IES81112B2

IES81112B2 - A slat floor tile

Info

Publication number: IES81112B2
Authority: IE
Inventors: Michael Earls
Original assignee: Michael Earls
Priority date: 1998-04-17
Filing date: 1998-04-17
Publication date: 2000-03-08
Also published as: GB2337061B; IES980294A2; GB2337061A; GB9908656D0

Abstract

A floor with through holes for use in such applications as animal houses comprises a concrete base (20) having a plurality of parallel elongate apertures (21, fig.2), and a plurality of rubber floor tiles (10) fixed to the base between the apertures. The rubber tiles may have a central apex (12) parallel with the apertures, where the upper surface to either side of the apex are inclined downwardly towards the apertures. The floor tiles may be attached to the concrete base by means of nails driven through elongate housings (40) forcing integral longitudinal fingers outwards so as to grip the interior surface of the hole in the base.

Description

A Slat Floor Tile The present invention relates to a slat floor tile, in particular, a slat floor tile for an animal house.

According to the present invention there is provided a slat floor for an animal house, comprising a concrete base having a plurality of mutually parallel elongate apertures, and a plurality of rubber floor tiles disposed on the concrete base between the apertures.

The invention also provides a floor tile for a slat floor as above.

In a further aspect the invention provides a device for fixing a floor tile to a slat floor, the device comprising an elongated housing which is inserted into registering holes formed in a floor tile and in a concrete base of a slat floor, and a nail which is driven into the housing, the housing having a plurality of longitudinal fingers which are forced radially outward by the nail to grip the interior surface of the hole in the base.

An embodiment of the invention will now be described, by way of example, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: Figure 1 is a perspective view of a section of a slat floor tile according to the invention; Figures '2 and 3 are elevation views of concrete slats to which slat floor tiles of Figure 1 of the drawings are affixed; Figure 4 is a persepctive view of a section of a slat floor tile in place on a section of concrete slat; and Figure 5 is a perspective view of the nail and nail housing used to fix the slat floor tile onto the concrete slat.

Referring now to the drawings wherein similar numerals have been used to indicate like parts, there is shown a slat floor tile generally indicated at 10 according to the invention.

The slat floor tile 10 comprises an extruded length of substantially non-deformable rubber. The rubber comprises a mixture of synthetic butetine rubber and natural rubber having a Shore hardness factor (SHF) of between 45 and 80. A rubber mixture having a specific density of 1.5 produces a rubber having a SHF of 45 while a rubber mixture having a specific density of 2.0 produces a tile with a a SHF of 80.

In the present embodiment a rubber having a SHF of 65 is preferably used.

The extruded rubber is cut into elongate tiles of preferred length 3.5m for ease of handling. The tile is symmetrical about its central longitudinal axis A. In the present embodiment, the tile 10 has a flat base of fixed width W, the width generally being between 125mm and 175mm. The tile has square edges 11, the edge height E being approximately 16mm. The tile has a height H preferably equal to 22mm at its centre defining a longitudinal apex 12. The upper surface of the tile slopes away from the apex 12 towards positions 14 equidistant from the respective square edges 11. Between the positions 14 and the edges 11 the upper surface of the tile is parallel to the flat base of the tile. The distance D between the positions 14 and the respective edges 11 is preferably 20mm.

In use, slat floor tiles according to the invention are fixed to concrete slats 20, 30 of the type illustrated in Figures 2 and 3 respectively. Such slats 20, 30 are provided with a plurality of mutually parallel elongate apertures 21, 31 respectively. The slats 20, 30 are, in use, supported over a sub-floor so that animal waste falling on the slats eventually falls through the apertures onto the sub-floor.

The slats 20, 30 provide footholds 22, 32 running between the parallel apertures for supporting animals. Animals may be housed in sheds with such concrete slat flooring for several months during the winter. Concrete is particularly uncomfortable to stand on for extended periods time and standing on such slats for long periods can prove detrimental to the health of an animal.

The present invention provides a slat floor tile which is in use located over a floor slat, between the apertures 21, 31 to provide a more comfortable foothold for an animal. The slat floor tile is preferably the same width W as the distance between parallel apertures, and because of the gradient in the upper surface of the tile, animal waste is guided into the apertures 21, 31. Because the slat floor tile is fabricated from relatively durable rubber, wear from continuous use by animals over a period of several months is mitigated. Also, it has been found that the square edges are necessary to stop the animal hooves slipping off the tiles.

The tiles are preferably, fixed to the floor slats 20, 30 by Λ ; mean^. of 'a nail and housing mechanism generally indicated as 40, as shown in figures 4 and 5. The nail and housing mechanism 40 consists of a nail 41, preferably metal and coarsely threaded along part of its length, and a housing 42, preferably plastic, into which, in use, this nail 41 can be inserted. The housing 42 consists of a substantially flat circular head 43, preferably of diameter 50mm, with an integral shaft 44 protruding perpendicularly from the centre of the head 43, preferably of length 55mm and generally of width 8mm along that length. The shaft 44 comprises first and second sections 45 and 47. The first section 45, of approximately 15mm length, is adjacent the head 43 and is cylindrical with an axial bore (not shown) running through the section 45 from the head of the pin. The second section 47 comprises two fingers 46 extending from the section 45 substantially parallel to its longitudinal axis. The axial bore (not shown) running through the head 43 and the first section 45 has a diameter of roughly 5mm, the diameter of the bore being substantially the same as the diameter of the nail 41. An internal collar (not shown) is provided on the fingers 46 to restrict the internal spacing between the fingers 46. The nail 41 is preferably 65mm in length, and when inserted into the housing 42 through the bore it extends between the fingers 46 and beyond their full length by preferably 6mm.

The internal collar (not shown) on the fingers 46 ensures that with the nail 41 inserted into the housing the fingers 46 are forced slightly apart.

With the tile in place a hole 13 is drilled through the slat tile and into the concrete slat below. The housing 42 is inserted fully through this hole, engaging into the corresponding hole in the concrete below. The nail 41 is then hammered into this in-situ housing 42, forcing the fingers of the housing apart and thus fixing the slat tile to the concrete in the manner of a rawl plug.

It will be seen that slat floor tiles according to the invention can be used with slats having different distances between parallel rows of apertures. In this case, a set of extrusion dies can be employed to produce tiles of different required widths W.

The invention is not limited to the embodiments described herein which may be modified or varied without departing from the scope of the invention.

Claims

CLAIMS:

1. A slat floor for an animal house, comprising a concrete base having a plurality of mutually parallel elongate apertures, and a plurality of rubber floor tiles disposed on the concrete base between the apertures.

2. A slat floor as claimed in claim 1, wherein the upper surface of the floor tiles has a central apex substantially parallel to the apertures in the concrete base and, on each side of the apex, the upper surface is inclined downwardly at a shallow angle towards the apertures.

3. A slat floor as claimed in claim 2, wherein the upper surface of the floor tiles comprises a substantially horizontal strip adjacent each of the said opposite edges.

4. A floor tile for a slat floor as claimed in any preceding claim.

5. A device for fixing a floor tile to a concrete base of a slat floor, comprising an elongated housing which is inserted into registering holes formed in the floor tile and base, and a nail which is driven into the housing, the housing having a plurality of longitudinal fingers which are forced radially outward by the nail to grip the interior surface of the hole in the base.