• 专利附录
  • 专利说明
  • 权利要求
  • 类似技术
  • 同族专利
  • 引用文献
  • 法律状态
  • 优先权
    • 专利摘要:
    Coconut crumb can serve as an infill material on synthetic turf fields in the place of tire crumb. The crumbs are less than 10 mm big and have smooth comers and edges. The process of producing the coconut crumb involves successive grinding or milling processes that reduce the inner hard shell of the coconut to particles of an appropriate size for infill, while screening out the unwanted material from being included in the infill.
    公开号:ES2839557A2
    申请号:ES202190024
    申请日:2019-11-11
    公开日:2021-07-05
    发明作者:David E Shoup
    申请人:Genus Ind dba Icoir Products Group LLC；
    IPC主号:
    专利说明:

    [0002] Granular Coconut Hard Shell Filler for Synthetic Sports Fields
    [0004] Cross reference to related application
    [0006] This application claims the priority and benefit of US Interim Document No. 62 / 767,567 filed November 15, 2018, which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.
    [0008] Background
    [0010] Synthetic sports fields often have synthetic grass fibers on top of an infill material. The padding material allows the field to slope slightly from the center of the field to the sides to allow better drainage, and helps protect players by providing shock absorption, traction and stability for the feet. Today, most of the filler material consists of small pieces of rubber, most of which come from recycled tires.
    [0012] Small pieces of rubber have several disadvantages. They are not very environmentally friendly as they are made from recycled tires. Although it is better to be able to use the tires for the production of small pieces than to land the tires in a landfill, the pieces themselves are also not biodegradable. In addition, there is data that indicates that they are carcinogenic.
    [0014] Brief description of the drawings
    [0016] Figure 1 shows the parts of a coconut and the hard shell used for filling small pieces.
    [0017] Figure 2 shows a diagram of an embodiment of synthetic turf with coconut filler material.
    [0018] Figure 3 shows the realization of a process for the manufacture of filling of small pieces of coconut.
    [0019] Figures 4-6 show examples of a hammer mill.
    [0020] Figures 7-8 show examples of a shredding machine.
    [0021] Figure 9 shows a view of the filling of small pieces of coconut.
    [0022] Detailed description of the realizations
    [0024] The use of infill on synthetic turf pitches is governed by the Synthetic Turf Council (www.SyntheticTurfCouncil.org), which has produced several documents, including the "Guidelines for Synthetic Turf Performance" published in December 2011 , and the "Guidelines for crushed rubber infill used in synthetic turf pitches", approved in October 2010. Any material that replaces rubber infill must meet the same or similar requirements. One of the problems that arise is that, although the material is intended to serve as filler, it ends up on the lawn and comes into contact with the people who are in the field. It is also somewhat intrusive when ending up on shoes, equipment bags, inside players' clothing, etc. High levels of contact will occur between the small pieces and the users.
    [0026] Although the use of recycled tires as filler material has some advantages, questions have been raised about the health effects of small pieces of tire. Small pieces of tire are not only used as filler for sports fields, but also used as cushioning material in playgrounds. The EPA began a study in 2016 on the health problems of small tire pieces (www.epa.gov/tirecrumb).
    [0028] The hard shell material of coconut can meet the above standards without the health problems, being a totally natural substance. Coconut shell is high in lignin and cellulose, and the shell contains materials resistant to bacteria and fungi. There are other uses of coconut shell, such as in the manufacture of mosquito traps, incense sticks, in the manufacture of plywood as a phenolic extruder and as a filler in the manufacture of resin glue.
    [0030] The term "small pieces of coconut" refers to one or more particles of the hard inner shell of a coconut reduced to particles that usually have a size in the range of between 4 and 7 millimeters, inclusive, but can include any small piece of less than 10 mm. The term "coconut chips" refers to one or more particles of the hard outer shell of a coconut reduced to particles that have a size in the range of 20 to 40 mm, inclusive, by can include any piece of more than 20 mm . These ranges are estimates, but are intended to differentiate between particles that are 20 mm or more, which are called chips, and particles that are 7 mm or less, which are called small pieces. The terms "filling with small pieces of coconut" and "small pieces of coconut" are interchangeable.
