Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
CA 02593600 2007-07-13
TITLE
MULTI-PURPOSE PANELS WITH A MODULAR EDGE
THE FIELD
The present invention relates to multi-purpose panels for constructing a
continuous surface and, in particular, panels comprising of wafers having at
least one modular edge.
BACKGROUND
Access into wilderness areas for the purposes of natural resource discovery
and exploitation requires that heavy equipment traverse areas having
sensitive soil types that are easily compressed or damaged by the presence
of workers, machinery and vehicles. Some representative examples of such
areas are desert, muskeg, tundra, and farmland.
The fact that such environments are sensitive to the damage by compression
or erosion caused by workers, machinery and vehicles has a two-fold impact.
First, ongoing damage to such an environmentally sensitive area may prevent
the movement of workers, machinery or vehicles over the surface of the area
and cause the area to be inaccessible. Second, the damaged caused by
workers, machinery and vehicles may take a decade or more to repair and
thus lead to long-term environmental damage to the area.
In order to allow access to environmentally sensitive areas and to prevent
environmental damage, it is known to lay temporary work surfaces, roads and
landing surfaces over environmentally sensitive areas. These surfaces are
designed to provide surface protection to the area and distribute the load of
the weight of the objects over as wide an area as possible. Generally, more
recent versions of the surface are made up of a system of interconnecting
wafers that may be joined together at the edges of their sides.
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The panels are designed to be as stiff as possible to distribute any load over
the total surface area of the wafer and lightweight in order to allow easy
transportation and placement and recovery of the panels that create the
surface.
The joint system used to attach each panel together to form the surface is
designed to be as strong and rigid as possible to ensure that the panels stay
joined together and do not move relative to one another. Further, the joints
are rigid, in order to transmit load from one panel onto adjacent panels;
further
reducing the damage that the load of heavy equipment may have on the
environmentally sensitive area.
The first of such systems consisted of roadways made of planks, boards or
logs laid out in various configurations and often nailed, bolted or lashed
together. These roadways used heavy materials that were difficult to handle,
put into place and joint together. As the materials were hard to use these
roadways could not be recovered and became permanent structures that
were difficult to repair and maintain, and as such were abandoned over time,
thus preventing the natural recovery of the environmentally sensitive area.
A second version of a surface system comprises a system of interlocking
wood planks that are fastened together to form a mat. United States Patent
No. 4,600,336 issued in the name of Waller, Jr. and United States Patent No.
4,462,712 issued in the name of Penland, Sr. disclose wooden mats that are
arrangements of layers of closely spaced wooden planks, the planks of each
layer orientated substantially parallel to the orientation of the wooden
planks
of the layer above and below it. These prior art systems require the
arrangement and assembly of individual boards and are labour intensive to
assemble and disassemble. The joint system in these systems are an
arrangement of boards in a staggered pattern in so that alternating boards
extend onto an adjacent panels. As such, the joints between the boards do
not provide sufficient structure to provide a rigid joint to transfer load
between
each of the mats. Further, as the joints are of a fixed configuration,
changing
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the shape or profile of each joint on each mat is not possible.
United States Patent No. 4,875,800 issued in the name of Hicks and United
States Patent No. 4,973,193 issued in the name of Watson disclose wooden
mat systems using intermeshing wooden mats having over lapping edges. As
with the previous mat systems, the joints are of a fixed configuration that
does
not provide sufficient structure to provide a rigid joint to transfer load
between
each of the wafers.
Current panels by a variety of methods including molding, pultrusion,
assembly of component parts such as the upper wafer skin, core and lower
wafer skin amongst others. With current panel systems, the edge of the panel
is an integral part of the panel that is unable to be removed, as it is formed
during the creation of the panel.
United States Patent No. 4,629,358 issued in the name of Springston, United
States Patent No. 6,685,388 issued in the name of Webster, and United
States Patent No. 6,695,527 issued in the name of Seaux, all disclose a
system consisting of two offset overlapping wafers to form a panel. The
wafers are offset to expose upper and lower lips that facilitate adjacent
panels
to be joined together by overlapping edges using bolts, screws, nails, glue or
other connecting means. As such, theses prior art systems have panels that
fit together in a pre-determined and specific orientation, and do not allow
modification to the edges of the panels to facilitate different types of
connections or edge profiles.
