GB2268521A

GB2268521A - Anti-slip floor surfaces

Info

Publication number: GB2268521A
Application number: GB9213884A
Authority: GB
Inventors: William Leslie Whitelaw; Ronald Morton; Robert Ian Lawson
Original assignee: Gradus Ltd
Current assignee: Gradus Ltd
Priority date: 1992-06-30
Filing date: 1992-06-30
Publication date: 1994-01-12
Anticipated expiration: 2012-06-30
Also published as: GB9213884D0; GB2268521B

Abstract

A tile or floor covering has an integral anti-slip insert 20, presenting an anti-slip surface, formed therein. One method of manufacturing the floor covering includes arranging one or more anti-slip inserts in a mould; pouring an aggregate into the mould and allowing the aggregate to set. The insert and matrix material may comprise a composition of blocked polyurethane, an epoxy resin and an inert aggregate. <IMAGE>

Description

IMPROVEKENTS IN OR RELATING TO FLOOR SURFACES This invention relates generally to floor surfaces and more particularly to anti-slip inserts and floor surfaces including tile arrangements incorporating such inserts intended to prevent a person's shoe or boot from slipping on the floor surface.

An example of an existing type anti-slip device is shown in Figure 1 of the accompanying drawings. A portion of a stairway 10 is shown in section. A tread 11 of a concrete stair 12 has an anti-slip strip 13 connected to the stair 12 by way of a galvanised nail or screw 14 and a rawl plug 15. The stair 12 may be recessed so as to provide a lip into which the anti-slip strip 13 may sit. Alternatively, as shown in the figure marked PRIOR ART, the stair 12 acts as a sub floor for an upper portion 16 which may comprise an aggregate filler or other suitable material.

A disadvantage with existing anti-slip strips of the aforementioned kind has been that they have been expensive and time consuming to fit and they have tended to weaken the edge portion of the stair with the result that cracks have occurred. In stairways which have been outdoors there has been a tendency for water to seep into the cracks, freeze and damage the integrity of the stair.

Sometimes anti-slip strips have been applied to floor tiles. One way of applying such strips has been to bond them to the surface of a tile using an adhesive. Such strips have tended to stand proud of the general floor level and have tended to impede apparatus such as floor cleaning equipment. Sometimes the anti-slip strips have had a premature life because the adhesive binding them to tiles has not been properly applied and the strip has been scuffed away.

It has also been proposed to provide discs of non-slip material as inserts in the tread of a stair. These discs are produced from sheets of straight sided material and it is difficult to ensure that they remain in place.

The advantages of anti-slip strips are well known.

Anti-slip strips have been a tried and tested way of preventing people slipping down stairways, ramps or slopes especially when these are out of doors and have become wet.

Thus it may be seen that although successful the permanent application of anti-slip strips has been difficult to achieve economically.

According to a first aspect of the present invention there is provided a tile having formed therein an integral anti-slip insert, which insert presents an anti-slip surface.

According to a second aspect of the present invention there is provided an anti-slip insert having a surface, a portion of which, in use is exposed so as to prevent an object, in contact with said surface, from slipping over said surface; the insert having a profiled edge region.

According to a third aspect of the present invention there is provided a floor covering comprising an anti-slip insert as defined above, at least the edge portion of said insert being partly surrounded by a material making up the floor covering, a portion of the anti-slip insert protruding through an orifice in the material such that in use the exposed portion of the anti-slip material prevents an object slipping thereacross.

The insert is preferably made from a composition comprising a blocked polyurethane, an epoxy resin and an inert aggregate.

In one embodiment of the invention a plurality of inserts are arranged in an array within a tile. The material which makes up the body of the tile may be poured into a suitably shaped mould in which the array of anti-slip elements have been disposed. In a particularly preferred embodiment the inserts are formed of the same material as the matrix material surrounding the insert, which material is preferably the composition mentioned above comprising blocked polyurethane, epoxy resin and inert aggregate. If desired the matrix material and inserts may be cast or otherwise produced on a rigid backing which may be a pre-formed tile.

The exposed surface of the insert and/or the matrix material can be ground after the floor covering product has been formed. The preferred material for the insert that is to say the blocked polyurethane, epoxy resin and inert aggregate is a thermosetting material and therefore does not suffer as a result of heat generated when it is ground.

This is an advantage over some known forms of insert which can melt or otherwise deteriorate when subjected to grinding or polishing.

The insert of the invention can be included in matrix material so that its exposed surface is flush with the surface of the matrix. It is however within the invention to provide for the inserts to project above the level of the surrounding matrix.

The surface of a tile made in accordance with the invention may have a high quality finish which enables it to be used as a floor tile or as a tile on a stair tread.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention there is provided a method of manufacturing a floor covering comprising the steps of: arranging at least one anti-slip insert in a mould; pouring an aggregate into the mould, such that some of the aggregate is in contact with a portion of the surface of the insert; and allowing the aggregate to set.

