Woven artificial turf

Abstract

The present invention relates to a woven artificial turf and the methods to make such an artificial turf. The artificial turf disclosed and claimed herein has advantages of greater pile height, no need for infill, superior water permeability, and blades that stand substantially vertical and will return to that orientation after being flattened even for extended periods of time. The present invention also relates to the yarns used to make the woven artificial turf.

Description

[0001] Woven Artificial Turf

[0002] CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

[0003] The present application claims the benefit of priority of U.S. Patent Application No. 63 / 612,433 filed on December 20, 2023; U.S. Patent Application No. 63 / 648,734 filed on May 17, 2024; U.S. Patent Application No. 63 / 686,887 filed on August 26, 2024; and U.S. Patent Application No. 63 / 706,042 filed on October 11, 2024; the contents of which are hereby incorporated by reference in their entirety for all purposes.

[0004] BACKGROUND

[0005] Artificial turfs may be made by a number of methods where each claims to have some performance advantages over natural grass.

[0006] U.S. Patent No. 5,484,639 discloses, “A novel carpet and fabric carpet backing are disclosed which include a guide for orienting the carpet with respect to machine direction. The carpet comprises a face portion and a fabric backing with an exposed surface visible from the back side of the carpet. The fabric carpet backing includes a plurality of linear patterns visible from the exposed surface running generally parallel to each other and generally parallel to the same edge of the carpet and running the length of the carpet. Each of these linear patterns includes at least a first and second linear sub-pattern running the length of the pattern. The first and second sub-patterns are visually distinct from one another and are disposed in the same position relative to the other and relative to the edge of the carpet in each of the linear patterns. As a result, a guide is provided by these linear patterns for orienting the carpet with respect to machine direction and left / right, even if the carpet is cut on a line between any two linear patterns. Preferably, the linear patterns are made by weaving yams of two different colors into the backing in the machine direction.”

[0007] U.S. Patent No. 6,372,310 discloses, “The invention relates to a base layer for a combined synthetic and natural turf comprising a fabric of which at least a part of the weft and / or warp threads is manufactured from a biodegradable material and / or is wholly absent so that the fabric contains apertures, and synthetic turf fibers which are least partially cowoven with the fabric and of which one or both ends form synthetic grass blades. These ends only protrude from the fabric at those locations where the non-degradable warp and weft threads intersect. The base layer is used in combined synthetic and natural turfs comprising a foundation, optionally a first layer of growth substrate and a base layer according to the invention which is provided with a second layer of growth substrate in which grass plants grow. The invention further relates to a method for laying a combined turf using the base layer of the invention.”

[0008] U.S. Patent No. 7,874,320 discloses, “In one embodiment, there is a method which includes providing a plurality of warp yarns; providing a plurality of fill yams; providing a plurality of pile yarns of a first type; providing a plurality of pile yarns of a second type; providing a plurality of dummy yards; weaving the plurality of pile yarns of the first type with the plurality warp yarns and the plurality of fill yarns for a first predetermined distance to form a backing; weaving the plurality of pile yarns of the first type with the plurality of dummy yams to form a plurality of short hoops for a second predetermined distance; cutting the plurality of pile yams of the first type to form a first plurality of upstanding ribbons representing grass to produce a synthetic field surface.”

[0009] U.S. Patent No. 9,644,327 discloses, “A mat for a hybrid sport or decorative turf, having a form of a woven fabric, with a single-sided cover pile made of olefin synthetic yams such as polyethylene and / or polypropylene and / or polyester, according to a 3 / 8W or 5 / 12W or 7 / 16W weave structure, comprising pile burls interlaced with weft, wherein the ends of the burls form synthetic grass blades. The mat has from 5000 to 20000 pile burls per m2, a warp density from 54 to 72 ends / 10 cm, a weft density from 30 to 80 ends / 10 cm and a pile height from 20 to 140 mm, wherein each pile burl (3) is interlaced at least two times over three weft fibers (5), and wherein the total surface mass of the mat is from 753 to 2105 g / m2.”

[0010] U.S. Patent No. 10,227,716 discloses, “An artificial turf mat includes a backing and a plurality of protruding artificial grass blades divided into rows and connected to the backing. The mutual distance between successive blades in a row is substantially equal to the distance between adjacent rows and is at least 10 mm. The backing and the blades may be formed and mutually connected by weaving. A method for forming an artificial turf mat includes supplying a backing material, supplying an artificial turf material, forming a backing from the backing material, and connecting blades of the artificial turf material divided into rows to the backing. The blades may be connected to the backing such that their mutual spacing in a row is substantially equal to the mutual distance between adjacent rows and is at least 10 mm.”

[0011] U.S. Patent No. 10,794,013 discloses, “A playing surface assembly that defines at least a portion of a playing surface. The playing surface assembly has a backing, a plurality of reinforcement elements secured to and extending upwardly from the backing, and an infill material defining a top surface of the playing surface assembly. Each reinforcement element has a top end and a reveal distance corresponding to a vertical spacing between the top surface of the playing surface assembly and the top end of the reinforcement element. The reveal distance of each reinforcement element is less than 0.5 inches. In use, the reinforcement elements restrict lateral and vertical migration of the infill material, and the infill material is the primary source of performance characteristics of the playing surface assembly.”

[0012] U.S. Patent No. 11,230,799 discloses, “An artificial turf mat includes a backing and a number of protruding artificial grass blades divided into rows and connected thereto. The mutual distance between successive blades in a row is substantially equal to the distance between adjacent rows and amounts to at least 10 mm. Such an artificial turf mat can be used to form artificial turf fields, for example, on which sports, and in particular ball sports, are played.”

[0013] The paper, “Climate adaptive solution for artificial turf in cities: integrated rainwater storage and evaporative cooling”, DOI: 10.3389 / frsc.2024.1399858, discloses, “The number of artificial turf fields in cities has increased due to increased pressure on outside sport facilities caused by a higher population density. Downsides of these fields are changes in thermal conditions and decreased infiltration of rain. Artificial turf can reach very high surface temperatures leading to unfavourable playing conditions and contributing to the urban heat island effect. In this study the possibilities of a subsurface water storage and capillary irrigation system for evaporative cooling of artificial turf based on rainwater capture, storage and reuse are investigated. The system consists of an 85 mm water-retention subbase with capillary columns, a capillary shockpad and a natural infill. First, a laboratory experiment was conducted to test the evaporative potential of the system with different types of infill and artificial turf. Next, four research plots were designed in Amsterdam, The Netherlands, which consisted of natural grass, conventional artificial turf and two versions of the cooled artificial turf system (non-infill and standard). Evaporation from the cooled artificial turf reached maximum values around 4 mm / d during summer and surface temperatures were significantly lower than at the conventional artificial turf. Rainwater was stored below the fields. By combining these functions, these fields can help cities adapt to climate change.”

[0014] In one aspect, none of the prior art teaches methods of manufacturing artificial turf with the properties mentioned herein of greater pile height, no need for infill, superior water permeability, and blades that stand predominantly vertical and will return to that orientation after being flattened. Therefore, there exists a need for methods of manufacturing artificial turf with these properties. Similarly, there exists a need for methods of manufacturing artificial turf strips that may be joined to form sports playing fields with incorporated grids where every part of the playing field has a high degree of dimensional stability. Similarly, there exists a need for a yam having properties to present blades and thatch, which is easy to weave or tuft.

[0015] BRIEF SUMMARY

[0016] The present invention relates to a woven artificial turf and the methods to make such an artificial turf. The artificial turf disclosed and claimed herein is an alternative to prior art artificial turfs and may have advantages over the prior art artificial turfs. In this, the artificial turf disclosed and claimed herein may solve one or more prior art artificial turf problems of low pile height, a need for infill, inferior water permeability, and / or tuft blades that exhibit a lean away from the vertical.

[0017] The present invention also relates to using a loom to weave polymer structure and pile yarns, and where polymer pile yams on the artificial turf surface can reach or exceed 45 millimeters. The back of the woven article may be sealed with a polymer-based latex to add heft to the product and to form a secondary backing. However, the latex is not necessary to lock in the pile yarn weaves to prevent blade pull out. The use of the same polymer, such as but not limited to polyethylene and / or polypropylene, or yams made of a mixture of polyolefins, for the yarns and secondary backing allows for the entire article to be recyclable to make new polymer products.

[0018] The weave pattern of the present invention may be made such that even with a coating of latex applied and cured on the back, the artificial turf is still permeable to allow water to drain through without any unwanted holdup.

[0019] The present invention also relates to manufacturing strips of the artificial turf that may contain different colored yarns.

[0020] In a first embodiment, the strips may be secured together to form lawns such as residential lawns or grassy areas around buildings. In a second embodiment, the strips may be secured together to form sports playing fields.

[0021] The strips may be woven with colors exposed in the pile or incorporated at different locations to form playing field grids, such as but not limited to playing field lines and other playing field location indicators. When the strips are stitched together, the portions of the playing field grids, such as segments of lines, arcs, or circles, will adjoin across the strips to form sport playing field grids. The sport playing field grids may be for a single field, a series of fields that are the same, or for different sports fields where the fields are generally concentrically located.

[0022] The present invention also relates to the use of float yam to mark indices on the underside of the artificial turf. These indices may be used to align the strips as they are being secured together to form playing fields.

[0023] The present invention also relates to the use of differently colored pile yarns that are picked to form designs in the fields of woven artificial turf. The differently colored pile yams may be similar in color or widely different in color. The differently colored pile yarns may be picked such that they present a transition, where the transition may be immediate or gradual. The designs may be visually pleasing, representative, and / or informative.

[0024] The present invention additionally relates to a yarn made from twisted filaments comprised of strands of monofilament wherein some of the strands are straight and wherein the others are texturized such that they form crimps.

[0025] The artificial turf fields and lawns produced through Applicant’s inventions disclosed and taught herein have the advantages of greater pile height, no need for infill, superior water permeability, blades that stand predominantly vertical and perpendicular to the woven face and return to that orientation after being flattened, and / or little or no need for a latex or other secondary backing to seal the weave against blade pull out. In a preferred embodiment, the strips of the artificial turf may contain different colored yarns, which may be woven such that the colors are exposed in the pile or incorporated at different areas to form portions of playing field grids in each strip so that when stitched together the portions of playing field grids will form entire grids of sports playing field lines and markers for different sports.

[0026] Applicant has also devised yam that have some filaments that will remain standing perpendicular to a woven or tufted base while other filaments, which have a natural crimp from texturizing that will withdraw towards the woven base. Within the playing area, the filaments that will remain standing may be green or shades of green to represent blades of grass, while the texturized filaments that will withdraw towards the woven base may be brown, yellow, or similar colors to represent a natural thatch. In the playing field lines and markers, the filaments that remain standing may be a contrasting color such that they are easily visible to users of the playing field. Similarly, the filaments that withdraw towards the woven base may be that same color or a complementary color.

[0027] In a first independent aspect, the invention relates to a woven backing comprising a plurality of structure yarns; a plurality of pile yams, wherein a first portion of each of the plurality of pile yams comprises a sprig, and a second portion of each of the plurality of pile yams is incorporated into the woven backing with a weave selected from the group consisting of a 3-8W weave, a 5-12W weave, and a 7-16W weave.

[0028] In a second independent aspect, the invention relates to a method of making a woven artificial turf field, comprising: laying a first strip of woven artificial turf in a space having a surface; wherein the first strip of woven artificial turf comprises a pile side, a bottom side, a length and a width, two length sides opposite each other, and two width sides opposite each other; and wherein the first strop bottom side is laid proximal the surface; laying a second strip of woven artificial turf atop the first strip; wherein the second strip of woven artificial turf comprises a pile side, a bottom side, a length and a width, two length sides opposite each other, and two width sides opposite each other; and wherein the second strip bottom side is laid distal to the surface and in an orientation, wherein the first strip pile side is in contact with the second strip pile side, and wherein a first second strip length side is proximal and atop a first first strip length side; cutting an excess of construction yams from the first second strip length side and cutting an excess of construction yarns from the first first strip length side; securing the first second strip length side to the first first strip length side; and laying over the second strip wherein the second strip is oriented such that the second strip bottom side is proximal the surface.

[0029] In a third independent aspect, the invention relates to a textile packaging apparatus, comprising: a weighted sheet comprising an infeed end, an output end, and two sides; wherein: the weighted sheet is rotatably secured along the infeed end; the weighted sheet is configured to be raised or lowered priximal to the output end; and the sides comprise fenders.

[0030] In a fourth independent aspect, the invention relates to a pile yarn for forming a pile of an artificial turf, wherein the yarn comprises a first plurality of straight filaments and a second plurality of texturized filaments.

[0031] In a fifth independent aspect, the invention relates to a yarn, comprising: a first group of filaments having a cross-sectional shape selected from the group consisting of a spine cross-sectional shape, a double-C cross-sectional shape, and a ribbon cross sectional shape; wherein each filament of the first group of filaments has a weight of 2,000 denier (2,222 decitex); a second group of filaments wherein each filament in the second group of filaments has a round or rectangular cross-sectional shape; and wherein a number of filaments in the second group of filaments is twice a number of filaments in the first group of filaments.

[0032] In a sixth independen aspect, the invention relates to a method of determining a depth of infill to be applied to an artificial turf, comprising: providing an artificial turf, wherein: the artificial turf is comprised of a base fabric having a top surface and a plurality of segments of a pile yarn, wherein each of the plurality of segments of pile yam extend substantially orthogonally away from the top surface, wherein the multicomponent yam is comprised of first filaments that are not texturized and second filaments that are texturized; determining a degree of texturization as a percentage applied to the second filaments; determining a height of a pile as measured from the top surface the base fabric to a top of at least one first filament; calculating a height of the second filaments by multiplying the degree of texturization by the pile height; calculating the depth of infill by multiplying the height of the second filaments by a factor of between 1.0 and 0.7.

[0033] In a seventh independent aspect, the invention relates to method of determining a degree of texturization of a portion of filaments in a pile yarn in an artificial turf, comprising: providing an artificial turf, wherein: the artificial turf is comprised of a base fabric having a top surface and a plurality of segments of the pile yam, wherein each of the plurality of segments of pile yarn extend substantially orthogonally away from the top surface, wherein the multicomponent yarn is comprised of first portion of filaments that are not texturized and second portion of filaments that are texturized; determining a desired height of the pile as measured from the top surface of the base fabric to a top of at least one filament of the first portion of filaments; determining a desired height of a layer of infill to be applied to the artificial turf as measured from the top of the base to the top of the layer of infill; calculating a first product by subtracting the desired height of the layer of infill from the desired height of the pile; calculating a second product by dividing the first product by the desired height of the pile; calculating a third product by subtracting the second product from 1; and calculating a degree of texturization as a percentage by multiplying the third product by a factor of between 1 and 0.7, and dividing that result by 100.

[0034] In an eighth independent aspect, the invention relates to a woven artificial turf, comprising: a woven backing comprising a plurality of structure yarns; a plurality of pile yams, wherein a first portion of each of the plurality of pile yams comprises a sprig, and a second portion of each of the plurality of pile yams is incorporated into the woven backing with a weave selected from the group consisting of a 3-8W weave, a 5-12W weave, and a 7-16W weave; wherein each sprig comprises between six and ten first monofilaments having an S cross-sectional shape, and between six and ten second monofilaments having a rectangular cross-sectional shape; wherein each of the second monofilaments are texturized at a rate of between about 30% and about 45%; and wherein each first monofilament in each sprig is substantially perpendicular to the woven backing, and where each second monofilament in each sprig is dispersed away from an orientation that is substantially perpendicular to the woven backing. In a ninth independent aspect, the invention relates to a woven artificial turf comprising: a plurality of structure yams and a pile yarn; wherein the pile yam is comprised of a plurality of straight filaments and a plurality of texturized filaments.

[0035] In a tenth independent aspect, the invention relates to a strip of woven artificial turf, comprising: a first side and a second side; a first end and a second end; a bottom surface comprising a bottom of a woven backing comprised of a plurality of structure yarns; a top surface comprising a plurality of pile yarns, wherein a first portion of each of the plurality of pile yarns comprises a sprig, and a second portion of each of the plurality of pile yams is incorporated into the woven backing with a weave selected from the group consisting of a 3-8W weave, a 5-12W weave, and a 7-16W weave; and wherein: each pile yarn of the plurality of pile yarns comprising between six and ten first monofilaments having an S cross-sectional shape, and between six and ten second monofilaments having a rectangular cross-sectional shape; each of the second monofilaments is texturized at a rate of between about 30% and about 45%; and each first monofilament is oriented substantially perpendicular to the woven backing, and where each second monofilament is dispersed away from an orientation that is substantially perpendicular to the woven backing.

[0036] In an eleventh independent aspect, the invention relates to a yam, comprising: a first group of filaments having a cross-sectional shape selected from the group consisting of a spine cross-sectional shape, a double-C cross-sectional shape, and a ribbon cross sectional shape; wherein each filament of the first group of filaments has a weight of 2,000 denier (2,222 decitex); a second group of filaments wherein each filament in the second group of filaments has a round or rectangular cross-sectional shape; and wherein a number of filaments in the second group of filaments is twice a number of filaments in the first group of filaments.

[0037] In a twelfth independent aspect, the invention relates to a pile yam for forming a pile of an artificial turf, wherein the yarn comprises a first plurality of straight filaments and a second plurality of texturized filaments.

[0038] Descriptions of these inventions will be defined in the appended independent claims, while preferred embodiments are defined in the dependent claims. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0039] With the intention of better showing the characteristics of the invention, herein after, as an example without any limitative character, some preferred embodiments are described, with reference to the accompanying drawings, wherein:

[0040] Figures 1 A-B illustrate a segment of yarn as pertaining to the inventions disclosed and taught herein.

