U.S. patent number RE31,345 [Application Number 06/340,415] was granted by the patent office on 1983-08-16 for floor covering sheet for stables.
This patent grant is currently assigned to Akzona Incorporated. Invention is credited to Horst Fischer, Udo Schwartzkopff.
United States Patent |
RE31,345 |
Schwartzkopff , et
al. |
August 16, 1983 |
Floor covering sheet for stables
Abstract
A stable floor for animals which is in structural combination
with a floor covering sheet having at least two layers: a
compressible sublayer of a resilient and highly porous filamentary
matting partly embedded in a top layer which is impermeable to
moisture. The floor covering sheet provides good insulation and has
dimensional stability so as to remain resilient over a prolonged
period of time.
Inventors: |
Schwartzkopff; Udo (Wuppertal,
DE), Fischer; Horst (Wuppertal, DE) |
Assignee: |
Akzona Incorporated (Asheville,
NC)
|
Family
ID: |
25947782 |
Appl.
No.: |
06/340,415 |
Filed: |
January 18, 1982 |
Related U.S. Patent Documents
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Application
Number |
Filing Date |
Patent Number |
Issue Date |
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Reissue of: |
773932 |
Mar 3, 1977 |
04129097 |
Dec 12, 1978 |
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Foreign Application Priority Data
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Mar 11, 1976 [DE] |
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7607383[U] |
Jan 19, 1977 [DE] |
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7701427[U] |
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Current U.S.
Class: |
119/526; 428/178;
428/332; 442/394 |
Current CPC
Class: |
A01K
1/0157 (20130101); B32B 27/12 (20130101); B32B
27/304 (20130101); B32B 5/022 (20130101); Y10T
442/674 (20150401); Y10T 428/24661 (20150115); Y10T
428/26 (20150115); B32B 2471/00 (20130101); B32B
2307/7265 (20130101) |
Current International
Class: |
A01K
1/015 (20060101); A01K 001/015 (); B22B
027/06 () |
Field of
Search: |
;119/28
;428/175,180,224,284,286,288,296,301,332 |
References Cited
[Referenced By]
U.S. Patent Documents
Foreign Patent Documents
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1836799 |
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Jul 1961 |
|
DE |
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1864178 |
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Sep 1962 |
|
DE |
|
1817678 |
|
Jul 1969 |
|
DE |
|
1957103 |
|
Jun 1970 |
|
DE |
|
2045154 |
|
Mar 1972 |
|
DE |
|
2102084 |
|
Jul 1972 |
|
DE |
|
7424846 |
|
Nov 1974 |
|
DE |
|
516994 |
|
Feb 1972 |
|
CH |
|
1427711 |
|
Mar 1976 |
|
GB |
|
Primary Examiner: Chamblee; Hugh R.
Attorney, Agent or Firm: Young; Francis W. Hall; Jack H.
Shurtleff; John H.
Claims
We claim:
1. In structural combination with a stable floor for animals, a
soft and resilient floor covering sheet comprising a highly porous,
compressible sublayer in placement on said floor and a polymeric
top layer which is impermeable to moisture, said compressible
sublayer consisting essentially of a matting sheet composed of
continuous, looped synthetic polymeric filaments intersecting one
another and fused at their points of intersection, said filaments
having a diameter of 0.4 to 2.5 mm, said matting having in its
normal non-compressed state a porosity exceeding 90% with its
porous structure being sufficiently open to prevent any
accumulation of capillary moisture, and the upper face of said
matting being at least partly embedded in said impermeable top
layer.
2. The structural combination claimed in claim 1 wherein the lower
face of said matting away from the top layer has a waffle-like
structure.
3. The structural combination claimed in claim 1 which includes an
overlay secured onto said impermeable top layer and consisting of a
nonwoven of synthetic filaments or fibers.
4. The structural combination claimed in claim 1 wherein said floor
covering sheet is installed substantially without seams over the
stable floor.
5. The structural combination claimed in claim 1 wherein the
impermeable top layer is formed by a PVC which receives the
embedded matting to a depth of about 1 to 5 mm for a matting
thickness of about 10 to 40 mm.
6. The structural combination claimed in claim 1 wherein the
matting filaments are composed of a synthetic, fibrous polymer
selected from the group consisting of polycaprolactam,
polyhexamethylene adipamide, polyethylene terephthalate and
polypropylene.
7. The structural combination claimed in claim 6 wherein the
matting filaments consist essentially of polycaprolactam.
Description
This invention relates to a floor covering sheet for stables
consisting of a compressible sublayer and an impermeable top
layer.
