Interlocking Device for Ground Cover Mats with Rotational Clamping Arms
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing interlocking systems for ground cover mats in the oil and gas industry face challenges such as insufficient strength to support heavy equipment, vulnerability to dirt clogging and deformation, precise alignment requirements, and inability to accommodate relative rotation on soft surfaces.
Innovation Solution
An interlocking device comprising clamping arms with curved collar members and plates that move between open and closed positions to restrain tubular members of ground cover mats, using a hinge pin or sliding mechanism for secure engagement, allowing for relative rotation and easy disassembly.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If intricately shaped connectors are used for interlocking ground cover mats, then the mats can be connected together, but the connectors become inoperable if clogged with dirt or deformed under loading
Solution Approach 1:
The interlocking system is divided into separate functional components: collar members that receive tubular members and clamping arms that apply restraining forces. This segmentation allows each component to be optimized independently, with collar members designed to resist dirt clogging and clamping arms designed to prevent deformation under loading.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention extracts the interlocking function from intricately shaped connectors and redistributes it across multiple simpler components. The collar members provide the receiving structure while clamping arms provide the restraining force, eliminating the complexity that made connectors vulnerable to dirt clogging and deformation.
2Strength
If connectors are designed to support heavy equipment, then the interlocking strength is sufficient, but the abutting edges of the mats must be precisely aligned to mate the connectors
Solution Approach 1:
The clamping arms are designed to be movable rather than fixed, allowing them to adapt to variations in tubular member positioning. The arms can pivot and adjust their position to accommodate misalignment while still applying sufficient clamping force to maintain strong interlocking connections between mats.
Solution Approach 2:
The system changes the parameter of connection rigidity by using movable clamping arms that can adjust their position. This allows the connection to tolerate alignment variations while maintaining the necessary clamping force for heavy equipment support, effectively decoupling strength requirements from alignment precision requirements.
3Stability of the object's composition
If connectors are used to rigidly connect mats, then the interlocking is secure, but the connectors do not readily accommodate relative rotation of the mats on soft ground surfaces
Solution Approach 1:
The clamping arms are designed with rotational freedom, allowing them to pivot and accommodate relative rotation between adjacent mats. This dynamic capability enables the interlocking system to maintain stable connections while adapting to ground surface variations that cause mat rotation, preventing connector failure.
Solution Approach 2:
The connection system is segmented into collar members that provide stable positioning and clamping arms that provide flexible rotation accommodation. This segmentation allows each component to specialize: collar members maintain interlocking stability while clamping arms enable rotation adaptability.
4Reliability
If intricate connectors are designed for ground cover mats, then the mats can be interlocked, but the device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The interlocking device is segmented into standardizable components: collar members with standardized tubular member reception and clamping arms with standardized restraining mechanisms. This segmentation reduces overall device complexity by allowing each component to be designed and manufactured independently using standard processes.
Solution Approach 2:
Instead of designing complex connectors and then trying to simplify them, the invention inverts the approach by starting with simple, standardized components (collar members and clamping arms) and combining them to achieve the required interlocking reliability. This bottom-up approach naturally results in lower complexity while maintaining reliability.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The device provides reliable and durable interlocking of ground cover mats, ensuring stability under heavy loads, resisting dirt and deformation, and accommodating movement on uneven terrain while minimizing tripping hazards and operational complexity.
Implementation Method 1
the first and second curved collar members are opposed to each other to restrain the tubular members of the abutting mats
Data Source
AI summary
The invention is directed to an interlocking device for releasably connecting ground a first and a second ground cover mats each having tubular members. The device includes two clamping arms and a securing means. The clamping arms each have a collar member to engage one of the tubular members. The collar members are adjustably connected to each other to move the device from an open installation position into a closed restraining position in which the concave surfaces restrain the tubular members and are opposed to each other. The securing means releasably locks the clamping arms in the closed restraining position.