Note : Les descriptions sont présentées dans la langue officielle dans laquelle elles ont été soumises.
CA 02817935 2013-06-14
TITLE
[0001] Machine for cleaning access mats
FIELD
[0002] There is described a machine that was developed for the purpose of
access mats.
BACKGROUND
[0003] In order to create a temporary road across environmentally
sensitive areas, road
mats are laid end to end. These road mats have come into common usage in the
oil and gas
industry during initial oil and gas exploration and to access service oil or
gas well sites.
When using drilling rigs for drilling for oil and gas, it is not unusual for
the entire site to be
covered with rig mats the are placed side by side and end to end to support
the drilling rig and
associated equipment. The term access mats is used to describe dual purpose
mats that can
be used as either road mats or rig mats. For the purpose of this description,
use of the term
access mat shall be considered to include road mats and rig mats. At the end
of a project, the
site is restored and the access mats (both road mats and and rig mats) are
moved to the next
environmentally sensitive site where they are required.
[0004] An increased emphasis upon safety has lead to increased regulation
and oversight
by government authorities. Damage has been sustained by vehicles following
trucks that are
transporting access mats. The damage has been caused by chunks of snow and ice
or mud
and rock falling off the access mats during transport. Highway traffic
authorities are now
inspecting loads of access mats for such potential hazards. At the present
time, this problem is
being addressed by having heavy equipment that is used to load the access mats
onto trucks
also used to scrape off excessive buildups of snow and ice or mud and rock
that are observed
during the loading process.
SUMMARY
[0005] There is provided a machine for cleaning access mats. Each mat has
a first face, a
second face, a first side edge, a second side edge and opposed ends. The
machine includes a
housing defining a processing tunnel through which each mat must pass. The
processing
tunnel has an inlet end and an outlet end. A first flailing roller is provided
for knocking
accumulated snow and ice or mud and rocks from the first face of each mat as
the mat passes
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from the inlet end to the outlet end of the processing tunnel. A second
flailing roller is
provided for knocking accumulated snow and ice or mud and rocks from the
second face of
each mat as the mat passes from the inlet end to the outlet end of the
processing tunnel. A
third flailing roller is provided for knocking accumulated snow and ice or mud
and rocks from
the first side edge of each mat as the mat passes from the inlet end to the
outlet end of the
processing tunnel. A fourth flailing roller is provided for knocking
accumulated snow and ice
or mud and rocks from the second side edge of each mat as the mat passes from
the inlet end
to the outlet end of the processing tunnel. Guides are provided for supporting
and guiding
each mat. A drive mechanism is provided for propelling each mat through the
processing
tunnel from the inlet end to the outlet end.
[0006] With the machine, described above, considerable time is saved by
simply feeding
the mats sequentially into inlet end of the processing tunnel where they are
flailed by the first,
second, third and fourth rollers as they travel through the processing tunnel
to the outlet end.
[0007] One area of the mat that is difficult to clean, even with flailing
rollers is an
interlock that is positioned at the opposed ends of the mat. For this reason,
it is preferred that
at least one interlock cleaning blade be provided. The interlock cleaning
blade engages the
interlock at each of the opposed ends of each mat passing through the
processing tunnel to
dislodge any accumulation of snow and ice or mud and rock from the interlock.
[0008] Access mats can be rejected and access refused to the next
environmentally
sensitive site due to a presence of environmental contaminants. These
environmental
contaminants can take a number of forms, such as weed seeds, insect larva, or
invasive plant
species. Where this is a potential issue, a spray assembly may be positioned
in the processing
tunnel downstream of the first, second, third and fourth flailing rollers. The
spray assembly
may simply provide a washing action or, where required, may deliver a chemical
decontaminant to address the environmental contaminant identified.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
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[0009] These and other features will become more apparent from the
following
description in which reference is made to the appended drawings, the drawings
are for the
purpose of illustration only and are not intended to be in any way limiting,
wherein:
[0010] FIG. 1 is a side elevation view, in section, of a machine for
cleaning access mats.
[0011] FIG. 2 is a perspective view of an access mat.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
[0012] A machine for cleaning access mats generally identified by
reference numeral 10,
will now be described with reference to FIG. 1. Referring to FIG. 2, mats 100
to be cleaned
each have a first face 102, a second face 104, a first side edge 106, a second
side edge 108 and
opposed ends 110 and 112. There is a mating interlock 114 at each of opposed
ends 110 and
112. Mats 100 are generally made of wood, but some mats have been made out of
alternative
materials.
