AU651193B2 - Roofing tile - Google Patents

Description

AUSTRALIA

Patents Act 1990

ORIGINAL

COMPLETE SPECIFICATION STANDARD PATENT S Invention Title: ROOFING TILE The following statement is a full description of this invention, including the best method of performing it known to me:- The present invention relates in general to improvements in roofing tiles and, more particularly but not exclusively, relates to an improved form of roofing tile which, in one application, may be used as a solar collector for use in heating a unit by solar energy and, in other applications, may be used for flame or fire retardant purposes if the structure catches fire and/or for insulation of the structure.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a roofing tile which *may be used to provide advantages other than protection against weather.

A further object is to provide a roofing tile of a construction which may 10. be used as a solar collector, for use in solar heating, and/or to assist S in reducing the effect of a major fire within the structure roofed with the tiles. Another object is to provide a roofing tile which may incorporate flame retardant properties to assist in reducing the effect of fire within a structure roofed with the tiles.

Generally, a solar collector for use in solar heating owacsists of a blackened receiver surface covered by one or more special glass plates. The glass, transparent to any incident solar radiation but opaque to reradiated energy, functions to trap solar energy incident thereon. For removing usable heat from such a collector air, water or other suitable liquid is caused to flow between the blackened surface and the glass plate, and for the solar heating of a building an appropriate number of such -2solar collectors is used, in conjunction with tubing, pumps and/or other equipment. It is normal practice to locate an array of such solar collectors on a roof surface or at some location adjacent the relevant building where the solar panels will be subjected to most incident sunlight. In any arrangement wherein, for example, an array of solar collector panels, and so on, is located on a roof of a structure, the very existence of those panels, and so on, gives rise to the imposition of increased loads on that structure itself.

Furthermore, and regardless of how the relevant solar collector panels can be cosmetically designed and structured, the end result to the building itself is of course a reduction in aesthetic appeal.

The present invention seeks to improve upon the prior art by providing a solar heat collector arrangement which does not rely for its operation on any substantial structural additional to the building itself, thereby causing no real additional loading on the building itself. At the same time the arrangement in accordance with the present invention seeks to preserve the aesthetic appeal of an architectural structure.

see \r aet SPCOC\O& aC A,'RO.rh, ~It has been proposedito provide interlocking tiles of hollow construction for use in a heat exchange situation as a surround for a swirmming pool, so as to provide means for increasing the temperature of the water in the pool. In this construction each tile was to be provided with at least one male inter-engaging means and a corresponding number of female connecting means arranged so that when two of the tiles were placed in closely adjacent position the male interconnecting means could engage the female connecting means to provide a connection between the tiles whereby water could flow from one tile to the other and to be heated by solar radiation falling on the upper surfaces of the tiles.

However, it is believed the proposed construction would not be satisfactory as there could be leakage of water through the inter-engaging male and Si0. female connection means. That, possibly, would not provide any really adverse effect in tiles laid on the ground as a surround for a swimning pool, but it would be disastrous if used in the roofing of a building, particularly in a house or other structure in which a ceiling is provided below the tiled roof. As is well known a minor leak in a roof, if continuous, can cause a great deal of damage to a ceiling.

A further disadvantage of that proposed construction is that each said tile, being completely hollow, did not provide a circulation of water within the tile and although such a construction may, possibly, have been satisfactory in an arrangement wherein the system of tiles is substantially horizontal, as a surround for a swimming pool, I believe it would not be S T satisfactory in a system of roofing tiles which are customarily laid on a roof structure which is at an inclination to the horizontal.

It is therefore, a further object of the invention to provide a construction of roofing tile which will not have the disadvantages of the solar tiles hitherto proposed and which will be satisfactory in use in forming the roof of a building. A subordinate object is to provide roofing tiles, for use in the collection of s-lar energy, which may be interconnected in such manner that there will be a substantially leak-free connection between adjacent tiles, and in the whole of the solar tile system.

Another object is to provide means for roofing a building such that the roofing will constitute a solar energy collector, and wherein the tiles may be removed as and when required, either individually or in groups or clusters.

The roofing tile provided with these and other objects in view is of generally conventional or known external design and construction but has, within the tile, an. enclosed cavity or internal chamber, an inlet connector and an outlet connector secured to the tile for providing substantially leak-free connections with adjacent tiles, said inlet and 20. outlet connectors being in communication with the cavity or chamber in such manner that water may flow through the inlet connector into the cavity, 0. pass through the cavity and then flow out through the outlet connector, Scharacterised in that there is at least one internal rib within the cavity dividing said cavity into at least two inter-connected spaces, and the inlet connector means is attached to the tile Hl d fi rr l d so as to communicate with one of those spaces and the outlet connector is attached to the tile so as to communicate with another of those spaces, whereby water may flow through the tile in a circuitous path that is to say, not in a direct path from the inlet to the outlet.

