AU744811B2 - Roof tile fixing batten system - Google Patents

Description

-1- P/00/0011 Regulation 3.2

AUSTRALIA

Patents Act 1990 COMPLETE SPECIFICATION FOR A STANDARD PATENT

ORIGINAL

Name of Applicant: Actual Inventor: Address for service JOHN VINCENT HIGGINS John Vincent Higgins in Australia: CARTER SMITH BEADLE 2 Railway Parade Camberwell Victoria 3124 Australia Invention Title: ROOF TILE FIXING BATTEN SYSTEM Details of Associated Provisional Application: PO9640 filed 7 October 1997 The following statement is a full description of this invention, including the best method of performing it known to us AI I n rL S07 OCT 98 -2- ROOF TILE FIXING BATTEN SYSTEM INTRODUCTION TO INVENTION This invention relates to roofing construction and, in particular, to roof tile battens and a system for fixing tiles to a roof structure.

BACKGROUND TO INVENTION Roof construction involving the use of a plurality of individual tiling elements as the roof cladding material on an inclined roof, is an ancient construction technique dating from the first use of wooden tiles through to the development of fired earthenware and concrete tiles. Whilst many alternative roof cladding materials 10 are available including unitary extrusions and large sheet materials, the use of a plurality of individual concrete or terra cotta tiles remains an attractive and popular 9.

construction technique for roofing buildings and dwellings.

9 The application of tiles to a roof involves the construction of a roof frame incorporating a series of wooden battens spaced one tile length apart onto which the tiles are placed in a systematic array to form an integral cladding for the roof. The shape of tiles has been developed to assist in the secure location of tiles onto the supporting battens where the underside of current tiles incorporates a stepped protuberance which can sit on top of and over a batten to prevent the tile sliding off an inclined roof. Furthermore, tiles also incorporate provision for fastening to the roof frame by nailing or wire ties onto the supporting wooden battens. As an alternative to wooden battens, metallic battens have been developed which rely on conventual methods of securing tiles by the use of rudimentary clips and/or wires.

Notwithstanding all the above features, the currently available tiles and batten method of construction remains a primitive and labour intensive operation often resulting in substandard work where installation of tiles is compromised by failure to nail or wire tie down sufficient tiles to form a secure roof cladding.

A simplified system of roof battens including easy to use clips would greatly enhance the ease and quality of roof construction.

MAW:PP:#26548.CAP 5 October 1998 r il~Tli~ii-~ -i ii" -3- OBJECT AND STATEMENT OF INVENTION One object of the invention is to provide an improved roof batten system for use with roof tiles.

Accordingly, in one aspect the invention provides a roof batten system including an elongate batten having in cross section, a foot adapted for bearing upon and fitting to the frame of an inclined roof, a first ridge rising above said foot adapted to receive the underside top edge region of a first roof tile; a second ridge offset from and rising above said first ridge adapted to receive the underside bottom edge region of a second roof tile wherein said second ridge has means for engaging a clip that when so engaged, bears down upon the upside top edge region of said first tile so as to cause said first tile to bear down upon said first ridge thereby securing said tile to said roof frame.

The batten may be constructed of pressed or extruded steel or aluminium.

The second ridge is preferably channel shaped having clip engaging means 15 in the form of apertures in the sides of said channel.

gig' The apertures are preferably arranged in rows along the length of said ridge channel with a first row of apertures formed on a first side of said channel and a second row of apertures formed on a second side of said channel with said first and second rows being aligned such that a clip passed through a mating pair of apertures 20 is caused to bear down upon a first tile positioned on said first ridge of said batten.

The clip may be a wire construction of substantially straight configuration or incorporate a straight section therein; the wire preferably being spring wire. The clip can optionally incorporate other elements including a return lip adapted to receive the bottom edge of a second tile while simultaneously locating the top edge oooo 25 of a first tile. The clip may also include one or a plurality of kinks along the straight section thereof to facilitate incremental insertion through said ridge channel.

The invention will now be described with reference to particularly preferred embodiments shown in the following Figures.

Figure 1A shows a cross section of the elongate batten with two tiles.

Figure 1B shows a rear view of the elongate batten without tiles.

:#26548.CAP 5 Octobe 1998 -4- Figure 2 shows a perspective view of the elongate batten.

Figure 3 shows a tile engaging clip.

Figure 4 shows a model with the batten fitted to roof rafters.

Figure 5 shows a model with a side view of the batten fitted to roof rafters.

Figure 6 shows a model with a first tile fitted to a batten with a wire clip.

Figure 7 -shows a model with various clip embodiments.

Figure 8 shows the assembly of a first and second tile to the batten in the model.

Figure 9 shows a ridge cap embodiment of the batten.

