Machine for manufacturing artificial turf

Abstract

A machine for manufacturing artificial turf includes a fiber inserter configured to incorporate artificial turf fiber into an artificial turf backing to form the artificial turf. The artificial turf includes an underside and an artificial turf surface. The machine further includes a coater configured to coat the underside with a colloidal latex coating. The colloidal latex coating has an exposed surface. The machine further includes an applicator configured to wett an exposed surface of the colloidal latex coating with an anti-blistering agent. The machine further includes a heater configured to heat the underside to cure the colloidal latex coating into a solid latex coating.

Claims

1. A machine for manufacturing artificial turf, wherein the machine comprises: a fiber inserter configured for incorporating artificial turf fiber into an artificial turf backing to form the artificial turf, wherein the artificial turf comprises an underside and an artificial turf surface; a coater configured for coating the underside with a colloidal latex coating, wherein the colloidal latex coating has an exposed surface; an applicator configured for wetting the exposed surface of the colloidal latex coating with an anti-blistering agent, wherein the applicator is configured for spraying, or atomizing, or aerosoling the anti-blistering agent onto the exposed surface; and a heater configured for heating the underside to cure the colloidal latex coating into a solid latex coating.

2. The machine of claim 1, wherein the coater comprises a lick roll or the coater comprises a dispenser configured for dispensing the colloidal latex coating with a knife over roll applicator for leveling the dispensed colloidal latex.

3. The machine of claim 1, wherein the heater comprises a first heat control element for maintaining a first temperature range across the underside, wherein the heater comprises a second heat control element for maintaining a second temperature range across the artificial turf surface, and wherein the first temperature range is larger than the second temperature range.

4. The machine of claim 3, wherein the first heat control element is a first forced air element, wherein the second heat control element is a second forced air element.

5. The machine of claim 3, wherein the first temperature range is any one of the following: between 140 C. and 150 C., between 130 C. and 160 C., between 120 C. and 170 C., and between 100 C. and 180 C.; and wherein the second temperature range is any one of the following: between 50 C. and 70 C., between 40 C. and 80 C., between 30 C. and 90 C., and between 20 C. and 100 C.

6. The machine of claim 1, wherein the heater comprises a heating element, wherein the heating element is any one of the following: a forced air element, a heat lamp, a resistive heating element, and combinations thereof.

7. The machine of claim 1, wherein the machine is configured for moving the artificial turf backing through the heater continuously, and wherein the applicator is configured for continuously wetting the exposed surface before the artificial turf enters the heater.

8. The machine of claim 7, wherein the machine is configured to move the artificial turf backing through the heater at a rate between 1 meters per minute and 5 meters per minute.

9. The machine of claim 7, wherein the applicator is configured for wetting a region of the exposed surface of the colloidal latex coating with the anti-blistering agent, and wherein the machine is configured for moving the region of the exposed surface into the heater within a time period of 10 seconds to 2 minutes.

10. The machine of claim 7, wherein the applicator is configured for wetting a region of the exposed surface of the colloidal latex coating with the anti-blistering agent, wherein the heater has a heater entrance for the artificial turf, and wherein a distance between the region of the exposed surface and the heater entrance is between 0.15 meters and 10 meters.

11. The machine of claim 1, wherein any one of the following: the applicator is loaded with the anti-blistering agent; the machine comprises an anti-blistering agent reservoir filled with the anti- blistering agent, wherein the reservoir is configured to supply the applicator with the anti-blistering agent; and combinations thereof.

12. The machine of claim 11, wherein the anti-blistering agent comprises an acid.

13. The machine of claim 12, wherein the acid is any one of the following: citric acid, vinegar, acetic acid, an alcohol, an organic acid, an inorganic acid, a sulfonic acid, a mineral acid, Formic acid, Acetic acid, Propionic acid, Butyric acid, Valeric acid, Caproic acid, Oxalic acid, Lactic acid, Malic acid, Citric acid, Benzoic acid, Uric acid, Taurine, p-Toluenesulfonic acid, Trifluoromethanesulfonic acid, Aminomethylphosphonic acid, tartaric acid, malic acid, phosphoric acid, hydrochloric acid, hexanedionic acid, and combinations thereof.