[0041] Figures 2A-I illustrate cross-sectional shapes of filaments according to the inventions disclosed and taught herein.

[0042] Figure 3 illustrates a modified weave pattern used for the pile of a woven artificial turf according to the inventions disclosed and taught herein.

[0043] Figure 4 illustrates a cross-sectional view of an exemplary artificial turf product as may be viewed within a single dent according to the inventions disclosed and taught herein.

[0044] Figure 5 illustrates a face of an artificial turf according to the inventions disclosed and taught herein.

[0045] Figures 6A illustrates a portion of the illustration of the artificial turf of Figure 5 according to the inventions disclosed and taught herein.

[0046] Figure 6B illustrates a cross-sectional view of a yam according to the inventions disclosed and taught herein.

[0047] Figures 7 and 8 illustrate modified weave patterns used for the pile of a woven artificial turf according to the inventions disclosed and taught herein.

[0048] Figure 9 illustrates a section of artificial turf made from a yarn as pertaining to the inventions disclosed and taught herein.

[0049] Figures 10A-C illustrate progressions of picks across sequential warp yarns along the direction of the warp yarns according to the inventions disclosed and taught herein.

[0050] Figure 11 illustrates an arrangement of a roll of artificial turf and a plate according to the inventions disclosed and taught herein.

[0051] Figure 12 illustrates a back side of a strip of woven artificial turf according to the inventions disclosed and taught herein.

[0052] Figure 13A illustrates a portion of the strip of woven artificial turf of Figure 12. Figures 13B-C illustrate the opposite side of the portion of the strip of woven artificial turf of Figure 12.

[0053] Figures 13 D-E illustrate the back of a strip of woven artificial turf according to the inventions disclosed and taught herein.

[0054] Figure 14 illustrates a multiuse playing field according to the inventions disclosed and taught herein.

[0055] Figure 14A illustrates a section of the multiuse playing field of Figure 14.

[0056] Figure 15 illustrates multiuse playing fields that have side-by-side fields according to the inventions disclosed and taught herein.

[0057] Figure 15A illustrates a section of the multiuse playing field of Figure 15.

[0058] Figure 16 illustrates adjacent strips of a multiuse playing field using the artificial turf according to the inventions disclosed and taught herein.

[0059] Figures 17 and 18 illustrate lawns of natural grass.

[0060] Figures 19 through 21 illustrate woven artificial turf lawns according to the inventions disclosed and taught herein.

[0061] DETAILED DESCRPTION

[0062] Applicant has devised ways to manufacture woven artificial turf products.

[0063] Applicant has found that some programmable looms, such as a loom with a jacquard head, may produce a quality woven artificial turf with properties that are superior to artificial turfs made by tufting and are superior to woven artificial turfs made by prior art methods.

[0064] Many looms have a limit of travel for the beam, which may be a rise of 68 millimeters that only allows artificial turfs to be woven using a face-to-face method with a maximum pile height of about 30 to 35 millimeters when the faces are separated with equal lengths of pile height. However, a more desirable pile height for sports fields may be between about 40 and about 60 millimeters, with a preferred height of about 45 millimeters. This may be achieved by using some prior art face-to-face creating looms if all, or most of the pile is sheared close to the first face to allow all of the pile yarns to stay connected to the second face. However, that would leave the first face with a pile height that is too low for usefulness. Applicant has modified a loom to have a beam rise of 90 millimeters to thereby produce face-to-face woven articles where each produced face has a pile height of 45 millimeters. That is to say that the shed may be formed with such a distance so that the pile height of each face is 40 millimeters or greater when the two faces are equally separated by cutting the pile with equal distances between the faces.

[0065] Applicant’s modifications in this area are not limited to a beam rise of 90 millimeters but may be increased if desired to produce artificial turf strips with longer pile heights. In one envisioned embodiment, the pile height may be of up to 60 millimeters. That is to say that the beam rise may be modified to be 120 millimeters and where the pile yam is cut equally between the faces. In other embodiments, this may be increased even more. Also, as disclosed herein, the pile yarn of one face may be sheared at or near that face to produce an artificial turf of the other face that has a pile height of up to the limit of the shed, where the shed is the path through and perpendicular to the warp in the loom. In these envisioned embodiments, the pile between the faces need not be separated equally. Using a beam rise of 90 millimeters may produce a face of artificial turf where the pile yarns may extend to over 80 millimeters above the woven backing. In this embodiment, the lancet used to separate the faces may be adjusted to be closer to one face or the other to achieve a desired pile of one face.

[0066] In a preferred embodiment, the blades of the woven artificial turf may be configured to present a blade height of between about 0.5 inches and about 2.5 inches (about 12.7 millimeters to about 63.5 millimeters) above the upper surface of the woven base. In a preferred embodiment, the blade height may be about 1.5 inches (about 38.1 millimeters). In another preferred embodiment, the blade height may be about 40 millimeters (about 1.5748 inches). In another preferred embodiment, the blade height may be between about 1.00 inches (about 25.4 millimeters) and about 1.25 inches (about 31.8 millimeters).

[0067] If the degree of limits is not otherwise defined or ascertainable by a person of ordinary skill in the art, as used herein, the term “about” will represent the value with a margin of plus or minus five percent. For example, a blade height of about 40 millimeters may be interpreted to mean that it may be between 40 millimeters less five percent of the 40 millimeters, to 40 millimeters plus five percent of the 40 millimeters. In some embodiments, a very short blade may be desired. For example, if the woven artificial turf or lawn is to be used by people with disabilities, it may be preferred to have a woven turf made of very short blades so that people with walking disabilities will not stumble from longer blades. Similarly, people in wheelchairs may have to exert more force to propel themselves on longer blades and may prefer to exert less force to move their wheelchairs across blades of shorter length.

[0068] In a preferred embodiment, Applicant has devised a yarn made from filaments that are twisted together comprised of strands of monofilament wherein some of the strands are untexturized and straight and wherein others are texturized such that they have crimps and twists along their lengths when they are cut and allowed to assume a relaxed posture. The straight filaments may be assorted shades of green such that when they are woven or tufted, they represent blades of grass. The texturized strands may be assorted shades of yellow and brown to appear as thatch. The texturized strands may be texturized such that when they are woven or tufted, they will collapse or compress from their crimps, which will allow them to draw away from the top of the pile towards the woven base (when weaving) or towards the primary backing (when tufting).

[0069] The thatch filaments may be texturized such that they will not settle all of the way towards the bottom of the pile but, due to their texturing, will fall away from the vertical blades and remain apart from the blades. As they disperse away from the vertical, they may also push apart the blade filaments, which will still be substantially vertical. In this way, the thatch filaments will provide the appearance of natural thatch below the level of the upright blades and the blades will not be bunched together. Both the blades and the thatch filaments will provide support for feet walking across the artificial turf. That is to say that feet walking or running across the surface of the artificial turf will be supported by both the blades and the thatch filaments.

[0070] This specification will describe the yam as it is used for weaving an artificial turf. Those of ordinary skill in the art will understand that the yarn may be tufted to produce a tufted artificial turf as well.

[0071] A segment of yam according to the inventions disclosed herein may be composed of eight (8) filaments of polyethylene monofilaments and eight (8) filaments of polypropylene monofilaments. In this exemplary embodiment, the eight filaments of polyethylene are colored green and will stand vertically away from the woven base or primary backing such that they appear to be blades of grass. These may each be the same shade of green, or different shades of green. The filaments of polypropylene are colored yellow-brown to represent the thatch. Similarly, they may be the same shade of yellow-brown, or different shades. The polypropylene filaments are texturized such that they will naturally disperse away from their vertical position after weaving, towards the base or primary backing as they assume their natural posture from the texturization.

[0072] Other embodiments may use different polymers for each of the filaments, such as all filaments may be polypropylene, or all filaments may be polyethylene. In other embodiments, some or all of the filaments may be polyamides or polyesters.

[0073] To create an artificial turf, some of the filaments that will stand straight may be of one polymer, such as polyethylene, while others that will stand straight may be of another polymer, such as a polyester or a polyamide. From that, some of the thatch filaments, which will not stand straight, may be of one polymer while other thatch filaments may be of another polymer.

[0074] In the exemplary embodiment of Figures 1 A-B, the green polyethylene filaments that will remain substantially vertical and perpendicular to the woven base have a yam weight of 6,800 decitex (6,120 denier), which may be known as blade filaments 110. These are shown in a yarn in Figure 1A and separated in Figure IB. That is to say that each blade filament 110A-H may have a weight of 850 decitex (765 denier). The yellow-brown polypropylene filaments, that are configured to disperse away from the blade filaments due to their texturization, have a yarn weight of 3,500 decitex (3,150 denier), which may be known as thatch filaments 120. That is to say that each thatch filament 120A-H may have a weight of 437.5 decitex (393.75 denier). In this, the entire yam 150 has a weight of 10,300 decitex (9,270 denier).

[0075] Other weights and numbers of filaments may be used without departing from the spirit of the inventions disclosed and taught herein. In another embodiment, a yarn may be made of five green polyethylene filaments where each filament has a weight of 1,360 decitex and five yellow-brown polypropylene filaments where each filament has a weight of 700 deci tex. While a preferred embodiment is to have eight blade filaments 110 and eight thatch filaments 120, other combinations may be used without deviating from the spirit of the inventions disclosed and taught herein. For example, a yam may be made of four blade filaments and four thatch filaments, or a yarn may be made of six blade filaments and twelve thatch filaments. The former would provide a thin artificial turf while the latter would provide an artificial turf with a great deal of thatch.

[0076] In any combination, the number of blade filaments may be two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, ten, eleven, twelve, thirteen, fourteen, or more, along with two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, ten, eleven, twelve, thirteen, fourteen, or more thatch filaments. In a preferred embodiment, the number of thatch filaments may be six, eight, ten, twelve, or fourteen. Included with this may be other filaments that have some texturizing or other characteristics that provide more of a look and feel of natural grass.

[0077] The color of the blade filaments 110 may be varied. In one exemplary embodiment, the blades may be all of a single shade of green while in another embodiment, some blade filaments 110 may be dark green while others may be light green. In another embodiment, the individual blade filaments 110 may have color variations along their lengths to produce a visually varied effect.

[0078] As used herein, slightly different colors may be represented by a Delta E value of between 2 and any number below 50 as may be found using the CIE 94 standard defined by the International Commission on Illumination. Conversely, distinct or contrasting colors may be represented by a Delta E value of between 50 and 100.

[0079] The color of the thatch filaments 120 may be varied. In one exemplary embodiment, they may be all of a single shade of yellow-brown, while in another, some of the filaments may be olive colored while others may be beige. Similar to the blade filaments 110, the thatch filaments 120 may have variations of color along the length of each filament.

[0080] In the exemplary embodiment of Figures 1A-B, the blade filaments 110 may have a cross- sectional profile of an S shape, such as is illustrated in Figure 2A. This S shape profile may have a nominal width of 0.75 millimeters with a variation of + / - 0.05 millimeters. They may have a thickness at their thickest portion of 140 micrometers with a variation of + / - 5 micrometers. The blade filaments may have some crimps or twists so that the blades may appear to deviate slightly away from the vertical. In a preferred embodiment, the blade filaments 110 are not texturized so they don’t deviate away from the vertical. However, the S shape profile will provide an impetus for the individual filaments to separate away from each other. The thatch filaments 120 may disperse themselves away from the blade filaments 110 or between the blade filaments 110 providing further impetus for the blade filaments 110 to separate. However, the blade filaments 110 will remain substantially upright, vertical from the base, and substantially perpendicular to the base.

[0081] The blade filaments may be of other cross-sectional profiles. For example, and without limitation, other cross-sectional profiles may include profiles of rectangular cross- sectional filaments, W cross-sectional filaments, C cross-sectional filaments with a central core, U cross-sectional filaments, modified S cross-sectional filaments with a central core, trilobal cross-sectional filaments, spine cross-sectional filaments, and double-C cross- sectional filaments, among others known to those skilled in the art.

[0082] Examples of cross-sectional shapes may be seen in Figures 2A-F. Figure 2A illustrates an S cross-sectional yarn. Figure 2B illustrates a rectangular cross-sectional yam. Figure 2C illustrates a W cross-sectional yarn. Figure 2D illustrates a C cross-sectional yarn with a central core. Figure 2E illustrates a U cross-sectional yarn. Figure 2F illustrates a modified S cross-sectional yarn with a central core. Figure 2G illustrates a trilobal cross-sectional yam. Figure 2H illustrates a spine cross-sectional shape, which is sometimes called a diamond cross-sectional shape. The spine cross-sectional shape has a rounded middle portion as illustrated in Figure 2H. A diamond cross-sectional shape has a middle portion that is more angular. Applicant has found that both work well for the use of the inventions disclosed and taught herein. The term spine cross-sectional shape will be used for both types of filaments having rounded and angular middle portions. Figure 21 illustrates a double-C cross-sectional shape.

[0083] The thatch filaments 120 may have a rectangular cross-sectional profile with a nominal width of 0.63 millimeters with a variation of + / - 0.05 millimeters. An example of a rectangular cross-sectional profile is illustrated in Figure 2B. These filaments may have a thickness at their thickest portion of 100 micrometers of + / - 5 micrometers. In a preferred embodiment, the filaments that make up the thatch are texturized before being twisted together with the blade filaments. In a preferred embodiment, the thatch filaments are texturized at a rate of between about 20% and about 50%. In a more preferred embodiment, they are texturized at a rate of between about 30% and about 45%. In an even more preferred embodiment, they are texturized at a rate of about 40%. In an alternative embodiment, some of the thatch filaments may be texturized together while others may be texturized individually, or together, or in groups.

[0084] In this specification, a yarn having blade filaments of polyethylene in an S cross-sectional shape and thatch filaments of polypropylene in a rectangular shape will be identified as S+R yarn. It will be identified this way regardless of the number of blade filaments and thatch filaments. As has been previously described the yam may be made of eight blade filaments and eight thatch filaments and may be called an S+R yam. And, as just described, a yarn made with six blade filaments of a spine cross-sectional shape, and six thatch filaments of a rectangular shape may also be called an S+R yam.

[0085] In assembling the S+R yam, the blade and thatch filaments are brought together under longitudinal tension such that the thatch filaments are in an extended posture. Both the thatch filaments and the blade filaments are then twisted together into a twisted yarn.

[0086] When the blade filaments and thatch filaments are twisted together, a preferred embodiment is to have them twisted together with an S or Z twist at a rate of between about 15 and about 45 twists per meter. In a more preferred embodiment, the rate is between about 25 and 35 twists per meter. In an even more preferred embodiment, the rate is about 30 twists per meter.

[0087] In a preferred embodiment, the S+R yam is continuously twisted in the same direction. In an alternative embodiment, the S+R yarn may be made with false-twists or with a combination of lengths of twists in the same direction and with interspersed false-twists.

[0088] Once assembled, the S+R artificial turf yarn may be used to make the pile of an artificial turf. The artificial turf yarn may be loaded into a weaving or tufting system.

[0089] In weaving, the S+R artificial turf may be loaded into a single heddle within a dent, or if a more plush grass is desired, the yam may be loaded into multiple heddles within the same dent that are raised and lowered together as is disclosed herein. In another embodiment two or more pile yarns may be loaded into a heddle or multiple heddles within a dent.

[0090] In another embodiment, a yarn may be made of filaments having a spine cross-sectional shape, which is also known as a diamond cross-sectional shape, and filaments made of round or ribbon cross-sectional shapes. An equivalent embodiment to this is a yarn made of filaments having a double-C cross-sectional shape along with the filaments made of round or ribbon cross-sectional shapes. This may be known as a Sprt yam. When using the Sprt yam to make an artificial turf as disclosed and taught herein, it is preferred to sister two of the Sprt yams into a single heddle as disclosed herein. This may be described as being a 2Sprt yarn as may be illustrated in Figure 6B.

[0091] In Figure 6B, Applicant has made a 2Sprt sistered yarn 640 with six filaments that will become the blades after being picked and cut with the lancet, and twelve filaments that will become the thatch. In the illustrative embodiment of Figure 6B, three of the filaments are spine filaments 642, which have the same cross-sectional shape as those illustrated in Figure 2H. Also, three of the filaments are double-C filaments 643, which have the same cross-sectional shape as those illustrated in Figure 21. The remaining filaments in this illustration of a 2Sprt sistered yarn are round filaments 641. The filaments that are not double-C or spine filaments in a Sprt yarn may be texturized or not texturized. That is to say that round, or rectangular filaments used in a Sprt yarn may or may not be texturized.

[0092] As used herein, the term rectangular filament may include filaments have a square cross- sectional shape and filaments where the comers of the cross-sectional shape have angular or rounded edges. Those of skill in the art may call a filament with a rectangular cross- sectional shape having rounded or smoothed corners a ribbon filament.

[0093] In this exemplary illustrative embodiment of Figure 6B, a first Sprt yam may be made with three monofilaments 642 having spine, or diamond, cross-sectional shapes and six round monofilaments 641. A second Sprt yam may be made with three monofilaments 643 having double-C cross-sectional shapes and six round monofilaments 641. In another embodiment, the two Sprt yams may be made where each is made with three monofilaments having a spine cross-sectional shape and six round monofilaments. In another preferred embodiment, each of the Sprt yams may have three double-C cross- sectional shape monofilaments such as is illustrated in Figure 21. In another embodiment, each Sprt yarn may be made of a mixture of spine and double-C cross-sectional shapes.

[0094] In another embodiment, each of the thatch monofilaments may have rectangular cross- sectional shaped monofilaments instead of round thatch filaments. These monofilaments with rectangular cross-sectional shapes may be known as a ribbon filament. Ribbon filaments used in the yams disclosed and taught herein may have an aspect ratio of between 8: 1 and 12: 1. That is to say that a ratio of the width to the thickness of the rectangular cross-section may be between 8: 1 and 12: 1. In a preferred embodiment, the aspect ratio of each ribbon filament may be 10:1.

