crest head stop members in the form of first and second head stop members 31a, 31b. The stop members extend inwardly toward each other from the first and second legs 21a and 21b. In use, as the clip is being applied about the outside of a crest of the roof profile, the stop members 31a and 31b abut an upper surface of the crest as the first and second feet pass the head of the crest. This process will be discussed further shortly with reference to Figures 8a-8c.

As shown in Figure 5, the first and second legs 21a and 21b bend outwardly and downwardly from bend angles 33a, 33b adjacent the first and second head stop members 31 a, 31 b.

The outside roof crest engagement clip 19 is preferably formed of extruded aluminum though it may also be formed of other suitably strong and resilient substances, for example various types of durable, UV stable, plastic may be suitable.

Referring now to Figure 6, there is shown a roof clip assembly 33 according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention. The roof clip assembly 33 is comprised of a rigid support member 35. A number of clips 6a,..,6n for snap locking to the inside of a concealed fixing roof sheet are mounted along the topside of the support member 35.

Beneath each of the inside snap locking clips 6a,..,6n, there is mounted an outside snap lock clip 19a,..,19n of the type previously discussed with reference to Figure 5.

In the embodiment shown in Figure 6 screws 9a,..,9n fasten the clips 6a,..,6n and 19a,...,19n to the support member 35.

Figure 7 shows the use of the clip assembly 33 according to the present invention to cover over an underlying roof sheet 3. In Figure 7 the clips 19a,...,19n of the clip assembly 33 have been pushed over the crests 9a,.., 9n

2018201847 14 Mar 2018 of the underlying roofing profile 3, thereby snap locking the clips 19a,...,19n to the crests and fastening them in place.

Figure 7a shows the use of clips 19 to assist in mounting a solar panel 2 to the roofing sheet 3. It will be observed that the problem of roof penetration that occurred with the prior art approach to mounting the solar panel, which is illustrated in Figure 3 is avoided by the use of the outer mounting clips 19. In Figure 7A the solar panel 2 is mounted to a beam 6 which is in turn fastened with screws 8 to the heads of clips 19. While the clips 19 are penetrated by the screws 8 the underlying roofing sheet 3 remains intact.

With reference to Figure 8, as clip 19 is pushed down over a crest 9 the return portions 27a and 27b of the feet 25a and 25b of the clip 19 abut the sides of the head (Figure 8a) of the crest and so are forced apart to a distance d+Ad until the feet are pushed down past the shoulders 36 of the crest so that they lock in necked portion 37 of the crest beneath the shoulders 36. The stops 31a and 31b abut the top of the crest and so prevent the clip 19 from being pushed too far down on the crest.

Once locked in place any attempt to pull the clip 19 up as indicated in Figure 8d, tends to draw the feet 25a, 25b together so that their interspacing distance reduces a little from “d” to “d-dd” so that they bite into the neck region 37 of the sheet 3.

Figure 9 illustrates the forces that are understood to be in play during operation of the clip 19 in resisting a lifting load “A” pulling up the head portion 23. For example, the lifting load “A” may be a wind load on a solar panel, antenna, roofing cover or other assembly that is mounted to the clip 19.

As the load “A” increases the legs 21a and 21b straighten and their intermediate portions move outwards as indicated by arrow “B” to assume the position indicated in dashed lines in Figure 9. As the legs 21a and 21b straighten they cause the feet 25a, 25b of the clip to rotate in an inwards and upwards motion as indicated by arrow “D.

ίο

2018201847 14 Mar 2018

As the load lifting force “A” increases on the head portion 23, and the legs 21a and 21b straighten out the lower portions of legs 21a and 21b tend to pull inwards in the direction indicated by the arrows “C”.

The crest contact surfaces 29a and 29b of the return portions 27a and 27b of feet 25a, 25b make contact with the sheet 3. The crest contact surfaces 29a and 29b are rounded to distribute the load and maximize the area of contact so that the feet do not pierce through the thin roofing sheet 3. The internal radius “r “of the arcuate portion between the lower ends of the inside of legs 21a and 21b is sufficient to provide enough room for the feet to do what is commonly known as “digging in” or “biting” so that while not penetrating the roofing sheet the crest contact portions 29a and 29b may leave an impression or dent in the roof sheeting illustrating the extent of the force with which the clip holds on to the crest of the roofing sheet.