United States Patent Application Publication No. 2006/0010830 in the name
of Warren et al., discloses a wafer system having an integral wedge shaped
edge that forms a scarf joint that allows adjacent panels to interlock
together
using bolts, screws, nails, glue or other connecting means. As with the other
prior art systems, the edge once formed for each panel cannot be changed
and cannot be modified after the fabrication of the panel.
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It is, therefore, desirable to provide a panel system that overcomes the
shortcomings of the prior art.
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SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
An apparatus to construct a continuous surface is provided. In one
embodiment, a panel is provided having a wafer and a modular joint system
that is designed to have a stiffness and weight to satisfy the requirements
for
a variety of surfaces such as oil rig sites, helicopter pads, temporary roads,
housing sites amongst other applications. Each wafer can have at least three
sides. An edge having the same or a different profile is attached to one of
the
sides of the wafer to allow each wafer to be attached to an adjacent wafer.
The modular design of the joint system allows for the manufacturer to use and
modify existing wafers with different edges to produce a panel that meets the
needs of the end user without compromising the strength or rigidity of the
joint
to facilitate the transfer of load from one panel onto adjacent panels.
In one embodiment, the wafer and the edge can be changed with little
modification to either piece to continually allow for the development of
wafers
and edges that better fulfill the requirements of industry and the environment
or to reuse either the edge or the wafer.
In another embodiment, the wafer can have a modular design that allows it to
be constructed to allow the edges to be interchanged and to allow the
selection of different edges on each side of the wafer. As such, a surface can
be made using a variety of panels having a variety of edge designs in order to
address differences in the requirements of the panel depending on variations
on ground conditions or use.
In another embodiment, the wafer and the edge can have a modular design
that allows for the mass production of panel components using highly
automated manufacturing techniques, driving the cost of production down and
increasing the quality and reliability of the end product.
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In yet another embodiment, allows for the integration of the best possible
edge design for any given application and to provide the correct joint system
that is appropriate for a given task and demands of the market place.
In yet another embodiment, the wafer can have a modular design that allows
for the integration of the best possible edge design for any given
application.
There are a wide variety of needs any mat system is required to fulfill, but
making the edge and the wafer into separate components that can be
interchanged with one another allows the current invention to meet the
changing needs of the market-place.
While the apparatus can be described in conjunction with illustrated
embodiments, it will be understood that it is not intended to limit the
apparatus
to such embodiments. On the contrary, it is intended that all alternatives,
modifications and equivalents as may be included within the spirit and scope
of the invention as defined by the present patent specification as a whole.
For
example, it is contemplated that the apparatus can encompass a variety of
different edge profiles designed to achieve a specific purpose desired by the
end user. As by way of example and without limitation, some edges may be
designed to interlock together, to provide a smooth transition from the
surface
of the ground to the surface of the mat, to contain spills on the surface of
the
mat or to act as a barrier to prevent objects from collecting on the top
surface
of the mat. It is also contemplated that different configurations and
connections can be utilized to attach the edge to the mat. Both permanent
and detachable means can be used so long as the edge is fastened to the
wafer in the manner that would allow the edge and the wafer to remain
securely fastened. Further, it will be understood that all dimensions and
sizes
described herein, both relative and absolute, may be varied within a broad
range in order to meet the needs of the end-user. As well, materials
described herein are merely intended to be illustrative and are subject to a
range of alternatives
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BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
These and other advantages of the invention will become apparent upon
reading the following detailed description and upon referring to the drawings
in which:
FIGURE 1 is an exploded view depicting a panel with a modular edge;
FIGURE 2 is an elevation depicting a panel of a panel with a modular edge;
FIGURE 3 is an isometric view depicting a wafer for the panel of FIGURE 1;
FIGURE 4 is an elevation view depicting the wafer of FIGURE 3;
FIGURE 5 is an elevation view depicting an edge for the panel of FIGURE 1;
FIGURE 6A is a cross-section view depicting Section I-I of the panel of Figure
2;
FIGURE 6B is an exploded view depicting Section I-I of the panel of Figure 2;
FIGURE 7A is an elevation view depicting a pair of edges having a lap joint
profile;
FIGURE 7B is an elevation view depicting a pair of edges having a tapered
lap joint profile;
FIGURE 7C is an elevation view depicting a pair of edges having an S-
shaped lap joint profile;
FIGURE 7D is an elevation view depicting a pair of edges having a modified
lap joint profile for use with at least one fastener;
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FIGURE 8A is an elevation view depicting a first embodiment of an end close-
out for a wafer;
FIGURE 8B is an elevation view depicting a second embodiment of an end
close-out for a wafer;
FIGURE 8C is an elevation view depicting a third embodiment of an end
close-out for a wafer;
FIGURE 9 is an isometric view depicting three panels of FIGURE 1 joined
together at their edges;
FIGURE 10 is an exploded isometric view depicting a rectangular panel
having edges on two adjacent sides of the wafer;
FIGURE 11 is an isometric view depicting a rectangular panel having edges
on all four sides of the wafer;
FIGURE 12 is an exploded isometric view depicting a five-sided wafer having
edges on three sides;
FIGURE 13 is an isometric view depicting an array of panels connected
together; and
FIGURE 14 is an isometric view depicting an array of panels connected
together to form a continuous curved surface.
