Synthetic Sports Turf Having Lowered Infill Levels

Abstract

A durable and wear resistant synthetic sports field having a plurality of strips having a plurality of fibrillated polypropylene strands tufted within a multilayer backing material. The strands are tufted in a wide variety of pile heights, patterns, gauges, and stitch patterns depending upon end use. A particulate matter infill is introduced onto the strips at a depth between about 10% and 50% of the overall height of the strands.

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD AND INDUSTRIAL APPLICABILITY OF THE INVENTION[0001]The present invention relates generally to synthetic sports fields and more specifically to a synthetic sports turf having lowered infill levels.BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION[0002]Synthetic grass sports surfaces are well known. These surfaces are becoming increasingly popular as replacements for natural grass surfaces in stadiums, playgrounds, golf driving ranges, and a variety of other facilities for a variety of different uses. The synthetic grass surfaces stand up to wear much better than the natural grass surfaces, do not require as much maintenance, and can be used in partially or fully enclosed stadiums where natural grass cannot typically be grown.[0003]Most synthetic grass surfaces comprise rows of strips or ribbons of synthetic grass-like material, extending vertically from a backing mat with particulate material infill in between the ribbons on the mat. One or more layers of aggregate material are introduced ...

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

[0008]An advantage of the present invention is to reduce the raw material costs of the particulate matter infill layer of a synthetic turf field without a reduction in the playability of the synthetic turf field.

[0009]The present invention is directed to a new and improved synthetic grass surface that can be used in all types of end use applications. The durable and wear resistant synthetic sports field is formed from conventional strips of synthetic turf material in which strands of ribbons are tufted in a wide variety of pile heights, patterns, gauges, and stitch patterns through a flexible backing system. A particulate matter infill is introduced onto the strips for use on sports fields, such as football fields and soccer fields. The depth of the particulate matter infill is less than 50% of the height of the strands over the backing material, and more preferably between about 10% and 50% of the height of the strands, yet still provides a desired level of playability for the particular end use.

[0010]To accomplish this, in one preferred embodiment, the particulate matter infill layer is comprised of smaller, and hence denser, particulate matter than is traditionally used in athletic fields. The denser particulate matter acts to stabilize the pile elements, prevent graininess (i.e. prevent the tendency of the pile fabric to lay in a given direction), absorb shock, and improve the footing of a player running or walking across the surface at lower infill levels than what was previously thought possible. The denser particulate matter preferably is in the form of hard particles, such as sand, resilient particles such as rubber, or combinations of both hard and resilient particles.

[0011]In another preferred embodiment of the present invention, a resilient padding layer is added between the level subgrade and the backing material. The resilient padding layer serves to improve the overall shock absorption of the athletic field having the lowered infill levels.

Problems solved by technology

As one of ordinary skill appreciates, the deeper the depth or thickness of the particulate matter infill layer, the higher the raw material costs for installing the field.

However, there has never been any study that compares the infill depth to the actual playability characteristics of an athletic field.

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