It is also proposed to provide in the lower surface of the tile a temperature-actuated release valve in comunication with the internal cavity of the tile whereby to permit discharge of the water within the tile if a high degree of heat, such as would be provided by a major fire in the structure having a roof including such tiles, impinges on the tile.

It is a feature of the invention that the outlet connector of a tile may be connected to the inlet connector of another tile by means providing substantially leak-proof connections whereby water from one tile may flow directly to a second tile, and thence onwards to other tiles, without any sT:, real danger of leakages occurring at the connection locations.

-4- In order that the invention may be clearly understood and readily put into practical effect I shall now describe several preferred constructions of roofing tile, made according to this invention, with reference to the accompanying illustrative drawings, wherein: Fig. 1 is a perspective view of a solar-heating roofing tile, of generally standard construction, incorporating the principal feat-res of this invention; Fig. 2 is a front end view of the tile depicted in Fig. 1; Fig. 3 shows a cross-section on the line and in the direction of the arrows 3 3 of Fig. 1; Fig. 4 shows a top plan view of the tile; Fig. 5 is a side elevation of the tile; Fig. 6 shows a cross-section on the line and in the direction of the arrows 6 6 of Fig. 15. Fig. 7 is a plan view showing two tiles arranged side by side, as laid on a roof, and with the connections between the outlet of one to the inlet of the next of the series; Fig. 8 illustrates the manner of making a connection of one tile to the next; Fig, 9 is an underside view of the tile incorporating a further feature as a modification; Fig. 10 shows a perspective view from the top of another form of tile incorporating the principal features of the invention; S: Fig. 11 is a cross section on the line and in the direction of the arrows 25. 11 11 of Fig. Fig. 12 is a cross section on the line and in the direction of the arrows 12 12 of Fig. Fig. 13 shows an underside view of the tile depicted in Figs. 10, 11 and 12; Fig. 14 is a side elevation of the tile shown in Fig. Fig. 15 shows a transverse, longitudinal cross-section on the line and in the direction rf the arrows 15 15 of Fig. 14; Fig. 16 illustrates a general arrangement of a number of tiles of the type depicted in Fig 1; and Fig. 17 illustrates a general arrangement of a number of tiles of the type depicted in Fig. 000 Referring initially to Figs. 1 to 8, inclusive, it will be noted that the roofing tile is externally of generally the same construction as the well known terra-cotta and concrete tiles. However, the internal construction differs in that there is a cavity or chamber between the upper and lower surfaces, divided by a longitudinal rib 21 extending the major part of the length of that cavity or chanber, so as to divids it into two spaces 22 an( 23 with an inlet connector 24 in conrmunication with the space 22 and *utlet connector 25 in communication with the space 23, the two spaces 23 being in comnunication through the channel 26 at the end of the rib 21. There may be another rib (or ribs) within the cavity see Fig. 6.

Each of the inlet and outlet connectors 24, 25 has an externally tapered end part providing a shoulder 27, and adjacent tiles may be connected together by a tube 28 of polypropylene or other suitable plastics material, the tube 28 being fastened to the connectors 24, 25 by clamping rings 29, as shown in un-tightened condition in Fig. 8.

The tiles may be positioned on a roof in the customary manner and the inlet and outlet connectors connected together by said tubes 28 so as to form virtually leak-proof connections between the tiles, as illustrated in Fig.

7 When the roof structure consisting of the required number of the tiles has been completed, and the connections between the inlet and outlet connectors have been made, one of the tiles the first of the section or group may be connected to a water supply unit so that a quantity of water may be fed o into the tiles so positioned and inter-connected, and another of the tiles 25. the last of the section or group may be connected to the reservoir of water to be heated.

in order to allow for heat exchange to occur, each tile in any longitudinally-extending row should be in flow-connection with each adjacent tile of that same row, and each end tile in any such longitudinally-extending J "o0. row should preferably be in similar flow-connection with the equivalent tile in the row above or below, whereby to give rise to a single, circuitous path of travel over the entire roof for the fluid to be heated by incident solar heating. In an alternative embodiment, each longitudinally-extending row of roof tiles can be isolated from the rows above and below, (next adjacent), such that the overall roof constituted a plurality of separate flow channels or paths for fluid to be heated by incident solar energy.

