Laminated sports floor and method of making the same

A laminated playing surface such as a tennis court comprises: (a) a rubber like basemat which generally is formed of rubber particles bound without pollutants, in roll form; (b) a primer generally being a mixture of adhesive and dry silica sand; a layer of sand applied while the primer is wet which bonds with and fills surface gaps, holes, ravines and gorges; (d) a coating compound of sand and acrylic; (e) and a surface color coatings.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
The invention relates to a method and system for installing a sports 
playing surface and, more particularly, to a flexible anti-skid cushioned 
tennis court and other playing surface. 
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
Indoor and outdoor running surfaces formed of a layer of poured urethane 
elastomer which cures to a solid resilient surface, have become quite 
popular for athletic runways or tracts. Urethane elastomers are relatively 
easy to handle in liquid form at average ambient temperatures and have 
relatively long life and weatherability. However, untextured or solid 
urethane elastomer surfaces lack the surface roughness desired for running 
surfaces, particularly of the type used for track and field events. 
Accordingly, heretofore it has been the practice in the art of 
constructing urethane runways and the like to provide a roughened surface 
by broadcasting particles and granules of solid urethane onto the surface 
after the liquid urethane has been poured or sprayed in place to form the 
runway base. The broadcasting of granules or surface coatings has been 
unsatisfactory in that adhesion of the granules to the urethane base is 
incomplete and the granules eventually break free or are partially broken 
away from the base. Accordingly, the track or runway surface again loses 
its attractive characteristics and resurfacing operations must be 
undertaken at frequencies which are costly. 
With the expansion of tennis as a participant sport, the construction of 
tennis courts has multiplied. Tennis courts have been constructed of many 
types of surfaces including grass, clay, dirt, asphalt or macadam, 
concrete, wood, linoleum, brick and synthetic turf. Wood and linoleum are 
used primarily for indoor courts. Outdoor courts are generally surfaced 
with concrete, asphalt or a synthetic surface. 
Concrete and asphalt require very little maintenance but their initial 
construction costs are high. Also, the hard unyielding surfaces for the 
concrete and asphalt cause excessive strain on the legs and feet of 
players. 
Clay courts are less expensive to construct than concrete or asphalt, but a 
clay court requires a great deal of maintenance. 
Elastomeric compositions which are applied over a concrete or asphalt 
surface are commonly used in the new construction of tennis courts. Also, 
synthetic turf tennis courts have been provided. 
Through direct experience with both customers and products, the following 
conclusions were ascertained: Most private home owners, 
municipalities,universities, etc. prefer hard court surfaces (asphalt or 
concrete) because they are basically maintenance free, and practical. Hard 
court surfaces have unavoidable problems over time, to wit: 
most have no cushioning or resiliency and are unhealthy for the human body 
exposed to long hours of play. Natural elements cause cracks and uneven 
surfaces. Repairs for cracked hard surfaces are nearly impossible and 
cannot be done without expensive major structural changes. A wet laid 
cushion system can answer some of the resiliency needs and offer some 
protection from natural elements. However, it will never be a sufficient 
cushion for the body during play due to it's cushion variations which is 
easily altered by temperature changes. Water can penetrate through the 
hard surfaces causing the surfaces to crack. Building hard surfaces with a 
full urethane system is extremely expensive and it is very difficult to 
adjust the urethane surface to the climate conditions. Repairing cracked 
surfaces with urethane layers or raising of the worn down areas on a 
urethane surface are extremely difficult and a construction company's 
worst nightmare. Many persons (schools, universities, municipalities etc.) 
who currently have cinder or gravel sport surfaces (running tracks, 
volleyball, basketball courts, etc.) have found it very difficult and 
expensive to convert these surfaces to hard surfaces (asphalt or concrete) 
and finish them with a wet laid acrylic or urethane system. 
In resent years a great deal of interest has been shown in the provision of 
tennis and other sport surface courts having a cushioned surface. The 
sport surfaces currently on the market continue to frustrate both supplier 
and consumer with problems. The present innovative system (Maintenance 
Free--All Weather Surface System) will resolve the prior art problems as 
follows: 
Old, damaged and cracked hard court surfaces (tennis, basketball, 
volleyball, running tracks, etc.) can be refinished without expensive, 
major structural changes, with a full cushion surface. 
Existing cinder sport surfaces can be easily converted to a full cushion 
surface without major cost. 
Any new sport arenas can be constructed with this new system, a full 
cushion surface and will be free of structural problems for many years to 
come. 
Based on observation and experience (indoor and outdoor sport surfaces) 
should be: 
Maintenance Free--All Weather 
Practical--No preparation prior to play. 
Cushioned--One of the most important elements for a sport surface. A 
cushioned surface will give the players an opportunity to enjoy the sport 
for many years to come without causing or contributing to health problems. 
