BE1027869B1 - POLYMER FLOOR ELEMENT - Google Patents

Abstract

Polymer floor element comprising a decorative top layer on a polymer substrate, the floor element has a rectangular or square surface with a longest side less than 3.0 m and greater than 0.4 m, for which it applies that for a strip of the floor element with a first point Q defined as a vertex of the strip, and a point P at a distance of 40 cm from Q along one side of the strip, suspended over a rod of diameter 2 cm with its side on which P and Q are defined, perpendicular to the axis of the bar, so that -P is located in a vertical sense at the highest point where the floor element touches the bar; and - the strip with point Q hangs down along one side of the rod under its own weight of the strip; the line PQ intersects with the vertical through P at an angle smaller than 15°.

Description

POLYMERIC FLOOR ELEMENT Technical Field The invention is related to polymeric floor elements and floor coverings comprising such polymeric floor elements.

State of the art Polymeric floor elements are known in the art.

These are often large surfaces, such as wall-to-wall vinyl, that are glued to the screed with a permanent adhesive.

In case of damage or wear, the entire surfaces must be removed again, which is expensive and labour-intensive.

Other polymeric floor elements are polymeric planks from, for example, PVC, which are coupled to each other on the sides via a coupling mechanism in order to thus provide a larger surface with floor covering.

Here too, repairing damaged or worn floor elements is a challenge.

There is thus a need for a more flexibly layable floor covering type, which allows to quickly replace the floor elements that provide parts of a larger surface.

Summary of the Invention According to a first independent aspect of the invention there is provided a polymeric floor element, the floor element comprising a decorative top layer on a polymeric substrate, the floor element has a rectangular or square surface with a longest side less than 3.0 m and greater than 0.4 m, for which applies that for a strip of the floor element with a first point Q defined as a corner point of the strip, and a point P at a distance of 40 cm from Q along one side of the strip, suspended over a bar with a diameter of 2 cm with its side on which P and Q are defined, perpendicular to the axis of the bar, so that e P is located in a vertical sense at the highest point where the floor element touches the bar; and e the strip with point Q hangs along one side of the rod under its own weight of the strip; the line PQ intersects with the vertical through P at an angle smaller than 15°.

It is clear that the measurement is made after the strip has been given time to come into a stable hanging condition. This may take several minutes. The measurement is performed in a conditioned environment of 23°C and 50% RH. Thus, the side where P and Q are located makes contact with the rod. The length of the strip overhanging the bar is therefore 40 cm. Preferably, the angle between the straight line PQ and the vertical through P is less than 11°.

Such floor elements, which are extremely flexible, have the advantage that the floor elements can be installed very easily on a substrate provided with a non-permanent adhesive (or tackifier). They show little to no tendency to curl up once placed, and do not require a permanent glue to hold them in place. A non-permanent adhesive is sufficient. Such floor elements can thus also be easily removed from a floor covering constructed from such floor elements laid side-by-side.

The top layer typically comprises a decorative layer, a wear layer and optionally an outer coating.

According to some embodiments, the floor element may have a rectangular or square surface with short side less than 0.5m and greater than 0.08m.

Preferably, the long side is in the range of 0.4 to 2.5 m, such as in the range of 0.4 to 2.0 m. The short side is preferably in the range of 0.1 to 0.45 m, such as in the range of 0.15 to 0.45 m.

Floor elements with such dimensions are easy to trade and manipulate .

According to some embodiments, the floor element may have a weight per unit area of between 1500 g/m? and 3000 g/m°.

Preferably, the weight per unit area is chosen between 1900 g/m². and 2600 g/m?, such as between 2050 g/m? and 2500 g/m°.

Floor elements with such surface weights have the advantage that their weight helps to lay them more stably around a substrate, especially if it is provided with a non-permanent adhesive.

According to some embodiments, the floor element may have a thickness of between 1mm and 8mm. In some embodiments, the polymer may be polyvinyl chloride.

PVC refers to polyvinyl chloride or a copolymer of vinyl chloride and vinyl acetate. PVC preferably has a K value of between 50 and 90. Preferably, soft polymer, such as soft PVC, is used for the invention. Within the scope of this invention, by soft polymer, such as soft PVC, is meant a polymer comprising 40 or more than 40 phr plasticizers. By semi-rigid or semi-soft polymers, for example semi-soft or semi-rigid PVC, is meant a polymer comprising between 10 and 40 phr plasticizers, whereas hard polymers, such as hard PVC, have less than or just 10 phr plasticizers. includes.

