Abstract
A method of securing a thermoplastic roofing membrane onto a roofing assembly, by: (a) providing a roofing component positioned at the top of a roofing assembly, wherein the roofing component has a thermoplastic top surface; (b) placing a thermoplastic roofing membrane over the top of the roofing component; and then (c) heating the thermoplastic roofing membrane together with the top surface of the roofing component to cause the thermoplastic roofing membrane to fuse to the top surface of the roofing component.
Claims
1. A method of securing a thermoplastic roofing membrane onto a roofing assembly, comprising: providing a roofing component positioned at the top of a roofing assembly, wherein the roofing component has a thermoplastic top surface; placing a thermoplastic roofing membrane over the top of the roofing component; and heating the thermoplastic roofing membrane together with the top surface of the roofing component to cause the thermoplastic roofing membrane to fuse to the top surface of the roofing component.
2. The method of claim 1, wherein a top surface of the roofing component is made of TPO, PVC, polyethylene, polypropylene, ethylene copolymer with other alpha olefins or polymer blends of these polymers.
3. The method of claim 1, wherein the roofing component comprises an insulation board with a thermoplastic top surface.
4. The method of claim 1, wherein the roofing component comprises a coverboard with a thermoplastic top surface.
5. The method of claim 1, wherein the roofing component comprises an air barrier with a thermoplastic top surface.
6. The method of claim 1, wherein the thermoplastic membrane and the top surface of the roofing component are heated and fuse together along a longitudinally-extending seam across the roofing assembly.
7. The method of claim 1, further comprising: placing an edge of a second thermoplastic roofing membrane over an edge of the first thermoplastic roofing membrane; and then heating the edges of the first thermoplastic roofing membrane and the second thermoplastic roofing membrane over the top surface of the roofing component thereby causing the edges of the first and second thermoplastic roofing membranes to fuse together and fuse to the top surface of the roofing component.
8. The method of claim 1, wherein the roofing component is a polyiso foam insulation and the thermoplastic top surface of the roofing component is a thermoplastic facer attached onto the polyiso foam insulation.
9. The method of claim 8, wherein the thermoplastic facer includes a tie layer.
10. The method of claim 8, wherein the thermoplastic facer includes a reinforcing scrim layer.
11. A roofing system, comprising: a roofing assembly; a roofing component positioned at the top of the roofing assembly, wherein the roofing component has a thermoplastic top surface; and a thermoplastic roofing membrane positioned over the top of the roofing component, wherein the thermoplastic roofing membrane is fused together with the top surface of the roofing component.
12. The assembly of claim 11, wherein each of the thermoplastic roofing membrane and the top surface of the roofing assembly is made of TPO, PVC, polyethylene, polypropylene, ethylene copolymer with other alpha olefins or polymer blends of these polymers.
13. The assembly of claim 11, wherein the roofing component comprises an insulation board with a thermoplastic top surface.
14. The assembly of claim 11, wherein the roofing component comprises a coverboard with a thermoplastic top surface.
15. The assembly of claim 11, wherein the roofing component comprises an air barrier with a thermoplastic top surface.
16. The assembly of claim 11, wherein the roofing component is a polyiso foam insulation board and the thermoplastic top surface of the roofing component is a TPO facer attached onto the polyiso foam insulation board.
17. The assembly of claim 16, further comprising: a second thermoplastic roofing membrane positioned over the first thermoplastic roofing membrane; wherein the first and second thermoplastic roofing membranes are fused together to the top surface of the roofing component.
18. The assembly of claim 11, wherein the thermoplastic top surface includes a tie layer.
19. The method of claim 11, wherein the thermoplastic top surface includes a reinforcing scrim layer.
20. The method of claim 16, further comprising: a bottom facer underneath the polyiso foam insulation board.
Description
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES
[0022] FIG. 1 is a sectional elevation view of a system for thermally attaching a thermoplastic roofing membrane onto a roofing assembly using heated air.
