US4337283A
Expired / Lapsed
US
⏱️ 0.0 years remaining
Synthetic turf playing surface with resilient top-dressing
Assignee: MOD-SOD SPORTS SURFACES
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Filing: 1980-09-11
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Granted: 1982-06-29
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Expires: 2000-09-11
Abstract
Abstract A playing surface for athletic games comprising a stable subsurface, a pile fabric resembling grass and a compacted top-dressing comprising a mixture of from 25 to 95 volume percent resilient particles and from 5 to 75 volume percent fine sand. The inventive surface is particularly suited for use as a playing field for contact sports such as football, rugby, soccer, field hockey, baseball and the like where players may fall or be knocked down on the playing surface. Preferred resilient materials include cork granules, natural or synthetic rubber particles, synthetic polymer beads and synthetic polymer foam particles.
Inventors
- 👤 Frederick T. Haas, Jr.
Bibliographic Details
Application Number
—
Jurisdiction
US
Data Source
google_patents
Last Synchronized
2026-11-07 03:13
CPC Classifications
E; E01; E01C; E01C13/00; E01C13/08; Y; Y10; Y10T; Y10T428/00; Y10T428/23907; Y10T428/23986; Y10T428/25; Y10T428/259
Claims Analysis
Total Claims: 30
Claim 1
Independent Claim
96 words
A playing surface for athletic games comprising: (a) a firm, stable subsurface; (b) a pile fabric having a flexible backing and normally upstanding pile elements resembling grass; the length of said pile elements being substantially uniform and lying in the range from 1/2 to 2 inches; and (c) a compacted top-dressing layer comprising a mixture of from 25 to 95 volume percent resilient particles and from 5 to 75 volume percent fine sand interspersed among the pile elements and on the backing to a substantially uniform depth at least 1/2 the length of the pile elements.
Claim 2
Dependent Claim
96 words
A playing surface for athletic games comprising: (a) a firm, stable subsurface; (b) a pile fabric having a flexible backing and normally upstanding pile elements resembling grass; the length of said pile elements being substantially uniform and lying in the range from 1/2 to 2 inches; and (c) a compacted top-dressing layer comprising a mixture of from 25 to 95 volume percent resilient particles and from 5 to 75 volume percent fine sand interspersed among the pile elements and on the backing to a substantially uniform depth at least 1/2 the length of the pile elements.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim
21 words
A playing surface as recited in claim 1, further comprising a moisture barrier layer between the subsurface and the pile fabric.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim
20 words
A playing surface according to claim 2, wherein said moisture barrier is a 2 to 10 mil thick polyethylene sheet.
Claim 5
Dependent Claim
23 words
A playing surface according to claim 2, wherein said moisture barrier is a layer of 30 to 100 pound weight asbestos roofing felt.
Claim 6
Dependent Claim
23 words
A playing surface according to claim 2, wherein said moisture barrier comprises a polymeric coating on the underside of the pile fabric backing.
Claim 7
Dependent Claim
16 words
A playing surface according to claim 1, wherein said pile fabric is a tufted pile fabric.
Claim 8
Dependent Claim
66 words
A playing surface according to claim 6, wherein the backing of said tufted pile fabric is a woven polypropylene fabric and the tufts are formed from polypropylene ribbons slit and twisted to form a multi-filament yarn; each end of said yarn comprising from 20 to 50 individual pile filaments; the density of said tufts on said backing ranging between 8 and 24 tufts per square inch.
Claim 9
Dependent Claim
24 words
A playing surface according to claim 1, wherein said pile fabric is heat treated to slightly crimp the free ends of the pile filaments.
Claim 10
Dependent Claim
32 words
A playing surface according to claim 1, wherein the projection of the tips of the piles of the pile fabric above the top-dressing lies in the range from 1/16 to 3/8 inch.
Claim 11
Dependent Claim
32 words
A playing surface according to claim 9, wherein the proejction of the tips of the piles of the pile fabric above the top-dressing lies in the range from 1/8 to 1/4 inch.
Claim 12
Dependent Claim
26 words
A playing surface according to claim 1, wherein the length of the piles of said pile fabric lies in the range between 1 and 2 inches.
Claim 13
Dependent Claim
26 words
A playing surface according to claim 1, wherein the depth of the top-dressing lies between about 75% and about 95% of the length of the pile.
Claim 14
Dependent Claim
28 words
A playing surface according to claim 1, wherein said top-dressing comprises from 50 to 90 volume percent resilient particles and from 10 to 50 volume percent fine sand.
Claim 15
Dependent Claim
14 words
A playing surface according to claim 1, wherein said resilient particles comprise cork granules.
Claim 16
Dependent Claim
14 words
A playing surface according to claim 1, wherein said resilient particles comprise rubber particles.
Claim 17
Dependent Claim
13 words
A playing surface according to claim 15, wherein said rubber is natural rubber.
Claim 18
Dependent Claim
32 words
A playing surface according to claim 15, wherein said rubber is synthetic rubber selected from the group consisting of styrene-butadiene rubber, butyl rubber, cis-polyisoprene rubber, neoprene rubber, nitrile rubber and urethane rubber.
Claim 19
Dependent Claim
15 words
A playing surface according to claim 1, wherein said resilient particles comprise synthetic polymer beads.
Claim 20
Dependent Claim
16 words
A playing surface according to claim 1, wherein said resilient particles comprise synthetic polymer foam particles.
Claim 21
Dependent Claim
16 words
A playing surface according to claim 19, wherein said synthetic polymer foam is polyvinyl chloride foam.
Claim 22
Dependent Claim
15 words
A playing surface according to claim 19, wherein said synthetic polymer foam is urethane foam.
Claim 23
Dependent Claim
23 words
A playing surface according to claim 1, wherein said resilient particles comprise a mixture of particles of at least two different resilient materials.
Claim 24
Dependent Claim
20 words
A playing surface according to claim 22, wherein said resilient particles comprise a mixture of cork granules and rubber particles.
Claim 25
Dependent Claim
21 words
A playing surface according to claim 1, wherein said top-dressing further comprises up to 20 volume percent of a moisture modifier.
Claim 26
Dependent Claim
22 words
A playing surface according to claim 24, wherein said moisture modifier is selected from the group consisting of vermiculite and calcined clay.
Claim 27
Dependent Claim
25 words
A playing surface according to claim 1, wherein said resilient particles have a particle size between about 4 and about 70 U.S. screen mesh size.
Claim 28
Dependent Claim
24 words
A playing surface according to claim 26, wherein said resilient particles have a particle size between about 6 and 60 U.S. screen mesh size.
Claim 29
Dependent Claim
23 words
A playing surface according to claim 1, wherein said fine sand has a particle size smaller than about 30 U.S. screen mesh size.
Claim 30
Dependent Claim
25 words
A playing surface according to claim 28, wherein said fine sand has a particle size between about 40 and about 200 U.S. screen mesh size.
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USPTO Annuity & Maintenance Windows
| Annuity Stage | Window Opens | Payment Deadline | Surcharge Period Until | Estimated Fee | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3.5 Years (Year 4) | 1985-06-28 | 1985-12-28 | 1986-06-29 | $2000.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 7.5 Years (Year 8) | 1989-06-28 | 1989-12-28 | 1990-06-29 | $3760.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 11.5 Years (Year 12) | 1993-06-28 | 1993-12-28 | 1994-06-29 | $7700.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |