Patent EP0210285A1 successfully refreshed from Google Patents.
EP0210285A1
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EP
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Arena floor covering and element suited for composing the same
Assignee: Individual
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Filing: 1985-06-28
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Granted: —
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Expires: 2005-06-28
Abstract
Abstract An arena floor covering useful alternately as a support for a siab (10) of artificially frozen ice and when free from ics as a soft and somewhat elastic mat suitable for practicing gymnastics and various games, is composed of a plurality of elongate elements (3) held together in edge to edge relationship on top of a flat, heat-insulating bed (1). The elongate elements (3), which somewhat resemble matched boards and add only two centimeters at most to the height of bed, are formed by extrusion in desired lengths from synthetic resin material andi have selected cross sectional shapes including passages (11), permitting the circulation longitudinally through the elements of a temperature controlling fluid, the temperature of which determines the resiliency and hardness of the elements and hence of the covering as a whole.
Inventors
- 👤 Bengt Valdemar Eggemar
Bibliographic Details
Application Number
—
Jurisdiction
EP
Data Source
google_patents
Last Synchronized
2026-11-08 17:22
CPC Classifications
A; A63; A63C; A63C19/00; A63C19/10; E; E01; E01C; E01C13/00; E01C13/02; E01C13/04; E01C13/045; E01C13/10; E01C13/102; E01C13/105
Claims Analysis
Total Claims: 11
Claim 1
Independent Claim
329 words
An arena floor covering useful alternately as a support for a slab of artificially frozen ice and, when free of ice, as a soft and somewhat elastic mat suitable for practicing gymnastics and various games, said covering being composed of a plurality of elongate elements adapted to be placed and held together in parallel edge to edge relationship on top of a flat bed in a manner to form a continuous deck, each of said elements including a plurality of longitudinally extending passages permitting the circulation of a temperature-controlling fluid therethrough, characterized in that each of said elements (3) consists of an extruded strip-like body of synthetic resin material having a generally flat top surface (12), a total height (H) which is less than about 30 millimeters, and a width (W) which is several times greater than said body height (H), that said extruded body comprises a lower body portion (16), through which said plurality of fluid passages (11) extend in laterally spaced relationship, and integral therewith a substantially solid, panel-like upper body portion (15) forming said top surface (12) and having a thickness (t),measured between said top surface and the uppermost wall portions of said fluid passages (11),which is between one sixth and one third of said body height (H), that said fluid passages (11) have an inner vertioal dimension (d) exceeding one half of said body height (H) and a lateral center to center spacing (S) which is less than twice said body height (H), that adjacent ones of said fluid passages (11) have facing side walls (17) which are separated from one another in a manner to permit their individual deformation, and that the synthetic resin material forming at least said side walls (17) of said fluid passages (11) is selected from a group of such materials which within a temperature ran f e above about +10°C exhibit somewhat rubber-like elastic properties but when cooled down to a temperature of -5°C or lower become practically rigid.
