roof

Abstract

To provide a roof comprising roof materials juxtaposed in a width direction and capable of removing and replacing a specific roof material easily.SOLUTION: Each roof material comprises a fixing part to be removably fixed to a support member and respective connection parts at both ends, an engaging part is provided at the connection part on one side and an engaging recess part in a groove shape is formed at the connection part on the other side, the engaging part is inserted into the groove of the engaging recess part of the roof material adjacent the engaging part in a taking-in groove shape, and the engagement of the connection part in the engaged state is released by moving a first roof material arranged on one side to one side in a width direction and further moving a second roof material arranged on the other side to the other side in the width direction at the first and second roof materials with the connection part in the engaged state. A fall of the roof material or the like can be prevented by the engagement of each connection part and the engagement state can be released and the roof material can be removed by moving the first and second roof materials to the width direction.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 17

Description

Technical Field

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[0001] The present invention relates to a roof installed and used in pedestrian walkways, bus stops, carports, etc.

Background Art

[0002] In pedestrian walkways, bus stops, etc., a simple roof may be installed to prevent users from getting wet in the rain. Various inventions regarding the structure of such roofs have been proposed and disclosed.

[0003] For example, in Patent Document 1, there is a roof formed by arranging a plurality of roof materials in parallel. On one of the adjacent roof materials, a first groove portion formed by at least two vertical walls and a first bottom plate is provided in the longitudinal direction. On the other roof material, a covering portion formed by at least two vertical walls that abut against at least two vertical walls of the first groove portion and a top plate is provided in the longitudinal direction. The invention of a roof characterized in that the first groove portion is covered by the covering portion has been disclosed by the applicant of the present application.

Prior Art Documents

[0007] To achieve the above objective, the present invention has the following configuration. In other words, the roof according to the present invention is a roof formed by arranging multiple elongated roofing materials side by side in the width direction, Each of the aforementioned roofing materials is provided with a fixing portion for detachably securing it to a support member, and is also provided with connecting portions at both ends in the width direction. The connecting portion on one side in the width direction has an engaging portion, and the connecting portion on the other side has a groove-shaped engaging recess, and the engaging portion is inserted into the groove of the engaging recess of the adjacent roofing material in a groove-like manner to achieve an engaged state. In a first roofing material and a second roofing material whose opposing connecting portions are engaged, the engagement of the connected portions is released when the first roofing material, which is located on one side, is moved to one side in the width direction, and the second roofing material, which is located on the other side, is moved to the other side in the width direction.

[0008] The roof according to the present invention is equipped with a fixing part for detachably fixing to a support member, so that the roof material can be firmly fixed to a support member such as a girder or beam, and the fixing part can be released when replacing the roof material or performing other such tasks. Furthermore, the roofing material is provided with connecting parts at both ends in the width direction. The connecting part on one side in the width direction has an engaging part, and the connecting part on the other side has a groove-shaped engaging recess. The engaging part is inserted into the groove of the engaging recess of the adjacent roofing material in a groove-like manner to create an engaged state. Therefore, vertical movement such as the roofing material falling when the fixing part is released can be prevented by the engagement of the connecting parts. Furthermore, in the first and second roofing materials, which have opposing connecting parts engaged, the engagement of the connecting parts is released by moving the first roofing material, which is positioned on one side, to one side in the width direction, and then moving the second roofing material, which is positioned on the other side, to the other side in the width direction. This allows the roofing material to be moved vertically and removed from the support member.

[0009] By arranging a third roofing material on one side of the widthwise side of the first roofing material, engaging the opposing connection points of the third roofing material and the first roofing material, and arranging the first roofing material to move to one side in the widthwise direction so as to be inserted into the engagement recess of the third roofing material, the first roofing material can be easily moved in the widthwise direction. Furthermore, a fourth roofing material is placed on the other side in the width direction of the second roofing material, and this fourth roofing material and the two If the opposing connection points of the roofing materials are engaged, and the second roofing material is configured to move to the other side in the width direction so that the engaging portion of the fourth roofing material is inserted into the back of the engaging recess of the second roofing material, then the second roofing material can be easily moved in the width direction. By configuring the first and second roofing materials to be easily moved in the width direction in this way, the engagement of the opposing connection points can be released, making it easier to remove the roofing materials, which is preferable.

[0010] Furthermore, if the roofing materials are provided in such a way that the engagement portion and the engagement recess can be engaged and disengaged without moving them in a vertical direction perpendicular to the width direction, the engagement state of the connection can be released by moving the roofing material in the width direction, making it easier to remove the roofing materials, which is preferable.

[0011] Furthermore, it is preferable that the engaging portion comprises a horizontal wall portion that protrudes in the width direction and a vertical wall portion that protrudes vertically upward from the horizontal wall portion, and that the vertical wall portion and the horizontal wall portion constitute a part of the groove portion along the longitudinal direction, so that water such as rainwater that has entered between the first roofing material and the second roofing material can be flowed longitudinally through the inside of the groove portion and discharged to the outside from the end of the roofing material. [Effects of the Invention]

[0012] According to the roof of the present invention, specific roofing materials can be easily removed and replaced from among the roofing materials arranged in the width direction. [Brief explanation of the drawing]

[0013] [Figure 1]It is a front view showing an embodiment of the roof according to the present invention. [Figure 2] It is a side view of FIG. 1. [Figure 3] It is a cross-sectional view taken along the line A-A of FIG. 2. [Figure 4] It is a view showing a partially enlarged view of FIG. 3. [Figure 5] It is a cross-sectional view taken along the line A-A of FIG. 4. [Figure 6] It is a front view of the roofing material of FIG. 5. [Figure 7] It is a view showing an enlarged view of the fixing portion of the roofing material of FIG. 6. [Figure 8] It is a view showing a situation where a fixing member is attached to the fixing portion of FIG. 7. [Figure 9] It is a view showing a situation where the fixing member is rotated inside the fixing portion of FIG. 8. [Figure 10] It is a view showing a state where a fixing member is attached to the fixing portion of FIG. 9. [Figure 11] It is a view showing an enlarged view of the plate surface portion of the roofing material of FIG. 6. [Figure 12] It is a view showing an enlarged view of the connecting portion of the roofing material of FIG. 6. [Figure 13] It is a view showing an enlarged view of the connecting portion of the roofing material of FIG. 6. [Figure 14] It is a view showing a state before engaging the connecting portion of FIG. 12 and the connecting portion of FIG. 13. [Figure 15] It is a view showing a state where the connecting portion of FIG. 14 is in an engaged state. [Figure 16] It is a view showing a state where the engaging portion of FIG. 15 is inserted into the depth of the engaging recess. [Figure 17] It is a view showing a partially enlarged view of the roofing material of FIG. 5. [Figure 18] It is a view showing a state where the first roofing material of FIG. 17 is moved in the width direction. [Figure 19] It is a view showing a state where the second roofing material of FIG. 17 is moved in the width direction. [Figure 20] It is a view showing a state where the first roofing material and the second roofing material of FIG. 17 are each moved in the width direction. [Figure 21]This is a magnified view of the area around the first roofing material in Figure 20. [Figure 22] This figure shows the first roofing material in Figure 21 being rotated. [Figure 23] This figure shows the first roofing material in Figure 22 being rotated further. [Figure 24] This figure shows the first roofing material in Figure 23 removed from the support member. [Figure 25] This figure shows the roofing material in Figure 6 attached to the support member. [Figure 26] This is a front view showing another form of roofing material implementation. [Figure 27] This is a magnified view of the connection point of the roofing material shown in Figure 26. [Figure 28] This is a magnified view of the connection point of the roofing material shown in Figure 26. [Figure 29] This figure shows the state before the connection part in Figure 27 and the connection part in Figure 28 are engaged. [Figure 30] This figure shows the connection part in Figure 29 in an engaged state. [Figure 31] This figure shows the engaging portion of Figure 30 inserted into the back of the engaging recess. [Figure 32] This figure shows a portion of the roof formed by installing the roofing material shown in Figure 26. [Figure 33] This figure shows the state after the first roofing material in Figure 32 has been moved in the width direction. [Figure 34] This figure shows the second roofing material in Figure 32 moved in the width direction. [Figure 35] This figure shows the state after the first and second roofing materials in Figure 32 have been moved in the width direction, respectively. [Modes for carrying out the invention]

[0014] Embodiments of the invention will be described in detail based on the drawings. Figure 1 is a front view showing one embodiment of the roof 1 according to the present invention, Figure 2 is a side view of Figure 1, and Figure 3 is a cross-sectional view AA of Figure 2. In Figures 1-3, the horizontal direction in Figure 1 is defined as the left-right direction, the vertical direction perpendicular to the left-right direction is defined as the up-down direction, and the horizontal direction in Figure 2, which is perpendicular to both the left-right and up-down directions, is defined as the front-back direction. The roof 1 shown in Figures 1-3 is positioned above the support columns S1 and S2, which are made of rectangular steel pipes. Support columns S1 and S2 are erected in sets of three, spaced apart in the left-right direction. As shown in Figure 1, one support column S2 is placed near the center of the roof 1, and one support column S1, which is shorter than the support column S2, is placed on each side of it at a distance. Multiple sets of each support column S1 and S2 are arranged at intervals in the front-back direction, specifically consisting of 6 sets, or 18 support columns S1 and S2 in total.

