US 4,568,587 AGranted

Roll-up floor mat with rigid rails

AssigneeBalco, Inc.

InventorClaude P. Balzer

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Abstract

A floor mat including a plurality of rigid, elongated rails each having a side edge positioned in substantially parallel, spaced relationship to a respective side edge of an adjacent rail. A passageway opens inwardly from each rail side edge and includes an outer portion adjacent the side edge and an inner portion. The passageway inner portions have greater cross-sectional dimensions than the passageway outer portions. Each pair of adjacent rails is interconnected by an elongated, flexible hinge member which comprises a pair of opposite, spaced flanges extending longitudinally with respect to the hinge member. The flanges are interconnected by a web having a cross-sectional thickness less than a cross-sectional thickness of each of the flanges. The hinge member flanges are each slidably received in a respective passageway inner portion. The hinge member is adapted to maintain the rails in a substantially parallel, predetermined spacing and to bend transversely with respect to the rails thereby allowing transverse angular displacement of the rails relative to each other.

Claims16

Dependent claims

A floor mat which comprises:

(a) a plurality of rigid, elongated rails each including:
(1) a pair of opposite side edges, at least one of said side edges being positioned in mutually opposed, substantially parallel spaced relationship to a respective side edge of an adjacent said rail;
(2) a pair of elongated passageways extending longitudinally through said rail, each said passageway having an outer portion open at a respective said side edge and an enlarged inner portion;
(3) an upper tread surface;
and
(4) a uniform, continuous cross-sectional configuration;
and
(b) a plurality of elongated, flexible hinge members each interconnecting a respective adjacent pair of said rails at their side edges, each of said hinge members including:
(1) a web with opposite side margins;
and
(2) a pair of opposite spaced flanges each integrally attached to said web at a respective web side margin;
(3) each said flange being slidably received in a respective passageway inner portion and said web side margins each being slidably received in a respective passageway outer portion;
(c) said flexible hinge members being adapted to allow vertical displacement of said rails with respect to each other when said floor mat is walked on;
(d) said flexible hinge members maintaining said rails in uniform, spaced relation with said floor mat in a flat configuration;
(e) said flexible hinge member webs being adapted to bend transversely about longitudinal axes thereof whereby said floor mat is adapted to be rolled up by folding said rails with respect to each other.

12 more elements

A floor mat which comprises:

(a) a plurality of rigid, elongated rails each including:
(1) a pair of opposite side edges, at least one of said side edges being positioned in mutually opposed, substantially parallel spaced relationship to a respective side edge of an adjacent one of said rails;
(2) a passageway opening inwardly from each said rail side edge and extending parallel to said side edge for the length of said rail associated therewith, each said passageway having an outer portion at said side edge and an enlarged inner portion within said rail;
(3) an upper tread surface;
(4) a channel opening onto said rail upper tread surface and having a bottom surface, a pair of opposed side walls and a pair of opposed lips each extending inwardly from a respective side wall in spaced relation from said bottom surface thereby defining a pair of opposed, inwardly-opening slots;
and
(5) a uniform, longitudinally continuous cross-sectional configuration;
(b) a plurality of elongated, resilient, flexible hinge members interconnecting each adjacent pair of said rails at their side edges, each of said hinge members including:
(1) a web with opposite side margins;
and
(2) a pair of opposite, spaced flanges each integrally attached to said web at a respective web side margin;
(3) said hinge member being thicker at said flanges than at said web;
(c) each said flange being slidably received in a respective passageway inner portion and said web side margins each being slidably received in a respective passageway outer portion;
(d) a plurality of carpet strips each positioned in a respective channel and including:
(1) a backing with opposite side margins each received in a respective inwardly-opening slot whereby said carpet strip is retained in said channel;
and
(2) a fibrous pile attached to said carpet backing and extending upwardly therefrom above the level of said upper tread surface;
and
(e) a pair of opposite flexible elongated threshold members each attached to a respective rail side edge, each said threshold member including:
(1) a threshold side edge;
(2) a threshold flange extending longitudinally of said threshold side edge in spaced relation therefrom and slidably received in a respective passageway inner portion;
and
(3) a threshold web extending between said threshold side edge and said threshold flange, said threshold web being slidably received in said passageway outer portion whereby said threshold member is attached to said rail with said threshold member and said rail side edges in mutually opposed relationship;
(f) said flexible hinge members being adapted to allow vertical displacement of said rails with respect to each other when said floor mat is walked on;
(g) said flexible hinge members maintaining said rails in uniform, spaced relation with said floor mat in a flat configuration;
(h) said flexible hinge member webs being adapted to bend transversely about longitudinal axes thereof whereby said said floor mat is adapted to be rolled up by folding said rails with respect to each other.

23 more elements

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.