    [0031] Figure 1 shows a coconut 10 open, with its shell 12 next to it. The hard inner shell is what is of interest here, but it helps to clarify the situation by looking at the other portions of the coconut. The inner white material 14 is commonly referred to as "meat" or "copra" and contains coconut water. The foam layer 16 between the meat and the outer shell is called "pith" with "coconut" and "fiber". The pith is highly absorbent and has uses, along with shell fillers, that may be appropriate in this case, such as modifying the coconut shell filler. The 18 hard outer shell is what is of interest here as well.
    [0033] Figure 2 shows a view of a synthetic turf field with small-piece coconut infill instead of small-piece tire infill. As can be seen from the diagram, infill 20 is the second layer, viewed from the top, and is of such a degree that the completed field slopes from the center of the field towards the side lines to allow for drainage. The synthetic grass is, 22, on the filling of small pieces of coconut. Under the filling of small pieces of coconut there can be many layers. In this example, there are layers of a thick and strong drainage and buffer tray 24, a geotextile fabric 26, a compacted aggregate leveling layer 28, a compacted aggregate base layer 30, a sub-base material layer 32, and the compacted subgrade material 34. The selection and configuration of these materials is left to the discretion of the system designer, but in general the small pieces of coconut that replace the small pieces of tire as filler do not modify the underlying layers of the terrain.
    [0035] Figure 3 shows one embodiment of a process for converting the hard inner shell of coconuts into small pieces of coconut. This process begins with the outer "skin" of the coconut 40. Typically, a coconut shell crusher opens the shells. The meat and water are then removed and discarded. The shells are then cleaned and sanitized and dried to a water content of less than 10%, which is not shown here.
    [0037] The process begins with passing the coconut shells through some type of crushing or shredding machine in step 42, such as a hammer mill and / or a shredder, to produce coconut chips and waste material, called "fines "in step 44. This process typically reduces coconut shells to chip sizes between 20 and 40 millimeters. The resulting material is screened in step 46 where the material that is not of the proper size, the fines, 48, is designated as waste material, but can be use in other processes. A part can be returned to the beginning of the process in step 40 for reprocessing.
    [0039] Next, a conveyor belt 50 transports the coconut chips 52 to a second shredding process in step 54. It should be noted that the embodiment shown in Figure 3 shows a hammer mill, but any machine that can disintegrating the hard coconut shell to the desired sizes, which we refer to here as a "shredding" machine, would serve in this process. The resulting material 56 from the second comminution process will normally comprise a mixture of fine and coconut small pieces. This material is then screened in step 58, and the waste materials or fines are recycled or used for other processes. The resulting small pieces of coconut can be made into a filler for grass pitches.
    [0041] Figure 4 shows a diagram of a hammer mill 70. The mill typically has a chute or other opening 72 to allow supply of the coconut shells to the internal operating elements of the mill. The hammers 78 rotate around a rotor with hanging metal blades that drive them to break the coconut shells into chips and round off the jagged edges. A sieve, such as 78, catches the chips for further processing and the waste material, also referred to as "fines," is removed. Note that this screening may comprise the aforementioned screening process, or it may be prior to the screening. Figure 5 shows a photograph of a hammer mill 70, and Figure 6 shows the embodiments of the different screens 78.
    [0043] Some embodiments of the process may be based on a single hammer mill as a comminution machine, switching the hammers between breaking the shells into coconut chips and into small pieces of coconut. The user can also adjust the rotor speed to be coordinated with the screen type to ensure that the output meets a size specification. In the case of shredders, it may be a matter of changing the size of the blades. Some embodiments may use two of a type of crushing machine, such as two hammer mills, or two crushers. Some of the embodiments may be based on a combination of different types of shredding machines, using one type to produce coconut chips and another type to convert the chips into small pieces.
    [0044] Returning to Figure 3, the material trapped by the screen is then removed from the hammer mill and is transported to another hammer mill. As mentioned above, it should be noted that the second shredding machine can be formed by the same shredding machine after recalibration. In this embodiment, using blunt hammers within a hammer mill, the screens and / or hammers are changed to reduce the chips to a smaller size, in addition to rounding or blunting the sharp edges of the small pieces. The chips, that is, the portions of the outer shell that have a size in the range of between 20 and 40 millimeters, are subjected to further processing to reduce their size to "small pieces", that is, having a size in the interval between 4 and 7 mm. Post-processing also serves to smooth edges and remove sharp corners from small pieces.
