ARTIFICIAL TURF COMPRISING AN AGGLOMERATE INFILL

Abstract

An artificial turf surface includes an artificial turf carpet with a pile, wherein the artificial turf carpet includes a backing. The artificial turf carpet further includes artificial grass fibers. The artificial grass fibers are tufted into the backing. The artificial grass fibers form the pile. The artificial grass fibers are secured to the backing. The artificial turf surface further includes an artificial turf infill distributed within the pile, wherein the artificial turf infill includes irregularly shaped grains, wherein the grains include an agglomerate including at least one type of non-elastomeric thermoplastic. At least a portion of the grains have fibrous extensions.

Claims

1. An artificial turf surface comprising: an artificial turf carpet with a pile, wherein the artificial turf carpet comprises a backing; wherein the artificial turf carpet further comprises artificial grass fibers, wherein the artificial grass fibers are tufted into the backing, wherein the artificial grass fibers form the pile, wherein the artificial grass fibers are secured to the backing; and artificial turf infill distributed within the pile, wherein the artificial turf infill comprises irregularly shaped grains, wherein the irregularly shaped grains comprise an agglomerate, wherein the agglomerate comprises at least one type of non-elastomeric thermoplastic, wherein at least a portion of the grains have fibrous extensions.

2. The artificial turf surface of claim 1, wherein at least 50%, at least 60%, at least 70%, at least 80%, at least 90%, or at least 95% of the irregularly shaped grains have a curved profile.

3. The artificial turf surface of claim 1, wherien at least 40%, 50%, 60%, 70%, 80%, or 90% of the grains have the fibrous extensions.

4. The artificial turf surface of claim 1, wherein in at least 50%, 70%, or 90% of the portion of the grains the fibrous extensions comprise at least 30% of the weight of the grains.

5. The artificial turf surface of claim 1, wherein the at least one types of non-elastomeric thermoplastic comprise recycled artificial turf fibers.

6. The artificial turf surface of claim 1, wherein the irregularly shaped grains have a longitudinally stretched out and curved volume expansion with ratios of length to diameter/cross-section within 1:2 to 1:50.

7. The artificial turf surface of claim 1, wherein the irregularly shaped grains have a longitudinally stretched out and curved volume expansion with ratios of length to diameter/cross-section within any one of the following: 1:4 to 1:50, 1:8 to 1:50, 1:16 to 1:50, and 1:32 to 1:50.

8. The artificial turf surface of claim 1, wherein the irregularly shaped grains have a sieve size between 0.2 mm and 12 mm.

9. The artificial turf surface of claim 1, wherein irregularly shaped grains have a thickness between 0.05 mm and 2 mm.

10. The artificial turf surface of claim 1, wherein the at least one type of non-elastomeric thermoplastic comprise any one of the following: a least one thermoplastic polymer, a polyolefm, waste plastic, fibrous waste plastic, pre-consumer yarn, post-consumer yarn recovered synthetic sports fields, artificial turf fiber, recovered waste plastic, poly ethylene, polypropylene, a polyethylene and polypropylene mixture, LLDPE, HDPE, LDPE, MDPE, PP, PE, a polyolefin, and combinations thereof.

11. The artificial turf surface of claim 1, wherein the at least one type of non-elastomeric thermoplastic comprise any one of the following: recycled packaging material, poly ethylene food packaging, polyethylene food packaging, and combinations thereof.

12. The artificial turf surface of claim 1, wherein the fibrous extensions of the irregularly shaped grains interlock with any one of the following: the artificial grass fibers, the fibrous extensions of other irregularly shaped grains, and combinations thereof.

13. The artificial turf surface of claim 1, wherein at least a portion of the fibrous extensions are branched and/or hook shaped.

14. The artificial turf surface of claim 1, wherein the artificial turf surface further comprises a sand layer between the backing and the artificial turf infill.

15. The artificial turf surface of claim 1, wherein the artificial turf surface further comprises a top infill layer, wherein the irregularly shaped grains are between the backing and the top infill layer.

