WO1998001067A1

WO1998001067A1 - Improvements in or relating to floor coverings

Info

Publication number: WO1998001067A1
Application number: PCT/GB1997/001829
Authority: WO
Inventors: Kenneth Hepburn
Original assignee: Regal Rubber Company Limited
Priority date: 1996-07-09
Filing date: 1997-07-08
Publication date: 1998-01-15
Also published as: AU3452197A; GB9614379D0

Abstract

Matting comprising a moulding of a base material (1) incorporating strips (3) of fibres alternating with strips (4) comprising ridges (5). The matting is made by placing strips (3) of reclaimed tyre material in slots in a mould. Pieces of uncured rubber are placed in gaps around the strips and a layer of uncured rubber is placed over the strips and pieces. The assembly is then vulcanised to form a mass of cured rubber with the strips (3) standing proud and ridges (5) between the strips (3). The strips are then abraded to release fibres of nylon or polyester. In a modification, a base comprising alternating slots and ridges may be formed first in a mould and strips then introduced into the slots prior to a second curing operation.

Description

IMPROVEMENTS IN OR RELATING TO FLOOR COVERINGS

The present invention relates to floor coverings particularly, but not

exclusively, to floor coverings for doorways, entrance ways, hallways and

the like.

Coverings of this general nature are already well known. In one such

arrangement spaced strips of carpeting material are clamped together in a

metal (usually aluminium) frame. Ridges in the aluminium frame provide a

scraping action and fibres of the carpeting material a cleaning action on the

footwear of people passing over the arrangement. Although this

arrangement works well in practice it is difficult and expensive to construct.

In another arrangement described in European Patent Application No.

92921739.6 the metal frame is replaced by an extruded plastics base. This

base defines projections and slots alternatively arranged. Strips of carpet

are inserted into the slots with a snug fit and adhesive used to connect the

two together. In use these arrangements are subject to heavy pressure and

this can weaken the adhesive bond causing separation of carpet and base.

According to one aspect of the present invention there is provided a

floor covering comprising a moulding of a base material comprising strips of

fibres extending from the moulding separated by a moulded ridged section.

According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method of producing a floor covering including the steps of

placing strips of moulded rubber incorporating fibres in a mould, placing

uncured rubber thereover, vulcanising the resultant assembly to produce a

mass of rubber with parts of the strips standing proud thereof, and abrading

the strips to free the fibres at the surface.

In a modification of the method the uncured rubber is first vulcanised

in a mould to produce a moulded body defining slots separated by a ridged

section. The strips are then placed in the slots prior to vulcanising the

resultant assembly. Preferably, unvulcanised rubber is placed in the slots.

The strips advantageously comprise reclaimed tyre sections. The fibres in

the tyre sections are nylon or polyester. The edges of the product are

machined to produce a good joint with other sections. The underside of the

product may be provided with raised areas to improve the keying effect of

the covering on its supporting floor.

In order that the invention may be more clearly understood, one

embodiment thereof will now be described by way of example, with

reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:-

Figure I is a perspective view of one embodiment of the invention,

Figure 2 is a partial underplan view of the embodiment of figure I,

Figure 3 is a cross-sectional view of a mould showing a step in the

method of preparation of the embodiment of figure I, and Figure 4 is a cross-sectional view of a mould showing a

corresponding step in an alternative method of preparation of the

embodiment of figure I.

Referring to figure I the floor covering comprises a mass of rubber I

having an upper surface 2 comprising strips 3 of projecting nylon fibres

alternating with strips 4 comprising a plurality of ridges 5. The

undersurface of the covering is formed with raised areas 6 to enable the

covering to key with the floor upon which it is laid. These raised areas 6

may have any suitable shape, size and spacing. The width and spacing of

the strips 3 and the width, spacing and number of ridges in the strips 4 may

also be varied as desired. The covering itself may be made to any suitable

size although the size will generally be governed by the size of the mould.

Tiles or mats of smaller size can be laid side by side and/or end to end to

build up a larger area. The adjacent edges of tiles or mats are machine

finished to produce a good joint between those edges.

Further details of the structure will emerge from the following

description of methods of manufacturing the floor covering referring

additionally to figures 3 and 4 of the drawings. In a first method of

manufacture, as illustrated in figure 3, strips 10 of reclaimed heavy duty tyre

tread carcass are placed in slots II in a mould 12 so that they protrude from

those slots. The strips 10 are loosely placed in the slots II. The rubber of the reclaimed tyre tread is strengthened by nylon or polyester fibres the

arrangement being such that layers of rubber 13 are separated by layers of

nylon 14 as shown. Those parts of the base of the mould on either side of

the slots II are formed with grooves 15. After inserting the strips IO in the

slots II pieces of uncured rubber 16 are placed in the gaps formed and a layer

17 of uncured rubber is placed over the strips and pieces 16. This assembly

is then subjected to heat and pressure to vulcanise the uncured rubber.

