EP4180578A1 - Ground slab for equestrian sports and sports facilities - Google Patents

Abstract

An environmentally friendly floor panel (18) for equestrian arenas and sports fields (10), which can be placed on a subsurface (12), essentially consists of a carpet (30) and at least one structured panel (20) made of a plastic material on which the subsurface (12) facing away from the top side of the carpet (30), the at least one structured panel (20) having a thin base panel (21), on the top side facing away from the substructure (12) of which a plurality of knobs (22) are provided and which are connected by at least one connection (40 ) is attached to the carpet (30).

Description

The invention relates to a floor slab for equestrian sports arenas and sports fields.

Such floor panels are known to a person skilled in the art, for example EP 0 667 927 B1 known. Floor panels for riding arenas should ensure both elasticity under load and sure-footedness for the horses. Depending on the nature of the soil and climatic conditions, they should also have the ability to store water and/or to drain excessive amounts of water. In order to achieve elasticity, conventional floor panels are generally made from a plastic material (in particular PVC), preferably also at least partially from a corresponding recycling material. Since the floor panels then exist in the equestrian sport or sports field floor for a very long time and can also be exposed to mechanical loads and climatic loads (especially from water and heat), there can be a risk, depending on the material used for the floor panels, that pollutants such as e.g Lead, plasticizers, etc. leak into the ground. This risk exists in particular with floor tiles that are very frequently or even constantly in contact with water.

It is therefore the object of the invention to create an environmentally friendly floor panel while retaining the good mechanical properties for equestrian sport and sports field floors.

This object is solved by the subject matter of the invention defined in independent claim 1. Preferred refinements and developments of the invention are the subject matter of the dependent claims.

The floor panel for equestrian arenas and sports fields, which can be placed on a (basically unchanged) subsurface, has at least one structural panel made of a plastic material, which has a base plate on whose upper side facing away from the subsurface there are a large number of knobs. The floor panel according to the invention also has a carpet floor, with the at least one structured panel on the upper side of the carpet floor facing away from the subsoil is arranged and further at least one connection is provided, through which the base plate of the at least one structural plate is attached to the carpet.

The carpet on which the at least one structural panel is attached supports the surefootedness and the elasticity of the floor panel, with carpets being less harmful to the environment than plastic material. By using the carpet, which is basically elastic, additional layers of elasticity between the floor panel and the subsurface can be dispensed with, which reduces the amount of material. In addition, the carpet supports the elasticity and the sure-footedness of the at least one structured panel due to its elasticity, so that in this floor panel the at least one structured panel can be replaced with a thicker base panel by a significantly thinner base panel on the carpet compared to conventional floor panels for equestrian sports arenas or sports fields the mass of the structural panel made of plastic material is significantly reduced and the floor panel thus contains even less environmentally harmful material.

The floor panel according to the invention can be advantageously used particularly for outdoor equestrian sports arenas and also indoors (e.g. for tournament arenas for show jumping and/or dressage, riding arenas for vaulting and/or western riding, horse racing tracks, paddocks, stables and the like). However, the floor panel according to the invention is also suitable for other sports fields that require a floor with elasticity and a certain degree of moisture and possibly also sure-footedness (e.g. beach volleyball, tennis, hard court games, lawn games, etc.).

The invention relates to the well-known standard term "carpet". The carpet used in the floor panel according to the invention means any carpet that is available as a standard floor covering on the market and is commonly used for living rooms, work rooms and the like. The carpet usually has an upper wear layer, which is usually textile (e.g. made of fibers), and a lower back or carrier layer for (safe and tear-resistant) laying and optionally also fixing on a respective floor surface, and optionally a middle layer with adhesive compound for Joining these two layers and/or further others Layers. In this context, the invention is not limited to any specific types or dimensions of carpeting. When using the floor panel on hard surfaces, carpets with a slightly thicker layer can be used to increase elasticity.

The at least one structural panel is preferably made of a plastic material selected from PE (polyethylene) and PET (polyethylene terephthalate), which materials are less environmentally harmful than PVC (polyvinyl chloride). In addition, the at least one structured panel can preferably be made at least partially from a recycling material. Since the base plate of the structured plate can be made thinner due to the use of carpeting, the structured plate can in principle be made of any plastic material, optionally also PVC (polyvinyl chloride), because of the reduced mass.

The base plate of the at least one structural plate is preferably designed to be essentially planar. The layer thickness of the base plate is preferably at most about 20 mm, more preferably only at most about 10 mm, for example even only about 2 to 5 mm. The nubs and, if present, further structural elements on the base plate are preferably constructed as thinly as possible (for example with a maximum layer thickness of about 5 mm or only 2 mm).

