Stock material or miscellaneous articles – Pile or nap type surface or component – With particles
Reexamination Certificate
1999-09-10
2001-10-09
Jones, Deborah (Department: 1775)
Stock material or miscellaneous articles
Pile or nap type surface or component
With particles
C428S095000, C428S017000, C428S331000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06299959
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an improved synthetic grass surface that is filled with a mixture of sand and resilient particles, or resilient particles alone or in other combinations.
2. Description of Related Art
Synthetic turf surfaces have become widely known for use as playing field surfaces for athletic games such as tennis, football, soccer, baseball, field hockey and even golf. Such playing field surfaces are most frequently made of artificial turf or synthetic grasslike carpeting which simulate natural grass fields. Although the best of these artificial turf fields, such as those sold under the ASTROTURF brand by the assignee Southwest Recreational Industries, Inc., provide synthetic playing surfaces which closely simulate the appearance and physical character of natural turf, there is significant expense involved in knitting that synthetic turf and preparing and installing an appropriate cushioning and drainage system with that turf.
Therefore, in order to achieve a highly durable less expensive synthetic turf playing surface, there have been a number of attempts made to utilize top dressings or fillings for synthetic turf.
One problem with such filled turfs has been the tendency of the filling, usually sand, to compact over time. Thus, these surfaces have not always proved satisfactory for contact sports because the compaction of the top dressing limits the shock absorbing ability of the surface and because sand top dressing is abrasive. In an effort to remedy this problem, U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,337,283; 4,396,653; and 5,041,320 all propose introducing some shock absorbing or resilient particles.
Initial effects by the assignee to develop an economical grass-like all weather surface resulted in turf without sufficient stability, with greater than desirable abrasiveness and without adequate retention capabilities for the resilient particles.
Thus, there remains a need for a highly durable, less expensive synthetic playing surface which provides the appropriate degree and type of resiliency and does not compact over time.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The invention herein relates to the provision of a synthetic grass having both surface forming fibers and dense thatch zone forming fibers to add resilience and to lock in rubber granules which are distributed more densely near the base of the fibers. In one embodiment of this arrangement, the covering rubber like particles stabilize the synthetic surface fibers in their upright position and provide resiliency and sand like filling is mixed with the rubber particles in the upper levels to produce a predetermined and controlled surface resiliency. The thatch zone forming fibers prevent the rubberlike resilient particles form migrating or escaping the turf. With this arrangement, it is also necessary to reinforce the backing fabric, into which the grasslike and thatch zone fibers are tufted, with fiberglass. Thus the backing fabric preferably consists of a laminate of a fabric with a fiberglass reinforcing matrix and a polyester fabric. After tufting, the backing is sprayed with an resilient latex type or other carpet adhesive to lock in the tufted fibers. Although the grasslike surface forming fibers can conceivably be made of many olefins such as polypropylene, polyethylene or their co-polymers, the polyethylene co-polymers are generally less abrasive. The top dressing may be the sand/rubber mix described above, may consist solely of resilient particles, or may be a combination of resilient particles and polymer beads or pellets.
It is therefore an object of the invention to provide an inexpensive, easily applied synthetic grass to produce a playing field of desired resiliency or firmness.
It is another object of the invention to provide a synthetic playing surface for athletic games which is top dressed with relatively inexpensive materials and which provides reduced compaction, while retaining the top dressing over time.
It is yet a further object of the invention to provide a synthetic grass surface which is easier and less expensive to maintain than natural turf.
The combination of backing fabric, grasslike and roots zone fibers and varied top filling provides an extremely durable surface suitable for high use areas such as soccer goal mouths, school yards, playgrounds and multi-sport areas.
It is another object of the invention to provide a well stabilized surface that does not substantially shrink, expand or stretch as a result of temperature changes or heavy wear, and may be played upon with either light or heavy weights of top dressing.
These and other objects of the invention are achieved by providing a playing surface for athletic games comprised of fiberglass reinforced backing fabric, a tufted grasslike polyethylene co-polymer fiber component, a dense tufted nylon 6.6 root zone component, and top filling comprised of rubber granules and optional polymer or sand components wherein composition of the mixture may be adjusted based on the distance from the backing fabric. Additional objects and advantages of the invention will be set forth in part in the following description, or may be obvious from the description or accompanying drawings, or may be learned through practice of the invention.
The accompanying drawings, which are incorporated in and constitute a part of the specification, illustrate several embodiments of the invention and together with the description, serve to explain the principles of the invention.
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patent: 4044179 (1977-08-01), Haas
patent: 4336286 (1982-06-01), Tomarin
patent: 4337283 (1982-06-01), Haas, Jr.
patent: 4389435 (1983-06-01), Haas
patent: 4396653 (1983-08-01), Tomarin
patent: 4426415 (1984-01-01), Avery
patent: 4497853 (1985-02-01), Tomarin
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patent: 4637942 (1987-01-01), Tomarin
patent: 4655635 (1987-04-01), Furukawa
patent: 4705706 (1987-11-01), Avery
patent: 5026580 (1991-06-01), Hammon
patent: 5041320 (1991-08-01), Meredith et al.
patent: 5205562 (1993-04-01), Hammon
patent: 5601886 (1997-02-01), Ishikawa et al.
patent: 5958527 (1999-09-01), Prevost
patent: 5962101 (1999-10-01), Irwin, Sr. et al.
patent: 530694 (1980-04-01), None
Cole L. Alan
Squires Troy
Walker Raymond
Boss Wendy
Jones Deborah
Miller & Martin LLP
Southwest Recreational Industries, Inc.
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