具体实施方式：
[0039]FIGS. 1A through 1D, taken together, depict various aspects of an up-lighting floor mat 1000, which may include floor matting 100, at least one up-lighting assembly 200 and/or at least one power source 300 to provide electric power for the at least one up-lighting assembly 200.
[0040]As best appreciated by viewing FIG. 1A, the up-lighting floor mat 1000 may have a generally planar shape with outer edge portions 103. When placed flat atop a floor or other support surface, the generally planer shape of the up-lighting floor mat 1000 may define an upwardly-facing surface 101 to support personnel standing and/or walking thereon, and a opposed downwardly-facing surface 102 by which the up-lighting floor mat 1000 may, itself, be supported by a floor or other support surface. As depicted, at least a subset of the edge portions 103 may be shaped to form one or more ramps by which trip hazards to personnel may be minimized and/or by which carts and/or other rolling objects may be more easily rolled onto and/or off of the up-lighting floor mat 1000.
[0041]The floor matting 100 may be formed from any of a variety of flexible materials, including various forms of flexible plastic and/or rubber-based materials, including and not limited to, open cell polyurethane foam. The floor matting 100 may be so formed using any of a variety of manufacturing technologies, including and not limited to, various forms of molding, extrusion, and/or additive manufacturing (e.g., 3D printing) technologies.
[0042]As can best be seen in FIGS. 1C-D, in some embodiments, the floor matting 100 of the up-lighting floor mat 1000 may be assembled from multiple mat portions 110, such as the specifically depicted mat portions 110a through 110d. In embodiments in which each of the mat portions 110a-d were originally separately formed as complete mats, each of the mat portions 110a-d may originally have been formed with edges that provide ramps about the entirety of each of their peripheries. Alternatively, in embodiments in which each of the mat portions 110a-d is formed as at least a portion of a roll of mat material, only an opposed pair of the edges of each of the mat portions 110a-d may provide ramps.
[0043]Regardless of the exact manner in which each of the multiple mat portions 110a-d may have been formed, as part of assembling an embodiment of the up-lighting floor mat 1000 from the multiple mat portions 110a-d, portions of such ramps may be trimmed off of one or more of the multiple mat portions 110a-d, thereby becoming cuttings 130. Following such trimming, at least a subset of the resulting cut edges 104 of each of the mat portions 110a-d may then be glued together (or otherwise bonded or affixed together) in any of a variety of ways to form the floor matting 100 of the up-lighting floor mat 1000. To enable such gluing together (or other form of adhering or bonding together) of the cut edges 104, at least a subset of the cut edges 104 may be “straight-cut” (e.g., cut in a manner that defines a flat cut edge surface that is oriented perpendicularly to the surfaces 101 and 102).
[0044]In such embodiments, the need to assemble the up-lighting floor mat 1000 from the multiple mat portions 110a-d may be used as an opportunity to utilize at least a subset of the cut edges 104 to provide edges 105 and/or define ends 106 of a slot 109 (best seen in FIG. 1B) within which an up-lighting assembly 200 may be positioned. In other embodiments in which the floor matting 100 is not assembled from multiple mat portions 110 such that the up-lighting floor mat 1000 is formed from a single piece of floor matting 100, the slot 109 may be cut into such a single piece of floor matting 100. Thus, in such other embodiments, the edges 105 and/or the ends 106 of a slot 109 may be created in a manner that does not entail the creation of cut edges 104 from preparations to combine multiple mat portions 110.
[0045]As depicted in FIG. 1B, the lighting assembly 200 may be elongate in shape with a generally rectangular cross-section that defines an upwardly-facing surface 201, a downwardly-facing surface 202, a pair of opposed lengthwise edges 205, and a pair of opposed ends 206. As part of assembling the lighting assembly 200 together with one or more mat portions 110 to form the up-lighting floor mat 1000, the lengthwise edges 205 may be glued to (or otherwise affixed to or bonded together with) matting material 100 that provides corresponding edges 105, and/or the ends 206 may be glued to (or otherwise affixed to or bonded together with) matting material 100 that defines corresponding ends 106.