Preferably, the one structural panel or each of a plurality of structural panels of the floor panel is attached to the carpeting by a plurality of connections. In one embodiment of the invention, the at least one connection between the carpet and the at least one structured panel is formed by a fastening knob on the underside of the base plate of the structured panel facing the carpet and a receiving opening in the carpet for inserting or pushing through the fastening knob. The inside diameter of the receiving opening in the initial state is preferably slightly smaller than the outside diameter of the fastening nub. The lower backing layer of the carpet ensures a tear-resistant connection with these fastening knobs.

Alternatively or additionally, the at least one connection can also be made by adhesive between the carpeting and the base plate of the at least one Structured plate be formed. In this case, however, only a locally limited adhesive layer (that is to say, as far as possible at one point rather than over a large area) should be used between the carpet and the base plate of the at least one structural plate in order to avoid blocking the water permeability of the carpet.

The at least one structural plate is preferably produced by an injection molding process. In this case, the at least one fastening knob can be integrated in one piece on the underside of the structural plate by the injection molding process.

In the case of the at least one structured panel, the nubs on the upper side of the base panel preferably have at least two different heights to promote sure-footedness, in particular for horses. For example, rows of nubs of a first height and rows of nubs of a second height can be arranged alternately next to one another, or nubs at two different heights can be arranged in a matrix-like manner and offset from one another. Alternatively, nubs of only one height can be present on the base plate. In addition, the nubs on the base plate can each optionally be rod-shaped (i.e. bodies without a cavity) or tubular (all of the same type or different) along at least part of the height (i.e. bodies with a cavity), the second variant also having the advantage of further reducing the Mass of the structural panel made of plastic material, so that the floor panel contains even less environmentally harmful material.

In one embodiment of the invention, at least one spacer is provided between the carpet and the at least one structured panel. The distance formed by this at least one spacer is, for example, at most about 10 mm, preferably about 1 to 5 mm. Such a distance between the at least one structured panel and the carpet allows water to be distributed between them and thus to drain better through the carpet to the subsoil and/or flow to an edge area of the equestrian sport or sports field floor. The at least one spacer is provided, for example, by a projection on the underside of the structured panel facing the carpeting, or by a special structure (e.g. thicker outer circumference than the receiving opening). a fastening nub is formed in its end region to the structured plate.

The carpet can basically have any shape and any size. A rectangular or square carpet is preferably used, particularly preferably a carpet measuring approximately 80 cm x 120 cm (i.e. Euro pallet size). The total layer thickness of the carpeting is preferably at least about 0.25 cm and at most about 4 cm, for example about 0.5 cm, 1.0 cm or 2 cm. The at least one structured plate (in particular its base plate) can also in principle have any shape and any size. A structural plate with a rectangular or square base plate, for example with a size of approximately 20 cm x 20 cm or 40 cm x 40 cm or approximately 80 cm x 120 cm, is preferably used. Smaller structural panels are preferably used because they are easier to manufacture (e.g. in smaller injection molds using the injection molding process), which is why several structural panels are preferably attached next to one another on one carpet.

If a plurality of structural panels are attached next to one another on one carpet, adjacent ones of the plurality of structural panels are preferably each coupled to one another. The coupling of the adjacent structural panels increases the stability of the floor panel structure, which is advantageous because the attachment to the carpeting cannot usually be very fixed. In addition, the couplings are preferably designed somewhat loosely, so that the structural panels adjacent to one another can be somewhat movable relative to one another, which increases the elasticity of the entire floor panel structure.

The coupling of the adjacent structural panels on the carpet can be achieved, for example, in that the structural panels adjacent to one another each have at least one knob in the edge region of the respective structural panel. These nubs can be designed and arranged in the edge regions ("edge nubs") of the adjacent structured panels in such a way that they can be directly connected to one another, which can be achieved, for example, by one of the adjacent structured panels having at least one edge nub that is configured and is arranged to be embraced and the other of the adjacent structural panels at least has an edge nub that is configured and arranged to engage around the edge nub of one structural panel. For example, one edge nub is rod-shaped and narrow and the other edge nub is tubular and wider for gripping around. Alternatively or additionally, additional connecting elements can be provided to connect these edge knobs of the structural panels that are adjacent to one another. These additional connecting elements can, for example, be disc-shaped with a hole for embracing the two adjacent edge nubs or with two holes each for enclosing one of the adjacent edge nubs. The structured panels can optionally have one or preferably more edge nubs on each edge, with these edge nubs preferably also being arranged along the rows of nubs or the nub matrix in the inner region of the structured panel. The edge nubs on a structured panel and/or on adjacent structured panels can also have different heights, which are preferably also arranged along the rows of nubs of different heights or the nub matrix in the inner region of the structured panels. In addition, the different edges of a structural panel can be equipped with different types of edge nubs or all edges can be equipped with the same type of edge nubs, in the first case all the structural panels can be designed the same and in the second case the different structural panels are provided with different types of edge nubs.