The present invention will now be described by way of a non-limiting
description of certain detailed embodiments.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENTS
In the following description, similar features in the drawings have been given
identical reference numerals where appropriate. All dimensions described
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herein are intended solely to illustrate an embodiment. These dimensions are
not intended to limit the scope of the wafer described herein, which can
depart
from these dimensions.
An embodiment is illustrated and described in context of providing a modular
edge system for temporary surface used to distribute the load of workers,
equipment and vehicles over a large surface area. However, it is
contemplated that the modular edge system may be applied to any surface
panel or wafer such as wall panels, ceiling panels, roofing, flooring,
walkways
or the like.
Referring to Figures 1 and 2, there is illustrated a panel (100) according to
one embodiment of the present invention having, a wafer (1), an upper wafer
skin (5) and an opposing bottom wafer skin (15). Referring to Figures 3 and
4, the wafer has at least three sides (10) with at least one of the sides
adapted to accept an edge (20). In the embodiments shown in Figures 3 and
4, a four-sided wafer is shown to have two opposing edges adapted to accept
an edge (20). However it is contemplated that a wafer (1) may have three or
more sides and that a single side, two or more sides of the wafer (1) being
spaced apart or adjacent to each other, or all sides could be adapted to
accept an edge (20).
Wafer skin (5) materials can include virtually any material that has the
desired
material properties of strength, toughness, weight, durability and others as
may be required by the application and the designer. Provided that such
materials can be adhered to the core (38) so as to provide the desired
properties, in such a fashion that is both structurally sound and economically
viable.
In some instances, core or skin materials may require that a variety of
surface
treatment technologies known in the art be applied. These include, but are not
limited to; mechanical abrading, chemical abrading, chemical etching,
application of bonding agents, coupling agents, or sizes of a variety of
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chemical structures; other surface modification such as flame treating, corona
treatment, plasma treatment, exposure to UV radiation, and exposure to
chemical gases and liquids such as fluorine, chlorine, chromic acid, and
others known in the art. The object is to create a surface that will
facilitate the
adhesion of the core to the skin to ensure that the skin remains intact and in
place.
There are a large number of techniques known to those practiced in the art of
attaching the skin materials to the core materials. These include but are not
limited to; welding of like materials; hand lay-up of fibre-reinforced liquid
thermoset resins onto the core surface; hand lay-up of fibre-reinforced
thermoplastic resins onto the core and the subsequent addition of heat
sufficient to cause the thermoplastic resin to flow and cure to the core,
application of a vacuum bag to provide clamping forces to such lay-ups; resin
transfer moulding; vacuum assisted resin transfer moulding; resin infusion
moulding; vacuum assisted resin infusion moulding; vacuum resin transfer
moulding, compression moulding, pultrusion, extrusion, and plate
compression.
