MXPA00007151A - Surface covering having a natural appearance and method for making it - Google Patents

Abstract

A method for making a surface covering is disclosed which includes providing a surface covering having a backing layer, a foamable layer, and a design layer, wherein the design layer includes a portion of a pattern printed with at least one retarder composition. A wear layer is then provided on the design layer and the wear layer is cured. The foamable layer is thereby expanded to form a foam layer, and the pattern printed with at least one retarder composition is chemically embossed. The cured product is subsequently cooled to ambient temperature and then the top surface of the wear layer is subjected to a sufficient temperature to soften the wear layer. After being softened the wear layer is mechanically embossed with a surface texture, the embossed surface texture is set in the wear layer, and a top coat may then be provided on the embossed set wear layer. A surface covering having the various features described above is also disclosed. Preferably, the surface covering and the method for making the surface covering have a natural wood, stone, marble, granite, or brick appearance wherein the design layer includes one or more joint or grout lines created with at least one retarder composition and the wear layer is mechanically embossed with the surface texture of a wood, stone, marble, granite, or brick surface.

Description

COVERS FOR SURFACE THAT HAVE A NATURAL APPEARANCE AND METHODS TO MANUFACTURE A COVER FOR SURFACE THAT HAS A NATURAL APPEARANCE BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION FIELD OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to surface covers, particularly with surface covers having a natural appearance. The present invention also relates to the methods for manufacturing these types of surface covers.

DESCRIPTION OF THE RELATED ART There is currently a growing preference of consumers for natural materials or with an "appearance" that simulates wood, stone, marble, brick and natural granite for all types of surface covers, such as floor covering. The perception of a natural floor, for example, at an economical price, provides a high value, an acceptable style and a luxury appearance. The natural appearance of resilient vinyl floor coverings, for example, made by engraved hole along with chemical embossing technology, does not impart the real appearance of real wood, stone and the like. The subtle texture of wood grains and stone grains can not be achieved by chemical embossing technology that develops the texture by reacting the ink inhibitor with a blowing agent added in a pre-gel layer with heat and during a fusion process. In general, the texture created by the chemical embossing technique does not have well-defined precision of real natural products. In other words, chemical embossing has the disadvantage of having the ability to prepare only rounded edges and there is great difficulty in controlling the depth of embossing. In addition, this process leads to a texture that is too deep to be real. On the other hand, the mechanical embossing has the ability to reproduce the subtle exact and superficial textures of wood, stone, marble, brick, etc., natural. However, with mechanical embossing it is very difficult to obtain an embossing that is in register with the printed design. In accordance with the foregoing, there is a need for covers for surfaces that have a real "appearance" or natural appearance of wood, stone, marble, granite or brick and the methods for manufacturing said covers.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is a particular feature of the present invention to provide a surface cover having a design that looks like, for example, wood, stone, marble, granite or brick that is real. A further particularity of the present invention is to provide a method for manufacturing this cover for surface. The additional features and advantages of the present invention will be partially explained in the following description and, in part, will be apparent from the description or can be learned by the practice of the present invention. The objects and other advantages of the present invention will be conceived and achieved by means of the elements and combinations particularly pointed out in the written description including the appended claims. In order to achieve these and other advantages and, in accordance with the purposes of the present invention, as generally incorporated and described herein, the present invention relates to a surface covering having a backing layer and a foam layer. located at the top of the backup layer. In addition, a design layer that has a design is placed on top of the foam layer. To the P1091 minus one design element of the design layer is chemically embossed. A wear layer, placed at the top of the design layer, is mechanically embossed with a surface texture when the wear layer is in a softened state. The foam layer can be embossed mechanically or not. Finally, an upper layer can be placed on the upper part of the embossed wear layer. The present invention also relates to a surface covering that has a wood appearance, stone, marble, granite or natural brick. This surface cover has a backing layer, a layer of foam placed on top of the backing layer and a design layer. The design layer has the design of wood, stone, marble, granite or brick. The design layer is placed on top of the foam layer and the design has chemically embossed cement grout lines, which simulate the particularities found on natural surfaces, where wood, stone, marble, Granite or brick are formed as floor surfaces, for example. In addition, a wear layer, placed on top of the design layer, is mechanically embossed with a surface texture of wood, stone, marble, granite or natural brick, after the wear layer has been applied. softened The foam layer can be mechanically embossed or not. Finally, an upper coating can be placed on top of the embossed wear layer. The present invention also relates to a method for manufacturing a surface cover, which preferably has an appearance of wood, stone, marble, granite or natural brick, the method includes the steps of