PORTABLE, FOLDABLE MAT FOR CONSTRUCTION SITES FOR DELIVERY OF HEAVY MATERIALS
Portable, foldable mats for construction sites, in particular for loaded drywall carts to roll thereover when unfolded, have an elongate body defining a plurality of panels foldable upon one another beginning from a first end toward a second end onto itself repeatedly until any tertiary panels are contained between an initial panel and an immediately neighboring second panel of the initial panel. Each panel has a sheet of material therein that has a load rating of at least 1000 pounds. The mats have a first handle extending from the initial panel and a second handle extending from the immediately neighboring second panel at a position to align with the first handle when the mat is in a fully folded state.
This application relates to a portable, foldable mat for delivering heavy materials over weak floors, more particularly a portable, foldable mat for construction sites that has a plurality of panels foldable upon one another from a first end toward a second end onto itself repeatedly until any tertiary panels are contained between an initial panel and an immediately neighboring second panel of the initial panel and encapsulating a sheet of high density polyethylene within each panel.
BACKGROUNDDrywall is delivered to countless large construction sites, such as hotels, apartments, multi-family homes, etc. during construction when the floors are often plywood subfloors. These plywood floors have limited thickness and strength and may have been exposed to the elements such as rain and snow during the construction for days, weeks, or even months, which decreases the strength thereof. Subfloors are typically installed with the long axis perpendicular to three or more supports spaced 24 inches on center. The concentrated static and impact test criteria accepted in the industry require a minimum ultimate load of 400 pounds after an impact test applied with a one inch diameter disc for subfloor-24 panels. Wet conditions require a 25 percent reduction in design bending strength, which means the 400 pounds is reduced to 300 pounds to account for wet conditions.
A typical sheet of drywall weighs between 55 to 120 pounds, depending upon size and composition. Drywall sheets may be carried by hand to various rooms within the building or may be loaded onto drywall carts, hand trucks, or dollies (up to 2000 pounds) and rolled over the plywood subfloors. A typical drywall cart has 2-inch-wide by 8-inch-diameter wheels which typically provide about ½ square inch of effective contact area per wheel. Some of these carts have allowable capacities of over 2,000 pounds, or 500 pounds per wheel (“load rating”) if the load is evenly distributed. This amount of weight concentrated on the wheels of the cart can exceed the design capacity or rating of the subfloor, not just the plywood, but the joist, plywood, etc., and can damage or break through the subfloor.
Also, depending on the stage of construction, the studs defining doorways may still be present across the floor, i.e., the framers have not cut the stud at the base of the doorway yet. As such, the cart may need to “hop” over a stud. This “hop” can shift and increase the weight distribution on the wheels, thereby making it more likely to damage the subfloor.
Additionally, repeat loads of drywall enter a building through the same entrance, often called the pull-in spot, and hallway(s), which increases the chance that a weak subfloor will experience a break or breech under the weight of the cart. Once the floor is damaged by high volume cart repetition, the floor is no longer safe for additional cart deliveries, so the drywall must be carried from that point further into the building or the jib is haled until additional plywood is installed over the weak spot. Unloading and removing the cart can result in an extra 10-15 minutes of deliver time per job, if only one incident occurs during the delivery. If multiple weak spots are encountered by a cart, the deliver could take an extra half hour to an hour, which is lost money for the company. Moreover, if the deliver company supplies plywood to reinforce any weak areas that is an additional expense that cuts into a delivery being profitable.
There is a need for a portable mat that can be laid over a subfloor that has a strength sufficient for carts loaded with sheets of drywall to pass thereover repeatedly and that is reusable, thereby saving the deliver time and money. It is desirable that the portable mat is easy to carry, yet has sufficient length for entrances into buildings, such as down a hallway.
