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US3636576A Expired / Lapsed US ⏱️ 0.0 years remaining

Roll-fold floor mat for gymnastic and athletic purposes

Assignee: Nissen Corp
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Filing: 1970-09-24
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Granted: 1972-01-25
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Expires: 1990-09-24
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Abstract

Abstract A floor mat for gymnastic and athletic purposes composed of a succession of abutting rectangular mat sections, each section consisting of a lightweight shock absorbing filler enclosed by flexible sheet covers. The especial feature of the mats, which are disclosed in several alternate forms, is that they permit a long expanse of virtually unbroken mat top surface, yet may be ''''roll-folded'''' up into a single, compact stack for ready transport and storage without the need first to separate individual sections or groups of sections. The foregoing is accomplished by making the lengths of successive mat sections a function of their thickness and by joining the abutting section by their top covers only.

Inventors

  • 👤 George P Nissen

Bibliographic Details

Application Number —
Jurisdiction US
Data Source google_patents
Last Synchronized 2026-11-06 05:21
CPC Classifications
A; A63; A63B; A63B6/00

Claims Analysis

Total Claims: 12
Claim 1
Independent Claim 233 words
In a foldable floor mat for gymnastic and athletic purposes, said mat in its unfolded condition on the floor comprising successive lengths of discrete mat sections connected to each other at their top surfaces to provide a substantially continuous mat top surface, said connections forming substantially parallel axes for pivoting movement of said sections thereabout relative to one another, the improvement wherein said mat sections include three or more main sections and one or more connecting sections, the first one of said main sections forming one end of said mat and connected as aforesaid to the second one of said main sections, the second, third and remaining ones of said main sections each having one of said connecting sections connected as aforesaid therebetween, the respective lengths of said main and connecting sections permitting folding of said mat sections relative to one another beginning at said end main section by pivoting movement thereof in the same direction of rotation about successive ones of said axes in order to convert said mat into a folded condition on the floor in which said main sections are stacked upon each other with the planes of their top surfaces substantially parallel to the plane of the floor and said connecting sections are disposed adjacent at least some of the ends of said main sections with the planes of their top surfaces transversely of the plane of the floor.
Claim 2
Dependent Claim 233 words
In a foldable floor mat for gymnastic and athletic purposes, said mat in its unfolded condition on the floor comprising successive lengths of discrete mat sections connected to each other at their top surfaces to provide a substantially continuous mat top surface, said connections forming substantially parallel axes for pivoting movement of said sections thereabout relative to one another, the improvement wherein said mat sections include three or more main sections and one or more connecting sections, the first one of said main sections forming one end of said mat and connected as aforesaid to the second one of said main sections, the second, third and remaining ones of said main sections each having one of said connecting sections connected as aforesaid therebetween, the respective lengths of said main and connecting sections permitting folding of said mat sections relative to one another beginning at said end main section by pivoting movement thereof in the same direction of rotation about successive ones of said axes in order to convert said mat into a folded condition on the floor in which said main sections are stacked upon each other with the planes of their top surfaces substantially parallel to the plane of the floor and said connecting sections are disposed adjacent at least some of the ends of said main sections with the planes of their top surfaces transversely of the plane of the floor.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim 167 words
