Lighted disco dance floor

A portable lighted disco dance floor for converting an area into a dance floor and having lights internally thereof for lighting the dance floor.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
This invention relates generally to portable floors and more particularly 
to an assembly of a roll-up and portable floor which can be used to 
convert an area into a dancing area. 
Frequently a floor surface is not suitable for the purpose desired. Thus 
for example a floor space may not be suitable for dancing because it is 
carpeted or because it is susceptible to scuffing. Similarly when camping, 
the floor area of a tent which normally would be the bare ground is not 
found desirable. Many other occasions may arise where desired to create a 
new floor surface thus the need arises for portable floors and such floors 
are well known as illustrated in U.S. Pat. No. 3,611,655. 
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
It is an object of the present invention to provide a portable, roll-up 
floor which may, if desired, be assembled in different sizes and may be 
rolled into a compact configuration for storage and transportation. The 
floor is provided with internal lighting for use as a disco dance floor. 
Another object of the present invention is to provide a floor and gas 
generator for simulating the formation of a cloud or the like over the 
dance floor area.

DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS OF THE INVENTION 
The floor construction according to the present invention is similar to the 
floor disclosed in my U.S. Pat. No. 3,611,655. 
FIG. 3 illustrates the manner in which the slats 10 are joined together at 
their longitudinal edges. The slats 10 are essentially rectangular in 
cross-section, each having side walls 13 and 14, top wall 16 and bottom 
wall 17. Side wall 13 has a tongue extension 20 which mates with the 
curvature of side wall 14, which curvature defines a groove 22 along the 
length of the slat. In cross-section, each juncture of the slats thus 
defined resembles a ball and socket joint and in fact, functions in this 
manner. A ball and socket joint is provided between each pair of next 
adjacent slats. 
The ball-and-groove joint allows the slats 10 to be rolled when assembled 
into a portable floor. Moreover, the joint is constructed so that the 
assembly of the slats in a floor is by positioning the ball of a slat over 
the groove of another slat to which it is to be assembled and snapping 
them together. There is no need of sliding the slats longitudinally 
relative to each other, for assembly and disassembly, as in the other 
known joints in assembling the floor. 
The individual slats are made of a suitable plastic such as PVC and are 
made of a suitable color. A flexible fabric sheet may be provided on the 
assembled slats bonded to the lower walls thereof to hold the assembly 
together. This fabric is readily cut with a sharp edge from the underside 
of the slats for separating a given member of slats from a roll, when 
selecting a given width of flooring from a number of assembled slats. The 
fabric in no way impedes rolling up the portable flooring. 
Within the floor slats the tubes 30 designated 1-X as illustrated in FIG. 4 
are provided with internal bulbs 38 as illustrated in FIG. 5. These bulbs 
are grouped to provide for controlling sequencing thereby by a sequencer 
40 as illustrated in FIG. 4. The circuitry, illustrated in FIG. 4, 
provides for the usual 110 volt alternating current to a usable value 
through a transformer 41 which is connected to the sequence control 40 as 
illustrated diagrammatically with line connection 1-N inclusive which are 
connected to the lines H.sub.1 -H inclusive to provide current to the 
grouped light bulbs. The connections are made through a cable 42 disposed 
in a hollow border strip 12. 
Those skilled in the art will recognize that the sequence control can be 
arranged to have chasers 43 in the circuitry so that the lights can be 
arranged to follow an "on" and "off" condition that will result in a 
sequence of "on and off" conditions that will be pleasing to the viewer. 
The floor is likewise provided with an apparatus for simulating the 
formation of a "cloud" over the area of the dance floor. Thus the outer or 
border 12 is hollow and is provided with a manifold 45 with tubes 
connected to a carbon dioxide generator 46. The generator can produce 
carbon dioxide which is released and is introduced into the corresponding 
slats of the dance floor with which the manifold is connected. 
Perforations 50 are provided in some of the slats in communication with 
the manifold 45 to allow the carbon dioxide to escape therethrough the 
simulate the formation of a cloud on the dance floor area. 
Those skilled in the art will understand that the slats can be made of 
different colors and that the slats can define areas which are pervious to 
light and others which are not. The bulbs and slats can be made such that 
desired colors are used to effect different color effects with the lights. 
Moreover, the bulb pattern arrangements can be of different patterns such 
as circular, starpatterns, etc.