[0015] A beam member 8 is installed between the aforementioned support column S2 and each support column S1. The beam member 8 is made of H-shaped steel, and both ends in the longitudinal direction are fixed to the upper ends of support columns S2 and S1, respectively. That is, as shown in Figure 1, two beam members 8 are installed in sets of two on the upper ends of the support columns S1 and S2, which are erected in sets of three. Each beam member 8 is arranged in a sloping manner, sloping downwards from near the center of the roof 1 where the support columns S2 are located to the left and right outer sides where the support columns S1 are located. The upper surface of each beam member 8 is formed by the outer surface of the flange of the H-shaped steel and is provided in a planar shape. One beam member 8 is fixed to each of the six sets of support columns S1 and S2 arranged in the front-to-back direction.

[0016] Girder members 7 are erected between the beam members 8, which are arranged at intervals in the front-to-back direction. The girder members 7 are made of H-shaped steel, with their longitudinal direction facing the front-to-back direction, and the outer surface of their flanges fixed to the upper surface of each beam member 8. As shown in Figure 3, multiple girder members 7 are arranged with spacing between them in the left-right direction. Furthermore, each girder member 7 is attached to all of the beam members 8, which are arranged with spacing between them in the front-back direction.

[0017] Figure 4 is an enlarged view of a portion of Figure 3. Each girder member 7 is fixed by bolts B1, with one flange outer surface of the H-shaped steel abutting against the upper surface of the beam member 8. That is, the upper surface of each girder member 7 is formed by the other flange outer surface of the H-shaped steel and is provided in a planar shape.

[0018] Roofing material 2 is installed between each of the girder members 7, which are spaced apart in the left-right direction, and each girder member 7 functions as a support member for the roofing material 2. The roofing material 2 is a long, roughly rectangular plate-shaped body made of aluminum extruded profiles, and is installed with its underside in contact with the upper surface of each beam member 7. As shown in Figure 3, the roofing material 2 is oriented with its longitudinal direction to the left and right, with one end positioned near the center of the roof 1 and the other end facing outwards to the left and right of the roof 1. The roofing material 2 is arranged in a sloping manner, gradually sloping downwards from one end to the other. The roofing material 2 is installed in multiple parallel configurations in the front-to-back direction to form the upper surface of roof 1.

[0019] Figure 5 is a cross-sectional view of AA in Figure 4. Each roofing material 2 is fixed to each beam member 7 by a fixing member 6. The fixing member 6 consists of a bolt 61 and a nut 62, and each roofing material 2 is detachably attached to each beam member 7. As shown in Figure 5, multiple roofing materials 2 are installed side by side in the front-to-back direction, and the ends of each roofing material 2 are engaged with the ends of adjacent roofing materials 2. In addition, decorative panels 9 are attached to the roofing materials 2 positioned at the front-to-back ends so as to cover the front and rear of the roofing materials 2 and the beam members 7.

[0020] Figure 6 is a front view of roofing material 2 shown in Figure 5. In the drawings from Figure 6 onward, the horizontal direction in Figure 6, which is perpendicular to the longitudinal direction of the roofing material 2, will be referred to as the width direction, and the vertical direction in Figure 6, which is perpendicular to both the longitudinal and width directions, will be referred to as the vertical direction for the purpose of this explanation. Roofing material 2 is made of aluminum extruded profiles, and its cross-sectional shape is the same along its entire length in the longitudinal direction. In Figure 6, a substantially flat plate surface 20a is provided on the upper vertical side of the roofing material 2, and a substantially flat plate surface 20b is provided on the lower vertical side. The plate surface portion 20b has a groove-shaped fixing portion 5 formed near the center in the width direction for attaching the fixing member 6. Furthermore, the roofing material 2 has a connection part 3 at one end in the width direction located on the left side in Figure 6, and a connection part 4 at the other end.

[0021] Figure 7 is a magnified view of the fixing part 5 of the roofing material 2 shown in Figure 6. The fixing portion 5 is a groove into which the fixing member 6 can be inserted, and includes an opening 51 that communicates with the outside, a fitting groove portion 52 located at the back of the opening, a widening portion 53 located at the back of the widening portion, and a groove depth portion 54 located at the back of the widening portion. The fixing portion 5 is formed to be able to hold the nut 62 of the fixing member 6 that is inserted into the fitting groove portion 52. Specifically, the fixing part 5 is formed such that the width of the fitting groove 52 corresponds to the width of the two flats of the nut 62, and holds the nut 62 inserted into the fitting groove 52 in a fitted state so that it cannot rotate. More specifically, the spacing between each side surface 52a constituting the fitting groove 52 is formed to be slightly larger than the width of the two flats, and holds the nut 62 fitted into the fitting groove 52 so that it cannot rotate, while also being provided to be movable in the longitudinal direction of the roofing material 2. Furthermore, the fixing part 5 is formed such that the width of the opening 51, which extends from the inside to the outside of the fitting groove 52, is smaller than the width of the fitting groove 52, and is provided to hold the nut 62, which is fitted into the fitting groove 52 and screwed to the bolt 61, in place so that it does not come loose from the opening 52.

[0022] The widened portion 53 of the fixing portion 5 is provided to be larger in the width direction than the fitting groove portion 52. The widened portion 53 is provided to change the orientation of the nut 62, and is formed to allow the nut 62 inserted through the opening 51 to rotate inside the fitting groove 52 and the widened portion 53, and then to fit into the fitting groove 52. In other words, the fixing portion 5 of the roofing material 2 is not only designed to allow the nut 62 to be inserted through the opening at the end on the longitudinal side, but is also designed to allow the nut 62 to be inserted through the opening 51 on the vertical side. Figure 8 shows the situation in which the fixing member 6 is attached to the fixing part 5 in Figure 7. Figure 8 shows the situation in which the nut 62 is inserted into the fixing part 5 from the lower vertical side, with a portion of the nut 62 inserted through the opening 51 being housed inside the fitting groove 52 and the widened part 53.

[0023] Figure 9 shows the situation where the fixing member 6 is being rotated inside the fixing part 5 in Figure 8. In Figure 9, the nut 62 is positioned with one end near the inner surface of the widened portion 53, and the other end is moved by rotating it to pass through the opening 51.

[0024] Figure 10 shows the state in which the fixing member 6 is attached to the fixing part 5 in Figure 9. In Figure 10, the nut 62, which has passed through the opening 51, is further rotated and moved vertically downward to fit into the fitting groove 52. By fitting the nut 62 into the fitting groove 52 in this way, the nut 62 is held within the fixing part 5 without coming out of the opening 51, and the male thread of the bolt 61 inserted into the opening 51 can be screwed into the nut 62. Furthermore, when a bolt 61 is screwed into a nut 62 fitted into a fitting groove 52, even if the male thread of the bolt 61 protrudes from the nut 62 towards the back of the fixing part 5, the fixing part 5 is provided such that the tip of the male thread does not come into contact with the bottom of the groove but is instead housed within the groove's inner part 54.

[0025] Figure 11 is a magnified view of the plate surface portion 20b of the roofing material 2 shown in Figure 6. The roofing material 2 has a substantially flat plate surface portion 20b with a protruding ridge portion 21 that extends outward in the vertical direction. The protruding portion 21 is a protrusion that runs along the longitudinal direction of the roofing material 2 and is formed at intervals in the width direction, covering almost the entire surface of the plate portion 20b of the roofing material 2. Each protruding portion 21 is formed as a curved surface and has a corrugated cross-sectional shape with the apex 21a as the peak. Specifically, each protruding portion 21 has the apex 21a, which is the protruding front end, formed in a rounded corner shape, and the two sides 21b connected to the apex 21a are formed in a concave curved surface, thus creating a corrugated shape. Flat sections 22 are formed between adjacent protruding sections 21, and the protruding sections 21 and flat sections 22 are arranged alternately in the width direction. The aforementioned protruding portion 21 has a projection size T of 0.2 mm, which is the vertical dimension from the flat portion 22 to the top portion 21a. The widthwise spacing W between adjacent top portions 21a is 3 mm. The widthwise dimension of each flat portion 22 is 1.4 mm.

[0026] As described above, by forming the protruding portion 21 on the plate surface portion 20b that constitutes the underside of the roofing material 2, the reflection of the scenery onto the plate surface portion 20b can be suppressed. If the plate surface portion 20b is provided in a flat state without forming the protruding portion 21 on the roofing material 2, the plate surface portion 20b acts like a mirror, reflecting the scenery below the roofing material 2, which can spoil the aesthetics. In particular, if the roofing material 2 is made of a metal material such as an aluminum extruded profile or has a glossy paint finish on its surface, even slight unevenness on the underside of the roofing material 2 that constitutes the plate surface portion 20b, or slight differences in angle between each roofing material 2, can cause diffuse reflection, making such reflections noticeable and bothersome to pedestrians and other viewers walking below the roof 1. The roofing material 2, by providing the protruding portions 21 on the plate surface portion 20b that constitutes the lower surface, can suppress the reflection of such scenery without applying a matte finish or the like, while utilizing a metallic surface design such as an aluminum extruded profile. In particular, by arranging the orientation of each protruding portion 21 in a direction roughly perpendicular to the viewer's line of sight, the reflection of scenery caused by each protruding portion 21 can be effectively suppressed. That is, when using the roofing material 2 to construct a roof over a sidewalk, it is preferable to orient the longitudinal direction of the roofing material 2 perpendicular to the direction of travel of the sidewalk so that each protruding portion 21 faces perpendicular to the line of sight of pedestrians or other viewers. Furthermore, by forming the protruding portion 21 as described above, the unevenness of the plate surface portion 20b is reduced, and the appearance of smoothness can be maintained. Furthermore, similar to the plate surface portion 20b, the roofing material 2 also has the protruding portion 21 formed over substantially its entire length on the plate surface portion 20a, which is provided in a substantially flat shape. By providing the protruding portion 21 on the plate surface portion 20a in this way, even when the roofing material 2 is inverted and the plate surface portion 20a is facing downwards to form a roof, the reflection of the scenery onto the plate surface portion 20a can be suppressed by the protruding portion 21. In addition, by providing the protruding portion 21 on the plate surface portion 20a, total internal reflection of sunlight on the upper surface of the roof 1 formed by the plate surface portion 20a is suppressed, thereby reducing problems to the surrounding area caused by reflected light. Moreover, each protruding portion 21 placed on the upper surface of the roof 1 functions as an anti-slip surface, and is expected to have the effect of suppressing accidents such as falls by workers working on the roof 1. The plate surfaces 20a and 20b, which are formed by alternately arranging the protruding portion 21 and the flat portion 22 with the dimensions described above, appear substantially flat from the perspective of a user of the roof 1, and can suppress reflections.

