Road structure – process – or apparatus – Pavement – Including bed
Patent
1992-10-07
1994-06-14
Britts, Ramon S.
Road structure, process, or apparatus
Pavement
Including bed
404 17, E01C 1300, E01C 712
Patent
active
053204476
DESCRIPTION:
BRIEF SUMMARY
The present invention refers to a base structure, particularly suitable for tennis courts, to a tennis court and to a method of building a tennis court.
Court structures for tennis courts and for the practice of other sports are prepared in accordance with various techniques, depending upon the desired particularities and/or characteristics of the sport for which the court is intended.
In particular, lawn tennis courts, which are known since the eighteenth century, originally had grass playing surfaces. Such surfaces have the disadvantages of producing a very fast game since the ball tends to slide more than bounce on the grass with the result that it loses very little speed on contact. Besides, this type of playing surface involves high costs to maintain the grass and it becomes unsuitable for play during rain and takes a long time to recover satisfactory playing conditions.
Later clay ("saibro") courts were developed. For the purposes of the present specification and claims, "clay" or "saibro" means clay based material that results from the weathering of granitic rock and is comprised essentially of sand, silt and clay and used for what is popularly known as a "clay court". "Clay" as thus defined has the capability of forming alloys, creating a surface of relative resistance, which, in good weather conditions, withstands the movements of the players without undergoing any significant deformation. The advantages of such a court base structure lie in the fact that it makes the ball reduce speed on bouncing and causes less injuries of an orthopedic nature since it is soft, and in particular also because of the presence of brick dust on its surface. Brick dust enables the player's feet to slide and turn with less friction when he stops abruptly, without these movements having to be supported only by the joints of the player's lower members.
The disadvantages of clay courts lie in the fact that the low consistency of their surfaces requires compacting the court regularly, thus interrupting the use thereof. The court loses its playing conditions quite rapidly under the action of rain due to the softening of the clay, which may lead to closure of the court for several days, depending upon the amount of water and the weather conditions. In order to attenuate this problem, known tennis courts have a complex draining system that consists of several layers of stones, pieces of brick and tile under the surface layer of clay, this, however, significantly increasing construction costs.
Besides, if the layer of clay becomes too dry, cracks may appear. A well-known way of attenuating this problem consists in placing hydroscopic salt on the surface for the purpose of maintaining some moistness. This does not eliminate the need for moistening the court periodically in dry climates, which represents a further burden on the cost of maintaining clay courts.
Another disadvantage of clay courts lies in the fact that the brick dust usually placed on their surface has a low specific weight and it is too thin, so that it is easily carried away by wind and rain and therefore requires constant replacement. In addition, the brick dust stains the balls, as well as the shoes and clothes of the player.
A more recent type of court structure is made up of several layers of stones, crushed rock and asphaltic emulsion, which provides an impervious hard court structure, which can be painted in several colors. Although this type of hard court can be dried after rain, thus providing almost immediate playing conditions, besides having a low maintenance cost, it does not allow the player's shoes to slide, as on gravel courts, and can cause injuries due to abrupt stops or turns. Besides, the hard and smooth surface of the asphalt provides a rapid game, since the ball slides more than bounces. Finally, a further disadvantage lies in the high costs involved in building a court of this type.
The prior art also includes carpet-like court structures made of rubber or a similar material. Although they are softer than the previously mentioned hard floo
REFERENCES:
patent: 2648603 (1953-08-01), Jenin
patent: 3661604 (1972-05-01), Artmann
patent: 3754954 (1973-08-01), Gabriel et al.
patent: 4515839 (1985-05-01), Broaddus et al.
patent: 4523755 (1985-06-01), Turba
Table 21-12, U.S. Sieve Series and Tyler Equivalents, Chemical Engineers' Handbook, Fifth Edition, pp. 21-41 (1973).
Britts Ramon S.
Clayther International - Technology Transfers Ltd.
Lisehora James A.
LandOfFree
Base structure, particularly suitable for tennis courts, a tenni does not yet have a rating. At this time, there are no reviews or comments for this patent.
If you have personal experience with Base structure, particularly suitable for tennis courts, a tenni, we encourage you to share that experience with our LandOfFree.com community. Your opinion is very important and Base structure, particularly suitable for tennis courts, a tenni will most certainly appreciate the feedback.
Profile ID: LFUS-PAI-O-1243711