Decking systems

Abstract

 A non-slip surface structure comprises alternate bands of different materials, one of which (8A,8B) is wear resistant and the other (12) slip resistant. The wear resistant material preferably comprises a rigid synthetic plastics material and the slip-resistant material resilient or flexible PVC. The surface structure is advantageously incorporated in a decking component in the form of an elongated plank-like element having an upper surface (5) over which users walk in use, the alternate bands of different materials being arranged to extend longitudinally of the upper surface of the plank so as to lie transverse to the direction of travel of users walking on the decking. Preferably the bands of material are spaced so that at least two bands of slip resistant material will normally be underfoot at any one time.

Description

[0001] This invention relates to decking systems and especially to the structure of non-slip surfaces for decking components.

[0002] It is known to construct decking systems from a plurality of elongated hollow sections or planks arranged side by side, interconnected at adjacent longitudinal edges and supported on a substantially rigid base structure. Decking systems of this kind are used, for example, for the surfacing of boat jetties, for the construction of garden patios or seating areas and for the construction of verandas for caravans or other structures.

[0003] Decking systems are generally exposed to the weather and the upper surfaces of the components over which users walk require to have a non-slip surface. Since such components are generally formed by extrusion from synthetic plastics materials, they inherently have a smooth low friction surface which requires to be treated to increase its slip resistance. Hitherto this has been effected by providing ribs on the surface of the plank members. Generally such ribs have been of rounded cross-section and spaced uniformly across the surface of the decking plank. Such rounded ribs do not substantially increase frictional resistance as there is a tendency for users feet to skate over the peaks of the ribs and attempts have therefore been made to increase frictional resistance by providing a roughened surface on the ribs. Roughening of ribs in this way is however difficult to achieve in a uniform manner. Moreover as such decking systems are commonly used in locations where users may walk over them with bare feet, roughened rib structures can be uncomfortable to walk on. A further drawback of such ribbed surfaces is that they tend to produce excessive glare under bright sunlight.

[0004] According to the present invention there is provided a non-slip surface structure comprising alternate bands of different materials, one of which is wear resistant and the other slip resistant. Preferably the wear resistant material comprises a rigid synthetic plastics material, the slip resistant material comprising a resilient material. In a preferred arrangement the rigid plastics material comprises rigid PVC and the resilient material comprises resilient or flexible PVC.

[0005] As applied to a plank unit for a decking structure, the alternate bands of different materials are preferably arranged to extend longitudinally of the upper surface of the plank so as to lie transverse to the direction of travel of users walking on the decking.

[0006] Preferably the bands of material are spaced so that at least two bands of slip resistant material will normally be underfoot at any one time. For this purpose the bands of slip resistant material are preferably not more than 40mm apart and advantageously about 25mm apart.

[0007] Preferably the width of said bands of wear resistant material is from 15 - 25mm and the width of said bands of slip resistant material from 3 - 8mm. Advantageously the bands of wear resistant material are approximately 18mm wide and the bands of slip resistant material approximately 5.5mm wide.

[0008] Preferably said bands of slip resistant material are located in recesses formed in the surface between said bands of wear resistant material.

[0009] The upper surfaces of said bands of wear resistant material may be ribbed or roughened. Preferably successive ones of said bands of wear resistant material have plain and ribbed upper surfaces.

[0010] Preferably the ribs on said ribbed bands project above the surface of said plain bands. The ribs preferably have generally flat upper surfaces and sloping or curved sides.

[0011] At least part of each of said bands of resilient material may project above the surface of the plain bands of wear resistant material. The projecting portion of said resilient bands may project from the surface to a height approximately equal to the height of said ribs.

[0012] The longitudinal edge regions of said resilient bands adjacent to bands of wear resistant material having a plain surface may be arranged to lie flush with the upper surface of the plain bands, the edges of said bands of resilient material adjacent to ribbed sections of wear resistant material projecting from the band by a distance approximately equal to the height of the ribs on said ribbed section. For this purpose successive bands of said resilient material may be reversed relative to one another so that the raised sections of adjacent bands are directed towards one another at opposite sides of a ribbed section of the surface and the opposite edges of adjacent bands face one another at opposite sides of a plain section of the surface.

[0013] An embodiment of the invention will now be described, by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:-

Fig. 1 is a transverse cross-section through one form of decking plank according to the invention; and

Fig. 2 is an enlarged fragmentary section of a portion of the upper surface of the decking plank of Fig. 1.