[0027] Figure 12 is a magnified view of the connection point 3 of the roofing material 2 in Figure 6. Figure 12 shows a magnified view of the connection part 3 located on the left side of the roofing material 2 in Figure 6. The connecting portion 3 is provided with a vertical plate-shaped base portion 31 that connects to one vertical end of the roofing material 2 that constitutes the plate surface portion 20a and the other end that constitutes the plate surface portion 20b, and has groove wall portions 32 and groove wall portions 33 that protrude outward in the width direction from the base portion 31. The groove wall portion 32 is formed in a flat plate shape, and its outer surface facing outward in the vertical direction constitutes a part of the plate surface portion 20a. The groove wall portion 33 is formed in a flat plate shape, and its outer surface facing outward in the vertical direction constitutes a part of the plate surface portion 20b. The groove wall portions 32 and 33 are formed to be approximately the same size in the width direction. The roofing material 2 is provided such that the groove wall portion 32, base portion 31, and groove wall portion 33, which are arranged in a roughly U-shape in cross-section, form a groove-shaped engaging recess 30b that opens outward in the width direction.

[0028] The connecting portion 3 is provided with an engaging portion 30a that protrudes outward in the width direction. The engaging portion 30a comprises a flat plate-shaped horizontal wall portion 36 that protrudes outward in the width direction, a flat plate-shaped vertical wall portion 37 that extends vertically from the horizontal wall portion 36, and a protrusion portion 38. The side wall portion 36 is positioned slightly inward in the width direction compared to the groove wall portion 33, and connects the base portion of the side wall portion 36 to the tip portion of the groove wall portion 33. Furthermore, the tip portion of the horizontal wall portion 36 that protrudes outward in the width direction is formed with a protrusion 38 that protrudes outward in the vertical direction by a small amount. The vertical wall portion 37 extends inward in the vertical direction from the tip portion of the horizontal wall portion 36 which protrudes outward in the width direction, and is formed to protrude on the opposite side of the protrusion 38. The roofing material 2 has the horizontal wall portion 36 and vertical wall portion 37 of the engaging portion 30a arranged in a substantially L-shape in cross-section, and the engaging portion 30a is connected to the base portion 31 via a grooved wall portion 33 connected to the horizontal wall portion 36.

[0029] Figure 13 is a magnified view of the connection point 4 of the roofing material 2 in Figure 6. Figure 13 shows a magnified view of the connection portion 4 formed at the opposite end of the connection portion 3 in the width direction. The connecting portion 4 is provided with a vertical plate-shaped base portion 41 that connects to one vertical end of the roofing material 2 that constitutes the plate surface portion 20a and the other end that constitutes the plate surface portion 20b, and has a cylindrical wall portion 42 and a grooved wall portion 43 that protrude outward in the width direction from the base portion 41. The cylindrical wall portion 42 comprises a flat cylindrical wall 42a that protrudes outward in the width direction, a flat cylindrical wall 42b that extends vertically inward in the vertical direction from the tip portion of the cylindrical wall 42a, and a flat cylindrical wall 42c that extends vertically inward in the width direction from the end of the cylindrical wall 42b. The cylindrical wall 42a has a root portion located on the inside in the width direction connected to the base portion 41, and its outer surface facing outward in the vertical direction constitutes a part of the plate surface portion 20a. Furthermore, the base portion of the cylindrical wall 42c, which is located on the inside in the width direction, is connected to the base portion 41. In other words, the cylindrical wall portion 42 is formed such that the cylindrical wall 42a, cylindrical wall 42b, cylindrical wall 42c and a part of the base portion 41 constitute a cylindrical body with a rectangular cross-section.

[0030] The groove wall portion 43 is formed in a flat plate shape, and its outer surface facing outward in the vertical direction constitutes a part of the plate surface portion 20b. The groove wall portion 43 is formed to have a width that is approximately the same size as the cylindrical walls 42a and 42c of the cylindrical wall portion 42. The roofing material 2 is provided such that the groove wall portion 43, base portion 41, and cylindrical wall 42c, which are arranged in a roughly U-shape in cross-section, form a groove-shaped engaging recess 40b that opens outward in the width direction.

[0031] The connecting portion 4 is provided with an engaging portion 40a that protrudes outward in the width direction. The engaging portion 40a includes a flat plate-shaped horizontal wall portion 46 that protrudes outward in the width direction, a flat plate-shaped vertical wall portion 47 that extends vertically from the horizontal wall portion 46, and a protrusion portion 48. The aforementioned side wall portion 46 is connected at its base to the cylindrical wall 42b of the cylindrical wall portion 42, and extends vertically from the cylindrical wall 42b. Furthermore, a protrusion 48 is formed at the tip portion of the horizontal wall portion 46 that protrudes outward in the width direction, and which protrudes outward in the vertical direction. The vertical wall portion 47 extends inward in the vertical direction from the tip portion of the horizontal wall portion 46 that protrudes outward in the width direction, and is formed to protrude on the opposite side from the convex portion 48. The roofing material 2 has the horizontal wall portion 46 and vertical wall portion 47 of the engaging portion 40a arranged in a roughly L-shape in cross-section, and the engaging portion 40a is connected to the base portion 41 via the cylindrical wall portion 42.

[0032] Figure 14 shows the state before the connection part 3 in Figure 12 and the connection part 4 in Figure 13 are engaged. Figure 14 shows two roofing materials 2 arranged with a gap between them in the width direction, with the surface portion 20b of each roofing material 2 in contact with the plane F drawn by the dotted line. Each of the aforementioned roofing materials 2 is positioned with its connecting portion 3 and connecting portion 4 facing each other. By sliding one of the roofing materials 2 across the plane F and moving it in the width direction, the connecting portion 3 and the connecting portion 4 can be engaged. In other words, each roofing material 2 can engage its connecting parts 3 and 4 by moving only in the width direction, without moving in the vertical direction.

[0033] Figure 15 shows the state in which the connecting parts 3 and 4 in Figure 14 are engaged. When the connecting parts 3 and 4 are engaged, the engaging part 30a of the connecting part 3 is inserted into and housed inside the engaging recess 40b of the engaging part 4. The engaging portion 30a is formed such that, when housed inside the engaging recess 40b and engaged, the tip of the vertical wall portion 36 located at one end in the vertical direction is positioned near the cylindrical wall 42c of the engaging recess 40b, and the tip of the protrusion 38 located at the other end in the vertical direction is positioned near the groove wall portion 43 of the engaging recess 40b. By forming the engaging portion 30a and the engaging recess 40b in this way, when a vertical external force is applied to each roofing material 2 while the connecting portions 3 and 4 are engaged, the end of the engaging portion 30a abuts against the inside of the engaging recess 40b, thereby suppressing vertical displacement of each roofing material 2. Furthermore, even if there are discrepancies in the dimensions of each roofing material 2 or the support members to which they are attached, the engaged engaging portion 30a and the engaging recess 40b can suppress vertical displacement. By suppressing vertical misalignment of each roofing material 2, each panel surface 20a and each panel surface 20b are arranged precisely on the same plane, thereby improving the aesthetic appearance of the roof 1. Furthermore, by positioning the protrusion 38 to abut against the vertically inner surface of the groove wall 43, even if scratches occur when the engaging portion 30a and the engaging recess 40b come into contact during the process of engaging the engaging portion 30a with the engaging recess 40b, these scratches will occur on the inner surface of the groove wall 43 or the surface of the protrusion 38, and will not be visible from the outside of the roofing material 2, thus preserving the aesthetic appearance of the roof 1. In addition, by positioning the protrusion 38, which protrudes vertically outward from the side wall 36, to abut against the vertically inner surface of the groove wall 43, even if the engaging portion 30a and the engaging recess 40b come into contact, the surface of the side wall 36 and the surface of the groove wall 43 are less likely to come into contact, thereby suppressing damage to the side wall 36.

