A safety panel for a treadable surface

The present invention relates to a panel for a treadable surface, which has a body in the form of a flat board bounded by a top surface and a bottom surface and has, formed therein, a plurality of through-openings for allowing the drainage of liquids which may be present on the top surface of the panel.

A panel of this kind is for example the so-called grating, used primarily for nautical applications, which consists of a wooden frame and which has, engaged inside it, a latticework of wooden strips which, while ensuring a suitable mechanical strength, allows the water to pass through, thus keeping dry the flooring of boats and the surfaces for which it is used.

The latticework of strips which forms a grating is such that the latter has a plurality of through-openings arranged in the form of a grid. These openings generally have dimensions such that, during use, the fingers or toes of a person may easily enter inside them, with the risk that they may get trapped inside the openings. This may give rise to safety problems, especially when the floor is that of a moving structure, such as a retractable gangway of a boat. Moreover, it is not advisable to reduce excessively the cross- section of these openings, because they also have the function of conferring a certain roughness to the floor and thus reducing the slipperiness thereof.

The problem of the invention is therefore to provide a treadable surface which, while allowing the drainage of liquids, is able to avoid as far as possible the occurrence of the abovementioned problems.

Therefore the subject of the invention is a treadable surface of the type defined in the introduction, in which each of the through-openings comprises a shallow-depth recess which has a cross-section of predetermined shape and a drainage hole extending from the bottom of the recess to the bottom surface of the panel, said drainage hole having a cross- section smaller than or the same as the minimum cross-section of the recess, said drainage

through-hole and said recess bottom being arranged so that the recess bottom defines a shoulder surface around the drainage hole.

With a panel of this type, the drainage holes are able to ensure drainage of the floor, while the shallow-depth recesses, on the one hand, are able to ensure good grip properties and therefore a limited degree of slipperiness of the floor and, on the other hand, constitute a design feature since they may be shaped as desired and in particular also with the square shape similar to the latticework of conventional gratings.

Moreover, in order to prevent the risk situations mentioned above, it is sufficient to design the cross-sectional dimensions of the drainage holes such that it is not possible for a finger or toe to be inserted inside them and design the depth of the recesses such as to prevent said fingers or toes from remaining trapped inside them.

The cross-sectional dimension of the recesses may instead be chosen as desired since, owing to the inaccessible drainage holes and the shallow depth of each recess, even if the fingers were able to enter inside the recesses, there would be no risk of their remaining trapped inside them.

These and other characteristic features and advantages of the invention will become clear from the following detailed description of a preferred, but non-limiting embodiment of the , invention, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

Figure 1 shows a plan view of a treadable surface according to the invention; Figure 2 shows a cross-sectional view of the panel according to Figure 1 , viewed along the line II-II of said figure; and

Figure 3 is a view, on a larger scale, of the detail of a through-opening in a panel as viewed in Figure 2.

With reference to the figures, a treadable surface designated overall at 10 is now described. In particular, the figures show a panel for a boat gangway. It is understood, however, that the invention is not limited to this application, but may be used in any situation where a

floor with liquid drainage characteristics is required.

The type of material of the panel is also not essential for the purposes of the invention, although for certain applications, such as those in the nautical sector, the panel is preferably made of high-quality wood.

The panel 10 has a body 1 1 in the form of a flat board bounded by a top surface 12 and a bottom surface 13. For the purposes of the present invention the terms "top" and "bottom" refer to the condition where the panel 10 is in use. The top surface 12 therefore defines the floor surface over which people walk.

The body 1 1 of the panel 10 has, formed therein, a plurality of through-openings 20 for allowing the drainage of liquids which may be present on the top surface 12 of the panel 10. The openings 20 are preferably arranged in the form of a regular grid, as shown in the figures.

With reference to Figure 3, each through-opening 20 comprises, on the side where the top surface 12 is situated, a recess 21 with a shallow depth relative to the level of the top surface 12 of the panel 10. For the purposes of the present invention, the term "shallow depth" is understood as meaning a depth such as to prevent a finger from being inserted inside the recess. In view of this situation, a person skilled in the art is able to design easily this depth, taking into account also the cross-sectional dimensions of the recess.

The recess 21 at the level of the top surface 12 of the panel 10 has a cross-section of predetermined shape. For example, as shown in the figures, this cross-section may be square. In this case the result is that the panel 10 advantageously has a design which is similar to that of conventional gratings. However, the square shape is not essential for the purposes of the invention, it being possible to adopt any shape which can be produced industrially.

The recess 21 has a bottom 22. Preferably the bottom 22 of the recess is substantially flat.

Even more preferably, the recess 21 has side walls 23 tapeing from the top surface 12 of the panel 10 towards the bottom 22 of the recess 21.

Each through-opening 20 also comprises a drainage through-hole 25 extending from the bottom 22 of the recess 21 to the bottom surface 13 of the panel 10. The drainage hole has a cross-section smaller than or the same as the minimum cross-section of the recess 21. The drainage hole 25 and the bottom 22 of the recess 21 are arranged so that the bottom 22 of the recess 21 defines a shoulder surface around the drainage hole 25. Preferably, the drainage hole 25 has a chamfered or flanged edge 26 at the point where it emerges level with the bottom 22 of the recess 21.

In this way, drainage of the floor is obtained via the drainage holes, while the shallow- depth recesses, on the one hand, are able to ensure good grip properties and therefore a limited degree of slipperiness of the floor and, on the other hand, constitute a design feature since they may be shaped as desired and in particular also with a square shape similar to the latticework of conventional gratings.

Moreover, in order to prevent the occurrence of the risk situations mentioned in the introductory part of the present application, it is sufficient to design the cross-sectional dimensions of the drainage holes, for example with a diameter of 6 mm, such that it is not possible to insert a finger or toe inside them, and design the depth of the recesses 21, for example with a depth preferably less than 5 mm, and more preferably between about 3 mm and about 5 mm (for example 4 mm), so as to prevent the fingers or toes from remaining trapped inside them. By way of indication, the depth of the recesses 21 is about 15%-20% of the overall thickness of the body 1 1.

The cross-sectional dimension of the recesses may instead be chosen as desired, for example with a square shape having a side dimension of 2 cm, since, owing to the inaccessible drainage holes and the shallow depth of each recess, even if the fingers were able to enter inside the recesses, there would nevertheless be no risk of their remaining trapped inside them.

The chamfered or flanged edge 26 of the drainage holes 25 and the tapered walls 23 of the recesses provide the panel 10 with further safety characteristics.

It is understood that the invention is not limited to the embodiment described and illustrated here, but may be subject to modifications in terms of shape and arrangement of parts, as well as constructional and operational details, in accordance with the numerous possible variants which will occur to persons skilled in the art and which are to be understood as included within the scope of the invention, as defined by the following claims.