Generally within the scope of this invention, plasticizers include esters of carboxylic acids (e.g. esters of phthalic acid, iso- or terephthalic acid, trimelitic acid and adipic acid), e.g. diisononyl phthalate (DINP), dioctyl terephthalate (DOTP), diisononyl-1,2 -cyclohexanedicarboxylate (DINCH), esters of phosphoric acid, for example triaryl or trialkylaryl phosphates, for example tricresyl phosphate, chlorinated or unchlorinated hydrocarbons, ethers, polyesters, polyglycols, sulfonamides, or combinations of these. In some embodiments, the floor element may be sheet vinyl.

The sheet vinyl used in this aspect of the invention is typically layered, and comprises an optional soft polymer backlayer, preferably PVC, and one or more soft or semi-rigid PVC layers, on or in which possibly at least one reinforcement layer. is adhered or embedded, and e a finishing layer typically comprising a decorative layer, a wear layer and optionally a coating on the outside. Optionally, the soft or semi-rigid PVC layer or layers comprise a reinforcement layer, for example a textile reinforcement layer, for example a glass fiber fleece or fabric.

The soft or semi-rigid PVC layer may comprise fillers between 10 and 70% by weight. Fillers may include glass fibers, calcium hydroxide (slaked lime), calcium carbonate and calcium hydrogen carbonate, and/or CaMg(CO:s)2, talc, or also lightweight fillers such as hollow microspheres (Expancel). The above-mentioned weight percent (%w), and unless otherwise expressed, each weight percent stated herein, is expressed as the weight of the filler relative to the weight of the entire polymer formulation, if applicable PVC formulation, in which the filler is contained.

Furthermore, the polymer of the first and/or optionally second polymer layer may comprise additives such as pigments and dyes, preservatives, anti-fungals, thermal stabilizers, UV stabilizers, blowing agents, viscosity regulators, and the like.

The optional backlayer is made of soft PVC and typically has a thickness of more than

0.5mm, for example between 0.5mm and 5mm, for example between 0.75mm and

2.5mm. In addition to PVC, the material of which this backlayer consists also comprises fillers (up to 60% w/w relative to the entire PVC material, for instance about 50% w/w) and additives, and preferably more than 40 phr plasticizer, more particularly more than 50 phr plasticizer.

The backlayer can be foamed or not, and can have a density between 0.3 g/cm? and have 1.9 g/cm.

The soft or semi-rigid PVC layer or layers, to or in which optionally a reinforcing layer is adhered or embedded or is preferably a non-woven fabric impregnated with PVC. The PVC used to partially or preferably completely impregnate the glass fiber fleece is preferably soft PVC. In addition to the polymer, the PVC also comprises fillers (up to for example 75%w or up to 50%w with respect to the entire PVC material, for example up to about 40%w) and additives, and preferably more than 40 phr plasticizer, in particular more than 50 phr plasticizer . The thickness of this layer can be up to 0.6mm but is preferably between 0.20mm and 0.40mm, such as approx

0.30mm. the density of the PVC used is preferably below 1.9 g/cm 2 , such as for example between 1.4 g/cm * and 1.7 cm°, for example between 1.5 g/cm * and 1.6 g/cm°. Preferably a glass fiber fleece (nonwoven) is used which has approximately the same thickness as this layer. The preferred web has a thickness of 0.3 mmm and a weight per unit area of 35 g/m°. The soft or semi-soft PVC of the sheet vinyl may be laminated by means of PVC plastisol, with a first PVC layer being PVC plastisol impregnated in the reinforcement layer, and one or more layers of PVC plastisol applied to this impregnated reinforcement layer. The PVC layer or layers may be foamed or unfoamed, and in the foamed state most preferably into a closed cell foam. This foaming can be mechanical foaming (for example by introducing gas or air bubbles), by chemical foaming with a blowing agent (for example azodicarbonamide or ADCA), or by mixing in expandable or expanded cells (for example Expancell). The density of the PVC is preferably in the range of 0.5 to 2.1 kg/l, for example between 0.8 to 2.0 kg/l.