Structure and Relationship of Parts:
[0013] Referring to FIG. 1, a preferred embodiment of machine 10 is
illustrated.
Machine 10 has a housing 12 which defines a processing tunnel 14 through which
each mat
100 must pass. Processing tunnel 14 has an inlet end 16 and an outlet end 18.
A first flailing
roller 20 is provided for knocking accumulated snow and ice or mud and rocks
from first face
102 of each mat 100 as mat 100 passes from inlet end 16 to outlet end 18 of
processing tunnel
14. A second flailing roller 22 is provided for knocking accumulated snow and
ice or mud
and rocks from second face 104 of each mat 100 as mat 100 passes from inlet
end 16 to outlet
end 18 of processing tunnel 14. A third flailing roller 24 is provided for
knocking
accumulated snow and ice or mud and rocks from first side edge 106 of each mat
100 as mat
100 passes from inlet end 16 to outlet end 18 of processing tunnel 14. A
fourth flailing roller
(hidden in this view) is provided for knocking accumulated snow and ice or mud
and rocks
from second side edge 108 of each mat 100 as the mat 100 passes from inlet end
16 to outlet
end 18 of processing tunnel 14. There are various flailing medium that can be
used. For this
application flailing chains are used, it will be appreciated that heavy
bristles could also be
used. Guide rollers 26, 28, 30, 32, 34, 36 are provided for supporting and
guiding each mat.
Guide rollers 26 and 28 engage first face 102 of each mat 100 and guide
rollers 30, 32, 34,
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and 36 engage second face 104 of each mat 100. Some of guide rollers 26, 28,
30, 32, 34 and
36 are mechanically driven and serve as drive rollers for propelling each mat
100 through
processing tunnel 14 from inlet end 16 to outlet end 18. It will be
appreciated that that not all
of guide rollers 26, 28, 30, 32, 34 and 36 need be mechanically driven for
machine 10 to
function. To enhance the operation of the guide rollers, rubber gripping
surfaces are provided.
An interlock cleaning blade 37 is provided that is configured to engage
interlock 114 at each
of opposed ends 110 and 112. Interlock cleaning blade drops down into
interlock 114 and
cleans any accumulations of ice and snow or mud and rock out of interlock 114.
Although
only one interlock cleaning blade 37 has been illustrated, it will be
appreciated that two
interlock cleaning blades 37 could be provided, one for each of opposed ends
110 and 112.
[0014] Where environmental contamination is potentially an issue, a spray
assembly 40
with a plurality of spray heads 42 is positioned in processing tunnel 14
downstream of first
20, second 22, third 24 and fourth flailing rollers. Spray assembly 40 can
deliver water
through spray heads 42 to wash mats 100 or, can deliver a chemical
decontaminant, where
chemical treatment is necessary.
[0015] As machine 10 must operate at remote and isolated locations where
power is
unlikely to be available, a portable generator 44 is provided to power first
20, second 22, third
24, and fourth (hidden in this view) flailing rollers, along with the drive
rollers.
Operation:
[0016] Referring to FIG. 1, in operation, mats 100 are sent sequentially
through
processing tunnel 14 from inlet end 16 to outlet end 18. Guide rollers 26, 28,
30, 32, 34, and
36 support and guide each mat 100 as it travels through processing tunnel 14.
Some of guide
rollers 26, 28, 30, 32, 34, and 36 are mechanically driven and serve as drive
rollers to propel
each mat 100 from inlet end 16 toward outlet end 18. Placed in the travel path
of mats 100
are flailing rollers: first flailing roller 20, second flailing roller 22,
third flailing roller 24 and
fourth flailing roller (hidden in this view). The flailing rollers knock snow
and ice or mud and
rocks from mats 100. As each mat 100 travels through processing tunnel 14,
interlock
cleaning blade drops down and engages interlock 114, to scrape any
accumulations of snow
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and ice or mud and rock out of interlock 114. Downstream of flailing rollers
20, 22, and 24 is
spray assembly 40 that delivers a cleaning or decontaminating spray through a
plurality of
spray heads 42.
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[0017] In this patent document, the word "comprising" is used in its non-
limiting sense to
mean that items following the word are included, but items not specifically
mentioned are not
excluded. A reference to an element by the indefinite article "a" does not
exclude the
possibility that more than one of the element is present, unless the context
clearly requires that
there be one and only one of the elements.
[0018] The scope of the claims should not be limited by the illustrated
embodiments set
forth as examples, but should be given the broadest interpretation consistent
with a purposive
construction of the claims in view of the description as a whole.
