TECHNICAL FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention regards the cover for roofs and the like.

More in particular, the present invention regards a cover for roofs made up of a plurality of metal sheets arranged adjacent to each other and joined along the lateral edges through joints, to obtain a continuous surface that is easy and quick to assemble.

PRIOR ART

In most construction and architectonic solutions covers for roofs made up of a plurality of metal sheets arranged adjacent to each other to obtain a continuous surface that is easy to assemble and maintain are currently made.

Such covers are, more in detail, made up of a plurality of sheets made of metal material - for example aluminium, copper or stainless steel - with variable length depending on the dimensions of the roof, having the lateral edges mutually joined at joints fixed to the surface of the roof.

The use of such covers allows for obtaining various advantages .

First of all, these covers are totally impermeable, also due to the provision of particular draining channels .

Furthermore, the fixing of the sheets to the roof through the aforementioned joints occurs without through perforations, so that the sheets may freely dilate thermally also in case of lengths exceeding 100 metres .

Furthermore, this type of cover can be easily stepped on given that it allows supporting the weight of people, it is easy and quick to assemble, it is inexpensive and it has characteristics and advantages that remain unaltered over time.

Last but not least, this type of cover allows quick assembly of the solar panels or other similar elements on the roof, with special coupling means.

This type of covers is described in the European patent EP 0 964 114 on behalf of the same Applicant.

Though being perfectly efficient in terms of the characteristics outlined above, the cover described in this document, reveals some drawbacks in terms of resistance to uniformly distributed loads- for example snow, wind - or point loads.

In particular, should the distance between the fixing joints be greater than 1.8 - 2.0 m, the cover may be obtained solely using sheets with increased thickness, or reducing the pitch between the ribs of the sheets at the edges for fixing to the aforementioned joints, thus increasing the used material.

This leads to an increase of costs - due to the greater number of material used - which is often unsustainable.

OBJECTS OF THE INVENTION

The ^■ technical task of the present invention is to improve the state of the art.

Within such technical task, providing cover for roofs and the like allows overcoming the drawbacks mentioned above, i.e. capable of bearing uniformly distributed or point loads in a safe and reliable manner, constitutes an object of the present invention.

Still another object of the present invention is to provide a cover for roofs and the like capable of allowing assembling the sheets even between joints arranged at a greater distance without having to increase the use of metal material to increase the thicknesses or dimensions of the ribs.

These task and objects are attained by the cover for roofs and the like according to the attached claim 1. The dependent claims refer to preferred and advantageous embodiments of the invention.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The characteristics of the invention shall be further understood by any man skilled in the art from the description that follows and from the attached drawings, provided by way of non-limiting example, wherein :

figure 1 is a detailed axonometric view of a cover for roofs and the like according to the present invention; figure 2 is a front view of one of the sheets of the cover according to the invention;

- figure 3 is an axonometric view of one of the sheets of the cover;

- figure 4 is a detailed front view of the cover at a joint .

EMBODIMENTS OF THE INVENTION

With reference to the attached figure 1, a cover for roofs and the like according to the present invention is indicated in its entirety by 1.

The cover 1 according to the present invention may be efficiently applied on any type of roof without any limitation, even roofs of extremely large dimensions and even with non-flat surfaces, in that the present cover 1 may also adapt to curved roofs.

The cover 1 according to the invention comprises at least one joint 2, fixable to the surface of the roof. More in particular, the cover 1 normally comprises a plurality of joints 2 arranged aligned in rows and spaced at regular intervals, as shown in figure 1.

The number of rows of joints 2 required for obtaining a cover 1 of a determined roof obviously depends on the dimensions of the roof and the particular characteristics thereof.

The joint 2 comprises a first portion 3 and a second portion 4 counterposed .

More in detail - as clearly visible in particular in figure 4 - the first portion 3 and the second portion 4 are symmetrical with respect to an ideal symmetric plane of the joint 2.

The first portion 3 of the joint 2 comprises a first upper appendage 5, which defines a first lateral recess 6.

In particular, the first recess 6 is defined by the curved terminal portion of the first appendage 5.

Furthermore, the second portion 4 of the joint 2 comprises a second upper appendage 7, which defines a second lateral recess 8.

In particular, the second recess 8 is defined by the curved terminal portion of the second appendage 7.

The first portion 3 of the joint 2 further comprises a third recess 9.

The third recess 9 is defined by a first lateral area 10 of the joint 2 tilted towards the centreline of the latter.

The second portion 4 of the joint 2 instead comprises a fourth recess 11.

The fourth recess 11 is defined by a second lateral area 12 of the joint 2 tilted towards the centreline of the latter.

The cover 1 comprises at least a first sheet 13.

Furthermore, the cover 1 comprises at least a second sheet 14.

The first sheet 13 comprises at least a respective first lateral edge 15.

The second sheet 14 comprises at least one respective second lateral edge 16.

The first sheet 13 and the second sheet 14 can be coupled, with the respective first lateral edge 15 and the second lateral edge 16, to the joint 2 so as to obtain a continuous surface, as better clarified hereinafter, as shown in figure 1 and in the detail of figure 4.

The assembly described above constitutes a base element of the cover 1, i.e. the element comprising a minimum number of components.

Obviously, this base element may be reproduced identical to itself for an undefined number of times so as to obtain a cover surface extended at will, as better clarified hereinafter.

The first lateral edge 13 defines a respective first longitudinal rib 17.

More in detail, such first lateral edge 13 is fittingly couplable to the first portion 3 of the joint 2 for engaging the aforementioned first rib 17 within the corresponding first recess 6 provided in the first portion 3 of the joint 2.