During this process the initially uncured rubber of the pieces 16 and layer 17

flows around the already cured rubber of the strips IO to form with that

rubber a cured substantially homogenous mass with the nylon or polyester

fibres trapped within it. Depending on the relative dimensions of the strips

10 and mould 12 the pieces 16 may not be necessary as the uncured layer 17

which is quite flexible in this state can be pushed into the gaps.

After removal from the mould, the moulded product is turned through

180°. The parts formed by the strips 10 stand proud of the upper surface

with ridged sections comprising peaks and valleys formed by grooves 15

disposed on both sides. The upper surfaces of the strips 10 are abraded by

drawing an abrading bar or wheel across these. This has the effect of

tearing out the rubber from the upper layer of the strips 10 leaving the nylon

fibres extending free from that surface. This provides fibrous cleaning strips

standing slightly proud of ridged strips which separate them. A similar product to that described above may be produced using the

method illustrated in figure 4. In the figure 4 method, a base 20 is formed

first by vulcanisation of uncured rubber in a mould. This base comprises

slots 21 with ridges 22 on opposites sides thereof. A layer of uncured

rubber is placed in the slots 21 and strips of cured reclaimed tyre tread

carcass 23 placed on top in the slots. A further vulcanisation step then

takes place to produce a homogenous mass of cured rubber with nylon

fibres trapped therein as before. These fibres can be released at the upper

surfaces of the strips 10 by the abrading step previously mentioned.

The vulcanisation virtually ensures that the strips having the nylon

fibre will not separate in use from the rest. The use of reclaimed tyre parts

is environmentally beneficial and also reduces cost.

tt will be appreciated that the above embodiment has been described

by way of example only and that many variations are possible without

departing from the scope of the invention.

Claims

CLAIMS 1. A floor covering comprising a moulding of a base material comprising

strips (3) of fibres extending from the moulding separated by a moulded

ridged section(4).

2. A floor covering as claimed in claim 1, in which each strip (3) of fibre

is made of reclaimed vehicle tyre material abraded to release the fibres.

3. A floor covering as claimed in claim 2, in which each strip (3) of

vehicle tyre material comprises alternate layers of rubber (13) and fibre (14)

arranged so as to be transverse to the surface of the covering.

4. A floor covering as claimed in any preceding claim, in which the fibres

(14) are nylon or polyester.

5. A floor covering as claimed in any preceding claim, in which the

underside comprises raised areas (6) to improve its keying effect on its

supporting floor and to assist water dispersion.

6. A method of producing a floor covering including the steps of placing

strips (10) of moulded rubber incorporating fibres in a mould, placing

uncured rubber thereover, vulcanising the resultant assembly to produce a

mass of rubber with parts of the strips (10) standing proud thereof and

abrading the strips (10) to free the fibres at the surface.

7. A method of producing a floor covering including the steps of

vulcanising uncured rubber in a mould to form a base (20) comprising slots (21) placing uncured rubber in the slots (21) and introducing strips (23) of

material comprising fibres into the slots (21), vulcanising the resultant

assembly to form a mass of vulcanised rubber with the strips (23) standing

proud of the remainder of the material, and abrading the strips (10) to free

the fibres at the surface.

8. A method of producing a floor covering as claimed in claim 6 or 7, in

which the strips (10, 23) are made from reclaimed tyre sections.

9. A method as claimed in claim 8, in which each tyre section comprises

alternate layers of rubber and fibre.

10. A method as claimed in claim 6,7, 8 or 9, in which the fibres are

made from nylon or polyester.

11. A method as claimed in any of claims 6 to 10, in which unvulcanised

rubber pieces are placed between adjacent strips (10, 23) prior to placing

uncured rubber thereover.

12. A method as claimed in any of claims 6 to 11 in which the uncured

rubber between adjacent strips (10, 23) is formed during curing to provide

rigid sections (15, 22).

13. A method as claimed in any of claims 6 to 12, in which the covering

is formed in tiles and tile edges are machined to improve joints between

adjacent edges.

14. A method as claimed in any of claims 6 to 13, in which the undersurface is formed with raised areas (6) to enable keying to a

supporting floor.