WO2018072800A1

WO2018072800A1 - Temporary flooring system and tiles thereto

Info

Publication number: WO2018072800A1
Application number: PCT/DK2017/050335
Authority: WO
Inventors: Bjarne Kongsgaard
Original assignee: Ikadan System A/S
Priority date: 2016-10-18
Filing date: 2017-10-10
Publication date: 2018-04-26

Abstract

Temporary flooring system for protection of floors and other subsurfaces in gymnasiums and arenas and similar locations and for building robust and durable temporary floors on subsurfaces of solid soil, sand, turf and artificial turf, when these locations are used for purposes such as festivals, exhibitions, convents and other uses that differ from the original purpose of the locations, which system is based on modules that interlock when installed and comprises moulded tiles (1) made out of plastic, and which are provided with a non-slip surface (18) as well as a lower side, in which an upwards facing hollow is provided, in which a plurality of closely spaced and connected crossing ribs (21), which support the tile (1) on the subsurface, are moulded, said tiles further comprising coupling means (2, 3, 4, 5) for connecting several tiles (1) to a continuous floor.

Description

Temporary flooring system and tiles thereto

The invention relates to a temporary flooring system for protection of floors and other subsurfaces in gymnasiums and arenas and similar locations and for building robust and durable temporary floors on subsurfaces of solid soil, sand, turf and artificial turf, when these locations are used for purposes such as festivals, exhibitions, convents and other uses that differ from the original purpose of the locations, which system is based on modules that interlock when installed and comprises moulded tiles made out of plastic, and which are provided with a non-slip surface as well as a lower side, in which an upwards facing hollow is provided, in which a plurality of closely spaced and connected crossing ribs, which support the tile on the subsurface, are moulded, said tiles further comprising coupling means for connecting several tiles into a continuous stable floor.

There are known flooring systems for installation as temporary floors for protection of floors in arenas and gymnasiums, when these locations are used for other purposes than their original purpose, as well as for installation of temporary floors for use by exhibitions, convents, festivals, etc., on solid soil, sand, turf or artificial turf pitches, where plastic is used for the floors which are installed as modules that interlock.

This prior art has the drawback that, in some cases, flooring systems cannot be used on subsurfaces such as soft soil, sand, turf or artificial turf, as the installed floor has a tendency to sink, easily and unintentionally, into the subsurface, and another drawback is that these flooring systems do not insulate towards the subsurface, and that the floor, furthermore, does not form a tight seal in the connections between the tiles, when the floor is installed, and that is the reason why such a system cannot be used on for instance ice stadiums or other frozen surfaces as the moisture in the hot air over such a floor can condensate on the cold surface of the floor and subsequently seep down through connections, or heat will be able to creep down and melt the subsurface, which, in both cases, can lead to the installed floor freezing to the subsurface (the ice), which again will make the subsequent dismantling of the temporary floor more difficult. The object of this invention is to provide a flooring system that does not have these drawbacks, but can be used even on soft surfaces without sinking in or on ice stadiums without risk of the temporary floor freezing to the subsurface.

The object of the invention is met by means of a flooring system of the type devised in the preamble of claim 1 and which is characterized in that the tiles are provided with flanges that protrude both downwards along the side (7) and downwards along the side with the locking pin and, furthermore, are provided with recesses under the length of the edge (6) and the edge with the opening (5), said recesses being designed to precisely accommodate similar flanges (13) from adjacent tiles (1 ), so that connecting several tiles (1 ) will form an assembled area with tight connections between the tiles (1 ), said flanges (13) sliding together with the recesses of adjacent tiles (1 ).

In this way it is possible to use the flooring system on ice stadiums without heat being able to creep through to the subsurface and melt the ice, whereby the risk of the floor freezing to the ice is reduced.

According to claim 2, the invention is characterized in that the tiles further comprise a bottom plate in the form of a closed plate that provides an assembled closed contact surface towards the subsurface, and, simultaneously, the insulating effect, which is a result of the distance between said bottom plate and the surface of the tile, together with the insulating effect of the material that is used, combined with tight couplings between the installed tiles, leads to the flooring system being insulated in relation to the subsurface.

