Interlocking of mats having staggered elongated components

Abstract

An interlockable industrial mat having a plurality of elongated members some of which are arranged in staggered orientation to form protrusions and corresponding recesses on opposite ends of the mat. The elongated members are held together by a plurality of joining; members. To facilitate interlocking of one mat with another similarly configured mat, each protrusion includes a first hole that is in alignment with a first bore for receiving a connecting rod, and each end of the non-staggered members is provided with a second hole that is in alignment with a second bore for receiving another same size rod. The first and second bores are in alignment such that when the protrusions of one mat are received in the recesses of another mat, a connecting rod can be passed through each bore to interlock the mats together. Multiple mats can be interlocked that way to form temporary support structures.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . An industrial mat comprising:
 a plurality of elongated members each having top, bottom and side surfaces, a rectangular or square cross section of dimensions of between about 2″ by about 2″ to about 16″ by about 16″, and a length of about 1 foot to about 60 feet, with each beam having about the same dimensions and length, and with all elongated members oriented parallel to each other with the top surfaces substantially in alignment to form a top surface for the mat and the bottom surfaces substantially in alignment to form a bottom surface for the mat; and   a plurality of joining members passing through each elongated member to retain the elongated members in position and connected together to form the mat;   wherein at least some of the elongated members are arranged in staggered orientation with respect to others, with each staggered elongated member positioned in the mat with a first end portion extending beyond a first end of an adjacent, non-staggered elongated component to form a protrusion on one end of the mat, and with a second, opposite end of each staggered elongated member having a second end a least a portion of which is does not extend to a second end of the adjacent, non-staggered elongated component to form a corresponding recess on the opposite end of the mat, with the protrusions having a size and arrangement that conforms to that of the recesses so that the protrusions of one mat can be received within the recesses of a similarly configured and adjacently positioned additional mat to interlock the mats together for use.   
     
     
         2 . The mat of  claim 1  wherein each protrusion extends by a length that is about the same as either the width or height dimension of the elongated member. 
     
     
         3 . The mat of  claim 1  wherein each protrusion is formed of at least 50% of the width and height dimensions of the elongated member so that a stepped arrangement is provided on the second end of the mat with each step configured for receiving a protrusion from the end portion of an adjacent mat to allow interlocking of end to end adjacently arranged mats. 
     
     
         4 . The mat of  claim 1  wherein each elongated member has approximately the same width, height and length dimensions and between 4 and 24 elongated members are present in the mat, at least 2 to as many as 12 of which are staggered to provide the protrusions. 
     
     
         5 . The mat of  claim 1  wherein between 4 and 10 elongated members are present in the mat with at least 2 to as many as 5 being staggered to provide the protrusions. 
     
     
         6 . The mat of  claim 1  wherein each elongated member has width and height dimensions of from about 4″ by about 4″ up to about 12″ by about 12″ and a length of about 1 foot to about 40 feet, with every other elongated component being staggered to provide the protrusions. 
     
     
         7 . The mat of  claim 1  wherein the elongated members are made of a solid or layered construction of wood, plastic or elastomeric materials or combinations thereof when a layered construction is provided. 
     
     
         8 . The mat of  claim 1  further comprising metal plates configured and dimensioned to be no larger than the sides of the elongated members with the metal plates provided between at least some or all of the elongated members that are adjacently positioned. 
     
     
         9 . The mat of  claim 1  wherein each protrusion is formed of the full width and height dimensions of the elongated member so that the protrusions of the first end of the mat are configured to between in the recess between two non-staggered elongated members at the second ends thereof, and with the mat further comprising:
 a first hole passing through the first end of each protrusion, with the holes being in alignment to form a first bore that is configured to receive a connecting rod that can pass through the holes; and 
 a second hole passing through the second end of each non-staggered elongated member, with the holes being in alignment to form a second bore that is configured to receive the same connecting rod that can pass through the holes; 
 wherein the first and second bores are configured to be in alignment such that when the protrusions of one mat are received in the recesses of another mat, a connecting rod can be passed through each bore to interlock the mats together. 
 
     
     
         10 . The mat of  claim 9  wherein each of the first and second holes passes through a center of the elongated member at the its respective first or second end from one side to the other and wherein some or all of the holes are provided with a sleeve to assist in receiving the connecting rod therein. 
     
     
         11 . The mat of  claim 9  wherein at least one or more of the first and second holes includes internal threads to receive a threaded joining member. 
     
     
         12 . The mat of  claim 9  wherein the joining members that are solid rods, threaded rods, or a bolting arrangement that includes bolts alone or bolls and nuts. 
     
     
         13 . The mat of  claim 4  further comprising an end member that provides a non-staggered end of the mat, wherein the end member comprises an elongated member having a first side that is relatively flat and an opposite side that either has side portions that are configured and dimensioned for positioning between the first end portions that form the protrusions on one end of the mat, or that has side portions that are configured and dimensioned to conform to and extend into the recesses on the opposite side of the mat, so as to square off one end of the mat. 
     
     
         14 . The mat of  claim 4  further comprising a metal cap configured and dimensioned to fit the protrusions of the staggered elongated members, the second ends of the non-staggered elongated members, or both, to protect the protrusions and second ends from damage when one mat is being interlocked with the other or when transporting, installing or retrieving the mat, with the metal cap including openings that correspond to the holes of the protrusions or second ends of the elongated members. 
     
     
         15 . A temporary structure comprising a plurality of mats according to  claim 1  wherein the mats are connected by the protrusions of one mat received in the recesses of another mat. 
     
     
         16 . A temporary structure comprising a plurality of mats according to  claim 4  wherein the mats are connected by the protrusions of one mat received in the recesses of another mat, and a connecting rod that is positioned in each bore to interlock the mats together; wherein the connecting rod is releasably connected to the elongated members so that upon removal the mats can be disengaged from being interlocked. 
     
     
         17 . The temporary structure of  claim 16 , wherein the connecting rod is a solid cylindrical rod that optionally includes threads. 
     
     
         18 . The temporary structure of  claim 16 , wherein the connecting rod has a head on one end that is larger than the first or second holes and a threaded opposite end to receive nuts thereon or to engage a threaded holes in one of the protrusions of the staggered elongated members or one of the second ends of the non-staggered elongated members. 
     
     
         19 . The temporary structure of  claim 16 , wherein the connecting rod is threaded at on opposite ends to receive nuts thereon or to engage threaded holes in the one of the protrusions of the staggered elongated members or one of the second ends of the non-staggered elongated members. 
     
     
         20 . The temporary structure of  claim 19 , wherein the connecting rod is threaded throughout the entire length of the rod and nuts are provided for each end.