Claim 2
Dependent Claim
329 words
An arena floor covering useful alternately as a support for a slab of artificially frozen ice and, when free of ice, as a soft and somewhat elastic mat suitable for practicing gymnastics and various games, said covering being composed of a plurality of elongate elements adapted to be placed and held together in parallel edge to edge relationship on top of a flat bed in a manner to form a continuous deck, each of said elements including a plurality of longitudinally extending passages permitting the circulation of a temperature-controlling fluid therethrough, characterized in that each of said elements (3) consists of an extruded strip-like body of synthetic resin material having a generally flat top surface (12), a total height (H) which is less than about 30 millimeters, and a width (W) which is several times greater than said body height (H), that said extruded body comprises a lower body portion (16), through which said plurality of fluid passages (11) extend in laterally spaced relationship, and integral therewith a substantially solid, panel-like upper body portion (15) forming said top surface (12) and having a thickness (t),measured between said top surface and the uppermost wall portions of said fluid passages (11),which is between one sixth and one third of said body height (H), that said fluid passages (11) have an inner vertioal dimension (d) exceeding one half of said body height (H) and a lateral center to center spacing (S) which is less than twice said body height (H), that adjacent ones of said fluid passages (11) have facing side walls (17) which are separated from one another in a manner to permit their individual deformation, and that the synthetic resin material forming at least said side walls (17) of said fluid passages (11) is selected from a group of such materials which within a temperature ran f e above about +10°C exhibit somewhat rubber-like elastic properties but when cooled down to a temperature of -5°C or lower become practically rigid.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim
311 words
An elongate element suitable for use in composing an arena floor covering as claimed in claim 1 and including a plurality of longitudinally extending passages permitting the circulation of a temperature-controlling fluid therethrough, characterized in that it consists of an extruded strip-like body of synthetic resin material having a generally flat top surface (12), a total height (H) which is less than about 3 0 millimeters, and a width (W) which is several times greater than said heigth (H), that said extruded body comprises a lower body portion (16), in which said plural fluid passages (11) are provided, and, formed integrally with said lower body portion, a substantially solid, panel-like upper body portion (15) forming said top surface (12) and having a thickness (t), measured between said top surface and the uppermost wall portions of said fluid passages (11), which is between one sixth and one third of said body height (H), that said fluid passages (11) in the normal uncompressed state of the body have a substantially circular cross section and an inner diameter (d) exceeding one half of said body height (H), that said fluid passages (11) extend at least approximately in a common plane parallel to said top surface (12) of the body with a lateral center to center spacing (S) which is less than three times said inner passage diameter (d), that adjacent ones of said fluid passages (11) have facing side walls (17) which are separated from one another by intermediate channels (19, 21, 23) permitting individual deformation of said side walls (17), and that the synthetic resin material forming at least said side walls (17) of said fluid passages (11) is selected from a group of synthetic resin compounds which within a temperature range above about +10°C exhibit somewhat rubber-like elastic properties but at a temperature below about - 5 o C are practically rigid.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim
39 words
An element according to claim 2, wherein said total body height (H) is less than about 15 millimeters, and wherein said center to center spacing (S) of said fluid passages (11) is about twice said inner passage diameter (d).
Claim 5
Dependent Claim
45 words
An element according to claim 2 or claim 3, wherein said channels (19, 23) separating the facing side walls (17, 17") of adjacent fluid passages (11, 11") form downwardly open grooves in an otherwise substantially planar bottom surface of the body (Figs. 3 and 5).
Claim 6
Dependent Claim
40 words
An element according to claim 4, wherein said downwardly open channels (19, 21) leave under each fluid passage (11, 11") a longitudinally extending, substantially planar bottom surface portion (25, 25"), the width of which exceeds said inner passage diameter (d).
Claim 7
Dependent Claim
45 words
An element according to claim 2 or claim 3, wherein said channels (21) separating the facing side walls (l7") of adjacent fluid passages (11") are downwardly closed by bottom wall portions (22) forming parts of a substantially planar bottom surface of the body (Fig. 4).
Claim 8
Dependent Claim
38 words
An element according to any one of the claims 2 to 6 inclusive, wherein a plurality of longitudinally extending shallow grooves (13, 13', 13") are formed in said generally flat top surface (12, 12', 12") of the body.
Claim 9
Dependent Claim
33 words
An element according to any one of the claims 2 to 7 inclusive, wherein the lateral marginal portions of the body are formed into longitudinally extending interengageable means for joining together adjacent elements.
Claim 10
Dependent Claim
65 words
An element according to any one of the claims 2 to 8 inclusive, wherein the synthetic resin compound forming at least said side walls (17) of said fluid passages (11) and preferably the entire lower body portion (16) exhibits a hardness less than 75 Shore A at a temperature above +10°C and a hardness of at least 90 Shore A at a temperature below -5°C.
Claim 11
Dependent Claim
39 words
10 . A method of adjusting the resiliency of the top surface of an arena floor covering as claimed in claim 1 comprising circulating a more or less heated fluid through said fluid passages (11) of said elements (3).
References Cited (Backward Citations)
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