A support panel apparatus

Abstract

A support panel apparatus 100 for supporting at least part of a ground engaging member of a construction machine outrigger or scaffolding structure, in which the support panel apparatus 100 comprises:

Description

TECHNOLOGICAL FIELD Examples of the disclosure relate to a support panel apparatus. Some relate to a support panel apparatus for supporting at least part of a ground engaging member of a construction machine outrigger or scaffolding structure. 10 BACKGROUND 15 Structures (e.g., scaffolding) and machinery (e.g., cranes, outriggers) used in construction may apply high loads to surfaces that support them (e.g., the ground). The high loads may damage the ground and cause the structures and machinery to become unstable. To overcome this, plates / pads are often used beneath the structures and machinery to spread the load across the ground. Such plates / pads do not utilise large portions of their structures when supporting a load from the structures and machinery, thereby wasting material. 20 BRIEF SUMMARY According to various, but not necessarily all, examples there is provided a support panel apparatus for supporting a ground engaging member of a crane outrigger, the support panel apparatus comprising: an upper surface configured to support at least 25 part of the ground engaging member, the upper surface comprising a non-slip contact region configured to contact the ground engaging member, the non-slip contact region of the upper surface being provided by an upper layer; an underside surface including first and second feet configured to contact a base surface and convey the load of the ground engaging member to the base surface, wherein the underside surface has a 30 non-contact region that is arranged to be spaced from the base surface when the feet are in contact with the base surface, wherein at least a portion of the non-contact region is located directly below the non-slip contact region, the feet being provided by an underside layer; and a support structure sandwiched between the upper surface and the underside surface, the support structure being provided by a structural support layer, and wherein: i) at least one of the first and second feet is integrally formed with the support structure, and / or ii) at least one of the first and second feet is attached to 5 an underside surface of the structural support layer. The surface area of the underside of the feet may be greater than the surface area of the non-contact region. The surface area of the underside of each of the feet may be greater than the surface area of the non-contact region. 10 The underside of each of the feet may comprise a non-slip contact region. The support panel apparatus may comprise a length, a width and a depth, the upper surface and the underside surface being separated by the depth. LO 15 CM The non-contact region may extend across the entire width of the support panel h- apparatus. h- The non-contact region may extend across between 5% to 10% of the length of the 20 support panel apparatus. The non-contact region may extend across between 6% to 8% of the length of the support panel apparatus. The non-slip contact region may comprise a coefficient of friction of greater than 0.5. The non-slip contact region may comprise a coefficient of friction of greater than 0.7. 25 The non-slip contact region may comprise a coefficient of friction of greater than 0.9. At least part of the non-slip contact region of the upper surface may be located substantially at the centre of the width and the length of the upper surface. 30 The area of the non-slip contact region of the upper surface may be greater than the area of the non-contact region on the underside surface. The feet may be substantially planar in shape. At least one of the first and second feet may be integrally formed with the support structure. At least one of the first and second feet may be attached to an underside surface of the structural support layer. 5 The support structure may comprise a plurality of chambers. The support structure may comprise a plurality of discrete chambers. The support structure may comprise a plurality of discrete chambers that are arranged in an array. Each of the chambers may extend substantially across the length of the support structure. 10 The structural support layer may be substantially panel shaped and formed from at least one metal. At least part of the periphery of the support structure layer may be tapered. 