Ballast block for roofing structures
OwnerGeorge C. Brookhart, Jr.inventor
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A ballast block is disclosed in the form of a planar plate member. The plate member has a top and bottom surface, front and rear end portions and oppositely disposed lateral edges. The end portions include a mechanism for preventing substantial uplift and rotational displacement of the block when its end portions are interlinked in overlapping relationship with the corresponding end portions of like ballast blocks.
Claims77
A ballast block adapted to rest upon a supporting surface without being attached to the supporting surface, said ballast block comprising a planar plate member having top and bottom surfaces, front and rear end portions, and oppositely disposed lateral edges, said bottom surface including a plurality of pad members upon which said ballast block is adapted to rest and engage the supporting surface to permit the flow of liquid beneath said bottom surface, said end portions including means for preventing substantial uplift and rotational displacement of said block when said end portions are interlinked in overlapping relationship with the corresponding end portions of similarly oriented like ballast blocks, said uplift prevention juncture of said second end surface and the bottom surface of said block is rounded to substantially prevent puncture of material underlying said block.
A ballast block assembly comprising:
- a plurality of ballast blocks, each said block adapted to rest upon a supporting surface without being attached to the supporting surface, each said block being in the form of a planar plate member having top and bottom surfaces, front and rear end portions aligned substantially orthogonally to a first plate axis, and oppositely disposed lateral side portions aligned substantially orthogonally to a second plate axis, said axes lying within the plane of said plate member, said bottom surface including a plurality of pad members upon which said ballast block is adapted to rest and engage the supporting surface to permit the flow of liquid beneath said bottom surface;
- each said end portion including means for linking adjacently aligned blocks to prevent substantial uplift and rotational displacement of said blocks when the front and rear end portions of each block are interconnected in overlapping relationship with corresponding front and rear end portions of adjacent blocks;
- said plurality of blocks being aligned to abut the lateral side portions of aligned blocks and to interlink in overlapping relationship the front and rear end portions of adjacent blocks;
- and
- means for clamping the abutting lateral side portions of at least a portion of said aligned blocks.
A single ply roof assembly for covering a deck surface of a substantially flat roof structure, said roof assembly comprising:
- an insulation layer disposed on said deck;
- a waterproof layer disposed on said insulation layer;
- and
- a plurality of interlinked ballast blocks covering a substantially portion of said waterproof layer, each ballast block adapted to rest upon the deck surface without being attached to the deck surface, each said ballast block being in the form of a planar plate member having top and bottom surfaces, front and rear end portions aligned substantially orthogonally to a first plate axis, and oppositely disposed lateral side portions aligned substantially orthogonally to a second plate axis, said bottom surface including a plurality of pad members upon which said ballast block is adapted to rest and engage said waterproof layer to permit the flow of liquid beneath said bottom surface, said axes lying within the plane of said plate member and each said end portion including means for linking adjacently aligned blocks to prevent substantial uplift and rotational displacement of said blocks when the end portions thereof are interconnected in overlapping relationship with corresponding end portions of adjacent blocks;
- and
- said plurality of blocks being aligned such that said blocks abut each other in rows along said lateral side portions and interlink each other in overlapping relationship along said front and rear end portions.
A method of covering a roof with ballast material comprising:
- forming a plurality of ballast blocks from concrete, each ballast block adapted to rest upon the roof without being attached to the roof, each said ballast block being capable of providing a weight of at least 10 pounds per square foot, with each said block being in the form of a planar plate member having top and bottom surfaces, front and rear end portions, and oppositely disposed lateral side portions, said bottom surface including a plurality of pad members upon which said ballast block is adapted to rest and engage the roof to permit the flow of liquid beneath said bottom surface, each said end portion including means for linking adjacently aligned blocks to prevent substantial uplift and rotational displacement of said blocks when the end portions thereof are linked in an overlapping relationship with corresponding end portions of adjacent blocks;
- aligning said concrete ballast blocks adjacent to each other along said lateral side portions to form a plurality of rows of said blocks, with each said row of blocks being staggered relative to adjacent rows and being interlinked at their front and rear end portions in overlapping relationship with the corresponding end portions of adjacent rows of blocks;
- and
- connecting the lateral side portions of said blocks in at least the first two rows along at least a portion of the entire perimeter of said roof.
A ballast block adapted to rest upon a supporting surface without being attached to the supporting surface, said ballast block comprising a planar plate member having top and bottom surfaces, front and rear end portions, and oppositely disposed lateral edges, said bottom surface including a plurality of pad members upon which said ballast block is adapted to rest and engage the supporting surface to permit the flow of liquid beneath said bottom surface, said end portions including means for preventing substantial uplift and rotational displacement of said block when said end portions are interlinked in overlapping relationship with the corresponding end portions of similarly oriented like ballast blocks, said uplift prevention means of each said end portion comprising a substantially inverse image of an opposite end portion of said ballast block.
A ballast block adapted to rest upon a supporting surface without being attached to the supporting surface, said ballast block comprising a planar plate member having top and bottom surfaces, front and rear end portions, and oppositely disposed lateral edges, said bottom surface including a plurality of rib-like members upon which said block is adapted to rest and engage the supporting surface, said rib-like members including cross channels disposed therein to permit the bi-directional flow of liquid beneath said bottom surface from lateral edge to lateral edge and from front end portion to rear end portion thereof, said end portions including means for preventing substantial uplift and rotational displacement of said block when said end portions are interlinked in overlapping relationship with the corresponding end portions of similarly oriented like ballast blocks.
A roof assembly comprising:
- a substantially flat, substantially waterproof roof;
- and
- a ballast block resting upon said roof without being attached to said roof, said ballast block comprising a planar plate member having top and bottom surfaces, front and rear end portions, and oppositely disposed lateral edges, said bottom surface including a plurality of pad members upon which said ballast block is adapted to rest and engage said roof to permit the flow of liquid beneath said bottom surface, said end portions including means for preventing substantial uplift and rotational displacement of said block when said end portions are interlinked in overlapping relationship with the corresponding end portions of similarly oriented like ballast blocks.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.