providing a cover for surface having a backing layer , a foamable layer placed on top of the backing layer and a design layer, placed on top of the foamable layer. The design layer preferably has a design made of wood, stone, marble, granite or brick. A portion of the design of the design layer is printed with a retarding composition. In the preferred embodiment, the design that is printed with the retarder composition is that of bonding lines or grout. Then, on top of the design layer a wear layer is provided and subjected to curing to cure the wear layer and expand the foamable layer, thus chemically embossing the areas that have been printed with the retarder composition. For the purposes of the present invention, "curing" in the art is also referred to as "fusing." After curing the wear layer, it is allowed to reach room temperature. This cooled product is then subjected to a temperature P1091 sufficient to soften the cured wear layer, preferably, by heating the upper surface of the cured and cooled wear layer. After it has softened, the wear layer is mechanically embossed while in the softened state. In particular, the wear layer is mechanically embossed with a surface texture of, for example, wood, stone, marble, granite or brick and the foam layer can be embossed mechanically or not, depending on the embossed design and the pressure applied to the wear layer. In the preferred embodiment of the invention, the chemical embossing of the bonding or grout lines is deeper than that of the portions of the cover for surface that have only been embossed mechanically. In this way, the surface texture created by the mechanical embossing is limited to the raised areas. These enhanced areas are the design elements of wood, stone, marble, granite or brick that are joined by the joining lines or grout. In this way, the cover for surfaces of the invention, which does not include the mechanically embossed surface texture in the joining lines or grout, has the appearance of mechanical embossing in register but is created without the technical difficulties associated with mechanical embossing in registry. Finally, in the preferred embodiment, on top of the wear layer P1091 embossing a superior coating is provided. It will be understood that the foregoing general description and the following detailed description are exemplary and explanatory only and are intended to provide the further explanation of the present invention, as claimed.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS This invention will be described in more detail with reference to the drawings, in which: Figure 1 represents a side view of the apparatus for embossing the surface covering of the present invention. Figure 2 is a fragmentary cross-sectional view of the surface cover of the present invention, depicting the multiple layers in detail. Figure 3 is a microscope photograph of the surface cover of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PRESENT INVENTION In general, a surface covering can be manufactured by the present invention, which combines chemical embossing with mechanical embossing to form a single product. Preferably, this product is a surface covering that has the appearance of wood, P1091 natural stone, marble, granite or brick, although other surface coatings having the desired combination of chemical embossing and mechanical embossing, as described herein, form a part of the present invention. For the purposes of the present invention, the surface cover includes, but is not limited to, floors such as tile floors, hardwood floors, solid vinyl tile, homogeneous flooring, cushioned floors and the like.; wallpaper; laminates and covers. In the manufacture of the surface cover, a backing layer or substrate A is provided and a foamable layer C and D is formed or placed on top of the backing layer A, as shown in Figure 2. The design layer B it has a design (not shown) and a part of this design is formed with a retarding composition such as, but not limited to, a retarding ink. Preferably, the design part is in the shape and form of one or more tie lines or slurry lines (not shown) that simulate, for example, the lines of junction between two strips of wood that form a surface covering or the union of stones, marble, granite or brick through the lines of mortar or grout between each stone, marble, granite or brick. Once the design layer B was applied, a The wear layer is applied or placed on top of the design layer and the surface cover and the wear layer is then cured such as, for example, by subjecting the surface cover to heat to form a cured wear layer. This curing process will also chemically emboss the areas of the design layer where the retarder ink was applied. In the preferred embodiment, the chemically embossed areas are the printed bonding or grout lines. Any heating means may be used, such as a forced hot air oven, heated with gas. The product is then allowed to reach room temperature, for example, by cooling. After this, the surface of the product is subjected to a temperature sufficient to soften or soften the surface of the cured wear layer, for example, by reheating, preferably, by infrared radiant heat. This softens the surface in order to allow the product to receive the mechanical embossing. The wear layer is then mechanically embossed to have a surface texture. Any surface texture can be embossed in the wear layer. Preferably, the surface texture simulates or has a surface texture of wood, stone, marble, granite or brick. During mechanical embossing, the foam layer can be embossed mechanically or not It is preferred that the foam layer is slightly embossed. In particular, in a preferred embodiment, the portions of the wear layer that will be mechanically embossed will compress or lose from about 1 to about 4 mils in thickness, while the portions of the foam layer in contact with these portions. they will be compressed or lost from about 1 to about 5 thousandths of an inch thick. In this preferred embodiment, the total embossing depth of the wear layer and the combined foam layer is between about 3 mils and about 8 mils. Preferably, the foam cells within the foam layer do not collapse or collapse in the embossed areas but may