FR3085859A1 - FOLDABLE PRATICABLE ESPECIALLY USED IN THE FIELD OF GYMNASTICS - Google Patents

Abstract

The invention relates to a foldable gymnastic floor (1) adapted to be able to have a first position, called the folded position, in which the floor is folded into a plurality of folding strips (12) folded over one another and wound around itself once the folding strips have been made, and a second position, known as the deployed position, said walkable surface being characterized in that it comprises an envelope (10), at least one inflation valve (20a) of said sealed envelope arranged on a side wall in the vicinity of the axis of symmetry (50) of said envelope so that it is accessible by an operator when said floor is in said folded position, and allows the spontaneous passage of said floor from said folded position to the said deployed position when it is supplied with pressurized air.

Description

Foldable passable especially used in the field of gymnastics

1. Technical field of the invention

The invention relates to a practicable, in particular used in the field of gymnastics, comprising a foldable envelope.

2. Technological background

In known manner, the practice of sports such as gymnastics or even sports of martial arts such as for example judo, karate, or taekwondo, requires a protective surface on the ground. This surface on the ground, more commonly designated by the term "practicable" in particular in the field of gymnastics, is defined as an area delimited on the ground on which gymnasts evolve during their exercise.

The majority of walkables consists of tracks or carpets generally arranged on a floor. The floor can be a spring floor or a dynamic floor with foam cubes. The floor is placed under the surface of the floor area and helps absorb shocks. The gymnasts benefit from a better rebound. The tracks or the mats are designed in foam and / or carpet and on which the gymnasts are in direct contact. The tracks can be unrolled to allow the installation of the floor area or rolled up to be stored and transported easily. As for the carpets, they are placed next to each other when the floor plan is put in place and are stacked on top of each other during storage.

The installation (or installation) of a floor space as described above therefore consists of depositing tracks or carpets on a floor in order to create a floor area on which the gymnasts play. Gymnastics practicable being of large dimensions, the installation requires a certain time which can go up to several hours depending on the number of people present to participate in the pose.

In addition, the halls hosting sporting events are not all equipped with passable surfaces. These rooms must therefore be fitted out for the occasion. In fact, the transport and handling of the belts and / or the rollable tracks must be organized. The time and cost of transportation adds to the risk of damaging the equipment. Indeed, the material moved specially for a sporting event, from one room to another, can be degraded and the carpets undergo deformations. The weight and size of the carpets are also to be taken into consideration during transport and installation.

In addition, when the mats or the tracks are not used, they must be stored for example in a room dedicated to the equipment, which can cause a loss of space within a sports hall.

An alternative to the previous solution is to use an inflatable floor. Although the installation of this passable is facilitated by its weight and its smaller footprint than the spring passable, it is still difficult. Indeed, the installation of such an inflatable floor requires a large workforce for the handling and installation of the floor floor. The installation of such a floor plan involves at least five people who position the deflated floor plan in a deployed position over the entire length of the floor. The floor area is then inflated in its entirety while already being deployed on the ground.

The inventors have therefore sought to improve the existing solutions in order to facilitate the installation of a walkable and in particular by proposing a walkable which can be inflated and installed spontaneously and for which human intervention is limited during installation.

3. Objectives of the invention

The invention aims to provide a foldable floor plan, in particular used in the field of gymnastics which overcomes at least some of the drawbacks of known floor plans.

The invention aims in particular to provide, in at least one embodiment, a light practicable thereby facilitating the transport and installation of said practicable.

The invention also aims to provide, in at least one embodiment, a foldable walkable whose installation is quick and is carried out independently.

4. Statement of the invention

To do this, the invention relates to a foldable gymnastic floor suitable for being able to have a first position, called the folded position, in which the floor is folded into a plurality of folding strips folded over each other and wrapped around it. even once the folding strips have been made, and a second position, called the deployed position, in which the floor is unrolled and unfolded to extend on a horizontal plane floor, said floor being characterized in that it comprises:

a sealed envelope defined by an upper wall, a lower wall in contact with said horizontal plane floor in said deployed position, and side walls connecting the upper wall and the lower wall, said envelope having symmetry with respect to an axis of symmetry s' extending parallel to the direction of the folding strips, at least one inflation valve of said sealed envelope arranged on a side wall in the vicinity of the axis of symmetry of said envelope, called inflation wall, so that it is accessible by an operator when said floor is in said folded position, and allows spontaneous passage of said floor from said folded position to said deployed position when it is supplied with pressurized air.

A gymnastic floor plan according to the invention is folded so as to allow rapid and spontaneous installation without requiring human resources for the deployment of the floor plan. The folding of the strips of the waterproof envelope makes it possible to reduce the space occupied by the passable during transport and handling of the latter.

