MXPA99004227A - Pvc-free foamed flooring and wall covering and a method for making the same - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention pertains to a multilayer foamed flooring and wall product. The product is a resilient cushion foam flooring and wall product that is free of polyvinyl chloride (PVC), plasticizers and heavy metal stabilizer. The product is made of a multilayer top layer which is integrated with a latex or polyolefin polymer foam back layer. The product has particular utility in the heterogeneous flooring market and can be prepared using ordinary PVC melt processing equipment. A method of making the product is also claimed.

Description

FOAMED COVER FOR PVC-FREE FLOOR AND COVER FOR WALLS AND A METHOD TO MANUFACTURE THE SAME FIELD OF THE INVENTION The present invention pertains to a foamed multilayer coating product for floors and walls. The invention particularly pertains to a polyvinyl chloride (PVC) free and polyvinyl chloride (PVC) floor and wall filling foam covering product and plasticizers and which comprises a top layer of thermoplastic coating integrated with a latex or a back layer of thermoplastic foam. The market segment of heterogeneous coatings for floors and walls includes plastic and textile coatings. The segment of heterogeneous coatings differs from the segment of homogeneous coatings (which includes materials such as linoleum) in that the heterogeneous segment refers to multilayer coating constructions involving different materials. In the market segment of heterogeneous resilient filler coatings for floors and walls there is a need for improved ecological solutions as an alternative for plasticized polyvinyl chloride (PVC) coatings and, to some extent, for alternatives for conventional textile coatings. The ecological concern with respect to the segment of heterogeneous PVC coatings belongs to the recovery or recycling of energy, levels of volatile organic content, and the use of heavy metal stabilizers and inorganic fillers. The ecological concerns that pertain to textile coatings include the inhibition of or barriers against the growth of microorganisms. The heterogeneous foamed PVC coatings for floors and walls have been extremely popular due to its simple installation and low cost. However, much of its popularity is also due to its attractive performance properties which include sound isolation, walking and standing comfort, and the versatility of the design of the drawings. The minimum performance requirements in the segment include an EN433 (normalized) indentation recovery greater than or equal to 90 and an elongation DIN53455 greater than or equal to 150 percent. The typical foamed PVC coating construction includes a PVC-plastisol based coating. Plastisol typically consists of PVC particles, plasticizer, heavy metal additives and inorganic fillers. The coating layer is typically formed in a spreading process by placing the plastisol on a release paper web or substrate and subsequently curing the plastisol. The use of a fabric substrate such as the fleece (as compared to the paper substrate) provides a layer of intermediate material, which confers improved dimensional stability to the cured coating. The PVC coating layer is typically manufactured using a calendering or rolling process. In these processes, a rigid PVC is formulated with plasticizers and heavy metal stabilizers. The use of heavy metal stabilizers (eg diesterate dilauryl tin or barium and cadmium carboxylates, barium and zinc or calcium and zinc) are especially important in these melt processes to avoid getting rid of the degradation of the polyvinyl chloride polymer. However, whether it has been produced using a spreading process or a calendering process, in order to avoid an excessive number of joints or joints when installed, the foamed PVC coatings are typically manufactured as endless meshes having widths of up to 4 or 5 meters. This binding requirement is generally considered to significantly limit the products and / or processes available to provide suitable alternatives for foamed PVC coatings. See, for example, the application by Oppermann et al. in the patent of E.U.A. No. 5,407,617 in Col. 1, lines 32-36. In particular, it is said that the known processes for making interlaced thermoplastic foams are limited to widths of approximately 2 meters due to the width limitations of the die. See, the patent of E.U.A. No. 5,407,617 in Col. 2, lines 8-28. To solve the limitations perceived when using the established thermoplastic foaming processes, and with this to provide a PVC-free coating, Oppermann et al. in the patent of E.U.A. No. 5,407,617 discloses a coating constructed of an acrylic wear layer and a thermoplastic foam backing. The back of thermoplastic foam described by Oppermann et al. It is made using a powder concreting process in which the thermoplastic is formulated with a conventional blowing agent, cryogenically ground to form a fine mesh powder, then concreted or spread 4 to 5 meters and finally foam to approximately 120 at 200 ° C. However, powder concreting is relatively slow and is generally not considered favorable for high levels of production. Also, acrylic wear layers such as those described by Oppermann et al. they are considered to exhibit mediocre resistances to scratches and abrasion and the acrylate emulsions from which the acrylic layers are derived are also considered to be quite expensive. Foamed urethane bottoms with good wear properties are also known where foaming is achieved mechanically by air injection. However, urethane systems are quite expensive and are not susceptible to foam inhibition. On the other hand, there is no realistic opportunity