U.S. patent application number 13/189400 was filed with the patent office on 2012-01-26 for floor matting.
Invention is credited to Bruce Thrush.
Application Number | 20120021148 13/189400 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 37074276 |
Filed Date | 2012-01-26 |
United States Patent
Application |
20120021148 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Thrush; Bruce |
January 26, 2012 |
Floor Matting
Abstract
Floor mats comprising two layers bonded together with an
undulating boundary between them. The surface color and/or surface
texture of the first layer being different from the surface color
and/or surface texture of the second layer. The mats having an
interlocking periphery boundary adapted so the mats can be
interlocked with adjoining mats to form a continuous planar mat
flooring.
Inventors: |
Thrush; Bruce; (San Juan
Capistrano, CA) |
Family ID: |
37074276 |
Appl. No.: |
13/189400 |
Filed: |
July 22, 2011 |
Related U.S. Patent Documents
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Application
Number |
Filing Date |
Patent Number |
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11105182 |
Apr 13, 2005 |
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13189400 |
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29203027 |
Apr 8, 2004 |
D532238 |
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11105182 |
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Current U.S.
Class: |
428/33 |
Current CPC
Class: |
B32B 3/06 20130101; B32B
25/14 20130101; B32B 2250/02 20130101; B32B 2266/0221 20130101;
B32B 2266/0278 20130101; E04F 15/10 20130101; B32B 3/10 20130101;
Y10T 428/24612 20150115; B32B 2250/22 20130101; E04F 15/105
20130101; A47G 27/0275 20130101; A47G 27/0206 20130101; A47G
27/0293 20130101; B32B 5/18 20130101; B32B 2307/404 20130101; E01C
2201/14 20130101; B32B 3/30 20130101; B32B 5/32 20130101; B32B
3/263 20130101; E04F 2201/095 20130101; B32B 2471/04 20130101; B32B
3/02 20130101; A47G 27/0218 20130101; B32B 25/04 20130101; B32B
2266/025 20130101; E01C 13/045 20130101; B32B 2307/402
20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
428/33 |
International
Class: |
F16B 5/07 20060101
F16B005/07 |
Claims
1. An improved floor matting having a body with an interlocking
peripheral wall, the improvement comprising: the body consisting of
a substantially planar foam top layer that consists of a first
composition, and a substantially planar foam bottom layer that
consists of a second composition; wherein the first and second
compositions have sufficiently similar coefficients of thermal
expansion and elastomeric properties so that the first and second
layers work together and respond similarly when subject to
temperature changes and forces; wherein the top and bottom layers
are juxtaposed at an undulating interlayer boundary; and wherein
the top layer has at least one of a different surface texture and a
different color from the bottom layer.
2. The floor matting according to claim 1 wherein the top and
bottom layers have different colors.
3. The floor matting according to claim 1 wherein the body has a
general overall shape selected from the group consisting of
rectangular shapes, triangular shapes, square shapes, and hexagonal
shapes.
4. The floor matting according to claim 1 wherein interlocking
peripheral wall has a series of teeth and receiving slots in
alternating positions, the teeth dovetail with the receiving slots
of adjacent floor mats and the receiving slots dovetailing with the
teeth of adjacent floor mats to lock the floor mats together.
5. The floor mat according to claim 1 wherein the body has a
thickness that is generally constant over its width and length.
6. The floor mat according to claim 1 wherein the top layer has a
thickness that is not uniform.
7. A floor matting consisting of a planar foam body of generally
uniform thickness having top and bottom layers of different colors
and different textures bound together to form an at least slightly
non-planar boundary, and the body bounded laterally by an
interlocking peripheral wall.
8. The floor matting according to claim 7 wherein the body
generally has a shape selected from the group consisting of
rectangular shapes, triangular shapes, square shapes, and hexagonal
shapes, and is bounded by an interlocking peripheral wall.
9. The floor matting according to claim 8 wherein the interlocking
peripheral wall has a series of teeth and receiving slots in
alternating positions.
10. The floor mat according to claim 8 wherein the body has a
thickness that is generally constant over its width and length.
11. The floor mat according to claim 10 wherein the interlocking
peripheral wall has a thickness that is substantially the same as
the thickness of the body.
