SURFACE DE PLEXIGLAS AVEC PROPRIETES ANTIDERAPANTES, ET ELEMENTS SANITAIRES CONNEXES

PLEXIGLAS SURFACE WITH ANTI-SLIP PROPERTIES AND SANITARY ELEMENTS EQUIPPED WITH THE LATTER

Abrégé français

Le PLEXIGLAS®, doté d'une surface structurée et micro-rugueuse, convient comme revêtement antidérapant pour des éléments sanitaires.

Abrégé anglais

PLEXIGLAS® is suitable ~ when provided with a structured and microrough surface - as an anti-slip covering for sanitary elements.

Revendications

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Claims
1. Use of plastics mouldings with structured and micro-
rough surfaces as antislip floor covering in barefoot
areas affected by wet conditions.
2. Antislip floor covering for barefoot areas affected
by wet conditions,
characterized in that
it is composed of a plastics moulding with structured
and micro-rough surfaces.
3. Sanitary element,
characterized in that
it has an antislip floor covering according to Claim 2.
4. Use according to Claim 1,
characterized in that
the plastics moulding is composed of poly(meth)-
acrylate.
5. Use according to Claim 4,
characterized in that
the plastics moulding is composed of at least one layer
composed of poly(meth)acrylate.
6. Use of plastics mouldings according to Claim 4 as
antislip covering for sanitary elements,
characterized in that

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raised structures have been arranged at the surface of
the plastics moulding, the separation of the structures
being from 500 µm to 6000 µm, the amount of the raised
structures being from 1 to 500/cm2, and the height of
the raised structures being from 20 µm to 500 µm, and
the micro-roughness being from 1 µm to 50 µm.
7. Use of plastics mouldings according to Claim 6 as
antislip covering for sanitary elements,
characterized in that
raised structures have been arranged at the surface of
the plastics moulding, the separation of the structures
being from 1500 µm to 4500 µm, the amount of the raised
structures being from 1 to 250/cm2 , and the height of
the raised structures being from 20 µm to 500 µm, and
the micro-roughness of the raised structures being from
2 µm to 40 µm.
8. Use of plastics mouldings according to Claim 7 as
antislip covering for sanitary elements,
characterized in that
raised structures have been arranged at the surface of
the plastics moulding, the separation of the structures
being from 1500 µm to 4500 µm, the amount of the raised
structures being from 1 to 250/cm2, and the height of
the raised structures being from 20 µm to 500 µm, and
the micro-roughness of the raised structures being from
1 µm to 15 µm.

Description

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PLEXIGLAS surface with antislip properties and
sanitary elements therewith
Field of the invention
The invention relates to antislip sanitary elements,
such as bathtubs, shower trays and walkways composed of
plastics. Examples of plastics that can be used are
cast or extruded acrylic sheet (PMMA) , marketed with
trademark PLEXIGLAS GS or PLEXIGLAS XT by Rohm GmbH &
Co. KG.
Standard thermoplastics can also be used for this
purpose, and, by way of example, styrene-acrylonitrile
copolymers (SAN), polystyrene (PS), acrylonitrile-
butadiene-styrene copolymers (ABS) or else polycarbon-
ate (PC) are used.
It is also possible to use high-temperature plastics,
such as polyphenylene sulphoxide (PPSU).
The sanitary element can also have been designed as a
plastics composite, a decorative layer designed with
antislip properties being applied via conventional
processes, such as coextrusion or lamination, to a base
layer.
The sanitary item can also, if appropriate, have
reinforcement, which is applied in the form of a fibre-
containing polymer material to the underside of the
sanitary item. The fibre-containing polymer material,
such as glass-fibre-reinforced polyester, is applied by
way of example through a nozzle onto the underside of
the sanitary item.

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Prior art
Antislip sanitary elements are known. "Duschogrip& ", an
antislip coating from the company Duscholux is
described for the entire range of shower trays on page
126 of SI-Informationen 2004 (AT-Fachverlag Fellbach).
The disadvantage of the said solution is that the
antislip coating has to be applied subsequently to the
surface of the sanitary element.
All of the products in the "Purano " range of superflat
designer shower trays from Huppe also have an antislip
coating. Here again, a disadvantage is that the coating
has to be applied subsequently to the sanitary article.
Another disadvantage of coatings is that they undergo
more soiling than the remainder of the surface of the
sanitary element and are difficult to clean. As yet
there is no experience of the durability of the
antislip action of subsequently applied coatings.
US Patent 3,942,199 (Kollsman) describes sanitary
elements to which antislip coverings have been applied.
These are composed of insular elevations of diameter,
for example, 4.5 mm, with 6 mm mutual separation
(measured from the centre) . The height of the islands
is 0.5 mm. No roughness of the surface of the insular
elevations is mentioned.
US-A 2004/0148892 (Kitakado) describes a surface which
has subsequently applied structures, for sanitary
elements. The structures serve for surface water
draining. There is no information about the height of
the structures or their distribution or roughness.
US-A 2002/0146540 (3M, Johnston et al.) describes a
subsequently applied film with water-draining struc-