[0023] FIG. 2 is a sectional elevation view of a system for thermally attaching a thermoplastic roofing membrane onto a roofing assembly using magnetic induction.
[0024] FIG. 3 is a perspective view of a thermoplastic roofing membrane being attached by a plurality of straight seams onto a roofing assembly.
[0025] FIG. 4A is a side elevation view of overlapping edges of two thermoplastic roofing membranes on top of the roof assembly.
[0026] FIG. 4B is a perspective view corresponding to FIG. 4A, showing the two overlapping edges being fused together onto the top surface of the roofing component by a straight seam passing along the top of the roofing assembly.
[0027] FIG. 5A is a preferred thermoplastic facer for a polyiso foam insulation roofing component, the thermoplastic facer having a tie layer.
[0028] FIG. 5B is a preferred thermoplastic facer for the polyiso foam insulation roofing component, the thermoplastic facer having both a reinforcing scrim layer and a tie layer.
[0029] FIG. 6A is a sectional elevation view of a polyiso foam roofing component having top and bottom thermoplastic facers.
[0030] FIG. 6B is similar to FIG. 6A, but adds reinforcing scrim layers to the top and bottom thermoplastic facers.
[0031] FIG. 7A is a sectional elevation view of a polyiso foam roofing component during installation showing the upwardly-facing thermoplastic top facer. The bottom facer is made of a different material than the top facer.
[0032] FIG. 7B is similar to FIG. 7A, but adds reinforcing scrim layers to the thermoplastic facer.
[0033] FIG. 7C shows the system of FIG. 7A when initially manufactured. At this stage, the system is flipped upside down with the heavier thermoplastic facer being at the bottom.
[0034] FIG. 7D shows the system of FIG. 7B flipped upside down during its initial manufacturing stage.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES
[0035] FIG. 1 is a sectional elevation view of a system 10 for thermally attaching a thermoplastic roofing membrane 40 onto a roofing assembly 20 using heated air. In this system 10, a roof assembly 20 is provided. Roof assembly 20 includes a roofing member 22 and a roofing component 30 positioned on top of the roofing member 22. Roofing component 30 can optionally be an insulation board, a coverboard, an air barrier material or some other suitable component. In accordance with the present system, roofing component 30 has a top surface 32 made of a thermoplastic material. This thermoplastic material may be TPO, PVC, polyethylene, polypropylene, ethylene copolymer with other alpha olefins and polymer blends of these polymers, or any other suitable material. In preferred aspects, each of the thermoplastic roofing membrane and the top surface of the roofing assembly are made of the same material. Preferably, both the thermoplastic roofing membrane 40 and the top surface 32 of the roofing component 30 are made of the same thermoplastic material. The advantage of using the same thermoplastic material is that it facilitates thermal bonding as these two layers fuse together. Optionally, however, these thermoplastic materials may be different.
[0036] In accordance with the present system, the bottom of thermoplastic roofing membrane 40 is fused together with the top surface 32 of roofing component 30. As seen in FIG. 1, this may be accomplished by passing a thermal welding machine 50 across the top surface of the assembly (where the thermal welding machine 50 passes in a straight line direction D across the surface of the thermoplastic membrane 40 on top of roofing assembly 20). Thermal welding machine 50 has a heated air blower 52 that directs heated air down onto thermoplastic roofing membrane 40, warming both thermoplastic roofing membrane 40 and the top thermoplastic surface 32 of roofing component 30 below, causing them to melt and fuse together. The advantage of this approach is that the thermoplastic roofing membrane 40 becomes fused onto the top of the roofing component 30 in a long longitudinally-extending seam stretching across the roof. This form of attachment securely holds thermoplastic roofing membrane 40 in position so that it is able to resist being pulled off by high wind loads.