be flattened or distorted as shown in D of Figure 2. Then a coating may be provided on top of the embossed wear layer. top (not shown in Figure 2) to form the surface cover. The backing layer used in the present invention can be any conventional backing layer used in the surface covers, such as a sheet of felted or matted fibers of interwoven and overlapping filaments and / or fibers, normally of natural cellulose origin. , synthetic or made by man, such as cotton or rayon, although many other forms of leaves, films, textiles, fabrics or the like can be used. The substrate or backing layer may also be vinyl compositions not foamed and non-crosslinked. The thickness of a conventional substrate layer is generally not critical, and is preferably from about 2 to about 100 mils, more preferably from about 15 to about 30 mils. The foamable layer used in the present invention can be any conventional foamable layer, used in the surface covers, such as the foam layer used in the floors. In particular, the foamable layer can be any suitable material known in the art to produce foam layers, such as those of organosol or plastisol of polyvinyl chloride. Alternatively and preferably, the foam layer is a layer of resilient cellular foam that can be formed from a resinous composition containing a foaming or blowing agent that causes the composition to expand upon heating. It is also known in the art that the resinous and foamable sheet material can be selectively embossed, controlling the decomposition temperature of a blowing agent or catalyzed foaming of the thermally expandable composition. For example, by applying to the thermally expandable composition a reactive chemical compound which, in the art is referred to as a "regulator", "inhibitor" or "retarder", it is possible to modify the decomposition temperature of the foaming agent or catalyzed blowing agent in the area of application of the reactive compound. In this way, it is possible to produce sheet materials having surface areas that are depressed with the application of the inhibitor and which are enhanced close to the area without the application of the inhibitor. The inhibitor or retarder can conveniently be incorporated in an inhibitory or retarding composition, preferably in a foam retardant printing ink composition, which is printed on the thermally expandable resinous composition. These compositions are well known in the art and are generally based on an organic solvent carrier or vehicle system. Alternatively and preferably, an aqueous retardant printing ink composition such as that described in U.S. Patent No. 5,169,435, incorporated herein by reference, is used in its entirety. A highly preferred aqueous retardant printing ink composition contains from about 20 to about P1091 % by weight of acrylic resin binder, from about 6.5 to about 17% by weight of tolyltriazole, from about 20 to about 30% by weight of alcohol and from about 35 to about 50% by weight of water. Other foaming or blowing agents modifiers or inhibitors other than those of tolyltriazole, including, but not limited to, benzotriazole, fumaric acid, malic acid, hydroquinone, dodecanethiol, succinic anhydride or adipic acid can also be used. Additionally, other printing ink compositions, foam retarders, such as those described in U.S. Patent Nos. 4,191,581 and 4,083,907 of Hamilton; U.S. Patent No. 4,407,882 to Houser and U.S. Patent No. 5,336,693 to Frisch, all incorporated by reference herein. In the present invention, in order to create a foamable, chemically waffle layer, a substrate comprising an expandable resinous layer containing a foaming or blowing agent is provided. A printed design is provided on at least a portion of the expandable resinous layer. At least a portion of this printed design comprises a retardant composition. Is according P1091 it will be described below in further detail, once the wear layer is applied on top of the foamable layer, the expandable resinous layer (for example, the foamable layer) is then subjected to a sufficient temperature for sufficient time to expand the layer and , in this manner, forming an embossed region of the layer proximate to the portion of the printed design containing the foaming or blowing agent modifier or inhibitor. In general, a temperature of about 195 ° C to about 215 ° C and a time of about 2.5 minutes to about 3.0 minutes is sufficient to create the foam layer. Before subjecting the expandable resinous layer and the design layer to heat, a wear layer is deposited or applied on top of the design layer and the layers, together with the substrate, are subjected to heat or curing, which will cure only to the wear layer but will also expand the resinous layer and cause chemical embossing, as described above. The portion of the design layer that does not comprise at least one retarder composition is formed by non-retardant ink compositions. An example of this ink composition contains an acrylic resin, water, alcohol and one or more pigments. In forming a design that has both a retardant composition and a which does not contain the retarder composition, this design can be done in register using rotogravure printing in multiple stations. As indicated above, in the preferred embodiment of the present invention, a design layer contains a pattern of bonding or slurry lines which were created with at least one retarder composition. With the expansion of the foamable layer, these portions will be chemically embossed and will visually form lines of bond or grout to simulate the lines that exist in the natural surfaces of wood, stone, marble, granite or brick. The bonding or grout lines created with the retarding composition will generally have a width of, for example, about 1/16 inch to about 1/4 inch. The wear layer can be prepared from any suitable material known in the art for the production of these wear layers. Preferably, the wear layer is a transparent polyvinyl chloride layer. The dry film thickness of this PVC layer is not critical and is preferably about 5 mils to 50 mils, and more preferably about 10 mils to about 20 mils. Other examples of this wear layer include, P1091 in an enunciative form, acrylic polymer, polyolefins and the like. As