CA2012893A1

CA2012893A1 - Expansion cleat assembly for use in a roofing system

Info

Publication number: CA2012893A1
Application number: CA 2012893
Authority: CA
Inventors: Thomas J. Boyd
Original assignee: Louis Berkman Co
Current assignee: Louis Berkman Co
Priority date: 1990-01-17
Filing date: 1990-03-23
Publication date: 1991-07-17
Also published as: EP0437668A1

Abstract

ABSTRACT OF THE INVENTION

An expansion cleat assembly is provided for a metal roofing system which joins adjacent roof pans with a water-tight standing seam joint. The assembly includes an anchor-ing plate and a cleat member slidingly engaged with an off-set portion of the anchoring plate. Sliding engagement is assured by forming the cleat member with a U-shaped base section which effectively sandwiches the offset portion of the anchoring plate such that deformation of the anchoring plate cannot occur in transit, installation or use while rigidizing the assembly such that the cleat member can prop-erly maintain the roof panels in a seamed relationship.

Description

2~28~3 AN EXPANSION CLF~T AssEMsLy FOR USE IN A ROOFING SYSTEM

Thi~ invention relfltes generally to metal roof~ and more particularly to an expansion cleat sssembly for use in a metal roofin~ sy6tem and the method of applying a metal roof using the expan~ion cleat as~embly.
The invention i~ particularly applicable to metal roof-inR system~ and other structursl coverin~s and will be de-scribed with particular reference thereto in the buildin~
structure art. However, the invention may have broader ap-plication and could be used &8 metal siding for building structures and the like.
INCORPORATION BY REFERENCE
The followin~ documents are incorporated by reference herein and made a part hereof. The document~ are intended to explain as background material metal roofing ~ystems sim-ilar to that described herein.
a) My co-pendinR U.S. patent application entitled "Roofing System Using Stsnding Seam Joints", Serial No 415,554 filed October 2, 198g;
b) Gronlund U.S. Patent 3,353,31~ snd Netterstedt U.S.
Patent 4,096,681 which describe a roofing system believed to have been used in Europe;
c) Wender U.S. Patent 1,882,105; and d) Federal Specification No. QO-T-201F dated Novémber 12, 1986 entitled "Terneplate, for Roofing and Roofin~ Prod-UC t Bll .
BACKGROUND
Metal roofing systems of the type to which this inven-tion relates are typically fabricated at the site from a coil of steel of sheet metnl thicknes~. The steel is un-wound and cut to desired lenRths and formed by a roll former or pan former machine into roof pans. The roll former ma-chine forms raised edges at the longitudinally-extending ends of the cut sheet of steel. The configuration of the ~ FS-8189 201~8~
~, formed ends of the roof pan depends on the type of joint used to connect the pan~ together. Bssically, the ~oints for connecting adjacent roof pans are either lsp Joints ~ which sre somewhst horizontal in confiRurstion or standing ¦ 5 6eam joints which are vertically-extending in configuratIon.
I The preeent invention relates to roofin~ eyeteme using ~ -stsndinR sesm joints snd the description heresfter is di-rected to metal roofing syst2ms u~ing standing sesm type joints.
10The sssignee of the presènt invention has typically msnufsctured metsl roofing systeme by forming the roof pans eo that the longitudinally-extending lesding end of the roof ~ -~
pan has one confi~uration while the oppo~ite or trsilinR end of the roof pan i~ formed with a different confiRurstion, The roof psns sre then plsced on the roof substrate ~o thst the leading end of one roof psn sbuts the trsiling end of an ad~acent roof pan. Prior to eecurin~ the roof psns togeth-er, a clest ie sffixed to the roof substrste. Tbe clest csn I be a continuous member extending the length of the roof psn or a plurslity of discrete members affixed to the roof sub~
strste to lie in a longitudinally-extending direction.
Whether continuous or not, the cleat in a cross-section is~
generally L-shaped in configurstion with the bsse of the "~
nsiled or otherwise secured to the roof substrste snd the upstsnding leg of the "L" extending perpendiculsr to the roof substrste in a generslly verticsl direction. The trailing edge of one roof psn is sbutted again~t one face of ; -the cle~t's upstsndinp, le~ while the lesdin~ end of sn ad~a- ~ -~
cent roof pan is sbutted a~ainst the opposite side of the cleat's leg. The top of this three-member sbutment is then bent or folded over or crimped to form whst is referred to above as a standing seam. In this manner, one roof pan i~
secured to the other roof pan snd both roof pans sre secured to the clest which in turn i6 sffixed to the roof subetrste.
Conventionally, the standing sesm Joint i6 soldered to mske . :..",,,;: ,'- ,' ;" :'' -:: '" ' :'' -.'."..-.':

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, FS-81~9 20~2,~3 the joint waterproof. In my co-pcnding applicstion, a wa-terproof joint is disclosed which i~ for~ed simply by crimp-ing without the need of solder. That ~oint csn be used in an alternative embodiment of the present invention. Alter-natively, the a~si~nec hRs used stainles~ ~teel coatcd witha tin/lead coatin~ (terne pla~ed ~teel~ for both roof pan and also cleats and such systems employing TCS (,erne Coated I Steel) can be soldered by simply applyin~ heat ~nd rosin I flux to the joint. This type of joint can be u6ed with the prcsent invention.
Roofing systems of the type described above have ex-I tremely sound and durable waterproof join~s or ~eams and ¦ when compsred to other roofing system~, ~re easy to lnstall. The installation procedure, howevcr, can be simplified for certsin instsllations involvin~ roofs ~ith lonR ~pans. Itis not uncommon today to install metsl roofs uslng specially formed metal pan~ hsvin~ 80-100 foot len~ths. At such lengths, the thermal expsnsion which the psns undergo is si~nificant. While expansion occurs in all directions, the expansion in the lcn~thwise direction is significant and can adversely sffect the sealing characteristics of the 6tanding seam joint. The thermsl expansion in the lengthwlse direc~
I tion of a~10~, foot roof pan for a 100 F rise in temperaturc s about-3/16". It is not uncommon for roof temperatures to excced 165 F in direct sun and thus a 100 rise in tempera-ture from ambient is realistic. Accordin~tly, it is standard practice when using roof pans which spsn distances in excess of 30 feet (preformed pans are supplied in standard lengths of 8' to 12') to provide for expansion ~oints on 15 foot centers. The expansion ~oints effectively seal the scams 60 ! that t~he quality of the roof is not adversely effected.
However, the installation is complicated by the prescnce of the expansion joints.
A sys~em believcd in use in ~urope provides sn expan-sion cleat a~e~bly which obviate~ the need for expansion ,, ,`', ' ' .' . ,:

