GB2156672A

GB2156672A - Articles of sanitaryware

Info

Publication number: GB2156672A
Application number: GB08505813A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Alan Pattinson
Original assignee: Imperial Chemical Industries Ltd
Current assignee: Imperial Chemical Industries Ltd
Priority date: 1984-04-04
Filing date: 1985-03-06
Publication date: 1985-10-16
Also published as: GB8505813D0; GB8408712D0

Abstract

An article of sanitaryware eg a bath comprising a thermoplastics shell, optionally reinforced on the underside thereof, is provided with an anti-slip coating comprising particulate material bonded to the thermoplastics shell by a polymer compatible with the polymer of the shell and preferably of the same chemical constitution as that of the shell. The particulate material projects from the coating to provide a rough surface, the coating being present on the base of the exposed surface of the bath over an area at least sufficient to provide a standing area for the bather. The preferred article comprises an acrylic polymer shell and a coating derived from a polymerisable acrylic monomer containing glass beads.

Description

SPECIFICATION Articles of sanitaryware This invention relates to articles of sanitaryware made from thermoplastic sheet and provided with an anti-slip surface.

Thermoplastic sheet, particularly acrylic sheet of poly(methylmethacrylate) is widely used for thermoforming articles of sanitaryware, such as baths and shower trays. Although the sheet may be used without additional reinforcement, if of sufficient thickness, it is usual to employ relative thin sheets and to reinforce the underside of the article by applying a layer of glass reinforced resin.

Such articles of sanitaryware have been employed very extensively for many years in domestic and other locations, such as institutional situations. In some situations, for example where the bath is to be used by elderly persons, it may be of special importance to provide a means of reducing accidental slippage when the bather is stepping into or standing in the bath or shower tray. Previous attempts to provide such an anti-slip surface in the bath have been by way of providing a raised pattern in the base of the bath during the thermoforming operation or by the use of anti-slip strips of a secondary material adhered to the base of the thermoformed bath. The raised patterns are not entirely satisfactory because it is difficult to introduce sufficient definition during or after the thermoforming process.The adhesive strips are not entirely satisfactory because the adhesion is eventually weakened as a result of the constant subjection to an environment of hot water containing soap or detergent.

Articles of sanitaryware having improved provision to resist accidental slippage have now been developed.

According to the invention there is provided an article of sanitaryware comprising a thermoplastics shell, optionally reinforced on the underside thereof, and provided with a coating comprising particulate material bonded to the thermoplastic shell by a polymer, compatible with the polymer of the shell, and preferably of the same chemical constitution as that of the shell, and projecting from the coating to provide a rough surface, the coating being present on the base of the show surface of the bath over an area at least sufficient to provide a standing area for the bather.

The coating containing particulate material should be applied by causing a filled, polymerisable composition, preferably containing a monomer or monomers which was used in the preparation of the thermoplastic sheet used to form the shell, to polymerise whilst deposited on the base of the bath in those areas in which an anti-slip surface is required. The provision of such a coating provides an antislip area which will not peel off and the roughness of which can be varied by choice of the particulate material to be embedded. If a coating is used in which the polymerisable composition is not of the same chemical composition as that used to manufacture the shell, the coating should be sufficiently compatible with the shell to provide a strong bond between the coating and the shell.

