GB2182242A

GB2182242A - Entrance mat

Info

Publication number: GB2182242A
Application number: GB08625285A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Derek Dexter Mccordall
Original assignee: MCCORDALL Ltd DEREK
Current assignee: MCCORDALL Ltd DEREK
Priority date: 1985-10-23
Filing date: 1986-10-22
Publication date: 1987-05-13
Also published as: EP0246263A1; WO1987002564A1; AU6545086A; GB8625285D0

Abstract

An entrance mat comprises a frame (14) removably secured to a base member (11) defining a substrate formed with a plurality of transverse recesses or indents (11a). Hinged at points to the base member (11) are several retainers each comprising a bar (12) and a pair of mounting arms (12a). A sheet of latex-backed textile material (13) is received upon the substrate with non-pile regions thereof in register with the indents (11a). The bars (12) retain sheet material (13) in the indents sandwiched against the substrate and prevent rucking or dislodgement. Raising the bars (12) enables the sheet (13) to be removed for replacement, the removed sheet being transported from site to a remote location for laundering.

Description

SPECIFICATION Entrance mat The invention relates to mats, particularly, but not exclusively, for use in building entrances to reduce the amount of dirt brought into the building on footwear.

Entrance mats of various types are well known, many being sunk into a shallowfloorwell sothatthe upper surface is substantially flush with the floor.

Traditional types have a woven back with upstanding bristles sufficiently densely packed to support the weight of a person whilst trapping the dirt and soil in the pile. Another type comprises rubber or metallic strips spaced apart to define soil-trapping strip-strip spaces. Brush strips are sometimes provided in the strip-strip spaces to assist in soil removal from footwear as are wider strips providing a carpet or pile fabric.

Another type of entrance mat comprises pile fabric coated on its underside with latex or a layer of rubber. In both cases dirt trapped is difficultto remove from the mat, cleaning, at the regular intervals needed, normally requiring lifting from afloorwell and, in the case ofthe rubber-backed mats, removal from the premises for laundering.

In both cases the weight of the mat can make the task of cleaning inconvenient but latex-backed mats are sufficiently light that removal for cleaning is a practical proposition and the washing process itself is reasonably efficient and economic to carry out. Despite these advantages over rubber-backed mats, however, the latter are often preferred since, in sharp contrast to latex-backed mats, they are not easily displaced, or rucked and tend to lay flatter so as to be safe in use.

Attempts have been made to produce entrance mats combining the relative ease of cleaning of latexbacked mats with the service advantages and safety of rubber-backed mats. In one case, a base has means such as clamps around its edges for removeably attaching to it a light-weight latex-backed mat which covers the base. The stability is, however, often inadequate since the attachment of the mat only at its edges is insufficient to control a large surface area.

According to the invention an entrance assembly comprises a sheet of preferably latex-backed flexible material, a plurality of bars designed to extend ac ross the upper surface of the sheet when it lies on a substrate and means for retaining the bars in preferably releasable contact with the upper surface of the sheet to fix the sheet in position relative to the substrate.

In preferred forms ofthe invention, the mat assembly includes a base memberwhich defines the substrate. Means such as indents in the base member may be provided, to provide local surement of the sheet material to the base member. In the case of indents the bars and sheet are located in the in dents to better prevent movement of the sheet relat iveto the substrate. The bars may also be supported by the side walls of the indents, and the thickness of the sheet in the indent, to limit their horizontal move ment perpendicularto their longitudinal axis. The base may be one-piece or may comprise a plurality of parts joined by means such as clamps, bolts, screws or by interlocking of parts so configured as to facilitate such joining.

Means may be provided to retain the bars, together with that part of the sheet on which they bear, in the indents so that the sheet is gripped and held in a fixed position relative to the base member until such means is actuated to release the sheet. The bare may also be attached to means by which they are movable, either together or separately,towards and into the indents and out of and awayfrom the indents.

Conveniently, the mat assembly may include a frame to surround the flexible sheet material so asto cover and trap its edges and means are provided for detachably securing the frame to means defining the substrate, the elongate members optionally having securementto the frame.