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;',! joints. Thi~ system i~ disclosed in the '681 and '319 pst-ents cited above. In that system, sn anchoring plate i8 affixed to the roof 6ub~trate and the anchoring plste has a vertical offset over it8 central portion 80 that a gap ex-ists between the offset and the roof substrate. A cleat i8 then applied to the anchoring plate ~o that it can slide relstive to the offset portion of the plate. The cleat i8 L-shaped snd ~as a base or leg which i8 "J" shaped. The ba6e of the cleat's leg fits within the vertical 8p8ce be-tween the underside of the off~et portion of the plate and the roof 6ubstrste such that the hook of the "J" overlies the top surface of the off~et portion. The vertically up-standing leg of the cleat i6 then sandwiched between two ad~acent panel edges and the three members are seam welded together. When the panels thermally expand in a longitudi-nal direction, the cleat, in theory, moves or slides rels-tive to the anchoring plate to accommodate the expan~ion without the need for an expAnsion ~oint. There are, howev-er, difficulties with the system described. Because the assembly must be seam welded, the thickne~s of the vertical-ly-extending ~ection of the cleat must be thin enough to permit welding of the joint which comprises three wall thicknesse6. Thus, the upstanding leg portion of the cleat is 0.5 mm thick. At the same time, to provide the cleat with enough rigidity to slide relative to the anchor plate, the J-shaped base ha6 to be increased in thickness and of a different steel composition than that of the upstanding flan~e portion. Thus, the cleat has to be made of a compos-ite material having two different thicknesses. Also, the cleat and anchor are shipped as loose pieces and assembled into a cleat assembly at ~he site. It is possible to deform the offset portion of the anchoring plate in shipment thus rendering the anchoring plate useless or limiting the travel of the cleat assembly. Further, when the in~taller applies the nnchoring plate, whether the J hook iB or i6 not in : ':' ' :~:'.
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~FS-8189 % ~ ~ 3 pl~ce, it i6 possible to strike the offset portion of the anchoring pl8te and deform the plate. Again the offset por-tion of ~he plate becomes deformed limiting cleat travel or rendering the cleat useless for expansion purposes. Further difficulty with the cleat occurs because the actual movement of long roof pans does not occur preci~ely in a longitudinal direction with the result that the cleats can become un-hooked from the anchoring plates. From a sy~tem anslysis, when seam welding is used for long length roof pans, there is a significant tendency for the welds ~o snap under the thermal expansion especislly differential thermal expan-sion), resulting in 1O6B of the watertiRht ~oint even though the tips or edges of the joint may be crimped or folded . .
ov~r.
15In the prior art lfterature, the '105 patent disclo~es ~-the concept of an anchoring plste with the clest member se-cured thereto in a movable manner. The anchor/clest assem-bly shown in the '105 patent would appear to eliminate the pull-out problem present in the European system discussed 20above. However, the '106 configuratione for the snchoring plate/cleat assembly shown are simply not economically fes-6ible for today'6 metal roofing systems and functionally, --take up sn excessive transverse space which nece6sitate~ a higher seam than otherwise required.
25SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION `
Accordingly, it is a principal ob~ect of the present invention to provide an expansion cleat assembly for use in a standing Joint seam metal roofing system which overcomes the disadvantages as~ociated with the prior srt arrangements 30discussed sbove.
This ob~ect along with other features of the invention is achieved in an expansion cleat assembly wbich includes a longitudinally-extending anchoring plate hsving a base sec-tion adapted to be fastened to the roof substrate. The base 35section in turn has generally flat longitudinally ~paced .,'-,''.' . j .
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portions w~th 8 laterslly off~et portion therebetween. A -~
clest member slidingly engages the offset portion of the anchoring plate. The clest member h~s a flsnge section sdapted to vertically extend between the ends of sdjscent roof psns, a ~eam section extending from one end of the flsnge section and a U-shaped base section extending from the opposite end of the flange section. The U-shaped sec- ~-tion in turn ha~ a first leg portion extending from the ~-flange section, 8 bight portion st the opposite end of the first leg portion and a second leg portion extending from the bight portion. The first leg portion is adspted to fit -~
on the underside of the laterslly offset portion of the sn-chor plate and the second leg portion is adapted to fit over the opposite side of the offset portion of the anchor plate 15thus sandwiching the off6et portion of the snchoring plate ;~-therebetween. Importsntly, the second leg portion extends -~
st least hslf the distance of the first leg portion snd the U-shsped section extends longitudinally at least hslf the - ~;
distance of the offset ~ection to estsblish a dimensionsl relstionship which prevents deformstion of the offset por~
tion of the snchoring plste in an ss~embly which cannot ex~
perience thermsl expsnsion pull-out probleme present in pri-I or srt devices. Importsntly, the cleat member is formed of only one thickness throughout its construction and prefers- - ,;-25bly is of 8 sheet metal gsu~e between 0.015" snd 0.020" in ~ ~;
th ickness . '.' , '. ' '' ,~ ,:
In accordance with snother aspect of the invention, the -~
cleat member hs~ sn "as formed" configuration and an llss nesembled" configuration such that the cleat member in the 30as formed configurstion includes the second leg portion forming an acute sngle with the first leg portion while the second leg portion is generally psrsllel to the fir~t leg ~ -portion in the as sssembled configuration. This permits the expsnsion Joint to be msde of two different components which 35sre formed into an sssembly st the fsctory, shipped 88 sn ,~ .
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ss~embly aDd applied at the installation aite as ~n assem-bly. The U-shaped section of the cleat member prevent~ de-for~ation of the offset portion of the anchoring plate dur-in~ shipment and installation.
5~n accordance ~ith yet another ~pecific feature of the invention, the ~eamed section of the cleat member include~
in the as assembled configuration a top ~esling leg portion extending from the flange section snd continuou~ with the flange section, and an outside leg portion extending down-10wardly from the top leg portion. The top leg portion forms an acute angle with the flange section and the outside leg forms an acute angle with the top leg portion. Thi~ config-uration in combination with a configuration of the lesding and trail~ng ends of the roof pan permitæ the formation of a 15waterti~ht, crimped standin8 seam ~oint in an "as applied"
confi~uration which overcomes the deficiencie~ a~sociated with spot weld or continuous seam welde of prior art sys-tems. Thus, the expansion cleat assembly i~ designed to permit a standard type standing sesm ~oint to be formed in 20the "88 applied" configuration of the assembly with all the sdvantsges snd benefits of such sesm ~oint~ retsined. Such benefits include the use of terne coating applied to at lesst the seam section of the expansion cleat assembly and the use of terne plste in the roofing pans for the benefits 25associated therewith. In con~unction with this feature, and in accordance with sn slternative embodiment of the inven-tion, the anchoring plate is modified to include a plurality of lon~itudinally ~paced offset portions extending a fixed length or lengths placed end-to-end equal to that of the 30roof pan. The cleat member is ~omewhst ~imilarly modified to compri~e a continuous flange section and a continuous seam section from which a plurality of longitudinally spsced U-shaped sections extend. The spacing between U-shaped sec-tions coincides with that of the offset portion~ of the an-35choring portion to provide a continuous cleat. This `- 2~ 2~9~
continuous cleat permits the formation of a continuous 6tsnding seflm ~oint which has eight wall thicknesses which can be press fitted in~o 8 watertight ~ofnt without any need to solder the joint, but which permit the roof pans to ther-s mally expand without adverselg affecting the seam ~oint.
In accordance with a broader aspect of the invention, 8metal roof 6ystem to be applied over a roof substrate is provided which include6 a plurality of roof psns formed with a confi~ured longitudinally-extending leading end and a trailing end. at least one longitudinally-extending anchor-ing plate having a bs~e ~ection fa~tened to the roof sub-strate ie provided with the ba~e section having first and-; `~
second generally flat longitudinslly spaced portions in con-tact witb the roof sub~trate and a laterally offset portion therebetween. A cleat member slidingly engages the offset --portion of the anchoring plate. The cleat member has a ~-flange ~ection interposed between the leading end of one roof psn and the trailing end of an adJacent roof pan, ii) a-~
seamed section extending from the flange section and crimped between the edge portion of the leading end of one roof pan and the edge portion of the trailing end of an ad~scent roof pan to form a stsnding seam and iii) a U-~haped base section extending from the opposite end of the flange ~ection. The ~ -U-shaped base section has a fir~t le~ portion extending on one side of the off~et portion of the anchor plate, a bight portion extending from the first le~ portion and a second leg portion extending from the bi~ht portion and crimped over the opposite side of the first portion. The ~econd le~
portion extends in A transverse direction to a position gen-erally sd~acent the flange ~ection whereby the cleat ismaintained in contact with said anchoring plate despite tem-perature expansion of the roof pans.
In accordance with another aspect of the invention, a method for securing adJacent, long length metal roof pans to a roof substrate i6 provided. The roof pans have a . .:: .
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20~2~
longitudinally-extending leading end including an edge por-` tion in the shape of a channel and a trailing end ~ncluding an edge portion in the shape of an inverted "L". The method includes the steps of providing an expansion cleat assembly as described above. The flat end portions of the expansion cleat assembly flre fastened to the roof substrate. The roof I psns are then positioned on the roof sub~trate by ali~ning ! the trailing end of one roof pan adjacent the cleat such I that the upstanding leg of the L edge iB generally adjacent the flange section of the cleat and the shorter leg of the L
edge is underneath the sealing leg portion of the cleat.
The second roof pan i~ then aligned with it~ leading edge ad~acent the cleat such that tbe channel edge thereof fits over the top of the sealing leg portion and the outside of said outside leg portion of the cleat. Finally, the leading edge of one roof pan, the trailing edge of an ad~acent roof pan and the seamed section of the expansion cleat assembly are crimped together to form a standing seam without any need to weld the sections to one another.
It is thus an ob~ect of the present invention to pro-vide a metal roof system which allows roof pans of long lengths to be assembled without the necessity for expansion ~oints.
It is another ob~ect of the present invention to pro-vide a metal roof system which forms a waterti~ht ~oint without any need to weld the ~oint.
It iB another ob~ect of the invention to provide an expsnsion cleat which is made of sheet metal stock of a sin-gle thickness while possessing sufficient rigidity in its as assembled condition to permit movement attributed to thermal expansion as well as other factors causing shifting of the roof pans after assembly while still retaining its cleat function.
It is snother ob~ect of the invention to provide an expansion cleat assembly which can be easily assembled in an 2~ 28~
as assembled condition prior to shippin~ or installation and which is not ~ubject to deformstion which could adversely ~ -affect it6 u6e. ; `
Still sno~her object of the invention is to provide sn expsnsion cleat a66embly manufactured from ~ingle thickness sheet ~tock which will not pull apsrt or otherwise separate after installation in a roof sy~tem due to thermal expans~on of the roof pans. ;;~ --Still yet another ob~ect of the invention is to provide a continuous expsn~ion cleat assembly which permits a water~
proof stsnding ~eam ~oint to be formed without the nece~ity of soldering the ~oint.
Still yet another ob~ect of the invention i8 to provide an inexpen~ive easily ~pplied expansion cleat 2ssembly.
These and other objects snd advantages of the present `
invention will become app~rent from the following descrip-tion tsken together with the drflwings which will be de-scribed in the next section.
BRIEF DESCR.IPTION OF THE DRAWINGS ~ :~
The invention may take physical form in certain parts and arranRement of parts, a preferred embodiment of which will be de~cribed in detail and illustrated in the accompa- - - i nying drawings which form a part hereof and wherein~
Fi~ure 1 is a pictorial view of a 'building having a metal roof system instslled thereon;
Figure 2A is a cross-sectional view of a standing seam ~`
~oint structure taken through the clest assembly along line 2A-2A of Figure 1 snd Figure 2B is a view similar to Figure 2A tsken slong the line 2B-2B of Figure 1 6howing the ~tsnd-ing sesm Joint ~tructure at a position where a cleat i8 not present;
Figure 3 i6 a perspective view showing the expansion cleat assembly of the present invention applied to the roof substrate; -~

