GB2241166A - An entrance mat - Google Patents

Abstract

An entrance mat comprises footwear-wiping strips 3, 4 held between adjacent extruded strips 1, 5 which are themselves joined together by connectors 2. The footwear-wiping strips may be strips of ribbed rubber 3 or carpet 4 and are supported by flanges 9 in the extruded strips. <IMAGE>

Description

AN ENTRANCE MAT An entrance mat is located at the entrance of a building and its purpose is to remove dirt and moisture from the footwear of people entering the building to prevent the dirt and moisture being carried over the entire building.

At present one form of entrance mat comprises a series of parallel metal strips with rubber or rubberlike elastomeric material or absorbent pile strips sandwiched between adjacent metal strips with the entire assembly being connected together by a number of transversely extending metal wires which are welded or riveted to the metal strips. This form of entrance mat must be made to fit a particular location and its dimensions cannot be varied on site. Other forms of entrance mat include slots between adjacent strips to allow the dirt and water removed from people's footwear to fall into a well in which the mat is placed.

Whilst this type of entrance mat is effective it does not look aesthetically pleasing and can create problems for women wearing footwear provided with heels having a small surface area which can get caught between the adjacent strips.

It is also known to locate a special type of carpet at the entrance to a building and such carpets have a pile made from a mixture of viscose and nylon to provide an absorbent carpet and also include upstanding nylon fibres whose function is to help scrape the dirt and debris from the user's footwear. Such carpets provide an effective wiping action but do not perform a good scraping function.

According to this invention an entrance mat includes a plurality of extruded strips which are arranged parallel to one another ~ and each of which includes a key on its base and two slots opening transversely on its opposite sides, each extruded strip being provided on each side with a flange which extends generally upwardly from the base thereof and outwardly from the respective side in a direction generally towards a similar flange extending generally outwardly from the adjacent extruded strip, a plurality of connectors each having two keyways which co-operate with the keys on two adjacent extruded strips to locate the extruded strips and hold them in a parallel, spaced relationship, and footwear-wiping strips occupying the spaces between adjacent extruded strips and held in the slots of adjacent extruded . strips that face towards one another to be supported on their undersides by two flanges, one from each of two adjacent extruded strips.

One advantage of an entrance mat in accordance with this invention is that it can be tailored to a variety of different sizes. Firstly, the length of the strips forming the entrance mat can be simply cut to length up to a maximum length of a number of metres, although it may be more convenient for transport and handling to have them no longer than two metres.

Naturally the mat for a particular location may be formed in two or more parts laid end to end. secondly, the number of extruded strips included in the mat can be varied to provide a mat of the appropriate depth from front to back.

Each of the extruded strips may include a single key on its base and, in this case, the connectors connecting together pairs of adjacent strips are preferably offset from one another in the transverse direction of the mat. Alternatively the extruded strips may each include two keys and, in this case the connector used to connect one strip to its adjacent strip on one side is associated with one of the keys whilst the connector used to connect the one strip to an adjacent strip on the other side is associated with the other of the keys. This means that the connectors can then be aligned in a direction transverse to the longitudinal direction. Preferably the keys formed on the base of the extruded strips are generally T-shaped.

The footwear-wiping strips may be formed from ribbed strips of rubber or elastomeric material of rubber-like resilience which may also be extruded.

However the footwear-wiping strips may also comprise strips of carpet the tufts of which have been removed from both longitudinal edges to leave only the backing in these regions which then fits into the transversely opening slots on adjacent extruded strips. Of course a mixture of ribbed rubber or rubber-like material strips and carpet may be included if preferred for a particular situation and one example of this is where the initial portion of the mat is formed by ribbed rubber or rubber-like material strips to remove the bulk of the dirt and water and subsequent portions of the mat include strips of carpet to remove the remainder.The footwear-wiping strips, whether formed from ribbed strips of rubber or elastomeric material, or from strips of carpet, are preferably held in an upwardly arched configuration by means of the flanges provided at the bases of the extended strips to cause at least the centre part of the upper surface of the footwear-wiping strip to stand proud of the upper surface of the adjacent extruded strip.

Preferably the extruded strips are made from a metal such as aluminium or an aluminium alloy and include a corrugated top section which is exposed and lies between adjacent footwear-wiping strips in a completed mat. These corrugated strips serve as additional scrapers in their own right which again help to remove the dirt from the soles of people's footwear and also tend to provide edges along the longitudinal sides of the footwear-wiping strips which again enhance the scraping action of the entrance mat in accordance with this invention.

Preferably, in addition to the extruded strips already described the mat includes two end strips each having a key on its base but only one slot opening transversely along it. These end strips are located along the front and back edges of the mat respectively and again are preferably extruded from alumimium or an aluminium alloy and include a corrugated top section so that they match the other corrugated extruded strips.

The end strips may correspond substantially with half of each of the other extruded strips so that, two or more mats in accordance with this invention can be placed front edge to back edge in a single mat well and appear as a single, continuous entrance mat extending from front to back of the mat well.

