Filler and artificial turf filled with the same

Abstract

To provide a filler capable of further improving carbon neutrality, and artificial turf filled with the filler.SOLUTION: A filler 4 for artificial turf containing a plant-derived component as a main component contains a component derived from plant cones as the plant-derived component, and may further contain a component derived from plant bark as the plant-derived component. The plant-derived component may further include a component derived from plant seeds and / or a component derived from plant barks and / or a component derived from plant shells and / or a component derived from plant cobs.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a filler and an artificial turf filled with the same, and more particularly to a filler for artificial turf containing a plant-derived component as a main component and an artificial turf filled with the same. [Background technology]

[0002] Conventionally, artificial turf has been constructed by erecting multiple turf yarns on a base fabric, with filler containing rubber chips filled between the yarns. The rubber chips are black, which has the drawback of making the surface temperature prone to high temperatures, especially in the summer. Furthermore, in recent years, concerns have been raised about the adverse effects of rubber chips on human health.

[0003] Therefore, in recent years, fillers made of plant-derived ingredients that do not contain rubber chips (hereinafter referred to as plant fillers) have been developed as fillers for artificial turf. For example, the plant filler mainly contains a component derived from coconut shells (see, for example, Patent Document 1). [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0004] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Publication No. 2020-118028 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0005] In recent years, carbon neutrality has been attracting attention from the perspective of curbing global warming and achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Plant-based fillers are superior in terms of carbon neutrality compared to fillers containing rubber chips.

[0006] On the other hand, coconut palms are found in tropical regions, and countries like Japan, where most of the land is located north of the subtropics (subtropical and / or temperate and / or subarctic and / or arctic regions), have no choice but to rely almost entirely on imports to obtain coconuts. As a result, for example, the carbon neutrality of coconuts in Japan remains at around 50%.

[0007] Therefore, in these countries, as long as the plant filler is primarily composed of coconut shell-derived components, there is a natural limit to how much carbon neutral the artificial turf filler can be. Therefore, the present invention aims to provide a filler that can further improve carbon neutrality, and artificial turf filled with it. [Means for solving the problem]

[0008] The present invention is a filler for artificial turf containing a plant-derived component as a main component, characterized in that the plant-derived component contains a component derived from a plant cone.

[0009] The present invention also provides artificial turf comprising a base fabric, grass threads erected from the base fabric, and a filling layer formed between the grass threads, wherein the filling layer is filled with the above-mentioned filler.

[0010] In the present invention, the plant cones may be those of a plant belonging to the genus Pinus. Furthermore, in the present invention, the plant-derived components may further include a component derived from the bark of a plant. Furthermore, in the present invention, the plant-derived components may further include a component derived from the seed of a plant, and / or a component derived from the bark of a plant, and / or a component derived from the shell of a plant, and / or a component derived from the cob of a plant. [Effects of the Invention]

[0011] The present invention makes it possible to provide a filler that can further improve carbon neutrality by containing a component derived from a plant cone as a plant-derived component, and an artificial turf filled with the filler. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0012] [Figure 1] 1 is a cross-sectional schematic view of an embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 2] 1A and 1B are schematic diagrams of a plant cone, where (a) shows the entire cone and (b) is an enlarged view of a key part of (a). [Figure 3] This is a diagram showing the compression and restoration of spherical particles, where (a) shows the initial state, (b) shows the state after compression, and (c) shows the state after restoration. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0013] An embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to Figures 1 to 3. The artificial turf 1 is arranged so that it can be laid on, for example, a roadbed R, and comprises a base fabric 2 and a plurality of turf yarns (also called piles) 3 standing upright from the base fabric 2, with a filling layer 5 formed between the turf yarns 3, filled with at least artificial turf infill 4 (hereinafter abbreviated as infill 4).

[0014] The filler 4 is mainly composed of plant-derived components, and as the plant-derived components, it contains at least a component derived from plant cones C. As the cones C, cones of plants belonging to the pine family (commonly known as pine cones or pine cones) are preferred, but cones of plants belonging to the cypress family may also be used. In this embodiment, pine cones are used as the cones C.

[0015] In this embodiment, the components derived from the cones C are contained as cone granules C1 formed by crushing the cones C. The cone granules C1 are preferably formed to a size of less than 1 cm, more preferably 6 mm or less. The components derived from the cones C are the main components of the plant-derived components.

[0016] In this embodiment, the plant-derived component further includes a component derived from the bark of a plant, for example, a component derived from cork. The bark-derived component is preferably contained in the same amount or in a smaller amount than the component derived from the cone C. For example, the bark-derived component is contained as bark granules formed by crushing the bark. The bark granules are formed, for example, to a size similar to that of the cone granules C1.

[0017] In some cases, the composition may further contain components derived from plant seeds, such as components derived from olive seeds or plum seeds, and / or components derived from plant shells, such as components derived from palm shells (e.g., coconut shells), and / or components derived from plant cobs, such as components derived from corn cobs. These components are preferably contained in the same or smaller amounts than the components derived from the cone C.

[0018] For example, the components derived from the seeds of the plant or the components derived from the cobs of the plant are contained as granules formed by crushing the seeds or the cobs, and each of the granules can be formed to a size similar to that of the spherules C1.

[0019] The components derived from the plant shells can be contained in the form of granules formed by crushing the shells, or in the form of filaments.The filaments may also be mixed with the granules or other materials.

