GB2332206A - Filler - Google Patents

Abstract

Fillers can be used in applications involving plastics mouldings such as shower trays 14, where two opposed and spaced portions 14, 18 of the plastic may tend to move towards or away from each other owing to the inherent flexibility in the plastic. The filler 22 resists relative movement of the opposed portions of the plastic. In conventional shower trays the filler usually comprises turning the tray upside down and pouring in acrylic resin or polyester concrete. In the present invention the filler comprises a plurality of pieces 24, the pieces being connected to each other with there being fluid in the region 26 between the pieces. The pieces are connected to each other by coating them with adhesive which hardens and seals the pieces. The filler pieces are poured into the recess whilst the adhesive is in liquid form and allowed to harden allowing the pieces to adhere to the article (shower tray).

Description

2332206 FILLER The present invention relates to a filler, an article

incorporating a filler and a method of making a filler. The present invention is particularly, although not exclusively applicable to fillers that are used in plastics mouldings where two opposed and spaced portions of the plastic may tend to move towards or away from each other owing to the inherent flexibility in the plastic whereby the filler resists relative movement of the opposed portions of the plastic towards each other.

In conventional shower trays a sheet comprising Acrylonitride Butadiene Styrene fused with acrylic or styrene is vacuum formed to define a shower tray having a peripheral vertical side that extends up to def ine AN outer edge wall. Inwards of that wall another part of the sheet extends down to the base of a tray that a person is to stand on to take a shower. Thus a cavity is defined between vertical sides of the tray around the periphery of the tr;y. If this cavity is not filled then the parts of the wall will tend to flex to move towards each other when a person stands on the tray.

Previous attempts to fill the cavity in order to provide a relatively rigid tray have comprised turning the tray upside down and pouring in acrylic resin or polyester concrete which comprises resin with the filler defined by fine pieces. Both methods result in an extremely heavy tray and an expensive tray as a significant amount of resin is required.

Furthermore, the resin heats up on curing or hardening, typically to temperatures of the order of 1400C. The acrylic sheet is required to be uniform in shape and - 2 to have a particularly fine finish visible to the end user. The heat generated on curing can alter the shape, due to contraction of the resin on curing and heat itself can cause blemishes of the acrylic or ABS or styrene sheet.

It is an object of the present invention to attempt to overcome at least some of the above described disadvantages.

According to one aspect of the present invention a filler includes a plurality of pieces, the pieces being connected to each other with there being fluid in the region between the pieces.

The fluid may comprise air.

The pieces may be of generally the same size.

The volume of each piece may be more than 3mm' or less than 113mm 2 or more than 13 MM2 or less than 28 MM2.

The pieces may be generally round.

The pieces may be adhered to each other, for instance by a resin. Each piece may be coated, for instance with adhesive. Each piece may be generally sealed by the coating.

The pieces may be generally incompressible pieces.

The pieces may comprise aggregate such as light weight aggregate or exploded clay or light weight clay or other exploded mineral substance.

3 - The present invention also includes an article that incorporates a filler between two opposed surfaces. The filler may be adhered to the article by adjacent pieces being adhered to the article. The article may comprise a moulding such as a shower moulding. The filler may occupy a recess in the article and the portion from where the filler is inserted may be sealed after the filler has been inserted such that fluid cannot enter the filler either from the article or from the previously exposed region of the filler.

The present invention also includes a method of making a filler comprising connecting a plurality of pieces to each other whilst permitting fluid to remain in the region is between the pieces.

The method may comprise adhering the pieces to each other and the method may comprise coating the articles in adhesive and then adhering the pieces to each other. The method may comprise coating the pieces by immersing the pieces in liquid and then removing the pieces from the liquid and then allowing the liquid to harden to adhere the pieces together.

The method may comprise locating the pieces into a recess to be filled whilst adhesive is in a liquid form around the pieces and subsequently permitting the liquid to adhere to connect the pieces to each other so as the method may comprise the liquid also adhering the pieces to the article. The method may comprise substantially filling the recess from one side to the other with the pieces.

The present invention includes any combination of the herein referred to features or limitations.

4 The present invention can be carried in to practice in various ways but one embodiment will now be described, by way of example, with reference to the accompanying drawings in which:

Figure 1 is a plan view of a shower tray 10; Figure 2 is a section taken along the lines 2-2 of figure 1, and Figure 3 is a detailed view of the portion ringed in figure 2.

As shown in figures I and 2, the shower tray 10 comprises a skin 12 of acrylic resin that provides a base 14 upon which a person taking a shower can stand. A peripheral wall 16 of the skin extends upwards to prevent shower water f rom f lowing of f the base 14 with the skin 12 terminating in a peripheral downwardly extending wall 18 spaced from the wall 16 by a horizontal wall 20.

From figures 2 and 3 it can be seen that the wall 18 is spaced from the parallel inner wall 16 that extends up from the base 14. If the only component of the tray were the resin skin 12 then the lower edge of the wall 18 would support the tray and any person standing on the base 14 would cause collapse and breakage of the tray.

Accordingly, the tray includes a filling portion 22 that adheres to the adjacent portions of the skin 12 in the cavity between the walls 16 and 18 and also beneath the base 14.

The filling portion comprises a plurality of light weight aggregates 24 such as exploded clay, light weight clay or PERLITE (Registered Trade Mark). Each piece 24 of aggregate is adhered to the contacting portion ofan adjacent piece by resin. Each piece of aggregate that is against a portion of the skin 12 is adhered thereto by resin. There are spaces 26 between the pieces.

The pieces 24 are very good in resisting compressive forces. Accordingly, any forces that tends to cause movement to decrease the dimension of any part of the cavity that is defined by the skin, or any force on the base of the tray by a person standing on the tray is resisted by compression forces acting on the pieces.

