The present invention relates to floor mats and particularly anti-fatigue mats. More particularly, the invention relates to layered floor tiles that connect together as modules to cover an area as a mat while resisting delamination of a top layer from a base substrate during use of the tile and to methods for forming a layered floor tile.
Persons who have work or other needs for standing for long periods of time or for walking on hard floor surfaces such as concrete or tile often experience problems with their feet and with fatigue. To accommodate such work needs and assist with reducing fatigue from standing or walking on hard surfaces, anti-fatigue mats have been developed to provide a cushioned surface on which to stand or walk. There are various types of anti-fatigue mats, including foam, gel-filled, foam rubber, and hard rubber. Each type provides alternative benefits and features, but generally, each type of mat provides a cushioned or resilient body to soften the surface on which the person stands or walks. For small area workstations, for example, at a machinery control station or a photocopy machine, single small area mats are satisfactory. However, there are often needs to cover a larger areas, such as a small room or hallway.
Individual stations may use a foam mat or a gel mat. Foam mats are readily manufactured but provide moderate support and moderate anti-fatigue while gel-filled offer superior support and anti-fatigue benefits. Foam rubber mats are suitable for industrial applications. Hard rubber mats may have interlocking pieces to assemble as a runner or to cover a large area.
While hard rubber mats with interlocking features may connect together to cover a large area, such may be unsatisfactory as lacking anti-fatigue properties. Foam mats having a resilient or cushioned base and an overlaid attached rubber surface are readily manufactured but have the drawback of not interlocking together satisfactorily. Die cutting of such foam mat to form the connecting members on side edges causes cupping in the side walls, and thereby reduces the effectiveness of the connection between adjacent tiles. Scuffing of footwear or wheeled traffic may also cause the rubber layer to delaminate or separate from the foam base.
Accordingly, there is a need in the art for rubber/foam-backed anti-fatigue tiles that resist delamination of the rubber from the foam back during use of the tiles connected together as an anti-fatigue mat to cover an area. It is to such that the present invention is directed.
The present invention meets the need in the art by providing a floor tile, comprising a base substrate with a length and a width exceeding a depth and having a back surface and a top layer attached to the base substrate opposing the back surface. The top layer has a central portion and at least opposing first and second marginal perimeter portions. The central portion defines a land with a support surface. The first and second marginal perimeter portions each define a respective second land with a surface recessed relative to the support surface. Connector means for joining the first marginal perimeter portion of one of the floor tiles to the second marginal perimeter portion of an adjacent second one of the floor tiles, whereby the support surfaces of adjacent connected floor tiles supports footwear or wheeled traffic of a user thereon remote from the second land of the marginal perimeter portions to restrict the footwear or wheeled traffic from scuffing against the joined marginal perimeter portions of the adjacent joined floor tiles so that the top layer is not delaminated from the base substrate thereby.
In another aspect, the present invention provides a method for forming a floor tile, comprising the steps of:
(a) providing a base substrate with a length and a width exceeding a depth and having a back surface;
(b) forming a top layer to have a central portion and at least opposing first and second marginal perimeter portions,
(c) attaching the layer to the base substrate opposing the back surface,
(d) providing a connector for joining a plurality of the floor tiles join together at perimeter portions,
whereby the support surfaces of adjacent connected tiles support footwear or wheeled traffic of a user thereon remote from the second land of the marginal perimeter portions to restrict the footwear or wheeled traffic from scuffing against the recessed second land so that the top layer is not delaminated from the base substrate thereby.
In yet another aspect, the present invention provides an area anti-fatigue mat, comprising a plurality of modular floor tiles that being joined together selectively cover an area larger than an individual one of the modular floor tiles. Each modular floor tile comprises a base substrate with a length and a width exceeding a base depth and having a back surface and a top layer attached to the base substrate opposing the back surface. The top layer has a central portion and at least opposing first and second marginal perimeter portions. The central portion defines a land with a support surface. The first and second marginal perimeter portions each define a respective second land with a surface recessed relative to the support surface. Connector means for joining the first marginal perimeter portion of one of the floor tiles to the second marginal perimeter portion of an adjacent second one of the floor tiles. The support surfaces support footwear or wheeled traffic of a user thereon remote from the second land of the marginal perimeter portions. This restricts the footwear or wheeled traffic from scuffing against the joined projecting lug and lug-receiving recess of adjacent joined floor tiles so that the top layer is not delaminated from the base substrate.
