Roof inspection and repair device

Abstract

A roof inspection and repair device is disclosed that can be wheeled along a roof to identify loose shingles and dispense the sealant necessary to secure them in place. The roof inspection and repair device has both a blowing system and a sealant dispensing system. The blowing system may include an air tube having an air tube inlet that can be connected to a blower and an air tube outlet. The sealant dispensing system may include one or more sealant storage containers connected to a sealant dispenser by one or more sealant tubes. The roof inspection and repair device may further include a shingle lift mechanism.

Claims

1. A roof inspection and repair device comprising: a blowing system including an air tube having an air tube inlet configured to connect to a blower and an air tube outlet; handles and wheels connected to the air tube; and a sealing dispensing system including one or more sealant storage containers connected to a sealant dispenser, wherein the air tube outlet is configured to expel air in the same direction that the roof inspection and repair device moves when being wheeled forward.

2. The roof inspection and repair device of claim 1, wherein the sealant dispenser includes a plurality of openings.

3. The roof inspection and repair device of claim 2, further including two or more sealant storage containers, wherein some openings of the plurality of openings are connected by one or more sealant tubes to one sealant container while other openings of the plurality of openings are connected by one or more sealant tubes to another sealant container.

4. The roof inspection and repair device of claim 1, further including a shingle lift mechanism.

5. The roof inspection and repair device of claim 4, wherein a sloped front surface of the sealant dispenser is configured to be the shingle lift mechanism.

6. The roof inspection and repair device of claim 1, further including a blower activator that includes at least one of a handgrip, button, and knob.

7. The roof inspection and repair device of claim 1, further including a sealant dispensing system activator, which includes at least one of a handgrip, button, and knob.

8. A roof inspection and repair device comprising: a blowing system including an air tube having an air tube inlet configured to connect to a blower and an air tube outlet; handles and wheels connected to the air tube; and a sealing dispensing system including one or more sealant storage containers connected to a sealant dispenser, wherein the sealant dispenser is configured as a roller, wherein the air tube outlet is configured to expel air in a direction perpendicular to the direction that the roof inspection and repair device moves when being wheeled forward.

9. The roof inspection and repair device of claim 8, wherein the air tube outlet is contained within the roller.

10. The roof inspection and repair device of claim 8, further including a blower activator that includes at least one of a handgrip, button, and knob.

11. The roof inspection and repair device of claim 8, further including a sealant dispensing system activator, which includes at least one of a handgrip, button, and knob.

12. A method of using a roof inspection and repair device comprising: wheeling a roof inspection and repair device along a roof, the roof inspection and repair device comprising an air tube having an air tube inlet and an air tube outlet, at least one wheel and at least one handle coupled to the air tube, a sealant storage container, and a sealant dispenser; activating a blower using a blower activator, causing air to travel through the air tube inlet, down the air tube, and out the air tube outlet; identifying one or more loose shingles with the air coming out of the air tube outlet; dispensing sealant from the sealant storage container; spreading sealant using the sealant dispenser to seal at least one of the loose shingles; and pressing the loose shingle against the dispensed and spread sealant to secure the loose shingle.

13. The method of claim 12, wherein air travels out the air tube outlet in the same direction the roof inspection and repair device is being wheeled.

14. The method of claim 12, wherein air travels out the air tube outlet in a direction perpendicular to the direction the roof inspection and repair device is being wheeled.

15. The method of claim 12, wherein identifying one or more loose shingles includes jostling loose shingles.

16. The method of claim 12, and lifting shingles by using a shingle lift mechanism.

17. The method of claim 16, wherein lifting shingles by using a shingle lift mechanism includes lifting shingles using a sloped surface of the sealant dispenser.

18. The method of claim 17, wherein lifting shingles by using a shingle lift mechanism includes rocking the roof inspection and repair device back on its wheels.

19. The method of claim 12, wherein dispensing sealant from the sealant storage container includes using a sealant dispensing system activator.

20. The method of claim 12, wherein dispensing sealant from the sealant storage container includes causing sealant to travel from the sealant storage container through a sealant tube and out through a plurality of openings of the sealant dispenser.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

(1) While the specification concludes with claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter that is regarded as the present disclosure, it is believed that the disclosure will be more fully understood from the following description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. Some of the figures may have been simplified by the omission of selected elements for the purpose of more clearly showing other elements. Such omissions of elements in some figures are not necessarily indicative of the presence or absence of particular elements in any of the exemplary embodiments, except as may be explicitly delineated in the corresponding written description. None of the drawings are necessarily to scale.

(2) FIG. 1 illustrates a perspective view of a roof inspection and repair device according to an exemplary arrangement.

(3) FIG. 2 illustrates a perspective view of a roof inspection and repair device according to another exemplary arrangement.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

(4) In one arrangement, a roof inspection and repair device has a blowing system that includes an air tube body having an air tube inlet configured to connect to a blower, an air tube body connected to handles and a wheel, and an air tube outlet configured to expel air in the same direction that the roof inspection and repair device moves when being wheeled forward. The roof inspection and repair device also includes a sealant dispensing system having a single sealant storage container connected by a single sealant tube to a rectangular sealant dispenser having a plurality of openings and a sloped front surface that allows the rectangular sealant dispenser to further operate as a shingle lift mechanism.

(5) In another arrangement, a roof inspection and repair device has a blowing system that includes an air tube body having an air tube inlet configured to connect to a blower, an air tube body connected to handles and a wheel, and an air tube outlet configured to expel air in a direction perpendicular to the direction that the roof inspection and repair device moves when being wheeled forward. The roof inspection and repair device also includes a sealant dispensing system having a single sealant storage container connected by a single sealant tube to a sealant dispenser that is a roller.