SUMMARYIn all aspects, a portable, foldable mat for construction sites is disclosed herein. The mat has an elongate body defining a plurality of panels each foldably connected to immediately neighboring panels thereof. The plurality of panels has an initial panel as a first end, at least one tertiary panel defining a second end, and an immediately neighboring second panel of the initial panel between the initial panel and the at least one tertiary panel. The plurality of panels is foldable upon one another beginning from the second end toward the first end of the elongate body onto itself repeatedly until any tertiary panels are contained between the initial panel and the immediately neighboring second panel of the initial panel. Each of the plurality of panels comprises a sheet of material having a load rating of at least 500 pounds. In one embodiment, each sheet of material is high density polyethylene (HDPE), which has a thickness in a range of 0.0625 inches to 0.5 inches, preferably 3/16 in or ⅛ in thick.
A first handle extends from the initial panel and a second handle extends from the immediately neighboring second panel at a position to align with the first handle when the elongate body is in a fully folded state. The first handle and the second handle are fixedly attached to a bottom surface of the elongate body. In one embodiment, the first and second handles are defined by an endless oval strap of material sewn to the initial panel and the immediately neighboring second panel. The endless oval strap has a central longitudinal axis aligned with a central longitudinal axis of the elongate body.
In one aspect, each of the plurality of panels comprises a covering encapsulating the sheet of material in a compartment. The covering comprises a continuous length of textile fabric or two elongate pieces of textile fabric sewn together to define each compartment. When the covering has the two elongate pieces of textile fabric, a first textile fabric, such as ballistic nylon or polyethylene fabric, defines a bottom surface of the covering and a second textile fabric, such as PVC fabric, defines a top surface of the covering. Each compartment is defined by sewn seams extending transverse to a central longitudinal axis of the elongate body between immediately neighboring panels, where in between immediately neighboring panels there are at least two of the sewn seams spaced apart a pre-selected distance from one another to define a hinge region of the covering.
In all aspects, a binding of textile material is sewn to the first textile fabric and the second text tile fabric collectively to define a periphery of the elongate body.
In all aspects, the plurality of panels is three or more panels. Depending upon the number of panels present, the elongate body can be at least six feet long or at least 8 feet long, or at least 10 feet long. Each of the plurality of panels has a width oriented parallel to the central longitudinal axis of the elongate body, wherein the width of each sheet of material is in a range of 16 in to 48 in, and the width of the elongate body is in a range of 24 inches to 50 inches.
The following description and drawings are illustrative and are not to be construed as limiting. In the drawings, like reference numbers indicate identical or functionally similar elements. Numerous specific details are described to provide a thorough understanding of the disclosure. In certain instances, however, well-known or conventional details are not described to avoid obscuring the description.
Referring to
Referring to
The mat 100 has a covering or casing 103 encapsulating each sheet of material 110 in a separate compartment. Each sheet of material 110 as noted above can handle loads of 1000+ pounds per wheel of a loaded drywall cart (“load rating”). In one embodiment, each sheet of material is a high density polyethylene (HDPE) sheet having a thickness in a range of 0.625 inches to 0.5 inches. In other embodiments, the HDPE sheet has a thickness of ⅛ inch, 3/16 inch, or ¼ inch. In another embodiment, the HDPE has a thickness of 3/16 inch. Other beneficial characteristics of each sheet is a material that is moisture and mildew resistant, odor resistant, and has long-term durability. HDPE has these beneficial characteristics and has excellent impact resistance, low moisture absorption, high tensile strength, is non-toxic, non-staining, chemical resistant, has good fatigue and wear resistance, and is resistant to organic solvents, degreasing agents, and electrolytic attack. A balance is needed between the impact strength of the sheet, the thickness of the sheet, and the weight of the sheet to provide a mat that is still portable (not too heavy to be carried by a user) yet meets the 1000+ pounds/wheel rating. For example, a sheet of HDPE with a rating of 1450 pounds per inch (PSI) for a drywall cart with four wheels and a maximum capacity of 2000 lbs. (i.e., 500 lbs per wheel) provides a safety rating of greater than 2.5 to about 3 times. In one embodiment, the HDPE is a Class A, type III HDPE, having a hardness, Shore D rating of 55-75. The density of the HDPE is in a range of 0.940 to 0.965, e.g., about 0.95, and the melt flow index is 7-25 g/10 min.