15 One or more of the upper layer and the underside layer may be formed from a non-slip material. The non-slip material may be rubber and / or silicon. According to various, but not necessarily all, examples there is provided a system 20 comprising the support panel apparatus according to any of the preceding paragraphs, and two or more structural supports configured to provide the base surface. While the above examples of the disclosure and optional features are described separately, it is to be understood that their provision in all possible combinations and 25 permutations is contained within the disclosure. It is to be understood that various examples of the disclosure can comprise any or all of the features described in respect of other examples of the disclosure, and vice versa. Also, it is to be appreciated that any one or more or all of the features, in any combination, may be implemented by / comprised in / performable by an apparatus, a method, and / or computer program 30 instructions as desired, and as appropriate. BRIEF DESCRIPTION Some examples will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings in which: FIG. 1A shows a side view of an example support panel apparatus; FIG. 1B shows a top view of the example support panel apparatus; FIG. 10 shows an underside view of the example support panel apparatus; FIG. 1D shows a cross-sectional end view of the example support panel apparatus; FIG. 2 shows an end view of an example support panel apparatus; FIG. 3 shows a side view of an example support panel apparatus; FIG. 4 shows a side view of an example support panel apparatus; and FIG. 5 shows a side view of an example support panel apparatus and support structures. 10 CXI 15 20 25 The figures are not necessarily to scale. Certain features and views of the figures can be shown schematically or exaggerated in scale in the interest of clarity and conciseness. For example, the dimensions of some elements in the figures can be exaggerated relative to other elements to aid explication. Similar reference numerals are used in the figures to designate similar features. For clarity, all reference numerals are not necessarily displayed in all figures. DETAILED DESCRIPTION A support panel apparatus may be used to support a load from a ground engaging member (e.g., of an outrigger, scaffolding structure, etc.) and convey the load to a base surface (e.g., the ground, other support structure, etc.). For example, a ground engaging member may be considered to be a foot of an outrigger (e.g., the part of an outrigger that is typically intended to directly contact the surface supporting the weight of the outrigger). FIG. 1A shows a side view of an example support panel apparatus 100 for supporting at least part of a ground engaging member 10. FIG. 1B shows a top view (A-A as shown in FIG. 1A), FIG. 1C shows an underside view (B-B as shown in FIG. 1A), FIG. 30 1D shows a cross-sectional end view (D-D as shown in FIG. 1A) of the example support panel apparatus 100. FIG. 1A shows a ground engaging member 10. The ground engaging member 10 may be part of (i.e., the foot of) a construction machine outrigger (e.g., an outrigger for a crane, truck, forklift, tail lift, etc.) or part of a scaffolding structure (e.g., a foot of a scaffolding structure). A load 12 (e.g., from the weight of at least part of the construction machine or scaffolding structure) may be conveyed from the ground engaging member 10 to the support panel apparatus 100 (e.g., when the ground engaging member 10 is 5 being supported by the support panel apparatus 10). As shown best in FIG. 1A and 1B, the support panel apparatus 100 comprises an upper surface 110 that is configured to support at least part of the ground engaging member 10. The upper surface 110 comprises a non-slip contact region 112 that is configured 10 to contact the ground engaging member 10 (e.g., such that the ground engaging member does not slip when in contact with the non-slip contact region 112). As shown in FIG. 1A, the support panel apparatus 100 may comprise an upper layer 102, a structural support layer 104 and an underside layer 106. 15 The upper layer 102 has an upper surface which may comprise at least part of the upper surface 110 of the support panel apparatus 100. As shown in FIG. 1A, the upper surface 110 of the support panel apparatus 100 is partly provided by the upper surface of the non-slip contact region 112 and partly provided by an upper surface of the 20 structural support layer 104. The non-slip contact region 112 may comprise a coefficient of friction of greater than 0.5. The non-slip contact region 112 may comprise a coefficient of friction of greater than 0.7. The non-slip contact region 112 may comprise a coefficient of friction of 25 greater than 0.9. The non-slip contact region 112 may comprise a coefficient of friction of greater than 0.95. The non-slip contact region 112 may comprise a pad. The pad may be formed at least in part of rubber or silicon. The pad may be separable from the upper surface of the 30 structural support layer 104. The pad may be attached to (e.g., adhered to) the upper surface of the structural support layer 104. The non-slip contact region 112 may be integrally formed with the upper surface of the structural support layer 104. In some other examples, the non-slip contact region 112 may comprise non-slip paint. 