Alternating-Strip Floor Mat for Scraping, Wiping, and Debris Retention
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing floor mats either fail to effectively scrape and wipe shoe soles or lack a mechanism to retain removed dirt and water for easy disposal.
Innovation Solution
A floor mat design featuring alternating zones of fibrous strips for scraping and textured impervious strips for wiping, with closed-bottom wells to accumulate and retain debris, allowing for easy removal by vacuuming or flipping the mat.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Object-generated harmful factors
If a floor mat uses a grid-type construction with openings, then water and snow can drop through the mat, but the mat cannot effectively scrape or retain removed matter
Solution Approach 1:
The mat is divided into distinct functional zones: fibrous strips for scraping, textured impervious strips for wiping, and closed-bottom wells for retention. This segmentation allows each zone to perform its specific function effectively without interfering with others.
Solution Approach 2:
Different regions of the mat have different material properties tailored to specific functions: fibrous materials for scraping, textured impervious materials for wiping, and closed-bottom wells for retention. Each local area is optimized for its intended purpose.
2Object-generated harmful factors
If a floor mat uses an absorbent uppermost layer, then water can be wicked away from the surface, but the mat cannot effectively scrape matter from shoes
Solution Approach 1:
The mat separates water removal and matter scraping into different zones: fibrous strips handle scraping while textured impervious strips handle water removal, allowing both functions to operate effectively without compromise.
Solution Approach 2:
The mat applies different material qualities in different locations: fibrous materials where scraping is needed, textured impervious materials where water removal is prioritized, and closed-bottom wells where matter should be retained.
3Ease of operation
If a floor mat uses a fibrous upper layer, then matter can be scraped from shoes, but the mat cannot retain the removed matter for easy disposal
Solution Approach 1:
The mat divides the surface into scraping zones with fibrous strips and retention zones with closed-bottom wells, allowing matter to be scraped into specific areas where it can be easily collected and disposed of.
Solution Approach 2:
The mat creates local retention areas with closed-bottom wells in specific regions, allowing scraped matter to be captured and held in designated spots rather than being distributed across the entire mat surface.
4Object-generated harmful factors
If a floor mat accumulates removed matter on its surface, then matter is retained, but cleaning and disposal become difficult
Solution Approach 1:
The mat segments retention areas into discrete closed-bottom wells, allowing matter to be concentrated in specific locations that can be easily accessed for vacuuming or flipping, rather than being spread across the entire mat surface.
Solution Approach 2:
The mat creates localized retention zones with closed-bottom wells that concentrate removed matter in specific areas, making cleaning and disposal more efficient by reducing the total surface area that needs to be cleaned.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
Effectively scrap and wipe shoe soles while retaining dirt and water, preventing them from being tracked into buildings, and allowing for efficient cleaning and disposal of accumulated matter.
Implementation Method 1
the fibrous strips are used to scrape the soles of shoes passing over them
Implementation Method 2
the textured impervious strips are used to wipe the soles of shoes passing over them
Implementation Method 3
the removed matter accumulates in the recessed wells
Data Source
AI summary
A floor mat having a base that includes a plurality of alternating fibrous strips and impervious strips and surrounded by a frame. The base is substantially continuous across its entire width and length, having no openings from its upper surface through to its lower surface. The impervious strips include a plurality of spaced apart rows of spaced apart bosses. The gaps formed between the spaced apart bosses become closed-bottom wells in which water, snow and particles of dirt scraped from the underside of shoes can accumulate