ROOF VENTILATION

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to room ventilation. More particularly, the . present invention relates to natural ventilation of rooms in homes or low-level buildings by utilising the roof of the building.

BACKGROUND ART

The most natural way to ventilate a house or a single-storey building is to utilize the top

part of the building, namely the roof.

Various ventilating apparatus has been invented and designed for roof ventilation.

Invariably the installation of the ventilators requires making a hole in the roof for the

ventilator duct to run through.

However, these ventilators are costly by themselves and further require additional labour

for installation. Furthermore, in spite of various attempts at design, these ventilators create a disruptive view of the skyline by jutting out of the roof.

As such, there is a need for a cheap natural ventilation means for houses and single- storey buildings that will not disrupt the skyline of the buildings, especially a means that

uses the already existing roof layouts and roof tiles.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Accordingly the present invention provides a ventilating roof tile comprising a sloping top surface, a sloping bottom surface substantially parallel to the top surface, at least one non-linear groove extending from the lower edge of the sloping bottom surface upwards to the upper portion of the sloping bottom surface. The ventilating roof tile is laid to be partially on top of any other roof tile to create a tortuous passageway at the lower portion of the groove and an uncovered inverted channel on the higher portion of the groove. A ventilating roof system is thereby formed using said ventilating roof tiles alone or in combination with other non- ventilating roof tiles

The present invention consists of certain novel features and a combination of parts hereinafter fully described and illustrated in the accompanying drawings and particularly pointed out in the appended claims; it being understood that various changes in the details may be without departing from the. scope of the invention or sacrificing any of the advantages of the present invention.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

For the purpose of facilitating an understanding of the invention, there is illustrated in the accompanying drawings the preferred embodiments from an inspection of which when considered in connection with the following description, the invention, its construction and operation and many of its advantages would be readily understood arid appreciated.

FIG 1 is a standard roof tile.

FIG 2 is a bottom view of the preferred embodiment - a roof tile containing grooves.

FIG 3 illustrates the layout of the roof tiles of the preferred embodiment.

FIG 4 is the bottom view of a roof tile with multiple ventilating grooves.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

The present invention relates to room ventilation. More particularly, the present invention relates to natural ventilation of rooms in homes or low-level buildings by utilising the roof of the building. Hereinafter, the roof ventilation shall be described according to the preferred embodiments of the present invention and by referring to the accompanying description and drawings. However, it is to be understood that limiting the description to the preferred embodiments of the invention and to the drawings is merely to facilitate discussion of the present invention and it is envisioned that those skilled in the art. may devise various modifications without departing from the scope of the appended claim.

As seen in FIG 1, roof tiles commonly used for house roofs are substantially curved and uneven horizontally. Once the roof tiles are installed in a sloping formation, these

curves create canals which run from top to bottom. These canals enable rain water to flow evenly over the roof and not accumulate at one portion of the roof.

FIG 2 shows the preferred embodiment of the invention namely a roof tile (10) with

curved grooves (11) on its bottom surface (15). These grooves (11) are preferably

created at the production stage of the roof tiles although these grooves (11) can also be created on an existing roof tile (10). One end of the groove (11) extend to the lower

edge of the roof tile (10). The other end of the groove (11) extends inwards.

While the preferred embodiment in FIG 2 shows the groove (11) ending in the middle

portion of the roof tile (10), it is also possible to have the groove (11) extend all along

the roof tile (10) and exit on the opposite edge _. of the roof. Nevertheless, the main

intention is for the groove (1 1) to extend substantially inwards from said groove's

opening at the lower edge of the roof tile (10).

FIG 3 illustrates the arrangement of the roof tiles, which will facilitate ventilation of the

room covered by a roof arranged in such formation. The groove (11) at the bottom surface (13) of top roof tile (10) is partly covered by the top surface (26) of bottom roof

tile (20) that resides underneath the. top roof tile. This effectively transforms the groove

(11) at the covered portion into a curved passageway (A) much alike a curved tube. However, as also illustrated in FIG 3, the groove (11) extends beyond the portion

covered by the top surface (26) of the bottom roof tile. If viewed from the room covered

by said roof, the part of the groove (11) uncovered by the top roof tile (10) can be seen. This uncovered portion (B) of the groove (11) will allow the flow of air. to and fro the room and the exterior through the passageway (A).

In a room or building having such a roof arrangement as in FIG 3, hot air from the room

rises up to the roof level as colder air coming the door window or other openings displace the hot air. The hot air reaches the top uncovered portion (20) of the groove

(B). Thereupon, the hot air meanders through the passageway (A) which passageway is

formed by the groove (11) being covered by the top surface (26) of the bottom tile.

Thereby a process of ventilating hot air in the room is started and sustained.

When it rains, the meandering of the substantially 'S' shaped passageway (A) which

passageway is formed by the groove (1 1) of the top roof tile (10) and the top surface

(26) of the bottom roof tile (20) will arrest the velocity of the rainwater that goes upwards through the grooves. Thereupon, due to the downward sloping of the roof-tiles,

the force of gravity will reverse the flow of the rainwater going up the passageway (A)

and pull the rainwater down.

In other words, the force of gravity due to the slopping of the roof, in combination with

the tortuous passageway (A) formed by the groove (11) covered by the bottom tile stops the splashy rainwater from entering the building.

As such, the roof tiles acts as a ventilating point for the hot air in the room/ building while retaining the primary function of the roof, which is to stop rain from entering the

building.

While the figures and descriptions so far deal with grooves spaced-apart from each

other, it is indeed preferable to make a tile which contain a multitude of grooves on its

bottom surface. Such an embodiment is illustrated in FIG 4, which shows a roof tile

with a multitude of grooves provided on the bottom surface of the roof tile. FIG 4

further illustrates the point that the grooves need not strictly be sinusoidal provided the

grooves rise up the slantingly arranged roof tile with a tortuous pathway.

As seen in the description so far, the groove, in combination with the coverage provided by the bottom roof tile, has a few functions to perform. At the higher side where the

groove (11) is not covered by the bottom roof tile, the groove (11) provides an inlet for

the hot air within the room or building . The covered part of the groove (11) functions as a passageway (A). At the lower side, the groove (11) provides an outlet. for the hot air

that had travelled through the passageway (A).

The foremost aspect of this invention is the tortuous non-linear path taken by the groove

(11) from its outlet point to its uncovered inlet point. The non-linearity can be a substantially ¹ S' shaped curve or a zig-zag path. In that way, a groove (11) of a tortuous path can be obtained which creates a tortuous non-linear passageway (A) that

continuously rises from the lowest point of said passageway (A) to the highest point of

the passageway (A). As such, the invention provides an easy and cost-effective way for buildings to have natural ventilation through the roof without the need for a disruptive

or destructive method.

While in the foregoing specification this invention has been described in relation to certain preferred embodiments thereof and many details have been set forth for purpose of illustration, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that the invention is susceptible to additional embodiments and that certain of the details described herein can be varied considerably without departing from the basic principles of the invention.