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Figure 4 is a pic~corial view ~imilar to that shown in Figure 3 with the roof pans in~talled over the expansion cle~t s~embly;
Figure 5 is an elevation view of the expansion cleat ~ssembly t~ken slong line 5-5 of Figure 2A;
Figure 6A i6 a per~pective view of the anchoring plste and clest member which make up the expansion clest sssembly in the 1188 formed" configuration while Figure 6B i~ an end view of the expansion cleat sssembly belng readied to be formed into its "86 as~emblsd" coDfiguration snd Figure 6C
is an end view of the expansion cleat a6sembly in its 1188 assembled" configuration;
Figure 7 i6 a partial perspective view of a roof pan;
Figure~ 8A through 8E sre schematic illustrations of the steps used in forming the standing seam with the expan-sion cle~t as~embly of the pre~ent invention;
Figure 9 i~ a per~pective view of an alternative em-bodiment of the cleat member of the expansion cleat sssem-bly; snd Figure 10 iB a perspective view of sn slternstive em-bodiment of the snchoring plste for use with the cleat meD~
ber shown in Figure 9 in a continuous expansion cleat s6sem-bly.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT
Referring now to the drswings whereln the showings ~re for the purpose of illustrst`ing a preferred embodiment of the invention only and not for the purpose of limiting the ssme, tbere i6 shown a building 10 having a metsl roof as~
sembly or system 11 sffixed thereto. Metsl roof system 11 includes a plurslity of elongated roof pans 14 placed side-by-side snd ad~oined thereto. For purposes of definition and orientstion and a8 used throughout the spec'ficstions and in the claims, longitudinsl means the elongated or lengthwise direction of psn 14 snd trsnsverse or trsnsverse-Iy mean~ the direction or the AXi~ extendin~ ortho~gon~lly to r~ FS-8189 - ~
! - 2 0 ~ ~ ~9~3 " the lengthwise direction, i.e. the width of roof p&n 14.
Longitudinal and transverse directions are indicated for the roofinR assembly ~hown in Figure 1 by the arrows designated L ~nd T in Fi~,ure 1. Again, it i~ to be appreciated that the terms are relative. That is, if the roofing pans 14 shown in Figure 1 were applied to building 10, in a direc-tion 90 to that shown in Figure 1, the transverse T and longitudinal L axi~ would likewise rotate 90. Roof pans 14 which are spplied to building 10 in the preferred embodiment ~ 10 have 8 length of anywhere from 80-100 feet. Thus, building ¦ 10 in Figure 1 has a roof span of 80-100 feet ~o that roof pans 14 ~re not axislly abutted against one snother to ~psn the roof. A~ discus~ed somewhat sbove, conventional roof psns whether formed at the site by a roll former machine or purchssed preformed from 8 manufscturing source generfllly do not exceed 20 feet in length flnd for the lon~ span shown in roof system 11 of Figure 1, several of the roof psns would be sbutted in the L direction to mske up the span and they would be ~oined by an expan~ion ~oint which would inBure 8 watertight seam. Standard installation practice is to use 15 foot pan lengths joined with expsnsion ~oints. Thus, the expansion ~oints are positioned on 30 foot centers, and this i8 dictated by the thermal expansion characteri~tics of the psns resulting from the environment which metal roof system 11 is exposed to.
Roof pfln 14 i8 best shown in Figure 7. As noted above, roof psn 14 is formed from a flat sheet of sheet metal stock uncoiled from a coil by mesns of 8 pan forming machine or roller press. This i6 ususlly done at the ~ob site. In theory, any plain carbon steel of a thickness designated a sheet metal gau~e cfln be used to form roof pan 14. ~owever, becau~e of the expo~ure of roof flssembly 11 to the elements and the lon~ life expected from metal roofs, the steel used in metal roof system 11 is conventionally either stainless 6teel or a steel desi~nated as terneplate. Terneplate is .,.......... .................................................................... . '' , FS-8189 defined in Fe~lersl Specific~tions QQ-T-201F dated November 12, 1986, incorporsted by reference herein. As u~ed herein, terneplate mean~ a le~d-tin alloy coated over either a car-bon steel base or a stainless steel base of ,s,heet metal gauge. The plate, including the coating, has a thickness between 0.015" to 0.018". Unle6,s otherwise specified, the thickness of the component6 used in the metal roof system 11 of the present invention in the preferred embodiment, i.e.
roof psns 14 and the expansion clest assemblies is 0.018".
Also, in the preferred embodiment terneplate with a ,stain-les,s stèel bsse is used. Alternatively, a terne coating could be selectively applied to the seam sections of the components of the roofing sy6tems or alternstively the roof-ing ,system could simply be supplied as 6tainle,3s steel. It should be noted that the gauge thickness specified ~i.e.
0.018" which i~ approximately 0.46 mm) for the expansion cleat as6embly of the present invention i6 three times the thickness of the fastenin8 flange of the cleat used in the European system discus~ed above. A thin fastening web or flsnge i,~, required in the European ~y3tem to assure a con~
tinuous seam or spot weld of the roof pans and this in turn results in an inherently weaker roof system.
Roof pan 14 in a general sense is formed with an edge configuration which depends upon the type of seam used in the roof system. In the present invention, the roof pan configuration is preferred to take the shape of the pan con-fiRuration shown in Figure 7 which shape is conventional in that the as6ignee of the present invention has heretofore used such pan configuration. Roof pan 14 may be defined as having a longitudinally-extending leading edge 20, a longi-tudinally-extending trailing edge 21 with a ~,enerally flat body portion 22 therebetween. Optionally, body portion 22 can be formed with longitudinally-extending ridÆes and the like for strengthening purposes depending on the oversll tronsveree dimen~ion of rooi pan 14. Leading edge 20 may be : :::

