U.S. patent application number 10/749611 was filed with the patent office on 2004-08-05 for multicomponent tiles and a method for manufacturing multicomponent tiles.
This patent application is currently assigned to The Amtico Company Limited. Invention is credited to Fanti, Luigi.
Application Number | 20040151863 10/749611 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 9887178 |
Filed Date | 2004-08-05 |
United States Patent
Application |
20040151863 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Fanti, Luigi |
August 5, 2004 |
Multicomponent tiles and a method for manufacturing multicomponent
tiles
Abstract
A plastics floor covering (1) included a plurality of discrete
plastics components (2, 3, 4) each having an upper surface and a
lower surface (lower surface shown). The discrete components (2, 3,
4) are assembled together to form a predetermined design and are
held in the assembled position to form a unitary floor covering (1)
by at least one portion of a joining film (14) secured to the lower
surface of each discrete component (2, 3, 4). The joining film (14)
spans at least the edges of neighboring discrete components (2, 3,
4) and is coated with a thermally labile polymeric coupling agent.
The joining film (14) is perforated in a preferred embodiment of
the invention.
Inventors: |
Fanti, Luigi; (Coventry,
GB) |
Correspondence
Address: |
Rachel L. St. Peter
ICE MILLER
One American Square
Box 82001
Indianapolis
IN
46282
US
|
Assignee: |
The Amtico Company Limited
Coventry
GB
|
Family ID: |
9887178 |
Appl. No.: |
10/749611 |
Filed: |
December 31, 2003 |
Related U.S. Patent Documents
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Application
Number |
Filing Date |
Patent Number |
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10749611 |
Dec 31, 2003 |
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09801493 |
Mar 8, 2001 |
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6694682 |
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Current U.S.
Class: |
428/48 ; 156/258;
156/265; 156/282 |
Current CPC
Class: |
B32B 27/08 20130101;
B32B 27/304 20130101; B32B 43/003 20130101; Y10T 428/164 20150115;
B32B 3/14 20130101; E04F 15/10 20130101; B32B 2309/12 20130101;
Y10T 156/1077 20150115; Y10T 156/1066 20150115; B32B 2309/02
20130101; B32B 3/266 20130101; B32B 2419/04 20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
428/048 ;
156/265; 156/282; 156/258 |
International
Class: |
B32B 003/14 |
Foreign Application Data
Date |
Code |
Application Number |
Mar 9, 2000 |
GB |
0005539.2 |
Claims
We claim:
1. A method of manufacturing a plastics floor tile, the method
comprising the steps of cutting a plurality of discrete plastics
components, each said component comprising a wear layer having an
upper surface and at least one backing layer having a lower
surface, from one or more sheets of a plastics material, assembling
said components together to form at least a portion of a floor tile
of the desired shape and design, securing said components together
relative to one another by the application of at least one portion
of a joining film to said lower surface of the assembled said
components so that said joining film spans at least the neighboring
edges of adjacent said components.
2. The method of claim 1 wherein said joining film is coated with a
thermally labile polymeric coupling agent.
3. The method of claim 1 further comprising the application of heat
and pressure for a period of about 7-15 seconds to cause said
coupling agent to react with said joining film and said lower
surface.
4. The method of claim 3 wherein the temperature used is about
130-170.degree. C. and the pressure used is about 4-6 Mpa.
5. The method of claim 3 wherein while applying heat and pressure
to said lower surface of at least a portion of assembled said
components, said upper surface of said portion is cooled to ambient
temperature (about 20-25.degree. C. ).
6. The method of claim 5 wherein the cooling is carried out by use
of cold water.
7. The method of claim 3 wherein pressure is applied by means of a
rubber press.
8. The method of claim 2, characterized in that said joining film
is provided with perforations.
9. The method of claim 1 further comprising the application of heat
and pressure for a period of about 10 seconds to cause said
coupling agent to react with said joining film and said lower
surface.
10. The method of claim 3 wherein the temperature used is about
150.degree. C. and the pressure used is about 5 Mpa.
11. The method of claim 1 further comprising the step of chamfering
abutting edges of said upper surface of said components
12. A plastics floor tile comprising a plurality of discrete
plastics components, each said component comprising a wear layer
having an upper surface and at least one backing layer having a
lower surface, said components secured together relative to one
another via at least one portion of a joining film applied to the
lower surface of said components formed by the process of cutting
said components from one or more sheets of a plastics material,
assembling said components together to form at least a portion of a
floor tile of the desired shape and design, applying said at least
one portion of a joining film to said lower surface of said
components so that said joining film spans at least the neighboring
edges of adjacent said components.
