Patent ID: 7628150

Claim:
A versatile flexible mat, comprising: a plurality of sections, wherein each section of the plurality of sections comprises: a. a tube having a peripheral wall, capable of conducting at least one type of melting medium therethrough, said peripheral wall comprising at least one jet for releasing the melting medium; b. at least one arch rib connected to the tube and extending from the tube, towards the arch rib of a neighboring section, said at least one arch rib comprising an upper surface of the arch rib and a lower surface of the arch rib, and wherein the arch ribs extending from the neighboring sections are flexibly connected to each other, thus forming a downwardly facing flexible ceiling and a closed space above the ground surface, and wherein the upper surfaces of the arch ribs, said ribs being flexibly connected to each other, form an upper surface of the mat and, wherein the lower surfaces of the arch ribs, said ribs being flexibly connected to each other, form a lower surface of the mat, and wherein at least some of the melting substance, released by the at least one jet is released into the closed space between the ceiling and the precipitation-covered surface, and wherein the arch ribs, extending from the neighboring sections, each extend from the tube towards the arch rib of a neighboring section at a wide upward-pointing angle, thus forming a centrally-raised flexible ceiling in the form of an arch over the precipitation-covered surface to facilitate the distribution of the melting medium in the closed space, and wherein the mat comprises at least one snow-mashing member, said at least one snow-mashing member connected to the flexible ceiling and extending vertically in the downward direction, and wherein said at least one snow-mashing member comprises substantially horizontal multiply-edged surface on it's lower end having a plurality of peaked protrusions.