5 The support panel apparatus 100 comprises a length, a width and a depth. The upper surface 110 and an underside surface 120 of the support panel apparatus 100 are separated by the depth. The upper surface 110 and / or underside surface 120 may be substantially rectangular in shape. As shown in FIG. 1B, the upper surface 110 may be defined by the length (e.g., the length being the longer edge of the upper surface) 10 and the width (e.g., the width being the shorter edge of the upper surface). The support panel apparatus 100 may be substantially panel-shaped, as shown in FIGs 1A-1D, such that the length and width of the support panel apparatus 100 are substantially greater than the depth. LO CXI 15 The length of the support panel apparatus 100 may range from 500mm to 2500mm. The length of the support panel apparatus 100 may be around 1100mm, 1300mm, 1700mm or 2200mm. The width of the support panel apparatus may range from 100mm to 900mm. The 20 width of the support panel apparatus 100 may be around 500mm. The depth of the support panel apparatus 100 may range from 20mm to 120mm. The depth of the support panel apparatus 100 may range from 30mm to 120mm. The depth of the support panel apparatus 100 may be 70mm. The depth of the support panel apparatus may be 60mm. 25 In an example, the support panel apparatus 100 may have length of around 1300mm, a width of around 500mm and a depth of around 60mm. FIG. 1B shows that at least part of the non-slip contact region 112 is located 30 substantially at the centre of the width and the length of the upper surface 110. It should be understood that the non-slip contact region 112 may be located at any location of the upper surface 110. The upper surface 110 may comprise a plurality of non-slip contact regions 112. The plurality of non-slip contact regions 112 may be arranged in an array on the upper surface of the upper layer 104. 5 FIG. 1B shows that the non-slip contact region 112 may be substantially square in shape. The non-slip contact region 112 may extend across the entire width of the upper surface 110 (as shown in FIG. 1B). The non-slip contact region 112 may extend across around half of the length of the upper surface 110. 10 As best shown in FIGs 1A and 1D, the support panel apparatus 100 may comprise a structural support layer 104. The structural support layer 104 may comprise a support structure 130. The support structure 130 may be sandwiched between the upper surface 110 and the underside surface 120. 15 The structural support layer 104 may be substantially panel-shaped, such that its length and width are substantially greater than the depth. The structural support layer 104 may be formed from at least one metal (e.g., aluminium, an aluminium alloy, steel, etc.). The structural support layer 104 may be formed by extrusion. 20 The support structure 130 may be solid (i.e., in that it does not comprise one or more chambers). Alternatively, the support structure 130 may comprise a plurality of chambers 132, 134. The plurality of chambers 132, 134 may be filled with one or more materials that are less dense than the material that the support structure 130 is formed from. For example, one or more of the chambers 132, 134 may be gas-filled (e.g., filled 25 with air). One or more of the chambers 132,134 may be filled with foam. The presence of a plurality of chambers 132, 134 reduces the weight of the support panel apparatus 100. The support structure 130 may be configured such that the support panel apparatus 30 100 can support the load from the ground engaging member 10. As shown in FIG 1D, the chambers 132, 134 of the support structure 130 may be discrete chambers 132, 134 (i.e., chambers that are separated from one another by internal walls). It should be understood that not all of the chambers have been indicated with reference numerals for clarity. The discrete chambers 132, 134 may be arranged in an array (e.g., in columns and rows). The chambers 132, 134 being arranged in an array improves the distribution of the load from the ground engaging member 10 throughout the support panel apparatus 100. 5 Each of the chambers 132, 134 may extend across the length of the support structure 130 (e.g., substantially from one end of the support panel apparatus 100 to the other end along its length). As shown best in FIG. 1D, at least part of the periphery of the support structure 130 10 may be tapered. FIG. 1D shows that the support structure 130 is tapered along the width. FIG. 1D shows that the cross-sectional shape of the support structure 130 (e.g., along its width) is substantially trapezoidal in shape. The inventor has found that tapering the edges of the support structure 130 improves the load distribution of the support panel apparatus 100 by reducing potential failure points at the edges of the CM 15 support structure 130. h- As shown in FIG. 1D, the chambers 132, 134 may have different cross-sectional shapes. For example, the chambers 134 located towards the tapered portions of the h- support structure 130 may be