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2 Q ~ 3 generally viewed 88 sn upturned edge ~haped in the form of a channel and traillng edge 21 may be generally viewed as an upturned edge shaped in the form of sn inverted "L". For definitional purpo~e~, lesding edge 20 is defined to include an upstanding flange section 25 extending from and generally perpendicular tQ body portion 22 snd terminating in ~ bight section 26. Bight ~ection 26 is generally perpendiculsr to upstanding flange section 25 and p~rallel to body portion 22. Bight section 26 terminates at outwardly extending leg section 27 which i6 generslly parallel to upstanding flange section 25 and likewise generally perpendicular to body por-tion 22. Trsiling edge 21 may be defined 88 comprising an upstanding longer leg section 29 which i6 generally perpen-dicular to body portion 22 snd terminates in a trsnsverse-ly-extending, shorter leg section 30. Shorter leg section 30 is generally perpendicular to longer leg section 2~ snd generaliy parallel to body portion 22. The trsnsverse dis-tsnce of body portion 22 c~n remain constsnt throughout the length of roof pan 14 or, for ease of s6sembly, pan 14 could be formed such thst the trsnsverse distsnce of body portion 22 could be slightly greater at one longitudinal end of pan 14 than thst at the opposite longitudinal end, i.e. flared.
Referring now to Figure 6A, there is 6hown the two mem-bers, more specificslly a cleat member 36 snd an anchoring plate 38, in their "as formed" configuration. The members, 36, 38, can be formed by 8 simply stamping operstion. These two parts ~re fitted together a8 shown in Figure 6B snd then bent by means of a conventional press a8 shown in Figure 6C
into an "as assembled" expansion cleat assembly 40. When expsnsion cleat assembly 40 is 6ecured to the roof ~nd seamed, it takes sn "a6 applied condition" as shown in Fig-ure 2A.
Anchoring plste 38 comprises a rectangular, lon~itudi-nally-extending base section 42 which i6 strengthened by an upwsrdly extending rigidizing flange section 43 which ~ ;;

2 ~ 3 extends from one si~e of the longitudinslly-extending base 6ection 42. Bsse section 42 hs~ a pair of longitudinally spsced generally flat end portion~ 45, 46. Within each end portion 45, 46 i~ an opening 48, 49, respectively, for re-ceiving a fastener which will be described later. In be-tween end portion~ 45, 46 is a longitudinally-extendin~ off-set portion 50 which i~ vertically spaced or off~et from end portions 45, 46. In overall appearance anchoring plste 38 i6 Bimilar to the anchoring plate disclosed in the European system discu6sed in the sbove-identified pstents. Dimen-sionally, snchoring plate 38 i8 dissimilsr. In the pre-ferred embodiment of the invention, the width of the tran~-versely extending di6t~nce of ba~e section 42 is sbout 25/32". The overall length of base section 42 is spproxi~
mately 4" and the oversll length o offset portion 50 is approximstely 2 snd 3/4". The displsced vertical distsnce between the top or outer surface of offset portion 50 and the top or outermost surface of flat end portion 45 is 8p-proximately 3/64". The height of rigidizing flange section 43 is 5/16". These dimensions in combination with the di-mensions of clest member 36 establish importsnt relstion~
ships nece~sary to the working of the invention as described hereafter.
Cleat member 36 comprisee a verticslly and longitudi-nally-extending flange section 55 terminating at one end in a seflm section 56 and terminsting at its opposite end in a U-shaped base section 57. Seam section 56 includes a top sealing leg portion 59 extending from flan~e section 55 and an outside leg portion 60 extending from top sealing leg portion 59. As best ~hown in Figure 6B, outside leg portion 60 !in the as sssembled configurstion of expsnsion cleat a8-6embly 40 forms an scute angle with top sealing leg portion 59 snd top sealing leg portion 59 forms an acute angle with flsnge section 55. U-shaped base section 57 includes first leg portion 63 extending perpendicularly from flange section , ~; I . .