The flexible sheet material may comprise a non wovenorwovenfabricmadefrom polyester or other fibre, yarns of high twist nylon, cotton, wool, polyester, other fibres, or mixtures of two or more thereof being tufted into the fabric. Alternatively, a sheet of disposable material such as toughened paperordisposable non-woven fabric, may be used as the sheet material. In a location where clean room conditions, as in nuclear or electronic laboratories for example, must be maintained, the surface of the sheet may be tacky, for example as a result of coating with a tacky substance. Where a high friction surface is required, the surface of the sheet may be in whole or in part comprise a non-slip surface formed, for example, from carborundum chips.The flexible sheet material may be a composite of more than one sheet either separate from each other or joined, for example, by adhesive. Bywayofexample,asheetofopen-pore foam plastics material of the type used to make scouring pads may be placed on top of a moisture absorbent sheet of cotton felt to provide a mat having good abrasion and wear characteristics and high moisture absorbency.

The surface of the sheet need not be the same in character over its whole area. Thus, for example, a pile fabric may be tufted only in the areas exposed to view when the bars are positioned in the indents or the mat assembled in a frame. In some cases, the presence of a surface finish to the sheet may make the bars difficult to insert into the indents referred to earlier. For example, the resilience of a tufted pile can urge the bars upwards and out of the indents whilst a surface finish having a high friction coefficient may prevent the bars being moved easily against the surface of the sheet as they push the sheet into the indents. In these and other cases, such finishes can beneficially be omitted or replaced by others on localised areas of the upper surface of the sheet material.

Electrically conductive sheets may be provided to discharge static electricity from persons stepping on the mat, the bars pressing on the sheet being connected to earth.

The bars which cross the upper surface of the mat may be of various widths and construction in order to provide tread surfaces different in character and properties. For example, in a simple form, a bar may be a 3mm metallic strip 1 Smm wide and of a length ac cording to the width of the mat. The 3mm edge forms partofthetread surface and may be serrated, ridged, orslopedto provide varying degrees of scraping, abrasion or friction to the soles offootwear. Bars may be T-shaped, the upper surface (or cross) ofthe bar extending on each side of the part (stem) pressed into the indent so asto produce a neater appearance and enable the bar to have a greater effect on the surface characteristics ofthe mat.

Bars will usually but not necessarily be parallel to each other in the same horizontal plane and will usually but not necessarily cross the sheet in a direction opposed to that taken by pedestrian traffic walking overthe mat.

Bars may have blunt projections orserrations on their underside to better grip the sheet material.

Sharp projections may similarly be provided to penetratethe sheet material and locate it positively relative to the substrate.

The upper surface of a bar may not be in the same plane as the surface of the flexible sheet material. It may,forexample, be slightly below it in order re- duce contact between footwear and the bar so that the mat has a surface characterised mainly bythe sheet. If raised slightly above the surface ofthe sheet, the bar will receive more load and this may be more approriate in some instances. For example, to provide a mat particularly suited to locations where snowwill be deposited on the mat,the bars maybe raised above the surface of the flexible sheet typically comprising a tufted cotton pile. In this way, the pile when heavily loaded with waterfrom melted snow is notsqueezed byfootpressure on the pile.

Bars may be sufficiently small in cross-sectional dimension to be bedded in a pile on the surface ofthe sheet material and be protected bytheyarns ofthe pile from the displacing action of use, eg footwear being scraped on the mat. The pile acts as lateral supportforthe bars, in such cases indents in the base conveniently being very shallow or even omitted. For example, bars in the form of cylindrical rods 1 .5m m in diameter may be removably bedded into a nylon pile 1 2mm deep to provide a small mat for domestic use, the pile being tufted, for example, into a polyester non-woven sheet substrate.

