Sub-irrigated tennis court
AssigneeHar-Tru, LLC
InventorsRoy Hey, Sandra Humphreys Hunt, Derwood Stephen DeLong
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A sub-irrigation system includes a special water distribution assembly that is able to rapidly disperse water underneath a court surface. The system has a water distribution assembly with a water channel and permeable fabric covering. The system also includes an electronic control system to monitor and maintain a desired moisture content of a court. Inevitable variations resulting from manual and gravity fed water control only are moderated or eliminated by the automatic control herein.
Claims25
A sub-irrigated clay playing surface system comprising:
- a clay playing surface comprising a cell, wherein the cell includes a substantially watertight reservoir and the reservoir is lined on its bottom and sides with a water impermeable layer;
- a water distribution assembly having a water channel, a top permeable fabric flap, and a water feed pipe;
- wherein the water channel is a three-dimensional sheet having an open structure that enables free flow of water therethrough;
- wherein the water channel is positioned under the permeable fabric flap, and wherein the water feed pipe is positioned adjacent and feeds water into the water channel once the water distribution assembly is placed on the bottom of the cell reservoir;
- a layer of screened aggregate placed in the cell and on and around the water distribution assembly and up to a substantially uniform height above the water distribution assembly, wherein the screened aggregate is large enough that there is empty space in between the stones of the screened aggregate through which water may flow;
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- a top layer of fine particles through which water may be dispersed by capillary action.
A sub-irrigated clay playing surface system comprising:
- a clay playing surface comprising a cell, wherein the cell includes a substantially watertight reservoir and the reservoir is lined on its bottom and sides with a water impermeable layer;
- a water distribution assembly positioned in the cell and having a water channel, a top permeable fabric flap, and a water feed pipe;
- wherein the water channel is a three-dimensional sheet having an open structure that enables free flow of water therethrough;
- wherein the water channel is positioned under the permeable fabric flap, and wherein the water feed pipe is positioned adjacent and feeds water into the water channel once the water distribution assembly is placed on the bottom of the cell reservoir;
- and an electronic control system that opens and closes water flow into the water feed pipe to control the amount of water delivered to the water distribution assembly.
A sub-irrigated clay playing surface system comprising:
- a clay playing surface comprising a plurality of cells, wherein each cell includes a substantially watertight reservoir and the reservoir is lined on its bottom and sides with a water impermeable layer;
- a water distribution assembly having a water channel, a top permeable fabric flap, and a water feed pipe;
- wherein the water channel is positioned under the permeable fabric flap, and wherein the water feed pipe is positioned adjacent and feeds water into the water channel once the water distribution assembly is placed on the bottom of the cell reservoir;
- and wherein a water source provides water into the water feed pipe, and the water source is a pressurized source in that the water flow into the water feed pipe is under a pressure greater than 1 psi.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.