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~ 55 and terminating st ~ bight portion 64 which ln turn ter-s minates in 8 second leg portion 65. The dimensional rels-: tionship between cleat member 36 and anchoring plate 38, a~
~ indicated, is critical to the functioning of the invention.
In the preferred embodiment, the longitudinally-extending length of U-shaped bAse section 57 is 2". The width or ~ trsnsversely extending di~tance of firet leg portion 63 ie ¦ 1" and the width of trsnsversely extending distsnce of eec-3 ond leg portion 65 is 3/4". The verticslly-extending dis-tsnce of flange section 55 i6 1" snd the tranevereely-ex-tending distsnce of top sealing leg portion 59 i~ 7/16".
Cleat member 36 and anchor plate 38 are prefersbly formed at a thickne~s of 0.018" but could be formed at 8 gsuge thickness of snywhere between about 0.015" to about 0.020".
Cleat member 36 snd anchor plste 38 sre assembled to-gether as shown in Figure~ 6B and 6C. In the as formed con-figurstion, 6econd leg portion 65 forms an acute angle with first leg portion 63 ~uch that a distance designated 88 A in Figure 6B is slightly less thsn the width of snchor pl~te bsse section 42 exists. This permite cleat member 36 to be loosely sssembled to snchor plate 38 by fir~t leg portion 63 contacting the underside surfsce of offset portion 50. The loosely fit assembly is then formed into the "a6 sssembled"
configurstion shown in Figure 6C by bending second leg por-tion 65 over the outer surfsce of offset portion 50 80 thst second leg portion 65 i~ substsntially parsllel to first leg portion 63.
Referring now to Figure 3, the roofing syetem 11 of the preeent invention i6 generally inetalled by plumbing a centerline 70 on the roof eubetrste 71 in a direction in which roof psne 14 are de6ired to longitudinally extend.
Expsnsion cleat sssemblies 42 are then f~stened by mesns of fssteners 73 extending through openings 48, 49 into sub~
35strste 71 upon centerline 70. Fsstener6 73 can be any ': ' '`~

-16- `~

~ -~" ;', '~ FS-8189 . conventional fa~teners ~uch a~ nails, screws, rivets, etc.
. Clests 42 are longitudinally spaced apart from one nnother a : dist~nce shown as "C" in Figure 3. This distance C, i.e.
the distance between longitudinally-extending centers of ad~scent expan~ion cleat As~emblies 42, is prefernbly estab-l~shed at about 1 foot 80 that a roof pan 14 having a length of 80 feet would require 78 expsnsion cleat assemblies 42.
Referring now to the schematic illustration shown in Figures 8A-8E, the expansion clest assembly affixed to ~ub-strste 71 as illustrated in Figure 3 18 diagrammatically shown in Figure 8A. ~he trailing edge 21 of one roof psn 14 is positioned sgainst exp~nsion cleat assembly 42 in the manner shown in Figure 8B. Specifically, upstanding longer leg section 29 of roof pan 14 abuts aga~nst flange section 55 of cleat member 32 snd shorter leg section 30 of roof pan 14 fits underneath top sesling leg portion 59 of sesm sec-tion 56 with outside leg portion 60 preventing trsiling edge 21 of roof psn 14 from pulling out from clest member 36.
Next, 86 shown in Figure 8C, the lesding edge 20 of sn ad~s~
cent roof pan 14 is po~ition¢d over seam section 56 of clest member 36. Specifically, upstsnding flange section 25 is positioned a8ainst the opposite surface of flange section 55 of clest member 36 snd bight section 26 of roof pan 14 over-lies top sesling leg portion 59 of clent member 36. Simi-larly, downward leg section 27 overlies outside leg portion60 of cleat member 36. Figures 8D snd 8E illustrate the formation of 8 stsnding seam ~oint 75. The fir~t step in the formstion of stand~ng sesm ~oint 75 ig to bend downward leg section 27, outside leg portion 60, shorter leg section 30, top sesling leg portion 59, snd bight section 26 into li~e-to~line contsct 8~ shown in Figure 8D thus formiing sn L-6hsped sssembly 77 hsving a crimped top leg 78. Next, top leg 78 of the L-shaped assembly 77 is bent over onto flsnge section 25, longer leg section 29 and flange section 55 and crimped together as shown by arrows 80 in Figure 8E. In the , :, . ,-- .

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~ FS-8189 ~0~ ~g~ , joint 75 ~hown in Figure 8E there are eight wall thicknesse~
a~ thu~ descr~bed which sre crimped to~ether. The eight section~ result because of the pre~ence of cleat member 32.
As explained in 8rester det~il in my co-pending spplication cited above, the crimping force shown by arrows 80 is suffi-cient to e~tablish a pre6s fit between the wall thicknesses of the joint illustr~ted. Because of the number of section~
which are thus press fitted together, a superior standing sesm ~oint results which will be further explsined with ref-erence to the ulternative embodiment illustrated in Figures 9 and 10 heresfter.
The ~tanding seam ~oint 75 formed of eight sections of ~-sheet metal thickne~s which includes cleat member 32 and ~-diagrammatically shown in Figure 8E is shown in elevation in ;~
Fi~ure 2 for the preferred embodiment. Since the preferred embodiment uses a plurality of clest~, the standing seam ~oint 81 formed where 8 cleat member 32 is not pre~ent i~
illustrated in Figure 2B. This standing seam Joint 81 is comprised of five wall section6 and like the eight wall sec-tion standing seam 75 is crimped together in a press fit ~anner 80 that no ~pace exists between any of the wall thicknesses. :, .
The roof assembly 11 is installed by simply repeating the process and sssembling additional ad~oining panels with expansion cleat sssembliee 42 accurstely positioned on a plumb line until the entire roof is covered. A~ indicated above, the preferred embodiment expnnsion cleat assemblies 42 in roof psns 14 are formed from steel with a terne coat-ing, a lead tin coating which can be viewed a~ a solderable composition. Accordingly, rosin flux can be spplied to the ~oint and the ~oint heated to produce a soldered, weather-tight assembly. Alternatively, terne coating could be se-lectively applied to only the seam sections of the ~oint. ~ -In the prior art expnnsion Joint system, the cleats and anchoring plates are shipped loose and installed at the site :

., .. - , ~. - . :, .-.

