Rapidly deployed assault vehicle surfacing or trackway system

Claim 1

A transportable modular surfacing system comprising: a plurality of rectangularly shaped planks, each of said planks having a first long side provided with a male portion and a second long side provided with a female portion, said male and female portions of adjacent planks being interengagable; an elongated passage extending along the length of each of said long sides of each of said planks and being generally parallel to said male and female portions; flexible continuous hinge members joining adjacent ones of said planks to each other to form said surfacing system, each of said hinge members having a generally rectangular base portion with first and second bulb portions extending along first and second long sides of said base portion, said first bulb portion of each of said hinge members being removably positionable within said elongated passage adjacent said male portion of a first of said planks and said second bulb portion of each of said hinge members being removably positionable within said elongated passage adjacent said female portion of a second adjacent one of said planks, said hinge member being connectable to said adjacent planks when said planks lie in intersecting planes thereby joining said adjacent planks so that said planks may be folded in an accordion fashion, said flexible continuous hinge members preventing the penetration of water, and the pumping of mud from beneath said modular surfacing and between said adjacent planks during traversal of said modular surfacing system by vehicles when said planks are positioned in substantially the same plane to form said surfacing system; and, hinge retainer means secured in said elongated passages and abutting the ends of said bulb portions of said flexible continuous hinge members to prevent lateral shifting of adjacent ones of said planks in said surfacing system.