[0095] In an alternative embodiment, each Sprt pile yarn may be comprised of three strands where one of the strands may have a spine cross-sectional shape while the other strands may have other shapes, such as one having a rectangular cross-sectional shape and the other having a double-C cross-sectional shape. This combination may also include embodiments that have one strand of a first cross-sectional shape, such as a spine, double-C, or ribbon, while the other two stands have cross-sectional shapes that are alike but different from the first strand. As an example, a yarn may have one filament of a spine cross-sectional shape while the other two filaments have double-C cross-sectional shapes.

[0096] The Sprt yams having filaments that have round or rectangular cross-sectional shapes may or may not have the round or rectangular filament texturized. In one embodiment, the filaments that have round or rectangular cross-sectional shapes may be texturized by up to 65%. In a preferred embodiment, the texturizing is between 35% and 45%, with a 40% texturizing rate more preferred. As disclosed herein, the texturizing will bring those thatch filaments down towards the base of the woven artificial turf and will aid in maintaining the distribution of the infill. In another embodiment, the filaments that have round or rectangular cross-sectional shapes may not be texturized. In this embodiment, the thatch filaments will still be mostly upright, but they will also be more flexible than the blade filaments and may fall away from the vertical blade filaments as they assume their natural posture.

[0097] The application of the 2Sprt yarn in the artificial turf products disclosed herein may be illustrated in exemplary Figure 4. A first 2Sprt yam may be threaded through a first heddle 491a and another 2Sprt yarn threaded through its corresponding heddle 492a. The other heddles 491b-c, 492b-c may be loaded with any other yams disclosed herein including this another Sprt or 2Sprt yarn having the same or a different color. For example, the middle heddles 491b, 492b may each be loaded with white 2Sprt yams, and the other heddles 491c, 492c may each be loaded with red 2Sprt yams. These yarns may be woven as disclosed herein with any of the weave patterns disclosed. In a preferred embodiment each Sprt yam may be comprised of three-ply 6,000 denier (6,667 decitex) polyethylene of spine cross-sectional shaped monofilaments. That is to say that each of the spine monofilaments in an Sprt yarn may be about 2,000 denier (about 2,222 decitex). Similarly, in a preferred embodiment, each Sprt yam may be comprised of six-ply round cross-sectional monofilaments of polypropylene, where each round cross- sectional shaped monofilament has a linear weight of about 800 denier (about 889 decitex). Each of the round cross-sectional shaped monofilaments may be texturized to between 35% and 45% with a preferred embodiment of 40%.

[0098] A variation of using sistered 2Sprt yarns in opposing heddles to form the pile may be illustrated by viewing Figure 4. In this, two Sprt yarns (a 2Sprt yarn) may be loaded into the first heddle 491 a, while a yam made of slit tape may be loaded into the opposing heddle 492a. In this embodiment, the 2Sprt yams may be as disclosed and taught herein while the slit tape yarn may be about 6,000 decitex polyethylene. In this implementation, the filaments having a round cross-sectional shape may also be made of polyethylene. As is disclosed and taught herein, the sprigs will made from the combination of the 2Sprt and slit tape as they are woven.

[0099] In a preferred embodiment, fibrillated polypropylene yams may be used to form the woven base. In a preferred embodiment, the base of the artificial turf may be made of construction yarns, where the weft yams may be 7,500 decitex, the slack yams may be 1,560 decitex, and the tight yams may be 2,000 decitex. When woven together without any pile yarns, a piece of backing will have a weight of between about 18 and about 26 ounces per square yard (between about 610 and about 882 grams per square meter). In a preferred embodiment, the woven backing will have a weight of between about 20 and about 25 ounces per square yard (between about 678 and about 848 grams per square meter). In a more preferred embodiment, the woven backing will have a weight of about 22 ounces per square yard (about 746 grams per square meter). Using yarns similar to those disclosed herein is within the scope of the inventions taught and claimed herein.

[0100] When used in weaving an artificial turf, the yams as disclosed and taught herein produce a pile where the blade filaments stand vertically away from the base and the thatch filaments may settle towards the base. Even without the use of wrap filaments, which may be used in alternative embodiments, the blade filaments stand erect in a direction substantially vertical and perpendicular from the plane of the base. When used in tufting, the primary backing may be a woven or nonwoven of sufficient structure to withstand the rigors of use.

[0101] While the yarn has been described as having the appearance of natural grass in that the blades may be green and the thatch may be yellow-brown, other colors of yam may be desired to be in other locations in a section of artificial turf. For example and as will be disclosed hereinafter, some portions of a playing field may be made of other colors such as but not limited to white, red, and blue. In one embodiment, the blade filaments may be made of that color while the thatch filaments may still be yellow-brown. In another embodiment, both the blade filaments and the thatch filaments may be made of the desired color, or of complementary colors.

[0102] For clarity within this specification, when a yarn is used to make the pile in a woven artificial turf, the filaments of that yam that project from the substrate will be called sprigs. In this, a sprig may be made of any yarn or combinations of yarns as disclosed and taught herein. For example, a sprig may be made of an S+R yam or a 2Sprt yarn, including the variation of using a slit tape yam, where the blade filaments project away from the woven substrate or base in a woven product. In a tufted product, the filaments that extend from the primary backing are known as tufts.

[0103] In a first embodiment as disclosed above, a yam may be loaded in a loom such that the eyes of opposing heddles in a two-face loom may each be loaded with a single S+R yarn made of filaments as described. Along the loom, these will be picked and beaten such that when the artificial turf product is finished, each sprig will be made of the S shaped filaments and the rectangular filaments that have been described in the S+R yarn. Similarly, opposing heddles may be loaded with 2Sprt yarns such that the sprigs will be made of spine filaments and round filaments. Alternatively, one heddle may be loaded with a 2Sprt yarn while an opposing heddle may be loaded with a slit tape yam. The sprigs will then be made of the spine filaments, the round filaments, and the slit tape filament.

[0104] In a first embodiment using the yarns disclosed and taught herein, a modified 3-8W weave pattern 300 may be used for the pile as is illustrated in Figure 3 in a dual-face loom. In this, a W weave pattern is one where the pile yam is incorporated within the construction yarns and becomes W shaped across the weft yarns within each woven backing when the woven article is viewed from the side viewing the lower face with the pile extending upwards. This may be performed with a four-position loom system such that each pile yarn is first woven into one face and then into the other face as the pile yarn is crossed from one face to the other. As may be seen, each pile yarn 310, 320 has a W shape fixed over three fillings and is woven in rapport of eight picks. The pile yarns 310, 320 are aligned along the direction of production, which is also known as the machine direction, and are double picked to produce upper 340 and lower 350 woven artificial turf products when they are separated by a lancet 360. That is to say that one pile yarn is threaded through a heddle for interlacing the pile yam in one face, while a corresponding pile yarn is threaded through a corresponding heddle for interlacing the pile yam through the other face. While one heddle is raised or lowered to a position, the corresponding heddle is lowered or raised to a corresponding position.

[0105] Weft yarns 330 may be brown, tan, ecm, or beige to be similar to the color of thatch and or underlying dirt in a natural grass field. The warp yarns may also be brown, tan, ecm, or beige. The inventions disclosed and taught herein use a woven base that is made with three warp yarns. The tight warp yams 360, 370 for the top and bottom faces are generally illustrated as waved lines in Figure 3, while the slack yams for each face are not illustrated for clarity in illustrating the pile weave. The incorporated pile yams that are not picked from one face to another also generally follow the tight warp yarns 360, 370 and are also not illustrated in Figure 3 for clarity. Those of skill in the art will understand that other weaving techniques to make the woven base may be used without departing from the spirit of the inventions disclosed and claimed herein.

[0106] Those of skill in the art will understand that any weaving pattern for making the backing of each face may be used in the inventions taught and disclosed herein. Some patterns for making the backings are disclosed in ISO 2424:2007. Those patterns are exemplary only and applicant’s patterns for making backings are not limited to the patterns disclosed in ISO 2424:2007. Those of skill in the art may call the weave of the slack yarns a chain weave. Similar weave patterns of construction yarns may be used in the inventions disclosed and taught herein.

[0107] In this embodiment, the warp and weft yarns may be fibrillated yarns made of polymers. In this, a fibrillated yarn may be made by slitting and rolling an extruded film to provide a yarn as is known to those skilled in the art. In a preferred embodiment, in each face the weft yams may be 7,500 decitex (6,750 denier), the slack yarns may be 1,560 decitex (1,404 denier), and the tight yarn may be 2,000 decitex (1,800 denier). Together, these may be called the construction yarns. When woven together without any pile yams, a piece of backing will have a weight of about 22 ounces per square yard (about 746 grams per square meter). Using yarns similar to those disclosed herein, such as filaments and yams having linear weights within 10% of the herein mentioned linear weights, is within the scope of the inventions taught and claimed herein.

[0108] One method of weaving an artificial turf as disclosed and taught herein may be illustrated in Figure 4. Figure 4 will be described in terms of the loom weaving the pile yarns between the faces as the faces 440, 450 are drawn towards the lancet 360 as is illustrated in Figure 3. Like Figure 3, Figure 4 illustrates a cross-sectional view of the exemplary artificial turf product as may be viewed within a single dent. Those of skill in the art will understand that the remaining portions of the heddles have been removed for clarity of this illustrative explanation.

[0109] Also, those of skill in the art will understand that the harnesses for weaving the construction yams in each backing have not been illustrated in Figure 3 for clarity but are illustrated in Figure 4 without showing the warp yarns. In a preferred embodiment, there will be three harnesses for the top face 440 and three harnesses for the bottom face 450 where each set of harnesses 493 will have the yams for the top and bottom slack yarns and the tight warp yarns for each face.

[0110] In Figure 4, weft yams 431a, 432a have been previously passed through the shed 480. After that, the first set of heddles 492a-c have picked pile yams 412a, 412b from a lower position to an upper position. As may be seen, a first pile yam 412a has been threaded through a first upper heddle eye 492c while a second pile yam 412b has been threaded through a second upper heddle eye 492a. Similarly, lower heddle eyes 491c, 491a have been correspondingly threaded with similar pile yarns 41 la, 41 lb. While the heddle eyes are described as being in upper and lower positions, those positions are relative to and descriptive of Figure 4. Those of skill in the art will know that those positions change during operation such that the heddles that are in the lower position will move to upper positions and vise versa for the heddles that are described as being in the upper position in Figure 4. The middle upper heddle eye 492b may be loaded with another pile yarn. As those skilled in the art will understand, each of the eyes may be moved independently from the other heddle eyes. That is to say that while a first set of pile yams may be picked from one face to another, so as to form the sprigs in the pile, another set of pile yarns may only be picked so that their filaments are incorporated within the weave. At the same time, the construction yams may be picked within the same face to form the backing for that face.

[0111] After the outer upper heddle eyes 492a, 492c and outer lower heddle eyes 491a, 491c have been positioned so that their respective yams have formed the pile, second weft yams 431b, 432b may be simultaneously passed by the double rapiers (not shown in this illustration) and beaten in place with the reed.

[0112] As disclosed and taught herein, each sprig may be made of more than one yarn. That is to say that each sprig may be made of one yam, two yarns, three yarns, or more yarns, where each yarn is comprised of at least one filament. As has been exemplified in the use of a 2Sprt yarn, two yams may be threaded through a first heddle for forming a series of sprigs on a face of the woven artificial turf. Similarly, a corresponding heddle opposite of the first heddle may also be threaded with two similar yams for forming the sprigs (blades and thatch filaments) on the opposing face.

[0113] To illustrate this another way, the yams entering a heddle in the loom that will form the pile may be doubled so that there are two yams raised or lowered in each of the corresponding heddles to form corresponding pile sprigs. In one embodiment, the eyes in opposing heddles in a loom may be loaded with two yarns of three-ply filaments for the sprigs.

[0114] As is illustrated in Figure 6A, two heddles within a dent may each be threaded with two Sprt yarns such that when they are beaten together they form a sprig made of those two yarns.

[0115] In the exemplary embodiment of Figure 4, the pile yams 411a, 411b, 412a, 412b may each be made of three-ply polymer yam. In this exemplary alternative embodiment, it may be desirable to only have vertically-standing sprigs with no surrounding thatch.

[0116] In this embodiment, after the pile yams 411a, 411b, 412a, 412b have been beaten against the previously passed weft yams 431b, 432b, new weft yarns 431c, 432c may be passed by the rapiers. Since the pile yams 411a, 411b, 412a, 412b have just been picked from one face to the other, first outer heddle eyes 492a, 492c and second outer heddle eyes 491a, 491c will be subsequently positioned to produce a W within each face with their respective pile yarns before they are again positioned. That is to say that corresponding repositioning of the heddles may be used to pick the pile yams to form the sprigs.

[0117] Having more than one yarn to create a pile sprig will be called sistering the yarns in this disclosure. As an illustrative but not limiting example, a pile sprig of two yarns will have two yarns sistered in the loom to form each pile sprig. For example, and without limitation, using two Sprt yams where each is threaded into a single heddle may be called sistering the two Sprt yams to make a 2Sprt yam. It will be understood from this illustrative embodiment, that the heddle eyes used to form the sistered pile yarns may be picked simultaneously together. That is to say that when two heddle eyes are loaded with pile yams that are used to make the pile of sistered sprigs, their vertical positions will be identical at all times for the face they are weaving.

[0118] The illustrative embodiment of Figure 4 shows how pile sprigs may be made of individual or sistered yams by having the yams in the heddle eyes picked simultaneously. In this embodiment, the pile yarns 41 la-b, 412a-b shown may be the primary color of the playing field. This may be, for example, green to simulate a natural turf, or another color to identify a border or playing field indicator. In the illustrative embodiment of Figure 4, another pile yarn may be used in the middle heddle eyes 491b, 492b. For example, but without limitation, the other yarn may be white where it may be used to make playing field grid lines.

[0119] Those familiar with the art will understand that more heddles may be threaded with yams and picked within a dent. For example, if a dent in a loom had ten heddles, they may be controlled as pairs of five heddles to create lower and upper faces. In each of the five heddles, two may be loaded with green yams and picked together to form green sprigs, two may be loaded with white yarns and picked together to form white sprigs, and one may be loaded with red yarn and picked to form red sprigs.

[0120] In an alternative embodiment, two yams may be sistered in a single heddle eye. In this embodiment, heddles need not be positioned together so that the yarns are sistered as they are picked together. This embodiment may also be illustrated in exemplary Figure 4. In this embodiment, first heddle eyes 491a, 492a may be loaded with sistered green yarns where each yarn is comprised of two yarns. The other heddle eyes 491b, 491c, 492b, 492c may be loaded with other pile yams where each yam is either a single yam or sistered yarns.

[0121] Those of skill in the art and in possession of this disclosure will understand that sistered pile yarns may be formed either by sistering yams in a single heddle eye or by picking yarns together to form the pile. In these embodiments, each pile yarn may be made of the exemplary S+R yarn or sistered Sprt yams. A grouping of two sistered Sprt yams is called a 2Sprt yam herein.

[0122] As described herein, in some embodiments the pile sprigs may be made of one, two, or more yarns. The embodiment in Figures 3 and 4 illustrate that both pile yarns 310, 320 in Figure 3 could be 2Sprt yarns. In the same exemplary figures, the sprigs may be made of S+R yam. This may be illustrated in Figure 5.

[0123] A face of Applicant’s artificial turf may be seen in Figure 5, which illustrates a cross- sectional view of one face 500 of the artificial turf. The weft yarns 530 are illustrated to show how the sprigs 511, 521, 522 are formed. The tight yam of the construction yarns is generally illustrated as waved line 570 in this figure, while the slack yarns are not illustrated for clarity. In light of the pile weave illustrated in Figure 3, a first pile sprig 511 on this face 500 is formed from one of the yarns 310, 320 of Figure 3, while the adjacent sprig 521 is formed from the other yarn 320, 310.

[0124] The sprig 511 will have the appearance of the yarn illustrated in Figure IB if the S+R yam is used. If the 2Sprt yarn is used, the sprig 511 will have the appearance of the yarn illustrated in Figure 6A.

[0125] Figure 5 also illustrates how the sprigs 511, 521 position themselves substantially perpendicular from the woven substrate. This verticality from a level base starts when the pile sprigs 511, 521 are beaten up against weft yams 530a, 530b, 530c in the loom. Weft yarn 539b separates the blades 511, 521 while weft yarns 239a, 239c press them into position so that the blades 511, 521 rise substantially vertically in the warp direction from the woven surface. Adjacent structure yams keep the blades 511, 521 substantially perpendicular from the woven base in the weft direction. While Figure 3 illustrates that 1 the pile yarns 511, 521 are crossed during the weaving process, Figure 5 illustrates how they achieve their final vertical orientation after they are separated by the lancet 360.

[0126] Figure 6A illustrates two sprigs 511, 521 where each sprig 511, 521 is made of sistered yams where each yarn is a three-ply 6,667 decitex (6,000 denier) polymer. Using the illustrative embodiment of Figure 6A in light of Figure 4, the outer heddle eyes 491a, 491c, 492a, 492c may be threaded with single green yarns that are each three-ply 6,667 decitex (6,000 denier) polymer, and where each of the inner heddle eyes 491b, 492b are threaded with a white three-ply 6,667 decitex (6,000 denier) polymer yam for the boundary and marker lines. In this embodiment, the green yams may be picked as illustrated in Figure 3 as a 3-8W weave (Figures 3 and 4), a 5-12W weave (Figure 7), or a 7-16W weave (Figure 8). One white yarn from opposing heddles may be picked in any of these W-type weaves for boundary markers and other grids.