[0034] As shown in Figure 15, when the connecting parts 3 and 4 are engaged, the engaging part 40a of the connecting part 4 is inserted into and housed inside the engaging recess 30b of the engaging part 3. The engaging portion 40a is formed such that, when housed inside the engaging recess 30b and engaged, the tip of the protrusion 48 located at its vertically outer end is positioned near the groove wall 32 of the engaging recess 30b. When the connecting portions 3 and 4 are engaged, the protrusion 48 of the engaging portion 40a functions similarly to the protrusion 38 of the engaging portion 30a, thereby suppressing vertical displacement of each roofing material 2. Furthermore, by positioning the protrusion 48 near the vertically inner surface of the groove wall 32, even if scratches occur when the engaging portion 40a and the engaging recess 30b come into contact during the process of engaging the engaging portion 40a with the engaging recess 30b, these scratches will occur on the inner surface of the groove wall 32 and will not be visible from the outside of the roofing material 2, thus preserving the aesthetic appearance of the roof 1. In addition, by positioning the protrusion 48 that protrudes vertically outward from the side wall 46 near the vertically inner surface of the groove wall 32, even if the engaging portion 40a and the engaging recess 30b come into contact, the surface of the side wall 46 and the surface of the groove wall 32 are less likely to come into contact, thereby suppressing damage to the side wall 46.

[0035] The roofing material 2 is provided such that the portion formed by the vertical wall portion 37, horizontal wall portion 36, groove wall portion 33, and base portion 31 at the connection portion 3, which has a roughly U-shaped cross-section, functions as a water drainage groove portion 30c. Specifically, as shown in Figure 15, when the connecting portion 3 and connecting portion 4 of adjacent roofing material 2 are engaged, water such as rainwater that enters inward from between the groove wall portion 32 and the engaging portion 40a enters the inside of the water-flowing groove portion 30c, flows in the longitudinal direction, and is discharged outward from the longitudinal end of the roofing material 2. In Figure 15, the vertical wall portion 47 of the engaging portion 40a, which is positioned vertically above the water flow channel portion 30c, functions as a drainage member that causes water that has entered the inside to fall back into the water flow channel portion 30c. The tip portion of the vertical wall portion 47 that extends vertically downward is formed in an acute angle shape such that the thickness decreases towards the tip, thereby enabling it to function effectively as a drainage member.

[0036] As shown in Figure 15, when the connecting parts 3 and 4 of each roofing material 2 are engaged, the engaging part 30a and the engaging recess 40b are positioned with a distance of Xa between the vertical wall part 37 and the base part 41. The smaller of the two intervals Xa and Xb will be used as the size of Xc in the following explanation. In other words, in the engaged state of the connecting parts 3 and 4 shown in Figure 15, each engaging recess 30b and 40b functions as a swallowing groove into which each engaging part 40a and 30a can be inserted further into the groove by the aforementioned spacing Xc. Furthermore, in the engagement state of each connection part 3 and 4 in Figure 15, the spacing Xa and spacing Xb are formed to be the same size, and the relationship is given as spacing Xa = spacing Xb = spacing Xc.

[0037] Figure 16 shows the state in which the engaging portions 40a and 30a of Figure 15 are inserted into the inner side of the engaging recesses 30b and 40b. As shown in Figure 16, each roofing material 2 is moved by a distance Xc so as to pull each other closer, and the vertical wall portion 37 and the base portion 41, which were separated by a distance Xa equal to the distance Xc, come into contact with each other. Furthermore, by moving each roofing material 2 by a distance Xc, the vertical wall portion 47 and the base portion 31, which were separated by a distance Xb equal to the distance Xc, come into contact with each other.

[0038] Figure 17 is a magnified view of a portion of the roofing material 2 shown in Figure 5. Figure 17 shows four roofing materials 2 arranged side by side in the width direction. From left to right in the figure, the third roofing material 2C, the first roofing material 2A, the second roofing material 2B, and the fourth roofing material 2D are arranged accordingly. Each of the four roofing materials 2 has its connecting parts 3 and 4 engaged with the adjacent roofing material 2, specifically in the same engagement state as the connecting parts 3 and 4 shown in Figure 15. In Figure 17, the first roofing material 2A engages one of its connection parts 3a with the connection part 4c of the third roofing material 2C, and the other of its connection parts 4a with the connection part 3b of the second roofing material 2B, while the second roofing material 2B engages its connection part 4b with the connection part 3d of the fourth roofing material 2D.

[0039] Figure 18 shows the state after moving the first roofing material 2A in Figure 17 in the width direction. Figure 18 shows the first roofing material 2A with the bolt 61 of the fixing member 6 attached to its fixing part 5 removed, and moved so as to be pulled towards the third roofing material 2C located on the left side of the figure. In Figure 18, the first roofing material 2A is moved by the size of the interval Xc, and the vertical wall portion 37 of the connecting portion 3a abuts against the base portion 41 of the connecting portion 4c, and the vertical wall portion 47 of the connecting portion 4c abuts against the base portion 31 of the connecting portion 3a. Note that in Figure 18, the nut 62 has not been removed from the fixing part 5 of the first roofing material 2A, but this has been omitted from the illustration to simplify the drawing.

[0040] As described above, when the first roofing material 2A is moved to one side in the width direction, which is the left side in the figure, by the amount of the aforementioned spacing Xc, the engagement between the connection portion 3b of the second roofing material 2B, which is positioned on the other side in the width direction, and the connection portion 4a of the first roofing material 2A is maintained, as shown in Figure 18. Specifically, as the first roofing material 2A moves, the vertical wall portion 37 of the engagement portion 30a of the connection portion 3b and the base portion 41 of the connection portion 4a are separated by an amount of spacing Xa + Xc, but the vertical wall portion 37 remains inserted inside the connection recess 40b of the connection portion 4a, thereby restricting the vertical movement of the first roofing material 2A. Furthermore, as the first roofing material 2A moves, the vertical wall portion 47 of the engaging portion 40a of the connecting portion 4a and the base portion 31 of the connecting portion 3b are separated by a distance of Xb + Xc. However, the vertical wall portion 47 remains inserted inside the connecting recess 30b of the connecting portion 3b, thereby restricting the vertical movement of the first roofing material 2A. In other words, the roof 1 is designed so that when the roofing material 2 is moved in the width direction by a distance of Xc, which is large enough to allow the engaging portions 40a and 30a to be inserted into the back of the engaging recesses 30b and 40b that function as swallowing grooves, the engagement state of the connecting portions 3 and 4 is not released. In other words, when the second roofing material 2B and the third roofing material 2C are fixed to the beam member 7 by the fixing member 6, even if the fixing by the fixing member 6 attached to the fixing part 5 comes undone, the first roofing material 2A will not detach from the beam member 7 which is the supporting member, and its fixing will be more stable.

[0041] Figure 19 shows the state after moving the second roofing material 2b in Figure 17 in the width direction. Figure 19 shows the second roofing material 2B with the bolt 61 of the fixing member 6 attached to its fixing part 5 removed, and moved so as to be pulled towards the fourth roofing material 2D located on the right side of the figure. In Figure 19, the second roofing material 2B is moved by the size of the interval Xc, and the vertical wall portion 37 of the connecting portion 3d abuts against the base portion 41 of the connecting portion 4b, and the vertical wall portion 47 of the connecting portion 4b abuts against the base portion 31 of the connecting portion 3d. Note that in Figure 19, the nut 62 has not been removed from the fixing part 5 of the second roofing material 2B, but this has been omitted from the illustration to simplify the drawing.

[0042] As described above, when the first roofing material 2B is moved to the other side in the width direction, which is the right side in the figure, by the amount of the aforementioned spacing Xc, the engagement between the connection portion 4a of the first roofing material 2A positioned on one side in the width direction and the connection portion 3b of the second roofing material 2B is maintained, as shown in Figure 19. Specifically, as the second roofing material 2B moves, the vertical wall portion 37 of the engagement portion 30a of the connection portion 3b and the base portion 41 of the connection portion 4a are separated by a spacing of Xa + Xc, similar to Figure 18. However, the vertical wall portion 37 remains inserted inside the connection recess 40b of the connection portion 4a, thereby restricting the vertical movement of the second roofing material 2B. Furthermore, as the second roofing material 2B moves, the vertical wall portion 47 of the engaging portion 40a of the connecting portion 4a and the base portion 31 of the connecting portion 3b are separated by a distance of Xb + Xc, as in Figure 18. However, the vertical wall portion 47 remains inserted inside the connecting recess 30b of the connecting portion 3b, thereby restricting the vertical movement of the second roofing material 2B. In other words, when the first roofing material 2A and the fourth roofing material 2D are fixed to the beam member 7 by the fixing member 6, even if the fixing by the fixing member 6 attached to the fixing part 5 comes undone, the second roofing material 2B will not detach from the beam member 7 which is the supporting member, and its fixing will be more stable.

[0043] Figure 20 shows the state in which the first roofing material 2A and the second roofing material 2B in Figure 17 have been moved in the width direction, respectively. Figure 20 shows the first roofing material 2A and the second roofing material 2B after removing the bolts 61 of the fixing members 6 attached to each fixing part 5, moving the first roofing material 2A toward the third roofing material 2C located on the left side of the figure, and moving the second roofing material 2B toward the fourth roofing material 2D located on the right side of the figure. In Figure 20, the first roofing material 2A and the second roofing material 2B are moved by the aforementioned distance Xc. In other words, the connection portion 3a of the first roofing material 2A and the connection portion 4c of the third roofing material 2C shown in Figure 20 are engaged in the same way as the connection portion 3a and the connection portion 4c shown in Figure 18. Furthermore, the connection portion 4b of the second roofing material 2B and the connection portion 3d of the fourth roofing material 2D shown in Figure 20 are engaged in the same manner as the connection portion 4b and connection portion 3d shown in Figure 19. Note that in Figure 20 and Figure 21 (described later), the nuts 62 have not been removed from the fixing parts 5 of the first roofing material 2A and the second roofing material 2B, but this has been omitted from the illustration to simplify the drawings.

