Lightweight support mat for equipment and vehicles

Abstract

A lightweight rig mat comprises a cellular soil stabilization material, with a plastic foam injected into the cells of the cellular material to provide required load-carrying capacity. The cellular material is preferably treated with a bonding agent to promote a structural bond between the plastic foam and the cellular material, thereby enhancing the overall shear strength, structural integrity, and flexural rigidity of the mat. The cell walls may also have textured surfaces to enhance the bond with the foam. The walls between the cells in the cellular material may have perforations to permit foam to flow between cells during the foam-injection process. The mat may be formed with connector pockets to facilitate interconnection of adjacent mats using suitable connection means, so as to prevent lateral separation between mats while allowing articulation between adjacent mats to accommodate irregular ground surfaces.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.