U.S. patent application number 12/707518 was filed with the patent office on 2010-08-19 for interlocking rig mat.
Invention is credited to Peter Relland, Shawn David Relland.
Application Number | 20100209187 12/707518 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 42560043 |
Filed Date | 2010-08-19 |
United States Patent
Application |
20100209187 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Relland; Peter ; et
al. |
August 19, 2010 |
INTERLOCKING RIG MAT
Abstract
A pair of disengageably interlocking rig mats are provided. The
rig mats are engaged to prevent longitudinal separation. An
interlocking mechanism of key and receiver is provided. The key is
lockably, slidably engaged with the receiver by lateral movement of
one mat relative to the other. The mats are configured such that
the interlocking mechanism is protected from dirt and debris.
Inventors: |
Relland; Peter; (New
Sarepta, CA) ; Relland; Shawn David; (New Serepta,
CA) |
Correspondence
Address: |
MARSH, FISCHMANN & BREYFOGLE LLP
8055 East Tufts Avenue, Suite 450
Denver
CO
80237
US
|
Family ID: |
42560043 |
Appl. No.: |
12/707518 |
Filed: |
February 17, 2010 |
Related U.S. Patent Documents
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Application
Number |
Filing Date |
Patent Number |
|
|
12609859 |
Oct 30, 2009 |
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12707518 |
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Current U.S.
Class: |
404/35 |
Current CPC
Class: |
E01C 9/08 20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
404/35 |
International
Class: |
E01C 5/16 20060101
E01C005/16; E01C 5/00 20060101 E01C005/00; E01C 9/08 20060101
E01C009/08 |
Foreign Application Data
Date |
Code |
Application Number |
Oct 30, 2008 |
CA |
2642380 |
Claims
1. A pair of rig mats capable of being disengagably interlocked in
longitudinal alignment, each rig mat comprising: a rectangular
frame having first and second ends, at least one key element
mounted to the first end and at least one receiver element mounted
to the second end; the key element(s) of one frame being formed so
as to interlock with the receiver element(s) of the other frame
when they are laterally and slidably engaged; the key element(s) of
said one frame and the receiver element(s) of said other frame
being positioned so that they can laterally and slidably engage,
when the first end of the one frame abuts the second end of the
other frame and the key element(s) are adjacent to and aligned with
the receiver elements, in response to lateral displacement of the
one frame to bring the two frames into longitudinal alignment.
2. The rig mats as set forth in claim 1 wherein: each frame is
formed by longitudinally and laterally extending steel I-beams;
each receiver element is tubular, has a bore and is welded in
position between the flanges of a laterally extending I-beam, said
receiver element having a side wall portion forming a slot
extending part way along the length of the receiver element from
one end thereof, whereby a stop is provided at the other end of the
slot; and each key element comprises a key web welded in position
to a laterally extending I-beam web so as to project horizontally
therefrom, said key web being dimensioned so as to be received by
the slot, said head being dimensioned so as to be received in the
bore of the receiver element but being too large to pass through
the slot; the stop being located so as to engage the key web of a
key element when the one frame has been laterally displaced to
bring the two frames into longitudinal alignment.
Description
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
[0001] This application is a continuation-in-part application of
U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/609,859 filed Oct. 30, 2009,
which claims priority from Canadian Patent Application No.
2,642,380 filed Oct. 30, 2008. Each of these applications is hereby
incorporated by reference in its entirety as if set forth herein in
full.
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
[0002] The present invention relates to a rig mat having
disengagable means for locking to another rig mat.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0003] "Rig mats" are very rugged, load-bearing mats used, for
example, to support the base of a drilling rig in the oil and gas
industry or to form a roadway over which heavy, loaded trucks may
pass, where the terrain is unstable or environmentally
sensitive.