    [0046] Of course, other processes are possible to reduce or crumble the outer shells of the coconut to the hard granular pieces. For example, instead of using a hammer mill, a crusher could be used, as shown in Figures 7 and 8.
    [0048] Figure 7 shows an example of a grinding machine 80 with its outer layer of blades or teeth, such as 82. These can grind coconut shells to a first chip size. The user selects the size of the blades to achieve the desired chip size. The inner teeth or blades, such as 84 shown in Figure 8, can then grind the chips down to the size of small pieces. The shredder 80 may incorporate a lowermost screen for screening, or it may simply have an outlet that produces the small pieces of coconut for separate screening.
    [0050] Any procedure that reduces the size of the coconut shells to the size of small pieces without leaving sharp corners or loose material will be enough to convert the coconut shells into small pieces of coconut. The latter are useful as fillers in synthetic grass, like the one shown in figure 2.
    [0052] Figure 9 shows an embodiment of the resulting small pieces. Figure 9 shows a hand to provide a sense of the scale of the resulting small pieces. As mentioned above, small pieces are usually sized in the range between 4 and 7 mm, but any particle of 10 mm or less falls into the category of "small pieces".
    [0054] In this way, an environmentally friendly product can be used, in which coconut shells, which are otherwise a waste product, replace the non-biodegradable small pieces of tire that are currently used in the fields of synthetic grass. The tough coconut shells do not absorb any significant amount of water when wet, they have antifungal characteristics and, although they will degrade over time, it is much less expensive and cost-effective to replace. The material is organic, sustainable, renewable and safe for people and pets.
    [0056] It will be appreciated that the variants of the above and other features and functions, or alternatives thereto, can be combined in many other different systems or applications. Those skilled in the art may subsequently make various alternatives, modifications, variations, or improvements not currently envisaged, which are also intended to be encompassed by the following claims.
    权利要求:
    Claims (15)
    [1]
    1. A process for the manufacture of small pieces of coconut, comprising:
    performing a first process of shredding the outer shells of the coconuts to produce a first material comprising coconut chips and fine residues; screening of the first material to separate the coconut chips from the fine residues; carry out a second process of shredding the coconut chips to produce a second material composed of small pieces of coconut and fine residues; and screening the second material to separate the small pieces of coconut from the fine residues.
    [2]
    2. The method according to claim 1, wherein the performance of the first comminution process and the performance of the second comminution process are carried out by the same type of machine.
    [3]
    The method according to claim 1, wherein the carrying out of the first comminution process and the carrying out of the second comminution process are carried out by two different types of machines.
    [4]
    The method according to claim 1, wherein the performance of the first comminution process and the performance of the second comminution process are carried out by the same machine that has been recalibrated between the first embodiment and the second embodiment.
    [5]
    The method according to claim 1, wherein the screening of the first material occurs as part of performing the first comminution process or as a separate screening.
    [6]
    The method according to claim 1, wherein the screening of the second material occurs as one of the parts of performing the second comminution process or as a separate screening.
    [7]
    The method according to claim 1, wherein at least one of the first comminution process performance and the second comminution process performance is carried out by means of a hammer mill.
    [8]
    The method according to claim 1, wherein at least one of the carrying out of the first comminution process and the realization of the second comminution process is carried out by means of a crushing machine.
    [9]
    The method according to claim 1, further comprising disinfecting the outer shells of the coconuts and bringing the outer shells of the coconuts to a water content of no more than 10% before carrying out the first comminution process.
    [10]
    10. A synthetic grass pitch, comprising:
    a top layer of synthetic grass material; Y
    a filling of small pieces of coconut underneath the synthetic grass material.
    [11]
    The synthetic grass pitch according to claim 10, further comprising an elastic shock and drainage pad underneath the infill of small pieces of coconut.
    [12]
    12. The synthetic grass pitch according to claim 11, further comprising a geotextile fabric under the pad.
    [13]
    The synthetic turf pitch according to claim 12, further comprising a leveling layer of compacted aggregate beneath the fabric.
    [14]
    The synthetic grass pitch according to claim 13, further comprising a layer of subbase material underneath the leveling layer.
    [15]
    The synthetic grass pitch according to claim 14, further comprising a compacted subgrade material underneath the subbase material.
