FR2691726A1 - Soft tennis court made of synthetic material - has drainage layer and surface with hexagonal section honeycomb layer between filled with dry or wet compacted pozzolana or zeolite - Google Patents

Abstract

A soft tennis court with a drainage layer (3) and fine surface (9) has a fine material levelling course (4) compacted in its natural state and thermoplastic hexagonal section honeycomb panels filled with fine material mainly red pozzolana 0 to 3 millimetres or mixed with zeolite, besides calcium chloride, and dry or water compacted It is constructed by placing and levelling the honeycomb panels, filling with powder and spreading the surface. Court markings are placed before the surface. The fine material in the honeycomb panels is compacted from the outside working towards the centre. USE/ADVANTAGES - Resembles and is same quality as traditional courts with good weather stability regardless of climatic conditions.

Description

 The present invention relates to the production of a clay tennis court with an improved structure.

 Tennis is practiced according to two classifications of grounds, namely the grounds known as "clay" or those known as "hard".

 "Hard" terrains are commonly produced by various traditional processes using materials, such as porous concrete, bituminous mixes, resins, synthetic turf, etc. ...

 This type of terrain offers the advantage of being able to overcome the inconvenience caused by climatic variations due to its resistance; on the other hand, it has the disadvantage of being of a high maintenance price.

 In addition, it has been observed in recent years on the part of the practitioners of this sport, a renewed interest in "clay" courts, both in France and in most European countries.

 This is explained by the fact that a surface thus formed combines both comfort by the flexibility of the material, and ideal playing qualities (slippage, bouncing of the ball).

 However, despite these exclusively sporting advantages, tennis court installers are still moving towards an "aur" design, because the disadvantages of "clay" courts, according to the current design, are too numerous.

 These drawbacks, inherent in the very types of materials used and in their traditional implementation, are as follows.

 In winter, for example, from November to late March or even late April, it is impossible to use the court surface for climatic reasons (rain, frost, thaw).

 Also, in summer, rain is often the cause of frequent stoppages, sometimes necessitating the covering of the court during tournaments.

 In addition, the winter frost periods entail the need for an annual repair of the playing surface.

 For different reasons, indoor tennis courts are no exception to this repair work. Indeed, the layer of crushed limestone which composes them, hardens gradually, and must be reworked several times each year.

 A tennis court, with a covering constituting a compromise between the advantages of "clay" and those of "hard" surfaces, without having to undergo the disadvantages of both. The most important problem to be solved is to avoid the defects of the crushed limestone layer, which constitutes "clay" soils, because it is a gel-like material.

 We therefore sought a synthetic material capable of replacing crushed limestone, generally used in the construction of "clay" terrains.

 The object of the invention is the production of a tennis court in "clay", that is to say having the same appearance and having the same playing qualities as traditional tennis courts, having good stability. over time, regardless of weather conditions.

 This stability, superior to that of traditional "clay" terrains, approaches that of "hard" terrains.

To this end, the invention relates to a tennis court comprising
- a layer of draining foundation on the ground forming a permeable base
- a thin layer of a finishing surface material.

According to the invention, this tennis court comprises
- a leveling layer made of a powdery material, compacted in its natural state
- horizontal honeycomb panels forming an internal reinforcement of the coating to be obtained, constituted by a semi-rigid honeycomb structure in the vertical direction, the cells of which open axially right through, said vertical cells being filled with a pulverulent material , compacted in its natural state.

The invention also relates to a method of making a tennis court comprising the following successive steps
- installation and dressing of a draining foundation layer on the ground to form a permeable base
- spreading of a leveling material, powdery and compacted in the natural state
- horizontal placement, level, of honeycomb panels to form an internal reinforcement of the coating to be obtained, constituted by a semi-rigid honeycomb structure in the vertical direction, which cells constituting it open axially right through
- filling of said vertical cells with a powdery material compacted in the natural state
- spreading a thin layer of finishing surface material.

 The invention makes a new application of certain synthetic products known in public works and construction, such as geoplastic or geotextile materials.

 The invention more particularly implements a cellular honeycomb thermoplastic product, resistant, light and rot-proof, allowing precisely by its cellular network, disposed under a covering, to drain the infiltrations coming from the latter.

 A tennis court, thus constituted and produced, is able to resist the aggressions of time and sports exhibitions, this thanks to the honeycomb structure constituting by its partitioning a real organ of connection of the filling material, to realize a kind of slab of intermediate reinforcement, in one piece, and of almost natural composition.

The invention will be illustrated and other characteristics thereof will appear in the description which follows, with reference to the appended schematic drawings showing, by way of nonlimiting example, how the invention can be implemented, and in which
- Figure i shows a perspective view of the structure of a coating of a tennis court according to the invention
- Figure 2 shows an axial sectional view along line II-II of Figure 1.

The coating 1, designated as a whole on the
Figures, is intended to constitute a tennis court.

I1 comprehensively, starting from the natural soil 2 on which it is produced, in the order of spreading
- a draining foundation layer 3 consisting of clinker or pebbles of 20/40 mm caliber
- a powdery leveling material 4 consisting of pozzolan calibrated between 0 and 3 mm, the leveling material can also be clinker
- a honeycomb structure constituted by honeycomb panels 5, of 2 mximx 0.05 m, forming an internal reinforcement of the coating to be obtained, and made of a semi-rigid thermoplastic material of which partitions 7 determine cells 6 forming hexagonal meshes.

