AU8708498A

AU8708498A - Improved flooring boards

Info

Publication number: AU8708498A
Application number: AU87084/98A
Authority: AU
Inventors: Michael Francis Jones
Original assignee: TRUE GRID FLOORING Pty Ltd
Current assignee: TRUE GRID FLOORING Pty Ltd
Priority date: 1998-09-25
Filing date: 1998-09-25
Publication date: 2000-03-30

Description

F/uu/U1 11 28/5/91 Regulation 3.2(2)

AUSTRALIA

Patents Act 1990

ORIGINAL

COMPLETE SPECIFICATION STANDARD PATENT Application Number: Lodged: Invention Title: IMPROVED FLOORING BOARDS The following statement is a full description of this invention, including the best method of performing it known to us IMPROVED FLOORING BOARDS The present invention relates to improvements in flooring boards of the type made from laminating thin wood layers and thereafter cutting the sheet into board widths.

Flooring boards of the aforementioned type are most usually produced with a plurality of layers (typically five or seven) layed with the wood grains in adjacent layers being crossed relative to one another. The layers are often glued together with water resistant glue to allow the boards thus formed to be used in "wet" areas where water resistance is needed. Such boards are often layed over other existing floor surfaces such as chipboard, conventional flooring boards and concrete slabs although there is no reason why they might not also be layed on floor joists. Normally the last layer applied to the laminated structure comprises the desired wood appearance for the floor to be produced, with the remaining layers being formed by less expensive timber layers. Once 15 the laminated sheet is thus produced, the sheet is cut into flooring board width strips with the tongue and grooves formed in opposed edges. Normally the S: thickness of each layer is between 1 and 3 mm as beyond this thickness range, it is very difficult to achieve a satisfactory surface condition particularly for the outer surface layer. When the boards thus produced are layed, because of 20 manufacturing difficulties, adjacent boards will have slightly higher or slightly lower surfaces requiring sanding of the flooring boards before lacquering. This sanding step occasionally requires significant amounts of wood to be removed which substantially weakens or in some unfortunate cases fully removes the top veneer layer exposing undesirable mid layers of the board.

The objective of the present invention is to provide an improved flooring board construction which will overcome difficulties of the aforementioned type.

Accordingly, the present invention provides a flooring board construction including a plurality of laminated layers, the layers at least in a mid region having their grain direction crossed relative to one another and having at an upper most region, at least two layers having their grain direction aligned in the same direction. Conveniently, each of the layers are glued together, preferably by water resistant glue. Preferably both edge regions have a groove formed therein. Conveniently, a tongue formation is formed by a plastics material strip (preferably polypropylene) received within one of the grooves whereby an extending portion of the strip forms the tongue.

Preferably a top two layers of the board construction have their grain directions aligned in the same direction with a next lower layer having its grain direction crossed relative to the layer above it. Conveniently every layer below the top three layers has its grain direction crossed relative to the layer above it.

Conveniently the board construction is formed by at least six crossed grain layers with two further uppermost layers having their grain direction aligned with 10 one another.

By arranging at least the two uppermost layers with aligned grain directions, it is possible to achieve a combined thickness of wood in the two layers within the range 3 to 6 mm without having to produce a single layer greater than 3 mm in thickness. In this way, high quality individual layers can be 15 produced for the floor board and the board will have up to 6 mm of sandable timber. Thus if 2 to 3 mm has to be removed during sanding, there still remains 3 to 4 mm of top high quality timber on the upper surface.

~One preferred embodiment of the present invention will hereinafter be described with reference to the annexed drawings, in which 20 Figure 1 is a side edge view of a laminated timber floor board according to this invention; Figure 2 is a top plan view of Figure 1; Figure 3 is a side edge view of the board shown in Figure 1 from an opposite side thereof; Figure 4 is an end edge view of the board shown in Figure 1; Figure 5 is a perspective view of the board shown in the preceding figures; and Figure 6 is an exploded perspective view similar to Figure Referring to the drawings, the board 10 comprises a plurality of laminated layers 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17 and 18. The layers 11 to 16 have their grain directions crossed relative to one another. The layer 17 has its grain direction crossed relative to the layer 16 immediately beneath. The top layer 18, according to this invention, conveniently has its grain direction aligned with the layer 17 immediately beneath it. Preferably a longitudinally extending groove 19 is provided in each of the opposed side edges 20, 21 with one of the grooves being filled by a plastics material strip 22 (preferably polypropylene) which forms the tongue formation of the floor board.

