Cleaning and liquid contact with solids – Processes – Including regeneration – purification – recovery or separation...
Patent
1994-05-18
1996-10-08
Andrews, Melvyn
Cleaning and liquid contact with solids
Processes
Including regeneration, purification, recovery or separation...
134 2212, 134 2218, 134 37, 15345, 15346, 15405, A47L 514, A47L 908, E01H 108
Patent
active
055627790
DESCRIPTION:
BRIEF SUMMARY
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
This invention relates to the renovation of synthetic playing surfaces particulary, but not exclusively, sporting surfaces such as synthetic grass tennis courts, synthetic bowling greens and synthetic football and like playing fields, which generally include a layer of sand or other coarse particulate matter as part of their structural make up. The invention is primarily concerned with equipment for removing the coarse particulate matter, together with any entrained dirt, from the synthetic grass surface, separating the dirt from the sand, and returning the clean particulate matter to the synthetic grass surface. Another aspect of the invention concerns equipment for softening the layer of sand and/or other particulate matter in synthetic playing surfaces, and this aspect has particular applicability to sporting surfaces which are wet.
Since the invention is primarily concerned with the renovation of synthetic grass tennis courts, it will be described in that context. However, it will be readily apparent to the skilled addressee that the invention has much broader application than this and that such description is given merely by way of illustration.
DESCRIPTION OF THE PRIOR ART
Synthetic grass tennis courts typically comprise a synthetic mat surface from which extend tufts of simulated grass fibres of plastics material. Sand is layered over the mat surface filling the spaces between the tufts so that the tufts remain substantially erect and produce a flat surface which provides a ball rebound similar to a natural grass court surface.
In time, various environmental factors acting on such synthetic grass tennis courts necessitate cleaning or replacement of the sand. Cleaning may be done with high pressure water or with the use of nylon or wire brushes. High pressure water is disadvantageous in that it is a messy process and usually requires replacement of much of the sand and a considerable amount of relevelling. Relevelling is difficult with wet sand and is a laborious, time-consuming process. Nylon brushes are not very successful, particularly when the sand has become highly compacted, and wire brushes damage the synthetic mat and tufts.
OBJECT OF THE INVENTION
It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide equipment for use in renovating synthetic grass tennis courts, for example, which does not have the disadvantages outlined above.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
Accordingly to one aspect of the present invention, there is provided a device for dislodging, entraining and separating coarse and fine particulate matter layered on a synthetic playing surface, characterised in that the device comprises a plenum chamber having a compressed air inlet and at least one air outlet through which air can be expelled at an inclined angle against a playing surface so as to dislodge coarse and fine particulate matter layered thereon and to direct it into an adjacent manifold which extends above said plenum chamber, said manifold including a port located in its upper region through which the fine lightweight particulate matter is exhausted, and an outlet in a lower region by way of which the coarse heavyweight particulate matter is passed back to the playing surface.
The particulate dislodgment, entrainment and separating device is suitably arranged on a framework which permits easy manipulation over the surface to be treated. An arrangement for removing the separated lightweight matter and collecting it may also be included on such a framework. Most preferably, the framework is wheeled so that the device may be pushed or driven over the surface to be treated.
The plenum chamber is preferably an elongate chamber, most suitably of substantially tubular configuration which traverses the device from side to the other, that is, it is arranged such that it extends at approximately right angles to the direction in which the device is adapted to move or be propelled over the ground surface. The plenum chamber has at least one compressed air inlet, most preferably two--on opposing end
REFERENCES:
patent: 3902219 (1975-09-01), Jones
patent: 4290165 (1981-09-01), Hiramatsu et al.
patent: 5218732 (1993-06-01), Pettigrew et al.
patent: 5302210 (1994-04-01), Whyte
Allaway Allan W.
Blair Ian
Seefeld Allan J.
Andrews Melvyn
Synthetic Grass Maintenace Services Pty Ltd.
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