Interlocking of mats having staggered elongated components

Abstract

An interlockable industrial mat having a plurality of elongated members some of which are arranged in staggered orientation to form protrusions and corresponding recesses on opposite ends of the mat. The elongated members are held together by a plurality of joining; members. To facilitate interlocking of one mat with another similarly configured mat, each protrusion includes a first hole that is in alignment with a first bore for receiving a connecting rod, and each end of the non-staggered members is provided with a second hole that is in alignment with a second bore for receiving another same size rod. The first and second bores are in alignment such that when the protrusions of one mat are received in the recesses of another mat, a connecting rod can be passed through each bore to interlock the mats together. Multiple mats can be interlocked that way to form temporary support structures.

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION[0001]This application claims the benefit of U.S. Application 62 / 770,255, filed Nov. 21, 2018, the entirety of which is herein incorporated by reference.BACKGROUND[0002]The present invention relates to industrial mats that include a plurality of elongated members fastened together in a staggered configuration that allows the end of one mat to be interlocked with the opposite end of a similarly configured mat. The interlocking of the mats is attained through the use of a connector rod that passes through holes or apertures in protruding portions of the elongated members.[0003]One form of an industrial mat that utilizes a joined plurality of elongated members is known in the art as crane mats. These typically consist of a plurality of parallel, wooden timbers which have been secured together to form a rectangular mat. Such mats have been used to build runways or roads upon which a heavy piece of equipment such as a lifting crane or tractor may be ...

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

The patent provides a feature of a metal cap that is designed to protect the protrusions and second ends of elongated members in a mat. These metal caps can be used to interlock multiple mats together or while transporting, installing, or retrieving them. The metal cap has holes that match the holes in the elongated members. Overall, this feature improves the durability and lifespan of the mats.

Problems solved by technology

These mats, however, have not included any means to interconnect or lock the mats to one another.

These are sometimes deficient because the connections are not held together and separation is possible.

There are additional industrial mats that are joined together using nails, pins or complicated connectors which take time and effort resulting in much higher labor costs to join or connect the mats and thereafter to disconnect the interconnected mats.

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