[0046]The lighting assembly 200 may have a shape and/or dimensions that enable the lighting assembly 200 to be assembled together with the floor matting 100 such that the upwardly-facing surface 201 is able to be aligned in one plane with the upwardly-facing surface 101 simultaneously with the downwardly-facing surface 202 being aligned in another plane with the downwardly-facing surface 201. The edges 205 and/or the ends 206 may define edge surfaces that may be oriented perpendicularly to the surfaces 201 and 202 of the lighting assembly 200 in a manner similar to how the edge surfaces defined by the cut edges 104 (which may provide edges 105 and/or ends 106) may be oriented perpendicularly to the surfaces 101 and 102 of the floor matting 100. Again, this may be done to enable gluing together (or another form of adhering or bonding together) of the edges 205 with the edges 105, and/or the ends 206 with the ends 106.
[0047]Returning to FIG. 1A, a cable conveying electricity from the power source 300 to the lighting assembly 200 may extend from the power source 300 to one of the ends 206. The power source 300 may be any of a variety of types of power source, including and not limited to, a battery or a power supply that receives AC mains power (e.g., a Class II 60 W or 120 W power supply that receives AC from wall socket) and employs such AC mains power to generate electric power of appropriate characteristics (e.g., AC or DC, voltage and/or amperage, pulse-width modulation, etc.) appropriate for use with light-emitting components of the lighting assembly 200.
[0048]It should be noted that, although FIGS. 1A-D depict the up-lighting floor mat 1000 as having a generally rectangular shape defined by its outer edges 103, and as including only a single up-lighting assembly 200 within a single slot 109 to provide a single strip of up-lighting, other embodiments of the up-lighting floor mat 1000 are possible in which the outer edges 103 may define any of a variety of shapes and/or that may incorporate multiple ones of the up-lighting assembly 200.
[0049]Turning to FIGS. 2A through 2D, the upwardly-facing surface 101 may be a bi-level surface incorporating a combination of upwardly-extending projections 111 and upwardly-facing recesses 117 that are shaped and/or arranged in a pattern selected to reduce incidents of skidding on the upwardly-facing surface 101 by personnel standing and/or walking thereon. Correspondingly, the downwardly-facing surface 201 may be a bi-level surface incorporating a combination of downwardly-extending projections 112 and downwardly-facing recesses 118 that are shaped and/or arranged in a pattern selected to reduce incidents of skidding of the up-lighting floor mat 1000 on a floor or other support surface.
[0050]As depicted, at least a subset of the upwardly-extending projections 111 may be positioned on the upwardly-facing surface 101 to overlie the positions of at least a subset of the downwardly-facing recesses 118 on the downwardly-facing surface 102, and/or at least a subset of the upwardly-opening recesses 117 may be positioned on the upwardly-facing surface 101 to overlie the positions of at least a subset of the downwardly-extending projections 112 on the downwardly-facing surface 102. This may be done in accordance with what is described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,863,637 issued Jan. 26, 1999, to Mansson et al (hereinafter referred to as “the Mansson patent”) to enhance the degree of cushioning provided to personnel who stand and/or walk upon the up-lighting floor mat 1000. As described in the Mansson patent, upwardly-extending projections that are so positioned are able to be more easily pressed downward when stepped upon as a result of the material of the mat that is immediately underneath being able to move downward into downwardly-facing recesses that such upwardly-extending projections overlie. The disclosure of the Mansson patent is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.
[0051]Regardless of whether there is such overlying positioning between any of the upwardly-extending projections 111 and any of the downwardly-facing recesses 118, or between any of the upwardly-facing recesses 117 and any of the downwardly-extending projections 112, the inclusion of one or both of the upwardly-facing recesses 117 and the downwardly-facing recesses 118 at regular intervals along at least one dimension of the up-lighting floor mat 1000 may create a series of thinner portions of the up-lighting floor mat 1000 that enable the up-lighting floor mat 1000 to be more easily rolled up for transport and/or storage. In some embodiments, at least some of the upwardly-facing recesses 117 may be positioned to overlie at least some of the downwardly-facing recesses 118 at regular intervals to create a series of still thinner portions of the up-lighting floor mat 1000 to further aid the rolling up thereof.