The second sheet 14 comprises, at the same time, a respective second lateral edge 16 defining a second longitudinal rib 18.

The second lateral edge 16 is fittingly couplable to the second portion 4 of the joint 2 for engaging the aforementioned second rib 18 within the corresponding second recess 8 provided in the second portion 4 of the joint 2.

Furthermore, the second lateral edge 16 comprises a terminal portion 19 superimposed, in assembly condition, on the first lateral edge 15 substantially at the centreline of the joint 2.

According to an aspect of the present invention, the terminal portion 19 of the aforementioned second lateral edge 16 comprises an extension 20 having the free end 21 folded and engaged in the first rib 17 of the first lateral edge 15. As observable in the description hereinafter, this characteristic allows for increasing the resistance of the cover 1, in particular at the joint 2, both to the distributed loads - for example snow, wind - and the point loads .

The first lateral edge 15 of the first sheet 13 further comprises a third rib 22.

The third rib 22 is provided in an area comprised between the first rib 17 and the flat portion 23 of the first sheet 13.

The third rib 22 is configured so as to be engaged in the third recess 9 provided for in the first portion 3 of the joint 2.

The area comprised between the first rib 17 and the third rib 22 may be used for fixing, through special coupling means not represented in the figures, elements such as solar panels and the like.

The second lateral edge 16 of the second sheet 14 instead comprises a fourth rib 24.

The fourth rib 24 is provided in an area comprised between the second rib 18 and the flat portion 23 of the second sheet 14.

The fourth rib 24 is configured so as to be engaged in the fourth recess 11 provided in the second portion 4 of the joint 2. The area comprised between the second rib 18 and the fourth rib 24, as previously mentioned, may be used for fixing, through special coupling means not represented in the figures, elements such as solar panels and the like.

The terminal portion 19 of the second lateral edge 16 is configured, in cross-section, to substantially form an "M" shape.

The second rib 18 and the folded free end 21 are provided respectively at the terminal ends of the aforementioned " "-shape, so as to define a substantially symmetric conformation with respect to an ideal centreline plane of the joint 2.

The first lateral edge 15 is instead configured, in cross-section, substantially to form a lying "S" shape, as observable in detail in figure 4.

The first lateral edge 15 comprises a first portion 25 with shape complementary to that of the second lateral edge 16, and a second portion 26 which is instead free and i.e. not intended to be coupled to other surfaces.

As observable in figure 4, the configurations respectively of the terminal portion 19 of the second lateral edge 16 and of the first lateral edge 15 are such to guarantee an accurate superimposition between the parts, which guarantees a continuous cover surface so as to avoid the penetration of water or foreign bodies .

The coupling of the first sheet 13 and the second sheet 14 to the joint 2, thus defining, as previously mentioned, a base element of the the cover 1 according to the present invention has been described in detail up to now.

As previously mentioned, the cover 1 according to the present invention may be instead made up of a plurality of first sheets 13 and second sheets 14, with preset length, coupled to joints 2 positioned in one or more rows and regularly intervalled with respect to each other, so as to obtain a continuous surface.

Thus, the cover 1 comprises, in a preferred embodiment, a plurality of joints 2 arranged in a row and equally spaced from each other, and a plurality of first and second sheets 13,14 coupled to the joints 2 in an alternating manner, as shown in figure 1.

Obviously, the dimensions of the sheets 13,14 and the number thereof may vary depending on the specific application needs.

In the preferred embodiment of the invention, the one illustrated in the attached figures, each first sheet 13 and each second sheet 14 respectively comprise a first lateral edge 15 and a second lateral edge 16 counterfaced .

This is for example illustrated in figure 2.

This solution is particularly advantageous mainly from an economical point of view given that it allows for obtaining the cover 1 using a single type of sheet.

Thus, in this embodiment the first sheet 13 and the second sheet 14 are identical.

However, in other embodiments the first sheet 13 and the second sheet 14 may be different with respect to each other.

For example, the first sheet 13 may be provided with two first identical lateral edges 15, and likewise the second sheet 14 could be provided with two second lateral edges 16 or vice versa.

The first sheet 13 and the second sheet 14 of the cover 1 are made of a metal material such as aluminium, copper, stainless steel or the like.

Each joint 2 of the cover is instead made of plastic material .

It has thus been observed that the invention attains the proposed objects.

In particular, it is observed that the increase of the mass at the second lateral edge 16 of the first sheet 13 and/or of the second sheet 14 contributes to an improvement of the capacity to bear positive and negative loads distributed uniformly; more in detail, a better capacity of resistance to the snow load and wind extraction has been observed.

Furthermore, the free end 21 of the second lateral edge 16 engaged in the first rib 17 of the first lateral edge 15 attains a better coupling between the two sheets 13,14, so as to increase the resistance to point loads .

The above-described advantages also allow for laying the cover 1 on roofs in which the joints 2 are arranged at mutual distances greater than 1.8 - 2.0 metres.

Greater distances between the joints 2, maintaining the ideal sealing properties against atmospheric agents may also be attained.

Another advantage conferred by the engagement of the free end 21 of the second lateral edge 16 in the first rib 17 of the first lateral edge 15 lies in the fact that the first lateral edge 15, under the action of external loads, may bend downwards in any manner.

This allows for preventing the coupling between the first lateral edge 15 and the second lateral edge 16 from opening, thus allowing guaranteeing an ideal sealing against the penetration of air and water.

The present invention has been described according to preferred embodiments, however, equivalent variants may be conceived without departing from the scope of protection provided by the following claims .