16. The artificial turf surface of claim 15, wherein the top infill layer comprises regularly shaped granules.

17. The artificial turf surface of claim 16, wherein the regularly shaped granules comprise any one of the following: a least one thermoplastic polymer, a polyolefin, waste plastic, fibrous waste plastic, pre-consumer yarn, post-consumer yarn recovered synthetic sports fields, artificial turf fiber, recovered waste plastic, recycled packaging material, polyethylene food packaging, poly ethylene, polypropylene, a polyethylene and polypropylene mixture, LLDPE, HDPE, LDPE, MDPE, PP, PE, and a polyolefin, and combinations thereof.

18. The artificial turf surface of claim 16, wherein the regularly shaped granules comprise any one of the following: an elastomeric compound, rubber, crumb rubber, EPDM, and combinations thereof.

19. The artificial turf surface of claim 16, wherein the regularly shaped granules comprises at least 50%, 70%, 90%, or 95% of the top infill layer by weight.

20. The artificial turf surface of claim 15, wherein the top infill comprises elongated granules.

21. The artificial turf surface of claim 20, wherein the top infill comprises at least 40%, 50%, 60%, 70%, 80%, 90%, or 95% of the elongated granules by weight.

22. The artificial turf surface of claim 20, wherein the wherein the elongated granules are formed from any one of the following: an elastomeric compound, shavings from at least one block of an elastomeric compound, rubber, crumb rubber, EPDM, and combinations thereof.

23. The artificial turf surface of claim 1, wherein the artificial turf surface further comprises a sand layer between the backing and the artificial turf infill, wherein the artificial turf surface further comprises a top infill layer, wherein the irregularly shaped grains are between the backing and the top infill layer, wherein the top infill comprises irregularly shaped granulate, wherein the irregularly shaped granulate comprises shavings from at least one block of an elastomeric compound.

24. The artificial turf surface of claim 1, wherein the agglomerate at least comprises 80%, 90%, 95%, or 99% by weight the at least one type of non-elastomeric thermoplastic.

25. A method of manufacturing an artificial turf system, wherein the method comprises: providing an artificial turf carpet with a pile, wherein the artificial turf carpet comprises a backing; wherein the artificial turf carpet further comprises artificial grass fibers, wherein the artificial grass fibers are tufted into the backing, wherein the artificial grass fibers form the pile surface, wherein the artificial grass fibers are secured to the backing; and forming an agglomerate comprising at least one type of non-elastomeric plastic to form irregularly shaped grains to provide an infill for the artificial turf carpet.

26. The method of claim 25, wherein at least 50%, at least 60%, at least 70%, at least 80%, at least 90%, or at least 95% of the irregularly shaped grains have a curved profile.

27. The method of claim 25, wherien at least 40%, 50%, 60%, 70%, 80%, or 90% of the grains have the fibrous extensions.

28. The method of claim 25, wherein in at least 50%, 70%, or 90% of the portion of the grains the fibrous extensions comprise at least 30% of the weight of the grains.

29. The method of claim 25, wherein the agglomeration of the at least one type of non-elastomeric thermoplastic into the agglomerate and the forming of the irregularly shaped grains from the agglomerate is performed using an agglomerator.

30. The method of claim 29, wherein the agglomerator is a friction agglomerator.

31. The method of claim 25, wherein forming of the irregularly shaped grains is performed using an extruder.

32. The method of claim 30, wherein the extruder comprises any one of the following: an underwater pelletizing system, a watering pelletizing system, a strand pelletizing system, and hot-cut pelletizing system.

33. The method of claim 31, wherein the extruder comprises an extrusion die plate, wherein any one of the following: the extrusion die plate has at least one orifice for extruding the agglomerate, wherein the at least one orifice has a first portion and an opposing portion, wherein the first portion is rough, wherein the opposing portion is smooth to form irregularly shaped grains that have a curved profile; the extruder die plate comprises multiple orifices, and the multiple orifices have at least two distinct sizes and/or the orifices are irregularly shaped; and combinations thereof.

34. The method of claim 31, wherein the extruder comprise a cutting system for cutting the irregularly shaped grains, wherein the cutting system is configured for producing irregularly shaped grains with varying lengths.

35. The method of claim 25, wherein the method further comprises mixing at least one additive into the agglomerate before forming the irregularly shaped grains.

36. The method of claim 35, wherein the at least one additive comprises any one of the following: a dye, a colorant, a UV-stabilizer, a flame retardant, a binding agent, a blowing agent, an anti-seize agent, a lubricant, a filler, a compatibilizer, and combinations thereof.