14. The machine of claim 11, wherein the anti-blistering agent is a cationic anti-blistering agent.

15. The machine of claim 14, wherein the cationic anti- blistering agent is any one of the following: a salt, sodium chloride, calcium chloride, aluminum chloride, and aluminum sulphate.

16. The machine of claim 14, wherein the cationic anti- blistering agent is any one of the following: a water soluble cationic polymer, Polydiallyldimethylammonium chloride, and Polyethylenimine.

17. The machine of claim 1, wherein the coater is loaded with the colloidal latex coating, wherein the colloidal latex coating comprises a temperature sensitive latex coagulant.

18. The machine of claim 17, wherein the temperature sensitive latex coagulant comprises any one of the following: a silicone polyether and a polyether modified polysiloxane.

19. The machine of claim 1, wherein the machine is configured for continually processing artificial turf backing into the artificial turf.

20. The machine of claim 1, wherein the machine is loaded with the artificial turf fiber, wherein the artificial turf fiber comprises a polymer mixture comprising at least one polymer, and wherein the artificial turf fiber is a stretched artificial turf fiber.

21. The machine of claim 20, wherein the polymer mixture further comprises a nucleating agent for crystallizing the at least one polymer.

22. The machine of claim 21, wherein the nucleating agent is an inorganic substance and/or an organic substance or a mixture thereof, wherein the inorganic substance acting as the nucleating agent consists of one or more of the following: talcum; kaolin; calcium carbonate; magnesium carbonate; silicate; silicic acid; silicic acid ester; aluminium trihydrate; magnesium hydroxide; meta- and/or polyphosphates; and coal fly ash; wherein the organic substance acting as the nucleating agent consists of one or more of the following: 1,2-cyclohexane dicarbonic acid salt; benzoic acid; benzoic acid salt; sorbic acid; and sorbic acid salt.

23. A manufacturing system comprising the machine of claim 20 and an artificial turf fiber apparatus, wherein the artificial turf fiber apparatus comprises: a polymer mixer configured for creating a polymer mixture, wherein the polymer mixture comprises at least one polymer; an extruder configured for extruding the polymer mixture into a monofilament; a quencher for quenching the monofilament after extrusion; a heater for reheating the monofilament after quenching; and a fiber stretcher for stretching the reheated monofilament to align fibers of the reheated monofilament relative to each other and to form the monofilament into the artificial turf fiber.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

(1) In the following embodiments of the invention are explained in greater detail, by way of example only, making reference to the drawings in which:

(2) FIG. 1 illustrates an example of a machine for making artificial turf;

(3) FIG. 2 shows an enlarged view of a portion of FIG. 2;

(4) FIG. 3 shows a flow chart which illustrates a method of operating the machine of FIG. 1; and

(5) FIG. 4 illustrates an example of manufacturing system.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

(6) FIG. 1 shows an example of a machine 100 for manufacturing artificial turf. The artificial turf is labeled 108. The machine 100 can be seen as taking artificial turf backing 102 and artificial turf fiber 104 as input. A fiber inserter 106 then inserts the artificial turf fiber 104 into the artificial turf backing 102. artificial turf 108 can be seen as exiting the fiber inserter 106. The dashed box 107 is FIG. 2 shows a portion the artificial turf 108 that is shown in greater detail in FIG. 2. The artificial turf 108 then runs through a coater 110. The coater 110 spreads colloidal latex 112 onto an underside of the artificial turf backing. The artificial turf fibers extend out from an artificial turf surface 116. In the example illustrated a lick roll with a rotating element 118 is used to apply the colloidal latex 112 to the underside 114. This is however not the only means of applying the colloidal latex. The colloidal latex coating could for example be dispensed on the surface of the underside and then be leveled using the knife over roll method. The machine may also comprise a colloidal latex coating reservoir 111 that stores the colloidal latex coating and provides the colloidal latex coating to the coater. In some examples, the colloidal latex coating reservoir 111 may be a tank (not shown) that is connected using a conduit or tube (not shown) to connect the colloidal latex coating reservoir 111 to the coater 110.

