Tarpaulin for recreation fields

1,576,888

March 16,1926.

J. H. WOODWARD

TARPAULIN FOR RECREATION FIELDS

Filed Nov. 25. 1925

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Patented Mar. 16, 1926.

1,576,888

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

JOHN H. WOODWARD, OF COLUMBUS, OHIO, ASSIGNOR TO THE J. H. AND F. A. SELLS COMPANY, OF COLUMBUS, OHIO, A CORPORATION OF OHIO.

TARPAULIN FOR RECREATION FIELDS.

Application 'filed November

To dll whom it may concern :

Be it known that I, John H. Woodward, a citizen of the United States, residing at Columbus, in the county of Franklin and s State of Ohio, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Tarpaulins for Recreation Fields, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to an improved tar10 paulin or water proof covering for recreation fields, and has for its primary object the provision of an improved readily laid and easily removed structure for protecting an athletic or playing field from rain, snow and 15 moisture to the end of maintaining said field in a dry and serviceable condition suitable for the activities taking place thereon.

It is a principal object of the invention to provide a covering of a water proof material 20 especially designed for the covering of a foot ball and base ball field which is capable of covering such a field when the latter is not in use so as to provide protection from the elements. In the past it has been the 25 simple custom to protect such a field by a large area of a water proof material. Considerable difficulty has been encountered in placing such large one-piece structures in an operative position upon the field and in con30- trolling their removal. The present invention aims to overcome these disadvantages by the employment of a tarpaulin consisting of a plurality of complemental relatively small sections, which are secured together 35 along their meeting edges by means of a frame, the said frame serving to maintain the meeting edges in an elevated condition preventing the seepage of rain and moisture between the joints of the said edges, and 40 allowing the water to readily run off the covering without seeping through and moistening the protected ground beneath the tarpaulin.

Another object of the invention resides in 45 marking the various sections of the tarpaulin so that a system is supplied permitting of the convenient laying and positioning of the tarpaulin sections in their proper interrelated order upon the frame of the device 50 and in a manner devoid of confusion or mistake.

With these and other objects in view, as. will appear as the description proceeds, the invention consists in the novel features of

25, 1925. Serial No. 71,344.

construction, combinations of elements and 65 arrangements of parts hereinafter to be fully described and pointed out in the appended claims.

In the accompanying drawing:

Figure 1 is a plan view of the improved 60 tarpaulin comprising the present invention, . I igure 2 is a vertical transverse sectional view on an enlarged scale, ., Figure 3 is a vertical sectional view on the line 3—3 of Figure 1. βδ

I igure 4 is a vertical sectional view on the line 4—4 of Figure 1.

xii accordance with the present invention my. improved tarpaulin is designated in its entirety by the numeral 1. In order to ren- 70 der the same practical and capable of being easily handled, particularly when the tarpaulin is used in connection with the covering of large areas such as foot ball fields, the said tarpaulin is formed to comprise a plu- 76 rality of individual and separable sections which are designated by the numeral 2. Each of these sections is formed from a water proof material such for example as canvas or a rubberized fabric. Canvas, how- 80 ever, is preferred in that it possesses the capability of being rolled and stored without cracking or breaking and with ordinary care is capable of imparting satisfactory service for. a number of years. These sec- 85 tions are laid transversely across the playing field and each section is of a length equal to substantially one-half the width of the field, and in width the sections are substantially fifteen feet. These proportions have been 90 found to be desirable in that they permit of the convenient manual handling of the tarpaulin, in that one or two men may place the sections in proper order upon or remove the same from the ground surface to be pro- 95 tected. As shown in Figure 1 the sections are placed in successive order over the entire playing field, alternate sections being arranged so that their bounding edges are in superposed or overlapping relation with re- 100 spect to the meeting edges of the intervening sections.

