Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
CA 02223353 1997-12-03
Docket # 56926
EROSION PROTEC~ION AND PLANT
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
l he present invention pertains to an erosion protection and plant mat with at
least one wide-mesh fabric made of durable, decayable organic fibers, preferably sisal
and/or coconut fibers, with a nonwoven7 which is connected to its underside, and the
S majonty of which preferably consists of decayable fibers, with plant seeds embedded
therein, and with connecting means ho~ding together the fabric and the nonwoven.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
An erosion protection and plant mat of this type has been known from EP O 450
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346 B1. Fabrics and nonwovens are firmly connected there by means of threads or
yarns, which consist of a material thal loses its strength under the action of moisture
and dampness and dissolves. When this mat is exposed to damp weather conditions,the connecting means holding together the fabric and the nonwoven gradually dissolve,
and the nonwoven containing the plant seeds sinks and comes to lie directly on the soil
to be protected. The high expense of connecting the fabric and nonwoven by meansof the threads and yarns used as the connecting means is a drawhac~.
SUMMARY AND OBJECTS OF THE INVENTION
The basic object of the present invention is to simplify the manufac~ure of thiserosion protection and plant mat.
According ~o the invention, an erosion protection and plant mat is provided
with at least one wide-mesh fabric made of durable, decayable organic fibers,
preferably sisal and/or coconut fibers, with a nonwoven, which is connected to its
underside. A connecting means is provided for holding together the fabric and the
nonwoven. The nonwoven and the fabric are connected to one another by pinning.
The connecting means are individual fibers of the said nonwoven arranged on the
underside of the fabric. The maiori~ of the nonwoven element is preferably formed
of decayable fibers, with plant seed~ embedded therein.
The connecting 6bers are preferably not soluble in water.
The fabric and the nonwoven arranged on its underside are connected to one
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another according to the present invention by pinning, wherein the connecting means
are individual fibers of the nonwoven arranged on the underside of the fabric. The
fibers are stuck into the threads of the fabric during pinning by means of special
rnachines and needles with barbs and are fixed there. The fibers of the nonwoven are
thus used as connecting means, so that no additional connecting means are necessary,
and the manufacture of the mat is thus substantially simpliGed. The number of fibers
holding together the fabric and the nonwoven is so small that the individual connecting
fibers of the nonwoven break and are torn out of the fa~ric under the action of
moisture and dampness and the associated increase in the weight of the nonwoven
wben wetness (rain) enters and the weight of the nonwoven increases correspondingly
due to the absorption of water. The connection between the fabric and the nonwoven
is thus interrupted, and the nonwoven, interspersed with seeds and optionally fertilizer,
separates from the fabric, which undergoes intense shrinkage under the effect ofweather and whose length decreases as a result, and which is raised, e.g., between two
adjacent supports, e.g., stones, and tbe nonwoven sinks to or remains on the soil, and
the germinating seeds and their roots find the conditions necessary for their growth.
The connection of the fabric and the nonwoven is arranged homogeneously over the~1at-shaped textile article.
It has been known from DE-OS 2158914, which pertains to a field which is
different from that of the present invention, that two identical nonwovens used for
planting can be firrnly connected to one another by pinning. A composite consisting
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of two layers of fiber roller peat, which have the same material, which are connected
to one another by fibers or threads, has been Icnown from DE-OS 3400696. However,
the underlying problems of the present invention do not occur here, because the
composite cor~sists of two identical materials, which display the same behavior under
the effects of weather.
The corrosion protection and plant mat according to the present invention will
be explained in greater detail below on the basis of an exemplary embodiment of the
present invention and of a mat of a design which is known.
The various features of novelty which characterize the invention are pointed outwith particularity in the claims annexed to and forrning a part of this disclosure. For
a better unders~anding of the invention, its operating advantages and specific objects
attained ~y its uses, reference is made to the accompanying drawings and descriptive
matter in ~vhich a preferred ernbodiment of the invention is illustrated.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
1~ In the drawings:
Figure 1 is a schematic representation of a longitudinal section through a mat,
Figure 2 is the mat according to Figure 1 on a soil to be reinforced, which is
interspersed with large stones,
Figure 3 corresponds to the representation according to Figure 2, but aher
~0 exposure to the effects of the weather with high moisture content, and
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Figure 4 is a representation corresponding to Figure 3, but the behavior of a mat
of a prior-art design is shown here.
DESCRIPTION OF THE PR~FERRED EMBODIMENT
Referring to the drawings in particular, the invention as shown in Figure 1
includes a wide-mesh fabric 1 made of sisal or coconut fibers which carries on its
underside a nonwoven structure 2, which is preferably made of dark fibers or fibers
dyed in a dark color. A wide-mesh fabric 1 in the sense o~ the present invention is
defined as a fabric that has relatively large pore volumes between the threads, a so-
called loose fabric. Plant seeds 3 are embedded io the above-mentioned nonwoven 2,
and a fertilizer may preferably also be enclosed by the nonwoven structure 2. llle
fabric 1 and the nonwoven 2 are connected to one another in the factory by individual
fibers, which, arriving or extending from the nonwoven, are fixed in the fabric These
connecting fibers break under the weight load at the moment at which the nonwoven,
weighted by rainwater, assumes a weight that is several times its original weight and
1~ sinks on the soil to be protected.
Figure 2 illustrates how the mat manufactured in the factory, as it is seen in
Figure 1, is laid on a soil 6 to be protected, wherein the soil is covered with relatively
large stones 7. ~e mat is laid such that it hangs through between adjacent stones 7
and comes to lie on the soil to be fastened. To fix the position of the mat, especially
in the case of sloping soil surfaces, anchors may be fastened in the soil at various
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points, and the mat is then nondetachably connected to these anchors.
If the mat is exposed to wet effects of the weather, lhe connecting fibers breakunder tbe weight of the rain-soaked nonwoven, and the connection bet~veen the
nonwoven 2 and the fabric 1 is thus interrupted, so that the fabric, which shrinks
intensely under the said effects of the weather and whose length decreases as a result,
is raised as a consequence between adjacent supports, here between the stones 7, but
the nonwoven 2, interspersed with seeds and optionally fertilizer, now remains on the
soil 6, and the germinating seeds and their roots hnd the conditions necessary for their
growth .
In con~rast, a mat, in which the nonwoven and the fabric are connected with
threads or yarns of the prior-art type, shows the picture that is schematically shown in
Figure 4: The mat, raised between two adjacent supports (stones 7) as a consequence
of the shrinkage, inherently pulls the nonwoven 2 c~nnected to it, thus lifting it off
from the soil 6, and the roots 8 of the germinating seeds hang freely in the air,
withering in a short tirne. Since the above-mentioned shrinkage process is irreversib]e,
the genninating seeds cannot grow in this case, and the seed cannot assume its
intended role.
Whi]e specific embodiments of the invention have been shown and described
in detail to illustrate the application of the principles of the invention, it will be
under~t~od that the invention may be embodied otherwise without departing from such
principles.
