Abstract: The present mat has a textile upper surface that has been thermally modified in a patternwise arrangement, such that the patterned areas have an abrasive feel ideal for scraping dirt from footwear. Such abrasive feel, or harsh hand, is due to the thermal modification of the heat-treated yarns, which may result in fibers having a clubbed end or, in extreme cases, a ball of remelted polymer on the end of a fiber stalk or fiber. The yarns may be “thermally modified” by shrinking (in which the filaments decrease in size longitudinally, but are still recognizable as. separate filaments) and melting (in which the yarns are heated beyond their glass transition point, become molten, and, when cooled, produce a fused yarn bundle). Attached to textile upper surface 10 is a flexible and durable backing material (e.g., 6).

Abstract: Apparatus and method to change the amount of overlap in a tubular sheet material to maintain the registration of material printed thereon when the tubular sheet of material is converted into individual tetrahedral packages and to provide an alarm system to indicate when the registration system has reached its limit of controllability.

Abstract: Apparatus and method to tumble pack a pre-selected number of tetrahedron containers into a transport container without breaking the seals of any of the tetrahedron containers. A sliding discharge chute is employed which slides into the transport container adjacent the bottom thereof to allow the first few containers to be placed therein without dropping a long distance. Then the chute is slid upward as the rest of the containers are dropped into the transport container.