A floor covering sheet for stables of this type is described, e.g.
in German Design Pat. No. 1,817,678. In this patent the top layer
consists of a superficially structured, fabric-reinforced plastic
material, whereas the sublayer is a foam. On the floor side, the
sheet is lined with plastic film and secured in the area of the
stalls with an adhesive to the cement or similar stable floor.
The floor covering sheet for stables described in German Design
Pat. No. 1,864,178 has a similar structure. It, too, is glued to
the stable floor.
A foamed sublayer is also part of the floor covering sheet for
stables described in German Design Pat. No. 1,957,103. In this
version, the top layer is composed of a rubberized or
plastic-coated fabric. The sheet is preferably premanufactured and
provided with plastic strips by means of which it is firmly secured
to the stable floor.
In the floor covering sheet for stables described in Swiss Pat. No.
516,994 and German Design Pat. No. 7,424,846 the sublayer is also
composed of a foamed plastic or a granular rubber composite,
whereby an impermeable layer is provided on the floor side.
The construction and production of floor covering sheets for
stables known according to the state of the art are very costly.
Moreover said sheets exhibit the serious drawback that--unavoidably
over the long term--the top layer, or where present, the
impermeable backing of the sublayer is damaged and allows moisture
to seep in and/or adhere to the fine pores of the foamed sublayer;
after a relatively short time, the pores of the sublayer are filled
with liquid so that one of the main objectives of such floor
covering sheets for stables, namely insulation against penetrating
cold is no longer met. Another drawback of known floor covering
sheets for stables is their low dimensional stability. Farm animals
standing or lying in the stalls cause severe compression of the
foamed sublayer and the recovery of the foam structure, especially
when moisture has seeped in, drops sharply. Over the long term, the
floor covering loses both its insulation capacity and its
resilience.
The objective was therefore to provide a floor covering sheet for
stables which after prolonged use an even after damage to the
impermeable top layer, would have a good insulating effect against
penetrating cold. Furthermore, the floor covering sheet for stables
according to the invention should have adequate dimensional
stability. The sublayer should exhibit excellent resiliency and
softness, but particularly a high pore component with a porous
structure so open and wide that, on the one hand, no moisture, e.g.
in the form of capillary moisture may seep in, and that, on the
other hand, e.g. after damage to the outer face of the top layer,
any mositure having seeped in is quickly dissipated by favorable
ventilation of the structure.
This objective is met according to the invention, with the floor
covering sheet for stables of the above-mentioned type in that the
compressible sublayer is a matting composed of a plurality of
filaments of a diameter of 0.4 to 2.5 mm intersecting one another
and fused at their points of intersection, one of the two faces of
said sublayer being partly embedded in the impermeable top
layer.
The filaments of the matting sheet are preferably deposited in
loops. A matting sheet of this type can e.g. be obtained by a
process described in U.S. Pat. No. 3,691,004, which is incorporated
herein by reference.
In another preferred embodiment, at least one outer face of the
matting sheet forming the sublayer, namely the face away from the
top layer, has a waffle-like structure.
The term "waffle-like" structure refers to surfaces presenting more
or less evenly distributed recesses (areas devoid of filament)
assuming a hemispherical, conical, truncated conical, pyramidal or
truncated pyramidal shape.
The matting exhibiting such waffle-like structure outer faces can
be obtained, e.g. by spinning a polymer melt onto a moving surface
on which more or less evenly distributed hemispherical, conical,
truncated conical, pyramidal or truncated pyramidal elements are
fastened. Depending on the ratio of spinning speed to matting
take-up speed, a filament layer of approximately uniform thickness,
covering these elements and dropping between said elements is
formed, resulting in a matting structured on both faces, or else
the spaces between the elements are filled with yarn material so
that a unilaterally structured matting is obtained. Details of a
method for the manufacture of such matting are given in U.S. patent
application Ser. No. 703,277 filed July 7, 1976, incorporated
herein by reference.
To form an impermeable layer on this matting sheet, a coating of a
few millimeter thickness of, e.g. soft PVC is applied, whereby the
matting is partly embedded in this top layer to e.g. a depth of 1
to 5 mm for a matting thickness of 10 to 40 mm.
To increase the anti-skid characteristics, the effective area of
the top layer can be structured in a known manner. Preferably, a
nonwoven of synthetic filaments or fibers is applied to it. Fine
denier filaments or fibers are preferred here, because in addition
to anti-skid characteristics they impart a greater
resiliency/softness to the surface. The nonwoven may e.g. be a card
web or a spinning web, it may e.g. be bonded with an adhesive or by
needle-punching. Its thickness need only be a few millimeters, e.g.
