Floor mat with hidden base component
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Solution Overview
Problem
High traffic areas face challenges with existing one-piece washable floor mats due to the difficulty in realigning and deploying the textile and base components, leading to potential trip hazards and aesthetic issues, as well as the need to wash and maintain the base component, which is inefficient and costly.
Innovation Solution
A multi-component magnetic floor mat design featuring a textile component with a tufted pile carpet and a base component with magnetic particles, allowing for easy alignment and deployment through temporary reduction in surface area and adherence force, eliminating the need to wash the base component and simplifying maintenance.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Strength
If the textile component and base component are attached with strong magnetic attraction, then the floor mat holds together well during use, but the initial alignment and deployment becomes very difficult due to high total resistance to sliding and movement
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies preliminary action by providing alignment marks on both the textile component and base component before the magnetic attachment fully engages. These alignment marks allow the installer to visually position the components correctly before the strong magnetic force makes adjustment difficult. The alignment marks serve as a preliminary guiding mechanism that enables proper positioning before the strong attachment force fully engages.
2Device complexity
If the floor mat is designed as a one-piece washable mat, then it is simple in structure, but the base component must be washed and maintained along with the textile component, resulting in increased water and energy consumption
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies segmentation by dividing the floor mat into two separate components: a washable textile component and a non-washable base component with magnetic particles. This segmentation allows the textile component to be removed and washed separately in a washing machine, while the base component remains on the floor and does not require washing. This resolves the contradiction by making the structure multi-component rather than one-piece, enabling selective maintenance that reduces water and energy consumption.
3Ease of repair
If the textile component is made washable and removable, then maintenance becomes easier and more environmentally friendly, but the alignment and deployment process becomes more complex and challenging
Solution Approach 1:
The patent provides alignment marks on both the textile component and base component as a preliminary action to simplify the deployment process. These marks enable the installer to visually align the components correctly before the magnetic attachment fully engages, making the multi-component assembly process straightforward despite the added complexity of separability.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent replaces complex mechanical alignment mechanisms (such as interlocking features, clips, or fasteners) with a simpler magnetic attachment system guided by visual alignment marks. The magnetic force provides sufficient holding strength without requiring complex mechanical engagement structures, thus maintaining ease of maintenance while minimizing deployment complexity.
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
The solution enables efficient alignment and deployment of the textile component over the base component, reducing maintenance costs and environmental impact while preventing trip hazards and maintaining aesthetic appeal.
Implementation Method 1
The textile component and the base component are attached to one another by magnetic attraction. The magnetic attraction is provided by incorporation of magnetic particles in both the textile and base components.
Data Source
AI summary
This invention relates to a washable multi-component magnetic floor mat with a hidden base component. The floor mat contains a textile component and a base component. The textile component and the base component are attached to one another by magnetic attraction. The magnetic attraction is provided by incorporation of magnetic particles in both the textile and base components. The textile component is designed to be soiled, washed, and re-used, thereby providing ideal end-use applications in areas such as building entryways. The present invention eliminates the need to wash the base component of the floor mat which results in environmental, cost and labor conservation. Alignment and deployment of the textile component with the base component in an efficient manner is also described herein.