In addition, the folding of the strips along an axis of symmetry can be carried out in two stages. On the one hand, the strips located on one side of the axis of symmetry are folded, then on the other hand the strips located on the other side of the axis of symmetry are folded in turn. This folding in two stages allows the installers not to support the weight of the whole floor area unlike a folding carried out over the entire length of the floor area.

Also, the folding of the strips along an axis of symmetry makes it possible to leave apparent at the level of a side wall, called the inflation wall, at least one inflation valve in order to allow an operator to position inflators to supply said valve with a pressurized air. The presence of at least one inflation valve makes it possible to inflate the envelope by blowing pressurized air. The inflation of said envelope generates an increase in the volume of the envelope and therefore allows the deployment of the passable in a progressive and spontaneous manner.

The folding of the strips conditions the accessibility of the inflation valves and therefore the passage from a folded position to a spontaneously deployed position when said valve is supplied with pressurized air.

Advantageously and according to the invention, the waterproof envelope is of parallelepiped shape.

According to this variant, the folding of the strips is facilitated by the shape of the envelope. Indeed, a parallelepiped has an axis of symmetry allowing the folding strips to be folded down easily on each other.

According to this variant, the folding strips are preferably rectangular in shape and have a uniform width.

Preferably, the folding strips measure approximately one meter in width and extend parallel to an axis of symmetry of the envelope.

Advantageously and according to the invention, said waterproof envelope comprises a deformable fibrous material allowing the circulation of air within said envelope.

According to this variant, the sealed envelope comprises a fibrous material made up of fibers connecting the upper wall and the lower wall of the envelope.

To move from a folded position to a deployed position on the ground, the waterproof envelope is inflated and said fibers are arranged so that air circulation is allowed within the waterproof envelope. The fibrous material thus makes it possible to maintain the structure of the passable when it is inflated.

Advantageously and according to the invention, the practicable comprises at least two inflation valves - preferably four - arranged on said inflation wall, in the vicinity of the axis of symmetry of said envelope.

This variant allows faster inflation of the envelope and thus faster installation of the floor area than with a single inflation valve.

Of course and according to other variants, the floor area can include a different number of inflation valves.

Advantageously and according to the invention, the passable surface further comprises at least one deflation valve arranged at one end of a side wall of the sealed envelope opposite to said inflation wall.

According to this variant, the air contained in the envelope of the floor can be expelled by means of a deflation valve. The envelope can therefore be deflated to allow the sheets to be folded. The floor can therefore pass from a deployed position to a folded position in which the floor can be easily manipulated and has a minimum space requirement for transport.

Advantageously and according to the invention, the practicable comprises two pairs of deflation valves arranged at the two ends of a side wall of the sealed envelope opposite to said inflation wall.

According to this variant, in the presence of two pairs of deflation valves, the amount of air expelled out of the floor of the pass is greater than the amount of air expelled by a single deflation valve. Each pair of valves is arranged at one end of a side wall opposite the inflation wall. The air is thus expelled from two ends of the envelope which facilitates deflation. The envelope completely emptied of air is found in a configuration in which the folding of the envelope is made possible in order to pass from a deployed position to a folded position allowing the transport of the passable.

Advantageously and according to the invention, the floor area comprises a plurality of handling handles distributed over the side walls of the envelope.

According to this variant, the handling handles form gripping means by which operators can grasp and move without difficulty the floor once inflated, for example to precisely adjust its positioning in the room of use. The handles are distributed uniformly over all the side walls so that several operators can grasp the floor to lift and move it without risking piercing it in direct contact with it.

The invention also relates to a method for deploying a gymnastics floor according to the invention, characterized in that it comprises the steps consisting in:

- position the floor in the folded position on the ground;

- Supply by pressurized air at least one inflation valve of said sealed envelope arranged on said inflation wall of said envelope so as to allow spontaneous deployment of said floor from said folded position to said deployed position.

The deployment method according to the invention thus makes it possible to easily deploy a floor plan according to the invention in order to pass from a folded position when the floor plan has a minimum space requirement to a deployed position in which the floor plan is extended horizontally on the ground. As soon as the floor plan is positioned on the ground in the folded position and the inflation valves are supplied, the floor plan deployment takes place spontaneously and without human intervention.

The invention also relates to a gymnastics floor and a method of deploying a gymnastics floor, characterized in combination by all or some of the characteristics mentioned above or below.

