WO1987002564A1

WO1987002564A1 - Entrance mat

Info

Publication number: WO1987002564A1
Application number: PCT/GB1986/000651
Authority: WO
Inventors: Derek Dexter Mccordall
Original assignee: Derek Mccordall Ltd
Priority date: 1985-10-23
Filing date: 1986-10-22
Publication date: 1987-05-07
Also published as: GB8625285D0; AU6545086A; GB2182242A; EP0246263A1

Abstract

An entrance mat comprises a frame (14) removably secured to a base member (11) defining a substrate formed with a plurality of transverse recesses or indents (11a). Hinged at points to the base member (11) are several retainers each comprising a bar (12) and a pair of mounting arms (12a). A sheet of latex-backed textile material (13) is received upon the substrate with non-pile regions thereof in register with the indents (11a). The bars (12) retain sheet material (13) in the indents sandwiched against the substrate and prevent rucking or dislodgement. Raising the bars (12) enables the sheet (13) to be removed for replacement, the removed sheet being transported from site to a remote location for laundering.

Description

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ENTRANCE MAT

The i nvention relates to mats, particula ly, but not exclusively, for use in bui lding entrances to reduce the amount of dirt brought into the bui lding on footwear.

Entrance mats of various types are wel l known, many being sunk Into a shal low floor wel l so that the upper surface is substantial ly flush with the floor. Traditional types have a woven back with upstanding bristles sufficiently densely packed to support the weight of a person whl 1st trapping the dirt and sol i in the pi le. Another type comprises rubber or metal l ic strips spaced apart to define soi I-trapp I ng strip- strip spaces. Brush strips are sometimes provided in the strip-strip spaces to assist in so i I removal from footwear as are wider strips providing a carpet or pi le fabric.

Another type of entrance mat comprises pi le fabric coated on its underside with latex or a layer of rubber. In both cases dirt trapped Is diff icult to remove from the mat, cleaning, at the regular intervals needed, normal ly requiring l ifting from a f loor wel l and, in the case of the rubber-backed mats, remova l f rom the prem i ses for I aunder i ng .

In both cases the weight of the mat can make the task of cleaning inconvenient but latex-backed mats are suff iciently llght that removal for cleaning Is a practical proposition and the washing process itself Is reasonably efficient and economic to carry out. Despite these advantages over rubber-backed mats, however, the latter are often preferred since, in sharp contrast to latex-backed mats, they are not easily displaced, or rucked and tend to lay flatter so as to be safe I n use.

Attempts have been made to produce entrance mats combining the relative ease of cleaning of latex-backed mats with the service advantages and safety of rubber-backed mats. In one case, a base has means such as clamps around its edges for removeably attaching to It a I Ight-welght latex-backed mat which covers the base. The stabi l ity Is, however, often inadequate since the attachment of the mat only at Its edges Is Insufficient to control a large surface area.

According to the Invention an entrance assembly comprises a sheet of preferably latex-backed f lexible material, a plurality of bars designed to extend across the upper surface of the sheet when it I I es on a substrate and means for retaining the bars In preferably re leasable contact with the upper surface of the sheet to f ix the sheet in position relative to t h e su bs t r a t e .

In preferred forms of the invention, the mat assembly includes a base member which de ines the substrate. Means such as indents in the base member may be provided, to provide local surement of the sheet material to the base member. In the case of indents the bars and sheet are located In the Indents to better prevent movement of the sheet relative to the substrate. The bars may also be supported by the side wal Is of the Indents, and the thickness of the sheet in the indent, to I Imlt thei r horizontal movement perpendicular to their longitudinal ax Is. The base may be one-pi ece or may comprise a plural ity of parts Joined by means such as clamps, bolts, screws or by Interlocking of parts so configured as to faci l itate such jo I n i ng .

Means may be provided to retain the bars, together with that part of the sheet on which they bear, in the indents so that the sheet is gripped and held in a fixed position relative to the base member unti I such means is actuated to re-lease the sheet. The bars may also be attached to means by which they are movable, either together or separately, towards and into the indents and out of and away from the indents.

