Technical field of the invention

The invention relates to a roofing element for covering a roof valley formed at the juncture of the edges of a roof structure.

Roof valleys or roof valley gutters are formed at the juncture of two planes of a roof structure. For covering roof valleys, roof valley shingles or plates are applied that are adapted for draining rainwater and are made of a metal or plastic material. Such shingles or plates are fixedly attached to the roof structure.

The roof valley usually has a very significant water load, so a waterproof connection is very important, while at the same time a sufficient allowance should be made for the thermal movement of the roof valley cover plates.

Background art

A roof valley gutter for snow non-falling roof and its construction method is disclosed in the document JP 2001262795 A.

This known technical solution is essentially a trough with a U-shaped cross section that is made of steel plate, and is attached to the roof structure via a wing member. The roof valley gutter is formed from interconnected portions of a given length that are firmly attached to the roof structure, with insulation being applied after installation. This technical solution has the disadvantage that the applied material is different from the material of the roof structure, so it is difficult to repair, because a repair requires breaking the integrity of the roof valley gutter. Disclosure of the invention

The objective of the present invention is to provide a roofing element that can be installed without applying a firm attachment, and is made of the same material as the roofing elements applied for the rest of the roof structure.

The invention is based on the recognition that by applying a roofing element that has an expedient configuration and is made of the same material as the roofing elements applied for the rest of the roof structure can provide the covering the roof valley in the same manner as the roofing elements applied for the rest of the roof structure.

The objective of the invention is realized by providing a roofing element that is characterised by comprising a curved centre portion and wing portions, each of the latter having a through opening formed at the top portion thereof, said top portions being connected to the centre portion at each side, and in that it comprises at least two protrusions disposed below the openings, at the juncture of the centre portion and the wing portions. A preferred embodiment of the roofing element according to the invention is made of fired ceramic, metal, concrete or plastic.

In another preferred embodiment of the roofing element according to the invention, the openings disposed on the wing portions have an oval configuration, and the protrusions on the bottom face have square block shape.

Brief description of the drawings

A preferred embodiment of the roofing element according to the invention is explained in detail referring to the accompanying drawings, where

Fig. 1 shows an axonometric top view of the roofing element according to the invention,

Fig. 2 shows an underside axonometric view of the roofing element according to Fig. 1,

Fig. 3 illustrates the configuration of the rafter holding the roofing element, and

Fig. 4 shows the roofing element according to the invention installed in a roof structure. Detailed description of the invention

Fig. 1 shows an axonometric top view of the roofing element 1 according to the invention, the roofing element 1 consisting of a curved centre portion 2 and wing portions 3 delimiting the centre portion 2 from both sides, with through openings 4 being formed at one end of each wing portion 3.

The curved portion of the centre portion 2 of the roofing element 1 is configured such that the radius corresponding to the curved portion is always smaller than the height of the rafter body 10. The curve length of the curved centre portion 2 is at most half of the circumference of the circle described by the radius corresponding to the curved portion.

Protrusions 5 are disposed at the bottom portion of the roofing element 1, below the openings 4, at the juncture of the centre portion 2 and the wing portions 3 (see Fig. 2). The protrusions preferably have a square block shape and are adapted for supporting the roofing element 1 when it is installed.

The top face of the wing portion 3 of the roofing element 1 can also be provided with obliquely running grooves that are adapted for directing the water getting splashed on the roofing element 1 back onto the centre portion 2. There is a continuous contact between the wing portions 3 and the curved centre portion 2, the wing portions 3 lying at an angle of approximately 30° with respect to the plane containing the juncture edges 12 of the wing portions 3 and the centre portion 2.

The roofing element 1 can also have a patterned or corrugated surface. Fig. 3 shows rafters 6 required for installing the roofing element according to the invention. When forming a roof valley, the rafters are disposed in the roof structure parallel to each other at both sides of the roof valley. The rafter body 10 of the rafters 6 is preferably provided applying square cross-section wooden beams, with the upper face 8 of the rafters 6 and the outside face 9 of the rafters 6 being flat, and with support battens 11 adapted for supporting the protrusions 5 of the roofing element 1 in the installed state of the roofing element 1 being disposed on the inside faces 7 of the rafters 6. The support battens 11 disposed on the inside faces 7 of the rafters 6 are disposed opposite each other, on the sides of the rafters 6 that face each other, perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the rafters 6. The bottom and top ends of the rafters 6 are attached, respectively, to the base purlin and the ridge purlin of the roof structure. In such a way, the roofing element 1 can be installed quickly, i.e., it is not required to install a separate insulation, which reduces labour costs.

When the roof structure is constructed, the roofing tiles are placed in a manner known per se, with the roofing elements 1 according to the invention being installed at the roof valleys (at the juncture of roof planes) as illustrated in Fig. 4.

The roofing element 1 is made of the same material as the roofing tiles covering the roof, so it essentially constitutes a roof valley tile, forming a roof valley gutter at the juncture of the roof planes that is adapted for draining rainwater. The edges of the wing portions 3 of the roofing element 1 are covered (overlapped) by the adjacent tile in a manner known per se, thereby obtaining a uniform roof structure made from roof tiles.

The width of the wing portions 3 is 1.5-2 times the overlap of the roofing tiles required for the angle of inclination of the given roof structure.

The roofing element 1 according to the invention is placed on the support battens 11 of the rafter 6 without fixed attachments, but optionally, if so required, they can also be attached to the rafter 6 applying retainers placed into the openings 4.

The advantage of the roofing element 1 is that it is made of the same material as the material of the roofing elements (roofing tiles) applied for protecting the roof, so the roofing elements 1 forming the roof valley gutter and the roofing tiles have identical thermal expansion characteristics, have a longer lifespan, provide better waterproofing, and lend an aesthetically pleasing appearance to the roof structure.

The further advantage of the roofing element 1 is that it can be used on any roof with an angle inclination from 5-80° without modification.

In this case, the upper face 8 of rafters 6 are cut diagonally on the side of support battens 11. We make the cut so that the edges of wings portion of roofing element don’t rise to the top of battering of roof.

As a result, roofing element 1 retains its function in case of pitched roofs of any inclination.

LIST OF REFERENCE NUMERALS roofing element 2 centre portion

3 wing portion

4 opening

5 protrusion

6 rafter 7 inside face (of rafter)

8 upper face (of rafter)

9 outside face (of rafter)

10 rafter body

11 support batten 12 juncture edge