As previously mentioned, as the lifting force “A” increases the legs tend to straighten outwardly in the direction “B”. At the same time the opposed stops 31a and 31b also move outwards as indicated by double headed arrow “F”. It will be realized therefore that it is highly preferable that there is a gap between the stops 31a and 31b and that they are not formed as a single member interconnecting the legs 21a and 21b since if that were the case the legs would be unable to straighten in response to the lifting load “A” and so the inward biting of the feet against the crest of the roofing sheet would be substantially prevented, which is undesirable.

Referring now to Figures 10 to 14 a method according to an embodiment of the invention, for installing a weight distribution assembly, for example to provide a walkway, on roof sheeting will be explained. Figure 10 illustrates an initial step in the method wherein there is shown a roofing profile 3 of the type that has been previously discussed which includes a plurality of equally spaced longitudinal crests 9a, 9b, 9c. Two pairs of the outside roof crest engagement clips 19, that have been previously discussed have been installed onto the crests 9a and 9c.

π

2018201847 14 Mar 2018

Referring now to Figures 10a, 11 and 12, a number of weight bearing members 39 are provided. As best seen in Figure 10a, which is a perspective view of a side and underside of one of the members 39, in the preferred embodiment the weight bearing members 39 each comprise rectangular metal sections having mitred ends 41. It will be realised though weight bearing members having other profiles such as a “C” profile might also be used in other embodiments. The weight bearing members 39 are elongate with sufficient length to span between pairs of clips 9. Although not essential, it is convenient if the weight bearing members have a length that is approximately a multiple of the distance between adjacent crests of the roofing profile so that ends of the weight bearing members will fit over clips 9 that are mounted on corresponding positions on say every second or every third or every fourth crest. For example, in Figure 11, the weight bearing member 39 has a length

L that is about twice the distance “d” between adjacent crests 9 of the roofing profile 3.

As illustrated in Figure 11 the preferred method includes fastening the mitred ends 41 of the weight bearing members 39 to the clips 19 by drilling self20 tapping screws 8 through the mitred ends 41 into corresponding clips 19. This method of attachment is very quick and readily performed with a cordless drill 43. Furthermore, the diagonal sides 42 of the mitred ends interfere with the front and back sides of the clip 19 so that the weight bearing members 39 are restrained by the clip 1a from moving laterally. In addition the inward edge transverse edges 45 of the mitred ends (identified in Figure 10a) abut the opposed sides of the clips so that the weight bearing member 39 does not move longitudinally either. Consequently, the mitred ends 41 of the rectangular cross-section, weight bearing members 39 allow the members to be easily located over a pair of the clips so that they remain in place for convenient and speedy fastening thereto.

Once the weight bearing members have been attached to the clips with the self-tapping screws 8 the roof section appears as shown in Figure 12.

2018201847 14 Mar 2018

Figure 13 is a plan view of the roof profile 3 illustrating a walkway assembly 51 resulting from a subsequent step of the method wherein a rigid walkway mesh 45 has been fastened over three weight bearing members 39. The rigid walkway mesh 45 is preferably made of galvanised steel and is sufficient strong for a person to walk safely over. It will be realised that by using a sufficient number of the weight bearing members 39 the weight can be safely distributed over the roofing profile so that it is undamaged and unpenetrated.

Figure 14 is a further plan view of the roof profile 3 illustrating a walkway assembly 52, wherein pairs of clips 19 have been located along crests 9a, 9c and 9e and thus the weight bearing members 39 are mounted to the clips parallel to the crests. The rigid walkway mesh 45 has been fastened over the weight bearing members 39 and so is disposed at right angles to the crests 9a,..,9f. It will therefore be realised that the method encompasses placing a portion of the walkway parallel to the crests and a further portion at right angles to the crests. As a result a walkway with corners may be built to proceed around installations such as skylights and air-conditioning units without penetrating the roof.

An embodiment of the invention further comprises a weight distribution assembly such as the assemblies 51 and 53 illustrated in Figures 13 and 14 for fastening to profiled roof sheeting. For example, such an assembly may include a plurality of outside roof crest engagement clips 19 for fastening to crests 9 of the roof sheeting 3 and also a number of weight bearing members

39 that each have mitred ends for fastening over pairs of said clips. The assembly can further include a rigid mesh walkway 45 for fastening over the weight bearing members 39. However, the rigid mesh walkway, while preferred is not essential since other members such as planks could be located over the weight bearing members or alternatively, and whilst much less preferred, a person could step from one weight bearing member to the next with no intermediate walking surface being in place.