[0052]Turning more specifically to FIGS. 2A-B, in different embodiments, a ramp defined by an outer edge portion 103 of the floor matting 100 may be formed integrally with at least a portion of the floor matting 100 (as depicted in FIG. 2A). Alternatively, a ramp of an outer edge portion 103 may be separately formed and subsequently adhered to (or otherwise bonded or affixed to) at least a portion of the floor matting 100 (as depicted in FIG. 2B). By way of example, and as earlier discussed, such a separately formed ramp may be part of a cutting 130 from a mat portion 110 that was subsequently glued to (or otherwise adhered or affixed to) a cut edge 104 of a mat portion 110 to create such an outer edge portion 103. As also depicted, regardless of the exact manner in which a ramp of an outer edge portion 103 is formed, in different embodiments, such a ramp may be defined to provide a longer and more gradual slope (as depicted in FIG. 2B) or may be defined to provide a shorter and steeper slope (as depicted in FIG. 2A).
[0053]Turning more specifically to FIGS. 2C-D, it should be noted that, although FIGURES lA-D depict a slot 109 having been formed in a manner in which both ends thereof are closed such that there are distinct ends 106 formed to engage corresponding ends 206 of the depicted up-lighting assembly 200, other embodiments are possible in which a slot 109 may open through an outer edge 103 of the floor matting 100. More specifically, a slot 109 may be formed in a manner in which at least one end thereof extends through an outer edge 103 such that an end 206 of an up-lighting assembly 200 may extend to, and become part of, an outer edge 103. This may be done in such embodiments to enable access to an end 206 of an up-lighting assembly 200 to accommodate cabling conveying electricity from the power source 300.
[0054]Turning to FIGS. 3A through 3D, the up-lighting assembly 200 may include an upwardly-opening U-channel 210, a downwardly-opening diffuser 220 that may also have a U-channel cross-section, and an elongate light-emitting device 230. It may be the U-channel 210 that provides the lengthwise edges 205 to which portions of the floor matting 100 that define edges 105 of a slot 109 may be attached, and/or that provides the ends 206 to which portions of the floor matting 100 that define ends 106 of a slot 109 may be attached.
[0055]Turning more specifically to FIGS. 3A-B, as depicted, an up-lighting assembly 200 may be assembled prior to being assembled with the floor matting 100 of an up-lighting floor mat 1000. Alternatively, the U-channel 210 may be assembled with the floor matting 100 before the up-lighting assembly 200 is assembled such that the up-lighting assembly 200 is assembled in place within the up-lighting floor mat 1000. Regardless of the exact order of assembly, the U-channel 210 and the diffuser 220 may be assembled with their U-channel cross-sections open towards each other, thereby forming a generally rectangular tube-like structure within which the light-emitting device 230 may be positioned. As will be explained in greater detail, the light-emitting device 230 may emit light that may be highly directional in nature such that when positioned within the generally rectangular tube-like structure so created, the light-emitting device 230 may be oriented therein to direct the majority of its emitted light through the diffuser 220. As will also be explained in greater detail, a portion of a cutting 130 may also be positioned within the generally rectangular tube-like structure as a wedge-shaped strip 240 of flexible material to aid in setting the orientation of the light-emitting device 230.
[0056]Turning more specifically to FIGS. 3C-D, the U-channel cross-section of the upwardly-opening U-channel 210 may be defined by a pair of upwardly-extending portions 215 connected by a horizontally-extending bottom portion 212 (i.e., the bottom portion 212 extends transversely between and perpendicularly to the pair of upwardly-extending portions 215). The upwardly extending portions 215 may define the majority of (if not the entirety of) the elongate edges 205 of the up-lighting assembly 200 to which portions of the floor matting 100 that define edges 105 of a slot 109 may be attached. The horizontally-extending bottom portion 212 may define the downwardly-facing surface 202 of the up-lighting assembly 200, as well as an opposed upwardly-facing surface 211 inside the U-channel cross-section.