Such an arrangement is illustrated diagraranatically in Fig. 16. In that illustration a connection 30 is shown leading from a water supply unit (not shown) to a tile adjacent guttering 31 and a return lead 32 is shown -6leading from an upper layer of the tiles, the arrows indicating the direction of flow of water in the tiles and in the system as a whole.

In that illustration there is shown a lead or tube 33 from the far end of the lower line or layer of tiles to the near end of the next-above line or layer of tiles, and so on. However, the connection from the far end of the first or lower line of tiles may be to the tile imnediately above it, so that water may flow from one end of the line of tiles to the opposite end, and then in the reverse direction in the next-above line or layer of tiles, and then in the first direction in the third line or layer of tiles, and so on, making for shorter connecting tubes between the layers of tiles.

The layers of tiles may be arranged in sections such as three layers of eight tiles each making up a section of twenty-four tiles to be considered as a unit. Each such unit may be connected direct to the water-supply source and to the heated-water tank, or each such unit may be connected to the next adjacent unit so that there would be required only a single input tube and a single outlet tube for the whole solar-heating roofing tile system.

With the construction of roofing tile provided by this invention and an arrangement of tiles as indicated above, there is no need for any separate collector panel array to be located on the roof. a rn. gsa I This in itself can give rise to a substantial reduction in loads or loading acting on the supports of a building or the like structure as a result of the weight of the material employed in roofing, in conjunction with the weight of solar collector panels as employed in the known art.

In certain arrangements it will not be necessary to provide pump means to **so 'foe supply water to the solar-energy roofing tile heating system ac.ording to this invention, as when a water supply tank is located at a suitable height in the ceiling of a building, but in other cases it may be necessary to 30. provide such pump means.

The tile constructed according to this invention may be made of a suitable heat-conductive plastics material, or of ceramic material, or terra cotta or concrete, or of a suitable metal or alloy provided the material making up the tiles of this invention has suitable heat-collecting properties such as required for solar-heating arrangements.

The tile illustrated in the Figs. 1 to 8 of the drawings may be made to be fastened in position by the tying of wires, as is customary. However, these views show an alternative means for fastening the tiles in position the provision of a hole 35 for the reception of or nail/or screw for use in r, O40. astening the tile securely to a batten of the roof structure. Py this oSkS. u -7means the roofing tiles of the solar-heating system will be secured in position and will not tend to became dislodged readily.

In the application of the invention it is preferred that a layer of black polythene or other suitable material be placed over the battens so as to be beneath the tiles. That film will assist in the retention of solar energy by the tiles and the water within them and, also, in the unlikely event of a minor water leakage occurring, will tend to prevent water penetrating to the ceiling. The film may extend down to the gutter about the building, should it be so desired.

Reference is now made to Fig. 9 of the drawings which illustrates a modification of the tile shown in the preceding views, the tile of Fig. 9 having a temperature actuated release valve 36 in its underside, in communication with the internal cavity of the tile, This valve, normally closed so as to prevent leakage of water from the cavity or space 22/23 within the tile, is made so that upon the application of an intense heat such as would emanate from a serious fire within a house it will open to release the water within the tile to assist in retarding the fire.

It is apparent that if the tiles on the roof of a house are all made according to this invention and enclose within their internal cavities a quantity of water, the release of that water on to a fire below the roof will have a substantial effect on the fire and even if it does not operate to put the fire out it should at the very least retard the fire and make it easier to quench by convential fire fighting means.

Figs. 10 to 15, inclusive, illustrate the application of the invention to a corrugated iron roofing tile in which a housing member 37 is attached to the underside of the corrugated iron sheet 38, said housing having inlet and outlet connectors 24 and 25, respectively, attached to one end so that water flowing through the inlet 24 to the cavity within the housing may be exhausted therefrom through the outlet connector The housing 37 has two main water storage cavities or chambers 39, 40, as shown particularly in Figs. 14 and 15, and an inlet space 41 to which the inlet 24 is connected and which extends to within a short distances of and communicates with the cavity 40. Within each of the cavities 39,40 are several ribs 42 provided to assist the water flowing in a circuitous path, and there is a connecting passageway 43 leading from the lower cavity to the upper cavity 39.

Fig. 17 illustrates an arrangement of the tiles of the form depicted in Figs. 10 to 15, in a roof structure.

Instead of using clamping rings 29 for fastening the connection tubes 28 to the inlet and outlet connectors 24, 25 it may be found satisfactory to -8use other mechanical means such as circlips, or it may be found suitable to make those connectors 24, 25 and the tubes 28 of a material which may be readily secured together in a substantially leak-free manner by a suitable solvent or adhesive.