Figure 10 shows a ridge cap clip.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION invention will now be described in greater detail by reference to one particularly preferred embodiment where Figure 1A and 1B provide a cross section 15 and rear view of the elongate batten of the invention which, in conjunction with a tile holding clip forms the roof batten system of the invention. The elongate batten 1 is formed of an extruded or formed pressed steel double channel having a foot section 2 which is adapted for sitting upon the frame of an inclined roof particularly for fitting by nailing or other attachment means to the rafter component 20 of an inclined roof framework such that a plurality of elongate battens can be nailed to the rafter system of a roof frame at intervals suitable for holding an array of individual roof tiles in an analogous manner to wooden battens currently known from the prior art. The elongate batten further comprises a first ridge 3 rising up relative to the foot region and which is adapted to receive the underside top edge region 4 of a first tile 5. The elongate batten further incorporates a second ridge 6 offset from and rising above the said first ridge which is adapted to receive the underside bottom edge region 7 of a second roof tile 8 which is placed higher up on the roof frame structure than said first tile. The elongate batten of the invention therefore comprises two distinct regions for co-operating with a first and second tile in a dedicated manner. The second ridge means 6 is formed in the manner of an MAW:PP:#2648.CAP 5 October 1998

II

inverted channel having a first side 12 on the elevated side of the roof and a second side 13 on the descending side of the roof with the second side 13 being in common with the first ridge 3. The second ridge 6 has an integral clip engaging means in the form of a row of apertures 9 formed along the length of the elongate batten along the first side 12 and a second row of apertures formed along the second row 13.

The row of apertures formed along the first side 12 are positioned higher than the row of apertures formed along the second side 13 in such a manner that a clip passing through a mating pair of apertures 9A and 9B (refer to Figure 2) is angled in such a manner that it is caused to bear down upon the upside top edge 11 of a 10 first tile 5 which has been placed on the first ridge 3 in a way that the passing of the clip through the mating apertures meets resistance as it abuts the tile but can be pushed further through in order to cause the first tile 5 to actively bear down on the first ridge in a manner ensuring that the tile is firmly held in relation to the elongate batten. In addition to allowing for variation in pressure to be applied to a tile, the degree of penetration of the clip 10 also accommodates variations in the overlap or margin of cover required between adjacent rows of tiles. The system of the invention can therefore readily accommodate a wide range of tile types including a Swide range of cover margins.

Referring now to Figure 2, the juxtaposition of the row of apertures along the eee• first side 12 and second side 13 of the elongate batten 1 can be readily seen when consideration is given to a mating pair of apertures 9A and 9B. The particular clip required for use for the invention can be seen in Figure 3 and will comprise a substantially straight section 14 which is adapted for passing through a mating pair of apertures. The straight section alone will, upon bearing down upon the upside top edge 11 of the first tile 5 and be caused to deform; such deformation will effectively lock the clip and tile in place. However, the clip can incorporate many various features including kinks 15 formed along the straight section 14 in order to facilitate a more controlled insertion of the clip through the mating pair of apertures 9A and 9B. In addition to the above, the clip can incorporate a return lip 16 which will sit above the first tile 5 once fitted to the elongate batten 1 in such a manner that when MAW:PP:#26548.CAP 5 October 1998 -6a second tile 8 is placed on its own elongate batten 1 at its top edge 11, the bottom edge of the second tile 7 will rest upon the second ridge 6 and be captured and held firmly in place with respect to the second ridge 16 by way of the return lip 16 of the clip Referring now to Figure 4, a model has been constructed incorporating roof rafters 18 where the elongate batten 1 has been nailed to the rafters by way of the foot 2 with a first ridge 3 positioned at the lower side of the inclined rafters and the second ridge 16 placed on the higher side of the rafters.

Figure 5 shows a side view of the batten 1 fitted to the rafters 18 with the 10 elongate batten 1 being fitted with a clip 10 in the absence of any tiles fitted thereto.

Figure 6 shows a view of a first tile 5 having been fitted to the elongate batten 1 by placement on to the first ridge (not visible) and the subsequent fitting of the clip 10 through the apertures 9 of the elongate batten 1. The fitting of the clip 10 through the apertures causes the straight section 14 of the clip 10 to "o 15 progressively bear down on the upside top edge 11 of the first tile 5 and the progressive insertion of the clip can be effected until the desired degree of engagement of the clip to the tile is effected. In use, two clips would be used per 0:000: tile with one clip on the coverstrip side 21 of the tile and another used on the water course side 22. In this manner, the usual interlocking of the water course and 20 coverstrip sides of adjacent tile is reinforced to allow each clip to effectively hold down four tiles at each corner. The ability of the invention to hold the tiles at the coverstrip side is unique and represents a distinct advantage of the system over any prior art batten systems.

Referring now to Figure 7, a selection of various clips is shown with a substantially straight clip having an eye formed at the end 19. Next to that a different type of substantially straight clip having an elbow 20 in the form of a stop at the end thereof and finally the most particularly preferred clip of the invention incorporating the kinks 15 and the return lip 16.