13. The plastics tile of claim 12 wherein said joining film is of
the same plastics material as said lower surface.
14. The plastics floor tile of claim 12 wherein said joining film
is made of a plastics material having physical properties
compatible with those of said lower surface.
15. The plastics floor tile of claim 12 wherein said joining film
is about 60 to 85 microns thick.
16. The plastics floor tile of claim 12 wherein said joining film
is about 75 microns thick.
17. The plastics floor tile of claim 12 wherein said joining film
is coated with a thermally labile polymeric coupling agent.
18. The plastics floor tile of claim 12 wherein said joining film
is provided with perforations.
19. The plastics floor tile of claim 12 wherein said joining film
is non-continuous and comprises a small number of pieces of film,
each said piece spanning neighboring edges of adjacent said
components.
20. The plastics floor tile of claim 12 wherein said lower surface
is roughened.
21. The plastics floor tile of claim 12 wherein said component
comprises a top wear layer of translucent plastics material, a
printed decorative layer, and at least one backing layer.
22. The plastics floor tile of claim 12 wherein said plastics
material is selected from the group consisting of polyvinyl
chloride, polyolefins, acrylic polymers, polycarbonate polymers and
ionomeric polymers.
Description
RELATED PATENT APPLICATION
[0001] This patent application is a divisional application of Ser.
No. 09/801,493, entitled MULTICOMPONENT TILES AND A METHOD FOR
MANUFACTURING MULTICOMPONENT TILES, filed on Mar. 8, 2001, and
assigned to the same assignee as the present invention.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0002] The present invention relates to floor coverings,
particularly tiles, and a method of manufacturing floor coverings
from plastics materials.
[0003] In particular the present invention is concerned with the
manufacture of plastics floor coverings such as tiles which have a
predetermined pattern but are made up from a number of discrete
components.
[0004] It is known in the art to create a tile having a
predetermined design which comprises placing a number of discrete
components together to form the required design and covering the
upper surface of the resulting multicomponent tile with an adhesive
sheet which is usually transparent. The sheet holds the discrete
components in place while the design is laid as a single tile on a
surface such as a floor. The adhesive sheet is then removed and the
result is a tiled surface having a design made up of a number of
discrete components. Although the above described method allows a
multicomponent design to be created in a design studio and stored,
transported and laid as a single tile, the method is not entirely
satisfactory. The adhesive sheet has to be capable of being removed
from the surface of the multicomponent tile and can therefore
become separated from the multicomponent tile during storage,
transportation or laying, resulting in components missing from the
tile. Furthermore, the adhesive sheet can become discoloured during
storage or display, which can make the appearance of the
multicomponent tile covered with the adhesive film unattractive to
potential customers.
[0005] It is also known in the art to produce a plastics tile
comprising a number of discrete components which are shaped
relative to each other and assembled edge to edge to form a design.
The discrete components are then joined together at their abutting
edges, by methods such as welding, to produce a unitary tile. This
method is described in International Patent Publication no. WO
93/13281 in the name of the applicants.
[0006] The method described in WO 93/13281 is disadvantageous
because whenever a new design is created a new welding press must
be prepared, which is very expensive.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0007] The object of the present invention is to provide a floor
covering, such as a plastics tile, which is made of a number of
discrete predetermined shaped components which are joined together
to produce a unitary floor covering, but which overcomes the
problems associated with the prior art methods set out above by
using a joining film to join the discrete pieces together to form a
unitary floor covering.
[0008] According to a first aspect the present invention provides a
plastics floor covering comprising a plurality of discrete plastics
components, each having an upper surface and a lower surface, said
components being assembled together to form a predetermined design
and held in the assembled position to form a unitary floor covering
by at least one portion of a joining film secured to the lower
surface of each discrete plastics component and spanning at least
the edges of neighbouring discrete components.
[0009] Preferably, the floor covering is a plastic floor tile. The
plastics floor covering may be made from polyvinyl chloride,
polyolefins, acrylic polymers, polycarbonate polymers or ionomeric
polymers, depending on the desired end use.
[0010] The joining film is preferably of the same plastics material
as the lower surface of the discrete plastics components.
Alternatively, the joining film may be made of a plastics material
having physical properties compatible with those of the lower
surface of the discrete plastics components. The use of such a
joining film reduces the amount of distortion of film or floor
covering which can occur.