(7) The manufacture of the artificial turf 108 is a web-based process where the artificial turf 108 goes through the different stations. After having the colloidal latex coating 112 applied to the underside 114 the artificial turf then goes under an applicator 120. The applicator 120, could for example be a spray bar. The machine may comprise an anti-blistering agent reservoir 121 that may be at least partially filled with the anti-blistering agent 122. The anti-blistering agent reservoir 121 in some examples may be a tank that is connected using a conduit 119 or tube to connect the anti-blistering agent reservoir 121 to the applicator 120.

(8) The applicator 120 is intended to represent any means of applying a small amount of anti-blistering agent 122 to the colloidal latex coating on the underside 114.

(9) The artificial turf within the box 107 has passed under the applicator 120. Here it can be seen that the anti-blistering agent 122 at least partially covers or wets an exposed surface 124 of the colloidal latex coating 112. The applicator is configured to wet a region 123 of the exposed surface 124. Next, the artificial turf 108 passes through a heater 126. The heater has an entrance 125 and an exit 127. The applicator may be configures such that the region 123 of the exposed surface that has just been wet is a distance 129 from the entrance 125 of the heater 126. Controlling the distance 129 enables control over how long the anti-blistering agent 122 is on the exposed surface before the artificial turf 108 enters into the heater 126.

(10) The heater 126 removes water from the colloidal latex coating 112 turning it into a solid latex coating 128. When the artificial turf 108 exits the heater 126 the manufacturing is finished. In some instances the artificial turf fibers 104 may be trimmed after leaving the heater 126. However, this is not necessarily required.

(11) The heater 126 could function in different ways. In this example the heater 126 has a first heat control element and a second heat control element 132. The first heat control element 130 generates forced air 134 with a first temperature range and the second heat control element 132 generates forced air 136 with a second temperature range. In this way the temperature of the underside can be different from that of the artificial turf surface during the curing process. This may lead to effective removal of water from the colloidal latex coating while protecting the artificial turf fibers 104.

(12) FIG. 3 shows a flowchart which illustrates the operation of the machine 100 shown in FIG. 1. First in step 300 artificial turf fiber 104 is incorporated into an artificial turf backing 102 by the fiber inserter 106 to form the artificial turf 108. Next in step 302 an underside 114 of the artificial turf 108 is coated with a colloidal latex coating 112 using the coater 110. Next in step 304 an exposed surface 124 of the colloidal latex coating 112 is at least partially wet or coated with a applicator 120. Next in step 306 a heater 126 is used to heat at least the underside 114 of the artificial turf 108 to cure the colloidal latex coating 112 into the solid latex coating 128.

(13) Several experiments have been performed using citric acid as the anti-blistering agent. In the experiment where 20% and 40% citric acid solution was sprayed onto a colloidal latex compound prior to drying. In these tests the About 40-50 g m.sup.2 of was applied during these experiments. In the experiments the blistering, the drying speed, which is related to turbidity and relative humidity, and tuft lock were examined. The colloidal latex compound examined was a styrene-butadiene latex. The results of the blistering are given qualitatively in table number 1. In table 1 it can be seen that the amount of blistering with no citric acid is the largest. With 20% solution the amount of blistering was reduced. With the 40% solution of citric acid the blistering was further reduced.

(14) TABLE-US-00001 TABLE 1 Citric Acid Blistering ++ 20% solution + 40% solution +

(15) Table 2 shows the results of experiments when examining the turbidity. The results are shown as 2 minutes, 3 minutes, 4 minutes, 5 minutes, and 6 minutes. As the colloidal latex coating becomes more dry the turbidity decreases. Measuring the turbidity is in effect one measure of determining how rapidly the colloidal latex coating is drying. It can be seen that as the concentration of the citric acid increases the turbidity also decreases. This indicates that the citric acid increases the drying rate of the colloidal latex coating. This may help increase the rate at which the tufted surface covering is manufactured thereby reducing the cost.