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tures. The structures serve to promote the draining of
water in certain directions. There is no information
concerning the height of the structures or their
distribution or roughness.
Obj ect
In the light of the prior art discussed, it was now an
object to develop an antislip system which is intended
for sanitary elements and which meets the requirements
of DIN 51097 "Testing of floor coverings, determination
of the anti-slip properties; wet-loaded barefoot areas;
walking method; ramp test" (November 1992) and which is
easy to clean, and which does not require the
additional coating step for its application, and which
can be formed without difficulty with the sanitary
element pre-form.
Achievement of object
It has now been found that PLEXIGLAS GS SW has
antislip action (Figure 1).
The surface of the antislip plastics layer has
structures, such as pimples, rhombi, rectangles,
squares or circles which protrude from the plastics
surface. The projecting structures can have regular
arrangement over the area, but irregular arrangements
are also possible, for example there may be more of the
structures in those areas subject to particular loading
in the sanitary elements.
Regular arrangement of the raised structures on the
surface is preferred. The separation of the raised
structures is from 500 pm to 6000 lam, preferably around
1500 p.m and 4500 pm.

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The number of the raised structures is from 1 to
500/cmz, preferably from I to 250/cm2 . The height of the
raised structure is from 500 pm to 20 pm.
However, it has been found that a structure as
described above or in US Patent 3,942,199 is not
sufficient for classification of the antislip surface
in class A to C of DIN 51097. (See Example 1)
The inventive arrangement has further roughness in
addition to the structures described above. The average
roughness depth of the roughness (Ra) is from 1 pm to
50 pm, preferably from 1 pm to 40 pm and very
particularly preferably from 1 pm to 15 pm. (Determined
to DIN EN ISO 4287 and 4288.)
This micro-roughness is achieved by way of example via
steps in the production process. If the plastics
mouldings are produced via the known processes of cast
polymerization, it is achieved via roughness of the
glass plates used to form the polymerization cell, and
if the plastics mouldings are produced via extrusion it
is achieved via addition of diffuser beads, for example
those described in DE 43 27 464.
The roughness of the surface can also be achieved via
fillers, such as a granulated material composed of
mineral substances.
The inventive plastics moulding therefore has two types
of roughness:
= firstly the raised structures whose height is
from 500 pm to 20 lim, and whose separation is
from 500 pm to 6000 pm, the number of the raised
structures being from 1 to 500/cm2, and
= micro-roughness of from 1 pm to 50 um,

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preferably from 1Jim to 40 pm and very
particularly preferably from 1lim to 15 um.
The micro-roughness continues across the raised
structure.
The material is marketed as Textured PLEXIGLASO Swing
by Rohm GmbH & Co. KG, and is used in the fitting-out
of interiors and of exhibition stands, and, for
example, for balcony parapets, wind-screening, glazing
in garage doors or in other doors, roofing over
entrances, partitions, staircase parapets, shower com-
partment dividers, shelves, cabinet doors, advertising
displays, incidental tables, glazed walls and cloak-
rooms.
By virtue of the inventive solution, the entire surface
of the sanitary element, in particular edges and
curves, can be rendered antislip, and this applies
particularly to flat shower trays.
Working of the invention
The Textured PLEXIGLASO sheet was installed in an
apparatus to DIN 51097 and tested.
By virtue of the inventive solution, the sanitary
element has no zones that do not have antislip
properties. The antislip sheet can be composed of one
layer, of two layers (Figure 1) or else of a plurality
of layers. Multilayer sanitary elements can be produced
via coextrusion of the corresponding moulding
compositions.
Reinforcing layers that can be used are any of the
reinforcing layers known in the construction of
sanitary elements.

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Results
Textured PLEXIGLAS0 sheet Angle ( )
Crimp (CL) 5
Pearl 5
WW086 SF (SF = skin friendly) 6
Pluto 6
WBF99SW (SW = Swing) 12/ test certificate No.
67160404.001
The Textured PLEXIGLAS product with Swing surface
achieves classification A to DIN 51097.
The height of the structures of Textured PLEXIGLAS
with Swing surface is about 58 um, and their separation
is from 3 to 8 mm, these being arabesque-like
structures (Figure 2).
Example 1: Measurement of a merely structured surface
_...__~-_--- ..._.. . _____ . . ._..._...._._..
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20a .; aoo
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=450i ~=S50
i-.200
'-'r..._r......r,.-....,._...:~..-..-..,.._._........-r ^-.
40 41 42 43 44 45 48 47 48 40 50 51 52 53 54 55 5e 57 E859 40
Miliimetre
Example 2: Measurement of a merely micro-rough surface

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WO 2007/104606 - 7 - PCT/EP2007/051004
....
~h166.6 m ,...._
..................__.._...,.__..__.._............._._._.....,._~._.........-
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. . . . " ~ . . ~.
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......... _ ..-.-. ...........
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Specimen 1
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Example 3: Measurement of the inventive surface
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