In compliance with the statute, the invention has been described in language more or less specific to structural or methodical features.

The term “comprises” and its variations, such as “comprising” and “comprised of” is used throughout in an inclusive sense and not to the exclusion of any additional features.

2018201847 14 Mar 2018

It is to be understood that the invention is not limited to specific features shown or described since the means herein described comprises preferred forms of putting the invention into effect.

The invention is, therefore, claimed in any of its forms or modifications within the proper scope of the appended claims appropriately interpreted by those skilled in the art.

Throughout the specification and claims (if present), unless the context requires otherwise, the term substantially or about will be understood to not be limited to the value for the range qualified by the terms.

Any embodiment of the invention is meant to be illustrative only and is not meant to be limiting to the invention. Therefore, it should be appreciated that various other changes and modifications can be made to any embodiment described without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.

Claims (16)

1. An outside roof crest engagement clip comprising:

first and second opposed legs extending downwardly from a head portion;

first and second feet located at ends of the first and second legs, the first and second feet having return portions extending inwardly from the first and second legs respectively; and first and second head stop members that extend from the first and second legs inwardly toward each other into a space between the legs, the first and second head stop members being dimensioned to abut an upper surface of a crest of a roof profile as the first and second feet pass the head of the crest; wherein the first and second feet are interspaced to snap lock over the crest of the roof profile.

2. A clip according to claim 1, wherein the first and second feet include crest contact surfaces that converge inwardly and upwardly to assist in pressing the engagement clip over the crest.

3. A clip according to claim 1 or claim 2, wherein the first and second legs bend outwardly and downwardly from adjacent the first and second head stop members.

4. A clip according to any one of the preceding claims wherein the head portion comprises a planar spacer between the two legs.

5. A clip according to any one of the preceding claims formed of extruded steel or aluminum.

6. A roof clip assembly comprising: a rigid support member;

2018201847 01 Jul2019 at least one clip for the inside of a concealed fixing roof profile fastened to the rigid support member; and at least one outside roof crest engagement clip according to any one of claims 1 to 5 fastened to the rigid support member.

7. A method for roofing over an existing concealed fixing roof comprising the steps of:

applying outside roof crest engagement clips according to any one of claims 1 to 5 to the concealed fixing roof;

fastening internal roof crest engagement clips to the outside roof crest engagement clips; and snap locking a span of concealed fixing roof profile to the internal roof crest engagement clips wherein all attachments are made without penetrating roof profile.

8. A method for installing a weight distribution assembly on roof sheeting of a type including a plurality of spaced apart longitudinal crests, the method comprising:

installing a plurality of outside roof crest engagement clips according to any one of claims 1 to 5 onto the crests;

locating weight bearing members over pairs of said clips; and fastening ends of the weight bearing members to the clips.

9. A method according to claim 8, wherein the weight bearing members comprise rectangular metal sections having mitred ends.

10. A method according to claim 9, including disposing the weight bearing members at right angles to the longitudinal crests.

11. A method according to claim 9, including disposing the weight bearing members along the longitudinal crests and thus parallel thereto.

2018201847 01 Jul 2019

12. A method according to claim 9, further including fastening the mitred ends of the weight bearing members to the clips by drilling self-tapping fasteners through the mitred ends into corresponding clips.

13. A method according to any one of claims 8 to 12, including fastening a walking surface over the weight bearing members.

14. A method according to claim 13, wherein the fastening of the walking surface over the weight bearing members includes laying a rigid metal grid over the weight bearing members for a person to walk over.

15. A weight distribution assembly for fastening to profiled roof sheeting comprising:

a plurality of outside roof crest engagement clips according to any one of claims 1 to 5 for fastening to crests of the roof sheeting; and a number of weight bearing members each of a length corresponding to an integer number of distances between adjacent crests of the roof sheeting.

16. An assembly according to claim 15, wherein each of the weight bearing members comprise rectangular metal sections having mitered ends for fastening over pairs of said clips