Conveniently, the mat assembly may include a frame to surround the f lexi le sheet material so as to cover and trap its edges and means are provided for detachably securing the frame to means def ining the substrate, the elongate members optional ly having securement to the frame.

The f lexible sheet material may comprise a non-woven or -4-

woven fabric made from polyester or other fibre, yarns of high twist nylon, cotton, wool, polyester, other fibres, or mixtures of two or more thereof being tufted Into the fabric. Alternatively, a sheet of disposable material such as toughened paper or disposable non-woven fabric, may be used as the sheet material. In a location where clean room conditions, as in nuclear or electronic laboratories for example, must be maintained, the surfaceof the sheet may be tacky, for example as a result of coating with a tacky substance. Where a high friction surface is required, the surface of the sheet may In whole or in part comprise a non- si ip surface formed, for example, from carborundum chips. The fle ible sheet material may be a composite of more than one sheet either separate from each other or Joined, for example, by adhesive. By way of example, a sheet of open- pore foam plastics material of the type used to make scouring pads may be placed on top of a moisture absorbent sheet of cotton felt to provide a mat having good abrasion and wear characteristics and high moisture absorbency.

The surface of the sheet need not be the same In character over Its whole area. Thus, for example, a pi ie fabric may be tufted only in the areas exposed to view when the bars are positioned in the Indents or the mat assembled in a frame. In some cases, the presence of a surface inish to the sheet may make the bars difficult to insert into the indents referred to earlier. For example, the resilience of a tufted pi le can urge the bars upwards and out of the -5-

Indents whi lst a surface finish having a high friction coefficient may prevent the bars being moved easi ly against the surface of the sheet as they push the sheet into the indents. In these and other cases, such finishes can benef ic i a 1 I be om ltted or replaced by others on local ised areas of the upper surface of the sheet material.

Electrical ly conductive sheets may be provided to discharge static electricity from persons stepping on the mat, the bars pressing on the sheet being connected to earth.

The bars which cross the upper surface of the mat may be of various widths and construction In order to provide tread surfaces di fferent i n character and propert ies. For example, In a simple form, a bar may be a 3mm metal I ic strip 15mm wide and of a length according to the width of the mat. The 3mm edge forms part of the tread surface and may be serrated, ridged, or sloped to provide varying degrees of scraping, abrasion or friction to the so i es of footwear. Bars may be T-shaped, the upper surface (or cross) of the bar extending on each side of the part (stem) pressed I nto the indent so as to produce a neater appearance and enable the bar to have a greater effect on the surface characteristics of the mat.

Bars wi l l usual ly but not necessari ly be paral lel to each other in the same horizontal plane and wi l l usual ly but not -6-

necessarl ly cross the sheet in a direction opposed to that taken by pedestrian traffic walking over the mat.

Bars may have blunt projections or serrations on their underside to better gr ip the sheet mater ial . Sharp projections may simi larly be provided to penetrate the sheet material and locate It positively relative to the substrate.

The upper surface of a bar may not be In the same plane as the surface of the fle ible sheet material. It may, for example, be sl ightly below it in order to reduce contact between footwear and the bar so that the mat has a surface characterised mainly by the sheet. If raised sl ightly above the surface of the sheet, the bar wi l l receive more load and this may be more appropr iate In some Instances. For example, to provide a mat particularly suited to locations where snow wl I I be deposited on the mat, the bars may be raised above the surface of a flexible sheet typical ly comprising a tufted cotton pi le. In this way, the pi le when heavi ly loaded with water from melted snow Is not squeezed by foot pressure on the pi le.

Bars may be sufficiently smal l In cross-sectional dimension to be bedded In a pi Ie on the surface of the sheet material and be protected by the yarns of the pi ie from the displacing action of use, eg footwear being scraped on the mat. The pi ie acts as lateral support for the bars, in such cases Indents in the base conveniently being very shal low or -7-

even omitted. For example, bars In the form of cyl indrical rods 1.5mm In diameter may be removably bedded into a nylon pi le 12mm deep to provide a smal l mat for domestic use, the pi le being tufted, for example, into a polyester non-woven sheet substrate.