Preferably the connectors are made in a variety of differing sizes. The differences may be small, for example the connectors may be of three different sizes each differing from the next to give a difference in spacing of the strips of only one millimetre. With a variety of connectors arranged in this way it is possible to tailor an entrance mat to be of exactly the correct size to fit a particular, existing, mat well. Typically the repeat length of an entrance mat in accordance with this invention is between 43 and 45 millimetres and typically a completed mat includes twenty or more extruded strips. Accordingly by varying the size, i.e. length in a direction from front to back of the mat, of the connectors, and hence the spacing between adjacent strips, by one or two millimetres it is possible to achieve differences in the overall depth of the mat of half and one pitch of the extruded strips, respectively. Clearly by mixing the lengths of the connectors it is possible to get to within one millimetre of the required depth for any particular mat. By varying the size of the connectors only by such a small extent it is possible to use identical footwear-wiping strips with all three different sizes of connectors since there is sufficient tolerance on the footwear-wiping strips to accommodate differences of this magnitude in the spacing of the grooves.Typically the connectors are injection moulded from a plastics material such as nylon or polypropylene and preferably they are colour coded to facilitate the assembly of the mats and ensure that all the connectors used between each pair of adjacent strips are of the same size.

The assembly of an entrance mat in accordance with this invention does not require riveting, bolting or welding and is therefore, simple and convenient to fabricate. Indeed the mat can be fabricated or repaired on site using simple hand assembly techniques.

The extruded strips may be deformed by punching, positively to locate the connectors in a particular position, if required. In use it is only the base of each connector which engages the floor, or the base of a mat well and this limited contact area between the entrance mat and the floor or the base of a mat well is a further advantage with the entrance mat in accordance with this invention because irregularities in the floor or the base of a mat well are less likely to result in the entire mat tilting as it is walked upon. Indeed the overall construction of the mat does provide it with some flexibility in the front to back direction and this also helps to prevent the mat from tipping if the surface on which it is placed is not completely flat.

A particular example of an entrance mat in accordance with this invention will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings; in which: Figure 1 is a cross-section through part of an entrance mat located in a mat well and illustrating two different types of footwear-wiping strips; Figure 2 is an end elevation of a central extruded strip; Figure 3 is an end elevation of an extruded end strip drawn to a larger scale; and Figure 4 is an isometric view of a connector drawn to a still larger scale.

The entrance mat comprises a plurality, typically twenty, of central extruded aluminium strips 1 connected together by connectors 2. Footwear-wiping strips 3 and 4 made of extruded rubber or rubber-like elastomeric material and carpet, respectively, are held between two adjacent extruded strips 1. The entrance mat also includes two extruded aluminium end strips 5 forming each longitudinal edge of the entrance mat. The central extruded aluminium strips 1, which are shown more clearly in Figure 2, each include two inverted, generally T-shaped keys 6 arranged on their base 22 and each include a pair of slots 7 which open transversely on opposite sides of each strip 1.Each strip 1 also includes a corrugated top section 8 and a supporting flange 9 extending generally upwardly from the strip base 22 and outwardly from the respective side of the strip in a direction generally towards a similar flange extending generally outwardly from the adjacent extruded strip 1. The end strips 5, which are shown more clearly in Figure 3, are in essence, half of each of the central strips 1 and so also include one T-shaped key 6, one slot 7 which opens transversely, a corrugated top section 8 and one supporting flange 9.

The connectors 2 are shown more clearly in Figure 4 and each is injection moulded from polypropylene and includes two T-shaped keyways 10 which are arranged to receive the key 6 of the strips 1 and 5. At the ends of each keyway 10 are bevelled surfaces 21 to provide a lead-in for a key of the extruded strips 6 during assembly of the mat. Although only one size of the connector is shown in the drawings the connectors are preferably made in three different sizes with the centres of the keyways 10 at spacings A differing by one and two millimetres respectively. Preferably connectors 2 of different spacing are made of differently coloured plastics material to enable them to be readily distinguished from one another.Typical dimensions of the connectors are given below: Reference Dimension (see Figure 4) (mm) A 19, 20 or 21 B 17 C 3 D 2 E 3 F 4 G 2 L 3 M 11 Figure 1 shows two different types of footwear wiping strip. The footwear-wiping strip 3 is extruded from rubber or rubber-like elastomeric material to have the cross-section as shown in the drawing with longitudinally extending ribs 11 running along its raised upper surface and side flange portions 12 of the extruded section to fit into the slots 7 in the strips 1 and 5. The footwear-wiping strips 4 are formed from a carpet including a pile 13 made from a 60/40 mixture of viscose and nylon which also includes upstanding nylon bristles. The pile 13 absorbs water and the bristles help to remove dirt from soles of footwear worn by people walking over the entrance mat.

The carpet strips include a twin layer backing formed by layers 14 and 15 and the pile 13 is removed from the edges of the strips of carpet so that the twin layer backing 14 and 15 fits into the slots 7 in the strips 1 and 5. The slots 7 have sufficient extent to allow the strips 3 and 4 to be of constant width irrespective of the pitch length of the connector 2 that is used to join together adjacent strips 1 and 5.

