Resilient Floor Surface

Abstract

A resilient floor surface for indoor and outdoor, residential, commercial and sporting applications includes a resilient underpad formed of expanded polypropylene product (“EPP”) and suitable for being laid down directly on the ground or other subfloor surface in a floating arrangement not requiring securing to the ground or other subfloor surface, and a floor covering material applied upon the resilient underpad as a covering for the resilient underpad. The surface covering is of the type suitable for floor surfacings, sport playing surfacings and decorative and sports surface coatings, and is selected from hardwood flooring, synthetic rubber and / or plastic flooring tiles and panels, rubber flooring tiles and panels, laminated wood flooring, residential and commercial carpets, crumb rubber surface coatings, EPDM (ethylene-propylene terpolymer) surface coatings, polyurethane surface coatings and any other suitable coatings. The resulting floor surface is shock-absorbing, sound and heat insulating, waterproof, lightweight, and durable, and is less expensive and easier to install than other flooring systems, due to the elimination of the multiple components required in prior flooring systems.

Description

RELATED APPLICATIONS[0001]This application is a Continuation Application of U.S. application Ser. No. 10 / 466,040, filed Nov. 21, 2003, entitled “Resilient Floor Surface”, which claims priority to PCT Application No. PCT / CA01 / 00035, filed Jan. 15, 2001, entitled “Resilient Floor Surface”.TECHNICAL FIELD[0002]This invention relates to an improved synthetic flooring surface for use in indoor and outdoor applications.BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION[0003]Typical flooring materials for both indoor and outdoor applications are natural and synthetic materials that can commonly be found and processed or manufactured inexpensively. Such materials have a wide variety of both general and specific applications, some of which favor special properties of the material. Some of the special properties of such materials deal with the amount of weight which a surface can bear, its workability, durability, resiliency, shock absorbency, compressive properties and energy dissipation and return upon contact, s...

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

[0011]Thus, an object of this invention is to provide a resilient underpad material for a flooring surface formed of open cell, molded, expanded bead polypropylene which is cost effective, easy to install and maintain, waterproof or water resistant, sound and heat insulated and which avoids the time and cost associated with complex installation of prior combinations of materials.

Problems solved by technology

However, to the best of the inventor's knowledge, this material has never been applied for the flooring industry as an underpad in panel, slab or sheet form.

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