Illinois Tool Works Inc.

Juergen O Rathgeber

Donald L Van Erden

Syed R Hasan

John P Wojcik

Parimal M Vadhar

Frederick A Kish

Craig A Hindman

Michael C Dill

James W McElderry

John R Beach

John F Fox

Ernest S Santi

Robert H Jenkins

John A Wand

A screw for use with a washer as a sealing fastener having formations near the head of the screw to increase driving resistance when the portion having the formations reaches a surface into which the screw is being drilled. The screw includes a shank with a tip end and a head end. A head at the head end may be driven by a driving tool such as a pneumatic or electric drill. To facilitate retention of the washer the head has a flange that forms a recess. The shank has an enlarged portion near the head adjacent to the recess and the enlarged portion has ridges. The enlarged portion, including the ridges, increases the driving resistance of the screw. This increase in resistance gives notice to an operator of the driving tool that an appropriate driving depth and torque have been achieved. Preferably, the washer has an inner diameter surface with fully radiused projections. The projections assist in mounting the washer to the screw and keeping the washer appropriately positioned on the screw during driving of the screw.

Screw with increased driving resistance at proper depth

A flexible end cap includes at least one flexible membrane, such as a rubber sheet, for covering the end of the roof rib, having a top peripheral portion and a bottom peripheral portion. At least one frame member is attached to at least a portion of the top peripheral portion of the flexible membrane for supporting the membrane in a sealing relationship with the roof rib. At least a portion of the bottom peripheral portion, such as the portion for covering a ridge profile, includes at least two sealing ribs wherein a cross-sectional height of one rib is larger than a cross-sectional height of the other rib. The sealing ribs with the larger cross-sectional height allow the end cap to accommodate varying designs of roof rib profiles formed by adjacent sheets of roof panels.

Flexible roof end cap

A composite roof covering securement element is comprised of an elongated rubber membrane onto which a plastic batten strip is adhesively bonded. The membrane and strip have a range of flexibility which permitts the same to be rolled into a coil for manual prepositioning on a roof and then unrolled to lie flat upon the roof for attachment along the perimeter. When installed the composite element resists shear loads and securely retains the overlying roof covering in place.

Roof perimeter composite securing element and method of installing

A seamless tube useful in making a roofing batten is extruded from a polymeric material consisting essentially of a major amount of poly(ethylene terephthalate) and a minor amount of at least one polyolefin, flattened in a vacuum sizer so as to define two plies, and milled and drawn so as to orient the tube longitudinally. As milled and drawn, the tube is oriented so as to have a tensile strength of at least about 25,000 psi in a longitudinal direction. The plies are punched so as to have holes therethrough at spaced intervals along the tube. When used to make a roofing batten to coact with conventional fasteners, such as roofing screws, the tube exhibits superior characteristics of split resistance and pull-through resistance.

Method of making roofing battens

Method of forming a building structure incorporating a seamless tube

Seamless tube useful to make roofing battens for incorporation within a

A composite roof covering securement element is comprised of an elongated rubber membrane onto which a plastic batten strip is adhesively bonded. The membrane and strip have a range of flexibility which permits the same to be rolled into a coil for manual prepositioning on a roof and then unrolled to lie flat upon the roof for attachment along the perimeter. When installed the composite element resists shear loads and securely retains the overlying roof covering in place.

Seamless tube useful to make roofing battens and related method

In the construction of buildings, multiple super-imposed plastic fastening strips are employed to affix a building member to a substrate.

Fastening system

An improved composite fastener comprised of an improved roofing screw and a roofing washer and useful to fasten a blanket of roofing insulation to a soft substrate. The screw shank has a leading portion and a locking portion. The locking portion has two locking tabs. The washer has an aperture with a margin coacting with the screw when it is driven through the washer. The screw becomes locked to such washer when the screw is driven sufficiently for its head to bear against the washer at which time the locking tabs engage the undersurface of the washer.

Growing community of inventors

Arlington Heights, IL, United States of America

Juergen O Rathgeber