Stock material or miscellaneous articles – Structurally defined web or sheet – Including variation in thickness
Patent
1997-06-20
1999-01-26
Loney, Donald
Stock material or miscellaneous articles
Structurally defined web or sheet
Including variation in thickness
428120, 5417, B32B 300, A47G 906
Patent
active
058636374
DESCRIPTION:
BRIEF SUMMARY
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The invention concerns a mat for supporting persons in a standing working posture that is formed as a carrier layer having a pattern of upwardly-extending portions on an upper side and a pattern of downwardly-extending portions on an underside (by means of which the mat rests on an underlying support), the two patterns being mutually offset.
2. The Prior Art
Elastically resilient mats for supporting persons in a standing working posture to counteract fatigue and injuries to legs and spine are known. A mat of the above type is described in the Danish Patent Application No. 348/93, wherein the two patterns are formed by continuous ribs on the upper side and underside of the mat. The ribs on the upper side are arranged in the spaces between the ribs on the underside and are narrower than the spaces, whereby tension is generated in the free carrier layer section on each side of the ribs when stepping on these.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The invention provides a mat of this type but wherein it has a punctiformed pattern on the upper side and the underside. This configuration of the mat has been found to give a better standing comfort, as it yields re-siliently in the punctiformed areas and not in line-shaped areas determined by a rib pattern, i.e., the mat can better adapt to the foot pressure thereon. The properties are moreover uniform irrespective of the direction in which the feet are oriented on the mat, while this is not the case with a rib pattern where the properties are noticeably different in the longitudinal direction of the ribs than in the transverse direction. It is noted that a minor overlap of the portions on the upper side and the underside, particularly where the portions are formed with inclined sides, has been found to have no noticeable influence on the comfort properties of the mat. The flatter the sides on the portions are, the more these can overlap each other, as the thickness in the area of overlap is not increased considerably.
Further, the mat has better drain properties because of the punctiformed supporting portions and may be placed arbitrarily with respect to a given liquid flow on the floor, whereas a rib pattern has to be oriented in the direction of flow to allow the water to run inwardly below the mat. Owing to accumulation of dirt and growth sites for bacteria, fungi and microorganisms in general, it is decisive that the contact with the floor be minimized. Apart from the fact that the mat per se must be easy to clean, the punctiformed supporting portions also facilitate cleaning of the floor below it.
The geometry of the punctiformed portions may vary widely and does not have to be the same on the upper side and the underside. Examples of geometrical shapes include squares, trapeziums, triangles, spherical segments, polygons and cones, just to mention a few.
Portions on the underside of the mat terminating in a tip have been found to possess a not quite satisfactory antiskid property in certain situations. Therefore, portions having a certain longitudinal extent are selected to improve the antiskid property, and the portions are angled mutually, optionally grouped, to provide a uniform antiskid property in all directions. If just the longitudinal extent of the portions is not too great, the comfort of the mat will not be affected noticeably.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
Embodiments of the invention will be described more fully below with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:
FIG. 1 shows a portion of a mat in accordance with one embodiment of the invention as seen directly from above,
FIG. 2 shows bottom view of FIG. 1,
FIG. 3 shows an enlarged section of the mat pattern on the upper side and on the underside, the pattern on the underside being shown in dashed line,
FIG. 4 shows a side view of the mat,
FIG. 5 is a view similar to FIG. 3, of a mat according to another embodiment of the invention, and
FIG. 6 shows a portion of the mat shown in FIG. 5.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT
REFERENCES:
patent: 2809908 (1957-10-01), French
patent: 3356562 (1967-12-01), Graham et al.
patent: 3876492 (1975-04-01), Schott
patent: 5331750 (1994-07-01), Sasaki et al.
M.ang.nsson Lars H.
stergaard Torben W.
ERGOMAT A/S
Loney Donald
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