In one embodiment of the invention, the base plate of the at least one structural plate has a plurality of through-openings in its layer thickness direction, which allow water to drain through the base plate to allow excess water on the base plate to drain away quickly. In this configuration, the carpeting, which is basically already somewhat permeable to water, preferably also has a plurality of through-openings in its layer thickness direction in order to increase its water permeability. The through-openings of the base plates and the carpeting can preferably be at least one of matched positions, substantially the same dimensions and substantially the same total number. In addition to allowing water to flow through, the through openings of the base plate also have the advantage of further reducing the mass of the structural plate made of plastic material, so that the base plate contains even less environmentally harmful material. The sum of Cross-sectional areas of the through openings of the base plate is, for example, at least 25%, preferably about 25-50% of the base plate area.

As an alternative or in addition to the through-openings in its inner area, the at least one structured plate can also have open edge incisions. In this case, the open edge incisions in a plurality of structural panels are preferably matched to one another, so that the open edge sections of structural panels adjacent to one another together form a common through-opening.

In one embodiment of the invention, a plurality of bowls for storing water are also provided on the upper side of the base plate, facing away from the carpet, of the at least one structured plate. These cups are preferably formed by thin plastic elements.

The subject matter of the invention is also an equestrian sport or sports arena floor which has an arrangement laid on a substructure of several riding arena floor panels of the invention which are arranged next to one another and are described above. The same advantages can be achieved with this riding or sports ground floor as explained above in connection with the floor panel according to the invention.

The several floor panels are preferably arranged in the equestrian sport or sports field floor with a joint spacing (e.g. about 2 to 3 cm) to adjacent floor panels on the subsoil. This allows the bottom panels to expand a little with heat without damaging each other or snapping upwards.

The equestrian sport or sports field floor preferably has a footing layer above the several floor panels. Optionally, a water-permeable retaining layer can be provided between this footing and the floor panels. In addition, at least one drainage pipe can optionally be arranged between the subsoil and the floor panels. For example, the drainage pipes can be connected to a water reservoir, thereby forming an ebb and flow system.

The subject of the invention is also a method for producing the above-described floor panel of the invention, which comprises the steps of producing at least one structural panel from a plastic material by an injection molding process, providing a carpet (preferably simply shopping in the market) and attaching the at least one structural panel produced has at least one connection on the surface facing away from the surface of the carpet provided. With this method, the same advantages can be achieved as explained above in connection with the floor panel according to the invention.

In connection with the above explanations and the claims, it is pointed out that the terms “top”, “bottom”, “top side”, “bottom side” each refer to the usage state of the floor panel in which it is placed on a substructure.

Fig. 1

eine schematische Schnittansicht des Aufbaus eines Reitsport- oder Sportplatzbodens mit erfindungsgemäßen Bodenplatten;

Fig. 2A

eine Draufsicht von oben auf eine Bodenplatte gemäß einer Ausführungsvariante der Erfindung;

Fig. 2B

eine Draufsicht von oben auf eine Bodenplatte gemäß einer anderen Ausführungsvariante der Erfindung;

Fig. 3A

eine Draufsicht von oben auf eine Strukturplatte der Bodenplatte gemäß einem Ausführungsbeispiel der Erfindung;

Fig. 3B

eine Draufsicht von unten auf die Strukturplatte von Fig. 3A;

Fig. 4A

eine Schnittansicht (Linie A-A) der Strukturplatte von Fig. 3A und B;

Fig. 4B

eine Schnittansicht (Linie B-B) der Strukturplatte von Fig. 3A und B;

Fig. 5

eine Draufsicht von oben oder unten auf einen Teppichboden der Bodenplatte gemäß einem Ausführungsbeispiel der Erfindung;

Fig. 6A

eine Teilschnittansicht von aneinander gekoppelten benachbarten Strukturplatten gemäß einem ersten Ausführungsbeispiel der Erfindung;

Fig. 6B

eine Teilschnittansicht von aneinander gekoppelten benachbarten Strukturplatten gemäß einem zweiten Ausführungsbeispiel der Erfindung;

Fig. 7A

eine Teildraufsicht von aneinander gekoppelten benachbarten Strukturplatten gemäß einem dritten Ausführungsbeispiel der Erfindung; und

Fig. 7B

eine Teildraufsicht von aneinander gekoppelten benachbarten Strukturplatten gemäß einem vierten Ausführungsbeispiel der Erfindung.