Referring now to
With reference to
A hinge region 118 is most clearly seen in the enlarged view of
Referring now to
Still referring to
Turning again to
It should be noted that the embodiments are not limited in their application or use to the details of construction and arrangement of parts and steps illustrated in the drawings and description. Features of the illustrative embodiments, constructions, and variants may be implemented or incorporated in other embodiments, constructions, variants, and modifications, and may be practiced or carried out in various ways. Furthermore, unless otherwise indicated, the terms and expressions employed herein have been chosen for the purpose of describing the illustrative embodiments of the present invention for the convenience of the reader and are not for the purpose of limiting the invention.
Having described the invention in detail and by reference to various embodiments thereof, it will be apparent that modifications and variations are possible without departing from the scope of the invention which is defined in the appended claims.
Claims
1. A portable, foldable mat for construction sites comprising: wherein the plurality of panels are foldable upon one another beginning from the second end toward the first end of the elongate body onto itself repeatedly until any tertiary panels are contained between the initial panel and the immediately neighboring second panel of the initial panel,
- an elongate body defining a plurality of panels each foldably connected to immediately neighboring panels thereof, the plurality of panels comprising an initial panel as a first end, at least one tertiary panel defining a second end, and an immediately neighboring second panel of the initial panel between the initial panel and the at least one tertiary panel;
- wherein each of the plurality of panels comprises a sheet of material having a load rating of at least 500 pounds; and
- a first handle extending from the initial panel and a second handle extending from the immediately neighboring second panel at a position to align with the first handle when the elongate body is in a fully folded state.
2. The portable, foldable mat of claim 1, wherein the first handle and the second handle are fixedly attached to a bottom surface of the elongate body.
3. The portable, foldable mat of claim 2, wherein the first and second handles are defined by an endless oval strap of material sewn to the initial panel and the immediately neighboring second panel.
4. The portable, foldable mat of claim 3, wherein the endless oval strap has a central longitudinal axis aligned with a central longitudinal axis of the elongate body.
5. The portable, foldable mat of claim 1, wherein each of the plurality of panels comprises a covering encapsulating the sheet of material in a compartment.
6. The portable, foldable mat of claim 5, wherein the covering comprises a continuous length of textile fabric or two elongate pieces of textile fabric sewn together to define each compartment.
7. The portable, foldable mat of claim 6, wherein, the covering comprises two elongate pieces of textile fabric, a first textile fabric comprising ballistic nylon or polyethylene fabric defines a bottom surface of the covering and a second textile fabric comprising PVC fabric defines a top surface of the covering.
8. The portable, foldable mat of claim 6, wherein each compartment is defined by sewn seams extending transverse to a central longitudinal axis of the elongate body between immediately neighboring panels.
9. The portable, foldable mat of claim 8, wherein in between immediately neighboring panels there are at least two of the sewn seams spaced apart a pre-selected distance from one another to define a hinge region of the covering.
10. The portable, foldable mat of claim 6, wherein a binding of textile material is sewn to the first textile fabric and the second text tile fabric to define a periphery of the elongate body.
11. The portable, foldable mat of claim 1, wherein each sheet of material is high density polyethylene (HDPE).
12. The portable, foldable mat of claim 11, wherein the HDPE has a thickness in a range of 0.0625 inches to 0.5 inches.
13. The portable, foldable mat of claim 1, wherein the plurality of panels is three or more panels.
14. The portable, foldable mat of claim 13, wherein the elongate body is at least six feet long.
15. The portable, foldable mat of claim 13, wherein the elongate body is at least 10 feet long.
16. The portable, foldable mat of claim 1, wherein each of the plurality of panels has a width oriented parallel to the central longitudinal axis of the elongate body, wherein the width of each sheet of material is in a range of 16 in to 48 in.
17. The portable, foldable mat of claim 16, wherein the elongate body has a width in a range of 24 inches to 50 inches.
Type: Application
Filed: Mar 10, 2022
Publication Date: May 23, 2024
Applicant: COMBAT CONSTRUCTIONS, LLC (New Albany, OH)
Inventor: Evan M. Schroeder (Columbus, OH)
Application Number: 18/549,654