Abstract:
A synthetic grass tile system and method are disclosed. An artificial turf tile system has a plurality of connectable tile members and a synthetic turf arrangement adhered to the tile members. The interconnected tile members, having the turf attached thereto, are cut into sections. The sections are then secured on a pallet for sale at a retail establishment. A method for producing a modular synthetic grass tile system follows the following steps: (a) providing a plurality of tile members; (b) snapping the tile members together at their edges to form a grid; and (c) adhering a sheet of synthetic turf to the top surface of the tile members.

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
     This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application 61/794,153, filed on Mar. 15, 2013, the disclosure of which is incorporated in its entirety by reference herein. 
    
    
     FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
     The invention relates generally to the field of landscaping and related products. More specifically, the invention relates to artificial turf installation systems. 
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     The use of artificial turf as an alternative to real grass has been known for some time. Artificial turf is typically provided for installation in rolls. In some applications, artisans use tiles or other sub-turf supporting mechanisms deployed above a ground or concrete surface. The artificial turf is then unrolled and secured atop the supporting mechanism. In other applications, the turf may be directly secured onto a prepared surface, such as concrete. 
     These conventional installation methods and systems often require professional installation teams to work considerable hours per project. This substantially increases the cost and results in scheduling difficulties. Furthermore, should the turf ever need to be replaced, additional time and money would be lost, as the installers would have to remove the old turf and re-apply the new turf. 
     SUMMARY 
     A process of providing a palletizable artificial turf installation system is disclosed which enables affordable and simple installation. In one embodiment, an artificial turf tile system has a plurality of connectable tile members and a synthetic turf arrangement adhered to the tile members. The interconnected tile members, having the turf attached thereto, are cut into sections. The sections are then secured on a pallet for sale at a retail establishment. 
     In another embodiment, a method for producing a modular synthetic grass tile follows the following steps: (a) providing a plurality of tile members; (b) snapping the tile members together at their edges to form a grid; and (c) adhering a sheet of synthetic turf to the top surface of the tile members. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         FIG. 1  is a top perspective view of an artificial turf and tile system according to one embodiment of the invention. 
         FIG. 2A  is a perspective view of an tile member of the turf and tile system of  FIG. 1 . 
         FIG. 2B  is a bottom view of the tile member of  FIG. 2   a.    
         FIG. 3A  is a top perspective view of the artificial turf and tile system. 
         FIG. 3B  is a top perspective view of the artificial turf and tile system showing the tile member beneath the artificial turf. 
         FIG. 4  is a magnified view of the turf and tile system, showing the layers of the artificial turf. 
         FIG. 5  is a top perspective view of the turf and tile system showing cut lines. 
         FIG. 6  is a flow diagram of the method of creating the turf and tile system. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
     Embodiments of the present invention provide a system and method for creating, installing and marketing a synthetic grass product suitable for indoor or outdoor use. With reference to  FIG. 1 , the system  100  may be comprised of a set of interlocking tile members  200 , a synthetic material arrangement  300  coupled to the tile members  200 , and a pallet  400 . 
     As shown in  FIG. 2A , each interlocking tile member  200  may have a top surface  210 , at least one male coupler  220 , at least one female coupler  230 , and a support structure  240  disposed beneath the top surface  210 . The top surface  210  may have a skeletal design providing a surface upon which adhesive coating and synthetic turf  300  may be adhered while allowing water to seep through the synthetic turf  300 . 
     Male couplers  220  may be provided along two adjacent sides of the tile members  200 . Alternately, male couplers  220  may be provided on a single side or two opposing sides of the tile member  200 . The male couplers  220  may extend outward from and perpendicular to, a margin face  225  of the tile member  200 . The margin face  225  runs around a perimeter of the tile member  200  to support the male couplers  220 . Apertures  222  for receiving the female coupler  230  may be provided on either longitudinal side of the male coupler  220 , thereby forming a central portion  224 . 
     Female couplers  230  are configured to mesh closely with male couplers  220  to secure the tile members  200  together. Each female coupler  230  may be comprised of two spring latches  232   a ,  232   b . The spring latches  232   a ,  232   b  may be inserted into the apertures  222   a ,  222   b  of the male couplers  220 . The female couplers  230  and snap into place, whereby the spring latches  232   a ,  232   b  hook around the central portion  224  of the male coupler  220 . When the male coupler  220  and the female coupler  230  are engaged, the central portion  224  fits snugly between the spring latches  232   a ,  232   b  and the tile members  200  are connected. 