[0014] Referring to the drawings, Fig. 1 is a cross-section through a decking plank comprising a hollow extruded plastic box section having an upper surface 5 and a lower surface 6 interconnected by a plurality of vertical webs 7 which serve to impart rigidity to the structure. Male and female connecting members 8 and 9 are provided at the opposite longitudinal edges of the decking plank and are of complimentary form such that the longitudinal edges of adjacent decking planks may be connected to one another to form a continuous decking structure. Generally the structure will be arranged such that persons walking over the decking move from one longitudinal edge to the other, that is to say walk transversely over the upper surface in the direction of the arrows A or B.

[0015] The upper surface 5 of the decking plank comprises alternate longitudinally extending bands 8A and 8B having different surface configurations. Thus the upper surface of each band 8A is of ribbed configuration with ribs 14 extending longitudinally from one end of the plank to the other. The bands 8B of the upper surface 5 are of flat or plain form and alternate between the bands 8A. Since the plank is formed from rigid PVC or other rigid synthetic plastics material, both the bands 8A and 8B are formed from a relatively hard wear-resistant material.

[0016] A series of longitudinally extending grooves 11 are provided in the upper surface 5 of the decking plank between the adjacent bands 8A and 8B. Each of the grooves 11 accommodates a longitudinally extending band or strip 12 of a slip resistant material. The preferred slip resistant material is resilient or flexible PVC.

[0017] The construction of the ribbed bands 8A and the resilient bands 12 is shown in greater detail in Fig. 2. Fig. 2 shows from left to right a band 8B having a smooth upper surface, a band 12 of resilient PVC, a band 8A having a ribbed upper surface, a further band 12 of resilient material and a further band 8B having a smooth upper surface. The upper surfaces of the bands 8B define the mean level of the upper surface of the plank as a whole. The ribs 14 of the band 8A project above this surface and the bands 12 of flexible material include a lower section 12A flush with the upper surface of the adjacent bands 8B and a raised section 12B, the upper surface of which is approximately level with the upper surfaces of the ribs 14 of the band 8A. Thus alternate bands of resilient material are reversed relative to each other so that their raised sections 12B face one another at opposite sides of the ribbed band 8B and their lower sections 12A face one another at opposite sides of the plain or non-ribbed sections 8A.

[0018] The ribs 14 are of generally trapezoidal form in cross-section having opposite inclined sides 14A and flat outer surfaces 14B extending parallel to the general surface of the plank. The ribs 14 thus present a series of spaced flat surfaces for contact with users feet and in this respect differ from conventional ribbed decking surfaces in which the ribs are of arcuate cross-section.

[0019] As best seen in Fig. 2 the strips or bands of resilient material 12 are engaged in undercut recesses 11 in the upper surface of the decking plank and are thus retained against removal. Advantageously the decking plank as a whole and the resilient inserts 12 are simultaneously co-extruded, but the inserts 12 could be separately produced and located in the grooves 11 subsequently.

[0020] The width and spacing of the longitudinally extending bands from which the surface of the decking plank is formed are selected to maximise non slip characteristics while rendering the surface relatively non-aggressive and reducing glare. Preferably the widths of the bands 8A and 8B are between 15 and 25mm and advantageously around 18mm. The width of the bands 12 of resilient material is preferably from 3 to 8mm and advantageously around 5.5mm. The spacing between the bands 12 of resilient material is selected such that at least two and preferably three resilient bands will be underfoot at any one time. For this purpose the resilient bands are preferably not spaced more than 40mm apart.

[0021] The height by which the ribs 14 and the projecting portions of the resilient bands 12 project above the general surface of the plank is preferably between 0.3 and 0.5mm and advantageously approximately 0.4mm. The angle of inclination of the opposite sides of the ribs 14 is not critical but may be in the region of 45°. The spacing between the ribs 14 is preferably from 0.6 to lmm and advantageously approximately 0.8mm.

[0022] The arrangement described thus provides a surface for a decking plank comprising alternate bands or zones of relatively hard and relatively soft material respectively providing wear resistance and non slip properties. The structure is found to improve slip resistance compared with conventional ribbed surfaces and to reduce glare. The construction is also less aggressive to users walking over it with bare feet, and is of pleasing appearance.

[0023] Various modifications may be made without departing from the invention. For example the plank as a whole and/or the strips of resilient material may be formed from materials other than those referred to. The widths and spacings of the alternate bands of the surface may be varied and the non ribbed bands may be provided with a roughened surface if required. The height and spacing of the ribs on the ribbed bands may be varied and the bands of resilient material may be of different cross-sectional shape, width and height dependent on requirements. Moreover while the invention has been described primarily with reference to the production of a non-slip surface on plank members for decking systems, it may be applied to other articles where similar non-slip, anti-glare or non-aggressive surface properties are required.