37. The method of claim 25, wherein the method further comprises recycling used artificial turf to provide the at least one type of non-elastomeric thermoplastic.

38. A method of manufacturing an artificial turf surface, wherein the method comprises the method of claim 25, wherein the method further comprises: installing the artificial turf carpet; and distributing the irregularly shaped grains within the pile to form an artificial turf surface.

39. The use of an agglomerate as infill for artificial turf, wherein the agglomerate comprises irregularly shaped grains formed from at least one type of non-elastomeric thermoplastic, and wherein at least a portion of the grains have fibrous extensions.

40. The use of an agglomerate as infill for artificial turf of claim 38, wherein at least 50%, at least 60%, at least 70%, at least 80%, at least 90%, or at least 95% of the irregularly shaped grains have a curved profile.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0076] In the following embodiments of the invention are explained in greater detail, by way of example only, making reference to the drawings in which:

[0077] FIG. 1 illustrates an example of an artificial turf surface;

[0078] FIG. 2 illustrates a further example of an artificial turf surface;

[0079] FIG. 3 illustrates an examples of an irregularly shaped grains;

[0080] FIG. 4 illustrates an example of an agglomerator;

[0081] FIG. 5 illustrates an example of an extruder;

[0082] FIG. 6 illustrates an example of an extrusion die plate;

[0083] FIG. 7 illustrates an example of an artificial turf system;

[0084] FIG. 8 illustrates a further example of an artificial turf surface;

[0085] FIG. 9 illustrates a further example of an extrusion die plate; and

[0086] FIG. 10 illustrates a further example of an artificial turf surface.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0087] Like numbered elements in these figures are either equivalent elements or perform the same function. Elements which have been discussed previously will not necessarily be discussed in later figures if the function is equivalent.

[0088] FIG. 1 shows an example of an artificial turf surface 100. The artificial turf surface 100 is formed by an artificial turf carpet 102 that has a pile 104. The artificial turf carpet 102 comprises a backing 106. Into the backing there are artificial grass fibers 108 that are tufted 110 into the backing 106. The pile 104 is formed from the artificial grass fibers 108. The artificial grass fibers 108 may for instance be formed from a thermoplastic yarn or artificial grass. The backing 106 may be placed onto a base layer 112. The base layer may take different forms in different examples. In one example the base layer is simply the ground. The artificial turf carpet 102 may simply be placed on the ground. In other examples the base layer 112 may have different components for providing drainage, and absorption of shock from athletes or other users of the artificial turf surface 100.

[0089] Within the pile 104 and between the artificial grass fibers 108 is spread an artificial turf infill 114. In this case the infill 114 comprises irregularly shaped grains 116. The irregularly shaped grains are formed from an agglomerate comprising at least one type of non-elastomeric thermoplastic. The non-elastomeric thermoplastics may also be thermoplastic polymers. The use of the irregularly shaped grains causes voids 118 between a number of the irregularly shaped grains 116. These voids provide give and elasticity to the irregularly shaped grains 116 that are made of what is considered normally a rigid thermoplastic. This enables a material which would normally be unsuitable for making artificial turf infill function well. The artificial turf infill 114 may provide for helping the artificial grass fibers 108 to stay rigid and in the correct position. They may also provide for shock absorption or other physical properties which help the artificial turf surface 100 more approximate the properties of a real turf surface.

[0090] FIG. 2 shows a further example of an artificial turf surface 200. The artificial turf surface 200 is similar to the artificial turf surface 100 shown in FIG. 1. However, in this example there is additionally a layer of sand between the backing and the infill 114. The example shown in FIG. 2 may further approximate the properties of real turf more accurately. The use of the infill 114 with the irregularly shaped grains 116 may provide a more lifelike and elastic surface than when sand 202 is used alone.

[0091] FIG. 3 shows a photograph of a number of irregularly shaped grains 116. The irregularly shaped grains comprise at least one non-elastomeric polymer. The photograph shows that at least some of the irregularly shaped grains comprise fibrous extensions 302. Not all of the fibrous structure of the extensions is visible in the photograph. Some of the grains also show fibrous extensions 302 with a branched structure 304. Some of the fibrous extensions 302 also have a hook like structure 306. The branched structure 304 or hook like structure 306 may help the irregularly shaped grains interlock with themselves and/or artificial grass fibers. thermoplastics.