     Additionally, a stopper  250  may be located between the male couplers  220 . The stopper  250  pushes neighboring tile members  200  apart allowing for space between the members  200 . Therefore, as the members  200  expand and contract with variations in temperature and/or pressure, the members  200  have room to temporarily deform from an initial shape without crumpling, and may subsequently return to their initial shape. 
     To facilitate joinder of multiple tile members  200 , the female couplers  230  are positioned on the sides of the tile member  200  without male couplers  220 . In this way, numerous tile members  200  can be joined together by matching a side with female couplers  230  to a side with male couplers  220  and snapping them together in the manner described above. The tile members  200  may be separated by unsnapping the female couplers  230  from the male couplers  220 . 
       FIG. 2B  shows the support structure  240  which is be located beneath the top surface  210  of the tile member  200 . The support structure  240  may be comprised of a plurality of reinforcement elements  242  extending away from the top surface  210 . In use, the reinforcement elements  242  sit on top of a ground surface and support the tile member  200  when pressure is applied to the surface  210 , further preventing permanent disfigurement or crumpling. 
     Each tile member  200  may be approximately one-foot square. However, the members  200  may be larger or smaller (e.g., 8″, 9″, 10″, 11″, 13″, 14″, etc.) and may include other shapes, including but not limited to polygonal or rectangular. The tile members  200  may be injected molded out of a high impact polypropylene copolymer, although other suitable materials may be used, including aluminum, polyethylene, polystyrene, polycarbonate, et cetera. Thus, the tile members may be generally rigid, but somewhat elastic to allow for slight movements of the tile members. The tile members  200  may further be cuttable into particular shapes to conform to the area being covered. 
     With reference to  FIG. 4 , the turf arrangement  300  may be comprised of a primary backing  310 , a secondary backing  320 , and fibers  330 . The primary backing  310  may be, for example, a stabilized dual-layered woven polypropylene. The fibers  330 , which may be, for example, polyethylene, are tufted into the primary backing  310  in a known manner such that one end extends outward from the primary backing  310 . 
     The secondary backing  320  may be, for example, a hot melt polyolefin. The secondary backing  320  is attached to the primary backing  310  via an adhesive to further secure the fibers  330  in the primary backing  310  and to provide an even surface for adhering the turf arrangement  300  to the tile members  200 . Both the primary backing  310  and the secondary backing  320  may be configured to allow water to escape through the backings  310 ,  320 . 
     Alternately, the turf arrangement  300  may be comprised of a single backing  310  into which the fibers  330  may be tufted. The single backing  310  and the fibers  330  may be directly adhered to the tile members  200 . 
     As is further described below, the turf arrangement  300  may be adhesively fixed to the top surface  210  of the tile members  200  to form a tile-and-turf assembly  500 , as shown in  FIGS. 3A and 3B . More specifically,  FIG. 3A  illustrates a single tile member  200  covered by the synthetic turf assembly  300 .  FIG. 3B  further illustrates the details of the turf  300 , showing the primary backing  310  and the secondary backing  320  fixed to the tile member  200 . The adhesive may be any waterproof adhesive capable of permanently binding the turf arrangement  300  to the tile members  200 . 
       FIG. 6  illustrates the process of creating a modular synthetic grass installation system. The process begins at step  602 , where a plurality of interconnecting tile members  200  is provided. At step  604 , the tile members  200  are secured together via the male couplers  220  and the female couplers  230  as described above to form a grid. The size of the grid is not essential, and may be determined by, for example, shipping requirements, storage limitations, square footage specifications, et cetera. The turf arrangement  300  may be provided in, for example, 15-foot wide rolls, and thus the benefits of conforming the grid dimensions to that of the turf arrangement  300  may be apparent to those skilled in the art. The process then moves to step  606 . 
     At step  606 , the adhesive is applied to the top surface  210  of the tile members  200 . As the adhesive is applied to the top  210  of the tile members  200 , voids  215  ( FIG. 2A ) in the skeletal structure of the top surface  210  of the tile members  200  allow the excess adhesive to drip through. Ultimately, when the tiles  200  are installed outdoors, water introduced to the assembly may flow through the voids in the synthetic turf  300  and then towards drainage. 
     Moving on, at step  608 , the artificial turf  300  is rolled onto the top surface  210  of the tile members  200  and the adhesive is subsequently allowed to dry, thus creating the tile-and-turf assembly  500 . The assembly  500  is embodied in  FIG. 3A , which shows a single tile member  200  with the turf  300  adhered thereto. The process then moves to step  610 . 