12. A floor matting comprising a planar body of generally uniform
thickness consisting of a substantially planar top layer consisting
essentially of a first foam elastomeric composition with a first
color, and a substantially planar bottom layer consisting
essentially of the first composition with a second color different
from the first color, wherein each of the top and bottom layers has
a textured surface, the top and bottom layers are joined at an
undulating inner boundary; and the body is bounded by an
interlocking peripheral wall.
13. The floor matting according to claim 12 wherein the surfaces of
the top and bottom layers have different texture patterns.
14. The floor matting according to claim 12 wherein the body
generally has a shape selected from the group consisting of
rectangular shapes, triangular shapes, square shapes, and hexagonal
shapes.
15. A floor matting system comprising a plurality of floor mats
according to claim 12 wherein the interlocking peripheral walls of
each of the mats have teeth and receiving slots in alternating
positions
16. The floor mat according to claim 12 wherein the top and bottom
layers have different surface textures.
Description
[0001] This application is a divisional of U.S. patent application
Ser. No. 11/105182 filed Apr. 13, 2005 which is a
continuation-in-part of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 29/203027,
filed Apr. 8, 2004 issued Nov. 21, 2006 under U.S. Pat. No.
D532238, both of which are incorporated herein by reference in
their entirety.
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
[0002] The present invention is directed to floor matting. More
specifically, the present invention is directed to resilient floor
matting which can be used in playroom environments, athletic
environments such as for gymnastics or tumbling, and for
environments where cushioning from the hard undersurface is
desirable, such as a studio, or workplace where people are standing
for prolonged periods. Artists, draftsmen, wood workers, printers,
surgeons, dentists, retail sales people, and the like, are subject
to standing on hard surfaces for prolonged periods.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0003] Resilient floor matting has been used extensively for
thousands of years. Fiber matting was first used, then came
carpeting. Between the 1900's and 1960's, canvas mats filled with
batting were commonly used for gymnastics and tumbling. In the last
two centuries, floor matting of cork has been extensively used to
absorb the pounding forces of the feet on hard surfaces. In the
last 30 years mats prepared from polymeric foam has become common.
For purposes of convenience, such as retail sale, packaging,
transportation, and the like, the mats are sold in roll form, such
a 4'.times.8' sheets, or as tiles measuring anywhere from
6''.times.6'' up to 3'.times.4'. Some floor matting tiles,
especially large dimension tiles, are merely laid down with
adjacent tiles butting up against one another. For smaller tiles,
there is an interlocking arrangement. Some tiles have a periphery
of interlocking teeth which dovetail with the peripheral teeth of
adjoining tiles. Prior art tiles are one color and/or have a
textured surface on one side only. The bottom surface is normally
smooth and flat, and the top surface is smooth and flat or
textured, depending upon the taste of the user. The prior art has
attempted to make matting with one color on one side and another
color on the other side, but without success. Delamination of two
or more mat layers can be a problem especially with use or when
there are temperature changes, such as from ambient temperature to
below freezing or from ambient temperature to an elevated
temperature. In addition, delamination can occur when the mats are
subject to physical forces, such as with tumbling, or gymnastics,
or the dropping of articles, such as weights, on the matting. In
addition, running and stopping or quick turns on matting, applies
shear forces to each of the layers which can lead to delamination
of the layers.
[0004] With use, the working surface or top surface of the floor
matting can become disfigured with stains from dirt, paint, ink,
and the like, physically disfigured can cause cuts, abrasions, and
indentions in the floor matting. The floor matting can be reversed
but this can be unsatisfactory if the bottom surface of the matting
is smooth and the top surface of the matting is textured, or vice
versa. When it is reversed, the textured side becomes the base
surface and the original base surface becomes the top working
surface. The new working surface will not be textured.
[0005] Resilient matting, such as foam elastomeric matting, is
normally anywhere from 3/8'' to 3/4'' in thickness and around
2'.times.2' square. To cover a room 10'.times.10', 25 mat tiles are
normally required.
