Tennis court irrigation

Claim 1

An underground system for supplying and removing moisture to and from a surface of a clay tennis court or lawn bowling rink which slopes from end to end, which surface comprises a material which is susceptible to excessive moisture and dryness, comprising: a plurality of substantially level substantially adjacent watering grids located beneath the surface of said clay tennis court or lawn bowling rink, and perpendicular to the direction in which the tennis court or lawn bowling rink slopes, each of said plurality of substantial level watering grids comprising a plurality of parallel perforated lateral pipes connected at either end thereof to a pair of header pipes, wherein adjacent ones of said plurality of substantially level watering grids are not level with respect to one another.

Claim 9

A method for installing an underground system for supplying and removing moisture to and from a surface of a clay tennis court or lawn bowling rink which slopes from end to end which comprises: digging a plurality of parallel pairs of rectangularly cross sectioned trenches having substantially level bottoms in said surface of said tennis court or lawn bowling rink; digging a plurality of rectangularly cross sectioned trenches having substantially level bottoms in said surface of said tennis court or lawn bowling rink, said trenches being relatively equally spaced apart from and aligned parallel to one another and extending at opposite ends thereof between said pairs of parallel trenches; positioning a plurality of substantially level watering grids on said bottoms of said trenches for supplying and removing moisture to and from said trenches, said grids being positioned perpendicular to the direction in which the tennis court or lawn bowling rink slopes, wherein adjacent ones of said plurality of substantially level watering grids are not level with respect to one another; filling in said trenches with a sublayer of a material through which moisture may pass by capillary action above said plurality of substantially level watering grids; covering each of said trenches with a surface layer of said material which is susceptible to excessive moisture and dryness; and connecting said plurality of substantially level watering grids to a common water supply pipe.

Claim 10

A method for installing an underground system for supplying and removing moisture to and from a surface of a clay tennis court or lawn bowling rink which slopes from end to end which comprises: digging a plurality of parallel pairs of rectangularly cross sectioned trenches having substantially level bottoms in said surface of said tennis court or lawn bowling rink; digging a plurality of rectangularly cross sectioned trenches having substantially level bottoms in said surface of said tennis court or lawn bowling rink, said trenches being relatively equally spaced apart from and aligned parallel to one another and extending at opposite ends thereof between said pairs of parallel trenches; positioning a plurality of substantially level watering grids on said bottoms of said trenches for supplying and removing moisture to and from said trenches, said grids being positioned perpendicular to the direction in which the tennis court or lawn bowling rink slopes, wherein adjacent ones of said plurality of substantially level watering grids are not level with respect to one another; filling in said trenches with a sublayer of a material through which moisture may pass by capillary action above said plurality of substantially level watering grids; covering each of said trenches with a surface layer of said material which is susceptible to excessive moisture and dryness; and connecting said plurality of substantially level watering grids to a common water supply pipe.