substantially triangular prism shaped. The chambers 20 located away from the tapered portions of the support structure 130 may be substantially cuboidal in shape. The underside layer 106 may comprise at least part of the underside surface 120 of the support panel apparatus 100. In the example illustrated in FIG. 1A and 1C, the 25 underside surface of the support panel apparatus 100 is partly provided by the underside layer 106 and partly provided by the structural support layer 104. As best shown in FIGs 1A and 1C, the underside surface 120 comprises first and second portions 122, 124. The first and second portions 122, 124 may be first and 30 second feet 122, 124. Each of the first and second feet 122, 124 are configured to contact a base surface and to convey the load of the ground engaging member 10 to the base surface. It should be understood that whilst the examples shown in the FIGs comprise two feet 122, 124, the support panel apparatus 100 may comprise any suitable number of feet 122, 124. For example, the underside surface 120 may 10 CXI 15 20 25 30 comprise two or more feet 122, 124. The underside surface 120 may comprise four, six, eight or ten feet 122, 124. The two or more feet 122, 124 may be arranged in a regular array (i.e., in rows and columns) on the underside surface 120. FIGs 1A and 10 also show that the underside surface 120 has a non-contact region 126 that is arranged to be spaced from the base surface when the feet 122, 124 are in contact with the base surface. The non-contact region 126 is the part of the underside surface 120 of the support panel apparatus 100 that is provided by the underside of the structural support layer 104. As shown in FIG. 1A, at least a portion of the noncontact region 126 is located directly below the non-slip contact region 112 (e.g., at least part of the non-contact region 126 is underneath the non-slip contact region 112 when the feet 122, 124 are in contact with the base surface). The inventor has found during testing that when using a support panel apparatus 100 without feet, the load from the ground engaging member 10 is not distributed to the extremities of the support panel apparatus 100 but rather is concentrated towards portions of the support panel apparatus 100 that are located towards the centre of the length and width of the support panel apparatus 100. During testing the inventor has found that the non-contact region 126 being arranged to be spaced from the base surface when the feet 122, 124 are in contact with the base surface causes the load from the ground engaging member 10 to be more evenly distributed throughout the support panel apparatus 100 than a support panel apparatus 100 without the non-contact region 126. The even distribution of load means that the support panel apparatus 100 can be smaller while supporting the same load thereby saving material and reducing the weight of the support panel apparatus 100. Additionally and alternatively, a support panel apparatus 100 of a similar size can support a greater load than a support panel apparatus 100 without the non-contact region 126. FIG. 1C shows the underside of the feet 122, 124 and the non-contact region 126 of the underside surface 120. The surface area of the underside of the feet 122, 124 (i.e., the combined surface area of the first and second feet 122, 124) is greater than the surface area of the non-contact region 126. The surface area of the underside of each of the feet 122, 124 may greater than the surface area of the non-contact region 126. As shown in FIG. 1C, the non-contact region 126 may extend across the entire width 5 of the support panel apparatus 100. The non-contact region 126 may extend across between 5% to 10% of the length of the support panel apparatus 100. The non-contact region 126 may extend across between 6% to 8% of the length of the support panel apparatus 100. The non-contact region 126 may extend across 50mm to 150 mm of the length of the support panel apparatus 100. The non-contact region 126 may extend 10 across 80mm to 100mm of the length of the support panel apparatus 100. The surface area of the non-slip contact region 112 of the upper surface 110 may be greater than the surface area of the non-contact region 126 on the underside surface 120. CXI 15 20 As shown in FIGs 1A and 1C, the feet 122, 124 may be substantially planar in shape (i.e., the feet 122, 124 have a much greater extent along the length and width of the support panel apparatus 100 than along the depth of the support panel apparatus 100). At least one of the feet 122, 124 may be integrally formed with the support panel apparatus 100 (e.g., with the support structure 130). Additionally and alternatively, at least one of the feet 122, 124 may be attached to (e.g., adhered to) the underside surface of the structural support layer 104. The underside of each of the feet 122, 124 may comprise a non-slip contact region. The feet 122, 124 may be formed at least in part from a