AU2006100950A4 - Hard Floor Sound Insulation - Google Patents

Description

AUSTRALIA

ORIGINAL

COMPLETE SPECIFICATION INNOVATION PATENT Invention Title: Name of Applicant: Actual Inventor: Address for service: Hard Floor Sound Insulation Duraseal Pty Ltd Robert McKinnon WRAY ASSOCIATES Level 4, The Quadrant 1 William Street Perth, WA 6000 Attorney code: WR The following statement is a full description of this invention, including the best method of performing it known to me:-

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c "Hard Floor Sound Insulation" Z Field of the Invention 00oO The present invention relates to insulation for floor covering.

Background Art 5 Hard surface floor coverings such as floorboards, tiles and parquetry are

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Sincreasing in popularity over carpet due to their aesthetic appearance and Sbecause they are easy to clean compared to carpet and rug covering. A disadvantage of such hard floor coverings however is that they can produce a lot of noise when walked on, particularly with heeled shoes. This noise is particularly disadvantageous in multiple level buildings such as offices or apartments where noise from an upper floor can be heard by occupants in a lower floor.

In this specification, a "hard surface floor covering" is taken to mean floor covering which provides a top surface which is relatively harder when compared to carpet or rug. Examples of such hard surface floor covering include floorboards, tiles, parquetry, marble, linoleum, vinyl and the like.

It is the object of the present invention to substantially overcome the above disadvantages.

Disclosure of the Invention The present invention the combination of a hard surface floor covering and an insulation material to be disposed underneath the floor covering in use.

In the preferred embodiment, the insulation material comprises a thin substantially resilient core material covered by a skin material on its planar surfaces. The core material is preferably a honeycomb structure comprising a number of side by side interlinked hollow cells having open ends. The cells are -3-

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0preferably hexagonal. The skin material is preferably made from a flexible material and covers the open ends of the cells.

The present invention also provides a method comprising the steps of: oo applying adhesive to a floor surface; laying on said floor surface an insulation material; IOapplying adhesive to said insulation material; and laying a hard surface floor covering over the insulation material.

Brief Description of the Drawing Preferred forms of the present invention will now be described with reference to the accompanying Figure 1 drawing which schematically shows an embodiment of the present invention.

Best Mode(s) for Carrying Out the Invention Figure 1 schematically shows an embodiment according to the present invention.

The present method includes applying an adhesive to a floor surface 10, which for example can be a bare concrete floor. An insulation material 12 is then laid on the floor surface 10. In the preferred embodiment, the insulation material 12 comprises a thin substantially resilient core material 14 covered by bottom skin material 16 and top skin material 17 on its planar surfaces. The core material 14 is preferably a honeycomb structure as shown which comprises a number of side by side interlinked hollow hexagonal cells 18 made from suitable plastics material such as polypropylene. The skin material 16 and 17 cover the open ends of the cells 18 and are preferably made from a flexible material such as non woven fabric. Adhesive is then applied to the top skin material 17 and a layer of hard surface floor covering 20 is laid over the insulation material 12. The floor covering 20 can be floorboard, tiles, parquetry or other hard surface floor

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0covering. Alternatively, the present invention can also be utilised with soft surface floor covering such as carpet.

It is to be noted that the drawing is schematic only and that the insulation 00 Smaterial 12 and floor covering 20 will typically be co-extensive with the floor I 5 In use, the insulation material 12 substantially reduces the noise produced on the 0floor covering 20, as the material 12 is resilient and absorbs a substantial amount of the force exerted on the floor covering 20. Also, less noise is transmitted to 0rooms below the floor 10 as the material 12 substantially prevents noise from 1 being transmitted therethorugh.

The material skin 16 can also include other layers as desired, such as a fireproof layer, a waterproof layer, further resilient and /or noise insulation layers and the like.

Throughout the specification, unless the context requires otherwise, the word "comprise" or variations such as "comprises" or "comprising", will be understood to imply the inclusion of a stated integer or group of integers but not the exclusion of any other integer or group of integers.

Claims (5)

1. 2. The combination of claim 1 wherein the insulation material comprises a thin substantially resilient core material covered by a skin material on its planar surfaces. INO
2. 3. The combination of claim 2 wherein the core material is a honeycomb structure comprising a number of side by side interlinked hollow cells having open ends.
3. 4. The combination of claim 3 wherein the skin material is made from a flexible material and covers the open ends of the cells. A method comprising the steps of: applying adhesive to a floor surface; laying on said floor surface an insulation material; applying adhesive to said insulation material; and laying a hard surface floor covering over the insulation material.
4. 6. A combination substantially as herein described with reference to the accompanying drawing.
5. 7. A method substantially as herein described with reference to the accompanying drawing.