[0127] In the preferred embodiments using the yams disclosed and taught herein, the weight of the pile may be about 54 ounces per square yard (about 1,830 grams per square meter) using the 3-8W weave, about 52 ounces per square yard (about 1,763 grams per square meter) using the 5-12W weave, and about 48 ounces per square yard (about 1,424 grams per square meter) using the 7-16W weave.

[0128] In any of the embodiments using any of the weaves taught and disclosed herein, a preferred embodiment of a section of woven artificial turf with a blade height of between about 40 and 45 millimeters will have a face weight of between about 25 and about 100 ounces per square yard (between about 848 and about 3391 grams per square meter) without the woven backing or the addition of any latex. The woven backing will have a weight of between about 20 and about 25 ounces per square yard (between about 678 and about 848 grams per square meter) with a preferred embodiment where the backing is about 22 ounces per square yard (about 746 grams per square meter). The weight of the secondary backing from curing the applied latex will add between about 1.5 ounces and about 8 ounces per square yard (between about 51 and about 271 grams per square meter) to the artificial turf. In a preferred embodiment, the weight of the secondary backing will be about 4 ounces per square yard (about 136 grams per square meter). From this, a range of weight of the product will be between about 46 and 133 ounces per square yard (about 1,560 and 4,509 grams per square meter). In another embodiment where playing fields have distance markers and / or area markers of a color that is different from the color of the playing field, the distance markers and / or the area markers may be made of single yarns while the playing field may be made of double yarns. As an illustrative example, a soccer field may have a midway line and a center circle that are of a different color than an adjacent area of the playing field. As an example, the midway line and the center circle may be white while the adjacent surfaces may be green. In this, the color in the loom used to make the midway line and the center circle may be single yams while the playing field color may be sistered yams.

[0129] In an alternative embodiment, a woven artificial turf may be made using pile yarns of 2Sprt yarn colored green and beige for the playing field blades and thatch, S+R white yam for the boundary and marker line blades, and fibrillated yarns for the construction yarns.

[0130] In some alternative embodiments it may be desirable to use wrap yam that will naturally curl around the pile yarns to provide the appearance of thatch. A wrap yam is any yam that can be stretched substantially straight for weaving, but will curl and wrap around other yams when it is cut, such as by a lancet. In this embodiment, a wrap yam may also be added to the Sprt yams or any single yarn, such as the S+R yam or the slit tape yarn, through some of the heddles. While a natural color of the pile yarns may be green to provide the appearance of natural grass, the wrap yarn may be of a brown-yellow color that is more like natural thatch. The wrap yarn will curl around the pile blades near the woven base to resemble thatch under a field of turf when the two faces are separated.

[0131] The wrap yarn will not present itself as a vertical blade after it is cut. That is to say that a wrap yarn may be threaded in a heddle and raised / lowered with any of the other yam or yarns as disclosed herein, but it will not remain upright after the faces are split. From that, it is distinguished from the other pile yams.

[0132] The following table illustrates some preferred exemplary embodiments of the yarns that may be used in the inventions taught and disclosed herein. Those of skill in the art will be able to envision other yams that may be used within woven and tufted artificial turfs without departing from the spirit of the inventions claimed herein.

[0133] As those who are skilled in the art are familiar with, the blades from the pile yarns may be parallel to or offset from sequential rows in the direction of the warp yarns. In a 3-8W pattern, the raising / lowering of the corresponding heddles in a first line will result in a pair of pile blades rising in the warp direction with the pile blade pairs being separated by three fills in the warp direction. This pattern may be offset by a fill in an adjacent warp line or the pattern may be repeated without any offset.

[0134] If sequential rows of pile blades are offset singularly, lines of pile blades may extend symmetrically in directions acute to the warp and weft directions. That is to say that if a first row of a 7-16W line (as has been illustrated in Figure 8) has a pair of blades after a first fill, the second row has a pair of blades after the third fill, and so on where the sequence is restarted after the fourth row, a symmetrical line of blades may be formed in a line at an acute angle between the warp and weft directions. This is illustrated in Figure 10A. This may be called a symmetrical progression of picks across sequential warp yams along the direction of the warp yarns.

[0135] If desired, this may be offset by using a different sequence on adjacent warp rows. That is to say that the first row of a 7-16W line may have a pair of blades after a first fill, the second row may have a pair of blades three fills after the second of the pair of blades, the third row may have a pair of blades after the third fill of the first row, and the fourth row may have a pair of blades starting after the fill after the second blade in the second row. An embodiment of this weave pattern may be illustrated in Figure 10B. This may be called a non-symmetrical progressions of picks across sequential warp yarns along the direction of the warp yarns. Those of skill will understand that other non-symmetrical progressions of blades across sequential picks along the direction of the warps may be used without deviating from the inventions taught and disclosed herein.

[0136] A preferred embodiment of the progression of picks across sequential warp yarns may be illustrated in Figure 10C. In this, a first row may have picks as designated within the rapport. The exemplary embodiment of Figure 10C illustrates a 7-16W weave pattern. That is that there are seven weft rows between a pick that results in a pile yam picked from one face to the other. An adjacent warp row may have the picks offset from the first row such that there are an equal number of weft yams in front of and behind the weft yarn rows of an adjacent row pick. This symmetrical progressions of picks across sequential warp yams along the direction of the warp yams minimizes the distances between all of the blades across the entirety of the woven artificial turf.

[0137] This symmetrical progressions of picks across sequential warp yams along the direction of the warp yarns may be performed with 3-8W weaves and 5-12W weaves as well.

[0138] Once woven, the back of the artificial turf may be covered with a latex so as to form a secondary backing when the latex is cured and dried. In a preferred embodiment, a polyvinyl butyral (PVB) latex will provide sufficient strength against tuft withdrawal if applied at a rate of about 1.5 ounces to about 8 ounces per square yard (about 51 to about 271 grams per square meter). In a more preferred embodiment, the PVB secondary backing may be applied at between about 2 to about 5 ounces per square yard (about 68 to about 136 grams per square meter). In a more preferred embodiment, the PVB secondary backing will be applied at about 4 ounces per square yard (about 136 grams per square meter).

[0139] Alternatively, a latex may be made from ethylene or propylene monomers. Also as an alternative embodiment, secondary backings that may be used with the inventions disclosed an taught herein made be made from styrene butadiene copolymer latex (SBR latex), and / or a vinyl acetate ethylene latex (VAE latex), and / or a polyvinyl butyral latex (PVB latex), and / or other latexes know to those skilled in the art.

[0140] In a preferred embodiment, using a 3-8W weave of the yarns disclosed herein, the resulting woven artificial turf may have a face weight of between about 25 ounces per square yard and about 100 ounces per square yard (between about 848 grams per square meter and about 3391 grams per square meter). The backing will have a weight of between about 20 and 25 ounces per square yard (between about 678 and about 848 grams per square meter). In a preferred embodiment, the woven backing will have a weight of about 22 ounces per square yard (about 746 grams per square meter).

[0141] Lighter weight artificial turfs may be made with a less dense weave and heavier ones may be made with a denser weave. For example, some V weaves may be used to create a very heavy product, while W weaves that are more spaced apart, such as a 5-12W and a 7-16W weave, may be used to make a lighter product. When using a V weave, more latex backing may be preferred to aid in locking in the pile yarns to prevent withdrawal. In some embodiments, a secondary backing may be applied at about 8 ounces per square yard (about 271 grams per square meter), at about 10 ounces per square yard (about 339 grams per square meter), at about 12 ounces per square yard (about 407 grams per square meter), or at about 15 ounces per square yard (about 509 grams per square meter).

[0142] The 3-8W weave may be preferred in some embodiments since it produces a weightier product but still allows water to drain through it with little hinderance. A 3-8W weave using the pile and construction yams and a secondary backing from latex disclosed herein will provide sufficient permeability to allow water to pass through the article to meet FIFA standards for water infiltration. The weave structure of the pile and base will allow this even with an infill as required to meet FIFA standards.

[0143] During installation, an infill such as sand or a polymeric infill may be applied at a rate of about 1 to 3 pounds per square foot (about 5 to 15 kilograms per square meter). With appropriate installation, the sand and / or other infill will settle beneath the tops of the pile and into the woven base thus allowing some portion of the blades and some portion of the thatch to be revealed.

[0144] An embodiment of an artificial turf using the S+R yam disclosed herein is illustrated in Figure 9. In this illustrative embodiment, the blade filaments 910 stand substantially upright from the level base while the thatch filaments 920 disperse away from the vertical. When an infill 930 is added, the thatch filaments 920 will promote the vertical settling of the infill. That is to say that the thatch filaments 920 will have a memory that it will attempt to retain such that it will push against any infill atop each thatch filament 920 so that the infill 930 will migrate towards the bottom of the blade filaments 910. This will be aided by rainfall and / or feet walking or running across the artificial turf, which will help to shift the infill material so that the memory of the thatch filaments will push it back to a position between the top of the blade filaments 910 and the base of the artificial turf.

[0145] The behavior of the thatch filaments as described for the S+R yarn also applies to the other types of pile yarns that have thatch filaments. That is to say that the thatch filaments that are texturized up to 65% will have a memory that it will attempt to retain such that it will push against any infill atop each thatch filament so that the infill will migrate towards the bottom of the blade filaments. As will be known to those of skill in the art, texturizing the thatch filaments to 65% will draw them down towards the woven base more than thatch filaments texturized to 40%.

[0146] In this way, even when a person running across the field kicks up some of the infill, the thatch filaments will attempt to rise above that and resettle the infill. As such, the depth of infill applied to a field of woven artificial turf may be configured to correspond to the amount of texturizing applied to the filaments of thatch. That is to say that a lower depth of infill may be better managed by thatch filaments having a greater degree of texturizing, while a higher depth of infill may be better managed by thatch filaments having a lesser degree of texturizing.

[0147] Another way of saying this is that an optimal percentage of texturizing of the thatch filaments will be indirectly proportional to the depth of infill applied over the artificial turf to manage the settling of the infill. This will apply to any height of the blades of the sprigs of the artificial turf. In this, a higher degree of texturizing the thatch filaments will be best paired with a lower level of infill in the playing field. The highly texturized thatch filaments will still have some portion of the thatch filaments raising above the level of the infill to promote the even distribution of the infill. Conversely, a field having thatch with a lower level of texturizing will be best paired with a higher level of infill. In this, the thatch filaments will still rise above the level of the infill to promote its settling.

[0148] In this, the top of the layer of infill may be up to the height of the thatch filaments, or to any level down to 30% lower than the height of the thatch filaments. In this range, the thatch filaments will settle the infill. It may be desirable to have the infill all of the way up to the level of the tops of the thatch filaments. Alternatively, it may be desirable to have the infill up to a point of 70% of the height of the thatch filaments so that some portion of the thatch filaments may still be seen above the level of the infill. While a depth of infill up to a point of 70% of the height of the thatch filaments is a preferred embodiment, other depths of infill up to a point of 75%, 80%, 85%, 90%, 95% and 100% of the height of the thatch are also desirable. That is to say that other embodiments may have the level of infill down to 30%, 25%, 20%, 15%, 10%, 5%, or 0% below the level of the thatch. Percentages between those specific values are also preferred embodiments for the relationship between the depth of infill and the height of the thatch filaments. After the application of the latex to the back of the woven artificial turf, the article may be cured in an oven in a tenter line. Applicant has found that an oven with four zones sufficiently dries and sets the latex where the zones may be at temperatures of between 150°F and 220°F (between 65°C and 105°C). In a preferred embodiment, the temperatures may be between 175°F and 200°F (between 79°C and 94°C). In a more preferred embodiment, the first zone may be set at about 175°F (about 79°C) and the second, third, and fourth zones set at about 200°F (about 94°C) with an advancement of the artificial turf from about 20 to about 40 feet per minute (about 6 to about 12.2 meters per minute).

[0149] While the latex cures at about 250°F (about 121°C), that temperature also crystalizes the polypropylene in the yarns. For this reason, the temperature of the zones of the oven may be kept below that temperature, while sufficient time is allowed within the zones to allow the latex to cure. Applicant has found that a preferred rate of between about 25 and about 35 feet per minute (about 7.6 and 10.7 meters per minute) and a duration of between 3 and 5 minutes is sufficient time to cure the latex without crystalizing the polypropylene.

[0150] After curing the latex, the woven artificial turf may be passed over a cooling surface. This may be a cooling roller. Alternatively, a cooling fluid, such as air, may be passed over the woven artificial turf to cool it.

[0151] Once the artificial turf has cooled, it may be rolled for transportation. As will be disclosed herein, it is important that each strip of artificial turf woven be of a specific length so that it may be installed properly. This may be done by measuring the woven faces as they are produced from the loom and also by measuring the strips as they are wound into rolls.

[0152] To ensure that an accurate length is produced for each roll, and that the rolls are tightly wound, Applicant has installed a weighted plate over the rolling mechanism. This ensures that the blades are laid against the weave as the artificial turf is rolled, and compresses the blades and weave to form a tight roll.

[0153] This arrangement of the roll and a plate are exemplified in illustrative Figurel 1. In this, a first end of the strip of woven artificial turf is placed on a tube 1110 and is wound with the pile facing the tube where the backing is exposed on the outside of the roll. The weight placed upon the strip of woven artificial turf counters the natural force of the blades to push against the woven surface that is being wrapped around it. That is to say that the blades naturally stand substantially straight and perpendicular to the woven surface and as the woven artificial turf is wound around the tube, the blades push against subsequent layers of the winding. Without any counteraction to push down the blades, the outward force of the blades may cause the roll of a specific length of a strip of artificial turf to be distorted outwards and larger than is desirable for transportation. However, as disclosed and taught herein, a plate 1150 with sufficient weight to press down the blades to ensure an optimal roll may be placed atop the incoming artificial turf as it is being rolled. This weight adequately pressed the blades to lay against the underlying product so that subsequent layers on the roll are tightly wound.

[0154] As may be seen in Figure 11, and may be known by those skilled in the art, different mechanisms may be used to raise and lower the plate when the roll is being started and when the roll is complete and needs to be removed. In the illustrative embodiment of Figure 11, the plate is in a raised position. In one embodiment, the plate may be raised and lowered by a chain 1120 connected to a hoist. Alternatively, several chains may be secured to the plate 1150 and moved in unison to distribute the load between them. Applicant has found that a plate weighing between about 1,900 and 2,100 pounds (between about 862 and 953 kilograms) produces enough force to compress the blades in the roll when it is laid onto the incoming strip. This amount of mass exerts between about 5,000 and 8,500 Newtons of force on the strip near the roll to bring a produced roll of about 280 feet (about 85 meters) to have a final diameter of about 54 inches (about 137 centimeters).

[0155] Applicant has found that while a plate of sufficient weight will tightly roll the woven artificial turf into a roll 1160, it may not, by itself, prevent the artificial turf from slewing as it is wound. That is to say that while it is being wound, the edges of portions of the strip that is being wound may not lay directly above the edges of the strip that has already been wound into a roll. If the edges are not vertically aligned, the roll may start to form a cone along one edge, and an inverted cone on the other.

[0156] Applicant has found that the inclusion of fenders 1130a, 1130b along the sides of the plate may be used to guide the oncoming portion of the strip onto the roll and prevent any slewing. These fendersl l30a, 1130b, as illustrated in Figure 11, overlap the edges of the roll and guide the edges to lay above the previous sections of artificial turf that have already been laid upon the roll 1110. The fenders 1130a, 1130b may have a section that is flared outwardly away from the incoming section of artificial turf such that the incoming artificial turf is not met with a shear edge of the fender, which may unravel or otherwise affect the incoming section of artificial turf. The fenders 1130a, 1130b may therefore be angled inwardly towards the tube 1110 and the roll 1160. This inwardly angled structure will gently offset any slewing and ensure that the roll 1160 is aligned vertically above the tube 1110.

[0157] One embodiment of flaring the fenders 1130a, 1130b may be to have the leading edge of the plate 1150 wider than the trailing edge. That is to say that the edge of the plate 1150 that is first encountered by the woven artificial turf may be wider across than the edge of the plate 1150 that is closest to the roll 110. This flaring of the fenders 1130a, 1130b will then gently guide the woven artificial turf such that it will lay directly atop the roll 1110.

[0158] Applicant has found that prior art woven artificial turfs may have a pile lean and a tendency toward pile flattening. When presented with that, those of ordinary skill in the art would conclude that longer pile yarns would have an even greater tendency to lean and flatten. However, Applicant’s use of the weave patterns and yarns as disclosed herein enable the pile yarns having a length of 40 millimeters and greater, to stand substantially vertical and perpendicular to the face of the weave.

[0159] Applicant has rolled strips of the woven artificial turf for shipping as disclosed and taught herein. These strips were rolled tightly to minimize their diameters for efficient transportation. The rolling of the strips compressed the pile yams so that the blades lay flat against the woven substrate for several days, weeks, or even months. Within a day of unrolling the strips, the pile blades straightened back to a substantially straight position oriented substantially perpendicular from the undelaying weave.

[0160] Applicant has achieved this with only the weave patterns and yarns used in the methods disclosed herein. Prior art woven artificial turf products usually require infill to counter a natural lean and flattening of the blades. Even with that, some prior art products have recommendations that their piles be brushed with brooms in all directions to resettle the infill to counter such pile lean and flattening. However, the pile yarns as disclosed in Applicant’s woven artificial turf do not require any infill or brushing since the pile yarns stand substantially vertical on their own.

