U.S. patent application number 11/279535 was filed with the patent office on 2006-12-07 for floor system and floor with a plurality of floor panels.
This patent application is currently assigned to FLOORING TECHNOLOGIES LTD.. Invention is credited to Cevin M. POHLMANN.
Application Number | 20060272260 11/279535 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 36550324 |
Filed Date | 2006-12-07 |
United States Patent
Application |
20060272260 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
POHLMANN; Cevin M. |
December 7, 2006 |
FLOOR SYSTEM AND FLOOR WITH A PLURALITY OF FLOOR PANELS
Abstract
A floor system and a floor of a plurality of floor panels of
support boards with at least one coated surface, which have a
decoration and locking devices on the support board edges, which
devices make it possible to connect two or more floor panels to one
another and prevent a displacement of the floor panels with respect
to one another in the laying plane and/or perpendicular thereto. A
first part of the floor panels has support boards of wood or a
woodbased material and a second part of the floor panels has
support boards of a plastic.
Inventors: |
POHLMANN; Cevin M.;
(Hoisdorf, DE) |
Correspondence
Address: |
GREENBLUM & BERNSTEIN, P.L.C.
1950 ROLAND CLARKE PLACE
RESTON
VA
20191
US
|
Assignee: |
FLOORING TECHNOLOGIES LTD.,
Portico Building, Marina Street, Pieta MSD 08,
Pieta
MT
|
Family ID: |
36550324 |
Appl. No.: |
11/279535 |
Filed: |
April 12, 2006 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
52/582.1 |
Current CPC
Class: |
E04F 15/02 20130101;
E04F 2201/01 20130101; E04F 15/02188 20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
052/582.1 |
International
Class: |
E04B 2/00 20060101
E04B002/00 |
Foreign Application Data
Date |
Code |
Application Number |
Apr 15, 2005 |
DE |
102005017443 |
Claims
1. A floor system with several floor panels of support boards with
at least one coated surface that has a decoration and with locking
devices on edges of the support boards to connect two or more floor
panels to one another and prevent a displacement of the floor
panels with respect to one another in at least one of a laying
plane and perpendicular thereto, wherein a first part of the floor
panels has support boards of wood or a woodbased material and a
second part of the floor panels has support boards of a
plastic.
2. The floor system according to claim 1, wherein the first part of
the floor panels has support boards that are HDF or MDF boards.
3. The floor system according to claim 1, wherein the second part
of the floor panels has support boards of plastic or a mixture of
plastic and wood fibers.
4. The floor system according to claim 3, wherein the plastic is
polyamide, polycarbonate, polypropylene or polyethylene.
5. The floor system according to claim 1, wherein the floor panels
have a uniform decoration.
6. The floor system according to claim 1, wherein the decoration
has different color values depending on a type of support
board.
7. The floor system according to claim 1, wherein the floor panels
with different types of support boards have different
decorations.
8. A floor with a plurality of floor panels of support boards with
at least one coated-surface, which have a decoration and locking
devices on support board edges, the locking devices connect two or
more floor panels to one another and prevent a displacement of the
floor panels with respect to one another in at least one of a
laying plane and perpendicular thereto, wherein the floor panels
with support boards of wood or a woodbased material and floor
panels with support boards of a plastic are connected to one
another and laid.
9. A floor system having support boards having two or more floor
panels, comprising: a first part of the floor panels having support
boards of a first material type; a second part of the floor panels
having support boards of a different, second material type; and the
floor panels of the first part and the second part have locking
devices configured to connect the two or more panels together and
prevent a displacement of the floor panels with respect to one
another in at least one of a laying plane and perpendicular
thereto.
10. The flooring system of claim 9, wherein the first material type
is wood or a woodbased material and the different, second material
is plastic.
11. The floor system according to claim 9, wherein the first
material type is HDF or MDF boards.
12. The floor system according to claim 9, wherein the different,
second material type is plastic or a mixture of plastic and wood
fibers.