~ FS-8189 2~ 2.~3 i by slipping the prior art cleat undernesth the offset sec-tion with the J-hook end sandwiching the edge of the offset ~ection oppo~ite the flange therebetween. In shlpment and in installation, the offset section of the prior art anchor-ing clamp can ea~ily become deformed ~iven i~B thiCklleBB
(0 5 mm) It is to be appreciated that if offset portion 50 iB distorted, cleat member 36 will not be able to ~lide rel-ative to anchoring plate 38 and defeat the purpo~e of expan-sion cleat a~sembly 40 While the anchoring plate of the preeent invention i8 thicker (O.OlR") and thu~ inherently more ri~id, it iB still a sheet metal gauge plste and the invention is directed, in part, to preventing deformation of offset portion 50 both in shipment and in installation A~ noted above, the width of fir~t leg portion 63 i~
and the width of second leg portion 6S i8 3/4" while the overall width of snchoring plate 38 (including rigi;dizing flange section 43) is 25/32". This dimensional relationship results in second leg portion 65 extending at least about 1/2" over the top surface of offset portion 50 which i6 about 2/3 the width of offset portion 50. Because flange portion 55 fits on the outside of rigidizing flange section 43 as best shown in Figure 6C, a slight space 82 can exist in installation which means that the 1/2" overlap is a mini~
mum. In fsct, with the outer ed~e 51 of off6et section 50 extending to within the beginnin~ of outside leg portion 60 a clearance of little as 0.~13" exists between the exposed edge 67 of second leg portion 65 and rigidizing flange sec~
tion 43 (i.e. the width of ancboring plate 38, 25/32", minus the width of rigidizing flan~,e section 43, 0.018", minus the width of becond leg portion 65, 3/4", equal~ 0.013"). This , 810,p permitting movement in the transverse direction between cleat member 36 and anchoring plate 38 is desirable and somewhat necessary to aid in the installation of long length roof pans 14. At the same time, no lese than about 2/3 the width of offset portion 50 remains covered or sandwiched ~.
.....

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q 3 between the U-shaped bsse portion 57. Thue, clest member 36 cannot pull out from anchoring plate 38 either in its as assembled configuration ~o that expan~ion cleat assembly 40 can be shipped and installed as an assembly or in ita ss applied configurstion so that thermal expansion and contrac-tion of roof psn~ 14 cannot separ~te cleat member 36 from anchoring plate 38.
In combination with the width overlap extending in the transveree direction of cleat member 36 relative to anchor-ing plate 38 i8 the dimeneional relation~hip of U-shaped ba~e section 57 relative to the length of offse~ portion 50.
As indicated above, the length of offset portion 50 is ap-proximately 2 3/4" while the len~th of U-shaped bsse section 57 is about ~". As~uming IJ-ihsped base eection 57 centered on offset portion 50, a longitudinsl spsce of about 3/8"
exiitsi which is not covered by U-shsped base section 57.
This di6tance is shown as dimension B in Figure 5. Thus, ;-~
cleat member 32, ~iven the cleat spacing, has the ability to ~ -slide in the longitudinal direction 8 distance which compen-sates for the normal expansion distance observed in a 100 temperature rise. At the same time, first and second le~
portions 63, 65 are 6andwiching offfiet portion 50 to effec-tively form a three wall thickne~s offset portion which pre-vents deformation of offset portion 50 both in ehipment and ~-in installation. By providing U-shaped section 57 which effectively overlaps all of the expo~ed ed8e 51 of offset portion 5n and cover~ at least about 50% of the ares of off-set portion 50 a three section wall thickness anchor plate 38 is provided which prevents distortion of offset portion 50 not only in shipment, but also during installstion. As notçd above, offset portion 50 is approximately 3/64" and this lesves a minimal space of only about 0.01" between the top of roof substrate 71 and the bottom of first le~ portion 63 (i.e. 3/64" less wall .' ' .
-20- ~

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~ FS-8189 2~2,~9~
thickness of offset portion 50, 0.018", snd wall thicknes~
;~of first leg portion, 0.018"). Should the instsller, in the proces6 of in~tslling fa~tening nsil~ 73 to anchoring plste 38, accidentally 6trike offset portion 50, offset portion 50 5will simply spring back in it~ as s~embled position and the transverse length o second leg portion 65 will prevent U-shaped section 57 from bein8 crimped against offset section 50 in 8 manner 6uch as to prevent sliding of cleat member 36 relstive to anchoring plate 38. In fact, the installer 10would deliberately hsve to place a pointed obJect in space B
or deliberstely hsmmer bight portion 64 to render expsnsion clest s~sembly 40 inopersble.
It i~ thus seen thst the expsn~ion clest sssembly 40 a`s described will slways slide. ~hile specific dimensions have 15been given to demonstrate this, it is to be apprecisted that other dimensions csn be used 80 long as the relstionships discus6ed are maintsined. In sddition to the sliding chsr~
acteri6tics of expsnsion cleat a~sembly 40, the len~th of U-shsped eection 57 preventfi severe cocking of cleat member 2036 relstive to anchoring plate 38 while the transverse slop built into the connection permits easy in~tallation. Also, rigidizing flange section 43 does not adversely sffect the spacing bett~een ad~scent edges of roof pans 14 80 thst the height of the conventionsl 6tsnding sesm csn be msint~ined 25while flsnge section 55 of clest member 36 is ~trengthened thus producing 8 stronger cleat assembly than thst of n con-ventionsl clest. This permit~ longer roof pane to be in~
6talled using stsndsrd short roof pan cleat spacing or even longer cleat spacing.
30An alternative embodiment of the invention i6 diBC108ed in~Figures 9 and 10. In the alternstive embodiment, ~ con-tinuous expsnsion cleat sssembly is provided. This sssembly includes a continuous cleat me~ber 90 which is sssembled to a continuous snchor plste 100. In theory, continuous cleat 35member 90 and continuous anchor plste 100 a8 an sssembly '' '' ;.~` .:' `', `',:.