[0006] Solid resilient matting can be quite heavy and voluminous
when stacked. Polymeric foam elastomeric resilient matting is
relatively light, but it is also voluminous when stacked. For
example, matting (2'.times.2'.times.1/2'') for 12'.times.12'
coverage when stacked forms a cube 2'.times.2'.times.1-1/2'. For
retail sales, matting can take up a great deal of retail space
especially when several textures and several colors are being
offered. For example, if four colors are available and four
textures are available, the retail outlet has to carry sixteen
varieties of floor matting. The number of varieties could be cut in
half by having both surfaces of the matting textured in different
textures and/or different colors. Thus, if four colors are offered
in four textures for polymeric foam matting, the matting on one
surface having one color and one texture and the other surface
having another color and another texture, only eight varieties of
matting would be required at the retail outlet.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0007] The floor matting of the present invention comprises a body
having first and second layers, each layer having an outer surface
and an inner surface, the inner surfaces of the first and second
layers are bound together to form an inner boundary, the outer
surfaces constituting a first and second surfaces of the body, the
first and second surfaces being generally parallel to one another
but not generally parallel to the boundary; the first and second
surfaces having different surface textures or design and/or
different colors, the body bounded by an interlocking peripheral
wall.
[0008] The body is a planar structure and from a plan view, it can
have a rectangular shape, triangular shape, square shape or
hexagonal shape. The interlocking peripheral wall has a series of
teeth and receiving slots in alternating positions. The teeth
dovetail with the receiving slots of adjacent floor mats to lock
the floor mats together.
[0009] The thickness of the body is generally constant over its
width and length. This is important because it permits a plurality
of floor mats to be joined together to form a continuous planar
surface. Although the thickness of the body is generally constant,
the thickness of the first and second layers is preferably not
constant. The reason for this is that the boundary between the
first layer and the second layer is undulating. If one layer was
peeled away to show the boundary which follows the inner surface of
the remaining layer, the topography of the boundary would look
similar to rolling hills and valleys.
[0010] The undulating nonplanar boundary resists delamination of
the two layers. By having an undulating boundary between the two
layers, shear forces and compressive forces applied to one layer
are partially converted to compressive forces and tension forces.
For example, if one layer is placed in shear with respect to the
other layer with an undulating boundary, in certain areas of the
undulating boundary shear forces are going to be partially
converted to compressive forces, and in other areas, the shear
forces are going to be converted into tension forces. This helps to
minimize delamination between the two layers.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0011] FIG. 1 is a top plan view of the floor mat of the present
invention;
[0012] FIG. 2 shows an embossed design on the top surface of the
floor mat of FIG. 1;
[0013] FIG. 2a shows an alternative embodiment of an embossed
design on the top surface of the floor mat of FIG. 1;
[0014] FIG. 2b is another embodiment of a design embossed in the
top surface of the floor mat of FIG. 1;
[0015] FIG. 3 is a bottom plan view of the floor mat of FIG. 1;
[0016] FIG. 4 shows another design embossed in the surface of the
floor mat of FIG. 3;
[0017] FIG. 5 shows a side view of the floor mat of FIG. 1; and
[0018] FIG. 6 is an enlargement of the side view of FIG. 5 in the
encircled area labeled FIG. 6.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
[0019] Referring to FIGS. 1 and 3, the floor mat 10 is a large,
planar, flat, body 12 which has a first surface 16A and a second
opposing parallel surface 16B. The two surfaces 16A and 16B are
parallel to one another. The periphery of the floor mat is bounded
by an interlocking perimeter 26. The surface 16A has a texture or
three dimensional design and the second surface 16B has a texture
or three dimensional design, the two textures or designs can be the
same or different. For purposes of this invention, texture means a
three dimensional texture or design embossed in or embossed out of
the mat surface. One or both surfaces 16A and 16B can also be
smooth. The body is made up of two layers 14A and 14B (see FIG. 6).
The two layers are bound together either by heat welding and/or an
adhesive. Preferably, the two layers have the same chemical
composition so that the two layers have the same coefficient of
thermal expansion and the same elastomeric properties so that the
two layers work together and respond similarly when subject to
temperature changes and forces. The two layers have an outer
surface 16A and 16B, respectively, and two inner surfaces 17A and
17B which preferably form an undulating boundary 20 between the two
layers. Preferably, the inner surfaces 17A and 17B are not parallel
to the first and second surfaces. Rather, the two inner surfaces
17A and 17B in the preferred embodiment meet to form undulating
boundary 20 which has a topography of rolling hills and vales. The
two outer surfaces 16A and 16B are parallel, or generally parallel.
