Patent ID: 8061929

Claim:
A rig mat system comprising: a plurality of rectangular panels arranged to be laid side by side and fastened end to end in an array to cover rough ground to form a support surface; each panel having a mounting arrangement comprising a first and second connecting member each connected to a respective one of the ends of the panel for connection of the panel to a next adjacent panel having a similar mounting arrangement; wherein each panel comprises: a honeycomb core panel having a first face and a second opposite face with an array of generally hexagonal tubular cells defined by walls of the core panel extending between the first and second faces; a foam material filling the tubular cells; a first fibrous reinforcing cover sheet extending over the first face of the core panel; a second fibrous reinforcing cover sheet extending over the second face of the core panel; the first and second cover sheets being filled with a set resin material; wherein the walls of the honey comb core panel are formed from a porous fibrous material and the set resin in the cover sheets extends from the cover sheets into the porous fibrous material of the walls of the core panel so as to form an integral structure of the resin extending between the walls and the sheets.