To facilitate the laying and positioning of said sections the playing field has arranged thereon a frame 3, which in this in- 105 stance consists of a plurality of frame units 4 laid end to end and extending longitudinally along the center of the field. From

1,576,888 these longitudinal units the frame is formed to comprise a plurality of transversely extending units 5, which also comprise sections, formed from any desired material, 5 and adapted to be placed end to end in aligned order preferably upon the five yard line indications, provided upon the average foot ball field. It will be understood that the units comprising the frame may be of 10 wood, metal or any other desired material, the same resting flatly upon the ground surface and may or may not have their adjoining ends interlocked.

The frame units have their upper surface 18 provided at regularly spaced intervals with a plurality of upstanding pins or posts 6, which are adapted to be received within eyelets 7 provided in the marginal edges of the sections 2. By this construction it will be 20 seen that the sections are capable of being readily applied and held in place upon the playing field and the frame by first placing the frame in the proper manner described upon the playing field, and, second, insert28 ing the eyelet 7 over the pins or posts 6, provided rigidly on the frame, so as to hold the sectionsagainst displacement and in secured and properly distributed order. The eyelets fit loosely- upon the pins or posts of ³⁰ the frame so that no difficulty is encountered in registering the pins with the eyelets and . in quickly laying or removing the tarpaulin sections. It will be observed that the marginal edges of the tarpaulin sections are ar³⁸ ranged in overlapping order, and that by the provision of the frame units these overlapping edges are elevated above the ground surface, so that the same will, present a convexed formation to provide for the natural ⁴⁰ -shedding of water or moisture to the end of preventing the seepage of moisture through the overlapping edges as would be the case were the sections arranged flatly on the ground.. Also, most playing fields of this ⁴⁵ kind are provided with a natural crown, a condition which enables rain or moisture to readily flow from the tarpaulin toward the unprotected edges of the playing field.

To facilitate the positioning of the frame ⁵⁰ and tarpaulin sections in proper order, each of the frame units 4 and 5 bears distinguishing and guiding indicia. For example, the units 5 may be marked R 1, R l^a, R 1”, etc., indicating that these units are placed end to ⁵⁵ end on the right side of the playing field on, for example, the first five yard line of the field. The units to the left are marked LI, L l^a, L l^b, etc., indicating that these units are placed on the five yard line to the left ⁰⁰ of the longitudinal frame units 4. The center units may be marked C 1, C2, C 3, and so on, indicating their proper order, throughout the length of the field. It will be understood that for convenience in han⁰⁵ dling these units may be each substantially sixteen feet in length and therefore to prevent confusion in their distribution the indicia above given is preferably employed.

In corresponding order the tarpaulin sections 2 are similarly marked, as for example, 70 L 1, indicating that this section is placed on the left side of the field to cover the area between. the center of the field and the zero and five yard to the left of the field and, similarly, the section at the right of the 75 field is marked R 1, to denote the corresponding position of the tarpaulin on the right of the field. These sections may then be provided with numbers ranging from 1 to 20 so that the entire field will be covered. SO It will be understood that by this system in imperfections which may exist in the different units and sections are taken care of, so that the proper fitting between the frame and tarpaulin sections for each localized ⁸”· area of the field is assured. Of course, if it were possible to secure prices, gauges and standards in manufacturing the different sections would then be rendered independent of position and capable of being inter- ⁹⁰changed at will. Such a high standard of accuracy is, however, difficult to attain in practice and therefore the units have been marked as designated.

In view of the foregoing it will be seen ⁹⁵that the present invention provides a practical and complete water proof covering for athletic fields, enabling such fields to be maintained, when not in use, free from the effects of the elements, and to overcome the ^]0° natural handicaps imposed thereby when the field is unprotected. Ordinarily, following each game on the field the frame 3 is laid in its proper position and the tarpaulin sections may be arranged in rolled order on the ¹⁰⁵sides of the field or other positions of stor- age. In the event of threatening weather the. tarpaulin sections are applied to the field as indicated and serve thereby to provide for the efficient protection of the field. ¹¹⁰