Desk chairmat with handles and hang tabs

Details Desk chairmat with handles and hang tabs Desk chairmat with handles and hang tabs

1999-01-28

2001-02-06

Thomas, Alexander S. (Department: 1772)

Stock material or miscellaneous articles

Nonrectangular sheet

C428S099000, C428S156000, C428S167000, C428S081000, C428S192000

Reexamination Certificate

active

06183833

ABSTRACT:

TECHNICAL FIELD
This invention relates to chairmats and specifically, to chairmats typically used under desk chairs in order to protect the underlying carpet or hard flooring.
BACKGROUND
Desk chairmats for office and home use are well known. Such chairmats typically have a main portion on which the desk chair rolls, and a forward lip portion which is adapted to extend partially under the desk well, and on which the feet of the person sitting in the chair may rest. Desk chairmats which are to be applied over carpeting typically have short but relatively sharp spikes on the undersides thereof which hold the mats firmly in place.
The above described desk chairmats, and particularly those with spikes, are difficult to carry and/or otherwise handle due to their relatively large size and the semi-rigid nature of the material from which they are formed. Unless the chairmat is boxed or otherwise protected, the user typically carries the chairmat by gripping about one or two of the edges of the chairmat, often resulting in irritation if not injury to the hands, due to the spikes projecting from the underside of the chairmat.
Some attempts have been made to solve the problem, but only to the extent of making the chairmats foldable to thereby reduce their size for handling purposes. See, for example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,073,428 and commonly owned U.S. Pat. No. 4,784,888.
For the most part, desk chairmats have been sold at office supply stores or distributors as opposed to retail stores, so that to some extent, the handling problem was alleviated by boxing the chairmats individually or in groups prior to shipping. However, even when supplied from a distributor in boxed form, the end user has to remove the chairmat from the box and carry it to its final destination, again, with some difficulty due to the physical attributes of the chairmat. In any event, chairmats are now being found increasingly in retail outlets, compounding the problem and while it is recognized that the chairmats may be boxed, the fact is that boxes add cost and are themselves unwieldy, and are therefore not likely to be used to any great extent in the retail environment. Thus, with increasing retail activity, new displays are also required. Conventional chairmats, because of their bulky and somewhat unwieldy configuration, present display problems since, absent the use of boxes, they do not stand alone unless wound. Even standing on edge in a wound or partially wound state, however, the mats are relatively unstable and, in any event, this is not a viable display arrangement.
Accordingly, there remains a need for a solution to the problem of transporting desk chairmats easily and safely, particularly those chairmats which have carpet spikes, and to the problem of displaying and stocking chairmats in a retail environment.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
This invention relates to the incorporation of integral handles and hang tabs in desk chairmats. One prior impediment to putting permanent handles on a desk chairmat, or within the periphery of the mat, was that the handles themselves might interfere with the desired free rolling of chair casters on the chairmat. For example, if such handles were to be applied to the chairmat, one can imagine the desk chair casters or user's shoe heels becoming caught within a handle opening.
In accordance with this invention, desk chairmats with handles are disclosed which solve the handling problem and which can be easily removed by the purchaser with, for example, a pair of scissors. In addition, the desk chairmats have one or more integral hang facilitating mechanisms.
In a first exemplary embodiment, integral handles are molded in place on opposite sides of the chairmat. With this arrangement, the chairmat may be pulled together (by a partial rolling or folding of the chairmat with the carpet spikes facing inwardly) so that the two handles align, thereby not only reducing the profile of the chairmat, but also forming a single stronger handle enabling the user to carry the chairmat without difficulty. In this exemplary embodiment, the handles are connected to the respective chairmat edges by webs which permit the handles to be cut away from the chairmat once the chairmat is in its final location. Tear-away or other handle arrangements as described in the above identified commonly owned applications may also be utilized.
It is another feature of the invention to include one or more integral hang tabs along one or more sides of the chairmat to facilitate display and stocking, particularly in the retail environment. The tab may be in the form of an integral strap or loop, or a solid tab with a hole sized to fit over a display hook. Alternatively, the handle straps or loops themselves may have one or more apertures for purposes of hanging the mat. In still another alternative, one or more holes may be formed within the mat periphery to facilitate hanging.
It is another feature of the invention to include, optionally, aligned longitudinal grooves on both sides of the mat, extending midway between and parallel to those edges on which the handles are located, thereby providing an integral hinge, facilitating the folding of the chairmat and the bringing of the handles into engagement, to thereby permit easier transport due to reduced overall profile of the mat. In another version, only a single groove on the top surface of the mat is utilized to provide a folding hinge.
Accordingly, in its broader aspects, the present invention relates to a desk chairmat comprising a semi-rigid substantially planar member, the member having four side edges, an upper side of the chairmat having a substantially smooth surface and at least one hang tab attached to the chairmat along one or more of the side edges.
In another aspect, the invention relates to a desk chairmat comprising a semi-rigid substantially planar member, the member having at least four side edges; an upper side of the chairmat having a substantially smooth surface and a lower side of the chairmat having a plurality of spikes projecting therefrom; and at least one integral hang tab located along one of the side edges, said hang tab having an aperture therein adapted to permit the chairmat to hang from a support.
In another aspect, the invention relates to a desk chairmat comprising a semi-rigid substantially planar member, the member having four side edges, an upper side and a lower side; and a hinge extending substantially along a middle portion of the mat between two opposite of the four side edges, the hinge formed by vertically aligned first and second grooves on the upper and lower sides, respectively.
In still another aspect, the invention relates to a desk chairmat comprising a semi-rigid substantially planar member, the member having four side edges, an upper side and a lower side; and an integral living hinge extending substantially along a middle portion of the mat between two opposite of the four side edges, the hinge formed by at least one groove formed in the upper side of the planar member, the groove having a depth sufficient to leave a residual web to create the living hinge for folding.
In another aspect, the invention relates to a desk chairmat comprising a semi-rigid substantially planar member, the member having four side edges, an upper side of the chairmat having a substantially smooth surface and at least one aperture within the periphery of the planar member.
Additional features and advantages of the subject invention will become apparent from the detailed description which follows.


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patent: 5577730 (1996-11-01), Vannozzi
patent: 5916658 (1999-06-01), Mohr

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