[0024] Whilst endeavouring in the foregoing specification to draw attention to those features of the invention believed to be of particular importance it should be understood that the Applicant claims protection in respect of any patentable feature or combination of features hereinbefore referred to and/or shown in the drawings whether or not particular emphasis has been placed thereon.

Claims

1. A non-slip surface structure characterised in that it comprises alternate bands (8A,8B;12) of different materials, one of which is wear resistant and the other slip resistant.

2. A non-slip surface structure according to claim 1 characterised in that said wear resistant material comprises a rigid synthetic plastics material.

3. A non-slip surface structure according to claim 2 characterised in that said plastics material comprises rigid PVC.

4. A non-slip surface structure according to any of claims 1 to 3 characterised in that said slip resistant material is a resilient material.

5. A non-slip surface structure according to claim 4 characterised in that said resilient material is resilient or flexible PVC.

6. A non-slip surface structure according to any preceding claim incorporated in a decking component in the form of an elongated plank-like element having an upper surface over which users walk in use, in which said alternate bands of different materials (8A,8B;12) are arranged to extend longitudinally of the upper surface of the plank (5) so as to lie transverse to the direction of travel of users walking on the decking.

7. A non-slip surface structure according to claim 6 characterised in that the bands of material are spaced so that at least two bands (12) of slip resistant material will normally be underfoot at any one time.

8. A non-slip surface structure according to claim 7 characterised in that the bands (12) of slip resistant material are not more than 40mm apart.

9. A non-slip surface structure according to claim 7 characterised in that the bands (12) of slip resistant material are around 25mm apart.

10. A non-slip surface structure according to any of claims 6 to 9 characterised in that the width of said bands (8A,8B) of wear resistant material is from 15 - 25mm.

11. A non-slip surface structure according to any of claims 6 to 9 characterised in that the width of said bands (8A,8B) of wear resistant material is approximately 18mm.

12. A non-slip surface structure according to any of claims 6 to 11 characterised in that the width of said bands (12) of slip resistant material is from 3-8mm.

13. A non-slip surface structure according to any of claims 6 to 11 characterised in that the width of said bands (12) of slip resistant material is approximately 5.5mm.

14. A non-slip surface structure according to any of claims 6 to 13 characterised in that said bands (12) of slip resistant material are located in recesses (11) formed in the surface between said bands (8A,8B) of wear resistant material.

15. A non-slip surface structure according to any of claims 6 to 14 characterised in that the upper surfaces of said bands (8A,8B) of wear resistant material are ribbed (14B) or roughened.

16. A non-slip surface structure according to claim 15 characterised in that alternate ones of said bands of wear resistant material have plain (8B) and ribbed (8A) upper surfaces.

17. A non-slip surface structure according to claim 16 characterised in that the ribs (14) on said ribbed bands (8A) project above the surface of said plain bands (8B).

18. A non-slip surface structure according to claim 16 or 17 characterised in that said ribs (14) have generally flat upper surfaces (14B) and sloping (14A) or curved sides.

19. A non-slip surface structure according to any of claims 16 to 18 characterised in that at least part (12B) of each of said bands (12) of resilient material projects above the surface of said plain bands (8B) of wear resistant material.

20. A non-slip surface structure according to claim 19 characterised in that the projecting portions (12B) of said resilient bands (12) project to a height approximately equal to the height of said ribs (14).

21. A non-slip surface structure according to any of claims 16 to 20 characterised in that the longitudinal edge regions (12A) of said resilient bands (12) adjacent to bands of wear resistant material having a plain surface (8B) are arranged to lie flush with the upper surface of the plain bands, the edges (12B) of said bands (12) of resilient material adjacent to ribbed sections (8A) of wear resistant material projecting from the band by a distance approximately equal to the height of the ribs (14) on said ribbed section.

22. A non-slip surface structure according to claim 21 characterised in that successive bands (12) of said resilient material are reversed relative to one another so that the raised sections (12B) of adjacent bands are directed towards one another at opposite sides of a ribbed section (8A) of the surface and the opposite edges (12A) of adjacent bands face one another at opposite sides of a plain section (8B) of the surface.

23. A decking component characterised by a non-slip surface structure according to any preceding claim.

Drawing