[0011] The joining film is preferably 60 to 85 microns thick, most
preferably 75 microns. The joining film is preferably coated with a
thermally labile polymeric coupling agent. The coupling agent is
preferably polyurethane based but its composition is to some extent
dependent on that of the lower surface of the floor covering and of
the joining film.
[0012] The coupling agent is preferably applied to the joining film
in amounts of 10-100 g/m2, most preferably about 20 g/m.sup.2.
[0013] Although it would be possible to fuse the joining film
directly to the lower surface of the discrete plastics components
by the use of heat alone, this process would take 5 to 10 minutes
at a temperature of 150-170.degree. C. and would adversely affect
the upper surface of the floor covering. The use of the coupling
agent allows the joining film to be secured to the lower surface of
the discrete plastics components by the application of heat for a
period of 5 to 15 seconds, preferably 10 seconds. This avoids
damage to the upper surface of the discrete plastics components.
The coupling agent becomes cross-linked with the film and with the
lower surface of the discrete components.
[0014] Preferably, the film is provided with perforations, so as to
allow portions of the lower surface of the plastics components to
contact the surface on which the unitary floor covering is to be
laid. This avoids the problem of the film only being adhered to the
surface on which the tile covering is to be laid and prevents the
discrete plastics components from becoming detached from the film
and/or from the surface on which the covering is to be laid. The
perforations may be circular, square or of any other convenient
shape. Alternatively, the film may be non-continuous, for example
it may comprise a number of small pieces of film, each piece
spanning neighbouring edges of adjacent discrete components.
[0015] Preferably, the discrete plastics components abut edge to
edge to form the predetermined design. The upper regions of the
abutting edges of the discrete plastics components may be provided
with a recess or be chamfered so as to provide, in use, recesses
extending downwardly from the top surface of the plastics pieces,
along the abutting edges. The recesses are preferably V-shaped.
[0016] Preferably, the lower surface of the discrete plastics
components is roughened to enhance keying between the plastics
components and the joining film and/or the surface on which the
floor covering is to be laid.
[0017] Preferably, each discrete plastics component comprises a top
wear layer of a translucent plastics material, a printed decorative
layer and at least one backing layer.
[0018] The backing layer nearest the wear layer may contain one or
more coloured pigments and is commonly called the face ply. If no
printed decorative layer is present, then the face ply itself
provides the desired decorative appearance. If the floor covering
includes a printed decorative layer, then the face ply serves to
enhance the appearance of the printed decorative layer as seen
through the wear layer. The face ply is often of a bright colour,
for example white, although it may be of a neutral colour such as
black. The other backing layers more remote from the wear layer
commonly contain carbon black to provide a neutral opaque
background behind the face ply. All the backing layers, including
the face ply, commonly contain fillers such as calcium carbonate,
hydrated aluminum oxide, kaolin or other suitable particulate or
fibrous mineral fillers.
[0019] According to a further aspect, the present invention
provides a method of manufacturing a plastics floor covering, the
method comprising the steps of cutting a plurality of discrete
plastics components, each said component having an upper surface
and a lower surface, from one or more sheets of a plastics
material, assembling the pieces together to form at least a portion
of a floor covering of the desired shape and design, securing the
discrete plastics components together relative to one another by
the application of at least one portion of a joining film to the
lower surface of the assembled plastics components so that the
joining film spans at least the neighbouring edges of adjacent
discrete components.
[0020] The plastics floor covering is preferably a floor tile.
[0021] The joining film is preferably of the same material as, or
of a plastics material, having physical properties compatible with,
the lower surface of the discrete plastics components.
[0022] The joining film is preferably 60 to 85 microns, most
preferably 75 microns, thick.
[0023] The joining film is preferably coated with a thermally
labile polymeric coupling agent which is most preferably
polyurethane based. The coupling agent is preferably applied to the
film in amounts of 10 to 100 g/m.sup.2, most preferably about 20
g/m.sup.2.
[0024] When applying heat and pressure to the lower surface of the
plastics components, the upper surface can be affected and damaged
by the heat and pressure.
[0025] Therefore, the heat and pressure is applied for a short
period of time, preferably 7-15 seconds, most preferably 10
seconds. The temperature used is preferably 130-170.degree. C. ,
most preferably about 150.degree. C. The pressure used is
preferably 4-6 MPa, most preferably about 5 MPa.
[0026] The temperature and pressure applied are sufficient to cause
the coupling agent to react with the joining film and with the
lower surface of the floor covering.