[0020] When the shell-derived component is contained as the granular material, the granular material can be formed to a size similar to that of the spheroid granular material C1. When the shell-derived component is contained as the filamentous material, the filamentous material is formed to a length of 1 cm or more and 10 cm or less, more preferably 2 cm or more and 6 cm or less.

[0021] In particular, when the components derived from the shell of the plant contain the thread-like material, the thread-like material becomes entangled with the components derived from the cone C and other components, making it possible to prevent these components from flowing out during rainy weather.

[0022] The packed layer 5 is composed of one or more layers, and in this embodiment, the packed layer 5 has a surface layer 5a and a bottom layer 5b. The surface layer 5a is filled with a filler 4, and the bottom layer 5b is filled with a filler 6 different from the filler 4 (hereinafter referred to as bottom layer filler 6 to clearly distinguish it from the filler 4). Instead of providing the bottom layer 5b, it is also possible to spread silica sand or the like under the packed layer 5.

[0023] The bottom layer filler 6 is primarily composed of a plant-derived component, similar to the filler 4. In this embodiment, the main component is a component derived from the cob of the plant. For example, the component derived from the cob of the plant is formed as granules with a size of less than 1 cm. The bottom layer filler 6 is filled to a thickness of, for example, 1 cm or more and 1.5 cm or less.

[0024] Conifers, especially pines, are plants that are widely distributed in the subtropics and north (subtropics and / or temperate and / or subarctic and / or arctic regions), and even in countries like Japan, where the majority of the land area is located north of the subtropics, it is possible to collect a certain amount of cone C within the country. However, currently, there are almost no uses for cone C, and the reality is that most of it is discarded or abandoned without being used.

[0025] Cone C is composed of fibrous organic matter, and the fibrous structure is a curved, curled fiber C2. Therefore, cone C has the property that the fibers do not harden even when compressed. This property makes cone C a material with excellent cushioning properties, and it can withstand long-term use as an infill for artificial turf.

[0026] For example, spherules C1, which were initially deposited to a thickness of L1 = 20 mm, were compressed to a thickness of L2 = 10 mm for 200 h. When the compression was then released, they were restored to approximately 90% of their original thickness, L3 = 16-19 mm.

[0027] By using such plant cones C as filler 4, countries in subtropical regions and further north can obtain the material domestically without having to rely on imports, which makes it possible to achieve a higher carbon neutrality. Furthermore, materials that would have been discarded until now will be used, which also contributes to carbon neutrality.

[0028] Furthermore, as a secondary advantage of using plant cones C as filler 4, the components derived from cones C are durable and can be almost entirely reused, which also makes it possible to contribute to global environmental issues such as the SDGs. [Example]

[0029] An example of the filler 4 is a mixture of the following (a) 40%, (b) 40%, (c) 10%, and (d) 10% mixed in a mixer capable of adding water. This example does not harden even after long-term use, and can maintain stable functionality like natural grass even when using spikes or the like when playing sports.

[0030] (a) Pine cones C are crushed into granules of 1 mm to 5 mm in size using a twin-shaft crusher, and then powder and irregularly sized particles are removed using a centrifuge. The resulting granules are then placed in a 100°C dryer and heated for 5 minutes to remove the protein, resulting in granules C1. By doing this, the C / N ratio of granules C1 becomes approximately 6 to 7, making it a material that is resistant to decay even after more than 5 years.

[0031] (b) Coconut shell granules obtained by separating coconut fiber from coconut shells, drying it in the sun, crushing the dried coconut fiber into granules of 1 mm to 5 mm using a twin-shaft crusher, and removing powder and irregularly sized particles using a centrifuge.

[0032] (c) Corn cobs (also called the cob) are crushed into granules of 3 mm to 6 mm using a twin-screw crusher, and then powder and irregularly sized particles are removed using a centrifuge. The granules are then placed in a 100°C dryer and heated for 5 minutes to remove proteins, resulting in granular corn cobs. This process results in a C / N ratio of approximately 6 to 7, making the granules resistant to decay even after 5 years or more.

[0033] (d) Cork particles between 3 mm and 6 mm.

[0034] Therefore, in the filler 4 and artificial turf 1 of this embodiment, the filler 4 contains a component derived from plant cones C as a plant-derived component, which makes it possible to further improve carbon neutrality.

[0035] Although the present invention has been described above based on the above embodiment, the present invention is not limited to the above embodiment and can be modified as appropriate without departing from the spirit of the invention. For example, the filler 4 may contain only plant cone C-derived components as plant-derived components. The blending ratio of each component can be adjusted as appropriate. [Explanation of symbols]

[0036] 1. Artificial turf 2. Base fabric 3. Grass thread 4. Filler 5 Filled layer 5a Surface layer 5b Bottom layer 6 Bottom layer filler R Roadbed C Cone C1 Cone Granules C2 Fiber L Thickness

Claims

1. An artificial turf filler containing plant-derived components as its main component, A filler characterized in that the plant-derived component contains a component derived from a plant cone.

2. 2. The filler according to claim 1, wherein the plant cones are cones of a plant belonging to the pine family.

3. 2. The filler according to claim 1, further comprising a component derived from plant bark as the plant-derived component.

4. The filler according to claim 1, characterized in that the plant-derived component further comprises a component derived from a plant seed and / or a component derived from a plant bark and / or a component derived from a plant shell and / or a component derived from a plant cob.

5. An artificial turf comprising a base fabric, grass yarns erected from the base fabric, and a filling layer formed between the grass yarns, 5. An artificial turf, wherein the infill layer is filled with the infill material according to any one of claims 1 to 4.

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