To manufacture an entrance mat in accordance with this invention two strips 5 are cut to the appropriate length and the correct number of strips 1 are also cut to the appropriate length to suit a particular mat well or other situation and then the strips 1 and 5 are connected together by sliding the connectors 2 onto the keys 6 of adjacent pairs of strips 1 and 5. Naturally the sizes of the connectors 2 and the number of strips 1 are selected to ensure that the overall depth of the entrance mat suits its particular situation. The connectors 2 may be positively located in position by punching the strips 1 and 5 to deform them locally and grip the connectors.

Strips of footwear-wiping material 3 or 4 are then cut to length and slid into the grooves 7 between adjacent pairs of strips 1 and 5 to complete the mat.

As shown in Figure 1 each footwear-wiping strip is held in an upwardly arched configuration to cause at least the central part of the upper surface thereof to stand proud of the remainder and of the upper surface of the adjacent extruded strip.

Figure 1 shows the mat inside a mat well having a base 17 and a side defined by an L-shaped metal strip 18. As people walk over the entrance mat on entering the building the corrugations 8 on top of the aluminium strips 1 and 5 help to scrape dirt and debris from the soles of the their footwear and when the entrance mat includes a wiping strip 3 the ribs 11 on these also help to scrape the dirt and debris from the soles.

The strips 3 deform under people's weight and so tend to move relative to their footwear which further assists in the scraping action. The twin layer backing 14 and 15 of the strips of carpet 4 are supported by the support flanges 9 of the strips 1 and 5 but naturally there is still some movement of the pile 13 of the strips of carpet relative to the soles of people's footwear as they walk over the mat and again this helps to remove the dirt and debris from the soles. The arched configuration of each strip 3 supported by the generally upwardly and outwardly projecting flanges 9 gives an effective cleaning action. Naturally the strips 3 and 4 may be replaced after a period of time effectively to renew the entrance mat.

Claims (14)

1. An entrance mat including a plurality of extruded strips which are arranged parallel to one another and each of which includes a key on its base ands two slots opening transversely on its opposite sides, each extruded strip being provided on each side with a flange which extends generally upwardly from the base thereof and outwardly from the respective side in a direction generally towards a similar flange extending generally outwardly from the adjacent extruded strip, a plurality of connectors each having two keyways which co-operate with the keys on two adjacent extruded strips to locate the extruded strips and hold them in a parallel, spaced relationship, and footwear-wiping strips occupying the spaces between adjacent extruded strips and held in the slots of adjacent extruded strips that face towards one another to be supported on their undersides by two flanges one from each of two adjacent extruded strips.

2. An entrance mat according to Claim 1, in which each of the extruded strips includes a single key on its base and the connectors connecting together pairs of adjacent strips are preferably offset from one another in the transverse direction of the mat.

3. An entrance mat according to Claim 1, in which each of the extruded strips includes two keys and, in which the connector used to connect one strip to its adjacent strip on one side is associated with one of the keys whilst the connector used to connect the one strip to an adjacent strip on the other side is associated with the other of the keys.

4. An entrance mat according to any one of Claims 1, 2 or 3, in which each key formed on the base of each extruded strip is generally T-shaped.

5. An entrance mat according to any one of the preceding claims, in which at least some of the footwear-wiping strips are formed from ribbed strips of rubber or elastomeric material of rubber-like resilience.

6. An entrance mat according to any one of the preceding claims, in which at least some of the footwear-wiping strips are formed from strips of carpet the tufts of which have been removed from both longitudinal edges to leave only the backing in these regions which fits into the transversely opening slots on adjacent extruded strips.

7. An entrance mat according to any one of the preceding claims in which the footwear-wiping strips are held in an upwardly arched configuration by means of the flanges provided at the bases of the extruded strips to cause at least the centre part of the upper surface of the footwear-wiping strip to stand proud of the upper surface of the adjacent extruded strip.

8. An entrance mat according to any one of the preceding claims, in which the extruded strips are made from aluminium or an aluminium alloy and include a corrugated top section which is exposed and lies between adjacent footwear-wiping strips in the complete mat.

9. An entrance mat according to any one of the preceding claims, which includes two end strips each including a key on its base but only one slot opening transversely along it, these strips being located along the front and back edges of the mat and corresponding substantially to half of each of the other extruded strips.

10. An entrance mat according to any one of the preceding claims, in which the connector keyways are each provided at their ends with a bevelled surface for providing a lead-in for a key of an extruded strip during assembly of the mat.

11. An entrance mat according to any one of the preceding claims, in which the connectors have a variety of differing sizes.

12. An entrance mat according to Claim 11, in which the connectors are of three different sizes each differing from the next to give a difference in spacing of the strips of one millimetre.

13. An entrance mat according to Claim 11 or Claim 12, in which the connectors are colour coded to facilitate the assembly of the mats and to ensure that all the connectors used between each pair of adjacent strips are of the same size.

14. An entrance mat substantially as described with reference to the accompanying drawings.