The tray is made by forming the sheet into the required shape, possibly by vacuum forming the plastics.

Then the pieces of aggregate are immersed in resin, such as polyester resin, or other adhesive before being raised with excess resin being allowed to flow off. The pieces are then placed in the upside down tray to fill the cavity and cover the base. The surfaces of the sheet that receive the aggregate may be pre-coated with resin or adhesive layer if desired.

The coated aggregate fills the space that was previously vacant and, after hardening, sticks tothe sheet and causes the pieces of aggregate to stick to each other to provide an extremely strong, light weight shower tray. Air remains in the spaces not occupied by the aggregate or resin.

The resin covers each piece of aggregate and may seal that aggregate against the ingress of water. As only a small volume of resin is being cured compared to the overall volume of the space being filled, no significant 6 - heat is generated during curing and, if any heat is generated, that is readily dissipated through the spaces between the pieces.

Finally, although not shown, the exposed part of the aggregate can be covered (not shown) so that the uneven surface is not visible and so that the ingress of water into the filler is prevented and such that a smooth base to the tray is provided. That covering may comprise resins such as filled polyester, epoxy resin or an adhesive.

As the resin that covers the pieces of aggregate does not completely fill the cavity, any shrinkage of the skin that occurs on curing will not effect the shape of the cavity or the tray. Instead there will be a slight creeping of the resin around the periphery of the aggregate pieces which is not noticeable and which has no effect on the shape or quality of the tray or the pieces.

The resin may just surround each piece of aggregate and not saturate or permeate each piece. Accordingly, the amount of resin and therefore the weight and cost of the tray is reduced. Furthermore, as the resin merely surrounds the pieces and does not fill all the space between the pieces, the amount of resin that is required is kept to a minimum.

The aggregate pieces may be generally rounded such as spherical or as spherical as exploded china clay tends to be. The general diameter of each piece may, in a typical application, be between 2mm and 12mm and is preferably in the region of 4-6mm.

Although the specific example has been described in relation to filling a space defined by a cavity in a shower tray, or abutting the lower portion of a shower tray and the base, it will be appreciated that the filler can be used in any application but is particularly useful where compressive forces are to be resisted and even more useful where at least one part of a piece that would experience a compressive force comprises an acrylic resin sheet.

The reader's attention is directed to all papers and documents which are filed concurrently with or previous to this specification in connection with this application and which are open to public inspection with this is specification, and the contents of all such papers and documents are incorporated herein by reference.

All of the features disclosed in this specification (including any accompanying claims, abstract and drawings), and/or all of the steps of any method or process so disclosed, may be combined in any combination, except combinations where at least some of such features and/or steps are mutually exclusive.

Each feature disclosed in this specification (including any accompanying claims, abstract and drawings), may be replaced by alternative features serving the same, equivalent or similar purpose, unless expressly stated otherwise. Thus, unless expressly stated otherwise, each feature disclosed is one example only of a generic series of equivalent or similar features.

The invention is not restricted to the details of the foregoing embodiment (s). The invention extends to any novel one, or any novel combination, of the features disclosed in this specification (including any accompanying claims, abstract and drawings), or to any novel one, or any novel combination, of the steps of any method or process so disclosed.

Claims (24)

1. A filler comprising a plurality of pieces, the pieces being connected to each other with there being fluid in the region between the pieces.

2. A filer according to Claim 1 wherein the fluid in the region between the pieces comprises air.

3. A filler according to Claim 1 comprising pieces of generally the same size.

4. A filler according to any preceding claim wherein the volume of the pieces is more that 3 MM3 or less than 113 MM3 or more that 13mm 3 or less than 28mm3.

5. A filler according to any preceding claim wherein the pieces are generally round.

6. A filler according to any preceding claim wherein the pieces adhere to each other by a resin.

7. A filler according to any preceding claim where in each piece is coated in adhesive.

8. A filler according to Claim 7 wherein each piece is sealed by the coating.

9. A filler according to any preceding claim wherein the 30 pieces are incompressible pieces.

10. A filler according to any preceding claim wherein the pieces comprise aggregate.

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11. A filler according to Claim 10 wherein the aggregate comprises lightweight aggregate or exploded clay or lightweight clay or other exploded mineral substance.

12. A filler substantially as herein described with reference to, and as shown in the accompanying drawings.

13. An article incorporating a filler as claimed in any preceding claim comprising incorporating the filler between two opposed surfaces, wherein the filler is adhered to the article by adjacent pieces.

14. An article according to Claim 13 comprising a moulding.

15. An article as claimed in Claim 14 in which the moulding comprises a shower moulding.

16. An article according to any of Claims 13 to 15 wherein the filler occupies a recess in the article and the portion from where the filler is inserted is sealed after the filler has been inserted.

17. An article incorporating a filler substantially as herein described with reference to, and as shown in the accompanying drawings.

18. A method of making a filler comprising connecting a plurality of pieces to each other whilst permitting fluid to rjemain in the region between the pieces.

19. A method according to Claim 18 comprising adhering the pieces to each other.

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20. A method according to Claim 18 or 19 comprising coating the pieces in adhesive and then adhering the pieces to each other.

21. A method according to Claim 18, 19 or 20 comprising coating the pieces by immersing the pieces in liquid and then removing the pieces from the liquid and then allowing the liquid to harden to adhere the pieces together.

22. A method according to any of Claims 18 to 21 comprising locating the pieces into a recess in an article to be filled whilst the adhesive is in liquid form around the pieces and subsequently permitting the liquid to adhere to connect the pieces to each other with the liquid adhering the pieces to the article.

23. A method according to Claim 22 comprising substantially filling the recess from one side to the other with the pieces.

24. A method of making a filler substantially as described herein and with reference to the accompanying drawing.