5. List of figures

Other objects, characteristics and advantages of the invention will appear on reading the following description given by way of non-limiting example and which refers to the appended figures in which:

- Figure 1 is a schematic view of a passable according to one embodiment in the folded position,

FIG. 2 is a diagrammatic view of the floor space of FIG. 1 during the course of it,

- Figure 3 is a schematic view of the floor area of Figure 1 and 2 unrolled along the ground and showing the central part of the envelope,

- Figure 4 is a schematic view of a walkable from Figure 1, 2 and 3 during unfolding,

FIG. 5 is a schematic perspective view of the floor area oriented so as to see the inflation wall having inflation valves, and

- Figure 6 is a schematic rear view in 90 ° pivoted perspective of the floor space of the previous figures being unfolded and inflated.

6. Detailed description of an embodiment of the invention

In the figures, the scales and proportions are not strictly observed, for the purposes of illustration and clarity.

In addition, identical, similar or analogous elements are designated by the same references in all of FIGS. 1 to 6.

Figures 1 to 6 illustrate the main steps of the method according to one embodiment of the invention implemented by a walkable according to one embodiment of the invention.

The term "horizontal" is used to refer to the horizontal direction defined by the plane in which the floor extends along the ground when it is deployed.

The floor 1 shown in the figures and described in the following is a floor which is configured to be able to pass from a first folded position as illustrated in Figure 1, that is to say with a minimum footprint facilitating the transport to a second deployed position, as illustrated in FIGS. 5 and 6, in which the floor is extended on a horizontal plane floor in order to be used, and vice versa.

As shown in Figure 1, the floor 1 is in the folded position on a horizontal plane floor. The floor is folded into a plurality of folding strips 12 folded over each other and wrapped around itself once the folding strips have been made.

To obtain the folded position, folding takes place when the envelope is deflated. Said folding strips are folded over each other from the outside of the envelope to the inside of the envelope. The plurality of folding strips 12 of the envelope 10 folded over each other are stacked in the vicinity of the axis of symmetry 50 in order to form a central portion 11 of the envelope lying in the vicinity of the axis of symmetry 50 and shown in FIG. 3. According to the embodiment, said central part 11 is rectangular in shape and has a width much less than the length of the envelope. Said central portion 11 of the envelope is wound on itself so that the inflation valves are accessible. The floor area is thus in a folded position in which the envelope is compact and fully deflated, and thus has a reduced bulk.

The deployment of the floor area as illustrated in FIGS. 1 to 6 is permitted by the presence of inflation valves 20a and inflators 40 supplying said inflation valves.

When pressurized air is introduced into the envelope 10 from the inflation valves 20a, the envelope will gradually fill with air and first of all allow the central part 11 to unfold as illustrated by the figure 2.

FIG. 3 represents said central part 11 of the envelope 10 formed of the folding strips 12 stacked one on top of the other. Said central part 11 extends along the axis of symmetry 50 to be completely unwound along the horizontal plane ground.

When the central part 11 is unwound, the folding strips 12 are spontaneously unfolded one after the other. FIG. 4 shows the unfolding carried out in a direction perpendicular to the axis of symmetry 50. The air entering the inflation valves 20a is distributed uniformly in the envelope 10 and thus allows the spontaneous deployment of said envelope.

The inflation valves 20a are arranged on said inflation wall 10d so as to be accessible to allow connection to an inflator 40 and in the vicinity of the axis of symmetry 50 defined by the central axis passing lengthwise through the envelope.

According to one embodiment, the inflation valves 20a are each connected to an inflator as illustrated in FIGS. 2 to 4. In another embodiment, the inflation is permitted by a single inflator comprising four conduits, each being connected to a valve. The inflation valves 20a make it possible to supply the envelope with pressurized air supplied by an inflator 40. Thus the envelope 10 can be filled with pressurized air and the deployment of the passenger from the folded position to the deployed position can be carried out on a horizontal plane floor.

The envelope 10 being inflatable, it also has deflation valves 20b shown in FIG. 6, in order to extract the air from the envelope 10. The deflation valves 20b allow the deflation of the envelope to perform the folding. in order to be able to store, move and transport the floor area when it is not in use.

For example, the inflation and deflation valves have a diameter on the order of 2 centimeters to 10 centimeters.

The inflators 40 will be chosen according to the type of valve and the number of valves placed on the envelope, in order to adapt the power. As illustrated in FIGS. 1 to 4, the practitioner can for example comprise four inflation valves, each of which is supplied by an inflator, which is for example an electric inflator delivering a power of the order of 1200 watts.

As illustrated in FIGS. 5 and 6, the envelope 10 consists of a sealed compartment comprising an upper wall 10a and a lower wall 10b being in contact with the horizontal plane ground when the envelope is in the deployed position. The lower 10b and upper 10a walls are interconnected by side walls forming the outline of the inflatable envelope. On a side wall, called the inflation wall 10d, the inflation valves 20a are arranged.