[0004] A typical conventional rig mat may comprise: [0005] a
rectangular peripheral frame formed by wide flanged, steel I-beams
that are welded together at each end to form the four corners of
the rectangular frame; [0006] one or more longitudinal and/or
transversely extending I-beams inserted to reinforce the
rectangular frame; and [0007] a plurality of removable thick wooden
logs of square cross-section that fill the openings defined by the
I-beams, whereby the logs are bracketed at their ends by the I-beam
flanges, and whereby the logs and I-beams combine to form a
horizontal load-bearing wall.
[0008] Often, these individual mats must be aligned longitudinally
and/or adjacent to one another to form a larger assembly.
Accordingly, it is important to ensure that the mats do not shift,
or move away from each other, after installation. In order to
reduce movement, individual mats are commonly manufactured with
interlocking elements along each end or along the sides of the
mats. These elements can be disengagably interlocked to fasten mats
together, thereby forming a cohesive assembly. Typically, the
interlocking elements are engaged or disengaged by manipulating one
of the mats, such as by raising, dropping or tilting the mat
relative to another mat that remains flat on the ground.
[0009] Canadian Patents Nos. 2,348,328 and 2,364,968, issued to
David and James Stasiewich, on Oct. 22, 2002 and Jun. 22, 2004,
respectively, each disclose a mat-type apparatus, which are
examples of the foregoing. FIGS. 1 and 2 herein also depict side
sectional views of two prior art locking element assemblies that
are presently in commercial use.
[0010] One problem, however, that characterizes prior art rig mats
having disengagable interlocking element assemblies is that mud,
dirt and/or ice can accumulate and block in between the locking
elements, thereby making the engagement and disengagement of two
adjoining mats difficult. There is a need, therefore, for a rig mat
having interlocking elements that better resist blockage with mud,
ice and the like and which can be engaged or disengaged in a simple
fashion.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0011] In accordance with the invention, rig mats are provided
having end locking elements that may be slidably engaged or
disengaged by lateral or sideways movement of one mat relative to
the other.
[0012] In one embodiment a pair of rig mats, capable of being
disengagably interlocked in longitudinal alignment are provided,
each rig mat comprising: a rectangular frame having first and
second ends, at least one key element mounted to the first end and
at least one receiver element mounted to the second end; the key
element(s) of one frame being formed so as to disengagably
interlock with the receiver element(s) of the other frame when they
are laterally and slidably engaged; the key element(s) of said one
frame and the receiver element(s) of said other frame being
positioned so that they can laterally and slidably engage, when the
first end of the one frame abuts and is offset relative to the
second end of the other frame and the key element(s) are adjacent
to and aligned with the receiver elements, in response to lateral
displacement of the one frame, to bring the two frames into
longitudinal alignment.
[0013] According to an optional feature, each frame is further
equipped along one side with at least one downwardly opening
bracket and along its other side with at least one upwardly opening
bracket so that the frames may be interlocked to prevent lateral
separation by lowering one frame relative to the other so that the
downwardly opening bracket(s) engage the upwardly opening
bracket(s).
[0014] In the case where the frames are equipped with both end and
side brackets and the frames are aligned longitudinally so that the
key elements of one mat are in position to slide laterally into the
receiving elements of the other mat, the locking brackets may be
engaged by: [0015] tilting said one mat by raising its rear end;
[0016] sliding said one mat laterally to fully engage the key and
receiving elements; and [0017] then lowering the rear end of the
tilted mat to engage its downwardly opening side locking brackets
with the upwardly opening side locking brackets of an adjacent
mat.
DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0018] FIG. 1 is a side sectional view showing one commercially
available end locking element assembly in accordance with the prior
art.
