The invention relates to a mat of worn out car tires, as stated the introductory part of claim 1 Such mats may be used as a roadway for vehicles off road, as a temporary l einforcement of existing roads when used for heavier vehicles than intended, as a base for heavy construction work equipment and for other purposes where a support is needed to protect the ground and avoid sinking

Background

Sliced truck car tires have been used for manufactuπng pnor art mats for support and protection

For example in US-patent specification 4,801,217 (Goldberg) tire sides are arranged side by side in peφendicular rows This provides a relatively open structure, with the forces being transferred over the fastening means The manufactunng process is time consuming The known mat is open and not suited for stopping mud from entering the driving race

In US-patent specification 5,131 ,787 (Goldberg) a further development of the previous mat is suggested The tire sides are arranged with overlap The fastening loops are still binding the tire sides in pairs and are fastened independently This improves the coverage of the mat as a larger area will be available Further, the overlap provides a higher strength due to the mutual engagement of the rubber parts The greatest disadvantage of this mat is the need for lengthwise linking The tire sides are connected with short pieces of thread or line, which is time consuming The threads w ll not add to the strength of the connected tires Additionally, the thread ends can penetrate the tires of vehicles operating on the mat

The prior art mat is not satisfactory for use with heavy vehicles and other heavy duty operation

Object

The main purpose of the invention is to provide a mat to be used for roadways, which is stronger than pnor art mats and which can be manufactured in a simple manner of the most easily available material, 1 e worn out vehicle tires, particularly car tires It is a particular object to provide mats which are bound with wire in a manner resistant to tearing, even when used over a longer period of time The mat of the present invention should be more rigid than prior art mat and have better supportabihty

The invention Sides prepared from large vehicle tires, have a very strong wire nng or bead wire incorporated into the rubber This wire is incoφorated in the bead facing the nm Additional to its high tensil strength, it is ngid

Based on this elements, the invention proposes a mat as described in the charactenzing part of claim 1 The basic principle for an improved carrying mat is to gain as much advantage as possible from the bead wire This has been achieved by the inventor by providing a system of connecting mat elements, in which the bead wires are ananged to cross and used to serve as a fastening point for the knots for the mat

It is particular advantageous to combine a mat according to claim 1 with the crossing arrangement of tire races, as stated in claim 2

Further features are stated in the remaining claims

Example

The invention is described in more detail with reference to the drawings, in which Fig 1 shows a plan view from above of a mat according to the invention,

Fig 2 shows a section along the line II-II of the elements in Fig 1 ,

Fig 3 shows a plan view corresponding to Fig 1 , of a modified mat with two longitudinally extending rows of tire sides and a crossing piece of a tire race, while

Fig 4 shows a plan view of a part of the mat in Fig 3, illustrating the manner which the tire parts arc bound

Based on worn out car tires, the side walls of the tires are cut out to make rings with substantially even width and tickness of material In Fig 1 four rings 1 1 - 14 are placed

with an overlap. A first lower ring 1 1 crosses substantially in the middle of the lower half of the opening in the next overlaying ring 12.

Each tire ring 1 1 -14 has incoφorated at its inner side a bead ire 16 which reinforces the bead of the tire. On each side of an axis 17 extending lengthwise to the arrray, four 5 holes 19-22 and 19'-22' respectively are provided on the inner side of the bead wire 16. The holes are provided for accomodating a wire 18 for keeping the tire rings 12 and 12 together and additionally secure the ring 12 to the next ring 13 of the array. The path of the wire 1 8 will be described in the following.

On the outer edge of the first tire πng 1 1 two holes 19 and 20 are provided, one on 10 each side of the axis 17. As the tire ring 1 1 is provided at an edge of the mat, this part will be exposed. In the beginning, the wire 18 may make a loop, the central part crossing the holes 1 and 20. The two parts of the wire 18 extend symmetrically on each side of the row of tire rings.

From the lower side of the hole 20 in Fig. 1 the wire extends under the holes 19' and 15 20' o the next tire ring 12 and to holes 21 and 22. It is pulled through said holes and down through holes 19' and 20' of the tire ring 12, under and up through the holes 21 and 22 of the tire πng 1 1 and from there to holes 21' and 22' of he tire ring 12 (fig. 2. The binding is continued corrspondingly with the tire rings 13 and 14. The wire 18 may be galvanized steel wire, e.g. of a diameter of 10-13 mm. At the ends, the free ends of the 20 wire may be locked with a wire clamp.

A mat prepared with one row of tire rings as shown in the example can for example be used as support for heavy digging equipment on tarmac or floors.

The mat shown in Fig. 1 and 2 can be extended sidewise as shown in fig. 3. In this illustration two rows 25 and 26 of the kind shown in Fig. 1 and 2 are placed side by side 25 with an overlap corresponding to the width of the tire rings, i.e. the rings will overlap in the central area 27. In this example no joining of the two rows 25 and 26 are direct, crossing bands 28 of tire races. The bands 28 may be arranged at a suitable distance along the rows, e.g. at every tire ring. The tire rings may be provided by dividing a complete tire race in two equal parts. The attachment of the tire bands 28 will appear 30 from Fig. 4. Three or four rows of tire rings may be place side by side.

Fig. 4 shows how two tire bands 28 and 28' may be placed parallel under a row of tire rings 1 1 -12. This will make a more dense mat without disadvantageous overlap.

In each crossing tire band 28 and 28' a pair of holes 29-30 and 31 -32 are provided at the outer edge of each string The holes are provided symmetrically The wire 18 is pulled through holes 21 and 22 m the tire ring 1 1 and down through the ajoining holes 29 and 30, up through holes 31 and 32 and over and down through holes 20' and 19' in the tire ring 12 etc

In a particular study version of the mat, two additional holes are provided in the tire rings between the holes 20 and 21 in the watch position 3 and 9m(not shown) The wire 18 is pulled down through holes m the crossing string, up between the stnng and the hole, toward the centre of the bead wire and down between the tire stnngs, and then as described above