indicated, this wear layer is applied and adhered to the foamable layer. The means for applying the wear layer to the foamable layer are known in the art and include, but are not limited to, a reverse roll coater. Once the wear layer is applied on top of the foamable layer, the wear layer is cured. This curing can be achieved by subjecting the wear layer together with the foamable layer and the substrate to a sufficient temperature, for example, by heating, to cure the wear layer in a heated, gas heated and multi-zone air oven, essentially as it is described in U.S. Patent No. 3,293,108. Also, the step of curing or heating will expand the foamable layer to form the foam layer that will have chemically embossed areas. In order to cure the wear layer, sufficient temperature would be used for sufficient time as is known to those skilled in the art. Preferably, this temperature is from about 195 ° C to about 215 ° C, for a time from about 2.0 minutes to about 3.0 minutes, more preferably from about 2.0 minutes to about 2.2 minutes. Once the wear layer is cured, it P1091 it prefers to allow the wear layer to reach room temperature, such as by passing it over a series of water-cooled drums or "cans", essentially as described in U.S. Patent No. 3,293,108. The wear layer is then subjected to a sufficient temperature for a sufficient time, in order to soften the wear layer to a sufficient degree to allow it to be waffle mechanically. The surface temperature of the wear layer, for the purposes of mechanical embossing, is preferably from about 145 ° C to about 160 ° C, depending, among other things, on the color of the pattern printed below the surface of the wear layer. The mechanical embossing of the wear layer can be obtained in such a way that the foam layer below the wear layer can be mechanically embossed or not. In any case, the portion of the foam layer that has been superimposed on the design layer having the retarding composition is not mechanically embossed. And, the portions or areas of the foam layer below the areas or portions of the wear layer that are embossed are generally slightly embossed. For the purposes of the present invention, any embossing technique known to those skilled in the art can be used; For example, the product can be fed through a P1091 grip line between an engraved steel embossing roller and / or a rubber backing roller, so that the face of the wear layer is in contact with the engraved steel roll. See Figure 1. The separation of the embosser can "float" against a fixed pressure or, more preferably, the embossing of the embosser can be "fixed" by means of adjustable "wedge blocks", for example. However, the fixed separation approach requires careful attention to maintain the consistent caliber of the product before entering the embossing section of the process. The preferred starting point for the fixed separation is 60% of the size of the specific product. Fine calibration adjustments can then be made to obtain the specified appearance. Furthermore, in order to maintain the faithful reproduction of the embossing roller that engraves on the embossed surface cover, it is advantageous to maintain a certain tension or positive "pull" in the weft as it enters the grip line. This tension also helps keep the towing of the frame straight. For the purposes of mechanical embossing, in general, the pressure applied to the wear layer is sufficient to create an embossing of, for example, about 1 mil of an inch to about 12 mils, more preferably of about 3 mils. thousandths of an inch to about 8 thousandths of an inch. As indicated above, in the preferred embodiment of the present invention, the chemical embossing of the bonding or grout lines is deeper than that of the portions of the cover for surfaces that have only been embossed mechanically. This process, which does not create the mechanically embossed surface texture in the joint or grout lines, imparts to the surface cover the appearance of the mechanical embossing in register. It is certainly within the limits of the present invention to use various devices to mechanically emboss different textures in the wear layer. In the preferred embodiment of the present invention, the device used to mechanically emboss will have a pattern that will simulate the surface texture of the wood, stone, marble, granite or brick and this texture will be transferred to the wear layer. In accordance with the invention and, as shown in Figure 1, a cover for cured, foamed and cooled surface is processed as follows to produce a surface having a "natural" appearance. A coated and cooled cover screen is passed through the "WEB GUIDE" at the point indicated by the entry arrow. This "WEB GUIDE" is provided to ensure that the plot is towed in a P1091 straight through the embossing line of the embosser. After leaving the "WEB GUIDE", the frame goes under the five burners of the "IR HEATER" ("IR HEATER"). The heat produced by the "IR HEATER" is adjusted as necessary to properly heat the surface of the screen, adjusting the height of the burners above the screen and adjusting the gas flow to the burners. From the "IR HEATER", the plot proceeds to the "EMBOSSER" ("GOFRADOR"). The hot surface of the weave makes contact with an engraved steel embossing roller. The aforementioned embossing grip line consists of this embossed steel embossed roll and a rubber bed roll which contacts the back surface of the weft. The rubber bed roll is provided with a steel backing roll which can be used, if necessary, to counteract any tendency of the rubber roll to "bend or buckle" downward. The web is kept in contact with the water-cooled embossing roller for approximately one 90-degree turn, by means of the uppermost idler roller. This contact with the surface of the cooled embossing roller removes some of the heat from the weft surface by heat transfer from the weft sheet to the water embossed steel embossing roller and thus "solidifies" the P1091 embossed The residence time depends on the exact circumference of the embossing roller and the linear speed and can be easily determined by someone skilled in the art. The approximate ranges of residence time are given for three possible frame rates in Table I below.