to provide a substantially complete urethane coating to facilitate easy recycling. Therefore, there is a need for a PVC-free, resilient, resin-free foam backing product for floors and walls that meets the performance attributes of known heterogeneous PVC-based coatings. Said product should be manufactured in widths of at least 4 meters using low cost processing methods common to the heterogeneous coatings segment. As an alternative to the known heterogeneous PVC coatings and other thermoplastic coatings, a substantially melt and substantially olefinic fused resilient filling foam coating product for floors and walls and a method for making the product have been discovered. The product is free of polyvinyl chloride and plasticizers and is substantially recirculated, or at least, can be incinerated for energy recovery purposes without a substantial generation of chlorine and chlorine combustion products. The broad aspect of the present invention is a multilayer resilient filler foam covering for floors or walls comprising an upper layer, wherein the top layer includes: a) a transparent top wear layer comprising at least one polymer polyolefin with melt process or at least one polyolefin polymer dispersed in solvent or both. b) a printed layer melt processed or dispersed in solvent comprising at least one polyolefin polymer and a transparent top wear layer interposed below, and c) a polyolefin polymer processed under optional melting or a reinforced textile intermediate layer interposed below. the printed layer, wherein the upper wear clear layer and the printed layer have a combined thickness of about 50 to about 800 microns and the optional intermediate layer has a thickness of about 5 to about 500 microns, and wherein the top layer is integrates with a foamed back layer composed of a latex composition, a polyolefin composition with melt process of at least one polyolefin polymer, or a polyolefin composition dispersed in solvent of at least one polyolefin polymer. Another aspect of the invention is the method for producing a multilayer coating for floors and walls comprising: a) providing a top layer by i. the solvent dispersion or melt process of at least one polyolefin polymer to form a transparent top wear layer; I. the solvent dispersion or melt process of at least one polyolefin polymer to form a printed layer with a back surface and interposing the printed layer formed under the transparent top wear layer with the back surface of the exposed printed layer; iii. optionally, processing under melt at least one polyolefin polymer or providing a textile material to form an intermediate layer of reinforcement with the back layer, and interposing the optional intermediate reinforcement layer below the printed layer with the back surface of the layer optional intermediate reinforcement exposed; b) foaming a latex composition, a melt-processed polyolefin composition containing at least one polyolefin polymer, or a polyolefin composition dispersed in solvent containing at least one polyolefin polymer, and c) integrating the top layer into the back surface of the printed layer or on the back surface of the optional intermediate reinforcement layer to the composition of step b) during foaming or after the foamed composition is cured.

A commercial benefit of the present invention is that the inventive heterogeneous resilient coating product for floors and walls does not have the substantial environmental impact ordinarily associated with PVC coating products for floors and walls. That is, the inventive product does not comprise heavy metal stabilizers, nitrosamines derived from curing agents or accelerators, plasticizers with high volatile organic content, or chlorine-containing polymers and is low in ash after incineration. In this way, the inventive product can be conveniently recycled using conventional energy recovery methods based on incineration. Another benefit of the inventive product is the polyolefin polymer which is used for the various layers of the product which can be processed under melting in ordinary PVC equipment such as the two-roll laminator equipment or the three-roll calender. Such a thing is particularly surprising with respect to the first preferred polyolefin polymers, ie, substantially linear ethylene polymers, because ordinary polyolefin polymers such as ethylene vinyl acetate (EVA) copolymers are generally too thermally sensitive to be processed under melting. in equipment for PVC and as such are used in floor covering systems by alternative techniques such as powder spreading and concreting. The equipment for the melting process, such as the calendering rolls, has a particularly aggressive thermal environment in which the polymer melt bath is substantially exposed to atmospheric oxygen. Given such aggressive environments, the thermal insensitivity of substantially linear ethylene polymers is surprising in that Lai et al. in the patents of E.U.A. ,272,236 and 5,278,272 disclose substantially linear ethylene polymers having long chain branches and prepared with only nominal levels of conventional stabilizers. However, it is known that long chain branching generally provides polyolefin polymers more susceptible to thermal degradation during the melt process. In addition, the thermal insensitivity in the substantially linear ethylene polymers is also surprising, in view of the description of Walton et al. in the patent of E.U.A. No. 5,562,958, that said polymers respond more to irradiation. Figure 1 is a diagram of a steel bearing 10 and an apparatus 20 equipped with an electromagnet 21, a graduated vertical pipe 22 and a counterbalance assembly 23 which is used for the resilience test.

DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The floor and wall covering product of the present invention has a back layer of resilient filler foam, which is integrated with a top structure. The upper structure is a substrate for the back layer of resilient filler foam and comprises a transparent layer of superior polymer wear, a polymeric printed layer and an optional textile textile intermediate reinforcement layer. While a non-padded PVC coating product for floors or walls typically has a bulk density of 1.3 kg / L, the product of the invention has a light weight (ie, it is preferably characterized in that it has a bulk density of about 0.8 to about 0.9 kg / L) and also generally exhibits the performance durability of a PVC coating. The clear top wear layer provides good scratch and abrasion resistance and is sufficiently transparent to allow the printed design to be seen from and through the top side of the product. The clear top wear layer is made of at least one polyolefin polymer dispersed in solvent and / or at least one polyolefin polymer processed under melting. The upper wear transparent layer comprises both the processed polyethylene or the polypropylene layer and an ethylene polymer layer dispersed in water wherein the ethylene polymer dispersed in water layer is the uppermost layer of the transparent top wear layer. The preferred water-dispersed ethylene polymer is at least one substantially linear ethylene polymer as described by Lai et al. in the patents of E.U.A. Nos. 5, 272,236 and 5,278,272 or at least one ethylene interpolymer comprising ethylene and at least one carboxyl containing a comonomer such as, for example, an ethylene-acrylic acid copolymer (EAA), an ethylene-ethyl acrylate copolymer ( EEA), a methyl ethylene-methacrylate copolymer (EMMA), a copolymer of ethylene-butyl acrylate (EBA) or a copolymer of ethylene-methacrylic acid (EMAA), or a mixture of at least one ethylene polymer substantially linear and at least one ethylene interpolymer comprising ethylene and at least one carbonyl-containing comonomer. A preferred water-dispersed polyolefin polymer composition is a 50/50 mixture of a substantially linear ethylene polymer and a copolymer of ethylene-acrylic acid. Generally, the ethylene interpolymer is neutralized with ammonium, however, more preferably, the ethylene interpolymer is neutralized with stable cations which provide an ionomer when the solvent (preferably water) is removed. Such preferred cations include potassium, zinc and copper as provided, for example, with potassium hydroxide, and zinc hydroxide. However, cation systems with mixed bases are also suitable for use in the present invention. With respect to the polyolefin polymers dispersed in solvent for use in the present invention, a surfactant generally refers to a material that is employed to stabilize a dispersion. One of the advantages of the dispersion based on interpolymers of ethylene and a comonomer with carboxyl content are the surfactants or any type of emulsifiers that are not generally required to provide a stable dispersion. However, for non-polar polymers, surfactants are generally required. As such, for example, the dispersion of the copolymer of anionic ethylene-acrylic acid can be used as a surfactant for an aqueous dispersion or a substantially linear ethylene polymer. Thus, the mixture of dispersions of an ethylene-acrylic acid copolymer and a substantially linear ethylene polymer is preferably prepared separately by preparing dispersions of two polymers and then mixing the two dispersions to provide a mixture of stabilized dispersed polyolefin polymers. Suitable methods for preparing polyolefin polymer compositions dispersed in solvent and preferably an aqueous dispersion of polyolefin polymers such as substantially linear ethylene polymers are described by Pate et al. in the patent of E.U.A. No. 5,539,021 and in the copending application serial number 08 / 463,160, filed on June 5, 1996 in the name of B.W. Walther and J.R. Bethea, in co-pending application, with application number 08 / 630,187, registered on April 10, 1996, in the name of J.E. Pate lll, J. Peters, N.E. Lutenske and R.R. Pelletier, and in co-pending application, with application number 08 / 702,824, registered on August 23, 1996, in the name of B.W. Walter and J.r. Bethea. Suitable