raw · articles · ingested 2026-06-30
US 5,609,200 — Integral Roof Cooling Container
Source: Steve Baer / Zomeworks archive
Inventor: David C. Harrison
Assignee: Zomeworks Corp
Filed: July 20, 1994
Granted: March 11, 1997
Lapsed: March 11, 2001 (fee not paid)
Status: Expired — Fee Related
Abstract
Passive temperature regulation system for building cooling. Water-filled plastic containers are integrally molded directly onto the metal roof, eliminating the separate support frameworks required by earlier designs. The uneven lower surface of the roof section (channels/protrusions) mechanically locks the rotationally molded plastic during manufacturing. At night, the water radiates heat to the sky; daytime insulation prevents heat gain.
Key claim
A temperature regulator: thermally conductive planar roof element with uneven lower surface; a rotationally molded plastic container integrally bonded to that surface; water-filled interior chamber; insulation with vertical passages enabling water circulation.
Manufacturing innovation
Two-part mold with removable lower portion attached to a metal roof section. Melted plastic is rotationally molded within the assembly, conforming to channels and adhering permanently. Lower mold removes after cooling; plastic remains mechanically locked to roof.
Significance
- Bridges the battery cabinet patent series (1990–1994) and the Cool Cell brochure (2002)
- Inventor is Dave Harrison (Beadwall inventor), not Baer — demonstrates Zomeworks was a collaborative engineering operation, not solely Baer’s work
- The same night-sky radiative cooling principle as the Cool Cell, but integrated into the roof material itself rather than using separate containers
- Filed 1994 (same year as battery cabinet US 5,316,872); lapsed 2001 (one year before the Cool Cell brochure) — the integral design may have been superseded by the modular Cool Cell approach
- Only one forward citation: US 6,170,561 (2001) “Heat absorbent device for backup cooling”