[0161] Even though the weave is tight enough to support the blades in a substantially vertical position with little to no lean or flattening, the weave in combination with the structure yams is spaced such that it retains a desirable permeability to allow water to flow through. In one embodiment, a loom may weave a strip of artificial turf with a maximum width of about 12 feet (about 3.7 meters) in the weft direction. In a preferred embodiment, a loom may weave a strip with a maximum width of up to about 16 feet (about 4.9 meters) in the weft direction. This maximum width is the width between the outermost warp yarns. Those of skill in the art will understand that pieces of fringe made of unincorporated weft yarns will extend beyond the outermost warp yams on either side of the produced article.

[0162] This does not mean that the produced article will have pile yams picked across the entire length of the maximum width. The width of the portions of the strips having blades may be determined by the arrangement of the strips to form the playing field or the multiuse playing fields. As is disclosed and taught herein, the widths of the strips will be configured such that when assembled, the grids, such as boundary and marker lines of the playing fields, will be at their configured locations.

[0163] An exemplary embodiment of this may be illustrated in Figure 12, which illustrates a back side of a strip of woven artificial turf as taught and disclosed herein. As a strip of woven artificial turf 1200 is produced by separating the faces, it has a woven area 1220 and an area of blades between the fringes 1290 at each edge.

[0164] In these strips, the pile blades are picked at or between the maximum strip width sides 1230. That is to say that if an overall design of a playing field requires each of the strips to be the entire width between the outermost warp yams, then the loom will raise and lower the pile yarn heddles to form sprigs between the outermost warp yarns 1220. In other cases, the design of a playing field may require that only a portion of the maximum width be picked to have sprigs. This will produce a strip with a finished width that is less than the maximum width.

[0165] At either side of the finished width of the strip of artificial turf, where the pile blades end, a highly visible warp yarn 1231a, 1231b may be woven as an indicator line. In some embodiments, this highly visible warp yarn 1231a, 123 lb may be visible from both the top and the bottom of the strip of woven artificial turf 1200. In one embodiment where the warp and weft yarns are a beige, tan, ecm, or other neutral color, the indicator line may be red so that it is distinctly visible. This may be illustrated in Figures 13A / B. These illustrations are close-up views of the front and the back sides of the embodiment illustrated in Figure 12. Also, the entire span of the artificial turf does not need to be coated with latex, if the back of the woven artificial turf is to be coated at all. In some embodiments, another indicator line 1241a, 1241b may be formed from pile yams that are woven so that the visible line has one color on one side of the woven artificial turf, and a different color on the other side. This indicator line may be used to set the limits of coating with a latex. Having one color associated with the back (Figure 13 A), and another color associated with the front (Figure 13B) will aid those in the manufacturing process in identifying the back that is to be coated so they will not inadvertently load the woven artificial turf into the coater with the incorrect side to be coated.

[0166] If these indicator lines are used as coater limit lines (one on each side), they may also be used to indicate where the fringes may be cut away. In some embodiments, these lines may be between the outermost warp yarns. In these embodiments, not only will unused fringe be cut away, but also some portion of the weave that has incorporated pile yarns. If all of the yams in these sections are made of the same polymer, such as but not limited to polypropylene, polyethylene, or mixtures of polypropylene and polyethylene, then these portions need not be discarded, but may be recycled into new polymer yam or other polymer products.

[0167] Float yarn that is unincorporated into the weave and left laying below the woven substrate may be used to provide additional guidance for installation. Some exemplary guidance markings are illustrated in Figure 13C.

[0168] Indices 1350a, 1350b may be made by floating a yam having some contrast to the structure yarns across a series of weft rows to form a marking. These indices 1350a, 1350b may be formed at specific intervals while the woven artificial turf is being woven. The series of indices 1350a, 1350b may fully extend across the width of the woven article, or they may only extend a short distance from an edge. In a preferred embodiment, some number of lines that extend a short distance from an edge are bounded within lines that fully extend across the width of the woven article. These may be configured such that when two strips are abutted corresponding lines will align.

[0169] In another illustrative embodiment, a marking 1360 may be configured to be visible on the underside of strips at specific intervals. Each marking may be defined by a manufacturer to have a specific meaning to an installer. For example, the marking 1360 may indicate the machine direction and instructions may be given to an installer to install each strip with the machine direction going the same way as the field is being constructed. Conversely, an installer may be directed to install each subsequent strip going in opposite directions. In this exemplary embodiment the marking 1360 may form a triangle, which may appear as a head of an arrow pointing a direction, where the apex of the triangle along the machine direction indicates a first weft row of the weave and the base of the triangle indicates later rows of the weave.

[0170] The position of the float yams within each dent has been found to provide advantageous properties. As an exemplary embodiment, a dent may contain a green yarn on the left, a white yam in the center, and a red yarn on the right. Dents on either side of this exemplary dent may contain yarns of the same color in the same order, or in another order. The structure yams may be of a neutral color such as beige, tan, or ecm. When markings are desired on the back one of the yarns may be floated as disclosed herein to display the markings.

[0171] A highly visible marking may be made by selecting the color of a yarn to float that contrasts with all of the other colors on the back of the woven artificial turf. For example, if the green yarn is picked to form the pile, the red yam may be floated while the white yarn will remain incorporated within the base. The contrast between the red, green, and neutral colors will be high thereby rendering any markings made by the red yarn highly visible from any angle of viewing. However, if the green yam is picked to form the pile, the white yarn may be floated while the red yam will remain incorporated within the base. In this, the white yam has a low contrast against the neutral color of the construction yams of the base. As viewed from an angle where the green backstitching is first visible before the white yarn (as seen along the dent) the green backstitching will obscure the low- contrast white as it is viewed above the neutral construction yarns. However, viewing the back of the artificial turf from the angle where the white yarn is viewed before the green, the white will stand out as highly contrasting against the green backstitching.

[0172] As used herein, low contrast colors may be represented by a Delta E value of between 2 and any number below 50 as may be found using the CIE 94 standard. Conversely, high contrasting colors may be represented by a Delta E value of between 50 and 100. For example, a Delta E value of 49.5 between two colors will be considered to be low contrast. The use of the positions of the yams within the dent and their contrasting or noncontrasting colors in relation to each other and in relation to the color of the construction yams may be used to present a logo or similar in a very visible way when viewed from one angle, but hidden and poorly visible when viewed from a different angle.

[0173] Highly visible markings will be appropriate for the indices described above, for installation instructions, for contact information, for lot numbers, serial numbers, and other information that should be visible.

[0174] On the visible top surface of a woven artificial turf, strict manufacturing tolerances as described produces the result that the weft rows of one strip will exactly match associated weft rows of another strip when they are laid beside each other with their top surfaces facing upwards. Forming grids, such as continuous lines across a series of strips laid side- by-side may be used as an example of this. A first strip may be made with a group of pile yarns forming a portion of a playing field grid across the strip. The portion of the playing field grid may be placed anywhere along the length of the strip. That is to say that it may be placed some distance from one end or the other. Several other strips may also be made with the portion of the playing field grid placed at the same distance from an end. When the strips are laid side-by-side, the segments of the grid will appear to be contiguous and linear, if desired, across all of the strips without deviation. When all of the portions of the playing field grid are assembled by assembling all of the strips, an entire playing field grid will be formed. This may be an outline of a sports playing field, the boundary lines, the distance markers, other playing markers, and any or all of them.

[0175] To state this another way, the strips may be unrolled side-by-side with a proximal end of each strip laid along a first line. With each strip being cut to an equal number of weft rows, the distal ends of the strips will form another line parallel to the first line without the need to stretch any of the strips lengthwise.

[0176] The strict tolerances of manufacturing also provide high dimensional stability. In one aspect the woven artificial turf exhibits very little vertical deformation. That is to say that Applicant’s artificial turf does not curl at the corners or edges and does not tent in the middle. A portion of a playing field grid 1382 may be seen in Figure 13B. This portion of a playing field grid 1382 is formed by blades of a different color 1380 than the blades that bound the portion of the playing field grid 1382. The section of a strip as illustrated in Figure 13B may be placed adjacent to another strip that has another portion of a playing field grid. These two together may be a segment of a playing field grid. When the entire playing field is assembled by securing all of the strips together, the entire playing field grid will be visible. This includes the embodiments where multiple playing field grids are nearly centered atop each other and where the playing field grids are shifted. This also includes multiuse playing fields that have side-by-side fields such as is illustrated in exemplary Figure 15.

[0177] While the illustrative embodiment exemplifies a contiguous stripe across multiple strips, an entire playing field grid need not be made by contiguous portions of partial grids or grid segments. The portions of grids may be distance markers that may be bounded on all sides by the color of the playing field. Even so, when the strips are assembled into a playing field, the entire grid of all of the distance markers will be set and viewable.

[0178] Grids such as boundary lines are a part of sports fields. In several sports, playing field grids of colored marks may form the boundary lines as well as distance and other markers. That is to say that an outer boundary may be made of a wide line, while distance markers, such as yards or meters from a goal line, may be of thinner lines. All of these lines may be of the same color for most sports events played on a field.

[0179] Some sports playing fields have become multiuse. That is to say that an organization intent on constructing a multiuse playing field may desire the field to be used for different field sports, which may include football, soccer, lacrosse, baseball, cricket, lawn bowling, and field hockey. However, due to space limitations, they may only be able to lay down one field. Applicant has found that sports field grids of boundary and marker lines for several different fields may be overlaid on a field using different colors. In one embodiment, a football field boundary and marker lines may be white, a soccer field lines may be red, a lacrosse field lines may be blue, and a field hockey field lines may be yellow. While those are each rectangular, a baseball field, including the outfield, and a cricket field may be irregularly shaped but may be laid out with different colors than the others in the same space. If the multiuse playing field grids do not overlap, the same color may be used for different events. In an exemplary embodiment, a football field may be marked with white boundaries, and a track for running and / or walking may be marked outside of the football field with the same color. The grid of boundary lines of the football field may be entirely within the playing field grid for the track so that users of each of those will not be confused as to which is which.

[0180] To achieve these desired playing field grids, Applicant has modified the loom to incorporate yarns with different colors. In one embodiment, the number of pile colors may be between one (1) and eight (8). In a preferred embodiment, the number of pile colors may be six. In another embodiment, the number of pile colors may be seven, eight, nine, ten, or greater. These colors may be visibly distinct from each other such that they may be differentiated by a player on the field during the daytime with sun shining brightly or with the sky fully of clouds, and also during the evening and at night times with artificial lighting.

[0181] Figure 14 illustrates a multiuse playing field 1400 using the inventions disclosed and taught herein to overlay playing field grids of three sports playing fields in a single space 1400 using different colors.

[0182] A thick white border 1401 may outline a football field. The football field may have yard markers 1402 along its length. Some yard markers may extend continuously across the field while others may only be at the sidelines and / or at locations along the major axis of the field.

[0183] A soccer field may be marked with a yellow boundary 1411 with position markers 1412 at appropriate locations. The touch lines 1411 may be within the football field border 1401 as illustrated here where the fields are nearly centered atop each other. That is to say that the geometric center of the football field may be placed at or near the geometric center of the soccer field. In Figure 14, the football field and the soccer field are geometrically centered. However, the lacrosse field 1421 is shifted along the major axis so that the midpoint line marker of the lacrosse field is not atop the midpoint line markers of the football and soccer fields.

[0184] In another embodiment, the lacrosse field may be geometrically centered atop the football field. In that embodiment, the lacrosse midpoint marker line may be split such that a half- width part of the blue midpoint marker is on one side of the football 50-yard line and the other half-width part of the midpoint marker on the other side.

[0185] In an alternative embodiment, the entire soccer field may be offset from the football field. That is to say that the geometric center of the football field may be offset from the geometric center of the soccer field so that the touch lines are not within the football field border. Doing the latter may allow better visibility of some lines, such as the corner arcs.

[0186] The lacrosse field may be marked with a blue border 1421. Since a lacrosse field is wider than both a football field and a soccer field, the side borders will extend outside of the football field sidelines and the soccer touch lines. Alternatively, the geometric center of the lacrosse field may be offset as described from either or both of the other fields.

[0187] An embodiment of the design of the playing field grids of overlays of the sports playing fields may be done with a Computer Aided Design (CAD) tool. As noted, the sports playing fields may be geometrically centered, or offset from each other. Figure 14 illustrates an embodiment where the sports playing fields are nearly geometrically centered. Since each sport playing field is larger than the weft dimension of a conventional loom, the multiuse playing field must be separated into strips that may be woven on the loom and assembled at the site.

[0188] Figure 14 illustrates that a multiuse playing field may be designed for the loom incorporating the strips. Lines 1450 in Figure 14A, which is a section of the entire playing field illustrated in Figure 14, illustrate how the multiuse playing field may be planned in strips that may be woven on the loom. Each strip between the lines 1450 may be woven with the boundary and distance markers at their configured locations.

[0189] In another embodiment, multiple playing fields may be configured to be within a multiuse playing field as is illustrated in Figure 15. In this exemplary embodiment, three soccer fields 1511, 1512, 1513 may be configured with some area between their respective touch lines. Again, the exemplary multiuse playing field may be designed in strips that may be produced on a loom. The lines 1550 show the edges of each strip. The strips are also separated from each other along line 1551. In this illustrative embodiment, the edges of the strips between the lines 1550 may be stitched together while the edges of the strips between the line 1551 may only be glued together. Once the grids of the playing fields are designed, the CAD design may be loaded into the loom with instructions to produce the strips. In one embodiment, the grids of the playing fields may be mirrored from the center line of geometrically centered fields. That is to say that the grids in one direction as seen from any point along the center line in one direction along the long axis of the fields will be a mirrored image of the grids in the other direction. This matches the relative orientations of the strips produced from face-to-face woven articles produced from a loom.

[0190] In one embodiment, the centerlines of a multiuse playing field may be configured to be woven on one side of a face-to-face woven artificial turf as it is being produced. After the strips are separated, the sides with the centerlines may be placed adjacent to each other to form the centerlines of the multiuse playing field. Subsequent strips may be woven in face- to-face pieces such that one face may be adjoined to the previously adjoined strips on opposing sides. In that way, an entire multiuse playing field may be created from all of the produced strips. In this embodiment, the width of half of the centerlines may be woven into each of the face-to-face strips so that when they are adjoined, the cumulative width of the centerlines will be the desired width of the centerlines.

[0191] In an alternative embodiment, the centerlines of the multiuse playing fields may be woven in the middle of one face of the face-to-face strip and then adjoin sequential strips to either side of the first strip. However, one of the strips will need to be positioned so that the markers in adjoining strips have correct spacing from the centerlines. An embodiment of doing this may be seen in Figure 16.

[0192] In this, a first strip 1601 has been manufactured as the center strip for a multiuse sports playing field. This has a first centerline 1620 and a second centerline 1630 offset from the first. These may be different colors to indicate different sports playing fields.

[0193] Second strips 1602a, 1602b have been manufactured to adjoin the first strip 1601. As may be seen, second strips 1602a, 1602b were woven as a face-to-face article and separated. The bottom second strip 1602a may be placed on one side of the first strip 1601, and the top second strip 1602b may be placed on the other side of the first stirp 1601. The same is done for sequential strips such as third strips 1603a, 1603b while the top faces 1602b, 1603b are rotated so that their respective first edges are at opposites of the field. The first distance markers 1622 are spaced apart from the first centerline 1620 while the second distance markers 1632 are spaced apart from the second centerline 1630. While the firsts and second distance markers may be of the same units (feet, meters, etc.), they do not need to be. In one embodiment, the first distance markers may be in feet and the second distance markers may be in meters. These may be prepared using a CAD system to ensure that all of the distance markers will be at their correct locations.

[0194] Also illustrated in Figure 16 is that some of the distance markers 1610a, 1610b need not be centered within each strip. Each of these portions of the distance markers 1610a, 1610b will become a full distance marker like the others 1622 when the strips are adjoined.

[0195] While the use of high to moderate contrasting colors has been disclosed to make grids in playing fields, other designs may be made with different yarns of low contrasting colors.

[0196] For example, when a lawn of natural grass is cut by a mower, a design may emerge where the mower travels in different directions for side-by-side cuts. That is to say that the mower may travel in one direction for one cut along a length of the lawn, and may travel in the opposite direction in a cut next to the first. The direction of rotation of the blade of a power mower will leave the two side-by-side cut grass looking slightly different with an indistinct but discernable transition between the two sections. The use of other mowers may produce similar designs.

[0197] This may be illustrated in Figure 17. The lawn 1700 may be cut by a mower first in one direction and then in another direction. This will leave a first bias 1710 to the blades from the cut in the first direction, and a second bias 1720 to the blades cut in the reverse direction.

[0198] Some homeowners and professional landscapers have been known to augment that design by cross-hatching the cuts. For example, a power mower may make cuts by reversing directions in a north-south direction as described above for a first pass over a lawn, and then traverse the lawn again with cuts in the east-west direction but skipping every other pass.

[0199] This may be illustrated in Figure 18. The lawn 1800 may first be cut in one direction to leave a first bias 1810 of the blades, then in a reverse direction to leave a second bias 1820 of the blades. Another pass of the mower may be done orthogonally from the first two passes to leave a third bias 1830 of the blades. This produces a diamond design in the grass.

[0200] As those who have cared for lawns will understand, designs left by mowers will disappear shortly after the lawn has been cut, adhering to the adage, “it’s nice while it lasts.” This may occur from the grass blades returning to their original bias or orientation, from the blades growing, from the weather, and / or from the lawn being trod upon.

[0201] Applicant has found ways to maintain the appearance of fresh-cut designs using weaving techniques taught and disclosed herein.

[0202] In a first way, a fresh-cut design may be made by securing together strips of woven artificial turf as described and shown in Figure 16. That is that the sprigs in a first strip 1601 may have a slight bias from the weaving process and may display a very slight lean in one direction. The sprigs of an adjacent strip 1602 may have a slight lean in a different direction such that when the strips are joined, a fresh-cut design may be seen by observers.