Objects, features and advantages of the invention will become more apparent upon a reading of the following detailed description in conjunction with the drawings and the claims.
With reference now to the drawings, in which like parts have like identifiers,
The central portion 20 defines a land 30. The land 30 has a support surface 34 for a purpose discussed below. In the illustrated embodiment, a plurality of spaced-apart cleats 32 extend upwardly to respective distal surfaces, that cooperatively define the support surface 34. As shown in
With continuing reference to
In the illustrated embodiment, the first and second marginal perimeter portions 22, 24 each define a plurality of alternating lug-receiving recesses 44 and projecting lugs 46. Further, the alternating lug-receiving recesses 44 and projecting lugs 46 in the first marginal perimeter portion 22 are off-set relative to the alternating lug-receiving recesses 44 and projecting lugs 46 in the second marginal perimeter portion 24, so that a lug-receiving recess in the first marginal perimeter portion opposes a projecting lug in the second marginal perimeter portion.
A plurality of the anti-fatigue tiles 10 gainfully join together to form an area-covering mat. The tiles 10 interconnect by the lug-receiving recess 44 of a first one of the laminated anti-fatigue tiles 10 matingly receiving a projecting lug 46 of a second one of the laminated anti-fatigue tiles. The tiles 10 thereby connect together to form a single connected mat for covering a large area, such as a room or to form a runner of the tiles for a hallway or aisle.
The lug-receiving recess 44 and the projecting lug 46 as illustrated have dovetail shapes for mating connection thereof. In the illustrated embodiment, the recess 44 and the lug 46 cooperatively define arcuate opposing ends. The lug-receiving recess 44 defines concave arcuate ends 48 while the lug 46 defines convex or outwardly bowed arcuate ends 49. In an alternate embodiment (not illustrated), the lugs 46 define tapered opposing flags that are generally narrower than a circumference that defines the arcuate ends 48 of the recess 44 to facilitate the mating connection of the recess and the lug.
Further, the tile 10 in the illustrated embodiment has an orientation that facilitates mating engagement with other tiles, as discussed below. The tile 10 accomplishes the orientation with a projecting male element 50 on a corner 51 and an opposing female receiving element 52 on an opposing corner 53. The projecting element 50 is defined by the adjacent arcuate ends 49 on the corner 51, which ends 49 are residual portions of a respective projecting lug 46 on a first side 54 and a second side 55 normal to the first side. The receiving element 52 is defined by the adjacent arcuate ends 48 on the corner 52, which ends 48 are residual portions of the land adjacent a respective recess 44 on a third side 56 and a fourth side 57 normal to the third side. The alternate opposing corners 58, 59 combined the residual portions of one end 48 and one end 49 for the end lug 46 and end recess 44 at the respective corner. An alternate embodiment of the tile 10 lacks the orienting projecting elements 50 and receiving element 51, and rather has the combined ends 48, 49 of the recess 44 and end projecting lug 46 on the respective sides normal to each other.
It is to be appreciated that the tapered edges on two opposing sides may be molded and formed into the tile 10 such as during the vulcanization molding process for a tile having the two opposing marginal portions 22, 24, for example, for forming a fixed width tile such as for a runner.
An alternate embodiment of the perimeter band member lacks the tapered portion 91, and rather, defines a squared-off lateral edge. The trim member of this alternate embodiment is useful for defining an edge of mat disposed on an aisle that does not have cross traffic across the mat, such as between opposing storage shelves, and not requiring a sloped entry to the mat.
As discussed above with reference to
As explained above, the marginal perimeter portions 22, 24, 26 and 28 define the surface 40 recessed relative to the support surface 34. A pair of tiles 10 connect on adjacent perimeter portions.
The tile 10 in the illustrated embodiment is manufactured from sheets of foam and rubber sized for the particular tile. With reference to
The blank of the vulcanized rubber/foam floor tile is removed from the mold and placed on a cutting apparatus for cutting marginal portions of the blank away by forming the lug-receiving recesses 44 and projecting lugs 46 on the marginal perimeter portions. The cutting tool is preferably a water-jet apparatus. The water jet operates as a cutting blade to cut through the rubber and foam layers. The water-jet cuts through the laminated tile 10 without compressing the foam substrate 12. Other cutting devices that apply a pressure or load to the tile during the cutting process compresses the foam. The compressed foam bulges outwardly, which bulge is then cut by the cutter. When the compression is released, the foam retracts, and the cut-off portion of the foam forms a cavity or cup in the side wall of the laminated tile. Side walls with such cavity or cup are unsatisfactory, as resulting in weakened lug-receiving recesses and lugs, such that an assembly of tiles 10 are insufficiently joined together to resist separation under foot or wheeled traffic. In the illustrated embodiment, the lug-receiving recesses 44 and the projecting lugs 46 are cut from the surface of the second land 40 through the foam depth 14. An alternate embodiment may cut less than through the entire thickness, and with a lateral cutting device, separate a plug and leave a shelf extending from the side wall.