[0044] As described above, when the first roofing material 2A and the second roofing material 2B are moved to one side and the other side in the width direction by the distance Xc, the engagement between the connecting portion 4a of the first roofing material 2A and the connecting portion 3b of the second roofing material 2B is released, as shown in Figure 20. Specifically, the movement of the first roofing material 2A and the second roofing material 2B causes the vertical wall portion 37 of the engaging portion 30a of the connecting portion 3b and the base portion 41 of the connecting portion 4a to be separated by a distance of Xa + Xc + Xc, and the vertical wall portion 37 is positioned from the inside to the outside in the width direction of the connecting recess 40b of the connecting portion 4a. That is, the engagement between the engaging portion 30a of the connecting portion 3b and the engaging recess 40b of the connecting portion 4a is maintained when the first roofing material 2A or the second roofing material 2B moves in the width direction by a distance of Xc, and the engagement is released when the roofing materials 2A and 2B move in the width direction by twice the distance Xc. Furthermore, as the first roofing material 2A and the second roofing material 2B move, the vertical wall portion 47 of the engaging portion 40a of the connecting portion 4a and the base portion 31 of the connecting portion 3b are separated by a distance of Xb + Xc + Xc, and the vertical wall portion 47 is positioned from the inside to the outside in the width direction of the connecting recess 30b of the connecting portion 3b. That is, the engagement between the engaging portion 40a of the connecting portion 4a and the engaging recess 30b of the connecting portion 3b is maintained when the amount of movement of the first roofing material 2A and the second roofing material 2B in the width direction is the amount of the distance Xc, and the engagement is released when the movement of the roofing materials 2A and 2B in the width direction is twice the amount of the distance Xc.

[0045] When the engagement between the engaging portion 30a and the engaging recess 40b is released, the engagement between the engaging portion 40a and the engaging recess 30b is released, thereby releasing the engagement between the connecting portions 4a and 3b, and allowing the first roofing material 2A to move in the vertical direction. Specifically, the first roofing material 2A moves so as to rotate around the connection point C between the base portion 31 and the groove wall portion 32 of the connecting portion 3a located on one side in the width direction, and the connecting portion 4a located on the other side in the width direction moves vertically upward, thereby being detached from the connecting portion 3b of the second roofing material 2B.

[0046] Figure 21 is a magnified view of the area around the first roofing material 2A in Figure 20. When the first roofing material 2A is rotated to detach the connecting portion 4a from the connecting portion 3b of the second roofing material 2B, the engaging portion 40a of the connecting portion 4a moves vertically upward so as to pass outside the widthwise side of the engaging recess 30b of the connecting portion 3B. Specifically, the vertical wall portion 47 of the engaging portion 40a passes outside the groove wall portion 32 of the engaging recess 30b. In the vertical wall portion 47 of the first roofing material 2A, the part with the greatest distance from the rotation center C is the tip of the vertical wall portion 47, and the distance between the rotation center C and the tip of the vertical wall portion 47 is set to distance Ma. Furthermore, in the groove wall portion 32 of the second roofing material 2B shown in Figure 21, where the first roofing material 2A is moved to one side in the width direction by the amount of the aforementioned interval Xc and the second roofing material 2B is moved to the other side in the width direction by the amount of the aforementioned interval Xc, the part with the smallest distance from the rotation center C is the tip of the groove wall portion 32, and the distance between the rotation center C and the tip of the groove wall portion 32 is set to the interval Ya. The first roofing material 2A and the second roofing material 2B shown in Figure 21 are formed such that the spacing Ya is greater than the distance Ma.

[0047] When the first roofing material 2A is rotated to detach the connecting portion 4a from the connecting portion 3b of the second roofing material 2B, the engaging recess 40b of the connecting portion 4a moves vertically upward so as to pass outside the widthwise engaging portion 30a of the connecting portion 3B. Specifically, the groove wall portion 43 of the engaging recess 40b passes outside the vertical wall portion 37 of the engaging portion 30a. In the groove wall portion 43 of the first roofing material 2A, the portion with the greatest distance from the rotation center C is the tip of the groove wall portion 43, and the distance between the rotation center C and the tip of the groove wall portion 43 is set to distance Mb. Furthermore, in the vertical wall portion 37 of the second roofing material 2B shown in Figure 21, where the first roofing material 2A is moved to one side in the width direction by the amount of the aforementioned interval Xc and the second roofing material 2B is moved to the other side in the width direction by the amount of the aforementioned interval Xc, the part with the smallest distance from the rotation center C is the tip of the vertical wall portion 37, and the distance between the rotation center C and the tip of the vertical wall portion 37 is set to the interval Yb. The first roofing material 2A and the second roofing material 2B shown in Figure 21 are formed such that the distance Yb ​​is greater than the distance Mb.

[0048] Figure 22 shows the first roofing material 2A in Figure 21 being rotated. In Figure 22 and Figure 23 (described later), the fixing part 5 of the first roofing material 2A is omitted from the illustration to simplify the drawing. The first roofing material 2A and the second roofing material 2B are formed such that the distance Ya between the rotation center C and the tip of the groove wall portion 32 is greater than the distance Ma between the rotation center C and the tip of the vertical wall portion 47. Therefore, when the first roofing material 2A is rotated, the vertical wall portion 47 of the engaging portion 40a passes outside the groove wall portion 32 of the engaging recess 30b without contacting it.

[0049] Figure 23 shows the first roofing material 2A in Figure 22 being rotated further. The first roofing material 2A and the second roofing material 2B are formed such that the distance Yb ​​between the rotation center C and the tip of the vertical wall portion 37 is greater than the distance Mb between the rotation center C and the tip of the groove wall portion 43. Therefore, when the first roofing material 2A is rotated, the groove wall portion 43 of the engaging recess 40b passes outside the vertical wall portion 37 of the engaging portion 30a without contacting it.

[0050] Figure 24 shows the situation after removing the first roofing material 2A from the support member 7 in Figure 23. Figure 24 shows the situation after the engaging portion 30a of the first roofing material 2A in Figure 23 has been removed from the connecting portion 4c of the third roofing material 2C and moved vertically upward. As described above, after removing the first roofing material 2A, it is also possible to move the second roofing material 2B to one side in the width direction, which is to the left in the diagram, to release the engagement between the connection part 4b and the connection part 3d of the fourth roofing material 2D, and then remove the second roofing material 2B from the beam member 7.

[0051] The roof 1, consisting of the roofing materials 2 shown in Figure 17, is designed so that by removing the fixing members 6 attached to the respective fixing parts 5 of any roofing material 2 that is arranged in parallel in the width direction, and moving each roofing material 2 in the width direction to separate them, the engagement of the opposing connecting parts 3 and 4 is released, and the roofing material 2 can be removed from the beam member 7. This design allows for the removal and replacement of only the desired roofing material 2, without having to remove all other roofing materials 2 arranged in the width direction in addition to the roofing material 2 being replaced. As described above, by allowing the removal and replacement of only the desired roofing material 2, it is not necessary to pull the roofing material 2 out in the longitudinal direction, making it possible to easily replace the roofing material 2 even when there are obstacles in the longitudinal direction of the roofing material 2 or when there are roads that require traffic restrictions during work.

[0052] Furthermore, since each roofing material 2 shown in Figure 17 is positioned vertically inward of the groove wall portion 43 of the engaging recess 40b that engages with the protrusion 38 of the engaging portion 30a, even if scratches occur when the protrusion 38 comes into contact with the engaging recess 40b during removal or installation of any roofing material 2A, the scratches will occur on the inner surface of the groove wall portion 43 and will not be visible from the outside of the roofing material 2, thus preserving the aesthetic appearance of the roof 1. Furthermore, since each roofing material 2 shown in Figure 17 is positioned near the vertically inner surface of the groove wall portion 32 of the engaging recess 30b that engages with the protrusion 48 of the engaging portion 40a, even if scratches occur when the protrusion 48 comes into contact with the engaging recess 30b during removal or installation of any roofing material 2A, these scratches will occur on the inner surface of the groove wall portion 32 and will not be visible from the outside of the roofing material 2, thus preserving the aesthetic appearance of the roof 1.

[0053] Furthermore, as shown in Figure 17, each roofing material 2 is designed so that moving one roofing material 2 to one side in the width direction does not release the engagement of the connection part with the adjacent roofing material 2 on the other side. Instead, by moving two adjacent roofing materials so that they are separated to one side and the other side in the width direction, the engagement of the opposing connection parts 3 and 4 is released, allowing any roofing material 2 to be removed from the beam member 7. By providing this configuration, even if a fixing member 6 attached to the fixing part 5 of any of the roofing materials 2 of the roof 1 comes off due to unforeseen circumstances, the engagement state of the connection parts 3 and 4 with adjacent roofing materials 2 is maintained, thereby suppressing problems such as the roofing material 2 coming off the support member and falling.

[0054] Figure 25 shows the roofing material 2 from Figure 6 attached to the support member. Figure 25 shows a state in which, among the multiple roofing materials 2 of Figure 6 arranged in the width direction, the connection portion 3 of one roofing material 2 is engaged with the connection portion 4 of the other roofing material 4, and the roofing material is attached below the support member such as the beam member 7. Specifically, each roofing material 2 shown in Figure 25 has its plate surface portion 20b and plate surface portion 20a facing upward and downward in the vertical direction, respectively, with the plate surface portion 20b in contact with the lower surface F of a support member provided on a flat surface, and is attached to the support member by fixing members 6 (not shown) attached to each fixing portion 5 (not shown).

