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(11) | EP 1 048 262 A2 |
| (12) | EUROPEAN PATENT APPLICATION |
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| (54) | Synthetic textile material door-mat |
| (57) Mat (1) comprising a slab-shaped textile body (2), fixed to a base (3) made of a
non-slip material, also comprising a projecting all-round reinforcing frame (4), which
is integral with the base (3) because it is moulded over the latter. The inside edge
(5) of the frame (4) is made with an all-round recess (6), into which the outside
edge of the said slab-shaped body (2) is inserted. This inside edge (5) of the reinforcing
frame (4) covers the outside edge of the said slab-shaped body (2) at an oblique angle
and has a lower all-round grid part (9) that improves the adhesion of the reinforcing
frame (4) to the base (3). |
[0001] The present invention relates to mats in general, and more specifically to a textile mat of the type that comprises a slab-shaped body that is made of one or more interwoven yarns on a support and is fixed to a base made of a non-slip material.
[0002] A textile mat of this type is described and illustrated for example in European Patent EP-A-0804898, filed in the name of the present Applicant.
[0003] The aim of the present invention is to improve such textile mats as regards their robustness, service life and efficiency in use.
[0004] This aim is achieved according to the invention by a mat provided with a projecting all-round reinforcing frame, which is permanently fixed to the base, and whose inside edge is made with an all-round recess, into which the outside edge of the slab-shaped body of the mat is inserted.
[0005] The aim mentioned above is achieved in this solution owing to the following three effects:
- structural reinforcement of the textile body of the mat;
- holding and protecting the outside edge of the textile body;
- making the mat heavier as a whole and so more stable in use.
[0006] The inside edge of the reinforcing frame preferably covers the outside edge of the slab-shaped body at an oblique angle and in doing so, compresses the latter.
[0007] This characteristic further helps to achieve the advantages listed above, in particular the greater robustness and the outer protection of the mat.
[0008] The all-round frame is suitably made of a thermoplastic material and is moulded over the base of the mat, which is in turn suitably made of a fluorosilicate rubber latex.
[0009] The invention is described below in more detail with reference to the attached drawings, which are only intended as non-limitative examples and where:
- Fig. 1 is a perspective diagram showing the reinforced textile mat according to the invention,
- Fig. 2 is a cross section taken along the line II-II but drawn on a larger scale than Fig. 1,
- Fig. 3 is a partial plan view from below, on a smaller scale, in the direction of the arrow III shown in Fig. 2,
- Fig. 4 is a partial plan view from above, on a larger scale, showing part of a mat according to one embodiment of the invention,
- Fig. 5 is a plan view from below, showing the object illustrated in Fig. 4,
- Fig. 6 is an enlarged cross section taken along the line VI-VI shown in Fig. 4, and
- Fig. 7 is a cross section taken along the arrow VII-VII shown in Fig. 6.
[0010] Figs. 1-3 show the textile mat 1 as a whole, which comprises a slab-shaped body 2, made of one or more interwoven yarns on a support, generally by using the conventional method. The yarn or yarns can all be suitably made of a synthetic material such as polypropylene, and can be joined to a stiffening core, made of a nylon yarn, as described in the abovementioned European Patent EP-A-0804898. With this structure, the body 2 of the mat is considerably more robust, more resilient and has a higher abrasion resistance, without jeopardizing its non-slip property and the possibility of washing it even in a washing machine.
[0011] The colours and the designs of the yarn or yarns of the slab-shaped body 2 can of course be entirely chosen at will.
[0012] The bottom surface of the support of the slab-shaped body 2 is permanently fixed in the well-known manner to a base 3, made of an elastomeric material. According to a special variant of the invention, the base 3 suitably consists of a layer of fluoro-silicate rubber latex, which is spread onto the bottom of the slab-shaped body 2, and the bottom surface of the base is then embossed to give it a non-slip finish.
[0013] According to the invention, the slab-shaped body 2 is reinforced, bounded externally and is made heavier by equipping it with an all-round frame 4 that is relatively massive and is permanently fixed to the base 3.
[0014] The all-round frame 4 is suitably made of a thermoplastic rubber, for example of the fast-setting two-component type, and is permanently fixed to the base 3 by close physicochemical adhesion. For this purpose, the mat 1 according to the invention is constructed as follows. After the textile body 2 is made, it is fixed to the base 3, and the latter is dried. The resulting semi-finished product is inserted in an injection-moulding press, and the all-round frame 4 is moulded over it by injection.
