GB2370764A

GB2370764A - A vehicle floor mat with advertising surface

Info

Publication number: GB2370764A
Application number: GB0200170A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Christopher Roger Bateman
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 2001-01-04
Filing date: 2002-01-04
Publication date: 2002-07-10
Also published as: GB2370764A8; GB0100158D0; GB0200170D0

Abstract

A method of advertising and an advertising medium 10 comprises a mat base 11 incorporating a fabric surface 12 covering at least a part of the uppermost-in-use surface and which accepts a printed image. Preferably the mat is shaped to fit the well of a taxi cab rear seating compartment and fits under metal strips provided to hold the original floor covering. Preferably the mat has a flexible nitrile rubber base 11 and a fabric surface 12 of very thin micro-knitted polyester onto which the image of the advertisement is printed. The fabric surface may be secured to the rubber base using an adhesive and/or a vulcanising process. Advantageously advertisers are able to place their product images in front of potential customers whilst travelling on public transport vehicles.

Description

IMPROVED ADVERTISING APPARATUS AND METHOD

Field of the Invention

5 The present invention relates to improved advertising apparatus. It is particularly applicable, but in no way limited, to mats designed to carry advertising in taxis and other vehicles.

Background of the Invention

10 The use of floor mats to carry advertising is already known. For example, many-

companies have floor mats carrying adverts for their company or their products placed in strategic locations around their premises or as advertising in shops or other public places. These mats are usually specifically woven or constructed or the pattern is printed deeply into the pile. They generally either rest on top of a tiled or 15 solid floor surface or on top of carpet. If a tripping hazard is to be avoided then these mats can be set into a mat well or cut into the surrounding carpeted surface to provide a continuous carpeted surface without any significant step in it.

Whilst this type of patterned mat has been used quite extensively, there is an area 20 where they have not found application to date, and that is inside vehicles such as taxis or other forms of public transportation. Placing a mat on the floor of such a vehicle would create a significant tripping hazard and would not be permitted under the licensing regulations concerning that form of transport. The option of placing the mat into a floor well is just not available on a vehicle, where the floor pan is formed 25 during vehicle manufacture. Printed rubber mats, secured to the floor, are an alternative but the printed affect is far from pleasing or eye catching.

It is the object of the present invention to overcome or mitigate some or all of the problems set out above.

Summarv of the Invention 5 According to the present invention there is provided an advertising medium consisting of a mat, said mat comprising a mat base, the perimeter of which is adapted to fit the contours of the whole or part of a vehicle floor pan, the mat base incorporating a fabric surface covering part or all of the uppermost-in-use surface of the mat base, said fabric surface being adapted to accept printed images.

Preferably the perimeter of the mat base is adapted to fit the floor well of the rear seating compartment of a taxi.

Advantageously, the fabric surface on the mat base does not stand substantially 15 proud of the non-fabric covered surface of the mat base.

In a particularly preferred embodiment the fabric surface comprises microknitted polyester Visa (registered trade mark).

20 In a preferred embodiment the mat base comprises rubber, preferably nitrile rubber.

The invention also extends to provide a method of advertising comprising the steps of: (i) providing a mat as described herein; 25 (ii) printing on the fabric surface of the mat an advertising image; (iii) securing said mat to the floor of a vehicle such as a taxi.

Brief description of the drawings

[Embodiments of the present invention will now be more particularly described by way of example only and with reference to the accompanying drawing in which: Figure 1 illustrates a typical advertising medium according to the present invention 5 designed to fit the floor well of a taxi.

Description of the Preferred embodiments

The present embodiments represent currently the best ways known to the Applicant of putting the invention into practice. But they are not the only ways in which this 10 can be achieved. They are illustrated, and will now be described, by way of example only.

The present invention provides an advertising medium of a new type. This medium consists of a mat 10, shaped to fit, in this example, the well of a taxi cab rear seating 15 compartment. The mat comprises a flexible nitrile rubber mat base 11, the contours of which are designed to match the perimeter of the taxi seating compartment floor pan. In fact, the mat base is designed to fit under the metal strips adapted to hold the original floor covering in place. In this way the present mat either replaces or fits over the original floor protection and is secured in place around the edges at 20 strategic points. This is an extremely important point because a floor mat in a taxi must not present any form of tripping hazard. Hence the mat must be secured firmly in place.