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,`' . .
~ FS-8189 . . ;, , could be provided in 8 length equal to that of roof psns 14.
ir In practice, they ~re supplied in discrete lengths, for ex-ample 3 or 5 feet, which would be affixed to the roof'~ sub-tr~te in sn end-to-end abutting relat$onship to provide 8 5continuous expansion cleat as~embly spannin~ the length of the roof psns. Continuous cleat member 90 has a continuous flsnge section 91 similar to flsnge section 55 disclosed in the preferred embodiment but extending the length of contin-uous cleat member 90. Similarly, continuou~ clest member 90 10also has a seam section 92 similar to that disclosed ~n the preferred embodiment but extending the length of continuous cleat member 90. Finally, continuous cleat member 90 has a EU-shaped base 6ection 93 similar to the U-shaped base sec-tion 57 disclosed in the preferred embodiment. Thu~, the 15length of U-~haped base section 93 in the alternative em-bodiment could extend, as in the preferred embodiment, a lengthwise distance of about 2". A plurality of U-shaped bsse sections 93 extend from flange section 91 at ~paced intervsls indicated by the dimension D on Figure 9. Prefer-20sbly, distance D which i~ from center to center of ad~acent U-shaped bsse sections 93 is about 1 foot.
Continuous anchoring plate 100 is ~omewhst similsr to anchoring plate 38 of the preferred embodiment in that con-tinuous anchoring plate 100 has a rect~ngular base section 25101 similar in width to ba6e section 42 of the preferred em-bodiment but extending the length of continuous snchoring plate 100. Al60, continuous snchoring plate 100 has a rigidizing flsnge section 43 extending in length (5/16") identical to thst of rigidizing flange section 43 of the 30preferred embodiment but rigidizing flsnge section 102 ex-tends the length of continuous snchoring plate 100. Recti-linear base section 101 has a plurslity of lon~itudinally spaced offset portion~ 105 which are identical in dimension to off6et portion 50 of the preferred embodiment. Extending 35between each offset portion 105 is a flat mounting surface . , .

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106 which function~ for the same purpose aæ end portions 45, 46 of the preferred embodiment. Mounting portions 106 are provided with apertures 108 for securing continuous anchor-ing plste 100 to the roof substrate as described above.
Lon~itudinal 6pacing between ad~acent offset portions 105 ~hown a6 distance D ln Figure 10 i8 the same distance be-tween sdjacent U-shsped section6 93 for continuous cleat member 90 and is preferred to be about 12". Thus, a~uming that the dimension~ of off6et portion 105 snd U-shaped base section 93 of the alternative embodiment have the ssme di-mensions a~ that disclosed in the preferred embodiment, a longitudinfll distance or len~th of flat mounting portion 106 would be sbout 9 1/4". Other dimensions are of cour~e pos-sible.
The as forme~l confi~urntion of the continuous expsn~ion cleat assembly i6 illu~trated in Figures 9 and 10. The as assembled configuration of the continuous expansion cleat assembly shown in the alternative embodiment occurs when the second leg portion of U-shaped base section 93 is crimped over offset portion 105 such a6 shown in Fi~ure 6C. The as applied configuration is shown in Figure 2. Becsuse flange ~ection 91 and seam section 92 extend the length of roof psn . .
14, a standing seam ~oint of eight w811 thicknesses (shown formed in Figure~ 8A-8E) extend for the continuou6 length of -~
roof pans 14. Thi6 means that as di~closed in my co-pending application incorporsted by reference herein, a high pres~
6ure force 80 (i.e. several thou6and psi) can be applied to crimp the standing seam ~oint 75 into a press fit without any nece6sity for soldering the Joint. ~hen crimped with such a hiKh pre6sure force, the terne costing iB plastically deformed into any "open" spaces in the ~oint to scal the ~oint. Thus, the alternative embodiment disclosed in Fig- - ' ures 9 and 10 posse6s an advanta~e over the preferred em- `;;
bodiment in thnt not only i8 welding to establi~h a stan(lin~
seam ~oint not required, but al~o a waterproof, expansion . . ,: , -23- ;

' 7,".. _!,;,, i ' ' . . , . ' ' ' ' ,, ' ' . ,. ,'. . " ~ , , , , .' ~ ' ' , , t~' FS-8189 2 ~
jl yielding standing sesm ~oint i~ produced without any neces-;~ ~ity for solderin~5.
The invention hafl been described with reference to a ~, preferred embodiment snd an alternative embodiment. Altera-tions and modifications will become obviou~ to tho~e skilled j~ in the ar~ upon a reading and understanding of the specifi-cations herein. For exsmple, while the invention has been explained with reference to an expansion clest sssembly, the cleat disclosed could certsinly be applied snd used for in-stslling conventional len~ th roof p~ns in plsce of conven-tionsl clests. The dimensional rel~tion3hips could be chsnged to still produce an expaneion cleat assembly having the charscteri~tics of the pre6ent invention. This could be eApecially 80 in the alternstive embodiments. Also, the alternative embodiment could function with one continuous anchoring plate ~nd a plurality of cleats or even one con-tinuous cleat and a plurality of anchorin~, plateA. It i~ my intention to include all euch modifications snd alterstions insofsr ae they come within the scope of my invention.
It is thus the essence of my invention to provlde sn expsnsion clest sssembly which functions in a cleat msnner 6uperior to prior srt devices and which is eo con~tructed to prevent sny deformation which could sdversely affect the expansion/~liding relationehip of the asAembly.

'. ' ':

.

. ...
::
,

Claims

1. An expansion cleat assembly for joining sheet metal roof pans to a roof substrate with a standing seam joint comprising:
a) a longitudinally extending anchoring plate having a base section adapted to be fastened to said roof substrate, said base section having generally flat, longitudinally spaced portions and a laterally offset portion therebetween;
and b) a cleat member adapted to slidingly engage said an-choring plate, said cleat member having a flange section adapted to vertically extend between the ends of adjacent roof pans, a seam section extending from one end of said flange section, and a U-shaped base section extending from the opposite end of said flange section, said U-shaped sec-tion having a first leg portion extending from said flange section, a bight portion at the opposite end of said first leg portion and a second leg portion extending from said bight portion, said first leg portion adapted to fit on one side of said laterally offset portion of said anchor plate and said second leg portion adapted to fit on the opposite side of said offset portion to form said assembly, said sec-ond leg portion extending at least half the distance of said first leg portion and said U-shaped section extending at least half the distance of said offset section whereby said cleat member is securely attached to said anchoring plate in a movable manner.

2. The expansion cleat assembly of claim 1 wherein said cleat member has substantially the same thickness throughout all of its sections.

3. The expansion cleat assembly of claim 2 wherein said cleat member has an as formed configuration and an as assembled configuration, said cleat member in said as formed configuration includes said second leg portion forming an acute angle with said first leg portion and said second leg portion generally parallel to said first leg portion in said as assembled configuration.

4. The expansion cleat assembly of claim 3 wherein said seam section includes a top sealing leg portion extend-ing from said flange section and an outside leg portion ex-tending from said top sealing leg portion, said outside leg portion forming an acute angle with said top sealing leg portion in said as formed and said as assembled configura-tion.

5. The expansion cleat assembly of claim 1 wherein said cleat member has a constant thickness of between about 0.015" to about 0.020".

6. The expansion cleat assembly of claim 1 wherein said anchoring plate has a longitudinally-extending flange segment at one side of said base section and adapted to be generally parallel with and adjacent to said flange section of said cleat member when said cleat member is in said as assembled configuration.

7. The expansion cleat assembly of claim 1 wherein said base section of said anchoring member is generally rec-tangular in configuration and the length of said U-shaped section of said cleat member is at least 75% of the length of said offset section whereby said cleat member is rigidly secured to said anchoring member in a slidable member when said cleat member is in said as assembled configuration.

