Shock Pad for Synthetic Turf and Methods for Making Same

Abstract

Disclosed is shock absorbing pad having a composite nonwoven pad having a nonwoven construction, wherein the composite nonwoven pad has a face surface and an opposed back surface and comprising a nonwoven blend of fibers and a heat set binder material. The nonwoven construction of the composite nonwoven pad provides for a vertical water drainage capability of the composite nonwoven pad, and wherein the vertical water drainage capability is from 10 inches per hour to 500 inches per hour as determined by ASTM D3385.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A shock absorbing pad, comprising:
 a composite nonwoven pad having a nonwoven construction, wherein the composite nonwoven pad has a face surface and an opposed back surface and comprising a nonwoven blend of fibers and a heat set binder material,   wherein the nonwoven construction of the composite nonwoven pad provides for a vertical water drainage capability of the composite nonwoven pad, and   wherein the vertical water drainage capability is from 10 inches per hour to 500 inches per hour as determined by ASTM D3385.   
     
     
         2 . The shock pad of  claim 1 , wherein the fibers comprise a polyolefin, polyamide, polystyrene, polyurethane, polyester, polyvinyl chloride, polyacrylic, or any combination thereof. 
     
     
         3 . The shock pad of  claim 1 , wherein the fibers comprise a polyolefin comprising a polyethylene, polypropylene, or a combination thereof. 
     
     
         4 . The shock pad of  claim 1 , wherein the fibers comprise a polyamide comprising nylon 6, nylon 6,6, nylon 1,6, nylon 12, nylon 6,12, or a combination thereof. 
     
     
         5 . The shock pad of  claim 1 , wherein the fibers comprise a polyester comprising polyethylene terephthalate, polypropylene terephthalate, polybutylene terephthalate, or any combination thereof. 
     
     
         6 . The shock pad of  claim 1 , wherein the composite nonwoven pad comprises least one performance additive embedded within the nonwoven blend, wherein the at least one performance additive comprises a resilient material, foam chips, rubber chips, cork, wood chips, silica sand, adhesive material, or any combination thereof. 
     
     
         7 . The shock pad of  claim 1 , wherein the heat set binder is a low melt fiber. 
     
     
         8 . The shock pad of  claim 1 , wherein the heat set binder is a bi-component fiber. 
     
     
         9 . The shock pad of  claim 1 , wherein the shock pad comprises a reinforcing scrim adhered to one of the face surface or back surface. 
     
     
         10 . The shock pad of  claim 9 , wherein the scrim comprises a non-woven fiberglass, a wet-laid fiberglass, a non-woven thermoplastic fabric, a woven thermoplastic fiber, or a combination thereof. 
     
     
         11 . The shock pad of  claim 1 , wherein the shock pad has a density from about 2 lbs/ft 3  to about 30 lbs/ft 3 . 
     
     
         12 . The shock pad of  claim 1 , wherein the shock pad has a thickness extending between the face surface and the opposed back surface that is from about 0.1 inches to about 5 inches. 
     
     
         13 . The shock pad of  claim 1 , wherein the vertical water drainage capability is from 50 inches per hour to 500 inches per hour as determined by ASTM D3385. 
     
     
         14 . The shock pad of  claim 1 , wherein the vertical water drainage capability is from 100 inches per hour to 500 inches per hour as determined by ASTM D3385. 
     
     
         15 . The shock pad of  claim 1 , wherein the vertical water drainage capability is from 50 inches per hour to 200 inches per hour as determined by ASTM D3385. 
     
     
         16 . The shock pad of  claim 1 , wherein the composite nonwoven pad does not contain any channels extending from the face surface to the opposed back surface. 
     
     
         17 . The shock pad of  claim 1 , wherein when the shock pad is present as a component in an artificial turf system, the artificial turf system exhibits a Gmax value less than about 165 g's as measured according to ASTM F-355. 
     
     
         18 . The shock pad of  claim 1 , wherein when the shock pad present as a component in an artificial turf system, the artificial turf system exhibits a Head Impact Criterion of less than about 1,000 as measured according to EN 1177 test. 
     
     
         19 . The shock pad of  claim 1 , wherein the shock pad exhibits a compression set from about 1% to about 30% as measured according to ASTM D-3676 or ASTM D-3574. 
     
     
         20 . An artificial turf system comprising:
 a) an artificial turf comprising a primary backing layer having a face side and a back side and a plurality of turf fibers extending through the backing layer such that a face side portion of the turf fibers extends from the face side of the backing layer, and   b) a shock absorbing pad according to  claim 1 ,   
       wherein the backside of the artificial turf overlies the face surface of the composite nonwoven pad.