[0055] The engagement state of the connection parts 3 and 4 of each roofing material 2 shown in Figure 25 is the same as the engagement state of each roofing material 2 shown in Figure 15, except that the top and bottom are reversed. That is, in the same way as the roofing material 2 shown in Figure 15, the engagement part 30a of the connection part 3 is inserted into the inside of the engagement recess 40b of the engagement part 4, and the engagement part 40a of the connection part 4 is inserted into the inside of the engagement recess 30b of the engagement part 3. Furthermore, the vertical wall portion 37 of the engaging portion 30a and the base portion 41 of the engaging recess 40b are spaced apart by a distance Xa, and the vertical wall portion 47 of the engaging portion 40a and the base portion 31 of the engaging recess 30b are spaced apart by a distance Xb, and the engaging recesses 30b and 40b are provided so that each engaging portion 40a and 30a can be inserted further into the groove, functioning as a swallowing groove.

[0056] The roof 1, which is composed of the roofing materials 2 shown in Figure 25, has its underside formed by the plate-like surface portion 20a of each roofing material 2. Since the protruding portion 21 is formed over almost the entire surface of the plate-like portion 20a, the reflection of the scenery onto the plate-like portion 20a can be effectively suppressed.

[0057] The roof 1, which is composed of the roofing materials 2 shown in Figure 25, is designed so that the roughly U-shaped section formed by the vertical wall section 47, horizontal wall section 46, and cylindrical wall 42b of the connecting section 4 functions as a drainage channel 40c. The drainage channel 40c functions similarly to the drainage channel 30c, and is designed so that when the connecting portion 3 and connecting portion 4 of adjacent roofing material 2 are engaged, rainwater and other water that enters inward from between the channel wall 43 and the engaging portion 30a enters the inside of the drainage channel 40c, flows longitudinally, and is discharged outward from the longitudinal end of the roofing material 2.

[0058] Each roofing material 2 shown in Figure 25 and each roofing material 2 shown in Figure 15 are arranged so that the plate surfaces of adjacent plate surfaces 20a are on substantially the same plane and spaced apart by at least the size of the interval Xc, thereby allowing movement of the roofing material 2 in the width direction. The side wall portion 46 of the engaging portion 40a of the connecting portion 4 is positioned near the plate surfaces 20a to close the gaps between each plate surface 20a, so that the gaps between each plate surface 20a are less noticeable, improving the aesthetic appearance of the roof 1.

[0059] Furthermore, each roofing material 2 shown in Figure 25 and each roofing material 2 shown in Figure 15 are arranged so that the plate surfaces of adjacent plate surfaces 20b are placed on substantially the same plane and spaced apart by at least the size of the interval Xc, thereby allowing movement of the roofing material 2 in the width direction. The side wall portion 36 of the engaging portion 30b of the connecting portion 3 is positioned near the plate surfaces 20b to close the gaps between each plate surface 20b, so that the gaps between each plate surface 20b are less noticeable, improving the aesthetic appearance of the roof 1.

[0060] Furthermore, the roof 1 according to the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and various modifications are possible without departing from the spirit of the present invention. For example, in the roof 1 shown in Figures 1 to 4, each roofing material 2 arranged in parallel in the width direction is positioned horizontally with respect to the width direction and inclined vertically in the longitudinal direction from one side to the other, but this is not the only option. Each roofing material 2 may be positioned horizontally with respect to the longitudinal direction and inclined with respect to the width direction, or it may be positioned horizontally in both the width and longitudinal directions.

[0061] Furthermore, although the roof 1 shown in Figures 1 to 5 has each roof material 2 attached to beam members 7 that are further connected to beam members 8 connected to support columns S1 and S2, the roof material 2 is not limited to this. The roof material 2 may be attached to beam members connected to support columns, or to members other than beam members and beam members, which may be used as support members.

[0062] Figure 26 is a front view showing another embodiment of the roofing material 200. The roofing material 200 is made from an aluminum extruded profile, and its cross-sectional shape is the same along its entire length. In Figure 26, a plate surface 200a is provided on the upper vertical side of the roofing material 200, and a substantially flat plate surface 200b is provided on the lower vertical side. On the plate surface portion 200b of the roofing material 200, a protruding portion 210 is formed that extends outward in the vertical direction, similar to the protruding portion 21 formed on the plate surface portion 20b of the roofing material 2, and is formed over substantially the entire surface portion 200b.

[0063] The roofing material 200 is provided to be fixed to the beam member 7 by a fixing member 600 consisting of a bolt 610 and a nut 620, and a fixing portion 500 for attaching the fixing member 6 is formed near the center in the width direction on the upper vertical side of the roofing material 200. Specifically, the fixing portion 500 is a bag-shaped groove into which the fixing member 600 can be inserted. A part of the fixing portion 500 is provided to protrude upward from the plate surface portion 200a, and the upper end surface of the fixing portion 500 located above the plate surface portion 200a is formed to constitute a contact portion 200c.

[0064] The roofing material 200 has a connection portion 300 at one end in the width direction, located on the left side in Figure 26, and a connection portion 400 at the other end. In the vertical direction of the roofing material 200, the upper end surfaces of the connecting portion 300 and the connecting portion 400 are formed to be positioned at the same location as the upper end surface of the fixing portion 500, and the upper end surfaces of the connecting portion 300 and the connecting portion 400 are provided to constitute a contact portion 200c. A recessed portion B is formed between each connecting portion 300, 400 and the fixing portion 500, and the bottom surface of each recessed portion B is formed by the plate surface portion 200a.

[0065] Figure 27 is a magnified view of the connection portion 300 of the roofing material 200 shown in Figure 26. Figure 27 shows a magnified view of the connecting section 300 located on the left side of the roofing material 200 in Figure 26. The connecting portion 300 includes a vertical plate-shaped base portion 310 that extends from the plate surface portion 200b to the plate surface portion 200a and further extends vertically upward. The base portion 310 is provided with groove wall portion 320, wall portion 330, and groove wall portion 340 that protrude outward in the width direction. The groove wall portion 320 is formed in a flat plate shape and extends outward in the width direction from the upper end of the base portion 310, forming the upper vertical portion of the connecting portion 300. The outer surface of the groove wall portion 320 facing outward in the vertical direction is positioned to correspond to the upper end surface of the fixing portion 500, and forms the contact surface 200c. The wall portion 330 is formed in a flat plate shape, forming the lower part of the connecting portion 300 in the vertical direction, and its outer surface facing outward in the vertical direction forms part of the plate surface portion 200b. The groove wall portion 340 is formed in a flat plate shape, arranged parallel to the groove wall portion 320, and provided between the groove wall portion 320 and the groove wall portion 330. Each of the groove wall portions 320, 340 and the wall portion 330 is formed to be approximately the same size in the width direction. The roofing material 200 is provided such that the groove wall portion 320, base portion 310, and groove wall portion 340, which are arranged in a roughly U-shape in cross-section, form a groove-shaped engaging recess 301b that opens outward in the width direction.

[0066] The connecting portion 300 is provided with an engaging portion 301a that protrudes outward in the width direction. The engaging portion 301a comprises a flat plate-shaped horizontal wall portion 360 that protrudes outward in the width direction, a flat plate-shaped vertical wall portion 370 that extends vertically from the horizontal wall portion 360, and a protrusion portion 380. The side wall portion 360 is positioned slightly inward in the width direction compared to the wall portion 330, and connects the base portion of the side wall portion 360 to the tip portion of the wall portion 330. Furthermore, the tip portion of the horizontal wall portion 360 that protrudes outward in the width direction has a protrusion 380 formed on it so as to protrude slightly outward in the vertical direction. The vertical wall portion 370 extends inward in the vertical direction from the tip portion of the horizontal wall portion 360 which protrudes outward in the width direction, and is formed to protrude on the opposite side of the protrusion 380. The roofing material 200 has the horizontal wall portion 360 and vertical wall portion 370 of the engaging portion 301a arranged in a roughly L-shape in cross-section, and the engaging portion 301a is connected to the base portion 310 via a wall portion 330 connected to the horizontal wall portion 360.

[0067] Figure 28 is a magnified view of the connection portion 400 of the roofing material 200 shown in Figure 26. Figure 28 shows an enlarged view of the connection portion 400 formed at the opposite end of the connection portion 300 in the width direction. The connecting portion 400 includes a vertical plate-shaped base portion 410 that extends from the plate surface portion 200b to the plate surface portion 200a and further extends vertically upward. The connecting portion 400 is provided with groove wall portions 420 and 430 that protrude outward in the width direction from the base portion 410. The groove wall portion 420 is formed in a flat plate shape and extends outward in the width direction from the upper end of the base portion 410, forming the upper vertical portion of the connecting portion 400. The outer surface of the groove wall portion 420 facing outward in the vertical direction is positioned to correspond to the upper end surface of the fixing portion 500 and the upper end surface of the groove wall portion 320, forming the contact surface 200c. The wall portion 430 is formed in a flat plate shape, and its width is approximately the same as that of the groove wall portion 420. Furthermore, the groove wall portion 430 constitutes the lower part of the connecting portion 400 in the vertical direction, and its outer surface facing outward in the vertical direction constitutes a part of the plate surface portion 200b. The roofing material 200 is provided such that the groove wall portion 430, base portion 410, and groove wall portion 420, which are arranged in a roughly inverted U-shape in cross-section, form a groove-shaped engaging recess 401b that opens outward in the width direction.