Conveniently the thickness of each of the upper two layers 17, 18, are in the range of 1 to 3 mm, preferably about 2.5 mm. Conveniently the layers 11 to 16 are also within the thickness range of 1 to 3 mm, preferably between about 1.5 and 2.5 mm.

Preferably some layers within a central zone have a thickness less than the layer thickness in the top two and lower most layers. Conveniently all layers in the central zone having grain directions aligned with the top two layers have reduced thickness. In this way the total thickness of crossed grain layers may at least approximate the total thickness of the longitudinally aligned grain layers.

The direction of the grain in the top two layers 17, 18 relative to the side edges 20, 21 is unimportant but in most instances would be aligned with these edges rather than transverse thereto. It will of course be apparent that the grain Sgo.

direction in the top two layers 17 and 18 might be aligned, with all other layers having their grain directions relatively crossed. The top two (or three) layers are to be produced from the same variety of timber whereas the remaining layers can be produced from other timber varieties and in particular cheaper woods or more easily renewable resource woods such as radiata pine. For example the top layers might be produced from hard woods where the central and lower layers might be produced from soft woods such as pine or the like. In a particularly preferred arrangement the top two layers and at least the lower most layer are made from layers of the same species of wood with layers in between being formed from readily renewable resource timbers such as radiata pine.

The layers are preferably laminated using water resistant glues. By the arrangements described above it is possible to obtain a thickness of high quality wood layers at the top of the board that is in the range up to about 6 mm without having to produce a bad quality single thickness veneer layer. The top two layers may be sanded to reasonably significant depths without adversely affecting the quality or performance of the board.

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Claims

1. A flooring board construction including a plurality of laminated layers, the layers at least in a mid region having their grain direction crossed relative to one another and having at an upper most region, at least two layers having their grain direction aligned in the same direction.

2. A flooring board construction according to claim 1, wherein the board has opposed side edges, each said side edge having a groove formed therein with a plastics material strip located in one of said grooves.

3. A flooring board construction according to claim 1 or claim 2, wherein said at least two layers in the upper most region are made from the same wood variety.

4. A flooring board construction according to claim 3, wherein a lower most layer of the construction is made from the same wood variety as the top two layers.

S. A flooring board construction according to claim 4, wherein all the layers between the top two layers and the lower most layer are made from a wood variety different to the wood variety of the top two layers and the lower most layer.

6. A flooring board construction according to any one of claims 3 to wherein each said layer has a thickness within the range of 1 mm to 3 mm.

7. A flooring board construction according to claim 6, wherein the thickness of each of the top two layers is no greater than 2.5 mm. 6

8. A flooring board construction according to any one of claims 1 to 7, wherein the top two layers have aligned grain directions with each layer below the top two layers having its grain direction crossed relative to the grain direction of the layer immediately above it.

9. A flooring board construction according to any one of claims 1 to 8, wherein the layers are laminated together using water resistant glue.

10. A flooring board construction according to any one of claims 1 to 8, wherein at least seven said layers are provided. *Po •66

11. A flooring board construction according to claim 9, wherein eight said layers are provided.

12. A flooring board construction according to claim 1, substantially as shown and described with reference to the accompanying drawings. DATED THIS 25TH DAY OF SEPTEMBER, 1998 TRUE GRID FLOORING PTY. LTD. *0 WATERMARK PATENT TRADEMARK ATTORNEYS 290 BURWOOD ROAD HAWTHORN VICTORIA 3122 AUSTRALIA SKP:JC DOC 23 AU002821.WPC