TABLE 1 The chilled embossed web is then directed back under the "IR HEATER" section of the apparatus. At the point indicated by the exit arrow, the web continues to the final coating station (not shown), for the application of a coating superior to the surface of the web, as described below. The apparatus for this coating station is well known to those skilled in the art. As indicated above, a critical feature of the invention is the surface temperature of the weft at the precise instant when the weft sheet P1091 enters the grip line of the embossing roller. This temperature depends on the thickness of the layer, the speed of the web in motion and the exact position where the measurement is made. However, this exact point is generally not accessible to temperature measurements, due to the diameter of the embossing roller. Therefore, the reading is usually taken from the midpoint of the distance between the end of the IR heater and the grip line of the embossing roller. The actual temperature as the weft sheet enters the grip line of the embossing roller will be less than this reading, due to the loss of heat from the surface of the weft sheet, as it moves through the space between the weft. measuring point and the grip line of the embossing roller. The faster the linear velocity, the lower the opportunity for heat loss and the closer the actual temperature will be to the temperature measured in the embossing grip line. A guide for the temperature ranges, based on the speed of the weft and the thickness of the vinyl layer is given later in Table II. However, it must be remembered that the ability of a surface to absorb heat from IR energy depends, among other things, on the color of that surface. In this way, the exact temperature within the range P1091 preferred will depend on the predominant color of the leaf to be embossed. Therefore, these conditions are only initial conditions and fine calibration adjustments can be made as necessary, to obtain the product appearance specified by the "standard sample". In fact, in some cases, it may be necessary to operate outside the above-mentioned preferred ranges to obtain the appearance of the product specified by the "standard sample".

TABLE II Once the wear layer is mechanically embossed, a top coat, also known as the top coat of the wear layer, is applied to the top and adhered to the embossed wear layer. The top coating may be composed of any suitable material known in the art for this purpose. Preferably, the topcoat is an urethane topcoat. Once that the top coating is applied, the whole surface cover that contains all the layers is cured. Preferably, the top coating has a thickness of about 0.5 mils to about 2.0 mils, more preferably, about 0.9 mils to about 1.3 mils. Optionally, in addition to the layers described above, one or more additional layers may be present, such as the layers described in U.S. Patent No. 5,458,953, incorporated herein by reference in its entirety. These additional layers include reinforcement layers, additional foamable layers and a base coat of the wear layer. The composition of these layers and their placements are described in U.S. Patent No. 5, 458,953 and can be used in the surface covering of the present invention. As indicated above, the present invention also relates to a cover for surface, as seen in the photograph of Figure 3. This cover for surface has a backing layer A, a layer of foam C and D applied on top and adhered or attached to the backing layer A. The design layer B has a design printed on the foam layer. To the P1091 less a portion of the design layer includes a chemically embossed pattern. Preferably, this chemically embossed pattern has the shape and form of bond lines or slurry, as previously described. A wear layer is applied to the top of the design layer and this wear layer is mechanically embossed with a surface texture. The foam layer C and D can be mechanically embossed or not. The surface texture is preferably the texture of wood, stone, marble, granite or brick. Finally, a topcoat or topcoat of the wear layer (not shown in Figure 3) is applied at the top and adhered to the embossed wear layer. The details of each of these components were described above. As also indicated, additional optional layers, such as those described in U.S. Patent No. 5,458,953 may be incorporated in this surface covering. These additional optional layers include a reinforcing layer, a base coat of the wear layer and / or additional foam layers. The present invention will be further elucidated by the following examples, which are intended to be merely exemplifying of the present invention.

P1091 Example 1 A cushioned vinyl floor covering having a backing, a foam layer with a chemically embossed texture in the foam and a transparent vinyl layer, was prepared essentially as described in U.S. Patent No. 3,293,108 , incorporated herein by reference in its entirety. The backing was a felted fibrous sheet of the type that is normally used for the substrate layer in this type of floor coverings. In this example, the thickness of the backrest was 0.025 inches (± 0.001 inches). The foam layer was formed from a plasticized polyvinyl chloride composition containing a foaming or blowing agent. The foamable PVC plastisol was solidified or "gelled" by heating. On the surface of the solidified PVC composition a design was printed, using pigmented inks, such as those normally used in this process. One or more of the inks contained a reactive chemical compound, commonly referred to as a "retarder". Detailed information regarding the chemical retardation of chemically foamed PVC plastisols, as well as an example of formulations of both plastisols and inks, can be found in a P1091 article by Andrew Hunter of the magazine "Cellular Polymers", Vol. 2, pp. 241-249 (1983) (Applied Science Publishers, Ltd., Essex, England), incorporated herein by reference in its entirety. In this example, the foam layer was 0.035 inches (± 0.003) thick in the areas where it was not chemically retarded. The transparent vinyl layer was formed from a PVC plastisol with which the foamable, solidified ("gelled") PVC composition was coated and printed, after the design printing. The transparent vinyl layer was cured and the foamable vinyl composition was foamed, by heat. During this operation, the chemical embossing was formed by the action of the retardant chemical compound contained in some inks. The heat was supplied by a multi-zone heated gas heated oven having zones operating between about 195 ° C and about 215 ° C. The residence time in the oven was approximately 3 minutes. An example of a transparent vinyl formulation can be found in the article by A. Hunter (cited above) in the journals. In this example, the clear vinyl layer had a thickness of 0.019 inches (± 0.001 inches). In addition, the areas that were printed with ink that contained a retardant compound, specifically the lines of P1091 Union or grout, they had a chemical embossing that had a minimum depth of approximately 0.010 inches. The above-described flooring vinyl material was cooled and then mechanically textured in the following manner. The material was heated by passing it under an infrared radiant heater heated with gas, which supplied