[0037] As such, the present system provides a method of securing a thermoplastic roofing membrane onto a roofing assembly, comprising: [0038] providing a roofing component 30 positioned at the top of a roofing assembly 20, wherein the roofing component 30 has a thermoplastic top surface 32; [0039] placing a thermoplastic roofing membrane 40 over the top of the roofing component 30; and [0040] heating the thermoplastic roofing membrane 40 together with the top surface 32 of roofing component 30 to cause the thermoplastic roofing membrane 40 to fuse to top surface 32 of roofing component 30.
[0041] As can also be seen in FIG. 1, thermoplastic roofing membrane 40 is preferably a long, continuous sheet of material, whereas roofing component 30 may be a series of shorter insulation blocks or cover boards positioned end-to-end as shown. By securing thermoplastic roofing membrane 40 across the surfaces of several insulation blocks 30, thermoplastic roofing membrane 40 prevents water leakage down into the spaces between the adjacent insulation blocks 30. The advantage of sealing thermoplastic roofing membrane 40 in long seams across several adjacent insulation blocks 30 is that thermoplastic roofing membrane 40 is held securely in place.
[0042] Alternatively, as seen in FIG. 2, a system for fusing thermoplastic roofing membrane 40 onto top surface 32 of roofing component 30 using magnetic induction welding is provided. In this approach, a series of metal plates 35 are installed at various locations adjacent to the top surfaces 32 of the various roofing components. A magnetic induction heater 60 is then passed along the surface of the roof in direction D. Magnetic induction heater 60 generates a magnetic field that heats successive metal plates 35. The heating of plates 35 causes melting and then fusion of the bottom of thermoplastic roofing membrane 40 and the top thermoplastic surface 32 of roofing component 30. In this embodiment, heating is only provided at the locations where plates 35 are found. Therefore, in optional embodiments, larger numbers of plates 35 (positioned closer together) can be used. Also, in other optional embodiments, plates 35 may be replaced with other forms of metal content (metal particles, strips, layers of foil, etc.) in or adjacent to top surface 32 or in or adjacent to thermoplastic roofing membrane 40. The advantage of such approaches are that they provide continuous heating, melting and fusing along a long longitudinally-extending seam.
[0043] FIG. 3 is a perspective view of a thermoplastic roofing membrane 40 being attached by a plurality of straight longitudinally-extending seams onto a roofing assembly 20. In this illustration, an operator moves thermal welding machine 50 (or magnetic induction heater 60) along a series of parallel paths (for example in direction D1 or direction D2 or both). Accordingly, thermoplastic roofing membrane 40 becomes attached onto the top of the roofing assembly in long seams running in directions D1 or D2.
[0044] FIGS. 4A and 4B show a further optional aspect of the present system in which two thermoplastic roofing membranes 40A and 40B are heat fused together, and are optionally both heat fused onto the top of the roofing assembly, as follows. As seen in FIG. 4A, the edge of a second thermoplastic roofing membrane 40B can be placed over the edge of a first thermoplastic roofing membrane 40A. Next, using any of the above described heating systems (or other comparable system) heating is applied at the edges of the overlapping membranes 40A and 40B. For example, a thermal welding machine 50 having a heated air blower 52 can be used to apply heat at the overlapping edges. By moving thermal welding machine 50 in the direction D shown in FIG. 4B, the overlapping edges of membranes 40A and 40B can be fused together in a longitudinally-extending seam. In addition, however, with a sufficiently hot application, the thermoplastic top surface 32 of roofing component 30 can also be melted such that membranes 40A and 40B and top surface 32 of roofing component 30 can all be melted and fused together. In optional preferred aspects, the edges of membranes 40A and 40B can also have metal content (metal particles, strips, layers of foil, etc.) therein. As a result, this optional metal content can be used when magnetic induction is applied to heat the edges of membranes 40A and 40B, thereby melting and fusing the edges of the membranes together (and optionally fusing these edges to the melted and fused top surface 32 of roofing component 30).