[0057]The U-channel cross-section of the downwardly-opening diffuser 220 may be defined by a pair of downwardly-extending portions 225 connected by a horizontally-extending top portion 221. Each of the downwardly-extending portions 225 may carry an outwardly-extending projection 227 that engages an inwardly-opening recess 217 defined by a corresponding one of the upwardly-extending portions 215 of the U-channel 210. The horizontally-extending top portion 221 may define the upwardly-facing surface 201 of the up-lighting assembly 200, as well as an opposed downwardly-facing surface 222 inside its U-channel cross-section. The downwardly-facing surface 222 may define ribbing 224 that extends lengthwise along the elongate length of the diffuser 220 in the form of a set of parallel-extending V-shaped grooves that perform the diffusing function of the diffuser 220.
[0058]The light-emitting device 230 may be made up of any of a variety of types of light-emitting components based on any of a variety of light-emitting technologies. As depicted, the light-emitting device 230 may have a generally rectangular cross-section with at least a distinct downwardly-facing mounting surface 232. However, as also depicted, the cross-section of the light-emitting device 230 may have a slightly curved or bulbous upper surface 231 through which the light-emitting device 230 may emit light. The downwardly-facing mounting surface 232 may carry a pressure-sensitive adhesive backing by which the downwardly-facing mounting surface 232 may be directly adhered to the upwardly-facing surface 211 of the upwardly-opening U-channel 210. With the light-emitting device 230 so affixed to the upwardly-facing surface 211, light emitted by the light-emitting device 230 through its slightly curved or bulbous upper surface 231 may then encounter the ribbing 224 of the diffuser, and thereby become more diffused as the light passes through the horizontally-extending top portion 221.
[0059]Turning to FIGS. 4A through 4F, the diffuser 220 may be formed from any of a variety of transparent and/or translucent materials, including various forms of rigid transparent plastic (e.g., polycarbonate plastic, acrylic, etc.) and/or ceramic materials. The diffuser 220 may be so formed using any of a variety of manufacturing technologies, including and not limited to, various forms of molding, extrusion, and/or additive manufacturing (e.g., 3D printing) technologies. Correspondingly, the upwardly-opening U-channel 210 may be formed from any of a variety of flexible materials, including various forms of flexible plastic (e.g., vinyl plastic, thermoplastic polyurethane, thermoplastic elastomer, etc.) and/or rubber-based materials. The U-channel 210 may be so formed using any of a variety of manufacturing technologies, including and not limited to; various forms of molding, extrusion, and/or additive manufacturing (e.g., 3D printing) technologies.
[0060]Turning more specifically to FIGS. 4A-B, as depicted, the light-emitting device 230 may include any of a variety of types of flexible LED lighting strip familiar to those skilled in the art, and incorporating a flexible substrate 234 on which conductors and LEDs 233 are deposited. As also depicted, at least the LEDs 233 of such a flexible LED lighting strip may be covered in a flexible transparent material that provides physical protection of at least the LEDs against physical impacts and exposure to moisture. More specifically, a covering may be used that is selected to meet one or more national or international standards, including and not limited to, those of the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC), such as IEC standard 60529. More specifically, such a covering may be selected to comply with level IP67 or IP68 of the IEC standard 60529 for protection against exposure to dust and water.
[0061]In some embodiments, solid transparent material may be disposed atop and/or all around the depicted flexible LED lighting strip in sufficient quantity as to form the curved or bulbous upper surface 231, as depicted in FIG. 4A. Alternatively, the flexible LED strip may be covered in a thinner layer (e.g., a coating) of flexible transparent material that does not define such a curved or bulbous upper surface. In other embodiments, the flexible LED lighting strip may be sheathed within a close-fitting tube 235 of transparent flexible plastics material. Still other physical packaging configurations for a flexible LED lighting strip to form the light-emitting device 230 will be familiar to those skilled in the art and may be employed in keeping with the spirit and scope of what is disclosed herein.