Preferably the thermoplastic shell is formed from an acrylic sheet, desirably of poly(methyl methacrylate) and the polymerisable composition is based on methyl methacrylate monomer. The use of the same or similar materials ensures good bonding between the shell and the coating. It is not necessary that the polymer of the shell is identical to the polymer formed in the coating in all respects, providing that they are based on the same monomer system. Thus the acrylic sheet used in sanitaryware is likely to have been prepared by the inclusion of a cross-linking monomer in addition to the methyl methacrylate monomer. The presence of a cross-linking monomer is not necessary in providing a satisfactory anti-slip coating. The polymerisable material may be based on a mixture of monomer and the particulate filler or may consist of a partially polymerised syrup containing polymer.In addition to the essential ingredients of polymerisable material and filler the composition may also contain pigments or colourants designed to tone in with or provide a contrast to the bath to be coated. It is preferred that the composition polymerises to a clear coating. A particularly useful coating for an acrylic shell is a mixture of filler and acrylic cement sold as 'Tensol' Cement No. 70 manufactured by ICI PLC. ('Tensol' is a registered Trade Mark.) The particulate material used should be of a size which can be securely embedded within the polymerised coating but which projects sufficiently to provide the necessary rough surface. It is preferred that the particulate material should have a particle size greater than about 100 microns. A particularly useful class of materials are glass beads or microspheres.Typical of such materials in Spheriglass 1221 CPOO (supplied by Croxton and Garry Limited) which contains most of its beads in the range 200 to 800 microns.

Materials of this type enable clear coatings to be readily obtained because of the transparency of the glass microspheres.

The filler content of the polymerisable composition is not critical, but is preferably at least 5% by weight. It is not normally necessary to include more than 50% by weight in order to obtain a satisfactory coating.

The composition will contain an initiator which is preferably active at room temperature. Benzoyl peroxide is normally used for polymerising acrylic cements.

The composition is applied to the required area on the base of the bath by brush or other application. The composition is restricted to the required area by use of a stencil or by masking tape. The area to be coated should preferably not include that portion of the bath on which the occupant normally sits, that is the area of the base remote from the drain end. The coating may be applied to cover a single area or may consist of a number of strips providing an area sufficient for safe standing.

The invention is further illustrated by reference to the following example.

EXAMPLE A coating composition was prepared by thoroughly mixing Tensol Cement No. 70 (100 parts by weight) Spheriglass 1221 CPP00 (50 parts) and benzoyl peroxide (0.25 parts). An area of a bath in the region of the drain hole was masked off with polyethylene masking tape to provide area extending about 45 cm from the drain and between the upstanding sides of the bath. This area was painted with the composition using a brush to achieve uniform distribution. The bath was left for 1 hour at room temperature. After this time the coating had polymerised to form an even coating with the microspheres firmly embedded by the polymerised material but standing sufficiently clear of the matrix polymer to provide a rough textured coating, providing good anti-slip resistance under wet conditions.

Claims

1. An article of sanitaryware comprising a thermoplastic shell, provided with a coating comprising particulate material bonded to the thermoplastics shell by a polymer compatible with the polymer of the shell, projecting from the coating to provide a rough surface, the coating being present on the base of the show surface of the bath over an area at least sufficient to provide a standing area for the bather.

2. An article of sanitaryware according to claim 1 in which the coating comprises a polymer containing at least 5% by weight of particulate material having a particle size greater than 100 microns.

3. An article of sanitaryware according to either of claims 1 or 2 wherein the thermoplastics shell and the polymer of the coating comprise acrylic polymers.

4. An article of sanitaryware according to any one of claims 1 to 3 in which the underside of the thermoplastics shell is provided with a reinforced backing.

5. An article of sanitaryware according to any one of claims 1 to 4 in the particulate material comprises glass beads.

6. A process of producing an article of sanitaryware having an anti-slip surface comprising thermoforming a thermoplastics shell from a sheet of thermoplastics material and applying a fluid composition, comprising particulate material dispersed in a polymerisable medium, to those areas of the shell in which an anti-slip surface is required, and causing the polymerisable medium to polymerise, the polymer produced being compatible with the thermoplastics shell.

7. A process according to claim 5 wherein the polymerisable medium comprises a monomer or monomers which had been used to prepare the thermoplastics material of the shell.

8. A process according to either of claims 6 or 7 in which the polymerisable material contains at least 5% by weight of particulate material having a particle size greater than 100 microns.

9. A process according to any one of claims 6 to 8 in which the thermoplastics shell is an acrylic polymer, the polymerisable medium contains an acrylic monomer and the particulate material comprises glass beads.