The above and other features and advantages of the invention will be better understood from the following description of preferred exemplary embodiments with reference to the accompanying drawings. Show in it:

1

a schematic sectional view of the structure of an equestrian sport or sports field floor with floor panels according to the invention;

Figure 2A

a plan view from above of a base plate according to an embodiment of the invention;

Figure 2B

a plan view from above of a base plate according to another embodiment of the invention;

Figure 3A

a plan view from above of a structural panel of the floor panel according to an embodiment of the invention;

Figure 3B

a bottom plan view of the structural plate of FIG Figure 3A ;

Figure 4A

a sectional view (line AA) of the structural plate of FIG Figure 3A and B;

Figure 4B

a sectional view (line BB) of the structural plate of FIG Figure 3A and B;

figure 5

a plan view from above or below of a carpet of the floor panel according to an embodiment of the invention;

Figure 6A

a partial sectional view of coupled adjacent structural panels according to a first embodiment of the invention;

Figure 6B

a partial sectional view of coupled adjacent structural panels according to a second embodiment of the invention;

Figure 7A

a partial top view of coupled adjacent structural panels according to a third embodiment of the invention; and

Figure 7B

a partial plan view of coupled adjacent structural panels according to a fourth embodiment of the invention.

Referring to 1 an exemplary embodiment of the structure of an equestrian sport or sports field floor 10 and the basic principle of the floor panels 18 for the equestrian sport or sports field floor are explained in more detail. The equestrian sport or sports ground floor can be used for indoor or outdoor equestrian sports fields (e.g. for tournament arenas for show jumping and/or dressage, riding arenas for vaulting and/or western riding, horse racing tracks, paddocks, stables and the like) or also for other sports fields (e.g. beach volleyball, tennis, Hard court games, lawn games, etc.) are used.

An arrangement of a plurality of floor panels 18 arranged next to one another is laid on a subsurface 12, for example on an at least roughly leveled subsurface. The term "ground" in this context includes any ground. The base 12 is preferably essentially flat, but can also have bumps. It can be a natural subsoil (e.g. earth, gravel) or an artificial subsoil (eg concrete floor). The substrate 12 also includes interior and exterior substrates. The floor panels 18 are preferably all arranged essentially in the same plane and are preferably aligned essentially parallel to one another, resulting in an essentially planar surface for the arrangement of the floor panels 18 . As in 1 shown, the floor panels 18 are preferably each arranged with a joint distance 45 (e.g. about 2 cm) between adjacent floor panels 18 on the substructure 12, so that the floor panels 18 can expand somewhat due to heat without damaging one another or snapping out upwards.

The floor panels 18 each consist of a normal carpet 30, which can be easily purchased in the market for e.g. living rooms, work rooms and the like, and at least one structural panel 20 of a Plastic material such as PVC (polyvinyl chloride) or more preferably PE (polyethylene) or PET (polyethylene terephthalate), preferably at least partly made from a recycled material.

The carpeted floors 30 each have, for example, an upper wear layer 32a formed, for example, of fibers and being textile, and a lower backing layer 32b (illustrated in Fig Figures 4A and 4B ) and optionally a middle layer with adhesive compound for connecting these two layers 32a, 32b. The total layer thickness of the carpeting 30 is, for example, about 0.5 cm, 1.0 cm or 2 cm. In order to achieve greater elasticity of the floor panels 18, the carpets 30 can also have greater total layer thicknesses of, for example, 2 to 4 cm, for example on harder substructures 12.

The structural plates 20 each have a relatively thin, essentially planar base plate 21 with a layer thickness of, for example, about 2 to 5 mm, on the upper side of which facing away from the base 12 a multiplicity of knobs 22 are provided. The nubs 22 can optionally also have internal cavities. The structural panels 20 are each arranged on the upper side of the carpet 30 facing away from the substrate 12 and are fastened to the respective carpet 30 by means of connections 40 . A possible construction of the connections 40 is based on the Figures 3 to 5 explained.

A footing 14 is applied to the upper side of the floor panel arrangement. Depending on the application, the footing 14 consists essentially of sand or a mixture of sand and shavings and/or the footing 14 has an artificial turf surface, rolled turf surface, natural turf surface or the like, and has a height of, for example, about 2 to 10 cm. As in 1 indicated, between the base plates 18 and the footing layer 14 there is optionally also a water-permeable retaining layer 15 made, for example, of crushed stone, chippings, gravel and/or coarse sand. In the case of water-permeable floor panels 18, as explained below, such a retaining layer 15 allows water to flow out of the footing 14 through the floor panels 18 and, on the other hand, the retaining layer 15 prevents material from the footing 14 from penetrating into openings in the floor panels 18 so they don't clog. Below the floor panels 18 on the ground 12 is optional In addition, a water-permeable gravel base layer 16 can be applied, which can serve as a drainage unit. The gravel base layer 16 has a height of about 2 to 15 cm, for example, and the gravel elements of the gravel base layer 16 have a size of about 8 to 16 mm, for example.

Although not shown, drainage pipes can also be laid underneath the floor panels 18 on the subsoil 12 in addition or as an alternative to the gravel base layer 16, via which moisture or water can be removed or supplied to the equestrian sport or sports field floor 10 as a whole. The gravel base layer and/or the drainage pipes can be connected to a water reservoir, for example, which is outside of the actual floor 100 of the equestrian sport or sports field. Such a system with drainage and water reservoir can also be referred to as an ebb and flow system, as is the case, for example, in WO 2011/107114 A1 is described in detail.

