Plant husbandry – Process
Reexamination Certificate
1997-07-15
2001-04-24
Lankford, Jr., Leon B. (Department: 1651)
Plant husbandry
Process
C047S00101T, C047S044000, C428S085000, C428S092000, C428S095000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06219965
ABSTRACT:
TECHNICAL FIELD
The present invention relates to a plant growth sheet structure which can be laid in grounds such as a general house garden, a bank of a river, a park and a golf course as well as planting zones of various buildings, roads or the like, fields of various sport facilities and others, and is used for growing plants. The present invention also relates to a natural turf sheet structure which is obtained from the above structure and has a natural turf grown on it.
Also, the present invention relates to a method of growing turfs on concrete walls of a dam, a retention pond or the like.
Further, the present invention relates to a method of laying a turf sheet structure, and in particular to a method of laying the turf sheet structure at large-scale facilities.
BACKGROUND ART
When one intends to grow natural turfs, grasses or flowers at a ground such as a general house garden, a bank of a river, a park or a golf course, or a planting zone of a building, road or the like, he or she directly sows plant seeds in the ground or planting zone, or plants young plants therein. An appropriate anti-flow-out fence or the like may be provided for preventing flow-out of the sowed seeds or planted young plants as well as applied fertilizer by rain, wind and irrigated water.
In the sport facilities, fields of soil or natural turfs have been used for a long time. However, a difficult or laborious work is required for maintaining such fields, so that artificial turfs are now used in many cases.
However, the artificial turf is not suitable to some kinds of sports such as a soccer, so that such sports are played on the natural turf even in these days.
In the sport facilities, however, the field in which the natural turf is directly planted in the ground suffers from such problems that it is difficult to control the growth of the turf, and that a long time is required for repairing a turf damaged by the play, which may disable continuous use thereof. In view of this, such a method may be used that natural turfs which have been grown at another place are laid on a leveled and prepared base ground, and a possible damaged portion can be replaced with a new turf.
Natural turfs which have been grown at a different place and are cut into an appropriate size are used for laying them in the sport facilities and for replacing a damaged turf portion with it, as is well known. In connection with this, one can envisage a semi-artificial natural turf sheet structure which does not use natural soil and can be transferred.
Such a turf sheet structure may be used at grounds such as a general house garden, a bank of a river, a park, a golf course, a hillock and a seaside as well as planting zones of various buildings, roads or the like.
As an example of a semi-artificial natural turf sheet structure, Japanese Laid-Open Patent publication No. 51-119108 (1976) has disclosed a turf mat which can be rolled up and includes a turf growing soil layer made of saw-dust, an underlying mesh mat and a water-proof base sheet in a layered fashion. Also, Japanese Laid-Open Patent publication No. 54-117732 (1979) has disclosed a turf sheet in which soil or sand is laid on a net, and a turf is grown on the same. Japanese Laid-Open Patent publication No. 60-95004 (1985) has disclosed a structure, in which a rubber mat or a synthetic resin plate provided with holes are laid in a place for growing a natural turf, and the holes are filled with soil, sand, turf runners, fertilizer and water retaining material for growing the turf. Japanese Laid-Open Patent publication No. 62-25907 (1987) has disclosed a mat which is mainly made of a rock wool holding turf seeds mixed thereinto. Japanese Laid-Open Patent publication No. 63-91015 (1988) has disclosed a planting mat, in which a rock wool is integrally provided with a frame member having substantially equally spaced tip ends and a bottom in a matrix form, and turf seeds are contained in the rock wool. Japanese Laid-Open Patent publication No. 2-104216 (1990) has disclosed a long-sheet product in a roll form, in which turfs are decomposed and expanded into elongated forms, stripe-shaped runners are arranged on a net having an appropriate mesh size, and their top surfaces are covered with a water-soluble paper sheet. Japanese Laid-Open Patent publication No. 3-247204 (1991) has disclosed the following natural turf base. A turf growing base member is made of a mixture of fertilizer and an inorganic light-weight soil member. Side and lower surfaces of the base member are covered with a lower sheet. An upper sheet is arranged on an upper surface of the base member. A member holding turf seeds are arranged at the lower surface of the upper sheet. A wave-shaped net is arranged between the turf seed holding member and the lower sheet and in the base member. The upper and lower sheets are integrally joined together by sewing threads, staples or the like.
However, when one intends to grow natural turfs, grasses or flowers at a ground such as a general house garden, a bank of a river, a park, a golf course, a hillock washed with rainwater, or a seaside exposed to a strong wind, or at a planting zone of a building, road or the like by directly sowing plant seeds in the ground or planting zone, or planting young plants therein, such a problem arises that the sowed seeds or planted young plants as well as applied fertilizer and others are liable to be flown out by rainwater, wind, irrigated water and others. Although the above problem can be prevented by provision of an anti-flow-out fence, or the like, this requires a laborious and time-consuming work.
Each of the natural turf sheet structures disclosed in the foregoing publications can be used without cutting it or after cutting it into an appropriate size. Further, it may be cut into an appropriate size after germination of turf seeds or growth, if necessary. Thereby, it can be laid over grounds such as a general house garden, a bank of a river, a park and a golf course as well as a place such as a planting zone of a building or a road, in which case the foregoing problems caused by direct sowing in the soil can be prevented to a certain extent. Also, the above structures can be used in sport facilities. However, the following problem arises.
The perforated rubber mat and synthetic resin plate disclosed in Japanese Laid-Open Patent publication No. 60-95004 are used not for entirely growing the turf but for intermittently growing the turf. Therefore, this cannot be employed when the turf is to be grown on a whole surface without a space. Particularly, this cannot be employed in sport facilities.
Further, except for the natural turf base, which includes the upper and lower sheets fixed together by the sewing threads, staples or the like as disclosed in Japanese Laid-Open Patent publication No. 3-247204, the structures disclosed in the foregoing publications cannot be used for the places such as sport facilities in which a severe force is applied thereto, because these structures are liable to be entirely decomposed and/or damaged. If the turf is damaged, e.g., by being shaved, an underlying material is exposed to exhibit an unpreferable appearance.
Even in the natural turf base disclosed in Japanese Laid-Open Patent publication No. 3-247204, if the turf is damaged, e.g., by being shaved, an underlying material is exposed, which similarly results in an unpreferable appearance.
Further, any of the natural turf sheet structures disclosed in the foregoing publications suffers from a problem that its weight is small and/or it cannot be sufficiently fitted with the underlying soil or the like, resulting in a poor stability. Therefore, a problem arises when it is laid, for example, over an inclined surface of a river bank, hillock or the like. Particularly, it is not suitable to the sport facilities, because players cannot stably play on the structure.
Description has been given on the case where the plants such as a turf are grown in grounds such as a general house garden, a bank of a river, a park and a golf course as well as planting zones of vari
Fukumoto Hiroaki
Hatado Tatsuo
Hirasawa Toshimasa
Ishikawa Yoshio
Taga Akira
Arent Fox Kintner Plotkin & Kahn
Lankford , Jr. Leon B.
Otsuka Kagaku Kabushiki Kaisha
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