These have elastic properties, in the transverse direction, able to give the coating a certain flexibility, and stiffness properties, in the axial direction, to give said coating a good resistance in vertical compression. The cells 6 are produced in the vertical direction and open axially right through the upper and lower faces of said panels 5.

 - A powder material 8 consisting of red pozzolan calibrated between 0 and 3 mm, mixed with zeolite. This mixture allows the water to filter, while retaining an amount of water necessary for the humidification of the finishing layer defined below. Also calcium chloride, having a high water retention power, can be added to this mixture.

 - a thin layer of a finish surface material 9 of crushed brick, having characteristics identical to "clay".

 The honeycomb structure 5 advantageously rests on a geotextile layer (not shown), for example a layer of polyester nonwoven. This layer then separates the powder material 8 contained in the cells 8 from the cell structure 5, and avoids any risk of migration of this powder material towards the lower layers.

 The geotextile layer can be integral with the honeycomb structure 5.

 In certain particular embodiments, it is also advantageous to isolate the cellular structure from the upper layers by covering it with a geotextile layer.

The method of making a tennis court using the aforementioned materials comprises the following steps
- prior check and possible resumption of the ground planimetry, in the case of an old court to be renovated
- verification of the permeability, in the case of an old permeable coating or, depending on the circumstances, of the waterproofing of an old waterproof coating and having to remain so for reasons of specific situations for example
- dressing of the ground surface 2, in the case of making a new court
- installation and dressing of the draining foundation layer 3 in clinker to form a permeable base
- spreading of leveling material 4, in this case pozzolana, then compacting in the natural state, that is to say without binder
- horizontal placement, level, of honeycomb panels 5, crossing their joints in the different planes of the vertical cells 6
- Filling said cells 6 with powdered pozzolan 8 mixed with zeolite and calcium chloride, then compacting this mixture in its natural state, either by dry vibration, or by compaction with water.

Preferably, this compaction is carried out from the lateral zones of the ground, progressively moving towards its center.

- Realization of a permanent game path, for example, by bonding special strips 10 of plastic;
- spreading of the finishing layer 9 in crushed brick, within the limits of the layout 10.

 Thus designed, a tennis court according to the invention allows the flow of water by percolation through the various layers 3, 4, 8 and 9 constituting the composite covering 1, described above, then by runoff, s' it is carried out on an impermeable base support, or by infiltration, if it is a natural support, such as earth for example.

The maintenance of a court thus carried out is carried out by
- equalization of the surface layer 9 by passing a net
- sweep of game lines 10
- periodic watering to rewet the whole if necessary
- additional contribution of crushed brick 9 from the surface (same frequency as for "clay").

 The reference signs, inserted after the technical characteristics mentioned in the claims, have the sole purpose of facilitating the understanding of the latter, and in no way limit their scope.

Claims (12)

 1. Tennis court presenting  - a layer of draining foundation (3) on the ground (2) forming a permeable base,  - a thin layer of a finishing surface material (9),  characterized in that it comprises  - a leveling layer made of a powdery material (4), compacted in the natural state  - horizontal honeycomb panels (5) forming an internal reinforcement of the coating to be obtained, constituted by a semi-rigid honeycomb structure in the vertical direction, of which the cells (6) open axially right through, said vertical cells (6) being filled with a powdery material (8), compacted in the natural state.  2. Tennis court according to claim 1, characterized in that it comprises a permanent playing path (10).  3. Tennis court according to one of claims 1 and 2, characterized in that the material (4) forming the leveling layer is pozzolan.  4. Tennis court according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that the honeycomb panels (5) constituting the semi-rigid honeycomb structure are made of a thermoplastic material forming hexagonal meshes (7).  5. Tennis court according to any one of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that the material (8) filling the vertical cells (6) of the honeycomb panels (5) mainly comprises red pozzolan calibrated between 0 and 3 mm.  6. Tennis court according to any one of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that the material (8) filling the vertical cells (6) of the honeycomb panels (5) mainly comprises a mixture of pozzolan and zeolite.  7. Tennis court according to any one of claims 1 to 6, characterized in that the material (8) filling the vertical cells (6) of the honeycomb panels (5) further comprises chloride calcium with water retention power.  8. A method of making a tennis court comprising the installation and dressing of a draining foundation layer on the ground to form a permeable base, and the spreading of a leveling material, powdery and compacted to the natural state,  characterized by the following stages  - horizontal placement, level, of honeycomb panels to form an internal reinforcement of the coating to be obtained, constituted by a semi-rigid honeycomb structure in the vertical direction, which cells constituting it open axially right through  - filling of said vertical cells with a powdery material compacted in the natural state  - spreading a thin layer of finishing surface material.  9. Method according to claim 8, characterized in that, prior to the spreading of the finishing layer (9), a permanent clearance path (10) is carried out, said layer (9) then being spread with within the limits of this route.  10. Method according to one of claims 8 or 9, characterized in that the material (8) for filling the vertical cells (6) of the honeycomb panels (5) is compacted by dry vibrations.  11. Method according to one of claims 8 to 10, characterized in that the material (8) for filling the vertical cells (6) of the honeycomb panels (5) is packed with water.  12. Method according to one of claims 8 to 11, characterized in that the compaction of the material (8) filling the vertical cells (6) of the honeycomb panels (5) is carried out from the lateral zones of the land going towards its center.