Chair Mat

Abstract

A floor protecting mat of the type used with rolling chairs when used in conjunction with a desk especially when carpeting is employed as a floor covering and including a laminated panel having a core in the form of a panel encapsulated with glass fiber reinforced resin with the core having a plurality of recesses in the surfaces thereof for receiving the resin and keying the resin encapsulation to the core.

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention generally relates to a floor mat for use under chairs to protect the flooring material, such as carpeting, on which the chair is located with the mat having an interlocking structural connection between a core panel and glass fiber reinforced resin material covering and encapsulating the panel.

2. Description of the Prior Art

Chair mats for protecting flooring material from damage and wear from chair rollers and the like have been used and generally are formed of a flat panel of transparent or colored plastic material, a panel of pressed board or the like which is generally rectangular in configuration with a projecting edge portion on one edge thereof for extending under the kneehole-receiving area of a desk. While such devices are successful, one problem which occurs is the tendency of the edges of such panels to curl upwardly when the weight of the chair and the occupant thereof pushes downwardly on or engages the central portion of the panel. This upward curling of the edges permits the chair mat to move in relation to the desk which is objectionable and frequently the upwardly curled edge creates a danger of a person tripping over a stumbling over the edge. In addition, previously known chair mats have a relatively short life expectancy and frequency become unsightly due to marring, scuffing and the like caused by movement of the chair rollers or other chair-supporting elements across the upper surface thereof.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

An object of the present invention is to provide a chair mat including a core of pressed material such as "masonite" having a covering or coating of glass fiber reinforced plastic resin which completely encapsulates the core.

Another object of the invention is to provide a chair mat having a bevelled top edge around the periphery thereof to rigidify the mat and prevent the edges thereof from curling upwardly.

Still another object of the invention is to provide a chair mat in accordance with the preceding objects in which the surfaces of the core are provided with a large number of recesses throughout the upper and lower surface area thereof for receiving the glass fiber reinforced plastic resin coating on the core thereby rigidly interlocking the core and coating to prevent delamination of the coating in relation to the core.

A further object of the invention is to provide a chair mat in which the bottom surface is provided with an antislipping material that is bonded to the resin before curing thereof and is in the form of a plastic foam dust which will further enhance the antislipping characteristics of the mat.

Yet another important feature of the present invention is to provide a chair mat having a slightly concave bottom so that the periphery thereof will effectively grip the carpet or underlying floor surface to further prevent slippage thereof.

These together with other objects and advantages which will become subsequently apparent reside in the details of construction and operation as more fully hereinafter described and claimed, reference being had to the accompanying drawings forming a part hereof, wherein like numerals refer to like parts throughout.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a top plan view of a chair mat of the present invention with a portion thereof broken away illustrating the orientation of the recesses in the core.

FIG. 2 is a side elevational view of the construction of FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is a fragmental, sectional view, on an enlarged scale, taken substantially upon a plane passing along section line 3--3 of FIG. 1 illustrating further structural details of the chair mat.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

Referring now specifically to the drawings, the chair mat of the present invention is generally designated by the reference numeral 10 and includes a panel of generally T-shaped configuration including a main panel 12 of rectangular or square configuration and a projecting panel 14 along the center of one edge thereof for extending into the area in underlying relation to the kneehole of a desk so that a chair placed on the mat 10 may be moved toward and away from the desk with the rollers normally provided on a chair engaged with the upper surface of the chair mat 10.

The chair mat 10 includes a central core 16 of a pressed gypsum and fibrous material such as commercially available material known as "masonite." The core 16 has a coating 18 on the top surface thereof and a coating 20 on the bottom surface thereof which are laminated to the core 16 and which are constructed of glass fiber reinforced plastic resin. As illustrated in FIG. 3, the lower coating 20 extends up around the edge and includes an inwardly extending portion 22 overlying a portion of the upper surface of the core 16 while the upper coating 18 extends downwardly around the peripheral edge of the core 16 as indicated at 24 thereby completely encapsulating the core 16.

As illustrated in FIG. 2 by the spaced opposed arrows, the bottom surface of the chair mat is slightly concave as at 26 so that the peripheral edge thereof will more effectively engage or bite into the carpet or underlying floor surface to prevent slippage thereof.

Both the top and bottom surface of the core 16 is provided with a large number of recesses 28 which may be circular, square or any other configuration with the sidewalls of the recess being substantially parallel and the inner surface or bottom thereof being parallel to the surfaces of the core 16 thus providing for interlocking engagement between the core 16 and the coatings 20 and 18 by virtue of the glass fiber reinforced resin filling the recesses 28 when in an uncured state so that when the resin cures or dries, the resin coatings 18 and 20 will be rigidly laminated with respect to the core 16.