non-slip material (e.g., rubber 25 or silicon). At least one of the feet 122,124 and the support structure 130 may be integrally formed via at least one of extrusion or die casting. For example, at least one of the feet 122, 124 and the support structure 130 may be integrally formed by casting a material (e.g., 30 metal) into a die. The feet 122, 124 and the support structure 130 being formed in this manner provides the benefit that the resultant support panel apparatus 100 is ready to use by an end user more quickly than if the feet 122, 124 were not formed in this manner. FIG. 2 shows an end view of an example support panel apparatus 100. The example support panel apparatus 100 shown in FIG. 2 may comprise any of the features included in the support panel apparatus 100 shown in FIGs 1A-1D. In addition to those features, the support panel apparatus 100 shown in FIG. 2 comprises one or more 5 handles 140 configured to enable a user to easily move the support panel apparatus 100. 10 CXI 15 20 25 30 FIG. 2 shows an example of the support panel apparatus 100 which has a plurality of handles 140. Each handle 140 comprises a strap connected at each end to an end of the support panel apparatus 100. Each handle 140 may be connected to the structural support layer 104 of the support panel apparatus 100. The support panel apparatus 100 may be formed at least in part from a lightweight material with high strength properties. For example, the support panel apparatus 100 may be formed at least in part from a metal material such as aluminium. The support panel apparatus 100 being formed from a lightweight material enables a user to easily carry the support panel apparatus 100. FIGs. 3 and 4 each show a side view of example support panel apparatuses 100. The example support panel apparatuses 100 shown in FIGs 3 and 4 may comprise any of the features included in the support panel apparatuses 100 shown in FIGs 1A-1D and FIG 2. The support panel apparatus 100 shown in FIG. 3 differs from the other support panel apparatuses 100 in that the feet / portions 122, 124 of the support panel apparatus 100 are sloped. FIG. 3 shows that each ofthe feet 122,124 are sloped from the non-contact region 126 to the periphery ofthe support panel apparatus 100 (i.e., the feet 122, 124 are sloped along the length ofthe support panel apparatus 100). The support panel apparatus 100 shown in FIG. 4 differs from the other support panel apparatuses 100 in that the feet / portions 122, 124 ofthe support panel apparatus 100 are stepped. FIG. 4 shows that each ofthe feet 122, 124 are stepped from the noncontact region 126 to the periphery of the support panel apparatus 100 (i.e., the feet 122, 124 are stepped along the length ofthe support panel apparatus 100). During testing, the inventor has found that having sloped feet 122, 124 and / or stepped feet 122, 124 rather than planar (i.e., substantially flat) feet 122, 124 as described above improves the distribution of the load from the ground engaging member 10 throughout the support panel apparatus 100. 10 FIG. 5 shows a side view of an example system that comprises a support panel apparatus 100 as described above and support structures 200, 300. The support structures 200, 300 may be configured to provide the base surface (e.g., instead of the ground). The support structures 200, 300 may comprise any suitable structure for distributing the load from the ground engaging member 10. Each of the support structures 200, 300 may comprise any of the features of the structural support layer 104 as described above. CXI 15 20 It should be understood that any number of support structures 200, 300 may be used in combination with the support panel apparatus 100. For example, the system may comprise additional support structures 200, 300 beneath the illustrated support structures 200, 300 (e.g., in a pyramid shape). If the load 12 required to be supported from the ground engaging member 10 is greater, the more support structures 200, 300 are likely to be required in order to sufficiently distribute the load so that the ground is not damaged and / or that the structure applying the load is stable. 25 The term ‘comprise’ is used in this document with an inclusive not an exclusive meaning. That is any reference to X comprising Y indicates that X may comprise only one Y or may comprise more than one Y. If it is intended to use ‘comprise’ with an exclusive meaning then it will be made clear in the context by referring to “comprising only one...” or by using “consisting”. 30 In this description, the wording ‘connect’, ‘couple’ and ‘communication’ and their derivatives mean operationally connected / coupled / in communication. It should be appreciated that any number or combination of intervening components can exist (including no intervening components), i.e., so as to provide direct or indirect connection / coupling / communication. Any such intervening components can include hardware and / or software components. 