approximately 360 BTU / square feet / minutes; at a product velocity of 37 feet / minute (± 2 feet / minute). The heater was placed between approximately 3.5 inches and approximately 6.0 inches above the surface of the material, depending on the color of the decorative print. The ability of a surface to absorb heat from infrared energy depends on factors such as the color of the decorative print. As is well known in the art, the heat supplied by the gas-heated infrared heater described above, can be finely calibrated by adjusting the gas flow controls, so that the surface temperature of the sheet is maintained within the preferred range as provided below. The surface temperature of the material leaving the heater was approximately between 150 ° C and 160 ° C, as measured by an IR pyrometer without contact, P1091 held approximately 12 to 18 inches from the surface of the material. The back surface of the felt layer of the substrate was approximately between 80 ° C and 85 ° C, as measured by an "adhesive" thermal tape (e.g., "Thermolable", supplied by Paper Thermometer Co., Inc. of Greenfield , NH). The heated material was then passed through an embossing grip line between an etched steel roll and a rubber backed roll. The grip line was adjusted to 0.050 inches (± 0.005 inches) for the material described above. The opening of the grip line was adjusted by adjustable "wedge blocks" of steel. The clamping pressure was sufficient so that the opening of the grip line did not change ("float") while the material was passing through the grip line. The steel roll had an embossed texture engraved thereon by means which are well known in the art. The roller with rubber backing had a hardness of approximately 90-95 (Shore A). Both rolls were cooled with water, such that the surface of the etched steel roll was about 26 ° C to 38 ° C, as measured by a contact thermocouple pyrometer. After the embossing grip line, the P1091 material was driven by idle rollers, so that it wrapped about a quarter of the circumference of the engraved roller. Additional contact of the material against the etched roller cooled with water was provided in order to cool the vinyl surface and "solidify" the embossed texture. As a final step in the preparation of a surface covering having a "natural" appearance, the material was coated with a top coat of urethane acrylate of the type that is cured by actinic radiation in the UV wavelength region. The coating was applied to produce a cured thickness of approximately 0.0009 inches to 0.0012 inches. The application was such that the coating followed the embossed texture and did not significantly reduce the embossing depth of the texture. The embossing depth of the mechanical texture in the finished product was between about 0.0003 inches and about 0.008 inches, depending on the specific engraved roll used. However, without considering the specific engraved roll used, there is no mechanically embossed surface texture in the chemically embossed areas, because the minimum depth of chemical embossing of approximately 0.010 inches is deeper than the maximum depth of the texture.

P1091 mechanically embossed surface of approximately 0.008 inches. The surface gloss (or "glow") of the acrylic urethane surface coatings cured by actinic radiation can be varied in a controlled manner to produce the desired visual effect, consistent with the "natural" appearance. In a specific example, the appearance of a printed brick design was made more natural by using a coating with a 60 degree flat panel gloss of approximately 40 units. These acrylic urethane coatings cured by actinic radiation are readily available from various commercial suppliers including, but not limited to, Lord Corporation, Erie, Pennsylvania.

Example 2 A cushioned vinyl floor covering having a backing, a foam layer with a chemically embossed texture in the foam and a clear vinyl layer was prepared as described in Example 1. This floor vinyl material was cooled and then mechanically textured in the following way. The material was heated by passing it under an infrared radiant heater heated with gas that P1091 supplied approximately 360 BTU / square foot / minute; at a product speed of 48 feet / minute (+ 2 feet / minute). The heater was placed between approximately 3.5 inches and approximately 5.0 inches above the surface of the material, depending on the color of the decorative print. As is well known in the art, the heat supplied by the gas heated infrared heater, described above, can be finely calibrated by adjusting the gas flow controls, so that the surface temperature of the sheet is maintained within the range preferred, as provided below. The surface temperature of the material exiting the heater was approximately between 155 ° C and 160 ° C, as measured by a non-contacting IR pyrometer, held approximately 12 to 18 inches from the surface of the material. The back surface of the substrate felt layer was between about 80 ° C and 85 ° C, as measured by an "adhesive" thermal tape (e.g., "Thermolable", supplied by Paper Thermometer Co., Inc. of Greenfield, NH). The heated material is then passed through an embossing grip line between an etched steel roll and a rubber backed roll. The grip line was adjusted to 0.050 inches (± 0.005 P1091 inches) for the material described above. The opening of the grip line was adjusted by adjustable steel "wedge blocks". The clamping pressure was sufficient, so that the opening of the grip line did not change ("floated") while the material was passing through the grip line. The steel roll had an embossed texture etched therein by means which are well known in the art. The rubber backing roller had a hardness of about 90 to 95 (Shore A). Both rolls were cooled with water, such that the surface of the etched steel roll was about 26 ° C to 38 ° C, as measured by a contact thermocouple pyrometer. In order to maintain an embossed image that is an accurate reproduction of the engraved surface, a positive "pull" was maintained on the weft using the operated embossing roller impeller at a CD current flow of +6 amperes. This "tug" also helped maintain the proper alignment of the frame trailer and minimize side-to-side travel. After the embossing gripping line, the material was directed by the idler rollers, so that it wrapped about a quarter of the circumference of the engraved roller. The additional contact of the material P1091 the water-cooled engraved roll was provided in order to cool the vinyl surface and "solidify" the embossed texture. The final step of coating the material with an urethane acrylate topcoat was performed as in Example 1 to produce a cured thickness of approximately between 0.0009 inches and 0.0012 inches with an embossing depth of the mechanical texture in the finished product will be between approximately 0.003 inches and approximately 0.008 inches, depending on the specific engraved roller used. Other embodiments of the present invention will be apparent to those skilled in the art from consideration of the specification and practice of the invention disclosed herein. It is intended that the specification and examples be considered only as exemplary, wherein the true scope and spirit of the invention will be indicated by the following claims.