The floor panels 18 are each laid with their carpeting 30 directly on the respective subsoil 12 or, if present, on the gravel base layer 16 . An additional layer of elasticity is generally not required due to the elasticity of the carpet 30, but is not excluded within the scope of the invention.

As a precaution, it is pointed out that the sectional view of 1 is essentially only schematic. Ie the sizes and proportions of the elements and layers in 1 are not necessarily represented realistically as they would correspond to the given exemplary numerical values for embodiments of the invention.

As in Figure 2A As illustrated, multiple structural panels 20n may be arranged and secured to a carpeted floor 30 . The carpet floor 30 and the structural panels 20n are each designed to be rectangular or square. In the embodiment of Figure 2A For example, the carpet floor 30 has a size of about 80 cm x 120 cm (ie Euro pallet size) and a total of six structural panels 20a, 20b, 20c, 20d, 20e, 20f, each measuring about 40 cm x 40 cm, are arranged on it. In the context of the invention, the carpet 30 and the structural panels 20 can in principle each have any shape and have any size. As in Figure 2A indicated, the adjacent structural plates 20a-b, 20c-d, 20e-f, 20a-c, 20b-d, 20c-e, 20d-f are each coupled to one another by at least one coupling 50. Possible constructions of these couplings 50 are based on the Figures 6A to 7B explained. By coupling the structural panels 20 to one another, a stable construction of the floor panel 18 is achieved even if the structural panels 20 are not very firmly attached to the carpeting 30 by the connections 40 . In addition, the couplings 50 can be designed somewhat loosely so that the structural panels 20 adjacent to one another can each be moved somewhat relative to one another, as a result of which the elasticity of the entire floor panel 18 is increased.

As in Figure 2B Illustrated, alternatively, a single structural panel 20 can be arranged and fastened on a carpet floor 30 . The carpet floor 30 and the structured panel 20 are each designed to be rectangular or square. In the embodiment of Figure 2B have the carpet 30 and the structural panel 20 each have a size of, for example, about 80cm x 120cm (ie Euro pallet size). Within the scope of the invention, the carpet floor 30 and the structured panel 20 can in principle also have any shapes and any sizes for this embodiment.

The carpet 30 can easily be purchased as standard carpet on the market. The purchased carpet is then only slightly processed to have a suitable size (e.g. Euro pallet size) and equipped with a few openings (as in 4 and 5 illustrated).

The structural panels 20 are typically manufactured by an injection molding process. The structured plates 20 are therefore one-piece components (including the base plate, knobs and, if necessary, further components). Preferably, therefore, multiple smaller structural panels 20n (e.g., about 20cm x 20cm or approximately 40cm x 40cm) are placed on a carpet 30, since smaller structural panels 20 are easier to manufacture (e.g., in smaller injection molds).

Referring to Figures 3 to 5 an exemplary embodiment of a base plate 18 will now be described in more detail by way of example, only a single rectangular structural plate 20 being illustrated in each case by way of example.

On the upper side of the base plate 21 facing away from the substrate 12 and the carpet 30, the structured plate 20 has a multiplicity of nubs 22, nubs 22a of a first height and nubs 22b of a second height being preferably provided which are smaller than the first height. In this exemplary embodiment, there are a plurality of rows of nubs 22a of the first height and a plurality of rows of nubs 22b of the second height, which are arranged alternately next to one another. Alternatively, the nubs 22a, 22b could also be arranged in a matrix-like manner and offset from one another.

In addition to nubs 22x in the inner area (ie nubs 22ax of the first height in the inner area and nubs 22bx of the second height in the inner area), the structured plate 20 also has nubs 22z in the edge area (ie nubs 22az of the first height in the edge area and nubs 22bz of the second height in the edge area). These nubs 22z in the edge area of the structured plate 20 are used in particular later on the basis of 6 and 7 The nubs 22az, 22bz in the edge area are aligned with the nubs 22ax, 22bx in the inner area, ie arranged along the same rows of nubs 22a of the first height or nubs 22b of the second height or in the same matrix distribution .

In addition, the base plate 21 of the structural plate 20 has a plurality of through-holes 24 for water flow extending throughout the base plate 21 in the layer thickness direction of the base plate 21 . In this exemplary embodiment, the through-openings 24 are essentially circular and have a diameter in the range of approximately 2 to 4 cm. In addition, open edge incisions 25 are provided in the edge regions of the structured plate, which accordingly have the shape of a part of a circle and which, together with the open edge incisions 25 of a respective adjacent structured plate, also form passage openings for water to flow through. The sum of the cross-sectional areas of the through openings 24 and open edge incisions 25 of the base plate 21 is, for example, about 25-50% of the base plate area, on the one hand to allow a large water flow and on the other hand to significantly reduce the amount of plastic material of the base plate 21.