[0019] FIG. 2 is a side sectional view of another commercially
available and locking element assembly in accordance with the prior
art;
[0020] FIG. 3 is a perspective view of a rig mat showing two
opposing ends of the rig mat, one end being equipped with a pair of
receiver elements and the other with a pair of key elements
(hereinafter referred to as `receivers` and `keys`);
[0021] FIG. 3A is a perspective side view of part of the rig mat
shown in FIG. 3;
[0022] FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing a plurality of rig mats
in the course of being assembled to form a wider mat;
[0023] FIG. 5 is a perspective view showing the front end of one
mat equipped with keys, adjacent the rear end of another mat
equipped with receivers; and
[0024] FIG. 6 is a side view, taken along the line VI-VI in FIG. 3,
showing logs as they would be inserted between the central and side
I-beams of a mat;
[0025] FIG. 7 is a perspective view showing a receiver and a key
engaged.
DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT
[0026] Reference is made to FIGS. 1-7.
[0027] In use a plurality of rig mats 1 will be interlocked end to
end to form a longitudinally aligned arrangement or, alternatively,
they will also be interlocked laterally to form a wider arrangement
(as shown in FIG. 4).
[0028] One such rig mat 1 will now be described.
[0029] The rig mat 1 comprises a rectangular frame 2 formed of
steel wide-flanged I-beams (hereinafter referred to as `beams`).
The frame has first and second ends 2a, 2b. The frame 2 is formed
by a pair of side beams 3a, 3b, a first end beam 4a and a second
end beam 4b. In the drawings the end beam 4a is shown as the front
beam and the end beam 4b as the rear beam. Each of the side beams
3a, 3b have top and bottom flanges 5, 6. The front end beam 4a has
only a top flange 5 while the rear end beam 4b has top and bottom
flanges 5, 6. The side and end beams 3a, 3b/4a, 4b are welded
together at their ends. As shown, the frame 2 may be reinforced
with an additional longitudinally extending, central beam 7 and a
plurality of laterally extending cross beams, welded in place.
Wooden logs 9 of square cross-section are inserted to fill the
openings 10 between the I-beams. The ends of the logs 9 are
bracketed between and secured by the flanges 5, 6.
[0030] Web 14 of the laterally extending, front end beam 4a has a
pair of laterally spaced apart keys 15 welded thereto. Each key 15
comprises a web 16 welded to and projecting forwardly and
horizontally from the front beam web 14. An elongated head 17 is
connected to the forward end of the key web 16 to complete a
generally T-shaped structure.
[0031] A pair of laterally spaced apart, tubular receivers 20 are
positioned between the top and bottom flanges 5, 6 of the rear end
beam 4b. The receivers 20 are welded in place to the flanges
between which they are bracketed. They protrude beyond the
longitudinal edges of the flanges.
[0032] Each receiver 20 is shown as a length of steel pipe having a
bore 21. The protruding portion 22 of the receiver side wall 23
forms a slot 24 extending from one end of the pipe, part way along
its length. The non-slotted portion of the pipe wall forms a stop
25.
[0033] The slot 24 is dimensioned so as to slidably receive the web
16 of a key 15. The enlarged head 17 of the key 15 is dimensioned
so as to be receivable in the pipe bore 21 but is too large to pass
through the slot 24.
[0034] Broadly stated, the keys 15 of one frame and the receivers
20 of the other frame are formed so as to interlock when they are
laterally and slidably engaged, to prevent longitudinal separation
of the frames 2.
[0035] The stops 25 function to terminate the lateral advance of
the key heads 17 when the frames 2 have been longitudinally
aligned.
[0036] As shown in FIGS. 3, 3A and 4, one side beam 3a has a
downwardly opening bracket 26 welded to it while the other side
beam 3b has an upwardly opening slot 29 formed by plate 28 and top
flange 5. If two frames are to be locked together in side by side
relationship, one frame can be lowered to the other so that the
bracket 26 drops into the slot 29 when the front end and rear ends
of the frames are aligned.
[0037] The described assembly has been shown to have the following
advantages: [0038] the overhead shielding by the flanges and the
tubular nature of the receiver serve to minimize the entry of dirt
from above, which would impede movement of the keys; and [0039] the
sideways withdrawal of the key from the receiver is relatively easy
to carry out.
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