Also as illustrated in FIG. 3, the peripheral edge of the core 16 has the upper surface thereof downwardly bevelled or inclined as at 30 thereby providing a bevelled or downwardly inclined peripheral edge 32 on the chair mat 10 to prevent any possibility of a person tripping over a stumbling over the edge of the mat and also rigidifying the mat.

In the construction of the chair mat, the core 16 is bevelled around the peripheral edge after being cut to shape and the recesses 28 formed therein by any suitable cutting tool such as a multiple drill arrangement or the like and placed in a mold where the concavity is formed in the undersurface thereof or the undersurface thereof is formed with the concavity by using a suitable material removing device engaged with the undersurface thereof. The coating 18 may be any suitable laminating polyester resin such as sold by PPG Industries, Inc. and identified by No. 97-009.

The undersurface of the core is then provided with the coating 20, which may be of the same material as coating 18, of glass reinforced resin such as by using a conventional "chopper gun" application with the coating 20 extending around the edge of the core and into overlying relation to a portion of the upper surface thereof as indicated at 22 in FIG. 3. While the coating 20 on the undersurface of the core 16 is still uncured or wet, foam dust, which may be any standard styrofoam material which will absorb the wet resin, is sprayed onto the coating and will adhere or be embedded therein partially to provide a roughened surface to more effectively adhere to a carpet and thus reduce slippage of the chair mat. The coating 18 is then applied to the top surface and around the periphery of the mat with this coating being the same as that employed in the bottom coating 20. Any trimming necessary may be accomplished on the edges to provide a finsihed product unless a particular color is desired. The surface of the chair mat may be painted with a suitable vinyl paint or color pigment may be incorporated into the resin when forming the top coat or when forming both of the coats if desired.

To provide a textured surface if desired, the coating 18 while uncured and still wet may be provided with a smooth woven fiber glass cover which is "layed" onto the resin in a well known manner. After the chair mat has completely cured, it is ready for use and the roughened undersurface thereof prevents slippage and the color of the chair mat may blend in with the carpet or contrast therewith depending upon the desires of each user. In addition, the interlocking connection between the core and coatings prevent relative movement therebetween and thus prevent delamination of the structure with the overlapping portions of the coatings also serving to prevent delamination. The overlapping coating portions at the periphery of the core provide reinforcement for this area and prevent the core from breakage even though a chair with an occupant thereon is rolled off the edge of the chair mat. The tapered surface or bevelled edge facilitates movement of the chair rollers back onto the chair mat and also eliminates a person tripping over or stumbling over the edge of the mat.

The foregoing is considered as illustrative only of the principles of the invention. Further, since numerous modifications and changes will readily occur to those skilled in the art, it is not desired to limit the invention to the exact construction and operation shown and described, and accordingly all suitable modifications and equivalents may be resorted to, falling within the scope of the invention.

Claims

What is claimed as new is as follows:

1. A chair mat for use in supporting a movable chair in association with a desk comprising a rigid laminated panel, said panel including a core, a coating encapsulating said core, and means interlocking the top and bottom coating to the core throughout substantially the entire surface area thereof, said means interlocking the coating and core including a plurality of recesses in both surfaces of the core, said coating being in the form of a glass fiber reinforced plastic resin flowable into the recesses when applied and becoming rigidly interlocked therewith when cured thereby interlocking the core and coating to prevent delamination thereof, said coating on the undersurface of the core extending upwardly around the periphery and inwardly over the edge portion of the upper surface of the core, the coating on the upper surface of the core extending downwardly alongside of the periphery of the core and the undersurface coating around the periphery of the core thereby providing a double coating on the peripheral edge and edge portion of the mat, the lower surface of the mat being provided with a roughened coating of foam plastic thereon to further reduce slippage, said undersurface of the mat also being constructed with a concavity whereby the peripheral edge thereof is slightly lower than the central portion thereof for effectively gripping a carpet or the like, the peripheral edge of said core being bevelled along the top surface thereof to provide a top bevelled edge on the chair mat to prevent a person from tripping over the edge of the mat and to enable a chair with rollers thereon to be rolled onto the chair mat, said recesses extending inwardly into the surfaces of the core a distance substantially one-half of the depth thereof with the recesses in the upper surface of the core being staggered in relation to the recesses in the lower surface of the core, each of said recesses being in the form of an independent socket having a peripheral wall substantially perpendicular to the surface of the core.