The carpeting 30 under the structural panels 20 is basically a bit permeable to water. As in Figure 4A and 5 shown, but the carpet 30 also has through-openings 34 in the region of the through-openings 24 and possibly also the open edge incisions 25 of the base plate 21 in order to increase the water permeability. The through-openings 34 in the carpet 30 have approximately the same or smaller diameters (e.g. approximately 0.5 to 2 cm) than the through-openings 24 in the base panel 21 of the structured panel 20.

As in Figure 3A and 4B shown, the structural plates 20 in this exemplary embodiment can preferably additionally have a plurality of wells 26 for storing water on the upper side of the base plate 21 . The cups 26 are formed, for example, by roughly annular frame structures on a closed section of the base plate 21 . The frame structures are designed to be as thin as possible (eg, approximately 2 to 5 mm) in order to keep the amount of plastic material of the structural plate 20 as small as possible.

As in Figure 4B illustrated, the structured plate 20 is fastened in this exemplary embodiment by a plurality of connections 40 on the carpet 30, each of which is formed by a fastening knob 28 on the underside of the base plate 21 of the structured plate 20 facing the carpet 30 and a receiving opening 36 in the carpet 30. The fastening knobs 28 are also injected on the underside of the structured plate 20 during the injection molding process and are thus integrated in one piece with the base plate 21 . For example, the attachment knobs 28 can be positioned in the areas of the cups 26 where there is no water flow through the structural plate 20 , wherein the number of attachment knobs 28 can be relatively small and thus less than the number of cups 26 . Of course, the receiving openings 36 in the carpeting 30 are positioned corresponding to the mounting knobs 28 of the structural panel 20 . In the initial state, the inside diameter of the receiving openings 36 is slightly smaller than the outside diameter of the fastening knobs 28, so that the fastening knobs 28 are at least somewhat clamped when they are inserted into the receiving opening 36. The back layer 32b of the carpet 30 forms a tear-resistant connection with the fastening knobs 28 of the structured panel 20. However, since the carpet 30 is basically very loose, these connections 40 do not achieve a fixed attachment of the structured panel 20 to the carpet 30, which is why the Structural plates 20 are additionally coupled to each other, as already mentioned above. As in Figure 4B shown, the fastening knobs 28 preferably protrude completely through the receiving openings 36 in the carpet and a little further (for example approximately 2 to 10 mm) in the direction of the subsurface 12 . This protrusion of the fastening knobs 28 short projections 22 are formed on the underside of the carpet 30, through which the elasticity of the floor panel 18 can be further increased.

As in Figure 3B and 4A shown, 20 spacers are provided between the carpet 30 and the structural panels. The gap formed in this way with a height of about 1 to 5 mm, for example, allows the water to spread more easily between the structured panels 20 and the carpeting 30 and thus drain better through the carpeting 30 to the subsurface 12 and/or to an edge area of the equestrian sport or Sports ground floor 10 flow. In the embodiment of Figure 3B and 4A these spacers are formed by projections 27 on the underside of the base plate 21 of the structured plate 20 facing the carpeted floor 30 . Additionally or alternatively, the spacers can also be formed by the floor attachment knobs 28, which for this purpose have a slightly larger outer diameter in their edge section near the base plate 21 of the structured plate 20, so that this edge section cannot penetrate into the receiving opening 36 of the carpeted floor 30. The projections 27 and/or the fastening knobs 28 with their special edge sections can also be injected on the underside of the structured plate 20 during the injection molding process and can thus be integrated in one piece with the base plate 21 .

Referring to Figures 6A, 6B , 7A 7A, 7C, various exemplary embodiments of couplings 50 for coupling together adjacent structural panels 20 on the carpet floor 30 will now be explained. As already mentioned above, the structural plates 20 have nubs 22z in their edge regions ("edge nubs") for these couplings.

In the embodiment of Figure 6A are two adjacent structural plates 20a and 20b coupled together by a coupling 50, which is formed by an edge nub 22bzi of a lower height and a smaller diameter for gripping around and an edge nub 22ato a higher height and one larger diameter is formed with an inner cavity for embracing. These two edge knobs 22bzi, 22a for the coupling are positioned in the edge regions of the structured panels 20a, 20b such that they are positioned essentially at the same point when the structured panels 20a, 20b are positioned adjacent to one another. One structural panel 20a with the short rod-shaped, narrow edge knobs 22bzi is first placed on the carpet 30, and then the other structured panel 20b with the longer, tubular, wide edge knobs 22azu is placed on the carpeted floor 30, with the tubular edge knobs 22azu on the other short, narrow edge knobs 22bzi set to embrace the other edge knobs 22bzi. This means that these two edge knobs 22bzi, 22azu of the two structured panels 20a, 20b can be linked directly to one another. The structural plates 20a, 20b each have one or more such edge nubs for corresponding one or more couplings 50 on their edges to be coupled.