The finish layer typically includes a decorative layer, a wear layer and optionally an exterior coating. The decorative layer may comprise soft PVC with a thickness of between

0.09mm and 0.6mm, for example between 0.4mm and 0.6mm. It can be a PVC layer (for example a foil) which is printed with a decorative motif. The PVC used may be soft PVC. In addition to polymer, this PVC layer also comprises additives and fillers (up to 50% w/w relative to the entire PVC composition), and plasticizers preferably more than 40 phr, in particular more than 50 phr plasticizer. The PVC may or may not be foamed, but is preferably foamed. In case a foamed PVC material is used, the PVC layer may have a density below 1 g/cm², such as between 0.5 and 0.8 g/cm. With non-foamed PVC, the density is preferably between 1 g/cm? and 1.9 g/cm', such as between 1.3 g/cm and 1.6 g/cm3. The layer can be supplied as pre-printed or non-preprinted film, as emulsion or (micro-)suspension polymerization layers, by calendering or as a plastisol layer.

Optionally, the decorative layer is a print layer printed directly on the soft or semi-rigid PVC layer. This is especially applicable if the soft or semi-rigid PVC layer is provided with a PVC layer (foamed or not), on top of a reinforcement layer of glass fiber fleece impregnated with PVC.

A wear layer is provided on this decorative layer, which thickness can be chosen, for example between 0.15 mm and 1.0 mm, for example between 0.2 mm and 0.55 mm. It can preferably be a soft or semi-hard PVC layer, for example a foil. Preferably no fillers are added or used, and the layer is transparent.

In addition to polymer, this PVC layer also comprises additives and plasticizers, preferably more than 20 phr, in particular more than 30 phr plasticizer. Plasticizers up to 40 phr can be provided in this PVC. Preferred ranges for plasticizers are 20 to 45 phr, more preferably 35 to 40 phr. The PVC can have a density preferably between 1 g/cm: and 1.5 g/cm', such as between 1.2 g/cm: and 1.3 g/cm:.

The wear layer is optionally provided with wear particles, for example Al2O: particles. The PVC is typically free of fillers. The layer can be supplied as foil or as emulsion or (micro-)suspension polymerization layers, by calendering or as a plastisol layer.

As a finishing layer, the sheet vinyl can further comprise a lacquer layer or coating on top of the wear layer, which consists of polyurethane (PU), for example a thermal or UV curing PU layer. The thickness can be up to 20, even 30 µm, but is preferably about 10 µm thick.

According to a second independent aspect of the invention there is provided a floor element being a sheet vinyl floor element, the floor element has a rectangular or square surface with a longest side less than 3.0 m and greater than 04 m.

According to some embodiments, the floor element may have a rectangular or square surface with short side less than 0.5m and greater than 0.08 m. Preferably the long side is in the range of 0.4 to 2.5 m, such as in the range of 0.4 to 2.0 m The short side is preferably in the range of 0.1 to 0.45 m such as in the range of 0.15 to 0.45 m.

According to a third independent aspect of the invention there is provided a floor covering comprising a plurality of floor elements according to the first and/or second aspect of the invention. According to some embodiments, the floor elements may be glued to a subfloor. This can be done with permanent or non-permanent glue.

According to some embodiments, the floor elements may be glued to a subfloor by means of a non-permanent adhesive. An underlayment is typically a product that is supplied on a sheet or roll, and is fitted under the floor covering elements. Its function is mainly to mask unevenness on the load-bearing floor construction, and possibly to add further acoustic or sound or thermal insulating properties to the floor covering. In some embodiments, the subfloor may be a foamed polymeric subfloor. The subfloor comprises a foamed polymer layer and preferably at least one reinforcement layer. This at least one reinforcement layer of the subfloor may be a fiberglass fleece or fiberglass fabric.

The foamed polymer layer of the subfloor can be a polymer layer of PVC, PU (polyurethane), PE (polyethylene) or PVB (polyvinyl butyral). The optionally at least one reinforcing layer preferably has a surface weight of at least 15 g/m 2 , and preferably a surface weight of at least 25 g/m 2 . Optionally, two or more such reinforcement layers are provided in the subfloor. The density of the subfloor is preferably between 1000 and 3000 g/m, such as between 1400 and 2600 g/m°. According to some embodiments, the floor elements may be glued to the load-bearing floor structure.

This can be glued with permanent or permanent glue. According to some embodiments, the floor elements may be glued to the load-bearing floor structure by means of a non-permanent adhesive.