Inexpensive--It should be affordable for everyone (private home owners, 
municipalities, schools, sport clubs, etc.). 
Durability--It should not be affected by weather, and be easily and 
inexpensively maintained. 
Versatility--May be used for a variety of sports and can be installed on 
different surfaces (asphalt, concrete, wood, cinder, etc.). 
This invention known as "

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
In the past ten years or so, private tennis courts, etc., have become very 
popular. Aggressive court play requires an anti-skid yet flexible surface 
to avoid injuries. 
Recently, various types of court surfaces have been proposed, all of which 
as noted in the prior art statement, are relatively expensive to install 
and maintain. 
The need for a durable, all weather, inexpensive, easy to repair and 
maintain, yet cushioned surface court with customized (fast/slow) ball 
finish and being anti-skid is apparent. 
It should be understood at this time that an important and advantageous 
feature of the present invention is the ability to readily and 
inexpensively install and maintain a tennis court and other sporting 
surfaces. 
Generally speaking, the invention includes, but is not limited to, an 
anti-skid cushioned sports surface installed on an existing surface 10, 
and comprises a basemat 11, a primer coat or layer 12, a grip layer 13, a 
leveler coat or layer 14, a texture coat or layer 15, and a color coating 
16. 
With reference now to FIGS. 1,2, and 2A, the new sports floor/surface and 
method of installation and renovation of an existing sports court will be 
described. 
The base or existing surface 10 may be, for example, cinder, gravel, 
asphalt, wood, concrete, clay, etc. The base surface 10 may be constructed 
or comprise an existing tennis court, running track or gymnasium which is 
being resurfaced (see FIG. 2) using the present system. Any holes 21 or 
major cracks 22 in the base should be first filled with appropriate 
material for example concrete 23,24 and all loose debris removed. 
The basemat 11 is pre-manufactured, generally in roll form (similar to 
wall-to-wall carpet) or in flat square/rectangular sections (similar to 
floor tile), from rubber particles (for example, recycled SBR-rubber) 
mixed with and bound together by a polyurethane adhesive. The basemat 11 
is engineered and fabricated into a uniform thickness and density. The 
thickness and density may be selected to accommodate the needs and desires 
of the persons having the tennis/sports court/track installed. 
The basemat 11 is laid on the existing surface and preferably is secured 
thereto, for example, glued/bonded atop the wood or concrete etc. surface 
being installed 10 or refurbished 10a. If tile like sections are used, the 
sections should be snugly abutted along their edges to substantially avoid 
gaps or spaces along juxtaposed sides. 
Both tile like and roll form basemat are commercially available from 
DODGE-REGUPOL, INC. having offices in LANCASTER, Pa. 
The basemat 11 is selected, empirically or by specification, to provide a 
customized cushioning or resilience for the particular surface, for 
example a tennis court or running court or gymnasium, etc. In this manner, 
substantial protection is provided to avoid back and leg 
injuries/discomfort/fatigue while utilizing the sport/tennis court. 
It is also noted that polyethylene foam may be used under the "SBR" Basemat 
on different surfaces (e.g., cinder, asphalt, concrete, wood or the like) 
as an added shock pad to facilitate the cushioning process. 
The primer coat 12 is basically a mixture of two parts of dry silica sand 
with ten parts of a urethane based type sub-floor and construction 
adhesive. The primer coat 12 is applied, for example, with a stiff hard 
rubber squeegee in an amount generally sufficient to fill in or abridge 
the imperfections or gaps or fissures 21,22 that are typical in the 
generally available "SBR" basemat. 
Although the application of primer coat 12 generally increases the surface 
tensile power or strength of the basemat, it has been found not to 
detrimentally affect the flexibility or resiliency of the "SBR" Basemat 12 
in accordance with one feature or aspect of the invention. 
In this manner, it was discovered that the primer coated basemat 11 was 
relatively resistant to extreme heat and substantially prevents the 
sports/tennis surface from becoming sticky. Thus, in accordance with 
another feature of the invention, a more consistent surface texture is 
maintained which facilitates the sports activity while providing a 
relatively safer anti-skid surface. 
The primer coat 12 generally makes the basemat 11 substantially waterproof, 
while having chemical (bonding) compatibility with the "SBR" basemat 11 
and the subsequently applied acrylic latex compound(s) 14. 
The grip coating 13 is applied over the primer coat 12 while the primer is 
still wet. The grip coat 13 consists of dry silica sand generally ranging 
from a minimum of a #100 grit to a #40 grit. The sand is sprayed over the 
wet primer 12 and left to dry and cure over the following 24 hours or 
more. A soft brush (not shown) or lower pressure blower (not shown) is 
typically used to remove any excess (not bonded) sand off the surface 
area. 