[0015] According to the main feature of the invention, the inside edge 5 of the frame 4 is made with a relatively deep all-round recess 6, into which the outside edge of the textile body 2 is inserted. As can be clearly seen from Fig. 2, the all-round recess 6 lies between an upper all-round lip 7 and a lower all-round lip 11, the latter being slightly shorter than the upper lip 7. The upper lip 7 suitably covers the outside edge of the textile body 2 at an oblique angle, thus compressing it.
[0016] The connecting piece between the inside edge 5 and the outside edge 8 of the all-round frame 4 suitably has a convex top.
[0017] Furthermore, the all-round frame 4 is provided with an integral grid part 9 below the lower all-round lip 11. This grid part 9 extends either right around the perimeter or at least along two opposite sides and is composed of a continuous series of small depressed window-like apertures (see Fig. 3). The grid part 9 ends in an all-round inner extension 10, arranged below the base 3.
[0018] After the injection-moulding stage, the all-round frame 4 is permanently fixed to the base 3 by physicochemical adhesion over the inside surface of the lower lip 11 over the grid part 9 (with partial interpenetration), and over the all-round extension 10.
[0019] Therefore, in practice the frame 4 and the base 3, which is closely connected to it, jointly form a tray, which not only holds and reinforces the textile body 2 and so effectively protects its outside edge by the all-round recess 6, but also increases the mass of the mat 1 as a whole, thus making it more stable in use.
[0020] The mat variant shown in Figs. 4 to 7 is on the whole similar to the embodiment described above with reference to Figs. 1 to 3, and therefore only the differences will be described below in detail, using the same numbers to denote the parts that are identical or similar.
[0021] In this variant, the all-round frame, indicated by 4a, has its lower all-round lip 12 made with a thickened inside edge 13, while its outside edge is at a distance from the frame 4a, so as to form a lower all-round recess 14. In this case, the extension 10 shown in the previous embodiment is absent, and the base 3 is fixed below the lower lip 12 by physicochemical adhesion, while its all-round edge 3a is turned up inside the lower all-round recess 14.
[0022] The lower lip 12 has a series of spaced-out apertures 15 facing the all-round recess 6 and traversed by the pile of the textile body 2, which therefore partly penetrates the all-round recess 6, interpenetrating with the lower all-round lip 12 of the frame 4a.
[0023] This embodiment ensures the best connection between the textile body 2, the base 3 and the all-round frame 4a.
[0025] The structural details and the embodiments can of course be considerably different from those described and illustrated here, without violating the scope of the claims below. For example, the material used for making the all-round frame 4 and the method of fixing it to the textile body 2 and to the base 3 can be different from the previous description, which is only given by way of example.
1. Textile mat comprising a slab-shaped body (2) formed by one or more interwoven yarns
on a support, fixed to a base (3) made of a non-slip material, characterized in that
it comprises a projecting all-round reinforcing frame (4, 4a), which is permanently
fixed to the base (3) and whose inside edge (5) is made with an all-round recess (6),
into which the outside edge of the said slab-shaped body (2) is inserted.
2. Mat according to Claim 1, characterized in that the said inside edge (5) of the reinforcing
frame (4, 4a) covers the outside edge of the said slab-shaped body (2) at an oblique
angle.
3. Mat according to Claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the reinforcing frame (4, 4a)
is made of a thermoplastic rubber and is moulded over the said base (3).
4. Mat according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the said reinforcing
frame (4, 4a) has a rounded connecting surface (7) between its inside edge (5) and
its outside edge (8, 16).
5. Mat according to any one of Claims 2 to 4, characterized in that the said inside edge
(5) is made with an all-round recess (6) formed between an upper all-round lip (7)
and a lower all-round lip (11; 12) of the reinforcing frame (4, 4a).
6. Mat according to Claim 5, characterized in that, below the said lower all-round lip
(11), the reinforcing frame (4) has an integral grid part (9) ending in an all-round
inner extension (10), arranged below the base (3).
7. Mat according to Claim 5, characterized in that the said base (3) is fixed below the
said lower all-round lip (12).
8. Mat according to Claim 7, characterized in that there is a lower all-round recess
(14) between the said lower all-round lip (12) and the said reinforcing frame (4),
and in that the all-round edge (3a) of the said base (3) is turned up inside the said
lower all-round recess (14).
9. Mat according to Claim 8, characterized in that the said lower lip (12) has a series
of spaced-out apertures (15) facing the said all-round recess (6).
10. Mat according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the said base
(3) is made of fluorosilicate rubber latex.