[0203] In a preferred way, yams of slightly different colors may be loaded into a loom and portions of fresh-cut designs may be woven into the strips, which may be joined as disclosed and taught herein such that the fresh-cut designs align and appear to be contiguous when the strips are assembled together. In this way, the resulting lawn or playing field will have a permanent fresh-cut design that is contiguous across the entire lawn or field. In this, the pattern of the fresh-cut design is contiguous in much the same way that a playing field grid is contiguous across a sports playing field made of strips when the strips are assembled together.

[0204] As is explained and taught herein, all contiguous designs and contiguous grids that may be laid out by joining strips together are made contiguous by aligning the indices and marks on the undersides of the strips during assembly. That is to say that when the strips are positioned together along their length sides and the alignment indices and marks are positioned such that they align as specified, the grids and designs on the pile faces of the strips will become contiguous when the strips are secured together.

[0205] An exemplary embodiment of a contiguous fresh-cut design may be illustrated in exemplary Figure 19. In this, the artificial lawn 1900 is made with strips 1951-5. Each strip has been woven such that a dark green pile yarn 1910 is visible, or a light green pile yarn 1920 is visible. The fresh-cut pattern is contiguous in that it appears to have

[0206] As used herein, slightly different colors may be represented by a Delta E value of between 2 and 39 as may be found using the CIE 94 standard. Conversely, distinctly different colors may be represented by a Delta E value of between 40 and 100.

[0207] While the artificial lawn 1900 may be woven in angular fresh-cut designs, the inventions disclosed and taught herein are not limited to that but may present designs in complex shapes. An exemplary illustration of that may be found in Figure 20. The artificial lawn 2000 may be woven in strips 2051-5 such that when the strips are joined, very complex designs of sprigs from slightly differently colored yams may present themselves. As may be seen, the transitions from the dark green pile yams 2010 to the light green pile yams 2020 are discernable. The distinction of the transition may be blurred by programming in a weave pattern that makes the transition appear to be indistinct. That is that some dark green pile yams may be picked to form the pile along with some light green pile yams in a transition area between the dark green pile yams 2010 and the light green pile yarns 2020. That is to say that an edge of the dark green pile yarns 2010 is not in register with an edge of the light green pile yams 2020.

[0208] One way of providing an indistinct transition is to pick differently colored yarns in each dent within the transition zone in an irregular pattern. An illustrative example made be made where a transition is about 5 inches (about 13 centimeters) going from a dark green color to a light green color. In this illustrative example, the first edge of the transition will abut the dark green pile while the second edge of the transition will abut the light green pile. In this a first dent may have sprigs of each color picked alternatively, with sprigs in other dents picked with colors in different manners. That is to say that in the first dent, a first sprig may be picked with a dark green yam and the next sprig picked with a light green yarn. This may process in this way long this dent from the first edge of the transition to the second edge. However, in an adjacent dent, the dark green yarn may be picked for all picks nearest the dark green side, and the light green yam picked for all picks nearest the light green side. In a next adjacent dent, a pattern of 15 picks of the dark green yam may be followed by 3 picks of the light green yarn starting from the edge nearest the dark green side, where each subsequent pattern reduces the number of picks of the dark green yarn by 3 and increase the number of light green picks by 4. In the next adjacent dent, a similar pattern may be made where the pattern consists of 10 picks of the dark green yarn may be followed by 7 picks of the light green yarn starting from the edge nearest the dark green side, where each subsequent pattern reduces the number of picks of the dark green yam by 1 and increase the number of light green picks by 6. As may be seen by those of skill in the art, a myriad of patterns may be deployed in the dents of the transition. These may be randomly assigned to each dent to make the transition be out of register with each edge.

[0209] While those of skill in the art who have possession of the inventions disclosed and taught herein will be aware, an edge does not have to be rigorously followed. For example, in a first dent, the transition using any pattern described above may start at one point along an edge of the transition, a pattern of a subsequent dent does not need to start at or near the first pick of that pattern. Skewing the starting picks of each dent across a transition will further make the transition be out of register from the edge.

[0210] The designs disclosed and taught herein using differently colored pile yarns are not limited to simple ornamental designs in lawns and landscapes, such as a fresh-cut design. The designs may be used for utilitarian functions. For example, a lawn of predominantly dark green pile yarns may use light green pile yams to indicate a preferred path across the lawn.

[0211] The designs disclosed and taught herein using differently colored pile yams are not limited to the use of different shades of a color. For example, for the path of the previous example, pile yams may be picked such that they have an appearance of stone pavers. The appearance of the stone of the pavers may be of an entirely different color than green. This may then add to the effect that a distinct path is provided across the lawn. This use of different colors to illustrate utilitarian functions may also be used to define a border design to the entire lawn. For example, the appearance of pavers as a border design may be woven into the strips and installed to appear to be placed around the edges of the lawn, and even abutting a natural feature such as a tree or water feature such as a fountain.

[0212] This technique may also be applied to sports playing fields. For example, a football playing grid may be laid out with sprigs made of green filaments for the blades and tan filaments for the thatch for the field and white filaments for the boundaries and markers. Within that, a baseball field grid may be laid out with the foul lines of blue. The infield and pitcher’s mound, which is in many baseball fields are made of dirt, may be made of sprigs of brown filaments for both the blades and the thatch. The color distinctions between the grids will allow the players of either sport to identify the appropriate markers and lines without

[0213] Those in possession of this disclosure and its teachings will now appreciate that many different and complex designs may be made using the weaving techniques disclosed herein. For example, a lawn may be made of strips such that when they are assembled, they present a family crest or a sports team logo design in full color to be displayed before the family home. Similarly, a woven artificial turf may present a corporate logo design or emblem to be displayed before a building or compound. This may be illustrated in Figure 21, where the woven artificial turf 2130, has a logo design 2120, before the corporate building 2110. The logo design 2120 may be visible to those approaching the building 2110, by those in the building 2110 looking out over the lawn 2130, as well as by craft flying over the lawn 2130. In displaying a design such as a crest, emblem, or logo design, the edges of the design may be distinct or indistinct from the surrounding sprigs. That is, the edges of a design may be in register with the edges of the sprigs of grass, or they may be out of register with their surroundings.

[0214] Once the strips are produced, they may be shipped to their destination. In one installation embodiment, they may then be unrolled side-by-side. With the tolerances of manufacturing that have been noted, very little, if any, stretching or adjusting the strips to fit will be needed. That is to say that when a strip is unrolled with a first end adjacent and parallel to a previously unrolled strip, the second ends will be adjacent and parallel with very little, if any, adjustments. Any boundary or marker lines that continue between the strips will be aligned to within a tolerance of less than 1 inch (less than 2.5 centimeters) across a length of about 330 feet (about 100 meters).

[0215] As was described in light of Figures 12 and 13A-B, a highly visible marker line may be visible from both the top and bottom of the woven artificial turf. This marker line may be used as a visible marker for the installers. In one embodiment, a first roll may be unrolled at the location and desired orientation. The excess woven sections of this first strip may be cut away on the visible marker line or it may be left at this time. If it is cut, it may be cut very close to the edge of the area containing sprigs. In one embodiment, adjacent strips may be positioned relative to the first strip and unrolled such that the proximal ends of all of the strips may be parallel to each other and such that the woven edges of the strips that do not have any sprigs that overlap the edges of the first strip. The installers will know where to cut those so that once the unused section is removed, the edges of the adjacent strips will meet so they may be stitched together.

[0216] In a preferred embodiment, a strip that is to be adjacent to the first strip may be unrolled atop the first strip so that the pile yams face each other, and the edges of the pile yams are proximal to each other. The excess woven sections of the strips may then be cut together. That is to say that an installer may then cut along the highly visible warp yam on the back side that is upwards, and then move aside a portion of the excess so that the excess of the first laid strip may be cut away. An installer may proceed to do this along the entire length sides of the strips until all of the excess is removed. As an option at this point, an installer may seal the polymer edges of the strips. One way of doing this may be heat the edges such that the polymers of the pile and construction yams melt so that some bond is formed along the edges. Another way of performing this may be to chemically treat the edges such that the pile and construction yams melt so that some bond is formed along the edges. The bonds formed from any method uses do not need to be permanent, but may be a temporary bond that will hold the construction and pile yarns together until they are stitched together.

[0217] Once the trim has been cut away and the edges optionally sealed, an installer may stitch the edges of the first piece (which is below) and the second piece (which is atop the first piece) together. Once a seam is stitched between the strips, the second strip may be pulled over so that it is laying adjacent to the first piece. Stitching while the two strips are facing each other and then laying over the second strip allows for the stitching to pull together the two strips so that they are held tighter together than if they were stitched while laying adjacent to each other.

[0218] The indices 1350a, 1350b and marking 1360 as illustrated in Figure 13C and disclosed previously may be useful to an installer at this stage of installation. Markings, such as but not limited to a machine direction marking, may aid an installer in determining which direction to unroll a strip that is to be secured to an adjacent strip. For example, if the installation instructions are to have all of the strips installed with the machine direction of each strip go in the same direction, then an installer would note the direction while installing the first strip and lay subsequent strips accordingly.

[0219] The lines on the back of each strip may also be used to align the segments. As noted, the end of a first strip may be laid face upwards, and a second strip laid face downwards atop it. With the lines (such as exemplary indices 1350a, 1350b as illustrated in Figure 13C) representing distances from the end, an installer would then lift the first strip to note the location of a line, and align an adjacent line on the second strip directly atop it. As the installer starts the process of stitching or gluing the edges together, they may periodically check the alignment of the strips to ensure the strips are being secured together as desired. This may be illustrated in Figure 1 ID, which shows a strip with indices 1350 and machine direction identifiers 1360.

[0220] Figure 1 IE illustrates some additional markers that may be configured on the underside when weaving an artificial turf strip. For example, a centerline mark 1380 may show the middle of the strip from end to end. This may be used to align the first strip onto a playing field and to keep all subsequently laid strips aligned. In some installations, a mark is made on the undersurface, which may be a pad or natural ground, to show where the first strip is to be positioned. The centerline mark 1380 may be identified with other symbols 1370 to differentiate the centerline mark 1380 from other markings or lines.

[0221] A centerpoint mark 1390 may be configured to show an installer the exact middle from end to end and side to side of a strip. This may allow the first strip to be positioned exactly where desired on the surface of the space, and adjacent strips placed in their desired locations adjacent the first on the surface.

[0222] Applicant has found that stitching together adjacent strips in the preferred embodiment has led to the strips having little deviation from where they are intended to be. In an embodiment where three soccer fields were laid out as is illustrated in Figures 15 and 15 A, twenty-six strips were laid for each field. The first twenty-six were stitched together in the described preferred embodiment to form the first field 1511. The strips of the second field 1512 were also stitched together in the described preferred manner with the end edges 1551 only glued together. The third playing field 1513 was adjoined to the second field 1512 with glue while the twenty-six strips were again stitched together in the described preferred embodiment. In the finished product where all three fields 1500 were laid out, the variance from the planned locations to the actual locations of the playing field grids was less than two inches (less than five centimeters).

[0223] In the multiuse playing fields where the strips form at least one playing field, the strips may be stitched together. This is preferred so that the strips do not separate under normal wear from playing on the field. In other embodiments, where the strips form multiple playing fields, as in Figure 15, the strips may be glued together between the playing fields. It is expected that there will be less activity near those seams that may loosen the strips from each other.

[0224] In a preferred embodiment for the use of Applicant’ s woven artificial turf used for a sports playing field, the woven artificial turf may be covered with infill. In a preferred embodiment for a sports playing field, the infill may be of any type that is recommended to be used for the sport being played upon the sports playing field. This may include, but is not limited to a multiple layers of infill as specified by FIFA.

[0225] Applicant has found that a woven artificial turf as disclosed and taught herein may be used with a layer of sand of about 1 inch (about 2.5 centimeters). This preferred embodiment allows the woven artificial turf to more firmly lay upon the ground and retain the verticality of the blades as they are stepped upon or otherwise pressed down.

[0226] In these illustrative embodiments, Applicant’s woven artificial turf made using the methods disclosed and taught herein have been tested with the results that resistance to withdrawal of the blades is greater than 40 Newtons, when tested using the FIFA Test Method 26 as disclosed in FIFA QUALITY PROGRAMME FOR FOOTBALL TURF, Test Manual I - Test Methods, October 2015 edition v3.4 01.02.2022. This test has been performed on samples of artificial turf with no secondary backing from latex added to the back. Similar results have been found with samples of artificial turf when latex has been added in the proportions disclosed herein.

[0227] Prior art tufted and woven artificial turf products using yarns of monofilament for the pile tufts and blades have failed the FIFA Test Method 26, even with thick coatings of latex on their backs. In some cases, the tests did not pull out the yarn, but the yam of a tuft or blade broke during the test resulting in a failure. Applicant’s inventive S+R yarn does not break and does not pull out when woven into an artificial turf as disclosed and taught herein. Also, Applicant’s inventive method of sistering the yarns used in weaving the pile yarns does not break when woven into an artificial turf as disclosed and taught herein.

[0228] While the FIFA Test Method 26 specifies a “tuft” is to be tested, Applicant has performed this test with the vertical blades of a sprig as disclosed and taught herein. Applicant’s woven artificial turf made using the methods disclosed and taught herein, even with the application of a latex, still retains a high permeability. Applicant has tested the artificial turfs as disclosed and taught herein using FIFA Method 24 and found that the infiltration rate exceeded 2,000 millimeters per hour. That is to say that the infiltration rate of Applicant’s artificial turf was greater than 2,000 millimeters per hour when a latex was applied, and also when no latex was applied.

[0229] The permeability across Applicant’s woven artificial turf is maintained to be uniform as the woven product is manufactured. This is done by enforcing strict tolerances of advancing the product through the loom while enforcing strict tolerances of the forces to secure the weave in place. Such strict tolerances provide uniformity across the strip as it is woven and produced from the loom.

[0230] In some embodiments, Applicant’ s woven artificial turf may be installed over a shock pad as is known to those of skill in the art. This, along with sufficient infill provides a safety feature for the artificial turf field. That is to say that Applicant’s woven artificial turf along with a shock pad and with sufficient infill meets the requirement for critical fall height of ASTM standard F1292. In this, the amount of infill is still below the top level of the blade filaments in each sprig and some portions of the thatch filaments are still exposed above the level of the infill.

[0231] In one embodiment, which may be combined with any or all of the other embodiments disclosed herein, a shock pad may not be needed to still meet the requirements for critical fall height of ASTM standard F1292. In this embodiment, a woven artificial turf having sprigs made of S+R yam in the form of eight (8) filaments of polyethylene monofilaments having an S cross-sectional shape and eight (8) filaments of polypropylene monofilaments having a rectangular cross-sectional shape with a blade length of between 40 and 45 millimeters and loaded with an infill of sand has been found to meet the requirements for critical fall height of ASTM standard F1292. In this, the polyethylene monofilaments had not been texturized, but the polypropylene monofilaments had been texturized to 40%. The polyethylene filaments had a yam weight of 6,800 decitex (6,120 denier), where each blade filament had a weight of 850 decitex (765 denier). The polypropylene filaments had a yarn weight of 3,500 decitex (3,150 denier), where each thatch filament had a weight of 437.5 decitex (393.75 denier). In this, the entire yam had a weight of 10,300 decitex (9,270 denier). The infill was sand applied at a rate of about 3 pounds per square foot (about 15 kilograms per square meter). The woven artificial turf was laid over a dirt surface.

[0232] As has been noted herein, the permeability of the woven artificial turf as disclosed and taught herein is a desirable feature for sports fields. It allows rainwater to flow through the woven artificial turf even when the playing field is loaded with an infill such as sand. This permeability to water, and therefore to water vapor and air lends itself to other applications.

[0233] In another embodiment, a woven artificial turf using the inventions disclosed and taught herein may be installed above a water retention tank as disclosed in the paper, “Climate adaptive solution for artificial turf in cities: integrated rainwater storage and evaporative cooling”. In this, a woven artificial turf as disclosed and taught herein with or without a latex coating on its underside has sufficient permeability to facilitate water transport through the backing and through the infill. The selection of polymers in this exemplary artificial turf may also make the artificial turf entirely recyclable.

[0234] In this embodiment, if a light grade of sand is desired to be used as infill and it is found to fall through the woven substrate, a heavier application of latex on the underside of the artificial turf may be applied. This will still allow sufficient permeability for receiving water and allowing evaporate to be transported through the woven artificial turf and will retain even small grain sand particles.

[0235] Various implementations have been described. Nevertheless, it will be understood that various modifications may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the description. Accordingly, other implementations are within the scope of the following claims.

Claims

CLAIMS1. A woven artificial turf, comprising: a woven backing comprising a plurality of structure yarns; a plurality of pile yarns, wherein a first portion of each of the plurality of pile yarns comprises a sprig, and a second portion of each of the plurality of pile yarns is incorporated into the woven backing with a weave selected from the group consisting of a 3-8W weave, a 5-12W weave, and a 7-16W weave.

2. The woven artificial turf of claim 1, wherein the face weight of the woven artificial turf is between about 25 and about 100 ounces per square yard (between about 848 and about 3,391 grams per square meter).

3. The woven artificial turf of any preceding claim 1-2, wherein the plurality of construction yams of the woven backing are comprised of fibrilated polymer yarns having a weight of between about 18 and about 26 ounces per square yard (between about 610 and about 882 grams per square meter), preferably between about 20 and 25 ounces per square yard (between about 678 and about 848 grams per square meter), and more preferably about 22 ounces per square yard (about 746 grams per square meter).

4. The woven artificial turf of claim 3, wherein the plurality of fibrilated polymer yarns are comprised of polypropylene.