The fol lowing specific description is Intended to i l lustrate the Invention, by way of example only, reference being made to the accompanying drawings in which:-

Figure 1 Is a simpl ified perspective view of one embodiment of a mat assembly according to the Invention;

Figure 2 is a cross-section, shown In part only, taken along the I ine i l-l I of Figure 1 ;

Figure 3 is cross-section, shown in part only, taken along the I Ine M i-I l l of Figure 1 ;

Figure 4 shows an alternative embodiment of the mat of the Invention, placed in a floor depression or wel l;

Figure 5 Is a cross-section, simi lar to Figure 2, showing an alternative form of bar construction;

Figure 6 is a cross-sect I on,s i m I lar to Figure 2, showing a further alternative form of bar construction; -8-

Figure 7 Is a cross-sect ion, show ing st l I I further alternative form of bar construction;

Figure 8 is a cross-section, simi lar to Figure 2, but showing an alternative form of base construction;

Figure 9 is a side view, taken from the direction of the arrow IX of Figure 1, some components having been removed to expose detai ls of construction;

Figure 10 is a perspective view of a further alternative embodiment of the invention;

Figure 11 shows the system of attachment of the frame and base, taken along the l ine X I -X I of Figure 12;

Figure 12 is a cross-section taken along the l ine X I I -X I I of F i gure 11 ; and

Figure 13 shows a further form of base bar assembly, in part on ly.

The mat assembly shown In Figures 1 to 3 of the drawings comprises a base 11, a sheet of flexible material 13 and a plural ity of bars 12.

The base 11 defines a rectangular substrate formed with a

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plural lty of paral lel bar-receIvIng recesses of indents 11a. The base 11 is made of vacuum-formed resi l ient plastics material, for example any of the synthetic rubbers widely avai lable. Wal ls 11b def ining each of the indents or recesses 11a are configured with a constriction past which the bars and accompanying sheet material may be passed by resi I ientiy deforming the wal is, a bar and sheet received in the recesses or indents 11a then being retained in the recess or I ndent -by what can be character ized as an Interference fit. The base 11 could be constructed with only the upper part of the wal Is 11b from the constriction upwards being composed of resi l ient plastics material although in practice convenient methods of production avai lable dictate that the material of the base wi l l be homogenous.

Sheet 13 comprises a non-woven substrate into which is tufted a high-twist nylon yarn. A thin layer of rubber Is bonded to the rear of the substrate to give the sheet more stabi l ity and strength and to bond the tufts to the substrate. In the embodiment shown, the non-woven material of the substrate is polyester fibre but, as mentioned earl ier, other materials may be used.

As an alternative to providing a base 11 In form of a unitary vacuum formed plastics moulding, base 11 may take the form of a plural ity of strips 27 (Figure 8) bolted together by means of elongate rods 26 threadedly engaging by -10-

their ends w i th nuts 25. As shown i n Figure 8, this arrangement Is quite flexible In the sense that the width of the indents or recesses 11a can be varied by the insertion of spacers 24. The strips 27 may be made by extrusion of a suitable plastics material , resi l ience being a practical requirement in the case of the embodiment shown in Figure 8 since the wal Is of the indents or recesses 11a are configured to faci I i tate an Interference fit with the bars 12.

As shown in Figure 2, the bars 12 have a configuration which compl iments that of the recesses or indents 11a so as to faci l itate the Interference fit referred to earl ier. Each bar 12 is made of stainless steel strip and is provided with an exposed contoured surface 12a Intended to provide a relatively firm friction grip with the soles of footwear and to faci l itate removal therefrom of soi l.

Each of bars 12 is pivoted by a pin 31 (Figure 9) to a mounting arm 12b. The latter are also made of stainless steel strip material and each is pivotal upon a hinge pin 28 in a vertical arc. It wi l l appreciated from Figure 9 that In the raised condition of the mounting arms 12b, the bars 12 are disposed n a horizontal orientation. The contour of the sheet mater ial 13 on the substrate in over lying relationship with respect to the Indents 11a causes the bar 12 to rotate on contact with the sheet 13 in a clockwise

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direction so that when ful ly received In the indent, the bars 12 have a vertical orientation as shown in the left hand part of Figure 9.