P1091

Claims (32)

1. CLAIMS t 1. A method for manufacturing a surface covering that has the appearance of wood, stone, marble, granite or natural brick, comprising: a) providing a surface covering comprising a backing layer, a foamable layer on the top backing layer and a design layer that has a design selected from the group consisting of patterns of wood, stone, marble, granite and brick, printed on it and placed on the foamable layer; wherein a portion of the design includes printed bonding or grout lines with at least one retarder composition; b) provide a wear layer on top of the design layer and cure the wear layer, thereby expanding the foamable layer to form a foam layer and chemically embossing the portion of that design layer, where they are located printed lines or grout lines; c) subjecting the surface cover of (b) to sufficient cooling to reduce the temperature of the cured wear layer to about room temperature; d) subject the cured and cooled wear layer of the surface cover of (c) to a temperature sufficient to soften the wear layer P1091 cured and cooled; e) mechanically embossing, on the softened wear layer, a surface texture selected from the group consisting of wood, stone, marble, granite and natural brick; and f) solidifying the mechanically embossed surface texture in the wear layer.
2. 2. The method according to claim 1, wherein the wear layer comprises polyvinyl chloride.
3. The method according to claim 1, wherein the retardant composition comprises an acrylic resin binder, alcohol, water and an inhibitor selected from the group consisting of tolyltriazole, benzotriazole, fumaric acid, malic acid, hydroquinone, dodecanethiol, succinic anhydride and adipic acid.
4. 4. The method according to claim 1, wherein the inhibitor is tolyltriazole.
5. The method according to claim 1, wherein the method further comprises providing a top coating on the mechanically embossed wear layer after the passage of (f).
6. 6. The method according to claim 5, wherein the top coating comprises a ureic acrylate.
7. 7. The method according to claim 1, in P1091 wherein the surface cover further comprises a reinforcing layer located between the backing layer and the foamable layer.
8. The method according to claim 1, wherein the sufficient temperature of (d) is from about 195 ° C to about 215 ° C.
9. A method for manufacturing a surface covering, comprising: a) providing a surface covering comprising a backing layer, a foamable layer placed on top of the backing layer and a design layer placed on top of the foamable layer and having a design, wherein a part of the design includes a pattern created with at least one retarding composition; b) provide a wear layer on top of the design layer and cure the wear layer, thereby expanding the foamable layer to form a foam layer and mechanically embossing areas of the design layer where the pattern portion was created with at least one retarder composition; c) subjecting the surface cover of part (b) to sufficient cooling to reduce the temperature of the cured wear layer at about room temperature; d) subjecting the cured wear layer and P1091 cooling the cover for the surface of part (c) at a temperature sufficient to soften the cured and cooled wear layer; e) mechanically embossing a surface texture in the softened wear layer; and f) solidifying the mechanically embossed surface texture in the wear layer.
10. The method according to claim 9, wherein the method further includes providing a top coating on the mechanically embossed wear layer after the passage of part (f).
11. 11. A surface covering that has the appearance of wood, stone, marble, granite, or natural brick, comprising: a backing layer, a layer of foam placed over the backing layer; a design layer placed over the foam layer and has a design selected from the group consisting of wood, stone, marble, granite and natural brick, where the design includes chemically bonded or chemically bonded grout lines; and a wear layer placed on top of the design layer and mechanically embossed with a surface texture selected from the group consisting of wood, P1091 stone, marble, granite and natural brick, where the surface texture was embossed mechanically in the wear layer after first subjecting the wear layer to a temperature sufficient to soften the wear layer.
12. 12. The surface covering according to claim 11, wherein the wear layer comprises polyvinyl chloride.
13. The surface covering according to claim 11, wherein the bonding or grout lines are chemically embossed with a retarding composition comprising acrylic resin binder, alcohol, water and an inhibitor selected from the group consisting of tolyltriazole, benzotriazole, fumaric acid, malic acid, hydroquinone, dodecanethiol, succinic anhydride and adipic acid.
14. 14. The surface covering according to claim 13, wherein the inhibitor is tolyltriazole.
15. 15. The surface covering according to claim 11, wherein the surface cover further comprises a top coating placed on the mechanically embossed wear layer.