13. The floor system according to claim 12, wherein the plastic is
polyamide, polycarbonate, polypropylene or polyethylene.
14. The floor system according to claim 9, wherein the floor panels
have a uniform decoration.
15. The floor system according to claim 9, wherein the floor panels
have a decoration with different color values depending on a type
of support board.
16. The floor system according to claim 9, wherein the floor panels
with different types of support boards have different decorations.
Description
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
[0001] The present application claims priority under 35 U.S.C. 119
to German Application Serial No 10 2005 017 443.4, which is
expressly incorporated by reference herein in its entirety.
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
[0002] The invention relates to a floor system with a plurality of
floor panels of support boards with at least one coated surface,
which have a decoration and locking devices on the support board
edges, which devices make it possible to connect several floor
panels to one another and prevent a displacement of the floor
panels with respect to one another in the laying plane and/or
perpendicular thereto, and a floor of such floor panels connected
to one another.
BACKGROUND DESCRIPTION
[0003] Floorings with support boards of different materials are
known. There are, i.e., floorings with support boards of HDF or
MDF, of solid wood or plywood with decorative layers applied
thereto, whereby the decorative layers can also be provided with a
wear-resistant layer. If the support boards are made of MDF or HDF,
a counteracting layer is applied to the side of the board facing
away from the decorative side in order to prevent a warping of the
finished floor panel. Floor panels with a support board of plastic
and a decorative layer on the top are likewise known.
[0004] In order to connect such floor panels to one another,
locking devices are attached to the edges of the support boards in
order to lock the boards to one another in a positive manner, so
that a displacement in the laying plane and, if necessary,
perpendicular thereto is prevented. Such a connection of two or
more floor panels is also made without adhesives.
[0005] DE 19 69 289 U is known as a carpet tile made of needle
felt. The carpet tile is adhered to a square hard plate. The plate
is provided with dovetailed recesses through which the tile can be
connected to other tiles.
[0006] A mobile floor with a variable surface is known from AT 6
643 U1, which comprises a plurality of elements with a subfloor and
a surface layer. The subfloor is profiled such that the profiles of
adjacent elements engage with one another on all sides, and it also
has recesses that accommodate the extensions of a corner
element.
[0007] A number of methods for connecting several floor panels to
one another are also known. These methods, though, differ from
manufacturer to manufacturer and from application to application
and as a rule are not compatible with one another. Thus, it is also
known that boards of different materials are not compatible with
one another in that they have different locking devices (e.g.,
locking mechanisms) and thus cannot be connected to one
another.
[0008] Support boards of wood or woodbased material react with
water so that such a floor panel swells upon contact with water,
white conversely it shrinks upon drying. These properties of a
support board of wood or woodbased materials makes laying
impossible in areas with waterlogging or high moisture ratios.
Floor panels with pure plastic support boards are relatively heavy,
provide a poorer impact sound insulation and are more expensive
than floor panels with woodbased material support boards.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0009] The present invention provides a flooring system that is
flexible and can be used in particular in areas with a high
moisture ratio. The floor system according to the invention
provides that a first part of the floor panels has a support board
that is made of wood or a woodbased material, while a second part
of the floor panels has support boards that are made of a plastic
or a mixture of plastic and wood fibers. Through this mixture of
floor panels compatible with one another and made of different
support board materials, it is possible to produce a flooring of
different materials which can be laid without adhesive with a
corresponding development of the locking devices, e.g., as modified
groove and tongue joints. The different types of support boards can
be mixed with one another so that different areas in a room can be
laid with a floor panel suitable therefor. Thus, for example, the
area under a bathtub, a shower or a wash basin can be laid with a
floor panel with a support board material that is suitable for the
amounts of moisture occurring there.
[0010] Floor panels with support boards of plastic are to be
provided in such areas exposed to moisture, for example. The area
in a room with little or no contact with water, for example in the
middle of a bathroom or a kitchen, can be laid with a floor panel,
e.g., a laminate floor panel with an HDF or MDF support board. A
flooring thus results in a mixed laying that is adapted to the
laying situation required.
