Patent Application
20250146303
This invention relates to flooring, particularly new and improved waterproof flooring utilizing bamboo plastic or other waterproof materials.
In the flooring industry, there is a significant need for waterproof flooring that presents the appearance of a wooden floor. In particular, this flooring needs to be not only resistant to moisture but also economical, easy to install, easy to maintain, and comfortable to walk on.
In the flooring industry, laminate flooring using fiberboard or particle board as the core layer has gained a tremendous market share. Such laminate flooring is manufactured with numerous desirable properties such as reasonable cost, stain resistance, wear resistance, easy maintenance, and fire resistance. In addition, laminate flooring can carry many types of printed designs, including wood grain designs.
Natural wood floors, particularly of oak and other hardwoods, have been employed as flooring materials for centuries. While not as economical as laminate flooring, the appearance and comfort of wooden flooring is highly desirable. One of the most significant drawbacks to both laminate and wooden flooring is their performance when subjected to sustained exposure to moisture. In the case of wooden floors, moisture will cause swelling and warping of the flooring, leading to an uneven surface and even gaps between the planks. In the case of laminate flooring, sustained exposure to moisture will frequently destabilize the integrity of the fiberboard or particle board material, causing permanent and irreparable damage to the laminate boards. This leads many flooring installers to avoid the use of laminate flooring in areas that are subject to repeated or sustained moisture, such as in the kitchen, bathroom, laundry room, and basement areas of a house or in the commercial settings of restaurants and some retail stores.
As a result of the shortcomings of wood and laminate flooring, the choices for flooring in wet areas have traditionally been limited to ceramic tile, stone, and rubber or vinyl flooring. With ceramic tile and stone, the visual choices are limited, the cost of materials and installation is relatively high, and the resulting floors are cold in the absence of subsurface radiant heating and hard to stand on for extended periods of time. Rubber and vinyl floors can be relatively inexpensive. However, because these flooring materials are not rigid, imperfections from the subfloor transfer through the rubber or vinyl and appear on the floor surface, which can be aesthetically jarring. In addition, the strength of adhesives used with rubber and vinyl floors can be compromised by moisture, which can result in curling damage since the floors lack rigidity.
To address these issues, laminate flooring has been manufactured with improved moisture resistance through the selection of melamine, isocyanate, or phenolic binders and by applying waterproofing materials and silicone caulking to seal voids. These steps remain inadequate, however, both due to the added time of installation and cost of manufacture and because these waterproofing attempts are not 100% effective. One attempt to produce a suitable laminate plank is described in U.S. Pat. No. 7,763,345, and its related applications, where a thermoplastic material core is created and a print layer and a protective overlay are applied to the top side. The thermoplastic material core is typically a rigid polyvinylchloride compound, and the core is extruded with cavities to provide cushioning. Extruded planks have a tendency to cup, however, and even with cavities, the PVC thermoplastic core is not inexpensive.
In modern construction, it is also desirable to utilize green or recycled materials to minimize the environmental cost of construction. As a result, it is desirable to maximize the use of recycled or waste materials whenever possible. Therefore, a need exists for improved waterproof engineered flooring and wall covering material.
A feature of the present invention is to provide a rigid waterproof flooring or wall covering plank that includes the possibility of a wide variety of visual surface appearances and a rigid and relatively environmentally friendly core. The engineered planks, according to the invention, may advantageously utilize a reversible click-lock edge fastening system so that the flooring can be reversibly snapped together as a floating floor, employing the floating floor installation method where no adhesive is required to bond the flooring planks to the subfloor. In addition, a majority of the engineered waterproof plank materials can comprise bamboo dust, wood dust, or cork dust, which is substantially a byproduct of other flooring manufacturing processes.
By combining the bamboo, wood, or cork dust, or a combination thereof, with high-density polyethylene (HDPE), or polyvinylchloride (virgin, recycled, or a mixture thereof), a rigid and inert core is provided that does not absorb moisture and does not expand or contract, thereby eliminating the formation of peaks and gaps.