5. The woven artificial turf of any preceding claim 1-4, wherein the plurality of structure yarns are comprised of weft yarns having a linear weight of 7,500 decitex, slack yams having a linear weight of 1,560 decitex, and tight yarns having a linear weight of 2,000 decitex.

6. The woven artificial turf of any preceding claim 1-5, wherein the plurality of structure yams form a base of the woven artificial turf; and wherein the base is comprised of a top surface and a bottom surface.

7. The woven artificial turf of any preceding claim 1-6, wherein the lower surface of the base is a bottom of the woven artificial turf.

8. The woven artificial turf of any preceding claim 1-7, wherein the woven backing comprises a secondary backing attached to the bottom of the woven artificial turf.

9. The woven artificial turf of claim 8, wherein the secondary backing has a weight of between about 1.5 to about 8 ounces per square yard (about 51 to about 271 grams per square meter), preferably between about 2 to about 5 ounces per square yard (about 68 to about 136 grams per square meter), and more preferably of about 4 ounces per square yard (about 136 grams per square meter).

10. The woven artificial turf of any preceding claim 8-9, wherein the secondary backing is chosen from a group consisting of polyvinyl butyral (PVB), polyethylene, and polypropylene.11 The woven artificial turf of any preceding claim 1-10, wherein the woven artificial turf has an infiltration rate exceeding 2,000 millimeters per hour when tested using FIFA Method 24.

12. The woven artificial turf of any preceding claim 1-11, wherein the woven artificial turf has a blade withdrawal force exceeding 40 Newtons when tested using FIFA Method 26.

13. The woven artificial turf of any preceding claim 1-12, wherein each sprig comprises a first yarn and a second yarn; wherein: the first yarn comprises three first monofilaments having an S cross-sectional shape, a double-C cross-sectional shape, a spine cross-sectional shape, or a combination of those, and between six and eight second monofilaments having a round or rectangular cross- sectional shape; and the second yarn comprises three first monofilaments having an S cross-sectional shape, a double-C cross-sectional shape, a spine cross-sectional shape, or a combination of those, andbetween six and eight second monofilaments having a round cross-sectional shape.

14. The woven artificial turf of claim 13, wherein the three first monofilaments have a combined linear weight of 6,667 decitex.

15. The woven artificial turf of any preceding claim 13-14, wherein each of the first monofilaments has a linear weight of 2,222 decitex.

16. The woven artificial turf of any preceding claim 13-15, wherein each of the second monofilaments has a linear weight of 889 decitex.

17. The woven artificial turf of any preceding claim 13-16, wherein each of the second monofilaments has been texturized up to 65%, preferably between 35% to 45%, more preferably at 40%.

18. The woven artificial turf of any preceding claim 13-17, wherein at least the first three monofilaments of each sprig extend substantially perpedicular from the top surface of the woven base.

19. The woven artificial turf of claim 18, wherein at least one of the first three monofilaments has a sprig length from a tip of the monofilament to the top surface of the woven base of between about 0.5 inches to about 2.5 inches (about 12.7 millimeters to about 63.5 millimeters).

20. The woven artificial turf of any preceding claim 1-12, wherein each sprig comprises a first yarn and a second yarn; wherein: the first yarn comprises three first monofilaments having an S cross-sectional shape, a double-C cross-sectional shape, a spine cross-sectional shape, or combinations of those, and between six and eight second monofilaments having a round cross-sectional shape, and the second yarn comprises a slit tape.

21. The woven artificial turf of claim 20, wherein the three first monofilaments have a combined linear weight of 6,667 decitex.

22. The woven artificial turf of any preceding claim 20-21, wherein each of the first monofilaments has a linear weight of 2,222 decitex.

23. The woven artificial turf of any preceding claim 20-22, wherein each of the second monofilaments has a linear weight of 889 decitex.

24. The woven artificial turf of any preceding claim 20-23, wherein the slit tape has a linear weight of 6,000 decitex.

25. The woven artificial turf of any preceding claim 20-24, wherein each of the second monofilaments has been texturized up to 65%, preferably between 35% to 45%, more preferably at 40%.

26. The woven artificial turf of any preceding claim 20-25, wherein at least the first three monofilaments of each sprig extend substantially perpedicular from the top surface of the woven base.

27. The woven artificial turf of claim 27, wherein at least one of the first three monofilaments has a sprig length from a tip of the monofilament to the top surface of the woven base of between about 0.5 inches to about 2.5 inches (about 12.7 millimeters to about 63.5 millimeters).

28. The woven artificial turf of any preceding claim 1-12, wherein each sprig comprises between six and ten first monofilaments having an S cross-sectional shape, and between six and ten second monofilaments having a rectangular cross-sectional shape; wherein each of the second monofilaments has a rectangular cross-sectional shape and has been texturized at a rate of between about 20% and about 50%, preferably between about 30% and about 45%, more preferably at a rate of about 40%.

29. The woven artificial turf of claim 28, wherein each first monofilament has a nominal width of 0.75 millimeters and a thickness of 140 micrometers; and wherein each second monofilament has a nominal width of 0.63 millimeters and a thickness of 100 micrometers.

30. The woven artificial turf of any preceding claim 28-29, wherein each first monofilament has an average weight of 765 denier (850 decitex); and each second monofilament has an average weight of 393.75 denier (437.5 decitex).

31. The woven artificial turf of any preceding claim 28-30, wherein each second monofilament has an aspect ratio of between 8: 1 and 12: 1, preferably of 10: 1.

32. The woven artificial turf of any preceding claim 28-31, wherein the second portion of each of the plurality of pile yams has a twist rate of about 30 twists per meter.

33. The woven artificial turf of any preceding claim 28-32, wherein at least the first monofilaments of each sprig extend substantially perpedicular from the topsurface of the woven base.

34. The woven artificial turf of claim 33, wherein at least one of the first monofilaments has a sprig length from a tip of the monofilament to the top surface of the woven base of between about 0.5 inches to about 2.5 inches (about 12.7 millimeters to about 63.5 millimeters).

35. A strip of woven artificial turf comprising the woven artificial turf of any preceding claim 1-34, wherein the strip of woven artificial turf comprises: a strip bottom side, which is the bottom of the woven artificial turf; a pile side opposite the bottom side; a length and a width; and wherein there are two length sides that are opposite each other, and two width sides that are opposite each other.

36. The strip of woven artificial turf of claim 35, wherein a segment of the second portion of each of the plurality of pile yams is exposed on the bottom side of the woven artificial turf.

37. The strip of woven artificial turf of any preceding claim 35-36, wherein the strip bottom side comprises at least one of alignment indices, contact information, a lot number, a serial number, a logo, a direction of manufacture, and installation information or instructions comprising a float yarn.

38. The strip of woven artificial turf of claim 37, wherein the float yarn comprises a first color, a first segment proximal the float yarn comprises a secong color, and the construction yams comprise a third color.

39. The strip of woven artificial turf of claim 38, wherein the first color has a high contrast with the second color.

40. The strip of woven artificial turf of claim 38, wherein the first color has a low contrast with the second color.

41. The strip of woven artificial turf of any preceding claim 38-40, wherien the first color has a high contrast with the third color.

42. The strip of woven artificial turf of any preceding claim 38-40, wherien the first color has a low contrast with the third color.

43. The strip of woven artificial turf of any preceding claim 35-42, wherein a first plurality of the plurality of sprigs comprise a first field color, and a second plurality of the plurality of sprigs comprise a second field color, wherein a difference between the first field color and the second field color is slightly different, low contrast, or high contrast.

44. The strip of woven artificial turf of claim 43, wherein the second field color comprises a portion of a playing field grid, a portion of a fresh-cut design, a portion of a border design, or a portion of a logo design.

45. The strip of woven artificial turf of claim 44, wherein a transition between the first portion of sprigs and the second portion of sprigs comprises an edge of a design.

46. The strip of woven artificial turf of claim 45, wherein the edge is distinct or indistinct.

47. The strip of woven artificial turf of claim 45, wherein the edge is indistinct and the design is out of register.

48. The strip of woven artificial turf of any preceding claim 35-47, wherein the strip width is about 12 feet or about 16 feet (about 3.7 meters or about 4.9 meter).

49. A field of woven artificial turf, comprising a plurality of strips of woven artificial turf according to any preceding claim 35-48.

50. The field of woven artificial turf of claim 49, wherein each of the plurality of strips are secured to another strip of the plurality of strips along at least one length side.

51. A field of woven artificial turf, comprising a plurality of strips of woven artificial turf according to any preceding claim 44-48.

52. The field of woven artificial turf of claim 51, wherein each of the plurality of strips are secured to another strip of the plurality of strips along at least one length side.

53. The field of woven artificial turf of any preceding claim 51-52, wherein the portion of a playing field grid, the portion of a fresh-cut design, the portion of a border design, or the portion of a logo design is contiguous from a first strip of the plurality of strips to a second strip of the plurality of strips that are secured together.

54. The field of woven artificial turf of claim 51-53, wherein the indices or marks are aligned on the bottom sides of adjacent strips, and where the portions of a playing field grid, the portions of a fresh-cut design, the portions of a border design, or the portions of a logo design are contiguous from a first strip of the plurality of strips to a second strip of the plurality of strips that are secured together.

55. The field of woven artificial turf of any preceding claim 49-54, wherein the playing field grid comprises at least one of a football field, a soccer field, a lacrosse field, a baseball field, a cricket field, a lawn bowling field, and a field hockey field.

56. The field of woven artificial turf of claim 55, wherein the playing field comprises at least two of a football field, a soccer field, a lacrosse field, a baseball field, a cricket field, a lawn bowling field, and a field hockey field where the two playing fields are geometrically centered, nearly geometrically centered, or offset from each other.

57. The field of woven artificial turf of claim 55, wherein the playing field comprises at least two football fields, two soccer fields, two lacrosse fields, two baseball fields, two cricket fields, two lawn bowling fields, or two field hockey fields where the two playing fields are side-by-side.

58. The field of woven artificial turf of any preceding claim 51-57, wherein the woven artificial turf comprises a layer of infill.

59. The field of woven artificial turf of claim 58, wherein the infill is polymeric infill, sand, or a combination thereof.

60. The field of woven artificial turf of any preceding claim 58-59, wherein the layer of infill comprises an infill depth.

61. The field of woven artificial turf of claim 60, wherein the infill depth is the distance between the top of the base and a top surface of the layer of infill.

62. The woven artificial turf of claim 61, wherein the infill depth is configured to correspond to the amount of texturizing applied to the filaments of thatch.

63. The woven artificial turf of claim 61, wherein the amount of texturizing applied to the filaments of thatch is configured to correspond to the infill depth.

64. The woven artificial turf of claim 61, wherein a percentage of texturizing of second filaments is indirectly proportional to the infill depth.

65. A method of making a woven artificial turf field, comprising: laying a first strip of woven artificial turf in a space having a surface; wherein the first strip of woven artificial turf comprises a pile side, a bottom side, a length and a width, two length sides opposite each other, and two width sides opposite each other; and wherein the first strop bottom side is laid proximal the surface; laying a second strip of woven artificial turf atop the first strip; wherein the second strip of woven artificial turf comprises a pile side, a bottom side, a length and a width, two length sides opposite each other, and two width sides opposite each other; and wherein the second strip bottom side is laid distal to the surface and in an orientation, wherein the first strip pile side is in contact with the second strip pile side, and wherein a first second strip length side is proximal and atop a first first strip length side; cutting an excess of construction yams from the first second strip length side and cutting an excess of construction yams from the first first strip length side; securing the first second strip length side to the first first strip length side; and laying over the second strip wherein the second strip is oriented such that the second strip bottom side is proximal the surface.

66. The method of making a woven artificial turf field of claim 65, wherein: the first strip comprises a centerpoint mark; and the first strip centerpoint mark is positioned at a location on the surface.

67. The method of making a woven artificial turf field of any preceding claim 65-66, wherein: the first strip comprises alignment marks on the first strip bottom; the second strip comprises alignment marks on the second strip bottom; and aligning the first strip alignment marks with the second strip alignment marks.

68. The method of making a woven artificial turf field of any preceding claim 65-67, wherein: the surface comprises an orientation mark; the first strip comprises a centerline mark on the first strip bottom; the second strip comprises centerline mark on the second strip bottom; and aligning the first strip centerline mark with the orientation mark.

69. The method of making a woven artificial turf field of claim 68, wherein: the second strip centerline mark is aligned with the orientation mark after the second strip is laid over.

70. The method of making a woven artificial turf field of any preceding claim 65-69, wherein: the first strip comprises at least one of contact information, a lot number, a serial number, a logo, a direction of manufacture, and installation information or instructions comprising a float yarn.

71. The method of any preceding claim 65-70, wherein the first strip comprises: a woven backing comprising a plurality of structure yarns; a plurality of pile yarns, wherein a first portion of each of the plurality of pile yarns comprises a sprig, and a second portion of each of the plurality of pile yarns is incorporated into the woven backing with a weave selected from the group consisting of a 3-8W weave, a 5-12W weave, and a 7-16W weave.

72. The method of claim 71, wherein the face weight of the first strip is between about 25 and about 100 ounces per square yard (between about 848 and about 3391 grams per square meter).

73. The method of any preceding claim 71-72, wherein the plurality of construction yarns of the woven backing are comprised of fibrilated polymer yarns having a weight of between about 18 and about 26 ounces per square yard (between about 610 and about 882 grams per square meter), preferably between about 20 and 25 ounces per square yard (between about 678 and about 848 grams per square meter), and more preferably about 22 ounces per square yard (about 746 grams per square meter).

74. The method of claim 73, wherein the plurality of fibrilated polymer yarns are comprised of polypropylene.

75. The method of any preceding claim 71-74, wherein the plurality of structure yarns are comprised of weft yarns having a linear weight of 7,500 decitex, slack yarns having a linear weight of 1,560 decitex, and tight yams having a linear weight of 2,000 deci tex.

76. The method of any preceding claim 71-75, wherein the plurality of structure yarns form a base of the first strip; wherein the base is comprised of an upper side and a lower side.

77. The method of any preceding claim 71-76, wherein the lower side of the base is the bottom side of the first strip.

78. The method of any preceding claim 71-77, wherein the woven backing comprises a secondary backing.

79. The method of claim 78, wherein the secondary backing has a weight of between about 1.5 to about 8 ounces per square yard (about 51 to about 271 grams per square meter), more preferred about 2 to about 5 ounces per square yard (about 68 to about 136 grams per square meter), and more preferred about 4 ounces per square yard (about 136 grams per square meter).

80. The method of any preceding claim 78-79, wherein the secondary backing is chosen from a group consisting of polyvinyl butyral (PVB), polyethylene, and polypropylene.81 The method of any preceding claim 71-80, wherein the first strip has an infiltration rate exceeding 2,000 millimeters per hour when tested using FIFA Method 24.

82. The method of any preceding claim 71-81, wherein the first strip has a blade withdrawal force exceeding 40 Newtons when tested using FIFA Method 26.

83. The method of any preceding claim 71-82, wherein each sprig comprises a first yarn and a second yarn; wherein: the first yarn comprises three first monofilaments having either an S cross-sectional shape, a double-C cross-sectional shape, or a spine cross-sectional shape, or a combination of those, and between six and eight second monofilaments having a round or rectangular cross-sectional shape, and the second yarn comprises three first monofilaments having either an S cross-sectional shape, a double-C cross-sectional shape, or a spine cross-sectional shape, or a combination of those, and between six and eight second monofilaments having a round cross-sectional shape.

84. The method of claim 83, wherein the three first monofilaments have a combined linear weight of 6,667 decitex.

85. The method of any preceding claim 83-84, wherein each of the first monofilaments has a linear weight of 2,222 decitex.

86. The method of any preceding claim 83-85, wherein each of the second monofilaments has a linear weight of 889 decitex.

87. The method of any preceding claim 83-86, wherein each of the second monofilaments has been texturized up to 65%, preferably between 35% to 45%, more preferably at 40%.

88. The method of any preceding claim 83-87, wherein at least the first three monofilaments of each sprig extend substantially perpedicular from the top of the woven base.

89. The method of claim 88, wherein at least one of the first three monofilaments has a length from a tip of the monofilament to the top of the woven base of between about 0.5 inches to about 2.5 inches (about 12.7 millimeters to about 63.5 millimeters).

90. The method of any preceding claim 71-82, wherein each sprig comprises a first yarn and a second yarn; wherein: the first yarn comprises three first monofilaments having either an S cross-sectional shape, a double-C cross-sectional shape, or a spine cross-sectional shape, or combinations of those, and between six and eight second monofilaments having a round cross-sectional shape, and the second yarn comprises a slit tape.

91. The method of claim 90, wherein the three first monofilaments have a combined linear weight of 6,667 decitex.

92. The method of any preceding claim 90-91, wherein each of the first monofilaments has a linear weight of 2,222 decitex.

93. The method of any preceding claim 90-92, wherein each of the second monofilaments has a linear weight of 889 decitex.

94. The method of any preceding claim 90-93, wherein the slit tape has a linear weight of 6,000 decitex.

95. The method of any preceding claim 90-94, wherein each of the second monofilaments has been texturized up to 65%, preferably between 35% to 45%, more preferably at 40%.

96. The method of any preceding claim 90-95, wherein at least the first three monofilaments of each sprig extend substantially perpedicular from the top of the woven base.

97. The method of claim 96, wherein at least one of the first three monofilaments has a length from a tip of the monofilament to the top of the woven base of between about 0.5 inches to about 2.5 inches (about 12.7 millimeters to about 63.5 millimeters).