[0068] The connecting portion 400 is provided with an engaging portion 401a that protrudes outward in the width direction. The engaging portion 401a includes a flat plate-shaped horizontal wall portion 460 that protrudes outward in the width direction, and a flat plate-shaped vertical wall portion 470 that extends vertically from the horizontal wall portion 460. The side wall portion 460 is positioned slightly inward in the width direction compared to the groove wall portion 420, and connects the base portion of the side wall portion 460 to the tip portion of the groove wall portion 420. The vertical wall portion 470 extends inward in the vertical direction from the tip portion of the horizontal wall portion 460 that protrudes outward in the width direction. The roofing material 200 has the horizontal wall portion 460 and vertical wall portion 470 of the engaging portion 401a arranged in a substantially L-shape in cross-section, and the engaging portion 401a is connected to the base portion 410 via the groove wall portion 420.

[0069] Figure 29 shows the state before the connection part 300 in Figure 27 and the connection part 400 in Figure 28 are engaged. Figure 29 shows two roofing materials 200 arranged with a gap between them in the width direction, with each roofing material 200 having its respective contact portion 200c in contact with the plane F drawn by the dotted line. Each of the roofing materials 200 is positioned with its connecting portion 300 and connecting portion 400 facing each other. By sliding one of the roofing materials 200 in the width direction relative to the plane F, the connecting portion 300 and the connecting portion 400 can be engaged. In other words, each roofing material 200 can engage with the connecting parts 300 and 400 by moving only in the width direction, without moving in the vertical direction.

[0070] Figure 30 shows the state in which the connecting parts 300 and 400 in Figure 29 are engaged. When the connecting parts 300 and 400 are engaged, the engaging part 301a of the connecting part 300 is inserted into and housed inside the engaging recess 401b of the engaging part 400. The engaging portion 301a is formed such that, when housed inside the engaging recess 401b and engaged, the tip of the protrusion 380 located at one end in the vertical direction is positioned near the groove wall portion 430 of the engaging recess 401b. By forming the engaging portion 301a and the engaging recess 401b in this way, when a vertical external force is applied to each roofing material 200 while the connecting portions 300 and 400 are engaged, the end of the engaging portion 301a abuts against the inside of the engaging recess 401b, thereby suppressing vertical displacement of each roofing material 200. Furthermore, even if there are discrepancies in the dimensions of each roofing material 200 or the support members to which they are attached, the engaged engaging portion 301a and the engaging recess 401b can suppress vertical displacement. By suppressing vertical misalignment of each roofing material 200, each panel surface 200b is accurately positioned on the same plane, thereby improving the aesthetic appearance of the roof 1. Furthermore, by positioning the protrusion 380 near the vertically inner surface of the groove wall 430, even if scratches occur when the engaging portion 301a and the engaging recess 401b come into contact during the process of engaging the engaging portion 301a with the engaging recess 401b, these scratches will occur on the inner surface of the groove wall 430 or the surface of the protrusion 380, and will not be visible from the outside of the roofing material 200, thus preserving the aesthetic appearance of the roof made of the roofing material 200. Additionally, by positioning the protrusion 380, which protrudes vertically outward from the side wall 360, near the vertically inner surface of the groove wall 430, even if the engaging portion 301a and the engaging recess 401b come into contact, the surface of the side wall 360 and the surface of the groove wall 430 are less likely to come into contact, thereby suppressing damage to the side wall 360.

[0071] As shown in Figure 30, when the connecting parts 300 and 400 are engaged, the engaging part 401a of the connecting part 400 is inserted into and housed inside the engaging recess 301b of the engaging part 300. The engaging portion 401a is formed such that, when housed inside the engaging recess 301b and engaged, the outer surface of the vertically outer side of the horizontal wall portion 460 is positioned near the groove wall portion 320 of the engaging recess 301b, and the tip of the vertical wall portion 470 is positioned near the groove wall portion 340 of the engaging recess 301b. By forming the engaging portion 401a and the engaging recess 301b in this way, when a vertical external force is applied to each roofing material 200 while the connecting portions 300 and 400 are engaged, the end of the engaging portion 401a abuts against the inside of the engaging recess 301b, thereby suppressing vertical displacement of each roofing material 200. Furthermore, even if there are discrepancies in the dimensions of each roofing material 200 or the support members to which they are attached, the engaged engaging portion 401a and the engaging recess 301b can suppress vertical displacement. Furthermore, even if scratches occur due to contact between the engaging portion 401a and the engaging recess 301b during the process of engaging the engaging portion 401a with the engaging recess 301b, these scratches will occur on the inner surface of the groove wall portion 320 and will not be visible from the outside of the roofing material 200, thus preserving the aesthetic appearance of the roof made of the roofing material 200.

[0072] The roofing material 200 is provided such that the portion formed by the vertical wall portion 370, horizontal wall portion 360, groove wall portion 330, and base portion 310 formed at the connection portion 300, which has a roughly U-shaped cross-section, functions as a water drainage groove portion 300c. Specifically, as shown in Figure 30, when the connecting portion 300 and connecting portion 400 of adjacent roofing materials 200 are engaged, water such as rainwater that enters inward from between the groove wall portion 320 and the engaging portion 401a enters the inside of the water-flowing groove portion 300c, flows in the longitudinal direction, and is discharged outward from the longitudinal end of the roofing material 200.

[0073] As shown in Figure 30, when the connecting portions 300 and 400 of each roofing material 200 are engaged, the engaging portion 301a and the engaging recess 401b are positioned with a distance of Xa between the vertical wall portion 370 and the base portion 410. The smaller of the two intervals Xa and Xb will be used as the size of Xc in the following explanation. That is, in the engaged state of the connecting parts 300 and 400 shown in Figure 30, each engaging recess 301b and 400b functions as a swallowing groove into which each engaging part 401a and 301a can be inserted further into the groove by the aforementioned spacing Xc. Furthermore, in the engaged state of each connection portion 300 and 400 in Figure 30, the spacing Xa and spacing Xb are formed to be the same size, and the relationship is given as spacing Xa = spacing Xb = spacing Xc.

[0074] Figure 31 shows the state in which the engaging portions 401a and 301a of Figure 30 are inserted into the deeper parts of the engaging recesses 301b and 401b. As shown in Figure 31, each roofing material 200 is moved by a distance Xc so as to be drawn towards each other, and the vertical wall portion 370 and the base portion 410, which were separated by a distance Xa equal to the distance Xc, come into contact with each other. Furthermore, by moving each roofing material 200 by a distance Xc, the vertical wall portion 470 and the base portion 310, which were separated by a distance Xb equal to the distance Xc, come into contact with each other.

[0075] Figure 32 shows a portion of the roof 100 formed by installing the roofing material 200 shown in Figure 26. Figure 32 shows four roofing materials 200 arranged side by side in the width direction, with the third roofing material 200C, the first roofing material 200A, the second roofing material 200B, and the fourth roofing material 200D arranged from left to right in the figure. The four roofing materials 200 are installed on the lower part of the beam member 700 by fixing members 600 consisting of bolts 610 and nuts 620 attached to the fixing part 500, with each contact part 200c in contact with the lower surface of the beam member 700. Furthermore, each of the four roofing materials 200 has its connection parts 300 and 400 engaged with the adjacent roofing materials 200, specifically in the same engagement state as the connection parts 300 and 400 shown in Figure 30. In Figure 32, the first roofing material 200A engages one of its connection parts 300A with the connection part 400C of the third roofing material 200C, and the other of its connection parts 400A engages with the connection part 300B of the second roofing material 200B, and the second roofing material 200B engages its connection part 400B with the connection part 300D of the fourth roofing material 200D.

[0076] Figure 33 shows the state in which the first roofing material 200A in Figure 32 has been moved in the width direction. Figure 33 shows the first roofing material 200A with the bolts 610 of the fixing member 600 attached to its fixing part 500 removed, and moved towards the third roofing material 200C located on the left side of the figure. In Figure 33, the first roofing material 200A is moved by the size of the interval Xc, so that the vertical wall portion 370 of the connecting portion 300A abuts against the base portion 410 of the connecting portion 400C, and the vertical wall portion 470 of the connecting portion 400C abuts against the base portion 310 of the connecting portion 300A. Note that in Figure 33, the nut 620 has not been removed from the fixing part 500 of the first roofing material 200A, but this has been omitted from the illustration to simplify the drawing.

[0077] As described above, when the first roofing material 200A is moved to one side in the width direction, which is the left side in the figure, by the amount of the aforementioned spacing Xc, the engagement between the connecting portion 300B of the second roofing material 200B, which is positioned on the other side in the width direction, and the connecting portion 400A of the first roofing material 200A is maintained, as shown in Figure 33. Specifically, as the first roofing material 200A moves, the vertical wall portion 370 of the engaging portion 301a of the connecting portion 300B and the base portion 410 of the connecting portion 400A are separated by an amount of spacing Xa + Xc, but the vertical wall portion 370 remains inserted inside the connecting recess 401b of the connecting portion 400A, thereby restricting the vertical movement of the first roofing material 200A. Furthermore, as the first roofing material 200A moves, the vertical wall portion 470 of the engaging portion 401a of the connecting portion 400A and the base portion 310 of the connecting portion 300B are separated by a distance of Xb + Xc. However, the vertical wall portion 470 remains inserted inside the connecting recess 301b of the connecting portion 300B, thereby restricting the vertical movement of the first roofing material 200A. In other words, the roof 100 is designed so that when the roofing material 2 is moved in the width direction by a distance of Xc, which is large enough to allow the engaging portions 401a, 301a to be inserted into the back of the engaging recesses 301b, 401b, which function as swallowing grooves, the engagement of the connecting portions 300, 400 is not released. In other words, when the second roofing material 200B and the third roofing material 200C are fixed to the beam member 700 by the fixing member 600, even if the fixing by the fixing member 600 attached to the fixing part 500 comes undone, the first roofing material 200A will not detach from the beam member 700 which is the supporting member, and its fixing will be more stable.