In a further alternative construction the male and female connections are of tapering configuration so as to be adapted to engage tightly together, and a solvent or adhesive may be applied to the male connections before they are engaged in the female connections, so as to ensure water-tight connections. Other forms of connections, such as screwed fittings, snap -lock fittings and so on, may be substituted.

In the use of any one of these constructions of roofing tile the tiles may be connected together in clusters, so that if it is desired to remove a batch of tiles from a roof the whole cluster may be removed as a unit, the tiles of the cluster being fastened to the roof structure in any suitable 15. manner. Alternatively, they may be laid and fastened in position individually, or in arrangements of clusters separated by groups of Sindividually-laid tiles, all those of the solar energy collecting system being interconnected to provide for a through flow of water, with appropriate connections for water-storage tanks, hot-water units and so on. When connected together as groups or clusters special connections, disconnectible, between clusters may be provided.

The tiles may be made of any desired profile or overall shape, such as any of the shapes currently in use for roofing tiles, or of the profile of corrugated iron roofing, :25. In the provision of tiles to make a roof it is generally necessary to have half-tiles for the ends of rows, and it is proposed to provide such halftiles with the ends sealed to close the openings in the tiles, It is also proposed to provide such tile-structures to form the ridges and/or valleys in roofing whether filled with insulation, or hollow.

It is to be understood that the principal feature of the invention resides in the provision of a roofing tile having in it one or more passageways to permit the flow of water through it and for the tile to have means for effecting substantially water-tight connect-ir s with adjacent tiles so tLat, when the tiles are laid in position as part of a roof structure, there should be no leakage of water from the solar energy tile system. The water may, of course, incorporate anti-freeze or other additive.

It is also to be understood that any suitable material may be used for the production of the tiles /^ls0

Claims (12)

1. A roofing tile having, within the tile, an enclosed cavity or internal chamber, an, inlet connector and an outlet connector secured to the tile for providing substantially leak-free connections with adjacent tiles, said inlet and outlet connectors being in communication with the cavity or chamber in such manner that water may flow through the inlet connector into the cavity, pass through the cavity and then flow out through the outlet connectors, characterised in that there is at least one internal rib within the cavity dividing said cavity into at least two inter- connected spaces, and the inlet connector means is attached to the tile k; a I:4.-A so as to communicate with one of those spaces and the outlet connector is attached to the tile so as to nommunicate with another of those spaces, whereby water may flow through the tile in a circuitous path.

S2. A roofing tile as claimed in Claim 1 further characterised in that the cavity or chamber extends across the major part of the width of the tile and along the major part of the length of the tile,

3. A roofing tile as claimed in Claim 3 further characterised in that the space in direct communication with the inlet connector is substantially narrower than the other space.

4. A roofing tile as claimed in anqone of the preceding claims further characterised in that the internal rib extends from a first end to within a short distance of the other end.

5. A roofing tile as claimed in anyne of the preceding claims characterised in that the outlet connector is attached to the tile at a first end.

6. A roofing tile as claimed in any one of the preceding claims further characterised in that there is a housing member attached to a sheet of corrugated iron, said housing providing the cavity or chamber and having the inlet and outlet connector means fastened to it.

7. A roofing tile as claimed in Claim 6 further characterised in that the housing is in two interconne=ted sections arranged so that water from the inlet connector will flow first to one of those sections and then into the other section from which it may be exhausted through the outlet connector.

8. A roofing tile substantially as herein described with reference to R Atx Figs. 1 to 8, or with reference to Figs. 9, or with reference to Figs. 10 to 15 of the drawings.

9. A roof structure of a building having a number of roofing tiles as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, said tiles being inter- connected in series by lengths of tube fastened securely to the outlet and inlet connectors of adjacent tiles.

A roof structure of a building having a number of tiles constructed substantially as herein described with reference to Figs. 1 to 8, cr with reference to Fig. 9, and arranged and interconnected substantially as herein described with reference to Fig. 16 of the drawings,

11. A roof structure of a building having a number of tiles constructed substantially as herein described with reference to Figs. 10 to and arranged and interconnected substantially as herein described with reference to Fig. 17 of the drawings. Dated this 2nd day of May 1994. LUCKLEY HOLDINGS PTY. LTD. r r r S S 5.5. S L! '1

-12- ABSTRACT A roofing tile of generally conventional external design and construction having between its upper and lower surfaces an enclosed cavity or internal chamber, and inlet connector means and outlet connector means for providing substantially leak-free connections with adjacent tiles, said inlet and outlet connector means comnunicating with said enclosed cavity or internal chamber in such manner that water may flow through the inlet connector into the cavity, through the cavity and then out through the outlet connector. Soso S S S f ft*