Ground cover mats with rectangular ends
AssigneeMaxximat Inc.
InventorRobert FOURNIER
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
Reinforced ground cover mats are used to facilitate the passage of heavy equipment and vehicles on wet or disturbed ground. The ground cover mats are comprised of boards contained within a peripheral metal frame having two substantially parallel opposing end members that are I-beams, the upper and lower horizontal flanges and vertical webs of which define an outer slot into which a reinforcing member is inserted such that the reinforcing member contacts the vertical web and upper and lower horizontal flanges. Flanged caps may be attached to the ends of the reinforcing member to retain a sling looped around the reinforcing member for pulling the mat.
Claims10
A ground cover mat comprising:
- (a) a quadrilateral frame defining a lateral direction and a longitudinal direction, and comprised of:
- (i) two substantially parallel opposing lateral I-beam end members each comprising an I-beam comprising a vertical web and upper and lower horizontal flanges connected to opposite ends of the vertical web, said horizontal flanges forming inner and outer slots;
- and
- (ii) two substantially parallel outside longitudinal members, each having an inner channel;
- (b) two opposing major surfaces formed from a plurality of elongate boards retained within the frame, whereby said boards insert into, and are retained by the inner slots of the end members or the inner channel of the longitudinal members, or both;
- (c) a reinforcing member having a rectangular cross-section, attached at each end of the mat, whereby each reinforcing member directly inserts into, and is retained by the outer slots of a different one of the I-beams, such that the reinforcing member contacts the vertical web and upper and lower horizontal flanges of that I-beam, and wherein the rectangular cross-section is sized to fit fully, in the longitudinal direction, within the outer slot of that I-beam.
A method of forming a ground cover mat comprising the steps of
- (a) forming a quadrilateral frame defining a lateral direction and a longitudinal direction, and comprised of:
- (i) two substantially parallel opposing lateral I-beam end members each comprising an I-beam comprising a vertical web and upper and lower horizontal flanges connected to opposite ends of the vertical web, said horizontal flanges forming inner and outer slots;
- and
- (ii) two substantially parallel outside longitudinal members, each having an inner channel;
- (b) forming two opposing major surfaces from a plurality of elongate boards retained within the frame, whereby said boards insert into, and are retained by the inner slots of the end members or the inner channel of the longitudinal members, or both;
- and
- (c) and reinforcing each end member with a reinforcing member having a rectangular cross-section by inserting and attaching the reinforcing member in the outer slot of one of the I-beams, such that the reinforcing member contacts the vertical web and upper and lower horizontal flanges of that I-beam, and wherein the rectangular cross-section is sized to fit fully, in the longitudinal direction, within the outer slot of that I-beam.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.