Wafer core (38) materials can range from a long-list of materials. These
include but are not limited to; wood, end-grain balsa wood; foams made of
polyurethane, polyethylene, epoxy, polymethacrylimide, and phenolic resins;
foams of the materials listed previously with various fillers such as hollow
glass spheres or hollow ceramic spheres; honeycomb core materials made of
aluminium, steel, stainless steel, titanium, or other metals; honeycomb core
materials made of; paper either resin coated or not, produced from but not
limited to, fibreglass, Nomex , Kevlar , wood-pulp, carbon, graphite; or other
materials including but not limited to; extruded or welded polypropylene,
polycarbonate, polyethylene, polyurethane, polyester, or other thermoplastics;
and pultruded, extruded, or welded I-beams interlaced with any or all of the
above mentioned materials that are strong enough to provide support the
objects that are to be placed on the surface of the wafer.
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Wafers (1) and edges (20) can be impermeable, or semi-impermeable to
restrict or prevent liquids or gasses from seeping into or through the wafer.
This reduces and may eliminate the "pumping" action" associated with prior
art panel systems that cause environmental damage and facilitate the
recovery of the panels for reuse by preventing the panels from being
embedded in the ground on which the panel system is placed. The "pumping
action" occurs when the panels or joints between the panels flex under the
load moving over the surface of the panel system. As the panels and joints
flex, water and debris accumulate onto the panels, by flowing over the sides
of the panel, through the panel itself, if it is not made of a water proof
and/or
mud proof material, or through the joints between the panels of the panel
system. As the action is repeated, the panel sinks further into the ground
making the recovery of the panels difficult.
Referring to Figures 5, 6A, 6B and 7A-D, there is illustrated an edge (20)
according to one embodiment of the wafer (1) having an upper edge skin (25),
a joint end (30) and an opposing connector end (35). The upper edge skin
(25) may consist of the same types of material as the upper (5) and the lower
(15) wafer skins of the wafer (1). The edge (20) may also have a lower edge
skin (45) as illustrated in the example embodiments of Figures 6 and 7.
Additional processes could be used to attach a variety of lifting rings and
other
lifting devices and well as the application of a variety of coating materials
to
protect the wafer and edge from damage caused by the environment and end-
users. For example, hand grabs and lifting rings may be found on either side
of the wafer (1) or edge (20) to allow better handling of the wafer (1).
The modular design also allows for the integration of the best possible edge
design for any given application. By way of example, complementary
interlocking edges may be attached to adjacent panels to ensure that the
panels remain secured, and to provide a means to create a continuous
surface.
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An edge (20) of the wafer (1) can be made of any material that meets these
requirements. These materials include but are not limited to; fibreglass
reinforced plastic utilising both thermo-set and thermoplastic resin
formulations; carbon-fiber reinforced plastics utilising both thermo-set and
thermoplastic resin formulation; other fibre reinforcements utilising both
thermo-set and thermoplastic resin formulations; other 'engineered' plastics,
aluminum, steel, and other metals; wood, ceramic, and any other material that
can be formed into the shape of the required edge.
Manufacturing techniques known to those practiced in the art that may
produce the edge (20) and the wafer (1) include, but are not limited to,
compression moulding, extrusion, pultrusion, injection moulding, blow-
moulding, rotational moulding, machining, shaping, routing, welding, bending
and forming or any other technique that is suitable for the shaping of the
material that makes up the edge (20) and/or wafer (1). These same
techniques can be used to shape the sides of the wafer (10), the connecting
end (35) of an edge (20) and the joint end (30) of an edge (20). The length of
the edge (20) may also vary based on the requirements of the shape of the
profile or the application in which the temporary or permanent surface may be
placed.
The edge (20) may also be reinforced to protect the edge from damage or to
protect the edge from unnecessarily compressing. The edge (20) may be
reinforced with a variety of materials which includes, but are not limited to,
fiber reinforced materials, such as pultruded fiberglass; polymetic rods, such
as rods made of various plastics, wood, steel, aluminum and other materials
suited to protect the edge from damage and compression. The reinforcing
materials may be integrated throughout the edge (20), placed at either the
connecting end (35) or the joint end (30), or provide an inner or outer
protective shell to the edge (20)
Referring to Figures 7A-D, there is illustrated a joint end (30) according to
one
embodiment of the present invention that is adapted to fit a complimentary
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joint end (31) of an adjacent wafer (2). The profile and shape of a joint end
(30) is dimensioned to be complementary to the profile and shape of the joint
end (31) of an adjacent wafer (2) so that the joint ends (30) and (31), form a
joint system with sufficient strength and rigidity to hold the adjacent wafers
(1)
and (2) together and to transfer load from one wafer onto the adjacent wafer.