(6) Referring to the figures in detail, FIG. 1 illustrates an exemplary roof inspection and repair device 2. In this embodiment, the roof inspection and repair device 2 includes a blowing system having an air tube 4, an air tube inlet 6, and an air tube outlet 8. The air tube inlet 6 is configured to attach to a blower (not pictured). In an embodiment, a blower may be provided on the roof inspection and repair device 2, however, in other embodiments, the blower may be provided remote from the roof inspection and repair device 2. Handles 10 and wheels 12 are attached to the air tube 4. The air tube 4 is configured such that the air tube inlet 6 and handles 10 are approximately at a waist height of a typical user (for example between approximately 2 feet and 5 feet high) so as to facilitate moving the roof inspection and repair device 2 and connecting it to a blower. The air tube 4 is further configured such that the air tube outlet 8 expels air in the same direction that the roof inspection and repair device moves when being wheeled forward. A blower activator 14 is provided on one handle 10 in the form of a handgrip. The blower activator 14 could alternately be a button, knob, or any other mechanism that would activate the blower.

(7) The roof inspection and repair device 2 further includes a sealant dispensing system having a sealant storage container 16, a sealant dispenser 18, and a sealant tube 20. Although the embodiment depicted in FIG. 1 includes only a single sealant dispenser 18 and a single sealant tube 20, more than one sealant dispenser 18 could be included in the sealant dispensing system in order to dispense more than one type of sealant. Further, each sealant dispenser 18 could have more than one sealant tube connected to it. The sealant storage container 16 may be a commercially available tubular container of sealant that is attached to the roof inspection and repair device 2. Having a sealant storage container 16 carried on the roof inspection and repair device 2 eliminates the tripping hazard that would arise if, for example, a bucket of sealant was attached to the roof inspection and repair device 2 by tubing. The sealant dispenser 18 has a plurality of openings 22 through which sealant is dispensed. In alternate embodiments having multiple sealant storage containers, some openings of the plurality of openings 22 could be connected by one or more sealant tubes 20 to one sealant storage container 16 while other openings of the plurality of openings 22 could be connected by one or more sealant tubes 20 to another sealant storage container 16. A sealant dispensing system activator 24 is provided on one handle 10 in the form of a handgrip. The sealant dispensing system activator 24 could alternately be a button, knob, or any other mechanism that would activate the sealant dispensing system. Further, multiple sealant dispensing system activators 24 could be provided in embodiments having more than one sealant storage container 16.

(8) The sealant dispenser 18 has a sloped front surface 26 that allows it to act as a shingle lift mechanism. A user may forcibly insert the sealant dispenser 18 under a shingle that has been identified as loose using the sloped front surface 26 and then rock the roof inspection and repair device 2 back on its wheels 12 in order to further pry the loose shingle up. Sealant dispenser 18 may be configured in other ways to function as a shingle lift mechanism, and structures distinct from the sealant dispenser 18, such as a hook, protrusion, or other mechanism, may function as a shingle lift mechanism.

(9) FIG. 2 illustrates an exemplary roof inspection and repair device 2 similar to that disclosed in FIG. 1 except as described hereinafter. Thus, the reader is referred to the previous description for additional details not addressed hereinafter. In this embodiment, the sealant dispenser 18 is in the form of a roller rather than in the form of a shingle lift mechanism. Further, the air tube outlet 8 is located in the center of the roller and expels air in a direction perpendicular to the direction that the roof inspection and repair device moves when being wheeled forward. Thus, in this embodiment, the roof inspection and repair device 2 does not include a shingle lift mechanism. However, in other embodiments, a shingle lift mechanism may also be provided along with the roller. One benefit of having the sealant dispenser 18 be a roller is that the roller can be rotated over a loose shingle after sealant has been dispensed in order to help secure the loose shingle in place.

(10) In use, the roof inspection and repair device 2 is wheeled on wheels 12 using handles 10 by a user along a roof. The user may activate a blower, which may be attached to the roof inspection and repair device 2, to expel air ideally having a velocity of 100 miles per hour or greater. The activation of the blower may be accomplished by the blower activator 14. Upon activation, air travels from the blower through the air tube inlet 6, down the air tube 4, and is expelled near the shingles of the roof by the air tube outlet 8. The air may be expelled in a the same direction the user is wheeling the roof inspection and repair device 2 (as shown in FIG. 1), in a direction perpendicular to the direction the user is wheeling the roof inspection and repair device 2 (as shown in FIG. 2), or in a direction intermediate between the direction of wheeling and perpendicular to the direction of wheeling. The expelled air jostles loose shingles, which may then be identified by the user. The user may use a shingle lift mechanism, such as the sloped surface 26 of the rectangular sealant dispenser 18 of FIG. 1, to lift up a loose shingle or may lift the loose shingle by hand or with another type of shingle lift mechanism. The user may activate the blower again to expel air through the air tube outlet 8 in order to clean the area to which the loose shingle will be sealed or re-sealed so that a better seal can be formed. The user may then dispense sealant contained in the one or more sealant storage containers 16 by compressing the sealant dispensing system activator 24. Sealant from the one or more sealant storage containers 16 is dispensed by traveling down the one or more sealant tubes 20 and out the sealant dispenser 18. The sealant dispenser 18 may have a plurality of openings 22 so the sealant may travel through one or more of the plurality of openings 22. After being dispensed, the sealant may be spread by the sealant dispenser 18 and the loose shingle may be pressed down to secure it in place. In particular, if the sealant dispenser 18 is in the form of the roller of FIG. 2, the loose shingle may be pressed down to secure it in place by rotating the sealant dispenser 18 over the loose shingle.

(11) The patent claims at the end of this patent application are not intended to be construed under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) unless traditional means-plus-function language is expressly recited, such as means for or step for language being explicitly recited in the claim(s).