[0062]Turning more specifically to FIGS. 4C-F, in some embodiments, despite whatever protective covering features may be incorporated into the light-emitting device 230, itself, the diffuser 220 and/or the U-channel 210 may, separately or in cooperation with each other, serve to provide additional physical protection to the light-emitting device 230. In some embodiments, the horizontally-extending portion 221 of the downwardly-opening diffuser 220 may have a slight dome-shaped cross-section that gives the upwardly-facing surface 201 a slight upwardly-extending curve, as depicted in FIGS. 4C-E. Such a curved shape may cooperate with the ribbing 224 defined by the downwardly-facing surface 222 to further diffuse the light emitted from the curved or bulbous upper surface 231 of the light-emitting device 230. However, in addition to or in lieu of serving to diffuse light, such a curved shape may be employed to increase the strength of the horizontally-extending portion 221 to better resist the downward forces exerted by personnel stepping on the upwardly-facing surface 201. More generally, the diffuser 220 may serve to protectively cover the upwardly-opening U-channel 210 to prevent the entrance of dust, debris and/or liquids therein.
[0063]In some embodiments, the rigidity of the material from which the diffuser 220 is formed and the flexibility of the material from which the U-channel 210 is formed may be used in concert to provide protection to the light-emitting device 230. By way of example, as depicted, portions of the horizontally-extending portion 221 of the diffuser 220 may overlap upwardly-extending ends of the pair of upwardly-extending portions 215 of upwardly-opening U-channel 210. The rigid material of the horizontally-extending portion 221 of the diffuser 220 may cause downward pressure applied by personnel stepping on the horizontally-extending portion 221 of the diffuser to be transferred to the pair of upwardly-extending portions 215 of the upwardly-opening U-channel 210. The flexible material of the upwardly-extending portions 215 may permit the upwardly-extending portions 215 to crush to some degree to absorb some of that downward pressure. Such absorption of such downward pressure may impart some degree of downward “give” to the horizontally-extending portion 221 in response to being stepped on by personnel such that the horizontally-extending portion 221 is able to provide protection to the light-emitting device 230, while also providing some amount of cushioning to personnel standing and/or walking upon the up-lighting floor mat 1000. In this way, the sensation of stepping upon the horizontally-extending portion 221 may not be as discernibly different from stepping upon the floor matting 100, at least to personnel wearing shoes.
[0064]As is familiar to those skilled in the art, LEDs tend to emit light with a highly directional quality (i.e., in a manner somewhat akin to a spotlight), as opposed to other types of lighting devices that tend to emit light more omnidirectionally (e.g., incandescent bulbs). Thus, as is depicted more clearly in FIGS. 4C-4F, the light emitted by the lighting device 230 may have a relatively directional quality such that it may be emitted primarily in a single direction (i.e., along an axis) indicated by arrow 253. It should be noted that descriptions of light being emitted “primarily” in a particular direction are meant to be interpreted as meaning that a light emitting device (e.g., an LED of a flexible LED strip, or other form of light emitting device) is directional in its emission of light to the extent that it emits light with greatest intensity in the particular direction, and also with some degree of spread from the particular direction. As is familiar to those skilled in the art, such a spread of light emitted by a light emitting device may have a cone-like spread in a manner akin to the light emission of a spotlight where there is cone-like spread of light that is centered about a central axis along which light is emitted with greatest intensity. Therefore, it should be noted that descriptions of emitting light “primarily” in a particular direction should not be interpreted as indicating that no light is emitted in any other direction, as would be the case with the collimated light of a laser. Where the downwardly-facing mounting surface 232 of the light-emitting device 230 is directly adhered to the upwardly-facing surface 211 of the horizontally-extending portion 212 of the U-channel 210, the primary direction of emission of light, as indicated by the arrow 253 in FIG. 4B, may be vertically upward when the up-lighting floor mat 1000 is placed atop a horizontal support surface (e.g., a horizontal floor).
