Nylon Artificial Grass

Abstract

An artificial grass product has 100% nylon face fabric which forms blades of grass when tufted. This grass shows a melt temperature exceeding 400 degrees Fahrenheit, at least about 100 degrees hotter than prior art materials. The thatch can be made of similar materials for at least some embodiments. When coupled with multiple yarns extending from common penetrations, quite durable and attractive products can be provided. Furthermore, resiliency in excess of 10% over prior art polyethylene or polypropylene grass products can be experienced with at least some embodiments.

Description

CLAIM OF PRIORITY

The present invention is a divisional of U.S. Non-Provisional application Ser. No. 15/655,973, filed on Jul. 21, 2017 which claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No. 62/368,555 filed Jul. 29, 2016, both of which are incorporated herein by reference in their entirety.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to a 100% nylon artificial or synthetic grass product.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Polypropylene and polyester have been utilized for face fabric yarns (i.e. grass blades) for years. Although there are advantages of either of these plastic fibers yarns, there are also disadvantages.

Both of these yarns have a melt temperature of around 270 degrees Fahrenheit. Resiliency is also somewhat of an issue with polypropylene and polyethylene face fibers in that if they are deformed for a significant period of time, they may tend to retain their deformed shape. Accordingly there is a need for a product with higher melt temperatures such as those which might be encountered in extremely hot environments or caused in specific location such as by reflections or other phenomena which could be assisted by reflected light or other situations which may create a tendency for at least localized melting.

Additionally no manufacturer is known by the applicant to provide multi-color nylon face fabric.

Furthermore, no manufacturer is known by the applicant to utilize nylon face fiber in combination with nylon thatch to provide a 100% nylon artificial grass product in the marketplace.

As one can readily see, even if someone were to provide a product utilizing nylon as a portion of the total product, the melt temperature of the face fiber yarns which are normally polyethylene and polypropylene would still be a limiting factor for those products.

Accordingly, an improved product is believed to be desirable in the marketplace.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

A present object and many embodiments of the present invention is to provide an improved artificial grass product.

Another object of many embodiments of the present invention is an improved artificial or synthetic grass product for use as artificial grass having 100% nylon for both face fiber and thatch yarns.

Another object of many embodiments of the present invention is to provide an improved synthetic grass product having at least two yarn ends provided on a cone to be tufted through backing as face fabric tufts so as to provide at least one of increased durability, resiliency and increased aesthetic appeal by essentially having multiple yarns and/or colors directed through the same opening provided by a needle as the artificial grass is tufted through the backing as the face fabric tufts. The same is possible as well for thatch fiber tufts.

Still other embodiments are desirable to have at least three ends or more provided on a single cone to then be directed to a single needle for use in tufting up to three colors or more while also providing additional durability and/or resilience through either or both of the thatch and the face fiber yarns.

Presently preferred embodiments provide two or three color (or more) options for either or both of face fabrics and thatch yarns. By tufting multiple ends through a single needed for artificial grass, improved resiliency and durability such as resistance to wear can be experienced in addition to different coloration possibilities.

By utilizing all nylon, the melting point for the artificial grass can be elevated to up above 420 degrees Fahrenheit for nylon as opposed to below 300 degrees Fahrenheit or polyethylene and polypropylene. Such a large increase may allow some manufacturers to provide a melt proof warranty for many if not all installations. Accordingly a whole new set of artificial grass products with improved characteristics can be provided to the marketplace.

Improved artificial grass products over those presently provided in the marketplace are believed to be possible with the applicant's current technology.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The particular features and advantages of the invention as well as other objects will become apparent from the following description taken in connection with the accompanying drawings in which:

• • a. The FIGURE is a side view of a portion of artificial grass showing a face fiber tufted alongside thatch fibers to provide an artificial grass product in accordance with a presently preferred embodiment of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

The FIGURE shows a presently preferred embodiment of the present invention in the form of artificial grass product 10 having face fiber tufts 12 and thatch fiber tufts 14. The tufts 12 of face fiber are preferably comprised of at least two different filaments or strands 16, 18 of yarn, both of which are preferably nylon and which may also be different colors. The FIGURE also shows an adjacent tuft with those same two filaments or strands 16, 18 as well as third filament or strand 20 which could be one of those two colors or a third color. Tufts 12,14 are directed through backing 28 as would be understood by those of ordinary skill in the art. Backing 28 may be nylon or other material. As referenced herein, 100% nylon refers to the tufts 12,14 and not the backing 28 or possibly other materials added below the backing 28.

Additional strands could be provided in tuft of strands 16,18,20 or others as well. One embodiment that the applicant is about to launch will have a tan, a lime and a green color combination for these three colors. Nylon has been selected because it has a melt temperature well above 400 degrees Fahrenheit if not in a range of 428-509 degrees Fahrenheit depending on which type nylon is selected. This is believed to be a huge improvement over the prior art polypropylene and polyethylene options with polypropylene typically having a melt temperature of 266 degrees Fahrenheit and polyethylene having a typical melt temperature in the range of about 239-275 degrees Fahrenheit. No party is known by the applicant to use nylon as face fiber (grass blades) yarn for artificial or synthetic grass (i.e. in residential and commercial landscape artificial grass applications).