16. 16. The surface covering according to claim 15, wherein the top coating comprises acrylated urethane. P1091
17. 17. The surface covering according to claim 11, wherein the surface cover further comprises a reinforcing layer placed between the backing layer and the foam layer.
18. 18. The surface covering according to claim 11, wherein a portion of the design comprises a non-retardant ink composition.
19. 19. A surface covering comprising: a backing layer, a layer of foam placed on the backing layer; a design layer placed over the foam layer and having a design, wherein the design includes a chemically embossed portion; and a wear layer placed on the design layer and mechanically embossed with a surface texture, wherein the surface texture is mechanically embossed in the wear layer after first subjecting the wear layer to a temperature sufficient to soften the wear layer .
20. The surface covering according to claim 19, wherein the surface cover further comprises a top coating placed on the mechanically embossed wear layer.
21. 21. A method for manufacturing a cover for P1091 surface having multiple layers and an embossed design, comprising the steps of: chemically embossing one of the multiple layers; and mechanically embossing a surface texture on another of the multiple layers, the mechanically embossed layer will be placed on top of the chemically embossed layer.
22. 22. The method according to claim 21, wherein the chemically embossed layer is a design layer placed on top of the foam layer on the backing layer and the mechanically embossed layer is a wear layer.
23. 23. The method according to claim 22, further comprising the step of softening the wear layer by subjecting it to a temperature sufficient to soften it before the step of mechanical embossing.
24. The method according to claim 23, further comprising the steps of curing and subsequently cooling the wear layer to reduce its temperature to about room temperature before the softening step.
25. 25. The method according to claim 24, further comprising the step of expanding the foam layer during the curing step.
26. 26. The method according to claim 23, in P1091 wherein the step of softening includes subjecting the wear layer to a sufficient softening temperature of about 195 ° C to 215 ° C.
27. 27. A method for manufacturing a surface cover, comprising the steps of: providing a surface cover comprising a backing layer, a foamable layer placed on top of the backing layer; a design layer placed on top of the foamable layer and having a design; and a wear layer on top of the design layer; curing the wear layer, thereby expanding the foamable layer to form a foam layer and chemically embossing the areas of the design layer; and mechanically embossing a surface texture on the wear layer.
28. 28. The method according to claim 27, further comprising the step of solidifying the mechanically embossed surface texture in the wear layer.
29. 29. The method according to claim 28, further comprising the step of providing a top coating on the mechanically embossed wear layer, after the step of solidification.
30. 30. The method according to claim 27, further comprising the step of cooling the cover to P1091 surface to reduce the temperature of the wear layer after the curing step and before the mechanical embossing step.
31. 31. The method according to claim 30, further comprising the step of heating the wear layer, after the passage of the cooling, to a temperature sufficient to soften it before the step of the mechanical embossing.
32. 32. The method according to claim 31, wherein the heating step uses a sufficient softening temperature of about 195 ° C to about 215 ° C. P109X SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION A method for manufacturing a surface cover including providing a surface cover having a backing layer, a foamable layer and a design layer, wherein the design layer includes a part of a printed pattern is presented. with at least one retarder composition. The wear layer is then provided on the design layer and the wear layer is cured. The foamable layer is expanded in this manner to form a foam layer and the printed pattern with at least one retarding composition is chemically embossed. The cured product is subsequently cooled to room temperature and then the upper surface of the wear layer is subjected to a temperature sufficient to soften the wear layer. After the wear layer is softened, it is mechanically embossed with a surface texture, the embossed surface texture is solidified in the wear layer and on top of the embossed and hardened wear layer a top coat can be provided. A cover for surface having the various features described above is also disclosed. Preferably, the surface covering and the method for manufacturing the surface cover have an appearance of wood, stone, marble, granite or natural brick, in P1091 wherein the design layer includes one or more lines of bond or grout, created with at least one retarder composition and the wear layer is mechanically embossed with the surface texture of a surface of wood, stone, marble, granite or brick. P1091 44 SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION A method for manufacturing a surface cover including providing a surface cover having a backing layer, a foamable layer and a design layer, wherein the design layer includes a part of a printed pattern is presented. with at least one retarder composition. The wear layer is then provided on the design layer and the wear layer is cured. The foamable layer is expanded in this manner to form a foam layer and the printed pattern with at least one retarding composition is chemically embossed. The cured product is subsequently cooled to room temperature and then the upper surface of the wear layer is subjected to a temperature sufficient to soften the wear layer. After the wear layer is softened, it is mechanically embossed with a surface texture, the embossed surface texture is solidified in the wear layer and on top of the embossed and hardened wear layer a top coat can be provided. A cover for surface having the various features described above is also disclosed. Preferably, the surface covering and the method for manufacturing the surface cover have an appearance of wood, stone, marble, granite or natural brick, in P1091 Four. Five wherein the design layer includes one or more lines of bond or grout, created with at least one retarder composition and the wear layer is mechanically embossed with the surface texture of a surface of wood, stone, marble, granite or brick. P1091