Preferably the mould is heated in an oven to accelerate setting of the aggregate.

The anti-slip insert may be arranged such that on removal from the mould a portion of it is revealed as part of the surface of the floor covering. The floor covering may be a tile or tread of a stair.

Alternatively the anti-slip insert may be hidden from view when the floor covering is removed from the mould. In which case the covering, tile or tread may need to be ground or polished so as to reveal the anti-slip insert.

Preferably this method is used to manufacture a high quality floor tile. A small amount of high quality material may be poured around anti-slip inserts whilst in the form of a slurry. The material is then allowed to set or part set.

An aggregate material is then poured on top of the high quality material within the mould. The tile is then compressed so as to remove excess water and homogenise the tile. It then enters a kiln and is baked.

The tile is then inverted and the exposed high quality surface is removed so as to reveal the or each anti-slip insert. Often this entails firstly grinding only a small portion of the surface away. The surface is then polished and is ready for laying as a tile.

The inserts may have a disc shaped surface. As already stated the edge region of the insert is profiled so as to retain the insert in the matrix material. The profiling may be of any desired shape provided it achieves this purpose. Where the insert is to be ground, however, it is preferred that the profiling of the edge is such that at least the lip region of the insert is of uniform cross-section. Thus grinding does not expose a surface of progressively larger cross-section. If desired the insert of the invention can be formed in situ. Thus a matrix material may be preformed with recesses therein corresponding to the shape of the insert. A composition which will preferably harden at room temperature, for example the preferred composition of blocked polyurethane, epoxy resin and inert aggregate, is conveniently used for fixing inserts in this way. If desired a form of fastening which projects in to the matrix material can be provided in the recess in which the inserts are to be moulded. The finished product is thus securely held in place by the fastening which is concealed within the moulded insert and matrix.

So as to assist location of the or each insert when the insert is used in a tile, the tile mould may have suitably positioned recesses into which the or each insert may be placed prior to pouring of the aggregate or slurry which constitutes the high quality surface. Alternatively the or each insert may be temporarily bonded to a lower surface of the mould into which the high quality aggregate or slurry is poured.

An alternative way of bonding anti-slip inserts is to attach tags or legs to an under surface of the or each insert by using an adhesive such as epoxy resin. These perforated tags are then pushed into a high quality finished slurry which is partly set. Alternatively the slurry may be poured around them, as in the aforementioned example; left to set or part set and then covered with a strengthening or filler aggregate which is then compressed and dried baked.

Another alternative method of manufacturing a tile comprises the steps of: masking a part of the surface of the anti-slip insert and then pouring aggregate around the anti-slip insert allowing the tile to set or part-set and then removing the mask.

The anti-slip inserts may have any cross-sectional shape for example: they may be square, triangular, circular, oval, rectangular, hexagonal, star or moon shaped, in the silhouette of faces, cars, animals, letters, numerals, devices or any other shape which may be desired.

Similarly any suitable aggregate may be used as a bulking material around and behind the anti-slip inserts within the body of the matrix material. An example of such a "bulking material" may be old types of slate or slabs of stone which may otherwise be discarded as waste materials.

Specific embodiments of the invention will now be described by way of example only with reference to the accompanying drawings in which: Fig. 1 is section through a prior art anti-slip assembly; Fig. 2 is a side elevation of an insert; Fig 3 is a side elevation of a different form of insert; Fig. 4 is a section through a matrix material; and Fig. 5 is a section through a product wherein the insert is integral with the matrix.

Referring to Fig. 2 the insert 20 has tapered edge portions 22 providing a frusto conical shape overall. The insert is thereby held in a matrix in the manner of a dovetail. The edge region of the insert can have any suitable profile to retain it in a matrix material. Thus as shown in Fig. 3 the edge of the insert is stepped to provide a rebate 24 to retain the insert in a matrix material. This embodiment of insert has a uniform cross-section in its upper portion 26 so that grinding of the exposed upper surface 28 of the insert does not increase the area of the upper surface (as would be the case with the embodiment of Fig. 2).

The insert can be formed in situ and this method will be described with reference to Fig. 4. A matrix material 30, for example of concrete is cast with recesses 31 therein at the sites where non-slip surfaces are required. A screw or like fastener 32 is positioned in the recess to that it projects into the matrix but does not extend beydnd the upper surface of the matrix. When the matrix has hardened a composition for forming the insert 20 is poured into the recess. When the insert has hardened the insert is firmly held in place by the screw 32 and by the edge formation 22.

In the embodiment of Fig. 5 the inserts 20 are integral with the matrix material 40. The combined inserts and matrix can be moulded or otherwise formed as a rigid base 42 such as a tile or the like.

