FR2693496A1 - Shock absorbing covering material - has upper and/or intermediate layers made from synthetic rubber granules held together by polyurethane binding agent - Google Patents

Abstract

The covering material consists of a number of layers, one on top of the other, including an upper wear surface (1) and/or an intermediate layer (2) which are able to absorb shocks, and a lower layer (3) which acts as a supporting layer and is fixed to the ground. The upper wear layer is made from granulated synthetic rubber combined with a polyurethane adhesive or binding agent, and the intermediate layer is of a granulated synthetic rubber with larger-sized granules than the upper layer and combined with a polyurethane adhesive. The lower layer (3) is a concrete slab fixed by the same adhesive to the intermediate layer and to a support. The granules of the upper layer are pref. 1 - 3 mm in size, and those of the intermediate layer 7 - 12 mm, and all three layers are pref. assembled using the same adhesive which acts as a binding agent for the top and intermediate layers. The bottom layer is pref. of an aggregate with a hydraulic binder, or of wood fibres. USE/ADVANTAGE - Suitable for children's play area or swimming pool surround. Can be made in sections in workshop and laid on site.

Description

 The present invention relates to a floor covering element with shock absorption.

It is known to produce impact-absorbent floor coverings using aggregates with elastic capacity, for example synthetic rubber which are mixed with an agglomeration binder constituted for example of polyurethane adhesives or equivalent materials.

 Such floor coverings are in particular made compulsory for the development of play areas for children.

The agglomerate is produced on site and a coating can take several days, which, taking into account the drying and polymerization time of the adhesives, makes the operation directly dependent on weather conditions.

 In the case of external coating, according to the known method, it may happen that the site is interrupted for long periods making the area to be coated unfit for any use.

 Another problem with this type of coating is the preparation of the receiving soil which is very time consuming.

 The present invention aims to obviate the above drawbacks by presenting a shock-absorbing floor covering element which can be produced on the site and laid on the site, in particular outdoors, regardless of weather conditions.

 Another objective of the invention is to produce an element having a large shock absorption capacity, which can be increased or reduced if necessary, which is easy to implement and whose production in the workshop allows adaptation of the components and shapes with the needs of use such as paving slabs for playgrounds, swimming pool beach slabs, copings or other uses.

 This shock absorbing floor covering element according to the invention consists of several superposed layers, at least one upper wear layer, a thicker middle layer than the previous shock absorbing layer and a lower fixing layer to the ground ; the upper and middle layers are layers of aggregates of elastic synthetic materials agglomerated with a binder, the granulometry of the aggregates of the upper layer being different from that of the middle layer; and the lower layer is made of a material agglomerated by a hydraulic binder.

 The element can be made in tiles or any other configuration.

Other advantages and characteristics of the invention will appear on reading the description below of an embodiment of the invention given by way of nonlimiting example and illustrated by the accompanying drawings in which - the figure 1 is a sectional view of an element according to the invention, - Figure 2 is a plan view of an element according to the invention which has been given the form of a slab.

 As shown in Figure 1, the element according to the invention of shock absorption floor covering consists of several superimposed layers.

Some of the layers 1, 2 consist of elastic aggregates agglomerated with a binder and at least one layer the lower layer 3 consists of an agglomerated aggregate with a hydraulic binder, for example concrete.

 In the embodiment of the invention shown in the drawings, the upper layer 1 is a wear layer.

This layer consists of an agglomerate or aggregate of synthetic rubber or other material with elastic capacity.

The material known as E.P.D.M. can be used for this purpose.

 The particle size will be 1 to 3 millimeters.

The binder used is a polyurethane adhesive or any equivalent material.

The thickness of layer 1 is of the order of a few millimeters, for example 1 to 5 and preferably 4 to 5.

 The middle layer 2 has a shock absorption function and is produced from an aggregate with elastic capacity.

Preferably, a synthetic rubber known as E.V.A from soles waste is used.

Preferably, an aggregate with a particle size of 7 to 12 millimeters is used.

 The agglomeration is carried out with the same type of glue as layer 1.

The lower layer 3 or support layer and fixing to the ground is formed from an agglomerate with a hydraulic binder.

It can for example be a layer of concrete with a thickness of around 94 millimeters.

This layer can also be produced by a combination of studs of variable height and cells and have a thickness of the order of 15 millimeters.

 The bonding of layer 3 is obtained by the reflux of the excess agglomeration adhesive from layers 1 and 2.

Layer 3 allows the installation on site on a sand bed or by bonding if necessary.

 As shown, layer 2 is thicker than layer 1.

This layer 1 can be provided with a plurality of cells 4 regularly distributed.

Depending on the conditions of use, other components may be used; for example, layer 1 can be joined with a non-slip material by agglomeration or apposition.

Likewise, layer 3 may be made of a ceramic material or of treated wood agglomerate and optionally demineralized with hydraulic binder.

 In Figure 2 is shown an embodiment in slab with re-entrant sides 5 and projecting 6 allowing bonding of the slabs by interlocking.

 It goes without saying that all suitable shapes and volumes can be produced as well as any thickness of the different layers.

Claims (11)

CLAIMS:  1. shock-absorbing floor covering element characterized in that it consists of several superposed layers including at least one upper wear layer (1) and / or a middle layer (2) with shock absorption and at least one layer (3) for retaining and fixing to the ground.  2. Floor covering element according to claim 1 characterized in that it consists of an upper layer (1) called wear, a middle layer (2) called absorption and a lower layer (3) holding and fixing to the ground.  3. Floor covering element according to claims 1 and 2 characterized in that the so-called wear layer (1) consists of synthetic rubber granulate agglomerated with an adhesive or polyurethane binder.  4. Element according to claims 1 and 2 characterized in that the middle absorption layer (2) is a layer of synthetic rubber granulate with a larger particle size than that of the layer (1) agglomerated with a polyurethane adhesive.  5. covering element according to claim 1 characterized in that the lower layer (3) is a concrete slab fixed by the same adhesive to the layer (2) and according to the bonding point on site.  6. Coating element according to claim 3 characterized in that the layer (1) consists of a 1 to 3 millimeter gauge aggregate and glue.  7. covering element according to claims 3 and 4 characterized in that the layer 2 consists of a 7 to 12 mm gauge aggregate and glue.  8. Slab according to claim 1 and each of claims 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 and 7 characterized in that the layers (1, 2, 3) are assembled by the same glue which serves as a binder for the layers ( 1 and 2).  9. Element according to claims 1 and 5 characterized in that the slab (3) consists of concrete studs of variable height and thickness.  10. Element according to claim 1 characterized in that the layer (3) consists of an aggregate with hydraulic binder.  11. Element according to claim 1 characterized in that the layer (3) is wood fibers.