In this way it is possible also to use the flooring system even on soft surfaces without the floor sinking in. According to claim 3 the invention is characterized in that the bottom plate is provided with snap locks that by correct coupling of tile and bottom plate engage with the recesses in the tiles, at the same time as guiding slits on the devices engage with ribs in the hollow on the lower side of the tile, and hereby is achieved that the bottom plate is held correctly and safely with a uniform distance between bottom plate and the top side of the tile, whereby the insulating effect is improved and the tile does not sink into soft subsurfaces such as lawns and artificial turf pitches.

According to claim 4 the invention is characterized in that the coupling means of the tiles comprise a number of locking pins on an edge of a tile, said locking pins being adapted to cooperate with a similar number of recesses on another tile, said recesses being formed in a recessed trough extending in the longitudinal direction of an edge in such a way that an edge together with locking pins on the first tile and an edge together with recesses on another tile, when coupled together, are locked in a tight closed assembly, as can be seen from Figs. 17 to 25, said coupling means further comprising a locking pin that is adapted to engagement in a dedicated opening on the opposite side of a similar tile, so that it is also possible to obtain tight connections between several tiles on these sides, and in this way an assembled and continuous temporary floor is achieved.

According to claim 8 and 9, the invention is characterized in that the non-slip surface of the tile is replaced with a flat surface, and in this way said tile is designed as an advertisement tile assembled by a tile comprising a flat surface with a hollow to accommodate an printed advertisement as well as a flat transparent sheet, and said transparent sheet can subsequently be locked into an inclined seam in the edge of this hollow, and, furthermore, that the surface of this tile alternatively can accommodate sheets of other materials such as wood, aluminium or steel, and in this way a tile that can be used as advertisement board, decoration or for instance as a direction sign. Appropriate embodiments of accessories to the temporary flooring system appear from claims 5 and 6.

The invention will be explained in further detail referring to the drawings, in which

Fig. 1 shows an embodiment of a flooring tile according to the invention, seen obliquely from above,

Fig. 2 shows an enlarged and angularly shifted partial view of Fig. 1 indicated by the circle B,

Fig. 3 shows an enlarged and angularly shifted partial view of Fig. 1 indicated with the circle A,

Fig. 4 shows a stack of bottom plates, seen from above,

Fig. 5 shows the same embodiment of a flooring tile as in Fig. 1 , interlocked with a flooring tile that is provided with a flat top side,

Fig. 6 shows another embodiment of a flooring tile according to the invention, seen from above, where the locking pins and the recesses are equally distributed on/in two opposite edges,

Fig. 7 shows the same embodiment of the flooring tile that is shown in Fig. 6, turned upside down and with the lower side comprising closely spaced continuous ribs,

Fig. 8 shows one of the recesses in the hollow space along one of the edges on a tile having the same design as the one shown in Fig. 6,

Fig. 9 shows a bottom plate seen from below,

Fig. 10 shows another design of a flooring tile and this has a flat upper side that is provided with a hollow that can contain an advertisement sheet and a transparent cover,

Fig. 1 1 shows the flooring tile of Fig.10 in assembled state and installed in a temporarily installed floor,

Fig. 12 shows the flooring tile of Fig. 10 alone in an assembled state,

Fig. 13 shows a flooring tile according the invention, comprising a flange along the lower side of one edge as well as an adjacent side of this edge, Fig. 14 and 15 shows a deployed floor with a profile for use as a cable duct and for absorption of heat related expansions of the installed floor,

Fig. 16 shows a further embodiment of a tile according to the invention. In this case with double width,

Fig. 17 to 25 shows examples of several stages of installing a temporary floor according to the invention, and

Fig. 26 to 29 shows examples of edge profiles for use together with the temporary flooring, both separate and put together with a single tile. The invention relates to a usually temporary flooring system with tiles 1 thereto, which system is used for protection of floors and other subsurfaces in gymnasiums, indoor and outdoor sports arenas, ice stadiums and the like, and for construction of robust and durable temporary floors on soil, sand and natural and artificial turf pitches, when said locations are used for parties, exhibitions, fairs, convents, festivals and other purposes than the generally contemplated use.