The width, depth and shape of the bars and indents is determined by the character of the sheet material 13, the purpose of the mat assembly and the means by which the mat assembly is to be assembled from its components. In the embodiment shown i n F igure 9, the mat is assembled by raising al l the bars 12 from the base 11, placing the sheet 13 on the base 11 and lowering the bars 12 sequential ly into the indents 11a. The bar 12 shown in Figure 9 in its relative Indent 11a traps the sheet 13, the latter therefore being capable of movement onl in one direction to provide the length of sheet which wi l l enter the indent under the bar being lowered. The upper corner 29 of the indent may therefore be sharp since the sheet 13 does not sl ide against it. The opposite corner 30 of the Indent 11a should In practice, however, have a shape which al lows the sheet to be drawn over it without undue load as the sheet and bar enter the indent 11a. The underside of the bar may also be curved to reduce friction as the sheet moves under it. The base may be shaped so that in conjunction with the shape of the bars 12 and the thickness of the sheet 13, a seizing or locking effect Is produced when the bars 12 and sheet 13 are pushed into the Indents 11a.

It wi I I be appreciated that bars 12 used in the various

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depicted embodiments of the Invention may take any of a variety of forms with a view to providing manufacturing convenience or particular service qual Ities. For example, one form of bar 12 may comprise two strips 18 (Figure 5) joined together by rivets 23 at spaced apart locations along their length. The strips 18 are spaced apart by means of washers 19, the spacing size being so chosen as to prevent entry of smal l heels such as those commonly provided on female footwear, the strip-strip space, however, serving as a sol i-receiving wel l . As an alternative to this arrangement, two strips 18 may be more widely spaced apart by two washers 19 (Figure 6) which sandwich a brush strip 20 therebetween. Simi larly, a raised strip 22 (Figure 7) may be provided instead of brush strip 20 to provide a means for footwear to be scraped to remove so I I and deposit it in the two portions of the so i I -rece i v i ng wel l either side thereof.

In this arrangement, strips 18 are conveniently provided with rounded upper edges 21 to faci I i tate the scraping act ion. The strips 18 wl I i , of course, normal !y be made of the same stainless steel material referred to earl ier in connection with bars 12 and raised strip 22 may be made of the same material, whi lst brush strip 20 may be made of the same material or perhaps of a plastics material. _.As wi I I be evident from Figures 5, 6 and 7, the f lexi le sheet 13 forms a base to the sol l-receiving wel is formed by the spaces between the strips 18. Accordingly, the dirt entering the soi I -recei vi ng wel ls is retained above the sheet 13 and

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accompanles the sheet when it is removed for cleaning. Water deposited in the so i I -receI v i ng wel ls drains to the base of the wel ls and is absorbed by the f lexible sheet material 13. The elevat ion of the upper surface of components of bars 12 normal ly means that footwear pressure on the mat assembly wi l l not squeeze water from the sheet 13, such water being retained by the material of the sheet up to its I Imit of absorbtion and largely accompanying the sheet when It Is removed for cleaning.

Loading means (not shown) may be provided to load the bars 12, in addition to their own weight, so pressing them to the base and trapping the sheet. Such a loading means may be used to deform the base 11 by pressing the bars into its body without an indent first being provided, the base In this case being made from a mater ial which can be so deformed and Is sufficiently elastic to react against the load and trap the sheet, such as foam rubber or foam plastic. in such a case, indents In the base are formed whol ly or partly by the temporary deformation of the base.

in the embodiment of Figure 1, the bars 12 are secured by bolts 16 to a frame 14 (Figure 3), the latter serving both to cover and trap edges of the sheet 13 which are not covered by the bars 12 and, together with the bars 12, to form a grid which may be raised from or lowered into the base 11.

