CA2431610A1

CA2431610A1 - Flexible self-adhesive hardwood floor board

Info

Publication number: CA2431610A1
Application number: CA002431610A
Authority: CA
Inventors: Jean-Louis Beliveau
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 2003-06-10
Filing date: 2003-06-10
Publication date: 2004-12-10

Description

FLEXIBLE SELF-ADHESIVE HARDW~~D FL,O~F2 BOARD
FIELD ~F THE INVENTI~N
The present invention relates generally to the field of flooring strips. More specifically, it concerns a thin flexible self-adhesive hardwood lining strip suitable for covering a floor or a wall.
BADKGR~IJN~ ~F THE INVEN°TI~IN
Zo On the market, there exist many different types of hardwood wood flooring coming in the form of strips. The main disadvantages of known hardwood flooring products are their thickness, weight and rigidity Their installation requires highly skilled workers and is also expensive.
15 Also known in the prior art are the flooring products disclosed in CJS
patents no.
6.156.402; 5,900,099; 5.894.700, 5.830.549 arsd 5,816,304. Each of these documents discloses a flooring strip which is a three laminate structure having three wood layers bonded together. The top layer is madle of hardwood while the middle and base layers are made of hardwood or a less expensive type of wood. The base

2 o surface of the flooring strip disclosed therein has longitudinally-extending wood fibers which have been broken to form scores to an extent sufficient to relieve tension on the base surfiace and thereby increase the flexibility of the flooring strip for more closely adhering to a subfloor. The base layer is also covered with one or more pressure sensitive adhesive-coated tapes for adhering the flooring strip to the 2 5 subfloor or with an adhesive layer adhered directly to the base layer.
Although these wood floorings provide some advantages over traditional hardwood floorings, they are very expensive to produce because of their three laminate structure and the presence of the scores required for providing flexibility to the product.

3 o Also known in the prior art, there are the °°floating" wood floorings made of thin stratified woodboard that looks like hardwood. These stratified woodboards imbricate side by side into each other. Although these floating wood floorings may look at first glance like hardwood, they do not provide the quality of hardwood flooring such as durability, hardness, and strength.
There is indeed a need for low cost hardwood throughout strips providing a solid and seamless look like nail-down hardwood flooring yet thin, flexible and easy to install.
SUMMITRY ~F THE INVENTI~~J
An object of the present invention is to provide a lining strip that satisfies the above-mentioned need.
In accordance with the present invention, that object is achieved with a lining strip for covering a floor or a wall, the strip comprising a top face, a bottom face, opposed side edges and opposed end edges. The lining strip is characterised in that it is a thin one-layer structure made of hardwood throughout comprising:
- rounded chamfers at the junction between thE: base face and the edges of the strip; and - a layer of self-adhesive totally covering the bottom face of the strip but the chamfers.
2 o By thin layer structure, it is meant a layer of less than '/~ inch thick, more preferably of 1I8 inch thick. Such a thin structure, which can be installed without raising doors, provides flexibility to the strip, thereby preventing the same to be pulled away from the subfloor once installed thereon.
2 5 The layer of self-adhesive covering the base face provides a good interface for adhering the strip to a subfloor whereas the chamfers which are not covered with the self-adhesive facilitate the installation of a strip alongside and close to another strip.
The chamfer also allows the application of the adhesive on the whole surface of the underside of the strip, while preventing any extra to be laid accidentally on the edges 3 o during the manufacturing process. The edges are perpendicular to the underside of the strips despite the presence of the chamfer. This configuration and the fact that the edges are adhesive free allow for a better abutting connection between edges, and a seamless finish like nail-down systems. During storage, the adhesive is covered with a thin layer of protective material that can be peeled off just before installation. The thin layer can be made of waxed paper or other material available for that purpose, installation is simply done by abutting consecutive strips.
The hardwood strips of this invention may also be used to cover walls and pre-existing floors.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
1 o Fig 1 Is a perspective view of portions of two strips according to a preferred embodiment of the invention showing strips with interlocking means about to be assembled.
Fig 2 is a longitudinal cross-sectional view through a portion of two assembled strips s s showing abutting end edges.
Fig 3 is an enlarged view of one of the side edges of the strips of figure 1 Fig 4. is a transversal cross-sectional view through a portion of three assembled 2 o strips showing abutting side edges.
DESCRIPTION OF A PREFERRED EMBODIMENT
In the following description, similar features in the drawings have been given similar 2 s reference numerals and in order to lighten down the figures, some elements are not referred to in some figures if they were already identified in a precedent figure.
A preferred embodiment is described in reference to figures 1-4. In this embodiment the strips 1 are thin (1I8'°) and made of hardwood, such as oak and maple tree. A
3 o rounded chamfer 2 is cut between edges 3 and 4 and the underside 8 of a strip. The underside of the strip is totally covered with a thin layer of adhesive 6 that stops at the chamfers. Chamfer 2 prevents an excess quantity of adhesive 6 from extending

4 to edges 3 and 4. Edges 3 and 4 are perpendicular to underside 5. When edges 3 of neighbouring strips abut as shown in figure 2, the finish of the top 7 is seamless.
Referring to figure 1, the strip 1 has a locking means consisting of tongue 8 and groove 9. As shown specifically in figure 3, the upper side of the groove has a rounded chamfer 10 with edge 4.This chamfer 10 allows the groove 9 to slide easier on tongue 8 during installation of two neighbouring strips. Tongue 8 and groove 9 usually exist on opposite edges 4 of the strip.