In the embodiment of Figure 6B For example, two adjacent structural panels 20a and 20b are coupled to one another by a linkage 50 formed by a higher-height, smaller-diameter gripping edge knob 22azi and a lower-height, larger-diameter edge knob 22b with an internal gripping cavity. These two edge knobs 22azi, 22b for the coupling are positioned in the edge regions of the structural panels 20a, 20b in such a way that they are essentially positioned at the same point when the structural panels 20a, 20b are positioned adjacent to one another. One structured panel 20a with the long, rod-shaped, narrow edge knobs 22azi is first placed on the carpet 30, and then the other structured panel 20b with the short, tubular, wide edge knobs 22bzu is placed on the carpeted floor 30, with the tubular edge knobs 22bzu around the other narrow edge knobs 22azi set to embrace the other edge knobs 22azi. Ie these two edge knobs 22azi, 22bzu the two structural plates 20a, 20b can also be linked directly to each other. The structural plates 20a, 20b each have one or more such edge knobs for corresponding one or more couplings 50 on their edges to be coupled. The edge knobs 22azi, 22bzu which can be connected to one another are also in this case preferably dimensioned so that they do not interlock tightly but are somewhat loosely connected.

In the embodiment of Figure 7A two adjacent structural panels 20a and 20b are coupled to one another by two couplings 50, both of which are formed by a respective edge knob 22z on the two structural panels 20a, 20b and an additional connecting element 23. The two edge knobs 22z of a coupling 50 can basically each have any (ie first or second) height, have the same height or different heights, basically have any (ie narrow or wide) diameter, have the same diameter or different diameters. The additional connecting elements 23 are disc-shaped, for example, and are designed with two holes 23o each for embracing one of the two adjacent edge knobs 22z. The structural panels 20a, 20b can both be placed on the carpet 30 in any order, and then two mutually positioned edge knobs 22z of the structural panels 20a, 20b are encompassed by an additional connecting element 23. The structural plates 20a, 20b each have one or more edge nubs for corresponding one or more couplings 50 on their edges to be coupled. The connecting element 23 and the edge nubs 22z are preferably dimensioned such that they do not mesh closely so that the edge nubs 22z are connected rather loosely are.

In the embodiment of Figure 7B two adjacent structural panels 20a and 20b are coupled to one another by two couplings 50, both of which are formed by a respective edge knob 22z on the two structural panels 20a, 20b and an additional connecting element 23. The two edge knobs 22z of a coupling 50 can basically each have any (ie first or second) height, have the same height or different heights, basically have any (ie narrow or wide) diameter, have the same diameter or different diameters. The additional connecting elements 23 are, for example, disc-shaped and designed with a hole 23o for embracing the two adjacent edge knobs 22z. The structural panels 20a, 20b can both be placed on the carpet 30 in any order, and then two mutually positioned edge knobs 22z of the structural panels 20a, 20b are encompassed by an additional connecting element 23. The structural plates 20a, 20b each have one or more edge nubs for corresponding one or more couplings 50 on their edges to be coupled. The connecting element 23 and the edge nubs 22z are preferably dimensioned such that they do not mesh closely so that the edge nubs 22z are connected rather loosely are.

To mount the multiple structural panels 20n on a carpeted floor 30 (such as Figure 2A ) in this way (like e.g Figures 6A, 6B , 7A, 7B ) to one another, the different edges of a structural panel can be equipped with different types of edge nubs or all edges can be equipped with the same type of edge nubs, whereby in the first case all the structural panels can be designed in the same way and in the second case the different structural panels are provided with different types of edge nubs. For example, the one structure plate 20a on all edges to adjacent structure plates 20b the edge knobs 22bzi of Figure 6A have or on one edge edge knobs 22bzi of Figure 6A and on another edge edge knobs 22azi from Figure 6B have. In addition, the structural panels can also have one or more different types of coupling. For example, the edge knobs 22z of adjacent structural panels 20 can be directly combined with one another at one edge (such as Figure 6A or 6B ) and connected to one another at another edge via an additional connecting element 23 (e.g Figure 7A or 7B ).

The scope of the invention is defined by the appended claims. The exemplary embodiments explained above are only examples and serve in particular for a better understanding of the invention defined by the claims. The person skilled in the art will be able to recognize further exemplary embodiments of a floor panel according to the invention for equestrian sports or sports fields, which are based on modifications and/or other combinations of features of the exemplary embodiments described above. For example, some of the features described above may be omitted and/or other features may be added. Likewise, the floor panels according to the invention can also be made from materials other than those explicitly mentioned and designed in sizes and proportions other than those explicitly mentioned.