As one ordinarily skilled in the art can quickly surmise, by removing the polyethylene and the polypropylene from the artificial grass 10 as is normally provided by the prior art, the melt temperature of the entire artificial grass 10 can be elevated to a significant degree of at least 50% greater than currently available products in the marketplace. This means that not only can the applicant provide an improved product, but also they can provide a melt proof warranty which would be almost unheard of the polypropylene and polyethylene markets where reflection and glare in certain situations can cause the localized melting of the artificial grass in the prior art.

Additionally, resiliency is believed to be increased by at least a factor of 15-20% over polypropylene and polyethylene by utilizing nylon which has increased resiliency characteristics for the same yarn shape configurations if not better depending upon how the cross sectional shaping of the yarn fibers or strands 16, 18, 20 is made. The same is true for the thatch tufts 14 which can be comprised of at least two if not three fibers or strands 22, 24, 26 or more such as shown in the FIGURE. While three different sets of fibers or strands 22, 24, 26 are shown for the thatch 14, and up to three sets are shown for the face fibers or strands 16, 18, 20, as understood by those normally skilled in the art, even more strands, possibly of even different colors of nylon could be utilized with the yarn fabric tufts 12 or the thatch tufts 14. Of course, any of strands 16,18,20 and/or others, or 22,24,26 and/or others could be duplicative in coloration of any of the other strands 16,18,20,22,24,26 and/or others.

When manufacturing the artificial grass 20 it can be done as it has traditionally been done in the prior art by combining the fibers or strands such as 16, 18, 20 and/or others together such as by twisting and/or even separately directing them through a single eye of a needle or other methods as could be done with thatch yarns or strands 22, 24, 26 and/or others.

By utilizing such a technique the more resilient nature of the nylon for either or both thatch tufts 14 and/or face fabric tufts 12 the artificial grass 10 can be more resistant to wear than the then prior art artificial grass products. Additionally, the applicant is aware of absolutely no manufacturers in the marketplace currently manufacturing 100% nylon landscape face fiber 12 and thatch 14 to form artificial or synthetic grass 10.

Furthermore no one in the marketplace has multi-color nylon thatch fibers or strands 16, 18 and/or 20 and/or others and/or thatch fibers or strands 22, 24, 26 and/or others of those either. Accordingly, different colorations and textures are now possible over prior art constructions likely with improved performance characteristics.

Still other advantages of a 100% nylon thatch tuft 12 and face fiber (i.e. grass blades) 12 will likely be an improvement over prior constructions, possibly including improved aesthetic appeal.

Numerous alterations of the structure herein disclosed will suggest themselves to those skilled in the art. However, it is to be understood that the present disclosure relates to the preferred embodiment of the invention which is for purposes of illustration only and not to be construed as a limitation of the invention. All such modifications which do not depart from the spirit of the invention are intended to be included within the scope of the appended claims.

Claims

1. A method for manufacturing an artificial grass product comprising:

tufting at least two nylon face fiber strands through a first penetration in a backing comprising a plurality of first penetrations to form grass blades, wherein the at least two nylon face fiber strands are all wound in an untwisted orientation together around a single cone and directed through a needle before being tufted through the first penetration in the backing; and

tufting at least two nylon thatch fiber strands through a second penetration in the backing additionally comprising a plurality of second penetrations to form thatch,

wherein the at least two nylon face fiber strands are of different colors and the at least two nylon thatch fiber strands are of different colors, and

wherein the second penetration is adjacent the first penetration.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the face fiber strands and the thatch fiber strands are 100% nylon.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the colors of the nylon face fiber strands and the nylon thatch fiber strands are different each from the other.

4. The method of claim 1, comprising tufting three nylon face fiber strands.

5. The method of claim 4, wherein the three nylon face fiber strands are each a different color.

6. The method of claim 1, comprising tufting three nylon thatch fiber strands.

7. The method of claim 6, wherein the three nylon thatch fiber strands are each a different color.

8. A method for manufacturing an artificial grass product comprising:

winding at least two nylon face fiber strands, in an untwisted orientation, together around a single cone;

directing the at least two nylon fiber strands through a needle;

providing a backing comprising a plurality of penetrations;

tufting the at least two nylon face fiber strands through a first penetration in the backing to form grass blades,

tufting at least two nylon thatch fiber strands through a second penetration in the backing to form thatch,

wherein the at least two nylon face fiber strands are of different colors and the at least two nylon thatch fiber strands are of different colors, and

wherein the second penetration is adjacent the first penetration.

9. The method of claim 8, wherein the face fiber strands and the thatch fiber strands are 100% nylon.

10. The method of claim 8, wherein the colors of the nylon face fiber strands and the nylon thatch fiber strands are different each from the other.

11. The method of claim 8, comprising tufting three nylon face fiber strands.

12. The method of claim 11, wherein the three nylon face fiber strands are each a different color.

13. The method of claim 8, comprising tufting three nylon thatch fiber strands.

14. The method of claim 13, wherein the three nylon thatch fiber strands are each a different color.