[0092] The irregularly shaped grains in FIG. 3 were tested as artificial turf infill. Although made from rigid thermoplastics they exhibited shock absorbency. Recycled SBR rubber infill was compared to irregularly shaped grain infill of two different sizes. The first size of irregularly shaped grain infill had a characteristic dimension of less than 2.5 mm. The second size had a characteristic dimension greater than 2.5 mm. A sieve with a 2.5 mm screen was used to separate the two. In the experiment the force reduction of a soccer ball hitting the surface was measured for three consecutive hits at the same location for each hit. The results are summarized in the table below

TABLE-US-00001 SBR infill agglomerate agglomerate As benchmark <2.5 mm >2.5 mm Force reduction 1st hit 32.8% 40.3% 36.6% Force reduction 2.sup.nd hit 19.3% 9.8% 25.7% Force reduction 3.sup.rd hit 15.8% 6.1% 19.8%

[0093] In the above table it can be see that the agglomerate infill made from the irregularly shaped grains has a shock absorbency that is comparable to the SBR infill made from recycled black crumb rubber. In fact, the larger grains (greater than 2.5 mm) surprisingly showed shock absorbency that was greater than the SBR infill material for all three impacts.

[0094] FIG. 4 shows an example of an agglomerator 400. The agglomerator has a hopper 402 for receiving waste thermoplastic 404. A feeder 406 then feeds the waste thermoplastic 404 into a an agglomerator 408 which comprises a rotating disc and a stationary portion The agglomerator 408 may heat and compress the waste thermoplastic 404. The rotating disc 408 may have veins or gear-like surfaces which compress and cut the waste thermoplastic 404 into the irregularly shaped grains 116.

[0095] FIG. 5 shows an example of an extruder 500. The extruder again has a hopper for receiving waste thermoplastic 404. The waste thermoplastic is then fed by a feeder 406 which heats and forces the waste thermoplastic through an orifice through an extrusion die plate 504. A cutting system 506 then cuts agglomerate that is extruded from the orifice 502 into the irregularly shaped grains 116. The rate at which the cutting system 508 cuts the agglomerate will control the length of the irregularly shaped grains 116. The rate of the cutting system 506 can be varied to produce a distribution of lengths of irregularly shaped grains 116.

[0096] FIG. 6 shows an example of an extrusion die plate 504 with an orifice 502. The orifice 502 has a first portion 600 and an opposing portion 602. The first portion 600 is rough and the opposing portion 602 is smooth. This modification will cause material extruded from the orifice 502 to have a curvature to it.

[0097] FIG. 7 shows a flowchart which illustrates a method of manufacturing an artificial turf system. First in step 700 an artificial turf carpet 102 such as shown in FIG. 1 or 2 is provided. Next in step 702 irregularly shaped grains 116 are manufactured using the machine such as is illustrated in FIG. 4 or 5. At least one type of non-elastomeric thermoplastic is either provided as an agglomerate or formed with another material such as a second elastomeric thermoplastic or a dye in power form. The agglomerate is then forced into the irregularly shaped grains 116. In some examples, the agglomeration process is used to form the irregularly shaped grains. In other examples, an extruder or agglomerator is used to form the agglomerate into the irregularly shaped grains.

[0098] FIG. 8 shows a further example of an artificial turf surface 800. The artificial turf surface 800 is similar to the artificial turf surface 200 shown in FIG. 2. However, in this example there is additionally a top infill layer (801) that comprises regularly shaped granules 802. The top infill layer (801) is on top of the irregularly shaped grains 114. The use of the regularly shaped granules 802 have the advantage of reducing the friction when something slides on the surface of the artificial turf surface 800. The regularly shaped granules 802 may be made of several different materials. In one example the regularly shaped granules are made from a agglomerate comprising at least one type of non-elastomeric thermoplastic. In another example the regularly shaped granules are made from an elastomer.

[0099] FIG. 9 illustrates another example of an extrusion die plate (504) similar to that shown in FIG. 6. The extrusion die plate has a number of orifices 502 for extruding the irregularly shaped granules. The orifices have a variety of different sizes. The relative sizes of the orifices can be used to generate a distribution of grains with different sizes. The shape or profile of the orifices can also be modified to aid in providing the grains with an irregular shape.