[0065]However, it may be deemed desirable to use such directionality of the light emitted by LEDs to advantage to address a need to emit such directional light from the up-lighting floor mat 1000 at an angle that is tilted away from vertical. By way of example, as is familiar to those skilled in the art, close inspection of finished surfaces, such as painted metal surfaces, is sometimes best done with light directed at an angle to that surface other than perpendicular to that surface. Thus, in some embodiments, and as is depicted in FIGS. 4D-F, an elongate strip 240 of resilient material with a wedge-shaped cross-section may be interposed between the downwardly-facing mounting surface 232 of the lighting device 230 and the upwardly-facing surface 211 of the horizontally-extending portion 212 of the U-channel 210. The shape and/or dimensions of the wedge-shaped cross-section of the strip 240 may be selected to cause a specific resulting angle of the direction of emitted light indicated by the arrow 253 away from vertical that may be relatively slight (e.g., 15 or 30 degrees), as depicted in FIGS. 4D-E.
[0066]However, in other embodiments, the shape and/or dimensions of the wedge-shaped cross-section of the strip 240 of material may be selected to impart a specific greater angle away from vertical, such as 45 degrees, or even an angle that approaches and/or achieves 90 degrees away from vertical such that the direction of the arrow 253 may extend parallel relative to the plane of at least a portion of the upwardly-facing surface 101 of the floor matting 100. It should be noted that to achieve a greater angle away from vertical, such as one that approaches or reaches 90 degrees, may additionally require alterations to the cross-section of the diffuser 220, such as a more pronounced upwardly-extending curve of the horizontally-extending portion 221, as depicted in FIG. 4F.
[0067]In some embodiments, the strip 240 of flexible material of wedge-shaped cross-section may be created from a cutting 130 generated as a result of trimming one or more mat portions 110 (e.g., one or more of the mat portions 110a-d of FIGS. 1A-D), as previously discussed. More specifically, a portion of such a cutting 130 that includes an outer edge 103 that defines a ramp may be used where the angle of such a ramp is appropriate to provide a desired angle away from vertical of the direction of emitted light indicated by the arrow 253.
[0068]Turning to FIGS. 5A through 5C, The flexible material from which the upwardly-opening U-shaped channel 210 is formed, coupled with the fact that the horizontally-extending portion 212 of the U-shaped-channel 210 may be considerably thinner than the floor matting 100, may aid in making the up-lighting floor mat 1000 considerably easier to roll up and/or easier to roll up into a tighter roll at the location of the U-shaped channel 210, as depicted in FIGS. 5A-B. Indeed, in some embodiments, the placement of multiple up-lighting assemblies 200 may be selected to, at least in part, provide regular spacing of multiple upwardly-opening U-channels 210 that may provide multiple locations at which the up-lighting floor mat 1000 may be able to be more tightly rolled up for transport.
[0069]Regardless of the quantity of upwardly-opening U-channels 210 that may be included, the outwardly-extending projections 227 carried by the downwardly-extending portions 225 of the diffuser 220, and the inwardly-opening-recesses 217 defined by the upwardly-extending portions 215 of the U-channel 210 (best seen in FIG. 3C), may be shaped and/or sized to enable relatively easy and/or tool-less insertion of the diffuser(s) 220 into the U-channel(s) 210 and relatively easy and/or tool-less removal of the diffuser(s) therefrom. More specifically, each diffuser 220 may be designed to be easily “snapped” into and out of a U-channel 210 to enable easy removal when the up-lighting floor mat 1000 is to be rolled up, and easy re-installation when the up-lighting floor mat 1000 is unrolled for use at a new location. This may be done to accommodate the forming of the diffuser(s) 220 from a rigid material that would impede rolling up of the up-lighting floor mat 1000 if the diffuser(s) are not removed from the U-channel(s) 210. The removed diffuser(s) 220 may then be transported in an elongate straight form along with the rolled-up up-lighting floor mat 1000. By way of example, an up-lighting floor mat 1000 may be rolled up around the diffuser(s) 220 that are removed therefrom such that the rolled-up up-lighting floor mat 1000 may be transported and/or stored in a manner that may prevent its diffuser(s) 220 from being misplaced.