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As mentioned earl ier, the thickness of entrance mats Is commonly accommodated In a floor well or depression so that the upper tread surface of the mat Is essentially flush with the surface of the floor substrate. Although the frame 14 ref er red to earl ier may be included, perhaps in modified form, when the mat assembly is to be disposed in a floor well, it is preferred to provide an angle section 17 (Figure 4) to finish the edges of the assembly. As shown in Figure 4, angle section 17 covers and traps the edges of the sheet and also provides a frame into which the bars 12 may be mounted.

In the arrangement shown in Figure 10, each of the bars 12 is I inked to an adjacent bar by means of a hinge arrangement 28 between the mounting arms 12b of the participating bars. in this arrangement, the bars 12 form a chain so that the individual bars may be lowered sequential ly onto the sheet 13 and into the indents 11a. As shown in Figure 10, the sheet 13 is a pi le fabric having pi le removed around Its edges and alternating non-pi le areas between the edges so spaced apart as to be capable of registration with the Indents (not shown in this Figure). Each bar 12 presses onto the bar previously lowered into Its relative Indent or recess 11a by means of a peg 31. In this way, l ifting of a bar in use is prevented by the next bar in sequence. The first bar 12 in the sequence is hinged to the base 11 and the last is clamped to the base by any suitable means (not shown) .

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The frame 14 Is of rectangular form and made of aluminium extrusion. The cross-sectional conf iguration of part only of each of two opposed sides of frame 14 is as depicted in Figure 11. A stainless steel tube 35 is disposed in the extrusion between the opposed members 14a and 14b and is retained against dislodgement by shoulder 36. A rubber tube 38 Is sandwiched against the extrusion wal l 14c by the stainless steel tube 35. The extremity of a f lange 37 forming part of base 11 engages the circumferential surface of stainless steel tube 35 so that, In the assembled form of the arrangement as depicted in sol id l ines In Figure 11, stainless steel tube 35 is displaced radial ly by f lange 37 so as resl I iently to compress the rubber tube. In this condition the cercum f erent I a I surface of stainless steei tube 35 and the upper extremity of f lange 37 are compressed Into abuttment in such manner that the frame 14 and base 11 are secured together. By exertion of manual force, the frame 14 and base 11 can be separated one from the other, resi l ient recovery of the rubber tube then displacing stainless tube 35 to the position abutting shoulder 36 depicted in broken l ines In the Figure.

As shown in Figure 12, stai nless steel tube 35 has a relatively short length, occupying only a portion of the length of side of frame 14, upturned f lange members 39 retaining the tube In position against axial displacement.

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The alternative embodiment depicted In Figure 13 In simpl if ied form comprises a sheet metal l ic base plate 40 configured to I ink to frame 14 in the manner shown in Figures 11 and 12 of the drawings. As represented In Figure 13, a plural i ty of timber plates 41 are secured to the base of the sheet material 40 to define bar-and-sheet-rece i v i ng recesses 42 therebetween. Bars 12 are hinged by mounting arms 12 to the inside surface of vertical side f langes of base sheet 40 and are pivotal in a vertical arc into and out of recesses 42.

A mat assembly capable of entrapping large amounts of moisture (whose features can be incorporated in any of the mats referred to herein) can be made using a sheet material which is impervious to, and absorbent of , water In combination with a base the upper surfaces of which incorporate water transport passages so s-ited that in use they are In contact with the underside of the sheet where it forms part of the surface of the mat. The base of such a mat is so shaped that it forms a water-tight tank the height of which Is approximately equal to the height of the surface of the mat from the f loor. Alternatively, i f the mat is sited in a f loor wel l or depression, the mat Is so shaped that It forms a water t ight tank havi ng a height approximately equal to the depth of the wel I plus the height of the mat tread surface from the surrounding f loor surface. The base may also extend lateral ly beyond one or more edges

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of the f lexible sheet, the base beyond such edges being provided with one or more removable cover members providing access to compartments into which the water passages referred to above drain and from which water can thus be removed by mopping or other means without actual ly removing the sheet. In use, such a mat absorbs moisture on those parts of its surface with which water comes into contact unti l such parts contain suff icient water for foot pressure to express water through the sheet into the water passages in the base. The expressed water is then col lected In the lowest parts of the assembly together with water which drains through the passages under the Inf luence of gravity. The water passages may take the form of ducts passing through the porosity in the material of the base or ridges in the upper surface of the base (or a combination of two or more of such means).

