Hinged floor mat

A one-piece, unitary floor mat comprising:

• a continuous plastic sheet comprising an upper surface, a lower surface, and an outer perimeter that joins the upper surface and the lower surface;
• a plurality of grooves in the upper surface;
• a plurality of channels in the lower surface, each channel positioned substantially opposite a single corresponding groove, and each groove positioned substantially opposite a single corresponding channel;
• a plurality of flexible segments cooperatively formed by the grooves and the channels, each flexible segment disposed between one of the plurality of grooves and a corresponding one of the plurality of channels and comprising a thickness of between about 0.02 inches and about 0.035 inches;
• and
• a plurality of substantially planar elongate panels defined by the flexible segments, each panel comprising a width of between about 1 inch and about 3 inches;
• wherein each flexible segment is deformable in a first direction to move the lower surfaces of two adjacent panels angularly closer to one another and deformable in a second direction to move the upper surfaces of two adjacent panels angularly closer to one another.

A method of forming a floor mat, the method comprising:

• extruding a plastic material into a nip region between a pair of rolls, the pair of rolls comprising at least one pattern roll comprising a plurality of projections protruding radially outward from an outer surface of the pattern roll, the plurality of projections extending longitudinally along the pattern roll and being substantially parallel to one another;
• extracting from the pair of rolls an extruded sheet comprising a plurality of channels formed in a lower surface of the extruded sheet, the plurality of channels reflective of the projections of the pattern roll;
• passing the extruded sheet through a cooling unit;
• and
• cutting the floor mat from the extruded sheet.