2 mm. A nonwoven of this type enhances simultaneously the wear
resistance of the top layer.
The filaments of the matting to be used as sublayer according to
the invention are composed of synthetic polymers, preferably
polycaprolactam, because of its good elasticity and high resistance
to decay. These filaments, as well as the filaments or fibers of
the nonwoven applied to the effective area may also consist of
other fiber-forming polymers, such as polyhexamethylene adipamide,
polyethylene terephthalate or copolymers thereof, or polyolefins,
in particular, polypropylene.
The invention is described with the aid of the enclosed drawings,
wherein:
FIG. 1 illustrates a portion of a two-layered embodiment of the
floor covering sheet for stables according to the invention with a
matting structured on both sides as sublayer;
FIG. 2 illustrates a portion of the matting used in conjunction
with the floor covering sheet for stables according to FIG. 1;
FIG. 3 illustrates a three-layered floor covering sheet for stables
similar to that shown in FIG. 1 using as sublayer a unilaterally
structured matting;
FIG. 4 illustrates a portion of another preferred embodiment of the
floor covering sheet for stables according to the invention using
as sublayer a matting made of looped filaments; and
FIG. 5 illustrates a section of installed floor covering sheet for
stables.
FIG. 1 illustrates structural principles of a two-layered floor
covering sheet for stables. In this version, the compressible
sublayer consists of a matting 1 of a plurality of filaments
intersecting one another and fused at their points of intersection,
with face 1a. or its two faces 1a. and 1b. partly embedded in
impermeable top layer 2, face 1b. away from top layer 2 assuming a
waffle-like structure because of recesses 4 (areas devoid of
yarn)--here of hemispherical shape--. Matting sheet 1 as such is
shown in FIG. 2 to illustrate the waffle-like structured bottom
face 1b. Instead of the hemispherical recesses 4 shown here, bottom
face 1b. may have yarn-free areas of a different shape, e.g.
conical, truncated conical, pyramidal or truncated pyramidal
recesses.
With the matting sheet according to FIG. 1 and FIG. 2, the areas of
upper face 1a. between recesses 4 are not filled with yarn
material. To obtain an especially favorable bond between matting
sheet 1 used as sublayer and impermeable top layer 2, it may be
expedient to fill these areas with yarn material.
A preferred three-layered stable floor covering having a matting
sheet 1' filled with yarn material is illustrated in FIG. 3. The
upper face 1a. of this matting sheet is virtually level.
Impermeable top layer 2 is substantially identical to that in FIG.
1. A non-woven layer 3 of synthetic fibers overlays said
impermeable top layer.
FIG. 4 illustrates another preferred floor covering sheet for
stables 5 according to the invention. The sublayer is composed of a
matting 1" of looped filaments, intersecting one another and fused
at their points of intersection. Both faces 1a., 1b. of this
matting 1' are level.
FIG. 5 illustrates the installation of such floor covering sheet 5
for stables in a stall. The stalls are partitioned off laterally by
posts 9 and frontally by feed board 8 with feed crib 10 (in the
case of a simple rest stall, a wall would replace these). Stable
floor 7 is laid out in continuous parallel alignment with feed
board 8. Where continuous installation is hampered by posts 9 or
other stall partitions, the material is cut 6 at the feed board
side. The floor covering sheet for stables 5 is supplied in width
accomodating the stall length, e.g. 1.8 m and is rolled out in the
stall. Due to the weight of top layer 2 and, where applicable, of
nonwoven 3 applied on top, matting sheet 1' lies firmly on the
stable floor 7. Because of the seamless installation of the floor
covering sheet for stables according to the invention, farm animals
standing or lying on it cannot readily displace it. It is therefore
unnecessary to cement the sheet over the entire stable floor; as a
rule, it is quite sufficient to fasten the sheet material at the
head end of the stall either mechanically or by means of an
adhesive.
The top layer 2 of the floor covering sheet for stables shown in
FIGS. 3 and 4 is provided against skidding and to increase the
wear-resistance with a textile nonwoven 3 that is cemented or
secured to it, which nonwoven having a thickness of 1 to 3 mm may
be relatively thin compared with the top layer.
Matting sheet 1, 1', 1", essential to the invention, and serving as
sublayer has a very high pore component, normally exceeding by far
90 to 92%. Air is able to circulate freely, any forming
condensation water is able to dry out and the growth of decay
bacteria is inhibited. The structure cannot become logged with
liquid and thus lose its insulation properties. On the contrary,
water seeping below the top layer can readily drain off or dry
out.
* * * * *