Note : Les descriptions sont présentées dans la langue officielle dans laquelle elles ont été soumises.
CA 02527460 2005-11-18
1
"Door mat"
Field of the invention
The present invention relates in general to door
mats, particularly of the type comprising a body made
of textile material or the like suitable for wiping the
soles of shoes, and a generally tray-shaped base,
within which said textile body is inserted in a
removable way.
State of the prior art
Door mats of this type are known, for example, from
the U.S. patents Nos. US-3,083,393 and US-4,361,925
(corresponding to the Italian patent No. IT-1135152).
In the case of the second document, the base is made of
moulded thermoplastic material, typically an
elastomeric polymer, and between the dorsal face of the
textile body and the bottom wall of the tray-shaped
base there are provided elements of temporary anchorage
of the microhook (Velcro~) type.
This solution, albeit suitable for preventing
undesirable displacements of the textile body with
respect to the tray-shaped base, is far from practical,
in particular as regards the inconvenience of
separation of the textile body from the tray-shaped
base when it becomes necessary to separate them for
periodic cleaning and washing of said textile body.
Summary of the invention
The object of the present invention is to overcome
the aforesaid drawback and more- in particular to
provide a door mat of the type defined at the start of
the present description, in which, during use, any
possible sliding and curling of the textile body with
respect to the tray-shaped base will effectively be
prevented without recourse to formations of mutual
connection of the microhook type or similar mechanical
CA 02527460 2005-11-18
2
systems.
According to the invention, this purpose is
achieved basically thanks to the fact that the
perimetral rim of the tray-shaped base has an
elastically deformable retention lip engaged above the
peripheral rim of the textile body.
According to another peculiar characteristic of
the invention, the bottom wall of the tray-shaped base
conveniently incorporates inserts co-moulded within
said base, which have an anti-slip surface emerging on
said bottom wall.
According to a preferred embodiment of the
invention, the aforesaid anti-slip surface is defined
by projecting formations of said co-moulded inserts,
conveniently including stud-shaped projections.
Said inserts conveniently have a circular shape,
and are pre-arranged in two sets of three.
Brief description of the drawings
The invention will now be described in detail with
reference to the annexed plate of drawings, which are
provided purely by of way of non-limiting example and
in which:
- Figure 1 is a perspective view of a door mat
according to the invention;
- Figure 2 is a top plan view of the tray-shaped
base of the door mat;
- Figure 3 is a perspective top plan view of one of
the inserts of the tray-shaped base;
- Figure 4 is a perspective view from beneath of
Figure 3; and
- Figure 5 is a cross-sectional view at a larger
scale according to the line V-V of Figure 1.
Detailed description of the invention
With reference initially to Figure 1, a door mat
according to the invention comprises a body 1 made of
CA 02527460 2005-11-18
3
textile material or the like suitable for wiping the
soles of shoes, having a generally quadrangular shape
and provided, on its dorsal surface, with an anti-slip
substrate 2, for example made of latex or thermoplastic
rubber.
The textile body 1 is housed, by means of a shape
fit, in a generally tray-shaped base 3 made of moulded
plastic material, for example thermoplastic rubber.
The tray-shaped base 3 has a perimetral rim in
relief 4, which surrounds a bottom wall 5, on which the
substrate 2 of the textile body 1 rests.
According to the peculiar characteristic of the
invention, the perimetral rim 4 of the tray-shaped base
3 has an elastically deformable continuous retention
lip 8 engaged above the peripheral rim of the textile
body 1. As is illustrated in detail in Figure 5, said
lip projects towards the inside of the tray-shaped base
3 and has a characteristic substantially hook-shaped
cross section resting on the surface of the textile
body 1.
According to another innovative aspect of the
invention, the bottom wall 5 of the tray-shaped base 3
incorporates a plurality of inserts 6, which are also
normally made of plastic material, obtained by means of
co-moulding with the tray-shaped base 3.
In the case of the example illustrated, the inserts
6 are arranged, in the way clearly visible in Figure 1,
in two sets of three and have a generally circular
shape.
As is visible in detail in Figures 1 and 3, each
insert 6 has on top an anti-slip surface emerging on
the surface of the bottom wall 5 of the tray-shaped
base 3. Said anti-slip surface is defined by projecting
formations 7 that include stud-shaped projections, for
example, in part rounded (the peripheral ones), and in
CA 02527460 2005-11-18
4
part tapered or even pointed (for example, the
innermost ones ) .
On the opposite side, i.e., in the area
corresponding to the respective bottom surfaces, the
inserts 6 are coated with protective parts 8 formed
integrally on the dorsal surface of the bottom wall 5
of the tray-shaped base 3, for example according to the
configuration represented in Figure 4.
Thanks to the arrangement described above, the lip
8 and the anti-slip formations 7 of the inserts 6
effectively prevent any undesirable sliding or curling
of the textile body 1 with respect to the tray-shaped
base 3, avoiding, however, a mutual mechanical
connection that could render its separation
inconvenient in the case where it is necessary to clean
or replace said textile body 1.
Of course, the details of implementation and the
embodiments may vary widely with respect to what is
described and illustrated herein, without thereby
departing from the scope of the present invention, as
defined in the ensuing claims.