The walls of the envelope are designed with a resistant material and allowing reversible deformation such as for example polyvinyl chloride (PVC) allowing thus to easily pass from a folded position to a deployed position. The floor area is subject to standards in order to meet safety but also health requirements, especially since the upper wall is in direct contact with the gymnasts. It is expected that the upper wall contains little or no phthalates.

The envelope 10 preferably comprises a fibrous material distributed uniformly within the interior of said envelope. The fibers of the fibrous material are arranged so as to allow the circulation of pressurized air throughout the envelope when the passable is being deployed. When the floor 1 is deployed, the fibers allow the structure to be maintained by being connected on either side of the envelope by means of the upper 10a and lower 10b walls.

When the envelope is inflated and filled with air, the fibers extend on either side of the upper walls 10a and lower 10b. The fibers can be of variable length depending on the desired thickness of the floor space. The height of the fibers can vary between 10 and 30 centimeters but preferably the height of the fibers is of the order of 20 centimeters.

FIG. 5 represents the passable in said deployed position, when the envelope is fully inflated and the inflators are removed from the inflation valves. The floor area is thus operational for any use.

According to one embodiment, the floor area can include handling handles 30 arranged on the side walls 10c and on the inflation wall 10d to be easily moved and positioned.

For example, FIG. 5 represents a walkable space measuring 14 meters long with a thickness of approximately 20 centimeters and having on each side wall 10c and on said inflation wall 10d, four handling handles 30 spaced regularly. The floor area also has four inflation valves 20a arranged on the inflation wall 10d in the vicinity of the axis of symmetry 50.

FIG. 6 shows the floor area according to the invention with a side wall 10c comprising two pairs of deflation valves 20b arranged at the ends of the side wall 10c.

Generally, a practicable gymnastic competition has standard dimensions between 10 and 15 meters long. Preferably, the gymnastics practitioner has lengths of the same dimension. In particular, the gymnastics walker measures 14 meters by 14 meters. The side walls of the envelope can extend up to a thickness of several tens of centimeters.

The invention is not limited to the single embodiments described in connection with the figures. For example, according to other embodiments not shown, the floor can take a circular shape or any other shape allowing to pass from a folded position to a deployed position, and vice versa.

According to another embodiment, the deflation valves (20b) can be arranged at the ends of a side wall (10c) or of said inflation wall (10d).

According to another embodiment, the inflation and deflation valves can be similar so that their function is interchangeable and that a valve allows both inflation and deflation. Thus, the inflation valves can for example be used as deflation valves to facilitate deflation of the envelope.

Claims (8)

1. Foldable gymnastic floor (1) adapted to be able to present a first position, called the folded position, in which the floor is folded into a plurality of folding strips (12) folded over one another and wrapped around itself once the folding strips have been made, and a second position, called the deployed position, in which the floor is unrolled and unfolded to extend on a horizontal plane floor, said floor being characterized in that it comprises: a sealed envelope (10) defined by an upper wall (10a), a lower wall (10b) in contact with said horizontal plane floor in said deployed position, and side walls connecting the upper wall and the lower wall, said envelope having symmetry with respect to an axis of symmetry (50) extending parallel to the direction of the folding strips, at least one inflation valve (20a) of said sealed envelope arranged on a side wall in the vicinity of the axis of symmetry (50 ) of said envelope, said inflation wall (10d), so that it is accessible by an operator when said floor is in said folded position, and allows the spontaneous passage of said floor from said folded position to said deployed position when it is supplied by pressurized air. 2. Gymnastic surface according to claim 1, characterized in that the waterproof envelope (10) is of rectangular shape. 3. A gymnastics workout according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that said waterproof envelope comprises a deformable fibrous material allowing the circulation of air within said envelope. 4. Gymnastics equipment according to one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that it comprises four inflation valves (20a) arranged on said inflation wall (10d), in the vicinity of the axis of symmetry (50) of said envelope. 5. Gymnastics trainer according to one of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that it further comprises at least one deflation valve (20b) arranged at one end of a side wall (10c) of the waterproof envelope opposite to said inflation wall (10d). 6. Gymnastics equipment according to claim 5, characterized in that it comprises two pairs of deflation valves (20b) arranged at the two ends of a side wall (10c) of the waterproof envelope opposite to said inflation wall ( lOd). 7. Gymnastics floor according to one of claims 1 to 6, characterized in that it comprises a plurality of handling handles (30) distributed over the side walls of the envelope. 8. Method for deploying a gymnastics floor according to one of claims 1 to 7, characterized in that it comprises the steps consisting of: position the floor area (1) in the folded position on the ground; supplying pressurized air to at least one inflation valve (20a) of said sealed envelope (10) arranged on said inflation wall (10d) of said envelope so as to allow spontaneous deployment of said passable from said folded position to said position deployed.