In a floor mat for gymnastic and athletic purposes having a longitudinally extending succession of discrete mat sections of substantially equal thickness abutting each other end to end, successive ones of said sections being joined to each other at their top surface to provide both a substantially continuous top mat surface and for pivoting movement relative to each other about parallel axes to fold said sections relative to one another, the improvements in combination therewith and wherein said mat comprises n mat sections S1...Sn in which S3, S5, S7...Sn 1 are connecting sections and the remainder S1, S2, S4, S6, S8, S10...Sn are main sections, the lengths of said connecting sections being respectively substantially T, 2T, 3T...(n-2)/2T, and the lengths of said main sections S2, S4, S6, S8, S10...Sn 2 being respectively substantially at least L, L, (L+T), (L+2T), (L+3T)...(L+(n-6)/2T), where n is an even integer greater than 3, L is the length of S1, and T is substantially the thickness of each of said mat sections.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim 167 words
In a floor mat for gymnastic and athletic purposes having a longitudinally extending succession of discrete mat sections of substantially equal thickness abutting each other end to end, successive ones of said sections being joined to each other at their top surface to provide both a substantially continuous top mat surface and for pivoting movement relative to each other about parallel axes to fold said sections relative to one another, the improvements in combination therewith and wherein said mat comprises n mat sections S1...Sn in which S3, S5, S7...Sn 1 are connecting sections and the remainder S1, S2, S4, S6, S8, S10...Sn are main sections, the lengths of said connecting sections being respectively substantially T, 2T, 3T...(n-2)/2T, and the lengths of said main sections S2, S4, S6, S8, S10...Sn 2 being respectively substantially at least L, L, (L+T), (L+2T), (L+3T)...(L+(n-6)/2T), where n is an even integer greater than 3, L is the length of S1, and T is substantially the thickness of each of said mat sections.
Claim 5
Dependent Claim 24 words
The floor mat of claim 2 wherein the length of main sections S2, S4, S6, S8, S10...Sn substantially L, L, (L+T), (L+2T), (L+3T)...L+(n-4/2) T.
Claim 6
Dependent Claim 75 words
The floor mat of claim 3 wherein a plurality of said mats, each being of uniform width and all having an equal number of sections S1...Sn, the thickness Of each of said sections being substantially equal to T and the lengths L of all the respective sections S1 being substantially equal, are disposed in side-by-side relation with corresponding sections of each abutting each other and corresponding pairs of abutting sections removably secured to each other.
Claim 7
Dependent Claim 82 words
The floor mat of claim 3 wherein an auxiliary connecting mat section is disposed between the outer ends of respective main sections Sn and Sn of a pair of said mats 1 and 2 having respectively n1 and n2 mat sections, the ends of said auxiliary section being joined to the respective outer ends of said main sections Sn and Sn in the manner aforesaid, the length of said auxiliary section being substantially (n1+n212)T, each of said mats defining a mat group.
Claim 8
Dependent Claim 10 words
The floor mat of claim 5 wherein n1 equals n2.
Claim 9
Dependent Claim 90 words
The floor mat of claim 6 wherein a plurality of said mat groups, each being of substantially uniform width and all having an equal number of sections S1 ...Sn and S1 ...Sn respectively, the thickness of each of said sections being substantially equal to T, the lengths of all the sections S1 being substantially equal and the lengths of all the sections S1 being substantially equal, are disposed in side-by-side relation with corresponding sections of each abutting each other and corresponding pairs of abutting sections removably secured to each other.
Claim 10
Dependent Claim 92 words
The floor mat of claim 2 wherein said mat comprises a total of 10 mat sections including main mat sections 1, 2, 4, 6, 8 and 10 and connecting mat sections 3, 5, 7 and 9, the lengths of said main sections 2, 4, 6 and 8 being respectively substantially L, L, (L+T) and (L+2T), and the lengths of said connecting sections 3, 5, 7 and 9 being respectively substantially T, 2T, 3T and 4T, where L is the length of main section 1 and T is the thickness of said sections.
Claim 11
Dependent Claim 20 words
The floor mat of claim 8 wherein the length of said main section 10 is not less than substantially (L+3T).
Claim 12
Dependent Claim 60 words
The floor mat of claim 9 wherein an auxiliary connecting mat section is disposed between the outer ends of respective main sections 10 of a pair of said mats, the ends of said auxiliary section being joined to the respective outer ends of said main sections 10 in the manner aforesaid, the length of said auxiliary section being substantially 10T.

References Cited (Backward Citations)

US1061906A Cited
US2589579A Cited

USPTO Annuity & Maintenance Windows

Annuity Stage Window Opens Payment Deadline Surcharge Period Until Estimated Fee Status
3.5 Years (Year 4) 1975-01-24 1975-07-26 1976-01-25 $2000.00 Window Closed / Lapsed
7.5 Years (Year 8) 1979-01-24 1979-07-26 1980-01-25 $3760.00 Window Closed / Lapsed
11.5 Years (Year 12) 1983-01-24 1983-07-26 1984-01-25 $7700.00 Window Closed / Lapsed

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