[0045] Optionally, metal content (metal particles, strips, layers of foil, etc.) can also be placed in top surface 32 of roofing component 30. As a result, this optional metal content can be used when magnetic induction is applied to heat top surface 32, thereby fusing a single thermoplastic roofing membrane 40 on top of surface 32 (as in FIG. 2), or when fusing a pair of overlapping edges of thermoplastic roofing membranes 40A and 40B together.
[0046] In various preferred embodiments, as illustrated in FIGS. 5A to 7D, roofing component 30 is a polyiso foam insulation material and the thermoplastic top surface 32 of the roofing component may be made of TPO, PVC, polyethylene, polypropylene, ethylene copolymer with other alpha olefins and polymer blends of these polymers, or any other suitable material. Top surface facer 32 is attached onto the polyiso foam insulation 30. In this embodiment, a tie layer 33 is also provided. Tie layer 33 may be made of a non-woven material, paper, foil or a glass mat. If made of paper, tie layer 33 may be made of kraft paper, scrim reinforced paper, glass reinforced paper, recycled paper, or some other form of paper. If made of glass, tie layer 33 may be coated or not coated. If made of foil, tie layer 33 can be reinforced or not reinforced or layered with paper, all keeping within the scope of the present invention. If a non-woven material is used in tie layer 33, it can be made of polyethylene, polypropylene, polyester, nylon or other suitable material. Most preferably, polyester is used. The preferred non-woven layer would have low thickness and low loft.
[0047] When the thermoplastic composite facer 32 is used in making a polyiso insulation board 30, the polyiso formulation may be poured directly onto the paper, glass matt, foil or non-woven side. Due to compatibility of surface energy or chemical interactions, the polyiso forms good adhesion with the paper, glass matt, foil or non-woven side of the tie layer 33 of TPO facer 32, thus enabling good polyiso board properties.
[0048] FIG. 5A is a preferred TPO facer 32 with a tie layer 33 and FIG. 5B is a preferred TPO facer 32 having a reinforcing scrim layer 34 and a tie layer 32.
[0049] FIG. 6A is a sectional elevation view of a polyiso foam insulation roofing component 30 having top and bottom TPO facers 32. FIG. 6A also shows tie layers 33 on the top and bottom. FIG. 6B adds scrim layers 34. The advantage of the embodiments of FIGS. 6A and 6B is that both the top and bottom have TPO facers 32 as the thermoplastic material thereon. As such, either side can be upwardly facing when a TPO roofing membrane 40 is placed thereover and welded thereto.
[0050] It is to be understood, however, that only the top surface needs to be made of TPO when a TPO roofing membrane 40 is welded thereover. As such, the present system also includes embodiments wherein only top (i.e.: upwardly-facing at installation) facer 32 is made of a TPO material. FIG. 7A is a sectional elevation view of a polyiso foam roofing component having a top TPO facer 32 and a bottom facer 38 made of a different material. FIG. 7A thus illustrates the system at installation (immediately prior to the thermoplastic roofing membrane being placed thereover). In FIGS. 7A and 7B, the bottom facer 38 may be made of a glass-reinforced material, a glass coated material or a foil facer. FIG. 7B is similar to FIG. 7A, but adds a reinforcing scrim layer 34 to the top TPO facer 32. When initially manufacturing the present system, it is preferable to place the heaviest facer on the bottom and then pour the polyiso onto that (bottom-facing) facer. As a result, it may be preferred to manufacture the present system upside down (when the top and bottom facers are made of different materials). Specifically, as seen in FIGS. 7C and 7D, the present system may be made with the (heavier) thermoplastic facer 32 initially at the bottom and the (lighter) facer 38 at the top. The polyiso is then poured onto facer 32. At the roofing installation stage, however, the system is flipped over (as seen in FIGS. 7A and 7B) such that the roofing membrane may be bonded onto the top of facer 32.
