Vehicle-supporting matting and plank therefor

Claim 1

A SECTION OF MATTING COMPRISING: (A) A PLURALITY OF PLANKS, EACH PLANK HAVING A UNITARY ELONGATED BODY PORTION WITH A FLAT UPPER SURFACE, (B) CONTINUOUS MALE CONNECTING MEANS FORMED INTEGRAL WITH THE BODY PORTION OF EACH PLANK ALONG ONE LONGITUDINAL SIDE OF THE BODY PORTION, (C) CONTINUOUS COMPLEMENTARY FEMALE CONNECTING MEANS FORMED INTEGRAL WITH THE BODY PORTION OF EACH PLANK ALONG THE OTHER LONGITUDINAL SIDE OF THE BODY PORTION AND PRESENTING AN OPENING ALONG THE LENGTH THEREOF RECEIVING PORTIONS OF THE MALE CONNECTING MEANS OF CONTIGUOUS PLANKS, (D) AN UPWARDLY PROJECTING ELEMENT ON THE MALE CONNECTING MEANS SPACED OUTWARDLY FROM THE BODY PORTION OF EACH PLANK, (E) A DOWNWARDLY PROJECTING ELEMENT ASSOCIATED WITH EACH FEMALE CONNECTING MEANS POSITIONED TO DEFINE ONE SIDE OF THE OPENING IN THE FEMALE CONNECTING MEANS, THE HEIGHT DIMENSION OF THE OPENING BEING GREATER THAN THE HEIGHT DIMENSION OF THE MALE CONNECTING MEANS OF EACH PLANK, THE UPWARDLY PROJECTING ELEMENT ON THE MALE CONNECTING MEANS AND THE DOWNWARDLY CONNECTING ELEMENT ON THE FEMALE CONNECTING MEANS BEING DIMENSIONED SO THAT THE MALE CONNECTING MEANS CAN BE INSERTED AND WITHDRAWN FROM THE FEMALE CONNECTING MEANS ONLY WITH THE UPPER SURFACES OF THE BODY PORTIONS OF THE TWO PLANKS ARRANGED AT AN ANGLE OF LESS THAN 180* TO EACH OTHER, (F) END CONNECTING MEANS ARRANGED TRANSVERSELY OF THE BODY PORTION OF EACH PLANK AT EACH END OF THE BODY PORTION AND CONNECTED THERETO, (G) AN UPWARDLY FACING CHANNEL INCLUDING AN UPWARDLY PROJECTING ELEMENT IN ONE END CONNECTING MEANS OF EACH PLANK, (H) A COMPLEMENTARILY SHAPED DOWNWARDLY FACING CHANNEL INCLUDING A DOWNWARDLY PROJECTING ELEMENT IN THE OTHER END CONNECTING MEANS OF EACH PLANK, (I) A SLOT IN EACH END CONNECTING MEANS EXTENDING THE LENGTH THEREOF AND OPENING IN A DIRECTION AWAY FROM THE BODY PORTION, THE SLOT AT EACH END OF EACH PLANK BEING SIMILARLY ARRANGED SO THAT THE SLOTS IN TWO END TO END CONTIGUOUS PLANKS REGISTER TO FORM A KEYWAY WITH THE DOWNWARDLY PROJECTING ELEMENT OF THE FIRST PLANK RECEIVED IN THE UPWARDLY FACING CHANNEL OF THE SECOND PLANK AND THE UPWARDLY PROJECTING ELEMENT OF THE SECOND PLANK RECEIVED IN THE DOWNWARDLY FACING CHANNEL OF THE FIRST PLANK, (J) THE CONTIGUOUS PLANKS OF THE MATING BEING ARRANGED WITH THE FLAT UPPER SURFACES OF ADJACENT PLANKS COPLANAR AND THE MALE AND FEMALE CONNECTING MEANS IN THE INTERLOCKING RELATIONSHIP DESCRIBED IN LIMITATION (E) AND WITH THE END TO END CONNECTIONS OF LIMITATION (I) BETWEEN CONTIGUOUS PLANSK BEING STAGGERED RELATIVE TO SAID END TO END CONNECTIONS BETWEEN CONTIGUOUS PLANKS ALONG THE LONGITUDINAL EDGE CONNECTIONS, AND (K) KEYS INSERTED IN KEYING RELATION TO THE KEYWAYS OF LIMITATION (I) AND BLOCKED AGAINST ENDWISE WITHDRAWAL BY THE CONNECTING MEANS OF THE LONGITUDINAL SIDES OF THE TWO CONTIGUOUS PLANKS.