Flooring products and methods of making the same

a technology of floor coverings and products, applied in the field of floor covering products, can solve the problems of cupping or doming of products, serious quality control issues and application restraints, and failure of melamine surface adhesion to the core, and achieve the effect of improving moisture resistan

Inactive Publication Date: 2006-02-16
MANNINGTON MILLS
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  • Summary
  • Abstract
  • Description
  • Claims
  • Application Information

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

[0009] A feature of the present invention is to provide a plank which can be used in a surface covering system. The plank is based on a wood/plastic composite as the core, wherein fibe

Problems solved by technology

In some instances, the moisture can lead to some serious quality control issues and application restraints.
For instance, and just to name a few, the higher moisture content in the product, such as in the particle board or fiberboard, can cause blistering and adhesion failure of the melamine surface to the core.
Also, higher moisture contents can lead to dimensional instability of the finished product, which then results in the cupping or doming of the product, which is extremely undesirable, especially when installers are laying down the flooring.
Also, excessive moisture contents can create edge peaking due to the swelling of the product and such edge peaking can result in edge chip-off or premature wear-out or can soil more quickly.
The susceptibility to moisture content also leads to some installers not wishing to place such laminate flooring in areas which are subject to having water on the surface of the floor, such as in the kitchen and bathroom areas.
While this improvement h

Method used

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  • Flooring products and methods of making the same
  • Flooring products and methods of making the same
  • Flooring products and methods of making the same

Examples

Experimental program
Comparison scheme
Effect test

example 1

Laminated Overlay (T-11) on Wood Composite Base with a Hot Melt Polyurethane Adhesive.

[0114] The laminated overlay layer utilized included a top layer that was 0.004 inches thick and was composed of a cross-linked melamine-impregnated paper containing aluminum oxide. The top layer was designed to be clear and to protect the decorative print layer below it. The second layer, which was located under the top layer, was a gravure-printed paper for decorative purposes. The third layer (bottom layer), which was located under the second layer, was composed of cross-linked phenolic impregnated Kraft paper. The purpose for the bottom layer was to provide support and stability for the top two layers during processing.

[0115] The three layers that made the laminated overlay were consolidated under heat and pressure in a continuous consolidation procedure performed on a Grecon unit.

Section A

[0116] The core of the plank was extruded wood fiber composite having the following formulation:

Map...

example 2

Wood Veneer Overlay on Wood Composite Base

[0124] The core was prepared as described above in Example 1, Section A, using the TS-110 extruder from American Maplan Company. However, the decorative element adhered to the top of the core was an actual wood veneer. The wood veneer included polyester back with a thin (0.006 inches thickness) red oak veneer adhered to the top of the polyester. The polyester was used to hold the thin veneer to be processed as a continuous coil when it was wrapped onto the extruded wood composite base. The veneer overlay was adhered to the wood composite base with a hot melt polyurethane adhesive Forbo (Reichhold) 2U-316.

[0125] The temperature and other conditions at which the veneer was wrapped and the method of laminating the veneer to the wood composite were the same as the conditions and method described in Example 1, Section B, with the exception that cooling water was not in contact with the face of the wood veneer.

[0126] To protect the red oak vene...

example 3

Vulcanized Cellulose on Wood Composite Base

[0131] The core was prepared as described above in Example 1, Section A, using the TS-110 extruder from American Maplan Company. However, the decorative element adhered to the top of the plank was a vulcanized cellulose layer with a printed wood grain design. The vulcanized cellulose layer was supplied by NVF Company and is known as Yorkite Vulcanized Fiber (YVF). The vulcanized cellulose layer was prepared by soaking cellulose fibers in CaCl2. The fibers were then compacted and heated to form a cross-linked cellulosic layer. The vulcanized cellulose layer used in this example was 0.020 inches thick.

[0132] The YVF overlay was adhered to the wood composite base with a hot melt polyurethane adhesive, such as Forbo / Swift 20-316. The temperature and other conditions at which the YVF was wrapped and the method of laminating of the YVF to the wood composite base were the same as the conditions and method described in Example 1, with the excepti...

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Abstract

A plank is described wherein the plank comprises a core, and optionally, a print layer, and optionally an overlay. The core includes from about 30 wt % to about 95 wt % at least one polymeric material, by weight of the core, and from about 5 wt % to about 70 wt % of least one natural fiber or flour, by weight of the core, wherein the core includes a top surface and a bottom surface, and opposing sides, wherein said plank is substantially moisture resistant, having a swelling property of from about 0.5% to about 5% by NALFA Thickness Test Section 3.2 LF 01-2003 standard, and wherein said plank includes a bow of from about 0.5% to about 4%. In addition, a method of making the plank is further described.

Description

[0001] This application claims the benefit under 35 U.S.C. §119(e) of prior U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 60 / 592,488 filed Jul. 30, 2004, which is incorporated in its entirety by reference herein.[0002] The present invention relates to wood / polymer composite products, such as flooring products and methods to make the same. The present invention particularly relates to a plank or tile core that is structurally durable in providing excellent wear and durability properties as well as water resistance. The methods to make the product offer design versatility with superior sustainability by optionally incorporating high amounts of post consumer or post industrial recycled material into the flooring products without compromising the performance and aesthetics. Also, proper selections of the wear surface material for the product can greatly reduce the life-cycle cost by minimizing the frequency of maintenance. BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION [0003] Commercially available floorings, s...

Claims

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Application Information

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IPC IPC(8): E04C3/00
CPCB32B3/04E04F2201/0153B32B3/26B32B3/30B32B7/02B32B7/12B32B21/02B32B21/06B32B21/08B32B21/14B32B23/08B32B23/14B32B27/18B32B27/20B32B27/304B32B27/32B32B27/40B32B29/00B32B29/005B32B29/06B32B2250/24B32B2260/026B32B2260/046B32B2262/067B32B2264/067B32B2264/102B32B2307/102B32B2307/4023B32B2307/4026B32B2307/724B32B2307/7265B32B2307/734B32B2419/04E04F15/02E04F15/02033E04F15/10E04F2201/0115B32B3/06
Inventor CHEN, HAO A.JUDD, RICHARD
Owner MANNINGTON MILLS
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