The method described above may gainfully be followed to manufacture a plurality of the tiles 10 simultaneously. The foam substrate 12 and the rubber layer 18 are sized for the number of tiles 10 to be cut from laminated blank. The discrete tiles 10 are separated from the laminated blank by simultaneously forming the lug-receiving recess 44 for a first of the plurality of anti-fatigue tiles and the projecting lug 46 for a second of the plurality of anti-fatigue tiles adjacent to the first anti-fatigue tile. This is accomplished by a cut line made by the water-jet, by which the adjacent anti-fatigue tiles are separated one from another.
The edge members 60, 84, 102, 104, 106, and 108, are similarly manufactured in a respective mold by vulcanizing a rubber layer to a foam member.
The special length edge members 150, 152, and 154, for example, may likewise be defined in the blank and cut apart with the water-jet.
The floor tile 10 of the present invention is disclosed in an illustrative embodiment as having a base substrate 12 of a foam material or sheet and the top layer 18 of a rubber sheet that upon vulcanization attaches to the foam while forming the structure of the central portion and the perimeter portions, whereby the feature of the perimeter portions 22, 24 (and 26, 28) having the mating recesses and projections 44, 46 with the surface 40 recessed relative to the support surface 34, facilitates the tiles joined together to form the mat and to resist delamination of the top layer and the base substrate during use of the mat. It is to be appreciated that layered tiles may gainfully be made of conventional mat materials and include the features of the present invention. This includes vinyl sponge tiles of a vinyl layer attached to a PVC foam (closed or open cell), in various thicknesses for selective cushioning, rubber top surface or layer that is heat bonded to PVC foam base (open cell or closed cell), PVC or other resilient sheet members attached, heat-bonded, fusion-bonded, adhered such as with an adhesive, glue, or joining material, laminated or otherwise connected to a base cushioning substrate such as foam, urethane sponge layers (such as providing highly resistant cushioning), the base substrate formed by curing a liquid foam material that adheres to the top layer, as well as other conventional materials that may be layered together to form a floor tile. Such tiles may gainfully apply the feature of the surface on perimeter portions recessed relative to the support surface 34 on which a user walks to resist delamination of the layers of the tile during use. The edge members 60, 84, 102, 104, 106, and 106, are similarly manufactured.
The channels 36 may allow flow of water from the tile, for wet environments. Also, an alternate embodiment may define a plurality of through holes.
With reference to
With reference to
As shown in
The tile 10 in the illustrated embodiment is 18×18 inches square, with a foam substrate 12 of ⅝ inches, and a rubber layer of ⅛ inch. The recessed land 40 has a width of 1 inch. The recesses 44 and projecting tabs 46 are on 3½ inch centers, permitting incremental 3½ inch offsets for stems extending from a mat, as discussed above. The tile 10 however may be formed in selected other sizes, such as may be conventional in the art, with the base and top layers of selected thickness suitable for the particular application for a floor mat, and differences in center spacing for the recesses and projecting tabs.
The present disclosure accordingly describes alternate connectors (mating recesses and projections, adhesive tape, and the like) for joining perimeter portions of adjacent tiles to define the area mat while the support surfaces 34 keep footwear of a user (and wheels of rolling devices) vertically spaced and remote from the second land 40 of the marginal perimeter portions of the adjacent tile. The support surfaces 34 and the recessed land 40 thereby cooperatively restrict the footwear (or wheeled traffic) from scuffing against the upper edges or portions of the top layer at the joined connection of the perimeter portions so that the top layer 18 is not delaminated from the base substrate 14.
Although a particular embodiment of the invention has been illustrated and described, various changes may be made in the form, composition, construction, and arrangement of the parts herein without sacrificing any of its advantages. Therefore, it is to be understood that all matter herein is to be interpreted as illustrative and not in any limiting sense, and it is intended to cover in the appended claims such modifications as come within the true spirit and scope of the invention.