The mat base 11 has a fabric surface or layer 12 secured to part of its uppermost-in 25 use surface. This fabric surface comprises a very thin layer of micro-knitted polyester. This is secured to the vinyl rubber base using an adhesive, a vulcanising process or a combination of both. In this example a rectangular fabric layer is used

but any suitable shape can be chosen. For example, the fabric layer could follow the outline of the item or items being advertised e.g. a mobile phone. Because the mats are in effect a disposable item which could change from one advertising campaign to the next, the adventurous designer has a relatively free hand over the size, shape 5 and configuration of the fabric panel and what is printed on it. Having said that, a rectangular fabric panel is a popular and convenient shape because this allows a wide variety of images and backgrounds to be printed. For example, the illustration

in figure 1 shows a collection of mobile phones on an attractive background.

10 The construction of the fabric panel is important. It must be very thin in cross-

section since it sits on top of the mat base. It must also be capable of taking a strong printed image. Micro-knitted polyester has proved particularly useful for this purpose and micro-knitted polyester Visa (registered trade mark) is a preferred material. But other fabrics may be used as selected by materials specialist. In this 15 context the term Fabric" has a broad meaning. It is intended to encompass any material in sheet form which will accept print. It may be a tufted fabric, felt fabric, non-woven spun bonded fabric or woven fabric. The fabric layer includes polyester fibres, nylon fibres, blend of polyester and other fibres, or blend of nylon and other fibres. It need not be fibrous in its construction although fibrous materials are 20 generally better at absorbing print. It is intended that the term Fabric" encompasses any material which will accept and retain a printed image. This includes while PVC/Nitrile rubber blends in thin sheet form.

It is important that the fabric bonds strongly to the flexible mat base. The most 25 appropriate form of adhesive will be chosen by the materials specialist from the wide range of adhesives available today or in the future. Alternatively, a natural or

synthetic rubber-backing sheet may be cured and heat bonded to the back of a fabric layer in a heated press. Nitrile rubber or a blend of polyvinyl chloride and nitrile rubber has proved a useful substrate for the mat base but, once again, alternative materials may be selected by the materials specialist as appropriate. A 5 process for manufacturing printed mats is described in WO 01/25524 (Walk Off Mats Ltd) the entire text of which is herein incorporated by reference. It is intended that this text is an integral part of the present disclosure, and in particular the details of

various fabric and other substrates onto which an image may be printed and the dye sublimation process for printing such an image.

As explained above, the thickness of the fabric layer is important because it must not cause a tripping hazard. In the case of polyester fabric, a weight of 50-35Og/m2 is typical with a preferred range being in the order of 90-270 g/m2, with a particularly preferred being 230-270 g/m2. With regards to PVC/Nitrile blends a suitable ratio is 15 30:70 and suitable thickness from 0.1 to 2mm. A particularly preferred thickness range is 0.2 to 1mm with a preferred thickness of 0.3 to 0.4mm. The above are intended as examples only and any fabric or sheet material that will accept a printed image and that bonds to a rubber backing and which does not present a tripping hazard would be suitable. There is a wide range of ink-receptive fabric available to 20 the materials specialist.

Whilst the fabric panel usually sits on top of the mat base, in a further embodiment it is possible to form, during manufacture, an indented hollow in the top of the mat into which the fabric panel will sit. This enables slightly thicker fabric to be used if 25 required, whilst retaining a substantially completely flat upper surface to the mat.

So, in essence, the advertising medium is a mat, shaped to fit the whole or part of a vehicle floorplan and adapted to be secured into that vehicle if necessary, the mat consisting of two parts bonded together, a mat base and a fabric panel. The technical requirements are set out in thespecification at the end of this description.

Whilst the invention works particularly well in a taxi it can be applied to any suitable vehicle such as a bus, coach or train or even a ship or aircraft.