The non-permanent adhesive is preferably a waterborne, solvent-free, acrylic resin dispersion adhesive. The independent and dependent claims set forth specific and preferred features of the embodiments of the invention. Features of the dependent claims may be combined with features of the independent and dependent claims, or with features described above and/or below, in any suitable manner as would be apparent to a person skilled in the art.

The above and other features, features and advantages of the present invention will be illustrated by the following exemplary embodiments, optionally in combination with the drawings.

The description of these exemplary embodiments is provided by way of illustration, without intent to limit the scope of the invention. The reference numerals in the following description refer to the drawings. Same reference numbers in possibly different figures refer to identical or similar elements.

Brief description of the figures With a view to better demonstrating the features of the invention, some preferred embodiments are described below, by way of example without any limiting character, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: Figures 1 and 2 show floor coverings according to the invention.

e Figure 3 shows a schematic cross section of a floor element according to the invention.

e Figure 4 shows schematically the test set-up to which floor elements according to the invention are subjected.

Description of Embodiments Examples The present invention is described below using specific embodiments.

It should be noted that the term "comprising", as used, for example, in the claims, should not be interpreted in a limiting sense, limiting to the following elements, features and/or steps. The term "comprising" does not exclude the presence of other elements, features or steps.

Thus, the scope of an expression "an object comprising the elements A and B" is not limited to an object containing only the elements A and B. The scope of an expression "a method comprising steps A and B" is not limited to a method containing only steps A and B.

In the light of the present invention, these terms mean only that the relevant elements and steps respectively for the invention are the elements A and B respectively.

In the following specification reference is made to "an embodiment" or "the embodiment". Such reference means that a specific element or feature described with reference to this embodiment is included in at least this one Embodiment.

However, the occurrence of the terms "in an embodiment" or "in the embodiment" in various places in this specification does not necessarily refer to the same embodiment, although it may refer to a same embodiment.

Furthermore, the features or features may be combined in any suitable manner in one or more embodiments, as would be apparent to those skilled in the art.

A floor covering 10 and 11 according to an aspect of the invention is shown in figures 1 and 2. In figure 1, the floor covering 10 consists of side-by-side floor elements

100 which are bonded to the screed of an underlying load-bearing floor structure 104 with a non-permanent adhesive 102. The non-permanent adhesive is a so-called tackifier, for example MAPEI Ultrabond eco Tack and was applied in an amount of 100 to 200 g/m². The individual floor elements 100 have the shape of a rectangle measuring 988 mm by 163 mm. these floor elements are further elucidated in figure 3. In figure 2 the floor covering 11 consists of side-by-side floor elements 100 which are bonded to a subfloor 105 with a non-permanent adhesive 102. This subfloor 105 lies freely on the screed of an underlying load-bearing floor structure 104. The non-permanent adhesive may be identical or similar in nature and quantity as described for Figure 1. The individual floor elements 100 are in the form of a rectangle measuring 988 mm by 163 mm. these floor elements are further explained in figure 3.

The subfloor is a foamed PU subfloor with a surface weight of 2.5 to 3 kg/m2. In an alternative, the floor elements can be glued to the screed with a permanent adhesive, for example a pressure sensitive adhesive (PSA adhesive). The adhesive is applied at a rate of 70 g/m°. As shown in more detail in Figure 3, the floor element 100 is a rectangular piece of sheet vinyl, with dimensions L being 988mm, W being 163mm and thickness D being 2mm. It has a surface weight of 2170 g/m². The floor element 100 is made up of a top layer 210 which itself consists of a thermally curing PU coating 201 of 10 µm thick, situated on a wear plate 202 of soft PVC (40 phr plasticizer) with a density 1.2 to 1.3 g/cm? and thickness 0.3mm. Beneath this wear layer is itself a decorative layer 203. This top layer 210 lies on a substrate layer 211 which is itself layered. The substrate 211 comprises soft and foamed PVC. At the top is a layer 204 of soft and foamed PVC with a density of 0.5 to 0.8 g/cm? and a thickness of about 0.45mm. The amount of plasticizer in this PVC is 60 phr, and it further comprises 40%w of filler. The filler is preferably white, so that this layer may preferably have a white color. This soft and foamed PVC may itself be constructed from a number of layers of soft and foamed PVC (not shown in Figure 3). In an alternative embodiment, this layer 204 is not foamed and has a density of well 1.6 to 1.6 g/cm®. The decorative layer 203 can be a very thin hard PVC foil provided with a decorative print, but in this embodiment a print is printed directly on the top side of the PVC layer 204. On the underside of this soft and foamed PVC is a layer 205. with a fiberglass fleece with a surface weight of 35 g/m? which acts as a reinforcement layer. This fiberglass fleece is completely impregnated with soft PVC and is approx

0.3mm thick.