The invention includes within its scope a substrate-def ining base member of any of the forms referred to herein.

Claims

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1. A mat assembly for f loors, the assembly comprising f lexible sheet material def ining an upwardly facing surface and a plural ity of elongate members serving to maintain pos i 11 ona I stabi l ity of the sheet material relative to an underlying substrate by extending over and across the upwardly facing surface In contact with said sheet material, at I east part of the upwardly facing surface of the f lexible sheet material being exposed in the assembly as a foot contact tread surface.

2. A mat assembly as claimed in Claim 1 and Including means for securing at least some of the elongate members directly or indirectly to substrate-def ining means and In contact with said sheet material.

3. A mat assembly as claimed in Claim 1 or Claim 2 wherein means Is provided to secure the elongate member(s) In re leasable contact with said sheet material.

4. A mat assembly as claimed in any one of Claims 1 to 3 wherein the elongate members are dispiaceabie hlngedly

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between a first position in which they are disposed In releasable contact with said sheet material and a second position In which the sheet material and sai members are spaced apart.

5. A mat assembly as claimed in any preceding claim wherein surfaces of the elongate member-contacted sheet material extend upwardly relative to the substrate and are confronted by elongate member surfaces which thereby oppose displacement of the sheet material.

6. A mat assembly as claimed In any preceding claim wherein the sheet material comprises a pi le.

7. A mat assembly as claimed in Claim 6 wherein the sheet material comprises regions of pi le alternating with regions which are devoid of pi le and therefore form depressions.

8. A mat assembly as claimed In Claim 7 wherein the depressions devoid of pi Ie have the elongate members received one in each thereof, the regions of pi Ie abutting the members pursuant to providing the positional stabi l ity of the sheet material relative to the substrate.

9. A mat assembly as claimed In any preceding claim and having a base member which defines said substrate.

10. A mat assembly as claimed in any preceding claim

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whereln the elongate members are secured Indirectly or directly to means defining the substrate and are relatively dIsplaceabIe.

11. A mat assembly as claimed In any preceding claim wherein the substrate has recesses or indents therein for receiving the elongate members or portions thereof.

12. A mat assembly as claimed In Claim 11 wherein the recesses or Indents are defined by surfaces configured to provide an interference fit with the elongate members.

13. A mat assembly as claimed In Claim 12 wherein the recess or indent-de ining surfaces are deformable to permit elongate member entry to the recesses or Indents and capable of resilient recovery to oppose elongate member removal.

14. A mat assembly as claimed in any preceding claim wherein a frame is provided to surround the flexible sheet material so as to cover and trap its edges and means are provided for detachabiy securing the frame to means defining the substrate, the elongate members optional ly having securement to the frame.

15. A mat assembly as claimed in any preceding claim wherein at least one of said elongate members comprises two or more generally parallel strips Joined together at spaced

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apart positions.

16. A mat assembly as claimed in any preceding claim wherein the elongate members sandwich sheet material against the substrate.

17. A mat assembly comprising a base member def ining a substrate having a plural ity of elongate recesses therein, a plural ity of elongate members secured to said base member and dispiaceabie pivotal ly relative to the base member between a position in which said elongate members are disposed in respective recesses and a position in which the elongate members are disposed remote therefrom, and a sheet form lexible member which can be d i sposed upon said substrate-defining member and secured relat ive to said substrate by sandwiching sheet material in said recesses by means of said elongate members to produce a tread surface def ined by the balance of the sheet mater ial member in cooperation with exposed surfaces of said elongate members.

18. A mat assembly substantial ly as hereinbefore described with reference to, and as i I lustrated In, any one of the accompanying drawings.

19. A mat assembly kit compr ising a f lexible sheet form member, a base member def ining a substrate upon which to support s id sheet form member and a plural I ty of elongate members for disposition over and across the substrate in

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positlonal stab I I i ty- I mpart I ng contact with an upwardly facing surface of the sheet form member, means being provided to secure the elongate members In the aforesaid d Ispos 11 ion .