The following specific description is intended toil- lustratethe invention, by way of example only, refer ence being made to the accompanying drawings in which: Figure 1 is a simplified perspective view of one em bodiment of a mat assembly according to the invention; Figure2 is a cross-section, shown in part only, taken along the line Il-Il of Figure 1; Figure 3 is cross-section, shown in part only, taken along the line Ill-Ill of Figure 1; Figure 4 shows an alternative embodiment of the mat of the invention, placed in a floor depression or well; Figure 5 is a cross-section, similar to Figure 2, showing an alternative form of bar construction;; Figure 6is a cross-section, similarto Figure 2, showing a further alternative form of barconstruc tion; Figure 7is a cross-section, showing still further alternative form of bar construction; Figure 8 is a cross-section, similar to Figure2, but showing an alternative form of base construction; Figure 9 is a side view, taken from the direction of the arrow IX of Figure 1, some components having been removed to expose details of construction; Figure 10 is a perspectiveviewofafurtheralternat- ive embodimentofthe invention; Figure 11 shows the system of attachment of the frame and base, taken along the line XI-Xl of Figure 12; Figure 12 is a cross-section taken along the line XII- XII of Figure 11; and Figure 13 shows a furtherform of base bar assembly, in part only.

The mat assembly shown in Figures 1 to 3 ofthe drawings comprises a base 11, a sheet of flexible material 13 and a plurality of bars 12.

The base 11 defines a rectangular substrate formed with a plurality of parallel bar-receiving recesses of indents 11 a. The base 11 is made of vacuum-formed resilient plastics material,forex- ample any ofthe synthetic rubbers widely available.

Walls 11 b defining each of the indents or recesses 11 a are configured with a constriction past which the bars and accompanying sheet material may be passed by resiliently deforming the walls, a bar and sheet received in the recesses or indents 11 a then being retained in the recess or indent by what can be characterized as an interference fit. The base 11 could be constructed with only the upper part ofthewalls 11 b from the constriction upwards being composed of resilient plastics material although in practice convenient methods of production available dictate that the material ofthe base will be homogenous.

Sheet 13 comprises a non-woven substrate into which is tufted a high-twist nylon yarn. Athin layer of rubber is bonded to the rear of the substrate to give the sheet more stability and strength and to bond the tufts to the substrate. In the em bodi m ent shown, the non-woven material of the substrate is polyester fibre but, as mentioned earlier, other materials may be used.

As an alternative to providing a base 11 in form of a unitary vacuum formed plastics moulding, base 11 maytake the form of a plurality ofstrips 27 (Figure 8) bolted together by means of elongate rods 26thread- edly engaging bytheir ends with nuts 25. As shown in Figure 8,this arrangement is quite flexible inthe sensethatthewidth ofthe indents or recesses 11 a can be varied by the insertion of spacers 24. The strips 27 may be made by extrusion of a suitable plastics material, resilience being a practical requirement in the case of the embodiment shown in Figure 8 since the walls of the indents or recesses 11 a are con figured to facilitate an interferencefitwith the bars 12.

As shown in Figure 2, the bars 12 have a configuration which compliments that of the recesses or indents 11 a so as to facilitate the interference fit referred to earlier. Each bar 12 is made of stainless steel strip and is provided with an exposed contoured surface 1 2a intended to provide a relativelyfirmfriction grip with the soles of footwear and to facilitate removal therefrom of soil.

Each of bars 12 is pivoted by a pin 31 (Figure 9) to a mounting arm 12b.The latter are also made of stainless steel strip material and each is pivotal upon a hinge pin 28 in a vertical arc. It will appreciated from Figure 9 that in the raised condition of the mounting arms 12b, the bars 12 are disposed in a horizontal orientation. The contourofthe sheet material 13 on the substrate in overlying relationship with respect to the indents 1 la causes the bar 12to rotate on contact with the sheet 13 in a clockwise direction so that when fully received in the indent, the bars 12 have a vertical orientation as shown in the left hand part of Figure 9.

The width, depth and shape of the bars and indents is determined by the character of the sheet material 13, the purpose of the mat assembly and the means by which the mat assembly is to be assembled from its components. In the embodiment shown in Figure 9, the mat is assembled by raising all the bars 12 from the base 11, placing the sheet 13 on the base 11 and lowering the bars 12 sequentially into the indents 1 la. The bar 12 shown in Figure 9 in its relative indent 1 a traps the sheet 13, the latter therefore being capable of movement only in one direction to provide the length of sheet which will enterthe indent under the bar being lowered. The upper corner 29 ofthe indent may therefore be sharp since the sheet 13 does not slide against it.The opposite corner 30 of the indent 1 1a should in practice, however, have a shape which allows the sheet to be drawn over it without undue load as the sheet and bar enter the indent 1 la. The underside ofthe bar may also be curved to reducefriction as the sheet moves under it.