In a preferred embodiment, not only the first and second side but also the third and fourth side edges are provided with reversible click-lock edge fastening system parts.
The particular features and advantages of the invention, as well as other objects, will become apparent from the following description taken in connection with the accompanying drawings in which:
In general, the present invention relates to a waterproof engineered flooring plank or wall panel. The cross-section view of the exemplary flooring plank 10 shown in
The middle section or core 30 of the engineered plank 10 is formed from between about 55 to 80%, and preferably about 70% of bamboo dust, wood dust, cork dust, or a mixture thereof. The remaining 20 to 45% consists of high-density polyethylene (HDPE) or, alternatively, virgin or recycled PVC or a combination of such PVCs, and up to about 10% chemical additives such as anti-UV agents, anti-oxidation agents, stabilizers, colorants, anti-fungus agents, coupling agents, reinforcing agents, and lubricants. Calcium carbonate may also be added as a filler. After blending and melting the dust and HDPE or PVC, and additives and filler, the composite material is extruded to the desired dimension. This type of HDPE and dust composite has previously been manufactured primarily for use as outdoor decks, railings, and fences but heretofore has not been used in a fashion that was sufficiently visually appealing or commercially viable for residential or commercial flooring. Instead, these wood-plastic or bamboo-plastic composites have been impregnated with colors according to a limited color pallet suitable and only promoted for exterior use. When used in the present invention, some additives, such as anti-UV agents, antifungals, and insecticides, are unnecessary. Also, heretofore, cork dust has not been a principal ingredient of the plastic composites. Whereas generally, adding more significant amounts of wood or bamboo dust provided greater rigidity to the resulting planks, cork dust retains some resilience even in the plastic mixture. The core 30 can be solid or can be provided with channels if desired, particularly in relatively thick embodiments.
The plank 10 also has a grooved end 50 with profile 51 and channel 52 on both sides, where the combination of the two profiles on opposite sides forms a reversible click-lock edge fastening system. The particular profiles are made according to a preferred design to allow the panels to be quickly locked together allowing click floor panels to be used on both sides, typically without the use of adhesive. However, if desired, an adhesive may be applied to the profiles, therefore joining planks together to create a more permanent bonding of adjacent planks. The matching profiles may be of a reversible click-lock variety depicted in
A bonding layer 22 joins the wear layer 20 to the core 30 and is typically a water-resistant adhesive. A preferred adhesive type is a hot melt adhesive that can be applied during the manufacture of the engineered flooring or wall covering at temperatures over 200° F., and more commonly over 250° F., and is therefore not suitable for convenient use at a residence or commercial establishment when the flooring is being installed. The hot melt adhesive should be water-resistant or nearly impervious to significant and prolonged exposure to moisture.
Planks, according to the present invention, are advantageously provided with reversible click-lock edge systems. Pervan, U.S. Pat. No. 6,023,907 and Morian, U.S. Pat. No. 6,006,486 disclose two of the leading edge fastening systems. However, so far, no reversible click-locking systems are known.
The planks and panels, according to the invention, are generally rectangular, having a thickness of up to about one inch and a width of between about 2 and 12 inches. In general, flooring planks will have a greater thickness than wall-covering planks or panels. The use of recycled wood, cork, or bamboo dust contributes to sustainability through the responsible management of resources and provided bamboo, cork, or sustainably harvested wood is used, results in an environmentally friendly building material.
In a possible embodiment as showed in
The protrusions and recesses in the coupling part have a very specific shape that allows the two coupling parts to click together at a certain angle and even to squeeze them together by exerting a certain amount of pressure.