10 CXI 15 20 25 30 As used herein, the term "determine / determining" (and grammatical variants thereof) can include, not least: calculating, computing, processing, deriving, measuring, investigating, identifying, looking up (for example, looking up in a table, a database or another data structure), ascertaining and the like. Also, "determining" can include receiving (for example, receiving information), accessing (for example, accessing data in a memory), obtaining and the like. Also, "determine / determining" can include resolving, selecting, choosing, establishing, and the like. In this description, reference has been made to various examples. The description of features or functions in relation to an example indicates that those features or functions are present in that example. The use of the term ‘example’ or ‘for example’ or ‘can’ or ‘may’ in the text denotes, whether explicitly stated or not, that such features or functions are present in at least the described example, whether described as an example or not, and that they can be, but are not necessarily, present in some of or all other examples. Thus ‘example’, ‘for example’, ‘can’ or ‘may’ refers to a particular instance in a class of examples. A property of the instance can be a property of only that instance or a property of the class or a property of a sub-class of the class that includes some but not all of the instances in the class. It is therefore implicitly disclosed that a feature described with reference to one example but not with reference to another example, can where possible be used in that other example as part of a working combination but does not necessarily have to be used in that other example. Although examples have been described in the preceding paragraphs with reference to various examples, it should be appreciated that modifications to the examples given can be made without departing from the scope of the claims. Features described in the preceding description may be used in combinations other than the combinations explicitly described above. Although functions have been described with reference to certain features, those functions may be performable by other features whether described or not. Although features have been described with reference to certain examples, those features may also be present in other examples whether described or not. The term ‘a’, ‘an’ or ‘the’ is used in this document with an inclusive not an exclusive 5 meaning. That is any reference to X comprising a / an / the Y indicates that X may comprise only one Y or may comprise more than one Y unless the context clearly indicates the contrary. If it is intended to use ‘a’, ‘an’ or ‘the’ with an exclusive meaning then it will be made clear in the context. In some circumstances the use of ‘at least one’ or ‘one or more’ may be used to emphasis an inclusive meaning but the absence 10 of these terms should not be taken to infer any exclusive meaning. CXI 15 20 The presence of a feature (or combination of features) in a claim is a reference to that feature or (combination of features) itself and also to features that achieve substantially the same technical effect (equivalent features). The equivalent features include, for example, features that are variants and achieve substantially the same result in substantially the same way. The equivalent features include, for example, features that perform substantially the same function, in substantially the same way to achieve substantially the same result. In this description, reference has been made to various examples using adjectives or adjectival phrases to describe characteristics of the examples. Such a description of a characteristic in relation to an example indicates that the characteristic is present in some examples exactly as described and is present in other examples substantially as described. 25 The above description describes some examples of the present disclosure however those of ordinary skill in the art will be aware of possible alternative structures and method features which offer equivalent functionality to the specific examples of such structures and features described herein above and which for the sake of brevity and 30 clarity have been omitted from the above description. Nonetheless, the above description should be read as implicitly including reference to such alternative structures and method features which provide equivalent functionality unless such alternative structures or method features are explicitly excluded in the above description of the examples of the present disclosure. LO CXI Whilst endeavouring in the foregoing specification to draw attention to those features believed to be of importance it should be understood that the Applicant may seek protection via the claims in respect of any patentable feature or combination of features 5 hereinbefore referred to and / or shown in the drawings whether or not emphasis has been placed thereon. l / we claim: 10