[0011] A further development of the invention provides that all the
floor panels of the system have the same decoration so that a
uniform floor surface can be produced. In addition, it is possible
that, although the same type of decoration is used, different color
values or color shades are provided depending on the material of
the support board. Thus, on the one hand special laying patterns
can be produced, and on the other hand it can be clarified which
areas are suitable for an exposure to water and which are not
suitable for other areas.
[0012] Alternatively, the first part of the floor panels with
support boards of a woodbased material or of wood has a different
decoration from the second part of the floor panels with support
boards of plastic in order to clarify a clear separation of the
respective functional areas.
[0013] The support boards of plastic can be embodied, e.g., of
polyamide, polycarbonate, polypropylene or polyethylene; the
support boards of a woodbased material, of HDF or MDF. A
moisture-resistant support board can likewise be provided through a
mixture of plastic and wood fiber.
[0014] The invention also provides a floor of floor panels with
different support boards of which the locking system is compatible
among one another so that a floor panel with a support board of a
woodbased material can be connected to a floor panel with a support
board of a plastic in order to produce a closed floor surface. The
floor panels are equipped with so-called click profiles that make
it possible to lay them with one another without adhesive.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0015] An exemplary embodiment of the invention is described in
more detail below with the aid to the following drawing, which
shows an illustrative embodiment of the invention.
[0016] FIG. 1 shows an embodiment of the invention.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS OF THE INVENTION
[0017] The invention relates to a floor system with a plurality of
floor panels of support boards of different materials. In
embodiments, the plurality of floor panels have at least one coated
surface, which have a decoration. The flooring panels include
locking devices on the support board edges configured to connect
several floor panels to one another and prevent a displacement of
the floor panels with respect to one another in the laying plane
and/or perpendicular thereto, and a floor of such floor panels
connected to one another. Thus, floor panels with different type of
material support boards have locking devices which can be connected
to one another in accordance with the invention.
[0018] FIG. 1 shows, in plan view, a layout of a bathroom that is
laid with floor panels 5, 6. It should be understood, though, that
the plan view of the floor panels can be implemented in other
areas, as contemplated by the invention. In this embodiment, the
floor panels 5, 6 form a floor that covers the entire floor area of
the room.
[0019] In the embodiment of FIG. 1, a bathtub 2 is placed on the
floor in the bathroom, while a toilet 3 and a vanity 2 are attached
to a bathroom wall 1. Floor panels 5 with a support board of
plastic, which are shown by crosshatching, are laid in the area
around the bathtub 2, the toilet 3 and the vanity 4. In the other
areas of the bathroom, the floor is laid with floor panels 6 that
have a support board only of a woodbased material, preferably of
HDF or MDF. The floor panels 5, 6 are connected to one another and
form a closed floor. Alternatively to an embodiment of the support
boards of a pure plastic, floor panels 5 with support boards of a
plastic/wood fiber mixture can also be provided.
[0020] Thus, in embodiments, different types of support boards can
be mixed with one another so that different areas in a room can be
laid with a floor panel suitable therefor. In embodiments, all the
floor panels have the same decoration so that a uniform floor
surface can be produced. In addition, although the same type of
decoration is used, different color values or color shades are
provided depending on the material of the support board. Thus,
special laying patterns can be produced, and it can be clarified
which areas are suitable for an exposure to water and which are not
suitable. Alternatively, the floor panels with support boards of a
woodbased material or of wood can have a different decoration from
the second part of the floor panels with support boards of
plastic.
[0021] Moreover, a floor of floor panels with different support
boards can be compatible among one another so that a floor panel
with a support board of a first material, e.g., woodbased material,
can be connected to a floor panel with a support board of a second
material, e.g., plastic, in order to produce a closed floor
surface.
[0022] While the invention has been described in terms of exemplary
embodiments, those skilled in the art will recognize that the
invention can be practiced with modifications and in the spirit and
scope of the appended claims.
* * * * *