The flooring system is based on modules that interlock, as can be seen from Fig. 5, 1 1 and 17 to 25 and comprises moulded plastic tiles 1 , as it is shown in Figs. 1 , 6, 13 and 16, where they are shown with a non-slip surface 18, and on the lower side they are provided with closely spaces crossing ribs 12, see Fig. 7, for supporting the tile 1 on the relevant subsurface which as mentioned above can be floors in gymnasiums, arenas and the like along with solid ground, turf and artificial turf.

If the system is used on soft subsurfaces such as soft turf, artificial turf, soil, sand, etc., where there is a risk of the closely spaced ribs 12 sinking in, a bottom plate 9 is snapped onto the tile and is locked thereto by means of a number of snap fasteners 1 1 with which the bottom plate 9 is provided. Furthermore, the bottom plate is provided with a centre bore for an optional screw, if it is deemed necessary. When assembling tile 1 and bottom plate 9, a number of ribs 12 engage with slits 20 in devices 10 on the upper side of the bottom plate 9, which devices 10 secure that the assembly is performed correctly. Hereafter, the ribs 12 support the tile 1 on the bottom plate 9 and hence on the subsurface, which means that the tile 1 does not sink into soft subsurfaces such as lawns and artificial pitches.

Furthermore with this design, there is always a uniform distance between the subsurface and the upper side of the tile 1 , which distance together with the insulation effect of the material that the flooring system is made of, ensures no distinct heat transportation through this part of the construction when the flooring system is used on ice stadiums, and thereby neither a distinct condensation of the humidity in the air on the upper side of the tiles 1 that are used. This situation combined with the tight assembly of the tiles 1 by means of the coupling devices ensure the formation of a unified and continuous temporary floor area with tight couplings that, at the same time, is insulated towards the surface. The tight couplings between the tiles 1 furthermore entails that there will be no distinct heat transportation through these, and at the same time they will prevent that liquid seeps through to the frozen subsurface underneath, which means that the risk of the temporary floor freezing onto the ice is minimal.

The coupling means of the tiles comprise among other things a number of locking pins 2 on an edge 6 of a tile 1 , which are intended to be locked together with a similar number of recesses 3 that are provided in a recessed trough 8 extending along an edge 7 of a similar tile 1 , and this interlocking gives a tight closed assembly as can be seen in Figs. 17-25, said coupling means furthermore comprising a locking pin 4 on a side of the tile 1 adjacent the edge 6, 7 adapted to fitting with a dedicated opening 5 on the opposite side of a similar tile 1 , so that closed tight connections between several tiles 1 can also be achieved. As can be seen from Figs. 10, 1 1 and 12, in an alternative embodiment of a tile 1 the non-slip surface is replaced with a flat surface, whereby this tile can be designed as an advertisement tile made up by a flat tile 16 comprising a recess adapted to for instance an advertising print along with a flat transparent plate 15 on top for protection of this print 14, and said upper transparent plate 14 can be locked into an inclined seam in the edge of this recess by means of a specialized tool. Alternatively, the surface of this flat tile can also contain sheets of other materials such as wood, aluminium of steel, so as to obtain a tile that for instance can be used as advertisement board, decoration or directional sign, etc.

The profile shown in Figs. 14 and 15 is a profile designed to be used as a cable duct as well as an expansion joint that enables the installed floor to expand when heated, said profile being designed as two profiles, a bottom and a top, where the bottom profile is installed together with the floor, and subsequently the top profile is pushed/stomped down into a track in the middle of the bottom profile, said track being provided with locking pins for fastening of the top profile.

Figs. 17 to 25 shows examples of installing of the temporary flooring system, in which Figs. 18, 19, 21 , 22, 23 and 24 show several stages where the tiles 1 are installed in a bricklayed fashion, and from this it can be seen that with the shown shape and location of the locking pins 2 and the recesses 3, the tiles 1 can be installed in bricklayed fashion stepwise for each recesses 3.

Figs. 26 to 29 show examples of edge profiles for use with the temporary floor. They are used at door openings and wheel chair paths and other ramps, where the edge profiles are coupled with the outer edges of the installed temporary floor.