[0078] Figure 34 shows the state after the second roofing material 200B in Figure 32 has been moved in the width direction. Figure 34 shows the second roofing material 200B with the bolt 610 of the fixing member 600 attached to its fixing part 500 removed, and moved so as to be pulled towards the fourth roofing material 200D located on the right side in the figure. In Figure 34, the second roofing material 200B is moved by the size of the interval Xc, so that the vertical wall portion 370 of the connecting portion 300D abuts against the base portion 410 of the connecting portion 400B, and the vertical wall portion 470 of the connecting portion 400B abuts against the base portion 310 of the connecting portion 300D. Note that in Figure 34, the nut 620 has not been removed from the fixing part 500 of the second roofing material 200B, but this has been omitted from the illustration to simplify the drawing.

[0079] As described above, when the first roofing material 200B is moved to the other side in the width direction, which is the right side in the figure, by the amount of the aforementioned spacing Xc, the engagement between the connection portion 400A of the first roofing material 200A, which is positioned on one side in the width direction, and the connection portion 300B of the second roofing material 200B is maintained, as shown in Figure 34. Specifically, as the second roofing material 200B moves, the vertical wall portion 370 of the engagement portion 301a of the connection portion 300B and the base portion 410 of the connection portion 400A are separated by a spacing of Xa + Xc, as in Figure 33. However, the vertical wall portion 370 remains inserted inside the connection recess 401b of the connection portion 400A, thereby restricting the vertical movement of the second roofing material 200B. Furthermore, as the second roofing material 200B moves, the vertical wall portion 470 of the engaging portion 401a of the connecting portion 400A and the base portion 310 of the connecting portion 300B are separated by an interval of Xb + Xc, as in Figure 33. However, the vertical wall portion 470 remains inserted inside the connecting recess 301b of the connecting portion 300B, thereby restricting the vertical movement of the second roofing material 200B. In other words, when the first roofing material 200A and the fourth roofing material 200D are fixed to the beam member 700 by the fixing member 600, even if the fixing by the fixing member 600 attached to the fixing part 500 comes undone, the second roofing material 200B will not detach from the beam member 700 which is the supporting member, and its fixing will be more stable.

[0080] Figure 35 shows the state in which the first roofing material 200A and the second roofing material 200B in Figure 32 have been moved in the width direction, respectively. Figure 35 shows the first roofing material 200A and the second roofing material 200B after removing the bolts 610 of the fixing members 600 attached to each fixing part 500, moving the first roofing material 200A toward the third roofing material 200C located on the left side of the figure, and moving the second roofing material 200B toward the fourth roofing material 200D located on the right side of the figure. In Figure 35, the first roofing material 200A and the second roofing material 200B are moved by the aforementioned distance Xc. In other words, the connection part 300A of the first roofing material 200A and the connection part 400C of the third roofing material 200C shown in Figure 35 are engaged in the same way as the connection part 300A and the connection part 400C shown in Figure 33. Furthermore, the connection portion 400B of the second roofing material 200B and the connection portion 300D of the fourth roofing material 200D shown in Figure 35 are engaged in the same manner as the connection portion 400B and the connection portion 300D shown in Figure 34. Furthermore, in Figure 35, the fixing parts 500 of the first roofing material 200A and the second roofing material 200B Although the nut 620 has not been removed, its removal has been omitted from the illustration to simplify the drawing.

[0081] As described above, when the first roofing material 200A and the second roofing material 200B are moved to one side and the other side in the width direction by the aforementioned distance Xc, the engagement between the connecting portion 400A of the first roofing material 200A and the connecting portion 300B of the second roofing material 200B is released, as shown in Figure 35. Specifically, the movement of the first roofing material 200A and the second roofing material 200B causes the vertical wall portion 370 of the engaging portion 301a of the connecting portion 300B and the base portion 410 of the connecting portion 400A to be separated by a distance of Xa + Xc + Xc, and the vertical wall portion 370 is positioned from the inside to the outside in the width direction of the connecting recess 401b of the connecting portion 400A. That is, the engagement between the engaging portion 301a of the connecting portion 300B and the engaging recess 401b of the connecting portion 400A is maintained when the magnitude of the widthwise movement of the first roofing material 200A and the second roofing material 200B is less than or equal to the distance Xc, and the engagement is released when the magnitude of the widthwise movement of the roofing materials 200A and 200B is twice the distance Xc. Furthermore, as the first roofing material 200A and the second roofing material 200B move, the vertical wall portion 470 of the engaging portion 401a of the connecting portion 400A and the base portion 310 of the connecting portion 300B are separated by a distance of Xb + Xc + Xc, and the vertical wall portion 470 is positioned from the inside to the outside in the width direction of the connecting recess 301b of the connecting portion 300B. That is, the engagement between the engaging portion 401a of the connecting portion 400A and the engaging recess 301b of the connecting portion 300B is maintained when the amount of movement of the first roofing material 200A or the second roofing material 200B in the width direction is less than or equal to the distance Xc, and the engagement is released when the movement of the roofing materials 200A and 200B in the width direction is twice the distance Xc.

[0082] When the engagement between the engaging portion 301a and the engaging recess 401b is released, the engagement between the engaging portion 401a and the engaging recess 301b is released, thereby releasing the engagement between the connecting portions 400A and 300B, and allowing the second roofing material 200B to move in the vertical direction. Specifically, the second roofing material 200B can be removed from the beam member 700 by moving the connecting portion 300B, located on the left side of the second roofing material 200B shown in Figure 35, vertically downward. More precisely, the second roofing material 200B can be moved so that it rotates around the connection point between the base portion 410 and the groove wall portion 430 of the connecting portion 400B of the second roofing material 200B, thereby moving the connecting portion 300B vertically downward. After that, the engagement can be released by pulling the connecting portion 400B out of the connecting portion 300D of the fourth roofing material 200D, and the second roofing material 200B can be removed from the beam member 700. Furthermore, after removing the second roofing material 200B, the first roofing material 200A can be moved to the right in the diagram to release the engagement of the connecting part 300A, and the first roofing material 200A can be removed from the beam member 700. [Explanation of Symbols]

[0083] 1. Roof 2 Roofing materials 21 Projection part 22 Plane part 3 Connection part 30a Engagement part 30b Engaging recess 30c Water groove section 31 Base 32 Groove wall section 33 Groove wall section 36 Side wall section 37 Vertical wall section 38 Convex part 4 Connection part 40a Engagement part 40b Engagement recess 40c Water groove section 41 Base 42 Cylinder wall 43. Groove wall section 46 Side wall section 47 Vertical wall section 48 Convex part 5 Fixed part 51 Opening 52 Fitting groove 53 Widening section 54 Deep part of groove 6 Fixing members 61 volts 62 nuts 7 Girder material 8 Beam material 9 Decorative panels 200 Roofing materials 210 Projection part 300 connection part 301a Engagement part 301b Engaging recess 300c water groove section 310 base 320 Groove wall section 330 Wall 340 Groove wall section 360 Side wall section 370 Vertical wall section 380 protrusion 400 connection part 401a Engagement part 401b Engaging recess 400c water groove section 410 base 420 Groove wall section 430 Groove wall section 460 Side wall section 470 Vertical wall section 500 Fixed part 600 Fixing member 610 volts 620 Nut 700 Girder material

Claims

1. A roof formed by arranging multiple long roofing materials side by side in the width direction, Each of the aforementioned roofing materials is provided with a fixing portion for detachably securing it to a support member, and is also provided with connecting portions at both ends in the width direction. The connecting portion on one side in the width direction has an engaging portion, and the connecting portion on the other side has a groove-shaped engaging recess, and the engaging portion is inserted into the groove of the engaging recess of the adjacent roofing material in a groove-like manner to achieve an engaged state. A roof characterized in that, in a first roofing material and a second roofing material whose opposing connecting portions are engaged, the engagement of the engaged connecting portions is released when the first roofing material, which is located on one side, is moved to one side in the width direction, and the second roofing material, which is located on the other side, is moved to the other side in the width direction.

2. A third roofing material is positioned on one side in the width direction of the first roofing material, and the opposing connection points of the third roofing material and the first roofing material are engaged, and a fourth roofing material is positioned on the other side in the width direction of the second roofing material, and the opposing connection points of the fourth roofing material and the second roofing material are engaged, The first roofing material is provided to be moved to one side in the width direction by being inserted into the engagement recess of the third roofing material, The roof according to claim 1, characterized in that the engaging portion of the fourth roofing material is inserted into the back of the engaging recess of the second roofing material, thereby allowing the second roofing material to move to the other side in the width direction.

3. The roof according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that each of the roofing materials is provided so that the engaging portion and the engaging recess can be engaged and disengaged without moving in a vertical direction perpendicular to the width direction.

4. The engagement portion comprises a horizontal wall portion that protrudes in the width direction and a vertical wall portion that protrudes vertically upward from the horizontal wall portion. The roof according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the vertical wall portion and the horizontal wall portion are provided to form part of the groove portion along the longitudinal direction.

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