The base may be shaped so that in conjunction with the shape ofthe bars 1 2 and the thickness of the sheet 13, a seizing or locking effect is produced when the bars 12 and sheet 13 are pushed into the indents 1 la.

It will be appreciated that bars 12 used in the various depicted embodiments of the invention may take any of a variety of forms with a view to providing manufacturing convenience or particular service qualities. For example, one form of bar 12 may comprise two strips 18 (Figure joined together by rivets 23 at spaced apart locations along their length. The strips 18 are spaced apart by means of washers 19, the spacing size being so chosen asto prevent entry of heels such asthosecommonly provided on female footwear, the strip-strip space, however, serving as a soil-receiving well. As an alternative to this arrangement, two strips 18 may be more widely spaced apart by two washers 19 (Figure 6) which sandwich a brush strip 20 therebetween.Similarly, a raised strip 22 (Figure 7) may be provided instead of brush strip 20 to provide a means for footwear to be scraped to remove soil and deposit it in the two port ions of the soil-receiving well either side thereof. In this arrangement, strips 18 are conveniently provided with rounded upper edges 21 to facilitate the scraping action. The strips 18 will, of course, normally be made of the same stainless steel material referred to earlier in connection with bars 12 and raised strip 22 may be made ofthe same material, whilst brush strip 20 may be made of the same material or perhaps of a plastics material. As will be evi dentfrom Figures 5,6 and 7, the flexible sheet 13 forms a base to the soil-receiving wells formed bythe spaces between the strips 18.Accordingly, the dirt entering the soil-receiving wells is retained above the sheet 13 and accompanies the sheet when it is removed for cleaning. Water deposited in the soilreceiving wells drainstothe base ofthe wells and is absorbed by the flexible sheet material 13. The eleva tion of the upper surface of components of bars 12 normally meansthatfootwear pressure on the mat assembly will not squeeze water from the sheet 13, such water being retained by the material ofthe sheetupto its limitofabsorbtion and largelyac- companying the sheet when it is removed for cleaning.

Loading means (not shown) may be provided to load the bars 12, in addition to their own weight, so pressing them to the base and trapping the sheet.

Such a loading means may be used to deform the base 11 by pressing the bars into its body without an indent first being provided, the base in this case being made from a material which can be so deformed and is sufficiently elastic to react against the load and trap the sheet, such as foam rubber orfoam plastic. In such a case, indents in the base are formed wholly or partly by the temporary deformation ofthe base.

In the embodiment of Figure 1,the bars 12 are secured by bolts 16to aframe 14 (Figure 3), the latter serving both to cover and trap edges of the sheet 13 which are not covered by the bars 12 and, together with the bars 12, to form a grid which may be raised from or lowered into the base 11.

As mentioned earlier, the thickness of entrance mats is commonly accommodated in a floorwell or depression so that the uppertread surface of the mat is essentially flush with the surface of the floor substrate. Although the frame 14 referred to earlier may be included, perhaps in modified form, when the mat assembly isto be disposed in a floor well, it is preferred to provide an angle section 17 (Figure 4) to finish the edges ofthe assembly. As shown in Figure 4, angle section 17 covers and traps the edges ofthe sheet and also provides a frame into which the bars 12 may be mounted.

In the arrangement shown in Figure 10, each ofthe bars 12 is linked to an adjacent bar means of a hinge arrangement 28 between the mounting arms 12b of the participating bars. In this arrangement, the bars 12 form a chain sothatthe individual bars may be lowered sequentially onto the sheet 13 and into the indents 11 a. As shown in Figure 10, the sheet 13 is a pile fabric having pile removed around its edges and alternating non-pile areas between the edges so spaced apart as to be capable of registration with the indents (notshown in this Figure). Each bar 12 presses onto the bar previously lowered into its relative in dent or recess 11 a by means of a peg 31. In thisway, lifting of a bar in use is prevented by the next bar in sequence. Thefirst bar 12 in the sequence is hinged to the base 11 and the last is clamped to the base by any suitable means (not shown).

