Roofing rail transportation system
OwnerTimothy M. Pendleyinventor
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A rail transportation system particularly suited for transporting roofing materials upon an uncompleted roof. Sections of tubes form rails, allowing several rail cars carrying various roofing materials to transport those roofing materials from the edge of the roof to the point of installation. These tubes may be attached to one another, allowing tradespersons to further extend the range of the rails as the installation progresses.
Claims11
A device for transporting roofing materials across a roof, comprising:
- (a) a platform having a front end and a back end, and a flat top surface;
- (b) a pair of parallel front wheels rotatably attached underneath the front end of said platform, the outside edges of each of said wheels having a concave curvature that rotatably engages with a corresponding upwardly facing outside surface of a tubular rail,
- (c) a pair of parallel back wheels rotatably attached underneath the back end of said platform, the outside edges of each of said wheels having a concave curvature that rotatably engages with a corresponding upwardly facing outside surface of a tubular rail,
- (d) a plurality of elongated hollow sectional tubes, each tube having an outside surface curvature corresponding to the curvature of the outside edges of said wheels, said tubes deployed in pairs along a roof forming rails that support the wheels of said platform, each tube section having a leading and a trailing end, a portion of the leading end of each tube having an outside diameter that is approximately the same as the inside diameter of the remainder of the tube for insertion into the trailing end of another tube;
- and
- (e) at least one spacer for insertion between the tubes of each pair such that said tubes are held in equidistant positions throughout the entire length of said tubes.
In combination, a roof section and a device for transporting various roofing materials across said roof section comprising:
- (a) a plurality of elongated sectional tubes deployed in pairs along said roof section forming tubular rails, each tube having an upwardly facing convex outside surface curvature,
- (b) a platform having a front end and a back end, and a flat top surface;
- and
- (c) a plurality of wheels attached underneath said platform, said wheels having concave exterior surfaces that rotatably engage with the upwardly facing outside surfaces of said tubular rails, such that said platform may travel along said rails.
A method for transporting roofing materials during installation of a roof comprising the following steps:
- a. installing a first row of roofing sheets at an edge of a building to complete a section of said roof;
- b. temporarily placing at least two pairs of parallel elongated tubes onto said completed roof section, said tubes resting upon ribs located between roofing sheets, such that said tubes extend from the edge of the building to the edge of the completed roof section, each tube having an upwardly facing convex outside surface curvature;
- c. placing a movable platform upon each of said pairs of tubes, each platform having a flat upper surface, front and rear ends, a pair of wheels underneath the front end and another pair of wheels underneath the rear end, the exterior surfaces of all of said wheels having a concave curvature corresponding to the upwardly facing convex exterior curvature of said tubes for rotatable engagement therewith;
- d. moving said platforms to the edge of said building;
- e. hoisting a bundle of roofing materials onto said platforms;
- f. moving said platforms carrying said roofing materials along the rails to the edge of the completed roof section;
- and
- g. installing the roofing materials thereby extending the completed roof section.
In combination, a roof section, carriage and support rails comprising:
- a. at least one pair of elongated sectional tubes deployed on top of said roof section forming tubular rails supported by said roof section, each rail having a convex outside surface curvature;
- and
- b. a carriage having a plurality of wheels rotatably attached thereto wherein an outside edge of each of said wheels has a concave curvature that rotatably engages with corresponding upwardly facing convex outside surfaces of said tubular rails allowing said carriage to travel along said rails.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.