     At step  610 , the assembly  500  is turned over such that the turf  300  is on the bottom and the undersides  240  of the tile members  240  are facing upwards. Direction indicators  260  ( FIG. 2B ) may be provided on the underside  240  of the structure  500  to represent the proper installation direction. The direction indicators  260  may be printed on the underside  240  of each individual tile member  200  or may be printed on a predetermined number or pattern of members  200 . For example, the direction indicators  260  may be printed on every other tile member  200  or every third tile member  200 . The structure is then flipped back over so that the turf  300  is again on top, and the process moves to step  612 . 
     At step  612 , as illustrated in  FIG. 5 , the structure  500  is cut into palletizable sections  502   a ,  502   b  based on the requirements of the pallet. For example, a pallet may support a 4×4 section  502   a ,  502   b  (i.e., 16 tiles  200 ). Alternately, the sections  502   a ,  502   b  may be, for example, 2×2, 3×3, 5×5, et cetera. However, the advantage of the sections  502   a ,  502   b  being easily transportable and assembled by an individual may be evident to those having skill in the art. 
     The sections  502   a ,  502   b  are cut from the grid by first cutting the turf  300  along edges of the snapped together tiles  200  based on the predetermined size of the sections  502   a ,  502   b . When the turf  300  is cut, the tiles  300  may be separated (i.e., unsnapped), thus creating the separated sections  502   a ,  502   b . Alternatively, the turf  300  may be cut and the tiles  300  separated simultaneously. 
     At step  614 , a predetermined number of sections, as described above, are laid onto and then secured to the pallet  400 , and the process ends. 
     Various methods may be used to separate the structure  500  into sections  502   a  and  502   b . In one example, the turf  300  is cut between the edges of the interconnected tile members  200  based on the predetermined size of the section (e.g., 4 tiles×4 tiles (hereinafter 4×4)), as illustrated in  FIG. 5  as the “cut line”. The tile members  200  are then separated along the cut lines by unsnapping the female couplers  230  from the male couplers  220  as described above. Alternately, it may be possible to both cut the turf  300  and separate the tile members  200  at the same time. Having separated the structure  500  into sections, the process moves to step  614 . 
     At step  614 , the sections  502   a ,  502   b  are placed atop the pallet  400  and secured for storage or shipping. The number of sections  502   a ,  502   b  placed atop the pallet  400  may be determined based upon the requirements of a retailer. For example, Retailer A may only have enough space for 10 pallets having dimensions of 4′W×4′L×3′H. Thus, 4×4 sections  502   a ,  502   b  may be placed onto the pallet  400  until the height reaches three feet. Alternately, Retailer B may wish to sell pallets  400  having  500  square feet worth of the tile-and-turf assembly  500 . Thus, 125 4×4 sections  502   a ,  502   b  would be placed onto the pallet  400 . The sections  502   a ,  502   b  may be secured onto the pallet  400  by, for example, shrink wrap. It may also be noted the sections  502   a ,  502   b  may be stored or shipped via any other suitable method, including but not limited to boxes or crates. 
     In use, the area to be covered by the assembly  500  is prepared by scraping the sod from the ground. The ground may be leveled so as to provide an even surface upon which to lay the tile-and-turf assembly  500 . Once the ground has been prepared, the installer may remove the first section  502   a  from the pallet  400 , and position the section  502   a  as needed upon the ground. A second section  502   b  is taken from the pallet  400  and secured to the first section  502   a  as described above. This continues until the entire area is covered. 
     As the shape of the area to be covered may not be perfectly square, the sections  502   a ,  502   b  may be cut to the specifications of the area using a sharp knife or saw. Thus, although the assembly  500  may be provided in square sections  502   a ,  502   b , many areas having unique shapes and sizes may be accurately covered. Mulch may be laid around the edges of the assembly to hide the sides of the tile members  200 . 
     Many different arrangements of the various components depicted, as well as components not shown, are possible without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention. Embodiments of the present invention have been described with the intent to be illustrative rather than restrictive. Alternative embodiments will become apparent to those skilled in the art that do not depart from its scope. A skilled artisan may develop alternative means of implementing the aforementioned improvements without departing from the scope of the present invention. It will be understood that certain features and subcombinations are of utility and may be employed without reference to other features and subcombinations and are contemplated within the scope of the claims. Not all steps listed in the various figures need be carried out in the order described.