Claims

C L A I M S

1 . Temporary flooring system for protection of floors and other subsurfaces in gymnasiums and arenas and similar locations for building robust and durable temporary floors on subsurfaces of solid soil, sand, turf and artificial turf, when these locations are used for purposes such as festivals, exhibitions, convents and other uses that differ from the original purpose of the locations, which system is based on modules that interlock when installed and comprises moulded tiles (1 ) made out of plastic, and which are provided with a non-slip surface (18) as well as a lower side, in which an upwards facing hollow is provided, in which a plurality of closely spaced and connected crossing ribs (21 ), which support the tile (1 ) on the subsurface, are moulded, said tiles (1 ) further comprising coupling means (2, 3, 4, 5) for connecting several tiles into a continuous floor, said flooring system being characterized in, that the tiles (1 ) are provided with flanges (13) that protrude both downwards along the side (7) and downwards along the side with the locking pin (4) and, furthermore, are provided with recesses under the length of the edge (6) and the edge with the opening (5), said recesses being designed to precisely accommodate similar flanges (13) from adjacent tiles (1 ), so that connecting several tiles (1 ) will form an assembled area with tight connections between the tiles (1 ), said flanges (13) sliding together with the recesses of adjacent tiles (1 ).

2. Temporary flooring system for protection of floors and other subsurfaces according to claim 1 , characterized in, that the tiles (1 ) further comprise a bottom plate (9) in the form of a closed plate that provides an assembled closed contact surface towards the subsurface, and, simultaneously, the insulating effect, which is a result of the distance between said bottom plate (9) and the surface of the tile (1 ), together with the insulating effect of the material that is used, combined with tight couplings between the installed tiles (1 ), leads to the flooring system being insulated in relation to the subsurface.

3. Temporary flooring system for protection of floors and other subsurfaces according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in, that the bottom plate (9) is provided with snap locks (1 1 ) that by correct coupling of tile (1 ) and bottom plate (9) engage with the recesses (12) in the tiles (1 ), at the same time as guiding slits (20) on the devices (10) engage with ribs (21 ) in the hollow on the lower side of the tile (1 ), so that the ribs (21 ) support the tile (1 ) on the subsurface via the bottom plate (9).

4. Temporary flooring system for protection of floors and other subsurfaces according to claim 1 to 3, characterized in, that the coupling means of the tiles (1 ) comprise a number of locking pins (2) on an edge (6) of a tile (1 ), said locking pins (2) being adapted to cooperating with a similar number of recesses (3) on another tile (1 ), said recesses (3) being formed in a recessed trough (8) extending in the longitudinal direction of an edge (7) in such a way that an edge (6) together with locking pins (2) on the first tile (1 ) and an edge (7) together with recesses (3) on another tile (1 ), when coupled together, are locked in a tight closed assembly, as can be seen from Figs. 17 to 25, said coupling means further comprising a locking pin (4) that is adapted to engagement in a dedicated opening (5) on the opposite side of a similar tile (1 ), so that it is also possible to obtain tight connections between several tiles (1 ) on these sides.

5. Temporary flooring system for protection of floors and other subsurfaces according to claim 1 to 4, characterized in, that the tiles (1 ) have coupling means (2, 3) evenly distributed along the edges (6, 7).

6. Temporary flooring system for protection of floors and other subsurfaces according to claim 1 to 5, characterized in, that it further comprises a profile (19) for use as a cable duct as well as an expansion joint to absorb thermal expansion due to uneven heating of the installed floor, said profile (19) comprising two parts, a bottom and a top, where the bottom is installed simultaneously with and together with the floor and subsequently the top part is pushed down into a track in the middle of the bottom, which track is provided with locking pins.

7. Temporary flooring system for protection of floors and other subsurfaces according to claim 1 to 6, characterized in, that it further comprises edge pieces as shown in Fig. 26 to 28 for coupling with the outer edges at door openings and wheel chair paths and ramps on the installed temporary floor.

8. Temporary flooring system for protection of floors and other subsurfaces according to claim 1 to 6, characterized in, that the non-slip surface (18) of the tile (1 ) is replaced with a flat surface that is designed as an advertisement tile (17) assembled by a flat tile (16) comprising a hollow to accommodate an printed advertisement (14) as well as a flat transparent sheet (15), that can be locked into an inclined seam in the edge of this hollow.

9. Temporary flooring system for protection of floors and other subsurfaces according to claim 8, characterized in, that the surface of the flat tile (16) can accommodate sheets of other materials such as wood, aluminium or steel to appear with another surface.