Theframe 14 is of rectangularform and made of aluminium extrusion. The cross-sectional configuration of part only of each of two opposed sides of frame 14 is as depicted in Figure 11. A stainless steel cording to the width of the mat. The 3mm edge forms part ofthetread surface and may be serrated, ridged, or sloped to provide varying degrees of scraping, abrasion or friction to the soles of footwear. Bars maybeT-shaped,theuppersurface(orcross) ofthe bar extending on each side of the part (stem) pressed into the indent so asto produce a neater appearance and enable the barto have a greatereffectonthesurface characteristics of the mat.

Bars will usually but not necessarily be parallel to each other in the same horizontal plane and will usually but not necessarily cross the sheet in a direction opposed to thattaken by pedestrian traffic walking over the mat.

Sharp projections may similarly be provided to penetratethe sheet material and locate it positively relat ive to the substrate.

The upper surface of a bar may not be in the same plane as the surface of the flexible sheet material. It may,forexample, be slightly below itin orderto reduce contact between footwear and the bar so that the mat has a surface characterised mainly bythe sheet. If raised slightly above the surface of the sheet, thebarwill receive more load andthis may be more approriate in some instances. Forexample,to provide a mat particularly suited to locations where snowwill be deposited on the mat, the bars maybe raised above the surface oftheflexible sheettypically comprising a tufted cotton pile. In this way, the pile when heavily loaded with water from melted snow is not squeezed by foot pressure on the pile.

Bars may be sufficiently small in cross-sectional dimension to be bedded in a pile on the surface ofthe sheet material and be protected bytheyarnsofthe pile from the displacing action of use, eg footwear being scraped on the mat. The pile acts as lateral supportforthe bars, in such cases indents in the base conveniently being very shallow or even omitted. For example, bars in the form of cylindrical rods 1 .5mm in diameter may be removably bedded into a nylon pile 12mm deep to provide a small matfordomestic use, the pile being tufted, for example, into a polyester non-woven sheet substrate.

The following specific description is intended toil- lustrate the invention, by way of example only, reference being made to the accompanying drawings in which: Figure 7 is a simplified perspective view of one em- bodiment of a mat assembly according to the invention; Figure2 is a cross-section, shown in part only, taken along the line Il-Il of Figure 1; Figure 3 is cross-section, shown in part only, taken along the line Ill-Ill of Figure 1; Figure 4shows an alternative embodiment of the mat of the invention, placed in a floor depression or well; Figure 5 is a cross-section, simi larto Figure 2, showing an alternative form of bar construction; Figure 6is a cross-section, similarto Figure 2, showing a further alternative form of barconstruction;; Figure 7is a cross-section, showing still further alternative form of bar construction; Figure 8 is a cross-section, similar to Figure 2, but showing an alternative form of base construction; Figure 9 is a side view, taken from the direction of the arrow iX of Figure 1, some components having been removed to expose details of construction; Figure 10 is a perspective view of a furtheralternat- ive embodiment of the invention; Figure 11 shows the system of attachment of the frame and base, taken along the line Xl-Xl of Figure 12; Figure 12 is a cross-section taken along the lineXII XllofFigurell;and Figure 13 shows a furtherform of base bar assembly, in part only.

The mat assembly shown in Figures 1 to 3 ofthe drawings comprises a base 11, a sheet offlexible material 13 and a plurality of bars 12.

The base 11 defines a rectangularsubstrate formed with a plurality of parallel bar-receiving recesses of indents 1 lea. The base 11 is made of vacuum-formed resilient plastics material, for example any of the synthetic rubbers widely available.

Walls 11 b defining each ofthe indents or recesses 11 a are configured with a constriction past which the bars and accompanying sheet material may be passed by resiliently deforming the walls, a bar and sheet received in the recesses or indents 11 a then being retained in the recess or indent by what can be characterized as an interference fit. The base 11 could be constructed with only the upper partofthewalls 11 bfrom the constriction upwards being composed of resilient plastics material although in practice convenient methods of production available dictate that the material ofthe base will be homogenous.