A joint end (30) can be a wide variety of shapes and designs to meet the
requirements of various applications. As illustrated in the embodiments set
out in Figures 7, 9 and 12, a joint end (30, 30(a), 30(b), 30(c)) of an edge
(20)
of a panel (1) may be profiled to fit in mated or interlocking attachment with
the profile of a complementary joint end (31, 31(a), 31(b), 31(c)) of the edge
(20) of an adjacent wafer (2). It is known by a person skilled in the art of
panel construction and use that other edge profiles would allow the joining of
adjacent wafers (1) and (2).
Known profiles for joint ends (30) for an edge (20) are illustrated in Figures
7A-D in which the profile of the joint end (30) of an edge (20) is a lip or
tab
that is dimensioned to overlap with the lip of a complementary joint end (31)
of
an edge (20) of an adjacent wafer (2). As shown in Figure 7A, the profile and
shape of joint ends (30,31) can be a lap joint. As shown in Figure 7B, the
profile and shape of joint ends (30,31) can be a tapered lap joint. As shown
in
Figure 7C, the profile and shape of joint ends (30,31) can be an S-shaped lap
joint. As shown in Figure 7D, the profile and shape of joint ends (30,31) can
be a modified lap joint for use with at least one fastener, such as a bolt and
nut or any other suitable fastener as well known to those skilled in the art.
The profile of complementary edges need not be mirror images of each other;
they need only to fit together to form a sufficiently rigid joint with or
without an
attachment means (36), so that load is transferred from one wafer to the
adjacent wafer to which it is attached. Suitable attachment means of
complementary joint ends (30) and (31) may be achieved by any number of
joint attachment means known in the art, which includes but is not limited to
frictional fit, nails, screws, bolts and nuts, mortises and tenons, rivets,
welding,
soldering, glue, hook and loop fasteners (such as VelcroTM), or any other
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means that provides a secure attachment that allows the complementary joint
ends (30) and (31) to transfer load from one panel to its adjacent panel. It
is
also contemplated that a number of joint attachment means may be used
alone or in combination with other attachment means to attach
complementary joint ends (30) and (31). Further, the attachment may be
permanent or transient to allow the creation of a permanent or a temporary
surface that may be disassembled.
Referring to Figures 5, 6A and 6B, there are illustrated embodiments having a
connector end (35) of an edge (20) of an embodiment of the present invention
that is adapted to fit in mated attachment with the side of a wafer (10) as
illustrated in Figure 9. The connector end (35) is dimensioned so that it may
be meet the edge (20) in mated or interlocking attachment. The attachment of
the edge (20) via its joint edge (35) to the side of the wafer (10) may be
achieved by any number of edge attachment means known in the art, which
includes but is not limited to frictional fit, a tongue-in-groove joint with
removable tongue (40), nails, screws, bolts and nuts, mortises and tenons,
rivets, welding, soldering, glue, hook and loop fasteners (such as VelcroTM),
or
any other means that provides a secure attachment that allows the edge (20)
to remain attached to the connector end (35) of the side of the wafer (10). It
is
also contemplated that a number of edge attachment means may be used
alone or in combination with other attachment means to attach a given edge
(20) to a given side of a wafer (10). Further, the attachment may be
permanent or transient to allow the modification of a given side of a wafer
(10)
with a different edge (20).
Referring to Figure 8A, an edge close out (50a) may be applied to an edge of
a wafer (10) to allow the attachment of an edge (20) to the wafer (1).
Alternatively, an edge close out (50b) (as shown in Figure 8B) or (50c) (as
shown in Figure 8C) may be applied to cover or protect an edge of the wafer
(10). The edge close out can take a large variety of shapes and sizes and
can be made from a similar list of materials as the upper and lower wafer
skins (5) and (15) and the edge (20) so long as the edge close out (50a) will
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allow the necessary amount of strength to maintain the integrity of the wafer
(1) to be maintained where the wafer (1) and edge (20) are connected or
where the wafer (1) is covered by the edge close out (50b and 50c).
