Artificial turf infill and artificial turf

Abstract

An improved turf infill and an artificial turf with the improved turf infill is provided. The turf infill comprises a mixture of cork particles and rubber particles, each coated with a polymer and/or resin component. The turf infill is environmentally friendly and less likely to release potentially health-affecting substances than conventional turf infills.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A turf infill comprising a mixture of:
 cork particles, wherein the cork particles are coated with a polymer component, a resin component or a polymer-resin component, and   rubber particles, wherein the rubber particles are coated with a polymer component, a resin component or a polymer-resin component.   
     
     
         2 . The turf infill of  claim 1 , wherein a weight percentage ratio of the cork particles to the rubber particles is between about 1:4 and 1:8. 
     
     
         3 . The turf infill of  claim 1 , wherein a weight percentage ratio of the cork particles to the rubber particles is between about 1:5.5 and 1:6.5. 
     
     
         4 . The turf infill of  claim 1 , wherein the infill is configured such that a poured density of the coated cork particles is between about 90 g/dm 3  and about 180 g/dm 3 . 
     
     
         5 . The turf infill of  claim 1 , wherein a poured density of the coated rubber particles is between about 400 g/dm 3  and about 650 g/dm 3 . 
     
     
         6 . The turf infill of  claim 1 , wherein the polymer component of the cork particles is polyurethane. 
     
     
         7 . The turf infill of  claim 1 , wherein the polymer component of the rubber particles is polyurethane. 
     
     
         8 . The turf infill of  claim 1 , wherein the polymer component of the cork particles is polyvinyl butyral. 
     
     
         9 . The turf infill of  claim 1 , wherein the polymer component of the rubber particles is polyvinyl butyral. 
     
     
         10 . The turf infill of  claim 1 , wherein the polymer component of the cork particles comprises filler selected from the group consisting of barium sulphate, calcium carbonate, talc, quartz silica, silicates, oxides, hydro oxides, hollow glass spheres, organic fillers or a combination thereof. 
     
     
         11 . The turf infill of  claim 1 , wherein the polymer component of the cork particles comprises particles selected from the group consisting of colored pigments, copper(II) sulfate particles, chrome particles, silver particles, chitosan particles or mixtures thereof. 
     
     
         12 . The turf infill of  claim 1 , wherein the polymer component of the rubber particles comprises particles selected from the group consisting of colored pigments, copper(II) sulfate particles, chrome particles, silver particles, chitosan particles or mixtures thereof. 
     
     
         13 . The turf infill of  claim 1 , wherein the polymer component of the cork particles has a layer thickness between about 0.5 μm and about 0.75 mm. 
     
     
         14 . The turf infill of  claim 1 , wherein the polymer component of the rubber particles has a layer thickness between about 0.5 μm and about 0.75 mm. 
     
     
         15 . The turf infill of  claim 1 , wherein the cork particles have a size between about 0.03 mm and about 3.5 mm. 
     
     
         16 . The turf infill of  claim 1 , further comprising microporous zeolite mineral particles having an outer surface and pores that form openings on the outer surface, the microporous zeolite mineral particles having a particle size of about 0.5 mm to about 3.5 mm, wherein a weight percentage ratio of the microporous zeolite mineral particles to the cork particles and the rubber particles is between about 2:7 to about 4:7. 
     
     
         17 . The turf infill of  claim 16 , wherein the outer surface of at least some of the microporous zeolite mineral particles is at least partly coated with a polyurethane coating, wherein the coating extends over some of the pores, forming respective covers of the openings, wherein the polyurethane coating coats a portion of the inner surface of the pores in a region of the cover and wherein the microporous zeolite mineral particles have the same amount of their outer surface coated by the coating relative to the total outer surface. 
     
     
         18 . The turf infill of  claim 16 , wherein at least some of the microporous zeolite mineral particles are charged with a salt solution. 
     
     
         19 . The turf infill of  claim 1  for use with an artificial turf comprising an artificial turf carpet, wherein the artificial turf carpet comprises multiple artificial turf fiber tufts, and wherein the turf infill is configured for scattering between the multiple artificial turf fiber tufts of the artificial turf. 
     
     
         20 . An artificial turf system comprising:
 an artificial turf with an artificial turf carpet, wherein the artificial turf carpet comprises multiple artificial turf fiber tufts; and   a turf infill comprising a mixture of:
 cork particles, wherein the cork particles are coated with a polymer component, a resin component or a polymer-resin component, and 
 rubber particles, wherein the rubber particles are coated with a polymer component, a resin component or a polymer-resin component.