Sheet 13 comprises a non-woven substrate into which is tufted a high-twist nylon yarn. Athin layer of rubber is bonded to the rear of the substrate to give the sheet more stability and strength and to bond the tufts to the substrate. In the embodiment shown, the non-woven material ofthe substrate is polyester fibre but, as mentioned earlier, other materials may be used.

As an alternative to providing a base 11 inform of a unitary vacuum formed plastics moulding, base 11 may take the form of a plurality of strips 27 (Figure 8) bolted together by means of elongate rods 26 threadedly engaging by their ends with nuts 25. As shown in Figure 8, this arrangement is quite flexible in the sense that the width of the indents or recesses 11 a can be varied bythe insertion of spacers 24. The strips 27 may be made by extrusion of a suitable plastics material, resilience being a practical requirement in the case of the embodiment shown in Figure 8 sincethewalls ofthe indents or recesses 1 la are configured to facilitate an interference fit with the bars 12.

As shown in Figure 2, the bars 12 have a configura- tion which compliments that ofthe recesses or indents 11 a so as to facilitate the interference fit referred to earlier. Each bar 12 is made of stainless steel strip and is provided with an exposed contoured surface 12a intended to provide a relatively firm friction grip with the soles of footwear and to facilitate removal therefrom ofsoil.

**WARNING** end of DESC field may overlap start of CLMS **.

Claims

**WARNING** start of CLMS field may overlap end of DESC **.

cording to the width of the mat. The 3mm edge forms part ofthetread surface and may be serrated, ridged, or sloped to provide varying degrees of scraping, abrasion or friction to the soles of footwear. Bars maybeT-shaped,theuppersurface(orcross) ofthe bar extending on each side of the part (stem) pressed into the indent so asto produce a neater appearance and enable the barto have a greatereffectonthesurface characteristics of the mat.

Bars will usually but not necessarily be parallel to each other in the same horizontal plane and will usually but not necessarily cross the sheet in a direction opposed to thattaken by pedestrian traffic walking over the mat.

Bars may have blunt projections orserrations on their underside to better grip the sheet material.

Sharp projections may similarly be provided to penetratethe sheet material and locate it positively relat ive to the substrate.

The upper surface of a bar may not be in the same plane as the surface of the flexible sheet material. It may,forexample, be slightly below itin orderto reduce contact between footwear and the bar so that the mat has a surface characterised mainly bythe sheet. If raised slightly above the surface of the sheet, thebarwill receive more load andthis may be more approriate in some instances. Forexample,to provide a mat particularly suited to locations where snowwill be deposited on the mat, the bars maybe raised above the surface oftheflexible sheettypically comprising a tufted cotton pile. In this way, the pile when heavily loaded with water from melted snow is not squeezed by foot pressure on the pile.

Bars may be sufficiently small in cross-sectional dimension to be bedded in a pile on the surface ofthe sheet material and be protected bytheyarnsofthe pile from the displacing action of use, eg footwear being scraped on the mat. The pile acts as lateral supportforthe bars, in such cases indents in the base conveniently being very shallow or even omitted. For example, bars in the form of cylindrical rods 1 .5mm in diameter may be removably bedded into a nylon pile 12mm deep to provide a small matfordomestic use, the pile being tufted, for example, into a polyester non-woven sheet substrate.

The following specific description is intended toil- lustrate the invention, by way of example only, reference being made to the accompanying drawings in which: Figure 7 is a simplified perspective view of one em- bodiment of a mat assembly according to the invention; Figure2 is a cross-section, shown in part only, taken along the line Il-Il of Figure 1; Figure 3 is cross-section, shown in part only, taken along the line Ill-Ill of Figure 1; Figure 4shows an alternative embodiment of the mat of the invention, placed in a floor depression or well; Figure 5 is a cross-section, simi larto Figure 2, showing an alternative form of bar construction; Figure 6is a cross-section, similarto Figure 2, showing a further alternative form of barconstruction;; Figure 7is a cross-section, showing still further alternative form of bar construction; Figure 8 is a cross-section, similar to Figure 2, but showing an alternative form of base construction; Figure 9 is a side view, taken from the direction of the arrow iX of Figure 1, some components having been removed to expose details of construction; Figure 10 is a perspective view of a furtheralternat- ive embodiment of the invention; Figure 11 shows the system of attachment of the frame and base, taken along the line Xl-Xl of Figure 12; Figure 12 is a cross-section taken along the lineXII XllofFigurell;and Figure 13 shows a furtherform of base bar assembly, in part only.

