Garage floor protection mat for snowmobiles and the like

A floor protection apparatus comprising:

• a mat having opposing first and second ends spaced apart from one another in a longitudinal direction, and opposing first and second sides spaced apart from one another in a lateral direction that lies perpendicularly transverse to said longitudinal direction;
• and
• first and second longitudinally channeled areas residing respectively adjacent the first and second sides of the mat at a topside thereof, each channeled area comprising a set of longitudinal channels running in the longitudinal direction of the mat and separated from one another by longitudinal ribs defining sidewalls of said longitudinal channels;
• wherein:
• said mat is assembled from a plurality of mat sections each spanning a partial length of the mat in the longitudinal direction, each spanning a full width of the mat in the lateral direction;
• and
• the mat is further characterized by one or more of the following features:
• (a) one or more collection areas residing between the first and second channeled areas at the topside of the mat and being of recessed elevation relative to the longitudinal ribs of said first and second channeled areas;
• and
• (b) a laterally ribbed central area residing between the first and second channeled areas and comprising a series of lateral ribs that run in the lateral direction and are spaced from one another in the longitudinal direction.

In combination, a snowmobile and a floor protection apparatus comprising:

• a mat having opposing first and second ends spaced apart from one another in a longitudinal direction, and opposing first and second sides spaced apart from one another in a lateral direction that lies perpendicularly transverse to said longitudinal direction;
• and
• first and second longitudinally channeled areas residing respectively adjacent the first and second sides of the mat at a topside thereof, each channeled area comprising a set of longitudinal channels running in the longitudinal direction of the mat and separated from one another by longitudinal ribs defining sidewalls of said longitudinal channels;
• wherein:
• the longitudinally channeled areas of the mat are positioned to underlie skis of said snowmobile so that runners of said skis are received in the longitudinal channels of the channeled areas when said snowmobile is driven onto said mat;
• and
• the mat is further characterized by one or more of the following features:
• (a) one or more collection areas residing between the first and second channeled areas at the topside of the mat and being of recessed elevation relative to the longitudinal ribs of said first and second channeled areas;
• and
• (b) a laterally ribbed central area residing between the first and second channeled areas and comprising a series of lateral ribs that run in the lateral direction and are spaced from one another in the longitudinal direction.