[0027] While applying the heat and pressure to the lower surface of
at least the 20 portion of the floor covering, the upper surface of
the portion is cooled to ambient temperature (20-25.degree. C. ).
The cooling is preferably carried out by use of cold water, most
preferably at 20.degree. C.
[0028] Pressure is preferably applied by means of a rubber press,
which ensures substantially complete contact of the joining film
and the lower surface of the discrete plastics components which is
preferably roughened to enhance keying.
[0029] The discrete plastics components may be cut from a sheet of
plastics material so as to have recessed or chamfered edges
extending downwards from the top surface of the plastics pieces,
along the abutting edges.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0030] The present invention will now be further described, by way
of example only and with reference to the accompanying drawings, in
which:
[0031] FIG. 1 is a plan view of the upper surface of a tile
constructed in accordance with the present invention;
[0032] FIG. 2 is a plan view of the lower surface of the tile of
FIG. 1;
[0033] FIG. 3 is partial section on line III-III of FIG. 1.
DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
[0034] FIG. 1 shows a plastics floor tile 1 made up of discrete
components 2, 3 and 4. The components 2, 3 and 4 are complementary
in shape and fit together to form the substantially square tile 1.
The components 2, 3 and 4 are cut from large sheets of plastics
material.
[0035] The sheets of plastics material from which the components 2,
3 and 4 are cut comprise an upper translucent wear layer which is
bonded to a thin film printed with a decorative pattern. The
decorative film is bonded to a face ply layer which is coloured and
provides a background for the decorative film. The face ply layer
is then bonded to two backing layers. The components 2, 3 and 4 are
PVC-based laminates which can be homogenous or heterogeneous.
[0036] The structure of the components can be seen clearly in FIG.
3. Each component has a wear layer 5, a decorative film 6, a face
ply 7 and two backing layers 8 and 9. The pattern provided by the
printed decorative film and the colour of the face ply may vary
from component to component to give the desired pattern.
[0037] In the tile of FIG. 1 the components 2 and 4 are each
provided with a printed decorative film to give a marbled effect
and a white face ply to give the overall effect of white marble.
The component 3 is provided with a printed decorative film to give
a woodgrain effect and a brown face ply to give the overall effect
of wood.
[0038] The layers in the sheets of plastics material and thus the
tile components are bonded together by heat bonding under pressure
to produce laminated sheets about 3 mm thick.
[0039] It is of course possible to have any number and arrangement
of separate components forming a tile of any desired shape.
[0040] The components 2, 3 and 4 are cut so that the edges which
abut each other, edges 10 and 11, 12 and 13, are chamfered. The
chamfer is approximately 45.degree. and does not extend any further
than through wear layer 5 and printed decorative layer 6.
[0041] The components 2, 3 and 4 are arranged to make a tile
precursor of the desired design. The components are then placed in
a modified hot press with their backing layers 9 facing
uppermost.
[0042] A film 14 of 75 micron PVC, coated on one side with a
thermally labile polyurethane based polymeric coupling agent, is
positioned over the backing layers 9 of the components making up
the tile precursor (see FIG. 2) such that the polymeric coating is
in contact with the backing layers 9.
[0043] The PVC film 14 is provided with perforations, ensuring that
areas of the backing layers 9 of the components forming the tile
precursor are exposed through the film, so that the exposed areas
contact the surface on which the tile is to be laid.
[0044] The polymeric coating on the PVC is activated by the
application of heat and pressure, which causes it to cross-link to
the film and the lower surface of the discrete plastics
components.
[0045] The hot press applies a temperature of 150.degree. C. for 10
seconds at a pressure of 5 MPa by means of a rubber press, which
ensures complete contact of the film and lower surface of the
discrete components, even where the lower surface has been
roughened.
[0046] To avoid the application of the heat and pressure adversely
affecting the upper surface of the tile precursor, the press is
modified to maintain an ambient temperature of 20-25.degree. C.
around the upper surface of the tile precursor. This may be
achieved by providing a water-jacket for the upper part of the
press.
[0047] The resulting tile comprises components 2, 3 and 4 held in
position by film 14.
[0048] The tiles, when laid on a surface such as a floor, give the
overall impression of a design made up of discrete components but
are easier to store, transport and lay than a number of discrete
components.
[0049] The present invention can be further modified within the
scope and spirit of this disclosure. This application is therefore
intended to cover any variations, uses, or adaptations of the
invention using its general principles. Further, this application
is intended to cover such departures from the present disclosure as
come within known or customary practice in the art to which this
invention pertains and which fall within the limits of the appended
claims.
* * * * *