REFERENCE LIST

10

(Riding) sports ground floor

12

underground

14

footing

15

retention layer

16

crushed stone base course

18

bottom plate

20

textured panel

20n

textured panels

21

base plate

22

nubs

22a

Nubs of a first height

22b

Nubs of a second height

22x

(22ax, 22bx) knobs in the inner area of the structure plate

22z

(22az, 22bz) Nubs in the edge area of the structured plate

22 rooms

(22azi, 22bzi) Edge nubs to grab hold of

22to

(22azu, 22bzu) Edge nubs to grab around

23

Coupling element for embracing two adjacent edge knobs

23o

Hole in the separate coupling element

24

Through holes through base plate (for water flow)

25

open edge cuts of the base plate (for water flow)

26

Bowls on base plate (to store water)

27

Projections as spacers between the structured panel and the carpet

28

mounting knobs

30

carpeted floor

32

layered structure

32a

upper wear layer

32b

lower back layer

34

Through holes (for water flow)

36

intake openings

40

Connections between structural panel(s) and carpeting

45

Joint spacing between adjacent floor panels

50

Couplings between adjacent structural panels of a floor panel

Claims (14)

Floor panel (18) for equestrian arenas and sports fields, which can be placed on a substructure (12), the floor panel (18) having at least one structural panel (20) made of a plastic material, which has a base plate (21) on which the substructure (12 ) facing away from a plurality of knobs (22) is provided, characterized in that the floor panel (18) also has a carpet (30), the at least one structural panel (20) being arranged on the upper side of the carpet (30) facing away from the substructure (12); and the floor panel (18) also has at least one connection (40) by which the base panel (21) of the at least one structural panel (20) is attached to the carpet (30). The floor panel (18) of claim 1, wherein said at least one structural panel (20) is made of a plastic material selected from PE and PET; and/or the base plate (21) of the at least one structured plate (20) has a maximum layer thickness of 20 mm. Floor panel (18) according to Claim 1 or 2, in which the at least one connection (40) is formed by a fastening knob (28) on the underside of the base panel (21) of the structured panel (20) facing the carpet and a receiving opening (36) in the carpet for Inserting or pushing through the fastening knobs (28) is formed. The floor panel (18) of claim 3, wherein said at least one structural panel (20) is made by an injection molding process; and the at least one fastening knob (28) is integrated in one piece on the underside of the structural plate (20) by the injection molding process. A floor panel (18) according to any one of the preceding claims wherein between the carpeting (30) and the at least one structural panel (20) at least one spacer (27, 28) is provided, the at least one spacer being secured by a projection (27) on the underside of the structured panel (20) facing the carpeted floor or by a special structure of a fastening nub (28) in its end area Structure plate (20) is formed. Floor panel (18) according to one of the preceding claims, in which a plurality of structural panels (20n) are attached next to one another on one carpet (30), adjacent ones of the plurality of structural panels (20n) being coupled to one another in each case. A floor panel (18) according to claim 6, wherein the adjacent structured panels (20n) each have at least one knob (22z) in the edge area of the respective structured panel (20n); and these nubs (22z) are designed and arranged in the edge areas of the adjacent structured panels (20n) in such a way that they can be directly connected to one another, or additional connecting elements (23) for connecting these nubs (22z) in the edge areas of the adjacent structured panels (20n ) are provided with each other. Floor panel (18) according to Claim 7, in which one of the adjacent structural panels (20n) has in its edge region at least one knob (22zi) which is designed and arranged to be gripped around, and the other of the adjacent structural panels ( 20n) has at least one nub (22zu) in its edge area, which is designed and arranged to engage around the nub (22zi) in the edge area of one structured plate (20n). Floor panel (18) according to one of the preceding claims, in which the base panel (21) of the at least one structural panel (20) has a plurality of through-openings (24) in its layer thickness direction and the carpeting (30) has a plurality of through-openings (34) in its layer thickness direction. Floor panel (18) according to one of the preceding claims, in which a plurality of wells (26) for storing water are also provided on the upper side of the base panel (21) of the at least one structural panel (20) facing away from the carpet (30). Equestrian sport or sports field floor (10), having an arrangement laid on a substructure (12) of a plurality of floor panels (18) arranged next to one another according to one of Claims 1 to 10. Equestrian sport or sports field floor (10) according to Claim 11, in which the plurality of floor panels (18) are each arranged with a joint distance (45) to adjacent floor panels (18) on the substructure (12). Equestrian sport or sports field floor (10) according to claim 11 or 12, in which a footing layer (14) is provided above the plurality of floor panels (18); and
A water-permeable retaining layer (15) is optionally provided between the footing (14) and the floor panels (18). A method of manufacturing a floor panel (18) according to any one of claims 1 to 10, comprising: producing at least one structural plate (20) from a plastic material by an injection molding process; providing a carpet (30); and Fastening the at least one structural panel (20) produced by at least one connection (40) on the upper side of the provided carpet (30) facing away from the substrate (12).

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