Bowling lane and surface

A bowling lane having a surface characterized by a falling ball impact resistance of at least 60 inches, a coefficient of friction of about 0.18 and a Taber abrasion resistance of at least about 500 cycles, said bowling lane comprising a substrate selected from the group consisting of natural wood, consolidated wood fibers, plywood, flakeboard, chipboard and hardboard, and at least one decorative plastic laminate sheet secured to the surface of said substrate, said plastic laminate sheet comprising a plurality of thermosetting resin impregnated fibrous core sheets, a melamine resin impregnated decorative fibrous print sheet, and an overlying melamine resin containing protective layer.

A decorative plastic laminate sheet of a length, thickness and a width for securing to a substrate selected from the group consisting of natural wood, consolidated wood fibers, plywood, flakeboard, chipboard, and hardboard to form therewith all or part of a bowling lane having a surface characterized by a falling ball impact resistance of at least 60 inches, a coefficient of friction of about 0.18 and a Taber abrasion resistance of at least about 500 cycles, said plastic laminate sheet comprising a plurality of thermosetting resin impregnated fibrous core sheets, a resin impregnated decorative fibrous print sheet, and an overlying resin containing protective layer.

A decorative plastic laminate sheet of a length, thickness and a width for securing to a substrate selected from the group consisting of natural wood, consolidated wood fibers, plywood, flakeboard, chipboard, and hardboard to form therewith all or part of a bowling lane having a surface characterized by a falling ball impact resistance of at least 60 inches, a coefficient of friction of about 0.18 and a Taber abrasion resistance of at least about 500 cycles, said plastic laminate sheet comprising a plurality of thermosetting resin impregnated fibrous core sheets, a melamine resin impregnated decorative fibrous print sheet, and an overlying melamine resin containing protective layer.

A decorative plastic, laminate sheet of a length and width for securing to a substrate selected from the group consisting of natural wood, consolidated wood fibers, plywood, flakeboard, chipboard, and hardboard to form therewith all or part of a bowling lane, having a surface characterized by a falling ball impact resistance of at least 60 inches, a coefficient of friction of about 0.18 and a Taber abrasion resistance of approximately 2500 cycles, said plastic laminate sheet comprising a plurality of thermosetting resin impregnated fibrous core sheets, a melamine resin impregnated decorative fibrous print sheet, and an overlying melamine resin containing protective layer, said plastic laminate sheet having a Rockwell M hardness of approximately 114 and a Barcol hardness of approximately 65, a resistance to a burning cigarette on the order of 300 seconds and a thickness on the order of 0.125 inches.

The method of producing a bowling lane having a surface characterized by a falling ball impact resistance of at least 60 inches, a coefficient of friction of about 0.18 and a Taber abrasion resistance of at least about 500 cycles comprising consolidating a plurality of thermosetting resin impregnated core sheets, a resin impregnated decorative fibrous print sheet, and an overlying resin-containing protective layer under heat and pressure to produce a unitary decorative plastic laminate sheet, and securing at least one such plastic laminate sheet to a substrate selected from the group consisting of natural wood, consolidated wood fibers, plywood, flakeboard, chipboard and hardboard to produce the desired bowling lane.