98. The method of any preceding claim 71-82, wherein each sprig comprises between six and ten first monofilaments having an S cross-sectional shape, and between six and ten second monofilaments having a rectangular cross-sectional shape; wherein each of the second monofilaments has a rectangular cross-sectional shape and has been texturized at a rate of between about 20% and about 50%, preferably between about 30% and about 45%, more preferably at a rate of about 40%99. The method of claim 98, wherein each first monofilament has a nominal width of 0.75 millimeters and a thickness of 140 micrometers; and wherein each second monofilament has a nominal width of 0.63 millimeters and a thickness of 100 micrometers.

100. The method of any preceding claim 98-99, wherein each first monofilament has an average weight of 765 denier (850 decitex); and each second monofilament has an average weight of 393.75 denier (437.5 decitex).

101. The method of any preceding claim 98-100, wherein each second monofilament has an aspect ratio of between 8: 1 and 12: 1, preferably of 10: 1.

102. The method of any preceding claim 98-101, wherein the second portion of each of the plurality of pile yarns has a twist rate of about 30 twists per meter.

103. The method of any preceding claim 98-102, wherein at least the first monofilaments of each sprig extend substantially perpedicular from the top of the woven base.

104. The method of claim 103, wherein at least one of the first monofilaments has a length from a tip of the monofilament to the top of the woven base of between about 0.5 inches to about 2.5 inches (about 12.7 millimeters to about 63.5 millimeters).

105. The method of any preceding claim 70-104, wherein the float yarn comprises a first color, the segment comprises a secong color, and the construction yams comprise a third color.

106. The method of claim 105, wherein the first color has a high contrast with the second color.

107. The method of claim 105, wherein the first color has a low contrast with the second color.

108. The method of any preceding claim 105-107, wherien the first color has a high contrast with the third color.

109. The method of any preceding claim 105-107, wherien the first color has a low contrast with the third color.

110. The method of any preceding claim 105-109, wherein a first portion of the plurality of sprigs comprise a first field color, and a second portion of the plurality of sprigs comprise a second field color, wherein a difference between the first field color and the second field color is slightly different, low contrast, or high contrast.

111. The method of claim 110, wherein the second field color comprises a portion of a playing field grid, a portion of a fresh-cut design, a portion of a border design, or a portion of a logo design.

112. The method of claim 111, wherein a transition between the first portion of sprigs and the second portion of sprigs comprises an edge of a design.

113. The method of claim 112, wherein the edge is distinct or indistinct.

114. The method of claim 112, wherein the edge is indistinct and the design is out of register.

115. The method of any preceding claim 105-114, wherein the first strip width is about 12 feet or about 16 feet (about 3.7 meters or about 4.9 meter).

116. The method of any preceding claim 71-115, wherein a portion of a playing field grid, a portion of a fresh-cut design, a portion of a border design, or a portion of a logo design is contiguous from the first strip to the second strip.

117. The method of claim 116, wherein the poriton of the playing field grid comprises at least one of a football field, a soccer field, a lacrosse field, a baseball field, a cricket field, a lawn bowling field, and a field hockey field.

118. The method of claim 117, wherein the playing field comprises at least two of a football field, a soccer field, a lacrosse field, a baseball field, a cricket field, a lawn bowling field, and a field hockey field where the two playing fields are geometrically centered, nearly geometrically centered, or offset from each other.

119. The field of woven artificial turf of claim 117, wherein the playing field comprises at least two football fields, two soccer fields, two lacrosse fields, two baseball fields, two cricket fields, two lawn bowling fields, or two field hockey fields where the two playing fields are side-by-side.

120. A textile packaging apparatus, comprising: a weighted sheet comprising an infeed end, an output end, and two sides; wherein:the weighted sheet is rotatably secured along the infeed end; the weighted sheet is configured to be raised or lowered priximal to the output end; and the sides comprise fenders.

121. The textile packaging apparatus of claim 120, wherein the output end of the weighted sheet is configured to be lowered onto a textile roll.

122. The textile packaging apparatus of claim 121, wherein the fenders are configured to overlap edges of the textile roll.

123. A pile yarn for forming a pile of an artificial turf, wherein the yarn comprises a first plurality of straight filaments and a second plurality of texturized filaments.

124. The pile yarn of claim 123, wherein the first plurality of straight filaments is comprised of between six and ten straight filaments, and the second plurality of texturized filaments is comprised of between six and ten texturized filaments.

125. The pile yam of any preceding claim 123-124, wherein the first plurality of straight filaments consists of eight straight filaments, and the second plurality of texturized filaments consists of eight texturized filaments.

126. The pile yam of any preceding claim 123-125, wherein each filament of the first plurality of straight filaments comprises an S cross-sectional profile.

127. The pile yam of any preceding claim 123-126, wherein each filament of the second plurality of filaments comprises a rectangular cross-sectional profile.

128. The pile yam of any preceding claim 123-127, wherein each filament of the first plurality of straight filaments has a nominal width of 0.75 millimeters and a thickness at its thickest portion of 140 micrometers.

129. The pile yam of any preceding claim 123-128, wherein each filament of the second plurality of filaments has a nominal width of 0.63 millimeters and a thickness at its thickest portion of 100 micrometers.

130. The pile yam of any preceding claim 123-129, wherein each filament of the first plurality of straight filaments has a weight of 850 decitex.

131. The pile yam of any preceding claim 123-130, wherein each filament of the second plurality of filaments has a weight of 437.5 decitex.

132. The pile yam of any preceding claim 123-131, wherein the pile yarn has a weight of 10,300 decitex.

133. The pile yam of any preceding claim 123-132, wherein the first plurality of filaments and the second plurality of filaments are twisted together at a rate of about 30 twists per meter.

134. A yam, compri sing : a first group of filaments having a cross-sectional shape selected from the group consisting of a spine cross-sectional shape, a double-C cross-sectional shape, and a ribbon cross sectional shape; wherein each filament of the first group of filaments has a weight of 2,000 denier (2,222 deci tex); a second group of filaments wherein each filament in the second group of filaments has a round or rectangular cross-sectional shape; and wherein a number of filaments in the second group of filaments is twice a number of filaments in the first group of filaments.

135. The yarn of claim 134, wherein the number of filaments in the first group of filaments is three.

136. The yarn of any preceding claim 134-135, wherein the first group of filaments and the second group of filaments comprise polypropylene, polyethylene, and / or a mixture of polypropylene and polyethylene.

137. The yarn of any preceding claim 134-136, wherein the second group of filaments is not texturized.

138. The yarn of any preceding claim 134-136, wherein the second group of filaments is texturized from 35% to 45%, preferably at 40%.

139. A woven artificial turf using the yam of any preceding claim 134-138.

140. The woven artificial turf of claim 139, wherein a woven backing of the woven artificial turf is made of construction yam wherein the weight of the woven backing is between 18 and 26 ounces per square yard (between 610 and 882 grams per square meter).

141. The woven artificial turf of claim 140, wherein the construction yam is fibrillated polypropylene, polyethylene, or a mixture of polypropylene and polyethylene.

142. A method of determining a depth of infill to be applied to an artificial turf, comprising: providing an artificial turf, wherein: the artificial turf is comprised of a base fabric having a top surface and a plurality of segments of a pile yam, wherein each of the plurality of segments of pile yarn extend substantially orthogonally away from the top surface, wherein the multicomponent yarn is comprised of first filaments that are not texturized and second filaments that are texturized; determining a degree of texturization as a percentage applied to the second filaments; determining a height of a pile as measured from the top surface the base fabric to a top of at least one first filament; calculating a height of the second filaments by multiplying the degree of texturization by the pile height;calculating the depth of infill by multiplying the height of the second filaments by a factor of between 1.0 and 0.7.

143. A method of determining a degree of texturization of a portion of filaments in a pile yarn in an artificial turf, comprising: providing an artificial turf, wherein: the artificial turf is comprised of a base fabric having a top surface and a plurality of segments of the pile yam, wherein each of the plurality of segments of pile yarn extend substantially orthogonally away from the top surface, wherein the multicomponent yarn is comprised of first portion of filaments that are not texturized and second portion of filaments that are texturized; determining a desired height of the pile as measured from the top surface of the base fabric to a top of at least one filament of the first portion of filaments; determining a desired height of a layer of infill to be applied to the artificial turf as measured from the top of the base to the top of the layer of infill; calculating a first product by subtracting the desired height of the layer of infill from the desired height of the pile; calculating a second product by dividing the first product by the desired height of the pile; calculating a third product by subtracting the second product from 1; and calculating a degree of texturization as a percentage by multiplying the third product by a factor of between 1 and 0.7, and dividing that result by 100.

144. A woven artificial turf, comprising: a woven backing comprising a plurality of structure yarns; a plurality of pile yarns, wherein a first portion of each of the plurality of pile yarns comprises a sprig, and a second portion of each of the plurality of pile yarns is incorporated into the woven backing with a weave selected from the group consisting of a 3-8W weave, a 5-12W weave, and a 7-16W weave; wherein each sprig comprises between six and ten first monofilaments having an S cross- sectional shape, and between six and ten second monofilaments having a rectangular cross-sectional shape;wherein each of the second monofilaments are texturized at a rate of between about 30% and about 45%; and wherein each first monofilament in each sprig is substantially perpendicular to the woven backing, and where each second monofilament in each sprig is dispersed away from an orientation that is substantially perpendicular to the woven backing.

145. The woven artificial turf of claim 144, wherein each of the first monofilaments have a nominal width of 0.75 millimeters and a thickness at their thickest portion of 140 micrometers; and wherein the second monofilaments have a nominal width of 0.63 millimeters and a thickness at their thickest portion of 100 micrometers.

146. The woven artificial turf of claim 145, wherein each first monofilament has an average weight of 765 denier (850 decitex); and each second monofilament has an average weight of 393.75 denier (437.5 decitex).

147. The woven artificial turf of claim 144, wherein the face weight of the woven artificial turf is between about 25 and about 100 ounces per square yard (between about 848 and about 3,391 grams per square meter).

148. The woven artificial turf of claim 147, wherein the construction yarns of the woven backing comprise fibrilated polymer yams that produce a woven article of between about 18 and about 26 ounces per square yard (between about 610 and about 882 grams per square meter).

149. The woven artificial turf of claim 148, wherein the woven backing comprises a secondary backing comprising PVB, wherein the secondary backing has a weight of between about 1.5 ounces to about 8 ounces per square yard (about 51 to about 271 grams per square meter).

150. The woven artificial turf of claim 146, wherein the woven artificial turf is configured to have an infiltration rate exceeding 2,000 millimeters per hour when tested using FIFA Method 24.

151. The woven artificial turf of claim 150, wherein the woven artificial turf is configured to have a blade withdrawal force exceeding 40 Newtons when tested using FIFA Method 26.

152. The woven artificial turf of claim 151, wherein a length of each first monofilaments within at least one sprig is greater than 35 millimeters.

153. A woven artificial turf comprising: a plurality of structure yarns and a pile yarn; wherein the pile yam is comprised of a plurality of straight filaments and a plurality of texturized filaments.

154. The woven artificial turf of claim 153, wherein the pile yarn is comprised of between six and ten straight filaments, whrein each straight filament has an S cross- sectional profile; and between six and ten texturized filaments wherein each texturized filament has a rectangular cross-sectional profile.

155. The woven artificial turf of claim 154, wherein: each of the straight filaments has a nominal width of 0.75 millimeters and a thickness at their thickest portion of 140 micrometers, and an average weight of 850 decitex; each of the texturized filaments has a nominal width of 0.63 millimeters and a thickness at their thickest portion of 100 micrometers, and an average weight of 437.5 decitex; and wherein a face weight of the woven artificial turf is between about 25 and about 100 ounces per square yard (between about 848 and about 3391 grams per square meter).

156. The woven artificial turf of claim 155, wherein each of the plurality of structure yarns are fibrilated polymer and are comprised of weft yams being 7,500 decitex, slack yarns being 1,560 decitex, and tight yarns being 2,000 decitex; such that the woven backing without the pile yarn will have a weight of between about 20 and about 25 ounces per square yard (between about 678 and about 848 grams per square meter).

157. The woven artificial turf of claim 156, wherein the plurality of structure yarns form a base having an upper side and a lower side and wherein a secondary backing comprising polyvinyl butyral (PVB) is applied to the lower side having a weight of between about 1.5 ounces and about 8 ounces per square yard (between about 51 and about 271 grams per square meter).

158. A strip of woven artificial turf, comprising: a first side and a second side; a first end and a second end; a bottom surface comprising a bottom of a woven backing comprised of a plurality of structure yams; a top surface comprising a plurality of pile yams, wherein a first portion of each of the plurality of pile yarns comprises a sprig, and a second portion of each of the plurality of pile yams is incorporated into the woven backing with a weave selected from the group consisting of a 3-8W weave, a 5-12W weave, and a 7-16W weave; and wherein: each pile yarn of the plurality of pile yams comprising between six and ten first monofilaments having an S cross-sectional shape, and between six and ten second monofilaments having a rectangular cross-sectional shape; each of the second monofilaments is texturized at a rate of between about 30% and about 45%; and each first monofilament is oriented substantially perpendicular to the woven backing, and where each second monofilament is dispersed away from an orientation that is substantially perpendicular to the woven backing.

159. The strip of woven artificial turf of claim 158, wherein a face weight of the strip of woven artificial turf is between about 25 and about 100 ounces per square yard (between about 848 and about 3391 grams per square meter); the plurality of construction yams of the woven backing comprise fibrilated polymer yarns weighing between about 18 and about 26 ounces per square yard (between about 610 and about 882 grams per square meter); and wherein the bottom surface comprises a secondary backing comprising PVB, wherein the secondary backing has a weight of between about1.5 ounces to about 8 ounces per square yard (about 51 to about 271 grams per square meter).

160. The strip of woven artificial turf of claim 159, wherein a first plurality of the sprigs comprise a first color, and a second plurality of the sprigs comprise a second color such that the second color is at least a portion of a border or at least a portion of a playing field indicator.

161. The strip of woven artificial turf of claim 160, wherein the bottom of the strip of woven arficial turf comprises alignment indices.

162. The strip of woven artificial turf of claim 161, wherein a distal end of at least some of the first monofilaments of each sprig is more than 35 millimeters from a top surface of the woven backing.

163. The strip of woven artificial turf of claim 162, further comprising a second strip of woven artificial turf comprising: a second strip first side and a second strip second side; a second strip bottom surface comprising a bottom of a woven backing comprising a plurality of structure yarns; a second strip top surface comprising a plurality of second strip pile yams, wherein a first portion of each of the plurality of second strip pile yams comprises a second strip sprig, and a second portion of each of the plurality of second strip pile yarns is incorporated into the second strip woven backing with a weave selected from the group consisting of a 3-8W weave, a 5-12W weave, and a 7-16W weave; and wherein: each second strip pile yarn of the plurality of second strip pile yarns comprises between six and ten second strip first monofilaments having an S cross-sectional shape, and between six and ten second strip second monofilaments having a rectangular cross-sectional shape; each of the second strip second monofilaments is texturized at a rate of between about 30% and about 45%;each second strip first monofilament is oriented substantially perpendicular to the second strip woven backing, and where each second strip second monofilament is dispersed away from an orientation that is substantially perpendicular to the second strip woven backing; and wherein the second strip bottom comprises second strip alignment indices; and wherein the strip of woven artificial turf first side is secured to the second strip first side such that the indice marks are substantially aligned with the second strip indice marks.

164. A yam, comprising: a first group of filaments having a cross-sectional shape selected from the group consisting of a spine cross-sectional shape, a double-C cross-sectional shape, and a ribbon cross sectional shape; wherein each filament of the first group of filaments has a weight of 2,000 denier (2,222 deci tex); a second group of filaments wherein each filament in the second group of filaments has a round or rectangular cross-sectional shape; and wherein a number of filaments in the second group of filaments is twice a number of filaments in the first group of filaments.

165. The yarn of claim 164, wherein the number of filaments in the first group of filaments is three.

166. The yarn of any preceding claim 165, wherein the first group of filaments and the second group of filaments comprise polypropylene, polyethylene, and / or a mixture of polypropylene and polyethylene.

167. The yarn of any preceding claim 166, wherein the second group of filaments is not texturized.

168. The yarn of any preceding claim 166, wherein the second group of filaments is texturized from 35% to 45%, preferably at 40%.

169. A pile yarn for forming a pile of an artificial turf, wherein the yarn comprises a first plurality of straight filaments and a second plurality of texturized filaments.

170. The pile yarn of claim 169, wherein the first plurality of straight filaments is comprised of between six and ten straight filaments, and the second plurality of texturized filaments is comprised of between six and ten texturized filaments.

171. The pile yam of any preceding claim 170, wherein the first plurality of straight filaments consists of eight straight filaments, and the second plurality of texturized filaments consists of eight texturized filaments.

172. The pile yam of any preceding claim 171, wherein each filament of the first plurality of straight filaments comprises an S cross-sectional profile.

173. The pile yam of any preceding claim 172, wherein each filament of the second plurality of filaments comprises a rectangular cross-sectional profile.

174. The pile yam of any preceding claim 173, wherein each filament of the first plurality of straight filaments has a nominal width of 0.75 millimeters and a thickness at its thickest portion of 140 micrometers.

175. The pile yam of any preceding claim 174, wherein each filament of the second plurality of filaments has a nominal width of 0.63 millimeters and a thickness at its thickest portion of 100 micrometers.

176. The pile yam of any preceding claim 175, wherein each filament of the first plurality of straight filaments has a weight of 850 decitex.

177. The pile yam of any preceding claim 176, wherein each filament of the second plurality of filaments has a weight of 437.5 decitex.

178. The pile yam of any preceding claim 177, wherein the pile yarn has a weight of 10,300 decitex.

179. The pile yam of any preceding claim 178, wherein the first plurality of filaments and the second plurality of filaments are twisted together at a rate of about 30 twists per meter.

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