[0070]As depicted in FIG. 5C, the orientation in which an up-lighting assembly 200 is positioned within the floor matting 100 of an up-lighting floor mat 1000 relative to the direction in which the up-lighting floor mat 1000 is to be rolled up may determine whether the removal of its diffuser 220 is necessary. More specifically, FIG. 5C depicts the U-channel 210 and light-emitting device 230 portions of an up-lighting assembly 200y as having been positioned within a slot 109y formed in the floor matting 100 in an orientation in which the elongate shape of the up-lighting assembly 200y extends in parallel with the direction in which the depicted up-lighting floor mat 1000 is to be rolled up, as indicated by arrows 153. As a result of this orientation, and due to the diffuser 220 (not shown) of the up-lighting assembly 200y being formed from rigid plastics material, as discussed above, the diffuser 220 of the up-lighting assembly 200y may need to be removed to allow such rolling up of the depicted up-lighting floor mat 1000 to occur. Due to the earlier-discussed flexibility of both the U-channel 210 and the light emitting device 230, neither of these components of the up-lighting assembly 200y that remain in place (following the removal of the diffuser 220) may provide any impediment to such rolling up of the depicted up-lighting floor mat 1000.
[0071]FIG. 5C also depicts the U-channel 210 and light-emitting device 230 portions of another up-lighting assembly 200x as having been positioned within a slot 109x formed in the floor matting 100 in an orientation in which the elongate shape of the up-lighting assembly 200x extends cross-wise to the direction in which the depicted up-lighting floor mat 1000 is to be rolled up, again, as indicated by arrows 153. As a result of this orientation, there may be no need to remove the diffuser 220 of the up-lighting assembly 200x to allow such rolling up of the depicted up-lighting floor mat 1000 to occur. However, as discussed above in regard to FIGS. 5A-B, such removal of the diffuser 220 of the up-lighting assembly 200x may enable advantage to be taken of the thinner flexible material of the U-channel 210 of the up-lighting assembly 200x to allow the depicted up-lighting floor mat 1000 to be more tightly rolled up.
[0072]FIGS. 6A through 6G depict numerous differing example embodiments of up-lighting floor mat 1000 in multiple up-lighting assemblies 200 are positioned in a wide variety of orientations. As can be appreciated from these figures, combinations of up-lighting assemblies 200 may be arranged to provide illuminated guides specifying boundaries of pathways, zones of danger, and/or various geometric shapes that may convey useful information (e.g., arrows pointing indicating a preferred direction of travel along a walkway).
[0073]As exemplified by FIGS. 6A-G, numerous alternate embodiments of the up-lighting floor mat 1000 are possible that have multiple ones of the up-lighting assemblies 200 in various arrangements providing multiple parallel strips of up-lighting, criss-crossing strips of up-lighting (e.g., one or more “X” patterns), multiple strips of up-lighting that generally follow at least a subset of the outer edges 103, etc. Still other patterns and/or combinations of strips of up-lighting may occur to those skilled in the art, and would be within the spirit and scope of what is disclosed herein.
[0074]FIG. 6A depicts an embodiment of up-lighting floor mat 1000 in which multiple up-lighting assemblies 200 are arranged at various locations within the floor matting 100 to form a pair of connected “X” shapes. As also depicted in an inset, the center of one of the “X” shapes may be created as a pair of butt joints at which the ends 206 of two up-lighting assemblies 200a and 200c are brought up against opposed edges 205 of a third up-lighting assembly 200b. Openings may be formed through the upwardly-extending portions 215 of the U-channel 210 of the up-lighting assembly 200b at the locations of the pair of butt joints to allow a light-emitting device 230a to extend uninterrupted from an end 206 of the up-lighting assembly 200a, through the up-lighting assembly 200b in a crosswise manner, and into an end of the up-lighting assembly 200c. Additionally, the light-emitting device 230b of the up-lighting assembly 200b may be positioned to cross over the light-emitting device 230a (as depicted), or alternatively, to cross thereunder. In this way, the entirety of the center of the “X” shape may be caused to emit light.
[0075]FIG. 6B depicts an embodiment of up-lightin