The polymer used for this reinforcement layer is PVC with a density of 1.5 à

1.6 g/cm 3 , includes well 60 phr plasticizer and about 40%w filler. At the bottom of the substrate is another back layer 206 consisting of soft PVC of approximately

0.95mm thickness, a 60 phr plasticizer and about 50%w filler. The layer may be foamed and have a density of well 1 to 1.3 g/cm 3 , or may be unfoamed with a density of 1.5 to 1.9 g/cm 3 . All PVC polymer has a K value between 50 and 90. This floor element 100 was tested for flexibility as shown in figure 4. The floor element 100 has a top and bottom side 111 and 110 respectively. On the bottom side and along the side 112 a point P and Q defined. Point Q is the corner point of the rectangular floor element on the underside of the floor element. Point P is at a distance of 40 cm from this point Q along the side

112. the floor element is conditioned at 23°C and 50% RH. It is suspended over a rod 300 with a diameter of 2cm, as shown in Figure 4. Point P is located vertically 150 at the highest point where the floor element touches the rod. In figure 4 to the right of the rod, 40 cm of the floor element hangs freely under the influence of gravity acting 150 vertically on this floor element. Between the vertical line 151 through point P and the line 152 connecting points P and Q (line PQ), an angle is measured after the floor element has been given time to come into a stable hanging condition. The angle measured for floor element 100 is 9°. An alternative floor element is a floor element with the same dimensions and surface weight as those described for the floor element 100. The alternative floor element is constructed identically to that shown in Figure 3, but the wear layer 202 has a thickness of 0.5 mm, where the back layer 206 is only 0.75. mm thick. This embodiment has a weight per unit area of 2240 g/m°.

The angle measurement as shown in figure 4 gives here an angle a of 7°.

It is understood that while the embodiments and/or the materials for furnishing embodiments of the present invention have been discussed, various modifications or changes may be made without departing from the scope and/or spirit of this invention. The present invention is by no means limited to the embodiments described above, but can be realized according to various variants without departing from the scope of the present invention.

Claims (14)

Conclusions 1.- Polymeric floor element comprising a decorative top layer on a polymer substrate, the floor element has a rectangular or square surface with a longest side less than 3.0 m and greater than 0.4 m, which applies to a strip of the floor element with a first point Q defined as a vertex of the strip, and a point P at a distance of 40 cm from Q along one side of the strip, suspended over a rod of diameter 2 cm with its side to which P and Q are defined, perpendicular on the axis of the rod, so that eP is located in the vertical sense at the highest point where the floor element touches the rod; and e the strip with point Q hangs along one side of the rod under its own weight of the strip; the line PQ intersects with the vertical through P at an angle smaller than 15°. 2. Polymer floor element according to claim 1, wherein the floor element has a rectangular or square surface with a short side smaller than 0.5m and larger than 0.08 m. 3. Polymeric floor element according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the floor element has a weight per unit area of between 1500 g/m? and 3000 g/m°. A polymeric floor element according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the floor element has a thickness between 1 mm and 8 mm. Polymeric floor element according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the polymer is polyvinyl chloride. A polymeric floor element according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the floor element is sheet vinyl. 7.- A floor element being a sheet vinyl floor element, the floor element has a rectangular or square surface with a longest side less than 3.0 m and greater than 0.4 m. A floor element according to claim 7, wherein the floor element has a rectangular or square surface with short side smaller than 0.5m and larger than 0.08 m. A floor covering comprising a plurality of floor elements according to any one of claims 1 to 8. 10. A floor covering according to claim 9, wherein the floor elements are glued to a subfloor. A floor covering according to claim 10, wherein the floor elements are glued to a subfloor by means of a non-permanent glue. A floor covering according to claim 10 or 11, wherein the subfloor is a foamed polymeric subfloor. A floor covering according to claim 9, wherein the floor elements are glued to the load-bearing floor structure. A floor covering according to claim 13, wherein the floor elements are glued to the load-bearing floor structure by means of a non-permanent glue.