GB2086721A - Bath mats etc - Google Patents

Abstract

A mat, inlay or neck pad for a bath or shower comprising an underpart (1) which has sealing outer surfaces and comprises a pad of foamed synthetic material such as PVC, and an upper part (2) joined thereto with an impervious adhesive (3), the upper part consisting of a woven textile which may consist of loops or a pile of synthetic material, and may be embossed or otherwise patterned with an aesthetic design. The neck pad is provided with raised padded parts the core of which may comprise foamed PVC. Suction pads (4) are provided on the under-surface of the inlay or neck pad and the inlay may be perforated (5) in the normal manner to allow for the drainage of any water retained on the upper surface. <IMAGE>

Description

SPECIFICATION Bath inlay Inlays for baths and showers, and neck pads, all formed of foamed synthetic material are known, each having an upper surface, the texture of which is grained to a greater or lesser extent, an impervious skin on top and underneath, sealed edges and suction cups underneath. The inlays can contain a large number of punched-out holes, the edges of which are sealed. The holes serve for the draining of water standing above.

These inlays are intended to prevent slipping in the bath or in the shower. The suction cups provide satisfactory prevention of slipping of the inlay in the bath. A sufficiently rough, grain-like textured surface of the inlay also prevents the foot slipping on the inlay.

The most varied textures of the surface also serve as decoration.

It is also known to apply onto the upper side of the inlay of foamed synthetic material an additional upper course of synthetic material, which has a towel-like texture, i.e. a texture of loops, in which the loops are in one piece with the waterproof layer of the upper course and the upper course as a whole consists of a polyester. Here it must be noted that the towel-like texture consisting of synthetic material does not behave like a textile material and with known inlays having such a finish the upper course of synthetic material has a continuous waterproof layer on its underside, whilst the foamed lower course is in itself sealed against water. The inlay therefore consists completely of synthetic non-woven material.In contrast, the object of the present invention is to create an inlay which has a texture on the upper side which is more pleasant, agreeable and comfortable to the skin for the person using the inlay.

This problem is solved by a bath inlay according to the invention, which consists of a foamed synthetic material, such as PVC, in a known manner, but which is covered on its upper side with a textile.

The textile should preferably be a weave of synthetic fibres, such as polyamide or polyester. The weave can be a lock-knit, a velour or a looped material. The synthetic fibre has an extremely slight tendency to absorb water and dries satisfactorily quickly after use. This is particularly important for a shower inlay, which is usually used daily and is often not lifted up after use. The fact that the woven material, even as a velour, permits such small weights, such as 80 g/m2, lends itself to quick drying. The less material, the smaller the surface, the less admission of water, therefore the quicker the drying. The thermoplastic behaviour of the synthetic fibres increases with the capacity to which the woven material can be dressed.In this way, the inlay defined by the invention can be given a textured surface partly in the form of a grain, to increase the gripping capacity of the surface, and partly as a more heavily embossed ornamental decoration, in order to divide the surface of the inlay.

Usually a bath inlay has a matching neck pad. Its padded part is raised approximately 3 cm over the surrounding section or over a larger neck flap. Here the forming property of the foam course plus textile and the thermopiastic behaviour of the textile are subjected to particularly high requirements, which both materials fulfil well.

If the textile is to be stuck with adhesive on the foam course, the adhesive coat must be impervious. On adhesion the adhesive also penetrates into the base of the woven material and thus considerably reduces its already slight tendency to retain water. The adhesive has to be such that it is compatible with the PVC plasticizer in the same way as iater with the soaps in the bath.

The possibility of the formation of bacteria and fungi in this thin textile upper side of the inlay is to be obviated by previous antibacterial and antimycotic finishing of the textile.

This finishing can nowadays be so durable that it even outlasts a greater number of washes in a washing machine.

The woven material applied onto the foam course can, if desired, be kept to such a small height that an inlay may be provided which consists partly of the foam course plus textile, and partly of the foam course only, without a noticeable variation in the height of the inlay resulting. In this way an inlay can consist, for example, of an inner surface with an upper side and an edging with a different type of upper side.

Further features of the invention are characterised in the Claims.

An example embodiment is represented in the attached drawing, wherein: Figure 1 is a plan view of a bath inlay; Figure 2 is a section on the line 2-2 of Fig.

1; Figure 3 is a neck pad; and Figure 4 is a section through the neck pad on the line IV-IV. As can be seen in particular from Fig. 2, the bath inlay consists of a foam course consisting of foamed PVC and a textile 2, which is closely connected with the foam course. The connecting layer has the reference numeral 3. On the underside of the foam course 1 are suction cups 4 in the known manner, which serve to anchor or secure the inlay in the bath.

Fig. 1 shows the bath inlay, which should be substantially rectangular in shape and in which the suction cups are shown as 4. The reference numerals 5 are perforations, as also shown in 5 in Fig. 2, which serve the purpose of allowing the water which has collected on the upper side to drain off more easily.

The textile is preferably a woven material such as lock-knit, velour or looped material of a synthetic fibre.

Fig. 3 shows a view of a neck pad in plan view with a main pad section 6 and a border section 7. Again, 4 denotes the suction cups for fastening. The base of the neck section 8 consists of foamed PVC. The actual pad is formed from a core 9 of a suitable foam material, for example polyurethane foam. This core is contained in a PVC-foam shell, which is covered with the textile 2 in the same manner as the mat.

The term "bath inlay" as used in the appended claims is to be understood here as an inlay for a bath, with or without a neck piece, a separate neck piece for a bath and also an inlay for a shower tray. Although in the drawing the bath inlay is represented as having a rectangular shape, it can have other shapes related to the shape of the bath, with straightlined or curved edges, e.g. it may be oval or square.

Claims (5)

1. Bath inlay using a foamed synthetic material, characterized in that the bath inlay consists of a foamed synthetic material, which is covered on the upper side with a textile and has suction cups on the underside.

2. Bath inlay according to Claim 1, characterized in that the textile is a woven material of a thermoplastic synthetic fibre.

3. Bath inlay according to Claims 1 and 2, characterized in that the connection of the woven material with the foam material is impervious.

4. Bath inlay according to Claim 1 to 3, characterized in that the upper side has an embossed texture.

5. Bath inlay substantially as described herein with reference to the accompanying drawings.