It will be appreciated that variation to the above embodiment and method may be made without departing from the scope of the invention so as to provide a tile which is cheap to produce, hardwearing, pleasant to the eye as well as safe for users.

Claims

1. A tile having formed therein an integral anti-slip insert, which insert presents an anti-slip surface.

2. An anti-slip insert having a surface, a portion of which, in use is exposed so as to prevent an object, in contact with said surface, from slipping over said surface; the insert having a profiled edge region.

3. A floor covering comprising an anti-slip insert as claimed in claim 2, at least the edge portion of said insert being partly surrounded by a material making up the floor covering, a portion of the anti-slip insert protruding through an orifice in the material such that in use the exposed portion of the anti-slip material prevents an object slipping thereacross.

4. A tile, an anti-slip insert or a floor covering as claimed in any preceding claim wherein the insert is made from a composition comprising a blocked polyurethane, an epoxy resin and an inert aggregate.

5. A tile, an anti-slip insert or a floor covering as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein a plurality of inserts are arranged in an array within a tile.

6. A tile as claimed in any preceding claim wherein material which makes up the body of the tile is poured into a suitably shaped mould in which an array of anti-slip elements have been disposed.

7. A tile or a floor covering as claimed in any preceding claim wherein the inserts are formed of the same material as the material surrounding the inserts.

8. A tile or a floor covering as claimed in any preceding claim wherein the material surrounding the insert comprises a composition comprising blocked polyurethane, epoxy resin and inert aggregate.

9. A tile or a floor covering as claimed in any preceding claim wherein the material surrounding the insert is cast or produced on a rigid backing.

10. A tile, an anti-slip insert or a floor covering as claimed in any preceding claim wherein the insert comprises a thermosetting material.

11. A tile or a floor covering as claimed in any preceding claim wherein the exposed surface of the insert and/or surrounding material is ground after the tile or floor covering has been formed.

12. A tile or a floor covering as claimed in any preceding claim wherein the exposed surface of the insert is flush with or projects above the level of the surface of the surrounding material.

13. A method of manufacturing a floor covering comprising the steps of: arranging at least one anti-slip insert in a mould; pouring an aggregate into the mould, such that some of the aggregate is in contact with a portion of the surface of the insert; and allowing the aggregate to set.

14. A method as claimed in claim 13 wherein the mould is heated in an oven.

15. A method as claimed in claim 13 wherein an anti-slip insert is arranged such that on removal from the mould a portion of the insert is revealed as part of the surface of the floor covering.

16. A method as claimed in claim 13 wherein an anti-slip insert is hidden from view when the floor covering is removed from the mould.

17. A method as claimed in claim 16 wherein the moulded floor covering is ground or polished so as to reveal the anti-slip insert.

18. A method of manufacturing a floor tile comprising the steps of: arranging at least one anti-slip insert in a mould; pouring an amount of material around the insert(s); allowing the material to set or part set; pouring an aggregate material on top of the set or part set material within the mould; compressing the thus formed tile; and baking the formed tile.

19. A method as claimed in claim 18 further comprising the step of removing the exposed high quality surface so as to reveal the or each anti-slip insert.

20. A tile, an anti-slip insert, a floor covering or a method as claimed in any preceding claim wherein the insert or inserts have a disc shaped surface.

21. A tile, an anti-slip insert, a floor covering or a method as claimed in any preceding claim wherein the insert has a profiled edge region.

22. A tile, an anti-slip insert, a floor covering or a method as claimed in claim 21 wherein the profiled edge is such that at least the lip region of the insert is of uniform cross-section.

23. A method as claimed in any preceding claim wherein a matrix material is preformed with recesses therein corresponding to the shape of the insert.

24. A method as claimed in claim 23 wherein the matrix material comprises a composition which will harden at room temperature.

25. A method as claimed in claim 23 or claim 24 wherein a fastening device which projects into the matrix material is provided in the recess.

26. A method as claimed in any of claims 23 to 25 wherein the inserts are moulded in the recesses.

27. A method as claimed in claim 26 when dependent on claim 25 wherein the fastening device is concealed within the moulded insert and matrix.

28. A method as claimed in any preceding claim wherein the mould has suitably positioned recesses into which the or each insert is placed prior to pouring the aggregate or high quality material slurry.

29. A method as claimed in any preceding claim wherein the or each insert is temporarily bonded to a lower surface of the mould.

30. A method as claimed in any preceding claim wherein fastening devices bond the inserts to the matrix material.

31. A method of manufacturing a tile or floor covering comprising the steps of: masking a part of the surface of an anti-slip insert; pouring aggregate around the anti-slip insert; allowing the tile to set or part-set and then removing the mask.

32. A tile, an anti-slip insert, a floor covering or a method of manufacturing a tile or a floor covering substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to and as illustrated in Figures 2 to 5 of the accompanying drawings.