It will be appreciated that this invention also extends to provide a method of 10 advertising that has not been available before. The steps of that advertising method are as follows: (i) providing an advertising mat as described above and which consists of a mat base incorporating a fabric panel covering all or part of the uppermost-in-use surface of the mat base, said fabric surface of that said fabric panel being 15 adapted to accept printed images; (ii) printing on the fabric panel of the mat provided in stage (i) an advertising image; (iii) securing the mat into a vehicle; (iv) optionally cleaning or changing the mat as necessary.

Such a method has technical considerations or effects because it involves providing and printing onto a thin fabric surface which is adhered to a flexible mat base which in turn is designed to be secured within a vehicle using existing fixings.

25 Such a method is a boon to advertisers because it enables them to get product images in front of potential customers whilst they are travailing and thus when they

have little else to occupy their minds. The potential customers ought, therefore, to be at their most receptive.

It is thus possible, for the first time, to manufacture and design mats for advertising 5 purposes in London taxi cabs. High quality, full colour print graphic mats can be produced and a fully fitted custom range made available for the most popular models of taxis.

TAXIMATZ (TM) have been developed and produced in the UK based on highly 10 successful materials used at exhibitions, hotels and retail outlets where high volume foot traffic requires an attractive yet tough, hard wearing carpet medium.

In addition to the outstanding printing qualities, the unique materials used in TAXIMATZ (TM) mean they possess good stain resistant properties, absorb water 15 and are easily machine washable. They can be steam cleaned, brushed, jet-

washed and are very quick drying whereby any undesirable smells or fouling can be cleared up effectively with the minimum of fuss. TAXIMATZ (TM) also provide excellent anti-slip properties while offering an attractive addition to the passenger area. The fire resistant qualities and non-toxic fumes meet the highest rating for fireproof floor covering in public buildings, such as hotels and offices and are in use on aeroplanes, having been fully certified by the CM.

25 By way of an advertising service a weekly exchange of TAXIMATZ (TM) for cleaning and laundering purposes can be organised and at the conclusion of each

advertising campaign, all mats would collected and recycled. Each mat is reversible

and converts to become a black rubber, industrial work place comfort mat, currently supplied to companies for use in the workshop and on the shop floor.

Specification

Fabric Construction Microknitted polyester Visas Chemical Treatment To enhance water holding, wicking and stain removal.

Mass per unit area (g/m2) BS2471 237 + 2% Secondary Backing Composition 100% Nitrile Rubber Construction Mass per unit area (g/m2) BS2471 3782 + 4% Backing Thickness BS4501 3.05 - 3.15 mm's Performance Oil Resistance WOM94028/1 a No dimensional change Flammability BS4790 Class 1: Low radius of effects Environmental Issues 100% Recyclable Rubber Extractables BS6290 Any water run off or wash water associated with the mat would not provide any toxic hazard to the environment. Washing Instructions Wash 40 C - pH7 Dry Cool Tumble Dry (Max 50 C) Bleach Do Not Bleach Dryclean Do Not Dryclean Iron Do Not Iron

Claims

1. An advertising medium consisting of a mat, said mat comprising a mat base, the perimeter of which is adapted to fit the contours of a vehicle floor pan, the mat base incorporating a fabric surface covering part or all of the uppermost-in-use 5 surface of the mat base, said fabric surface being adapted to accept printed images.

2 An advertising medium as claimed in Claim 1 when the perimeter of the mat base is adapted to fit the floor well of the rear seating compartment in a taxi.

10

3. An advertising medium as claimed is Claim 1 or Claim 2 wherein the fabric surface on the mat face does not stand sufficiently proud of the non-fabric covered surface of the mat base to form a tripping hazard.

4. An advertising medium as claimed in any preceding Claim wherein the fabric 15 surface comprises micro-knitted polyester Visa (registered Trade Mark).

5. An advertising medium as claimed in any preceding Claim wherein the mat base comprises rubber, preferably nitrile rubber.

20

6. An advertising medium substantially as herein described with reference to and as illustrated in the accompanying drawing.

7. A method of advertising comprising the steps of: (i) providing a mat as claimed in any of Claims 1 to 6 inclusive; 25 (ii) printing on the fabric surface of the mat an advertising image; (iii) securing said mat to the floor of a vehicle such as a taxi;

8. A method of advertising substantially as herein described with reference to and as illustrated in the accompanying drawing.