[0100] FIG. 10 shows a further example of an artificial turf surface 1000. The artificial turf surface 1000 is similar to the artificial turf surface 800 shown in FIG. 8. However, in this example the top infill layer comprises either elongated granules 1002 and/or irregularly shaped granulate 1002 on top of the irregularly shaped grains 114. The use of the elongated granules 1002 and/or irregularly shaped granulate 1002 may have the advantage of reducing the friction when something slides on the surface of the artificial turf surface 1002. The elongated granules 1002 and/or irregularly shaped granulate 1002 may be made of several different materials. In one example the elongated granules 1002 and/or irregularly shaped granulate 1002 may for example be manufactured from an elastomeric compound or other flexible material.

[0101] The following examples are several possible practical examples of artificial turf surfaces that use the irregularly shaped grains as artificial turf infill. Artificial turf infill made from irregularly shaped grains is referred to as polymer agglomerate. All weights refer to the amount of material distributed on the surface of an artificial turf carpet. The polymer agglomerate is placed on top of the sand layer. The term e-layer refers to a substructure made of a shock absorptive layer of rubber granulate, matting, or other material under the artificial turf carpet. [0102] Example 1 (artificial turf carpet with a 40 mm high pile): [0103] Polymer agglomerate: 5 kg/m.sup.2 [0104] Sand: 15 kg/m.sup.2 [0105] e-layer: 25 mm [0106] Example 2 (artificial turf carpet with a 40 mm high pile): [0107] Polymer agglomerate: 7.5 kg/m.sup.2 [0108] Sand: 12.5 kg/m.sup.2 [0109] e-layer: 25 mm [0110] Example 3 (artificial turf carpet with a 40 mm high pile): [0111] Polymer agglomerate: 5 kg/m.sup.2 [0112] Sand: 15 kg/m.sup.2 [0113] e-layer: 30 mm [0114] Example 4 (artificial turf carpet with a 40 mm high pile): [0115] Polymer agglomerate: 5 kg/m.sup.2 [0116] Size distribution: 0-2.5 mm (sorted by sieve size) [0117] Sand: 15 kg/m.sup.2 [0118] e-layer: 25 mm [0119] Example 5 (artificial turf carpet with a 40 mm or 60 mm high pile): [0120] Polymer agglomerate: 5 kg/m.sup.2 [0121] Size distribution: 2.5-12.5 mm (sorted by sieve size) [0122] Sand: 15 kg/m.sup.2 [0123] e-layer: 25 mm

[0124] In the 5 above examples, the numerical values may be varied by up to 10%, 20, or 30% to produce alternative examples.

[0125] In examples 1 through 3, so size distribution of the polymer agglomerate is given. It is understood that any sieve size between 1 and 12.5 mm may be used to sort agglomerate for these two examples.

[0126] In examples 4 and 5: Grains that pass through the 2.5 mm sieve are used for example 4. The grains that are caught by the 2.5 mm sieve, but pass through a 12.5 mm sieve are used for example 5.

LIST OF REFERENCE NUMERALS

[0127] 100 artificial turf surface [0128] 102 artificial turf carpet [0129] 104 pile [0130] 106 backing [0131] 108 artificial grass fibers [0132] 110 tufting [0133] 112 base layer [0134] 114 infill [0135] 116 irregularly shaped grains [0136] 118 void [0137] 200 artificial turf surface [0138] 202 sand [0139] 302 fibrous extensions [0140] 304 branched structure [0141] 306 hook like structure [0142] 400 agglomerator [0143] 402 hopper [0144] 404 waste thermoplastic [0145] 408 agglomerator disk [0146] 500 extruder [0147] 502 orifice [0148] 502 orifice [0149] 504 extrusion die plate [0150] 506 cutting system [0151] 600 first portion [0152] 602 opposing portion [0153] 700 provide an artificial turf carpet with a pile, [0154] 702 form an agglomerate comprising least one type of non-elastomeric thermoplastic into irregularly shaped grains to provide an infill for the artificial turf carpet [0155] 800 artificial turf surface [0156] 801 top infill layer [0157] 802 regularly shaped granules [0158] 1000 artificial turf surface [0159] 1002 elongated granules or irregularly shaped granulate