The mat assembly shown in Figures 1 to 3 ofthe drawings comprises a base 11, a sheet offlexible material 13 and a plurality of bars 12.

The base 11 defines a rectangularsubstrate formed with a plurality of parallel bar-receiving recesses of indents 1 lea. The base 11 is made of vacuum-formed resilient plastics material, for example any of the synthetic rubbers widely available.

Walls 11 b defining each ofthe indents or recesses 11 a are configured with a constriction past which the bars and accompanying sheet material may be passed by resiliently deforming the walls, a bar and sheet received in the recesses or indents 11 a then being retained in the recess or indent by what can be characterized as an interference fit. The base 11 could be constructed with only the upper partofthewalls 11 bfrom the constriction upwards being composed of resilient plastics material although in practice convenient methods of production available dictate that the material ofthe base will be homogenous.

Sheet 13 comprises a non-woven substrate into which is tufted a high-twist nylon yarn. Athin layer of rubber is bonded to the rear of the substrate to give the sheet more stability and strength and to bond the tufts to the substrate. In the embodiment shown, the non-woven material ofthe substrate is polyester fibre but, as mentioned earlier, other materials may be used.

As an alternative to providing a base 11 inform of a unitary vacuum formed plastics moulding, base 11 may take the form of a plurality of strips 27 (Figure 8) bolted together by means of elongate rods 26 threadedly engaging by their ends with nuts 25. As shown in Figure 8, this arrangement is quite flexible in the sense that the width of the indents or recesses 11 a can be varied bythe insertion of spacers 24. The strips 27 may be made by extrusion of a suitable plastics material, resilience being a practical requirement in the case of the embodiment shown in Figure 8 sincethewalls ofthe indents or recesses 1 la are configured to facilitate an interference fit with the bars 12.

As shown in Figure 2, the bars 12 have a configura- tion which compliments that ofthe recesses or indents 11 a so as to facilitate the interference fit referred to earlier. Each bar 12 is made of stainless steel strip and is provided with an exposed contoured surface 12a intended to provide a relatively firm friction grip with the soles of footwear and to facilitate removal therefrom ofsoil.

ions thereof.

12. A mat assembly as claimed in Claim 11 wherein the recesses or indents are defined by surfaces configured to provide an interference fit with the elongate members.

13. A mat assembly as claimed in Claim 12 wherein the recess or indent-defining surfaces are deformable to permit elongate member entry to the recesses or indents and capable of resilient recovery to oppose elongate member removal.

14. A mat assembly as claimed in any preceding claim wherein a frame is provided to surround the flexible sheet material so as to cover and trap its edges and means are provided for detachablysecur- ingtheframeto means defining the substrate, the elongate members optionally having securementto the frame.

15. A mat assembly as claimed in any preceding claim wherein at least one of said elongate members comprises two or more generally parallel strips joined together at spaced apart positions.

16. Amatassembly as claimed in any preceding claim wherein the elongate members sandwich sheet material against the substrate.

17. A mat assembly comprising a base member defining a substrate having a plurality of elongate recesses therein, a plurality of elongate members secured to said base member and displaceable pivotally relative to the base member between a position in which said elongate members are disposed in respective recesses and a position in which the elongate members are disposed remote therefrom, and a sheet form flexible memberwhich can be disposed upon said substrate-defining member and secured relative to said substrate by sandwiching sheet material in said recesses by means of said el ongate members to produce a tread surface defined by the balance of the sheet material member in cooperation with exposed surfaces of said elongate members.

18. A mat assembly substantially as herein before described with reference to, and as illustrated in, any one ofthe accompanying drawings.

19. A mat assembly kit comprising a flexible sheet form member, a base member defining a substrate upon which to support said sheet form member and a plurality of elongate members for dis position over and across the substrate in positional stability-imparting contact with an upwardly facing surface ofthesheet form member, means being provided to secure the elongate members in the aforesaid disposition.