Referring now to Figure 8, the method of assembly of tiles using the batten system is shown with Figure 8A detailing a first tile 5 already fitted and held in MAW:PP:#26548.CAP 5 October 1998 -7place by a clip 10. In actual application, a row of first tiles would be positioned along an elongate batten and the whole row would be fastened in place by a series of clips. A second tile 8 is about to be fitted further up the roof structure. Figure 8B shows the second tile 8 inserted underneath the lip 16 of the clip 10 and similarly a row of tiles would be fitted along the length of the batten. Finally, Figure 8C shows the second tile 8 having been placed in position fully engaged by the return lips 16 of two clips 10 with the upside top edge 11 of the second tile 8 being placed on its own batten further up the roof.

In another aspect, the invention provides an embodiment of the roof batten 10 system for use along the ridge region of a roof for a fixing ridge or capping tiles and this is shown in Figures 9A and 9B where a double sided elongate batten 1 is shown effectively incorporating a duplication of the features of the standard batten. The roof batten used at the apex of a roof can be used in conjunction with particularly preferred clips which are shown in Figure The invention provides numerous advantages over the prior art wooden battens, in particular the clip and batten system of the invention is very readily assembled with unskilled labour and do not require the nailing of tiles to wooden battens or wire ties to be used. Instead, the wire clips can be readily fitted through the aperture holes and the tiles can be progressively applied to the roof and subsequent rows of clips attached as the tiling progresses up the roof.

The batten system of the invention safely and securely locks tiles to the roof structure and is very effective for storm proving roofs in addition to preventing unauthorised entry through the roof. In fact, it has been found that the system of the invention is so effective in holding down roof tiles that it is difficult to remove tiles for maintenance purposes. In such a situation, it may be preferred to use the batten system of the invention in conjunction with conventional wooden battens and it has been found that a cost effective application of the invention is found by using the batten of the invention on every second row in conjunction with the alternate use of conventional metal or wooden battens. It is also possible to effectively use the battens of the invention at every third row or a combination of the above dependent MAW:PP:#26548.CAP 5 October 1998 -8 on the roof construction. The preferred steel construction of the battens is resistant to rot and decay; does not suffer from splitting and warping as conventional wooden battens do and eliminates the possibility of tiles cracking through inadvertent hammering.

In addition to the above, the system of the invention can be used as a complete substitute for conventional wooden battens or used compatibly with conventional wooden battens. The clip used in the invention can effectively hold both the top and bottom corners of respective tiles and has the capacity to secure up to four tiles simultaneously at each corner. The system of the invention can be used 10 on the first, second or third and subsequent rows of tiles but most importantly each row of clips effectively holds two rows of tiles simultaneously.

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Claims (8)

1. A roof batten system including an elongate batten having in cross section, a foot adapted for bearing upon and fitting to the frame of an inclined roof, a first ridge rising above said foot adapted to receive the underside top edge region of a first roof tile; a second ridge offset from and rising above said first ridge adapted to receive the underside bottom edge region of a second roof tile wherein said second ridge has means for engaging a clip that when so engaged, bears down upon the upside top edge region of said first tile so as to cause said first tile to bear down upon said first ridge therebysecuring said tile to said roof frame.

2. A system according to claim 1 wherein said second ridge forms an inverted channel shape having a first side adapted to face the lower side of said roof and a second side adapted to face the upper side of said roof.

3. A system according to claim 2 wherein said means for engaging said clip is a pair of apertures with each aperture of a pair provided respectively in said 1 first and said sides.

4. A system according to claim 3 wherein said aperture pairs are provided o oo in rows being a first row of apertures formed in said first side of said channel and a second row of apertures formed in said second side of said channel. A system according to claim 4 wherein said first and said second row 0: of apertures are aligned so as to urge a clip passed through a mating pair to bear down upon said first file positioned on said first ridge of said batten. 0.9. 6. A system according to claim 5 wherein said alignment is a vertical off 0. :setting of said first and second row of apertures.

7. A system according to any one of claims 1 to 6 wherein said batten is 999999 pressed or extruded steel or aluminium.

8. A system according to any one of claims 1 to 7 wherein said clip is of wire construction with a return lip which is adapted to receive the bottom edge of a second tile and simultaneously bearing down upon the top edge of a first tile.

9. A system according to any one of claims 1 to 8 wherein said clip incorporates one or a plurality of kinks to facilitate incremental insertion through October 1998 said channel A system according to anyone of claims 1 to 9 substantially as hereinbefore described with particular reference to the drawings.

11. A roof batten system substantially as described with reference to the accompanying drawings. DATED: 18 December 2001 FREEHILLS CARTER SMITH BEADLE Patent Attorneys for the Applicant JOHN VINCENT HIGGINS a a a S e g o Printed 18 December 2001 (12:57)