The principle of this kind of reversible locking system having profiles identical in shape is that two panel bodies click together by placing the rib in the rib recess and then performing a rotating click movement. The first coupling part and the second coupling part of the panel body that connects fulfill both the functions of the female and male parts of the established connection. During the connection process, the rib is enclosed by a protrusion, which securely locks the rib in the closed position. To disengage the connected panels, a rotating movement is required to unblock the rib. The basic principle is that the two coupling parts are clicked together via a tilting movement so that at least one protrusion of one coupling part is turned into the corresponding recess of the corresponding coupling part, and that this can only be achieved through a rotational movement. The tilting movement to transfer the protrusion from one coupling part to the other coupling part can be performed in two directions, allowing the panels equipped with the coupling parts to be connected on both sides using the click profiles having identical shapes.
In a preferred embodiment, the second coupling part is angled at approximately 45° with respect to the first coupling part during insertion, and then the connection between the two panels is established through a rotating click movement. To achieve this, the rib of the second coupling part is inserted into the rib recess of the first coupling part. When tilting to a position where the two connecting coupling parts are in line with each other, in the first phase, the rib of the second coupling part is inserted in the rib recess of the first coupling part. The rib of the second coupling part touches the bottom side of the top layer lip, and preferably but not necessarily, the apex face touches the bottom plate of the rib recess. In the second phase, the second coupling part rotates according to a virtual radius around the rib of the second coupling part, and the rib of the first coupling part rotates within the rib recess of the second coupling part, where the top layer lip of the second coupling part moves around the apex face of the first coupling part, and the first upstanding side of the first coupling part aligns with the first upstanding side of second coupling part. When tilting further, the two panel bodies become an extension of each other, resulting in a solid connection. The rib of one coupling part is clamped between the top layer lip and the rib of the other coupling part. The gap between the bottom side of the top layer lip and the first upstanding side of the rib in one coupling part is so narrow that it prevents the removal of the rib from the other coupling part in an angle of approximately 45° without pushing the top layer lip and the rib apart from the other coupling part. The connection of the two coupling parts is blocked horizontally because the first upstanding side of one rib is blocked by the first upstanding side of the other rib. This makes it impossible to pull the two panel bodies apart. Also in the vertical direction, it is impossible to disconnect the two panel bodies. When a vertical force is applied, the inferior recess pushes against the bottom side of the top layer lip, causing the first upstanding side of the rib in one coupling part to press firmly against the first upstanding side of the rib in the other coupling part, creating a vertical blockage.
Making a connection in which the rib of the first panel body is positioned in front of the rib recess of the other and a force is applied in the direction of approximately 45° and towards each other, is feasible when the material of the panel body and the coupling part has some degree of flexibility. In this maneuver, it is essential that the top layer lip and rib of one coupling part can be pushed apart to accommodate the insertion of the rib from the other coupling.
In a state where the second coupling part is clicked into the first coupling part, it is impossible to pull the two coupling parts apart in a horizontal or vertical direction. In the versions without an extra hook tooth, the connection can be broken by exerting sufficient force when pulling the first coupling part and the second coupling part apart in a direction approximately perpendicular to the virtual 45° dividing line between the first coupling part and the second coupling part. In the versions where the rib of the first coupling part and the second coupling part are provided with a hook tooth, it is not possible to pull the two coupling parts apart from each other in a direction that is perpendicular to the virtual 45° dividing line between the first coupling part and the second coupling part.
The planks and panels manufactured according to the invention are nearly impervious to swelling and have great dimensional stability. These planks and panels exhibit variations due to moisture of less than 0.01%. The products can also be manufactured to tolerances of less than 0.25 mm of length, width, and straightness, and many suitable wear layers provide colorfast and cleanable surfaces.
Numerous structural alterations herein disclosed will suggest themselves to those skilled in the art. However, it is to be understood that the present disclosure relates to the preferred embodiment of the invention, which is for purposes of illustration only and not to be construed as a limitation of the invention. All such modifications which do not depart from the spirit of the invention are intended to be included within the scope of the appended claims.