The grip (sand) coating becomes an integrally bonded sand layer atop the 
primer coating 12 and basemat 11, forming a strong and flexible base that 
is a distinguishing feature over the prior art does not require additional 
urethane, water or solvent base adhesive or non-woven fabric sheet. 
It should be recognized that in many prior art systems or sports surfaces a 
water base, solvent base or urethane base adhesive is used with a fiber or 
non-woven fabric in order to obtain a proper bonding to acrylic layers. 
This results in a process that is relatively expensive, timely and 
difficult to install. Such surfaces can also become sticky in hot 
temperatures and are, therefore, relatively dangerous. 
The Leveler or filler coating 14 comprises a sand filled acrylic latex 
compound, which is a none pigmented concentrate. The Leveler coating 14 
may be applied with a rubber squeegee. 
The Leveler coating 14 mixture may, for example, comprise 30 gallons of 
acrylic latex, 100 lbs of either #60 grit or #40 grit silica sand and 
diluted with 15 gallons of water. 
The acrylic latex compound is commercially available, for example, from the 
Koch Asphalt Company which has Offices in Chicago, Ill., and is referred 
to as "DECOBASE" 920-05. 
The leveler coating 14 may be applied with a soft rubber squeegee or wide 
floor broom, used as a squeegee. The first application preferably should 
be made parallel to one of the directions of the surface. 
Care must be exercised not to leave ridges of coating where adjoining 
applications overlap. 
When the first application or coat has dried, another application may be 
applied if desired. The following applications should,preferably, be 
applied at right angle to the proceeding application and left to dry. 
The leveler coating 14 provides a finish like surface having excellent 
toughness and also fills in low spots, and levels minor imperfections. 
The texture coating 15 comprises a fine sand filled acrylic latex compound, 
which may be applied to effect a fine surface texture. 
The texture coating 15 is similar to the leveler coating 14 except that, if 
desired, a fine or smaller grit size silica sand is used. 
In this manner, the surface texture may be varied or selected for desired 
traction and/or ball-on-court response, e.g., bounce and speed variations. 
The sports/tennis court is generally coated with several color coatings 16. 
In contrast to the prior, another feature of the present invention is that 
the color coating(s) 16 is applied without mixing the paint or coloring 
agent with any silica sand ingredient or texture ingredient. In this 
manner, it has been discovered that the color coated surface is long 
lasting with relatively little or virtually no surface ware. 
Depending on the type of sports field being installed (or repaired), for 
example, tennis court or track field etc., the appropriate playing lines 
17 may be painted on the color coated 16 surface. 
METHOD OF REFURBISHING 
With reference now to FIG. 2 and 2A, the method of renovating a prior art 
sports surface/court 10a will now be discussed. 
Basically speaking, the renovation comprises the following steps: 
filling in or repairing any cracks 23 or holes 24 in the existing sports 
surface 10a; 
applying a basemat 11 over the existing surface, said basemat 11 may be 
secured to the existing surface 10a by means of an adhesive, polyethylene 
foam 30 or other suitable fasteners (not shown); 
applying a primer coat 12 over said basemat 11; 
applying a grip layer 13 over said primer coat 12; 
applying a leveler coat(s) 14 over said grip layer 13; 
applying one or more texture coat(s) 15 over said leveler coat(s) 14; and 
applying one or more color coating(s) 16 over said texture coat 15. 
METHOD OF REPAIR 
With reference now to FIG. 3 and 3A, the method of repairing a 
sports/tennis surface 27 which was installed in accordance with the 
present invention, consisting of the following steps: 
cutting out and removing the damaged section 25 of the sports surface 27; 
applying an adhesive 30 over the exposed subsurface 31; 
installing a section of basemat 11a dimensioned to fit snugly within the 
cut-out area 28; 
applying a primer coat 12a over the basemat 11a and filling any gaps 
between said basemat section 11a and the juxtaposed surfaces 29 of the 
existing court 27; 
applying a grip layer 13a over said primer coat 12a; 
applying one or more leveler coatings 14a over said grip layer 13a; 
applying one or more texture coatings 15a over said leveler coat 14a; 
applying one or more color coatings 16a over at least said leveler coating 
14a and/or over a larger (or entire) portion of the sports/tennis surface 
27; 
applying/restoring the desired sports playing lines 17a on the appropriate 
portions of the sports surface 27. 
Thus in accordance with the invention, the present invention provides a new 
and improved sports/tennis surface (court) which enables relatively 
inexpensive installation and repair. 
It is to be understood that the above described arrangements are 
illustrative of the application of the principles of the invention. Other 
arrangements may be devised by those skilled in the art without departing 
from the spirit and scope of the invention.