Stain-Eating Flooring with Oxidizing Agent Coating
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Solution Overview
Problem
Traditional floor finishes are prone to staining from food and beverage spills, such as mustard and coffee, which are difficult to remove without damaging the finish, leading to costly recoating or replacement of tiles.
Innovation Solution
Incorporating an effective amount of an oxidizing agent into a hardenable coating composition to decolorize stains, allowing for the use of mild cleaners or water to remove remaining material without damaging the film.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Object-generated harmful factors
If traditional cleaning techniques are used to remove stains, then stains may be removed, but the floor finish is damaged requiring recoating
Solution Approach 1:
The patent converts the harmful staining effect into a beneficial decolorization process by incorporating oxidizing agents into the floor finish. The same chemical reactions that cause stains (oxidation of chromophores) are harnessed to eliminate stains, transforming a problematic chemical interaction into a solution.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent changes the chemical composition parameter of the floor finish by adding oxidizing agents (such as hydrogen peroxide, sodium hypochlorite, or potassium permanganate) at concentrations of 0.1% to 10%. This parameter change enables the finish to actively decolorize stains rather than merely resist them, fundamentally altering the stain-management capability of the coating.
2Object-generated harmful factors
If specialty cleaners are used to remove stains, then stains can be removed, but the floor finish is damaged
Solution Approach 1:
The floor finish becomes self-sufficient in stain removal by containing oxidizing agents that actively decolorize stains upon contact. The coating serves its own maintenance function, eliminating the need for aggressive specialty cleaners and reducing the complexity of floor maintenance routines.
3Reliability
If polymers like Rhoplex NTS-2923 are incorporated into the finish to prevent stains, then stain resistance is improved, but the polymer is difficult to formulate and incompatible with other polymers
Solution Approach 1:
The patent changes the chemical composition parameter by incorporating oxidizing agents at concentrations of 0.1% to 10% into conventional floor finish formulations. This approach maintains compatibility with standard polymer systems while achieving superior stain resistance, avoiding the formulation challenges of specialty polymers.
4Ease of manufacture
If residual oxidizer is present in the floor finish composition, then polymer synthesis is enabled, but the oxidizer level is insufficient to decolorize stains
Solution Approach 1:
The patent increases the oxidizer concentration parameter from trace amounts (insufficient for stain removal) to 0.1% to 10% of the composition. This parameter change provides enough oxidizing capacity to actively decolorize stains while maintaining polymer synthesis functionality.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The oxidizing agent reacts with stains to change their coloration, making them removable without film damage, effectively preventing or eliminating stains on surfaces.
Implementation Method 1
the oxidizing agent reacts with the stain to change the stain coloration from a yellowish hue (e.g., yellow-white, yellow or brown) towards a lighter hue (e.g., pale yellow, white or transparent). This decolorization reaction takes place over a period of minutes, hours or days
Data Source
AI summary
A flooring is disclosed including a substrate having a coating composition thereon, the coating composition comprising a hardenable film-former and at least 0.5 weight percent of an oxidizing agent sufficient to decolorize a stain on the film-former is disclosed, wherein the oxidizing agent comprises hydrogen peroxide, hypochlorite, and organo-chlorine bleaches and will at least partially decolorize a plurality of stains when applied to the hardened coating, allowed to stand for one hour at room temperature, and evaluated by visual observation of the stain under average overhead fluorescent illumination. The oxidizing agent is not consumed as a catalyst or initiator to polymerize or otherwise cause a reaction in the floor coating before it is applied and before it has hardened. A coating composition of the invention may include from about 0.8 to about 5 weight percent oxidizing agent and the film-former forms a hardened film resistant to rinsing with tap water.