(16) TABLE-US-00002 TABLE 2 Citric Acid 2 3 4 5 6 +++ +++ + + 20% +++ +++ + 40% +++ +

(17) Table 3 shows the relative humidity as a function of time and the amount or concentration of citric acid sprayed on the surface. The results of table 3 shows that spraying citric acid on the colloidal latex coating did not seem to have an appreciable effect on the decrease of relative humidity. However, an additional test was performed by spraying more citric acid on the compound. This was about 200 g /m.sup.2 of the 40% solution was applied. The relative humidity after 14 minutes in this case was only 10%. From this additional experiment it can be seen that the application of an acidic anti-blistering agent does indeed have an effect on the relative humidity and therefore the drying rate. This may therefore be used to accelerate the manufacturing process or speed the manufacturing of the tufted surface covering.

(18) TABLE-US-00003 TABLE 3 Time No anti-blistering agent 20% Citric Acid 40% Citric Acid 14 90% 80% 90% 16 80% 70% 80% 18 70% 70% 70% 20 30% 30% 30% 22 10% 10% 10%

(19) Table 4 illustrates the tuft lock/tuft bind of the finished tufted surface covering. This is performed for the same colloidal latex coating with a control group citric acid of 20% and citric acid of 40% as before. The dry tuft lock experiments is the amount of weight needed to pull a tuft of fibers from the tufted surface covering under dry conditions. The wet tuft lock is performed after the artificial turf has been wet for a period of 24 hours. From this table it can be seen that spraying citric acid on the colloidal latex coating before the curing of the colloidal latex coating into the solid latex coating does not have a detrimental effect on the tuft lock. This is in contrast to the current method of mixing an anti-blistering agent in with the colloidal latex coating. This indicates that spraying the anti-blistering agent on the surface may result in a superior tufted surface covering.

(20) TABLE-US-00004 TABLE 4 Citric Acid Dry tuft lock Wet tuft lock (24 hr) 5.0 kg 5.2 kg 20% solution 5.1 kg 5.4 kg 40% solution 5.0 kg 4.9 kg.

(21) In conclusion, these experiments indicate that spraying citric acid on the colloidal latex coating may improve sensitivity towards blistering and turbidity. Air may not have an effect on the decrease of relative humidity unless a larger concentration of citric acid is applied. Spraying citric acid on the colloidal latex coating does not seem to have a detrimental effect on the tuft lock, it some cases it may change the appearance of the colloidal latex coating because a white brittle residue may be deposited on the surface of the colloidal latex coating. This however does not affect the end product as the underside of tufted surface covering is for example placed on the ground where it is not visible.

(22) FIG. 4 illustrates an example of a manufacturing system 400 for manufacturing artificial turf 108. The manufacturing system 400 comprises the machine 100 and an artificial turf fiber apparatus 402. The artificial turf fiber apparatus comprises: a polymer mixer configured for creating a polymer mixture, wherein the polymer mixture comprises at least one polymer; an extruder configured for extruding the polymer mixture into a monofilament; a quencher for quenching the monofilament after extrusion; a heater for reheating the monofilament after quenching; and a fiber stretcher for stretching the reheated monofilament to align the fibers relative to each other and to form the monofilament into the artificial turf fiber. The artificial turf fiber appraratus may also be used to add a nucleation agent to the polymer mixture.

LIST OF REFERENCE NUMERALS

(23) 100 machine 102 artificial turf backing 104 artificial turf fiber 106 fiber inserter 108 artificial turf 110 coater 111 colloidal latex coating reservoir 112 colloidal latex coating 114 underside 116 artificial turf surface 118 rotating element 119 conduit 120 applicator 121 anti-blistering agent reservoir 122 anti-blistering agent 123 region of exposed surface 124 exposed surface 125 entrance 126 heater 127 exit 128 solid latex coating 129 distance 130 first heat control element 132 second heat control element 134 forced air within first temperature range 136 forced air within second temperature range 300 incorporating artificial turf fiber into an artificial turf backing to form the artificial turf 302 coating the underside with a colloidal latex coating 304 wetting the exposed surface with an anti-blistering agent that comprises at least one acid 306 heating the underside to cure the colloidal latex coating into a solid latex coating 400 manufacturing system 402 artificial turf apparatus