DK170603B1 - Mat for use as base for persons who work standing up - Google Patents

Description

'"-τ * in DK 170603 B1

The invention relates to a mat with elastic and shock-absorbing properties and intended for use as a support for persons in standing work.

5 A functional requirement for a mat for this application is that it, through elastic and shock absorbing properties, makes standing posture when performing work feel less stressful and tiring for the person using the mat as a substrate compared to substrates of commonly occurring floor coverings. Convenient comforts are considered to be obtained if the mat has an elastic damping effect corresponding to a material hardness of 30-40 ° Shore A, since a material hardness above 40 ° Shore A is not considered optimal for use in substrates for 15 standing work through longer time.

Another functional requirement of a mat for this application is that it can withstand harsh physical and chemical influences from the working environment in which the mat is used. The nature of the impacts may be severe mechanical wear, spills of lubricating oil or cutting oil, wastes of animal fats, sparks, metal shavings or high temperature, having regard to the effects during work as well as during cleaning of the mat. However, these application requirements are difficult to reconcile, as materials that can withstand the physical and chemical stresses typically differ from those materials which give them the most gentle effect on the user of the mat, so that an optimization of all desired properties is normally difficult to implement.

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The well-known mats on the market today can be divided into two categories. One category is mats made with the emphasis on the comfort properties where, to achieve sufficiently low hardness, foamed material or material containing cavities, cells or the like is used which causes low hardness but which at the same time causes the mat becoming less robust to the effects of the working environment. The second category of mats DK 170603 B1 2 is made with the emphasis on robustness to physical and chemical influences and is typically made of materials which give the mat a hardness which is greater than desirable for comfort reasons.

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A mat, described in DK Patent Specification 157725 B, is made of synthetic rubber that withstands most of the physical and chemical influences in the working environment, and at the same time has the good comfort properties achieved by means of fluid-filled cells embedded in the material. , which are interrelated. This mat thus has most of the desired features, but has the disadvantage that the material can be punctured by the presence of pointed or sharp objects in the workplace. At puncture 15, the liquid runs out of the mat, which is thereby useless, and thus the mat is not suitable for workplaces where, for example, metal machining is carried out.

According to the invention there is provided a mat with elastic and shock-absorbing properties intended for use as a support for persons in standing work, comprising a middle layer having a first and a second side, the first side having protrusions separated by spaces 25 and adapted to absorb perpendicular incident load forces and, on the other hand, have downward projections or ribs separated by spaces, which are peculiar to the fact that it is made of synthetic rubber which can withstand harsh physical and chemical stresses. which has tensile elastic properties and which has a

hardness exceeding 40 ° Shore A and that the projections on the first side are arranged opposite the spaces on the other side and are narrower than these spaces in such a way; V

that there are areas in the intermediate layer which have neither projections on the first or second side, whereby * the projections under load can be pressed down into the spaces between the projections on the other side during deformation of the intermediate layer.

DK 170603 B1 3 The comfort properties of the mat are achieved primarily by the projections on the first side under load being able to be pressed down into the spaces on the opposite side, thereby extending the intermediate layer in the transition areas between the two sets of projections 5 under tension.

The comfort properties can be changed by changing the thickness of the interlayer, a thinner interlayer providing a softer mat and a thicker interlayer providing a harder mat. Out of 10 from a material with a fairly high hardness (over 40 ”Shore A), an assortment of mats with different comfort properties can thus be produced.

In this particular design, it is possible to use 15 materials such as synthetic rubber with a hardness above 40 ° Shore A, which is resistant to chemical and physical influences, while at the same time obtaining the desired comfort properties without the use of cells, cavities or the like. .

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According to a preferred embodiment, the protrusion of the mat on one side is semi-circular. According to a further preferred embodiment, the protrusion of the mat, on the other hand, is rectangular.

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According to other embodiments, the protrusions may, on the one hand, and on the other, have arbitrary shapes which allow the comfort properties to be obtained through the tensile elasticity of the material.

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The invention is explained in the following with reference to the drawing:

FIG. 1 shows a cross-section of the mat across the longitudinal direction of the ribs and with the mat in unstressed condition.

DK 170603 B1 4

FIG. 2 shows the same cross-section but with a vertical load on the mat corresponding to the use load.

5 In FIG. 1, the upper side ribs (1) and the lower side ribs (2) are separated by an intermediate layer (3). All three components are made of the same material and are homogeneously interconnected. The width of the lower side ribs (2) is less than the width of the spaces (4) between the upper side ribs (1), thereby producing short stretches (5) in the intermediate layer (3) which have neither upper or lower side ribs.

In FIG. 2, the upper side ribs (1) are loaded with vertical forces (6), whereby the upper side ribs (1) are pressed down into the spaces (7) between the lower side ribs (2), and the intermediate layer (3) is hereby influenced by tensile forces (8). in the transitions between the upper side ribs (1) and the lower side ribs (2) in the areas having neither ribs on the upper side (1) nor on the lower side (2) and as seen in Figs. First

Due to the tensile elastic properties of the material, the mat's comfort properties are formed by the extension of the above areas.

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Claims (3)

1. Mat with elastic and shock absorbing properties and intended for use as a support for persons in 5 standing jobs, which may include an intermediate layer with a first and a second side, the first side having projections separated by spaces and adapted to accommodate perpendicular incident load forces, and 10, on the other hand, protrusions separated by spaces, characterized in that the mat is made of synthetic rubber which can withstand harsh physical and chemical stresses having tensile elastic properties and 15 having a hardness exceeding 40 ° Shore A, and that the projections on the first side are disposed opposite the spaces on the other side and are narrower than these spaces in such a manner that areas in the intermediate layer 20 appear neither having projections on the first or second side whereby the projections under load can be pressed down into the spaces between the projections on the other side during deformation of the the interlayer. 25 The mat according to claim 1, characterized in that the projections on one side have semi-circular cross sections. Mat according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the projections, on the other hand, have a rectangular cross-section.