Claims

1. A support panel apparatus for supporting a ground engaging member of acrane outrigger, the support panel apparatus comprising:5 an upper surface configured to support at least part of the ground engaging member, the upper surface comprising a non-slip contact region configured to contact the ground engaging member, the non-slip contact region of the upper surface being provided by an upper layer;an underside surface including first and second feet configured to contact a 10 base surface and convey the load of the ground engaging member to the base surface, wherein the underside surface has a non-contact region that is arranged to be spaced from the base surface when the feet are in contact with the base surface, wherein atleast a portion of the non-contact region is located directly below the non-slip contact region, the feet being provided by an underside layer; and15 a support structure sandwiched between the upper surface and the undersidesurface, the support structure being provided by a structural support layer, and wherein:i) at least one of the first and second feet is integrally formed with the support structure, and / or20 ii) at least one of the first and second feet is attached to an undersidesurface of the structural support layer.

2. The support panel apparatus of claim 1, wherein the surface area of the underside of the feet is greater than the surface area of the non-contact region.

253. The support panel apparatus of claim 2, wherein the surface area of the underside of each of the feet is greater than the surface area of the non-contact region.

4. The support panel apparatus of claim 2 or 3, wherein the underside of each of the feet comprises a non-slip contact region.

305. The support panel apparatus of any of the preceding claims, wherein the support panel apparatus comprises a length, a width and a depth, the upper surface and the underside surface being separated by the depth.5 6. The support panel apparatus of any of claim 5, wherein the non-contact regionextends across the entire width of the support panel apparatus.

7. The support panel apparatus of any of claim 5 or 6, wherein the non-contact region extends across between 5% to 10% of the length of the support panel10 apparatus.

8. The support panel apparatus of claim 7, wherein the non-contact region extends across between 6% to 8% of the length of the support panel apparatus.15209. The support panel apparatus of any of the preceding claims, wherein the nonslip contact region comprises a coefficient of friction of greater than 0.5.

10. The support panel apparatus of any of the preceding claims, wherein the nonslip contact region comprises a coefficient of friction of greater than 0.7.

11. The support panel apparatus of any of the preceding claims, wherein the nonslip contact region comprises a coefficient of friction of greater than 0.9.

12. The support panel apparatus of claim 4, wherein at least part of the non-slip 25 contact region of the upper surface is located substantially at the centre of thewidth and the length of the upper surface.

13. The support panel apparatus of any of the preceding claims, wherein the area of the non-slip contact region of the upper surface is greater than the area of 30 the non-contact region on the underside surface.

14. The support panel apparatus of any of the preceding claims, wherein the feet are substantially planar in shape.

15. The support panel apparatus of any of the preceding claims, wherein at least one of the first and second feet is integrally formed with the support structure.

16. The support panel apparatus of any of the preceding claims, wherein at least5 one of the first and second feet is attached to an underside surface of thestructural support layer.

17. The support panel apparatus of any of the preceding claims, wherein the support structure comprises a plurality of chambers.

018. The support panel apparatus of any of the preceding claims, wherein the support structure comprises a plurality of discrete chambers.

19. The support panel apparatus of claim 18, wherein the support structure 15 comprises a plurality of discrete chambers that are arranged in an array.

20. The support panel apparatus of any of the preceding claims, wherein each of the chambers extends substantially across the length of the support structure.20 21. The support panel apparatus of any of the preceding claims, wherein thestructural support layer is substantially panel shaped and formed from at least one metal.

22. The support panel apparatus of any of the preceding claims, wherein at least 25 part of the periphery of the support structure layer is tapered.

23. The support panel apparatus of claim any of the preceding claims, wherein one or more of the upper layer and the underside layer are formed from a non-slip material.3024. The support panel apparatus of claim 23, wherein the non-slip material is rubber and / or silicon.

25. A system comprising the support panel apparatus according to any of the35 preceding claims, and two or more structural supports configured to provide thebase surface.

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