Referring to Figures 10, 11 and 12, there are illustrated embodiments of the
present invention providing examples of confirmations of edge attachment to
a wafer having at least three sides. Referring to Figure 10, there is an
embodiment illustrating, modular edges (20) attached to adjacent sides of a
wafer (1). Referring to Figure 11, there is an embodiment illustrating modular
edges (20) attached to all sides of a wafer (1). Referring to Figure 12, there
is
an embodiment illustrating attachment of modular edges (20) to adjacent
sides of a wafer (1) and to the opposite side of the wafer (1).
The wafer may be made with a continuous wafer skin, and all spaces between
the edges and the wafers and between edges of adjacent wafers may be
sealed using a number of methods and techniques known in the art that
prevent the accumulation of water, dirt, mud, ice or other debris in the
spaces.
Examples of suitable techniques known in the art are, but not limited to
welding, soldering, coating, taping, or caulking.
The dimensions of the wafers of the present invention can easily be varied
with changes in production tooling. In one embodiment, the wafers with
edges may be approximately 1" to 100" in width, 1" to 500" in length and 1/16"
to 6" in thickness. The width and length of the wafer may vary so that the
wafers may be easily loaded and transported by standard vehicles and
containers. The thickness of the wafer and the edge may also vary
depending on the application, and the material used to construct the wafer.
The shapes and sizes of the wafers can vary in order to meet the
requirements of an application. For example, wafers of different shapes can
be assembled to form curves, slopes and other shapes required to avoid
obstacles in the environment.
The embodiments illustrated in Figures 1-14 would allow the fabrication of
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wafers (1) separate from edges (20) to allow the mass production of wafers
(1) that are able to connect to different edges (20) with different joint ends
(30). This allows for lower production costs and less time wasted in adjusting
the manufacture machinery to produce a panel with a specific profile to the
joint end (30).
Further, the embodiments illustrated in Figures 1-14 allow the user to select
an appropriate joint end (30) for a wafer (1) to match up with the joint end
(31)
of the adjacent wafer (2). As such, the user does not have to account for the
orientation of the fixed edges present in the prior art panel systems, to
ensure
that all the panels are correctly position so that the appropriate joint end
will
meet up with the complementary joint end of the adjacent panel. The
embodiments illustrated in Figures 1-14 would allow the user to start building
a continuous surface made up of the panels (100) from multiple positions
without consideration of the orientation of the panel, as the user is able to
select an edge (20) for a wafer (1), the edge (20) having a complementary
joint end (30) to the joint end (31) of the adjacent wafer (2).
Referring to Figure 9, an embodiment of wafer (1) is illustrated that provides
a
panel system forming a flat linear surface of panels with parallel sides
connected end-to-end to form a straight roadway. However, as illustrated in
Figure 14, the curved surfaces can be assembled by changing the shape of
the panel to a trapezoidal or substantially wedge shaped panel by varying the
length of opposing sides of the wafer (10a and 10b). As further illustrated in
Figure 14, a number of panels of different shapes and dimensions can be
connected together to form a continuous curved surface, so that the user may
form the continuous surface of panels to avoid objects in the user's path.
Referring to Figure 13, an embodiment is illustrated that provides for an
array
of panels stretching in two dimensions. The array of panels may be placed in
off-set rows in which each panel is joined to at least two adjacent panels on
at
least one side of the panel. In another embodiment, a panel may be
connected to two adjacent panels along at least two adjacent edges.
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Further, the panel system may be used as a continuous surface supported by
scaffolding, frame or the like to provide structures such as roofing, bridge
decking, walkways, catwalks, docks, gang planks, flooring for buildings and
the like.
Although the present invention has been described by way of a detailed
description in which various embodiments and aspects of the invention have
been described, it will be seen by one skilled in the art that the full scope
of
this invention is not limited to the examples presented herein. The invention
has a scope which is commensurate with the claims of this patent
specification including any elements or aspects which would be seen to be
equivalent to those set out in the accompanying claims.
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