Interlocking Modular Floor Mat Tiles for Drainage and Easy Replacement
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional floor mats require specific constructions for different purposes, leading to high costs and inefficiencies in installation and maintenance, especially in high-traffic environments where wear and tear cause frequent replacements and potential safety hazards due to sliding or failure.
Innovation Solution
A modular mat system comprising interlocking tiles with different durometer hardness, color indicators for wear, and interchangeable inserts, allowing for easy assembly and replacement of individual pieces to form various shapes and designs, with a drainage system to prevent water accumulation.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If conventional floor mats are made as single-piece constructions for specific purposes, then they provide adequate performance for their intended use, but they require expensive installation with recessed areas and cannot be easily replaced when worn
Solution Approach 1:
The floor mat is divided into multiple interlocking tiles that can be independently manufactured and installed. Each tile maintains the functional properties of conventional mats while the modular structure allows for simplified installation without recessed areas and easy replacement of individual worn tiles rather than entire mat structures.
2Productivity
If conventional floor mats are installed in high-traffic environments, then they provide necessary floor coverage and function, but wear and tear causes frequent failures requiring costly and time-consuming replacement of entire mat structures
Solution Approach 1:
The mat system is segmented into individual tiles that can be independently replaced. When wear occurs in high-traffic areas, only the affected tiles need to be removed and replaced, significantly reducing both the time and cost compared to replacing entire conventional mat structures.
Solution Approach 2:
Worn or damaged tiles can be easily removed and discarded, while the remaining intact tiles are retained and reused. This allows for partial replacement strategies that recover valuable material and reduce waste, rather than discarding entire mat structures.
3Ease of manufacture
If conventional floor mats are placed on the floor without recessed areas, then installation is simpler, but the mats slide when horizontal pressure is applied causing unsafe conditions
Solution Approach 1:
The mat system uses multiple small interlocking tiles rather than large continuous mats. The interlocking edges and tab-aperture connections provide mechanical stability that prevents sliding, while the modular nature allows installation on flat surfaces without requiring recessed areas.
Solution Approach 2:
The tiles feature tabs that nest within apertures of adjacent tiles, creating an interlocking structure. This nesting mechanism provides mechanical interconnection that prevents sliding while maintaining installation simplicity on standard floor surfaces.
4Area of stationary object
If large mats or multiple mats are used adjacent one another, then they provide adequate floor coverage, but they may still move within recessed areas causing unsafe conditions
Solution Approach 1:
Instead of using large continuous mats, the system uses multiple small interlocking tiles. The interlocking mechanism between adjacent tiles creates a unified stable structure that maintains floor coverage while preventing movement through the mechanical connection of individual units.
Data Source
AI summary
The present disclosure relates to a modular mat system. More particularly, the disclosure is directed to a modular mat system with that may be built out using common pieces of mats. Specifically, a modular mat system with a mat piece with a top plate with inserts, a bottom plate with a plurality of tabs and recesses operative to engage with further mat pieces to build a mat system is discussed. The modular mat system is operative to remove water and other detritus from shoes of a user or other such platform moving across the mat system and feed it to a perimeter drain below the system.