Patent ID: 7303800

Claim:
An interlocking mat system for temporary support structures comprising: a plurality of uniformly sized rigid mats; along at least one side and one end of said mats, the perimeter of said mats being sloped upward from the bottom of said mats to form a upper lip; at least one opposite side and opposite end of said mats is sloped downward from top of said mats to form a lower lip; the angle to which said mat edges are sloped to form said lips being substantially the same thus allowing for the overlapping of said upper and lower lips about the edges of said mat with respective like lower and upper lips of other like mats when placed adjacent thereto for joining therewith by which said overlapping mats form a generally flat continuous top and bottom surface; and, said overlapping mats' lips are secured together by an attachment means. wherein the attachment means is a composite integral fit joint, snap fit joint or an integral design feature joint in which the joint is held together by material interference with the contacting surfaces of the overlapping lips. has been inserted.