8. The expansion cleat assembly of claim 7 wherein the length of said second leg portion of said cleat member in a transverse direction is approximately the same length of said offset portion of said anchoring member in a transverse direction whereby the assembly of said cleat member to said anchoring member is assured notwithstanding the temperature expansion of said roof pans.

9. The expansion cleat assembly of claim 6 wherein each of said flat portions of said anchoring plate have openings extending therethrough for fastening means to se-cure said anchor plate to said roof substrate, said offset portion of said anchor plate spaced sway from said roof sub-strate.

10. The expansion assembly of claim 1 wherein said anchoring plate includes a plurality of said offset portions spaced from one another and interconnected with one another by said flat portions, and said cleat member includes a con-tinuous flange and seam section equal in length in the lon-gitudinal direction to said anchoring plate with a plurality of U-shaped sections extending therefrom at spaced intervals equal to that of said offset portions whereby a continuous expansion cleat assembly is provided.

11. A metal roof assembly applied over a roof sub-strate comprising:
a plurality of roof pans formed with a configured lon-gitudinally-extending leading end and a trailing end;
at least one longitudinally-extending anchoring plate having a base section fastened to said roof substrate, said base section having a first and second generally flat, lon-gitudinally spaced portion and a laterally offset portion therebetween;

a cleat member slidingly engaging said offset portion of said anchor plate, said cleat member having i) a flange section interposed between the leading end of one roof pan and the trailing end of an adjacent roof pan, ii) a seam section extending from said flange section and crimped be-tween the edge portion of the leading end of one roof pan and the edge portion of the trailing end of an adjacent roof pan to form a standing seam, and iii) a U-shaped base sec-tion extending from the opposite end of said flange section, said U-shaped base section having a first leg portion ex-tending on one side of said offset portion, a bight portion extending from said first leg portion and a second leg por-tion extending from said bight portion and crimped over the opposite side of said offset portion; said second leg por-tion extending in a direction transverse to said longitudi-nal direction to a position generally adjacent said flange section whereby said cleat is maintained in contact with said anchoring plate despite temperature expansion of said roof pans.

12. The roofing assembly of claim 11 wherein said base section of said anchoring plate is generally rectangular in configuration, said anchoring plate having a longitudinal-ly-extending flange generally parallel to and adjacent said cleat's flange section extending on one side of said base section, the length of said offset portion in said longitu-dinal direction slightly greater than the length of said U-shaped section in said longitudinal section whereby said cleat member is rigidly attached to said anchoring plate in a manner which permits sliding movement therebetween.

13. The roofing assembly of claim 12 wherein said cleat is formed of sheet metal on substantially constant thickness, said thickness being between 0.015" to 0.020".

14. The roofing assembly of claim 12 wherein said sec-ond leg portion of said cleat extends a distance transverse to said longitudinal direction approximately equal to the transverse distance of said offset portion of said anchoring plate and the distance of said U-shaped section in said lon-gitudinal direction is equal to at least about seventy-five percent of the distance of said offset portion in said lon-gitudinal direction.

15. The roofing assembly of claim 12 wherein each of said flat portions of said anchoring plate have openings extending therethrough for fastening means to secure said anchor plate to said roof substrate, said offset portion of said anchor plate spaced away from said roof substrate.

16. The roofing assembly of claim 15 wherein said an-choring plate includes a plurality of said offset portions spaced from one another and interconnected with one another by said flat portions, and said cleat member is approximate-ly equal in length to said anchoring plate and has a plural-ity of longitudinally spaced U-shaped sections slidingly engaging said offset sections to provide a continuous expan-sion cleat assembly.

17. A method for securing adjacent metal roof pans to a roof substrate, said roof pans having a longitudinally-ex-tending leading end including an edge portion in the shape of a channel and a trailing end including an edge portion in the shape of an inverted "L", said method comprising the steps of:

a) providing a longitudinally-extending anchoring plate having first and second generally flat end portions and a vertically offset generally rectangular portion therebetween;
b) providing a longitudinally-extending cleat member having i) a vertically-extending flange section; ii) a gen-erally U-shaped section extending from the bottom of said flange section, said U-shaped section having a first leg portion extending from said flange section, a bight portion extending from said first leg portion and a second leg por-tion extending from said bight portion; and iii) a seam sec-tion extending from the opposite end of said flange section, said Beam section having a top sealing leg portion extending from said flange section in a direction opposite said U-shaped section and an outside sealing leg portion extending vertically from said sealing leg portion;
c) assembling said cleat member to said anchoring plate by positioning said U-shaped section about said offset por-tion such that said first leg portion is adjacent the under-side of said offset portion and crimping said second leg portion over the opposite side of said offset portion so that said U-shaped section sandwiches said offset section therebetween, said second leg portion when folded over said offset portion substantially covering most of said offset portion to securely attach said cleat to said anchoring plate;
d) fastening said end portions of said assembly to said substrate;
e) aligning said trailing end of one roof pan adjacent said cleat such that the upstanding leg of said L edge is generally adjacent said flange section of said cleat and the shorter leg of said L edge is underneath said top sealing leg portion;

f) aligning said leading end of another roof pan adja-cent said cleat such that said channel edge fits over the top of said top sealing leg portion and the outside of said outside leg portion; and g) crimping said leading edge, said trailing edge and said seam section together to form a standing seam without any necessity of spot welding.

18. The method of claim 17 wherein said roof pans have lengths which extend beyond 30 feet and a plurality of said cleats assembled to said anchor plates in the only mechanism used to secure said roof pans to said roof.

19. The method of claim 18 wherein said standing joint seam is soldered.

20. The method of claim 17 wherein said step of pro-viding said anchoring plate includes a plate having a plu-rality of said offset portions longitudinally spaced from one another and a plurality of cleat members are provided equal in number to said offset portions.

21. The method of claim 20 wherein said step of pro-viding said cleat member further including said cleat member extending a distance equal to said anchoring plate and hav-ing a plurality of U-shaped sections equal to said offset sections and at said spacing of said offset sections whereby a continuous expansion cleat assembly is provided.

22. A method for forming an expansion cleat assembly for use in metal roofing systems comprising the steps of:
a) stamping an anchoring plate of sheet metal gauge thickness having first and second generally flat end por-tions and a vertically offset generally rectangular portion therebetween;

b) stamping a longitudinally-extending cleat member of sheet metal gauge thickness having i) a vertically-extending, flange section, ii) a seam section extending from one end of said flange section and iii) a U-shaped base section extend-ing from the opposite end of said flange section, said U-shaped base section having a first leg portion extending from and generally perpendicular to said flange section, a bight portion extending from said first leg portion and a second leg portion extending from said bight portion and forming an acute angle with said first leg portion;
c) positioning said U-shaped section about said offset portion so that said first leg portion is adjacent one side of said offset portion; and d) bending said second leg portion to a position gener-ally parallel to said first leg portion so that said offset section is sandwiched between said first and second leg por-tions.