    类似技术:
    公开号 | 公开日 | 专利标题
    JP5341063B2|2013-11-13|Method for producing artificial lawn, method for obtaining artificial lawn
    EP2470720B1|2014-07-30|Infill material for synthetic turfs and synthetic turfs so obtained
    ES2260553T3|2006-11-01|PARTICULATED MATERIAL FOR SYNTHETIC LAWN STRUCTURES.
    EP2206833A1|2010-07-14|A method of producing an infill material for synthetic-grass structures, corresponding material, and synthetic grass structure
    JP2010523855A5|2012-01-26|
    US11021842B2|2021-06-01|Infill for artificial turf system
    CN205851035U|2017-01-04|A kind of agricultural soil pulverizes defecator
    KR20100015740A|2010-02-12|Infill material for artificial turf system
    US20200102707A1|2020-04-02|Infill for Artificial Turf System
    ES2839557A2|2021-07-05|Coconut hard shell granular infill for synthetic sport fields
    CN108405108A|2018-08-17|A kind of fruits and vegetables pulverizer
    JP2010077794A|2010-04-08|Artificial turf laying structure
    KR100513885B1|2005-09-08|The manufacturing method of powder using for safflor seeds
    JP2020118028A|2020-08-06|Artificial lawn and artificial lawn-made athletic field
    US20220018072A1|2022-01-20|Infill for use with synthetic turf and method and apparatus for producing same
    CN211152839U|2020-08-04|Agricultural product straw reducing mechanism
    JP2021161178A|2021-10-11|Plant filler, resin composition, and method for producing plant filler
    KR20130128718A|2013-11-27|Crush material support of impact crusher
    JP2005090055A|2005-04-07|Construction structure for artificial lawn
    KR20100045279A|2010-05-03|Collection tank of manufacturing apparatus of grain powder
    CH403185A|1965-11-30|Electric motor-driven machine for comminuting granular material, especially coffee grinder
    同族专利:
    公开号 | 公开日
    ES2839557R1|2021-09-10|
    CN113226680A|2021-08-06|
    US20210355641A1|2021-11-18|
    WO2020102091A1|2020-05-22|
    AU2019381678A1|2021-05-27|
    引用文献:
    公开号 | 申请日 | 公开日 | 申请人 | 专利标题
    US6582819B2|1998-07-22|2003-06-24|Borden Chemical, Inc.|Low density composite proppant, filtration media, gravel packing media, and sports field media, and methods for making and using same|
    US6818274B1|2003-01-16|2004-11-16|Bright Intellectual Asset Management, Llc|Artificial turf system using support material for infill layer|
    ITMI20051403A1|2005-07-21|2007-01-22|Italgreen S P A|STRUCTURE OF ARTIFICIAL HERBAL MANTO AND RELATIVE METHOD OF REALIZATION|
    KR100866903B1|2007-03-20|2008-11-04|트라이마크인더스트리스인터내셔날|Infill material for artificial turf system|
    US9388535B2|2007-04-12|2016-07-12|Roberto Nusca|Method for producing synthetic turfs|
    US20100055461A1|2008-08-26|2010-03-04|Daluise Daniel A|Artificial turf infill|
    IT1394937B1|2009-01-12|2012-07-27|Mondo Spa|PROCEDURE FOR REALIZING MATERIAL FILLING FOR SYNTHETIC HERBOSIAN COVERS, CORRESPONDING MATERIAL AND RELATED SYNTHETIC HERBAL|
    US10947453B2|2016-07-12|2021-03-16|Genus Industries, Llc|Method and apparatus for preparing coir|
    CN106579475A|2016-12-10|2017-04-26|赵宽学|Coconut huller|
    US11021842B2|2017-03-29|2021-06-01|Brock Usa, Llc|Infill for artificial turf system|
    EP3505680A1|2017-12-28|2019-07-03|Dow Global Technologies Llc|Artificial turf system|
    CN209501834U|2019-01-15|2019-10-18|疆合材料科技（苏州）有限公司|A kind of ball mill grinding device of coconut shell flour|
    法律状态:
    2021-07-05| BA2A| Patent application published|Ref document number: 2839557 Country of ref document: ES Kind code of ref document: A2 Effective date: 20210705 |
    优先权:
    申请号 | 申请日 | 专利标题
    US201862767567P| true| 2018-11-15|2018-11-15|
    PCT/US2019/060760|WO2020102091A1|2018-11-15|2019-11-11|Coconut hard shell granular infill for synthetic sport fields|
    [返回顶部]