Engineered metal crib for use as a support structure

Abstract

This invention provides improvements through an engineered metal crib element for construction of cribs in mines to provide support between two surfaces and use of crib elements to construct cribs. The engineered metal crib element consists of a center elongate structural element and at least two outer load carrying steel members. The outer load carrying members may be composed of solid or hollow metal with one or more reinforcements within each load carrying member. Each outer load carrying member is attached to the center elongate element at the distal ends of the elongate structural element. The crib structure may be constructed by superimposing only these steel crib elements in 2×2 layers, 2×3 layers, 3×3 layers or in any other suitable layering system. The engineered metal crib elements are lightweight, have controllable higher stiffness and load carrying capacity than current wooden cribs, have engineered plastic yielding characteristics and allow much lower resistance to air flow in underground mine roadways.

1 . An engineered metal crib element comprising:
 an elongate structural element having first and second opposing distal ends having attached thereto respectively first and second load carrying members; and   where each load carrying member has upper and lower caps proximately vertically spaced apart and said upper and lower caps having respective substantially flat upper and lower contact surfaces that are substantially parallel one with respect to the other and where said upper and lower caps are connected there between and supported by a load carrying member.   
     
     
         2 . The engineered metal crib element of  claim 1 , wherein the first and second load carrying members are stainless steel. 
     
     
         3 . The engineered metal crib element of  claim 2 , wherein the load carrying members have an internal hollow space substantially surrounded by a stainless steel wall. 
     
     
         4 . The engineered metal crib element of  claim 3 , further comprising a reinforcement member within the internal hollow space of the first and second load carrying members and said reinforcement member extending between and contacting at least two opposing walls. 
     
     
         5 . The engineered metal crib element of  claim 3 , wherein the reinforcement within the load carrying member substantially fills the hollow space of the load carrying member. 
     
     
         6 . The engineered metal crib element of  claim 5 , wherein the reinforcement within the load carrying member is a plurality of plates horizontally extending from a common center vertical axis. 
     
     
         7 . The engineered metal crib element of  claim 3 , wherein the reinforcement within the load carrying member is a solid wood member. 
     
     
         8 . The engineered metal crib element of  claim 1 , wherein surfaces of the upper and lower caps are not smooth to thereby resist lateral movement. 
     
     
         9 . The engineered metal crib element of  claim 8 , wherein the surfaces are etched to thereby create an uneven surface. 
     
     
         10 . The engineered metal crib element of  claim 1 , further comprising protrusions in the upper cap and grooves in the lower cap of each load bearing structural member, where the protrusions and the grooves are complimentary one with respect to the other for resisting lateral movement. 
     
     
         11 . The engineered metal crib element of  claim 10 , wherein the complementary protrusions and grooves are complimentary raised and recessed perforations respectively. 
     
     
         12 . The engineered metal crib element of  claim 1 , further comprising at least two elongate structural elements. 
     
     
         13 . The engineered metal crib element of  claim 12 , further comprising at least one member extending between and interconnecting the elongate structural elements. 
     
     
         14 . The engineered metal crib element of  claim 1  further comprising at least one additional load carrying members where the at least one additional load carrying member is disposed and aligned between first and second load carrying members and attached along the elongate structural element. 
     
     
         15 . An engineered metal crib support structure comprising:
 spaced apart upper first and second crib elements and spaced apart lower first and second crib elements;   
       where said upper first crib element has a first elongate structure having first and second opposing distal ends having attached thereto respectively first and second load carrying members and where said upper second crib element has a second elongate structure having third and fourth opposing distal ends having attached thereto respectively third and fourth load carrying members; 
       where said lower first crib element has a third elongate structure having fifth and sixth opposing distal ends having attached thereto respectively fifth and sixth load carrying members and where said lower second crib element has a fourth elongate structure having seventh and eighth distal ends having attached thereto respectively seventh and eighth load carrying members; 
       where each load carrying members have upper and lower caps proximately vertically spaced apart and said upper and lower caps having respective substantially flat upper and lower contact surfaces that are substantially parallel one with respect to the other and where said upper and lower caps are connected there between and supported by a load carrying member; and 
       where said spaced apart upper crib elements extend substantially parallel one with respect to the other and where said first and third load carrying members of said upper crib elements are vertically aligned immediately above fifth and seventh load carrying members of a lower crib elements and where said second and fourth load bearing members of said upper crib elements are vertically aligned immediately above sixth and eighth load carrying members and where said spaced apart lower crib elements extend substantially parallel one with respect to the other. 
     
     
         16 . An engineered metal crib support structure comprising:
 a spaced apart upper first and second crib element pair and a spaced apart lower first and second crib element pair, where each crib element in the upper and lower crib element pairs has an elongate structure having distal opposing ends where each of said opposing ends has a load carrying member attached thereto and where each load carrying member has upper and lower caps proximately vertically spaced apart and said upper and lower caps having respective substantially flat upper and lower contact surfaces that are substantially parallel one with respect to the other and where said upper and lower caps are connected there between and supported by a load carrying member;   where said spaced apart upper first and second crib element pair is oriented to extend substantially parallel one with respect to the other and said spaced apart lower first and second crib element pair is oriented to extend substantially parallel one crib element with respect to the other and extend substantially orthogonal with respect to the orientation of the, upper first and second crib element pair; and   where each of said load carrying members of the spaced apart upper first and second crib element pair are aligned vertically above one of said load carrying members of the spaced apart lower first and second crib element pair and thereby structurally supported.