In the preferred embodiment, the inner surfaces 17A and 17B are
generally not parallel to either of the outer surfaces. Thus, the
thickness 22 of the body is generally constant across the entire
length and width of the body. In contrast, in the preferred
embodiment, the thicknesses of the first layer and second layer
vary as the boundary undulates. Thus, the thickness of the first
and second layers vary from point to point. The thickness 24A of
the first layer 14A at a given point, together with the thickness
24B of the second layer at the same point are equivalent to the
thickness 22 of the body. Thus, thickness 24C of the first layer
14A, at a second point, is less than the thickness 24A at the first
point and the thickness 24D of the second layer 14B at the second
point is greater than the thickness 24B of the second layer at the
first point. The undulating boundary between the first layer and
the second layer resists delamination of the two layers making the
mats more robust as explained supra. However, the two layers 14A
and 14B can be flat planar layers of the same or different
thickness, each having a generally uniform thickness.
[0020] As described above, the texture of the first surface 16A can
be different than the texture of the second surface 16B. Similarly,
the color of the first layer and the first surface 16A can be
different than the color of the second layer 14B. Thus, the present
mats give the purchaser the opportunity to have a selection of
colors and/or a selection of textures. In addition, it permits the
purchaser to form a checkerboard pattern or other pattern, assuming
enough tiles are utilized, utilizing the different textures and/or
colors of the mat tiles.
[0021] Preferably, the mats are made from resilient polymeric
materials, such as natural or synthetic rubber, and most preferably
from foam elastomeric material, such as polyethylene foam,
polyurethane foam, EVA-PE foam (ethylene vinyl acetate-polyethylene
foam elastomer), and EVA foam (ethylene vinyl acetate foam).
[0022] Preferably, the elastomeric mats are made from a combination
of virgin polymer and recycle polymer, such as virgin EVA polymer
and a mix of virgin and recycle PE (polyethylene) polymer. The
blend of EVA and virgin and recycle PE are compounded together and
heated to a temperature below the polymer foaming temperature and
pressed into thin sheets through rollers of uniform thickness
within uniform temperatures of a range of 5.degree. C.; preferably
within a range of 1.degree. C. The sheets are 5 to 10 millimeters
in thickness. Other thicknesses can be employed. The sheets are
sandwiched together, normally about six sheets to each mat and
placed in trays having a bottom surface with a die or mold for the
texture and a top plate. The top plate may also have a die or mold
for the texture for the other surface. The tray with the sandwich
of layers of the raw composition and the top plate are pressed in a
press and heated to a temperature to permit the elastomer to foam
and expand. The press is required to keep the distance between the
tray and the top plate constant to yield elastomeric foam mat of a
predetermined thickness. Preferably, the three like sheets have
virtually identical compositions and blend together to form one
layer of the mat. The two mat layers have slightly different
compositions because their respective sheets are made from
different raw compositions (the differences can be slight) at
different times.
[0023] The virgin PE and the recycle PE have different rates of
thermal expansion and different rates of foaming. The raw
compositions of the sheets are restricted in vertical movement and
unrestricted in horizontal movement between the tray and the top
plate in the press when heated. In the preferred embodiment, three
layers of the raw composition will have one color and the other
three layers of composition will have another color. Thus, one side
of the mat may be red and the other side may be black, etc. The die
in the bottom of the tray places one texture on one surface of the
mat, and if the top plate has a die, it places a texture on the
other surface of the mat. Preferably, the two textures are
different although they can be the same. After the foaming reaction
is completed by the heating in the press, the tray and the top
plate are removed from the press and the unfinished mat is removed
from the tray. The mat is allowed to cool and then it is passed to
a cutting machine wherein the mat with the interlocking periphery
is cut out of the unfinished mat. The mat is now complete.
[0024] In those cases where the top plate does not have a die for
the texture, the mat comes out of the press with a texture only on
one surface and a smooth planar other surface. The mat can be sent
to a roller mill having a cool roller and a heated roller with a
die attached thereto. The heated roller with die only heats the
surface not having a texture permitting the heated roller with die
to texture the other surface of the mat. The textured surface is
kept cool by the cool roller. The mat is passed between two rollers
and the roller that touches the texture surface is cool, whereas
the roller with the die to give texture to the other surface is
hot. The cooling roller prevents destruction or damage to the
textured surface created in the press.
[0025] The above invention is not restricted to the specific
embodiments disclosed herein; modifications and other embodiments
of the invention are within the scope of the invention.
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