methods are known for preparing the aqueous dispersions of ethylene interpolymers containing ethylene and at least one carbonyl-containing comonomer, including mixed cation-base systems. Such methods are described, for example, by Vaughn et al. in the patents of E.U.A. Nos. 3,872,039; 3.899, 389; and 4,181,566 and by Rowland et al. in the patents of E.U.A. Nos. 5,206,279 and 5,387,535. The polymeric printed layer provides the print design for the product, which may consist of three dimensional effects and derived images through the use of chemical enhancement technology, or the printed polymeric layer may simply provide a smooth surface design. Similar to the clear top wear layer, the printed layer comprises a polyolefin polymer dispersed in solvent and / or a polyolefin polymer with melt process. Preferably, however, the printed layer comprises a substantially linear ethylene polymer with melt process. Also, the polymeric printed layer may be foamed and may contain flame retardant additives or suitable modifiers to ensure compliance with flame retardant requirements and other regulatory requirements. The intermediate reinforcement layer provides dimensional stability to the product, which may have an excess width of 4 meters. The optional intermediate reinforcement layer is a polyolefin polymer with melt process or a woven or nonwoven fabric. Preferably, the optional intermediate reinforcement layer is a nonwoven glass fleece material or a nonwoven polymeric material. The back layer of resilient foam consists of a polyolefin polymer dispersed in solvent, or a latex composition.

For the back layer of polyolefin polymer foam dispersed in solvent and the back layer of latex foam, the foaming can be achieved mechanically such as by air injection or shake or, alternatively, foaming can be achieved by using microspheres filled with a compound volatile or a chemical blowing agent. For the back layer of polyolefin polymer foam with melt process, foaming achieved by the use of a chemical blowing agent is preferred. The foam backing imparts resilient filling properties to the product and can also impart thermal insulation and noise characteristics to the product as well as provide a barrier against microorganisms. In one embodiment of the invention, the back foam layer is prepared by foaming an aqueous curable latex composition on the back side of a top structure. The foamy coating is achieved mechanically by injecting air into a wet latex composition. After the foaming step, the water of the composition is conveniently removed at temperatures of about 140 ° C and the latex composition is cured to produce a stable foam structure. Suitable curable latex compositions are aqueous dispersions or emulsions comprising a water-soluble catalytic curing agent. The latex comprises a thermoplastic homopolymer or an interpolymer (or mixtures of said polymers) wherein the polymer or polymers consist of at least one aromatic vinyl monomer and at least one alpha olefin, ethylene or substituted ethylene diene. The aromatic vinyl monomer can be selected from styrene, α-methylstyrene, α, p-methylstyrene, α, p-ethylstyrene, α, p-dimethylstyrene, α, p, α, p-dimethylstyrene, α, pt-butyl styrene, vinylnaphthalene , methoxystyrene, acetate styrene, monochlorostyrene, dichlorostyrene and other haloestyrenes, and mixtures thereof. An aromatic vinyl monomer can be present in any amount and generally in amounts of about 0 to about 75 percent by weight based on the total weight of the thermoplastic resin. In particular, suitable latex compositions comprise from about 20 to about 80 percent by dry weight, more preferably from about 30 to about 75 percent by dry weight, more preferably from about 35 to about 70 percent by dry weight of at least one aromatic vinyol monomer, based on the total weight of the thermoplastic resin. The monomer diene, when present, can be selected from butadiene, isoprene, divinylbenzene, derivatives thereof and mixtures thereof. 1,3 Butadiene monomer is preferred. Suitable latex compositions generally comprise from about 0 to about 80 percent by dry weight, preferably from about 10 to about 55 percent by dry weight, more preferably from about 20 to about 50 percent dry weight, even more preferably about 25 to about 45 percent by dry weight of at least one monomer diene and characterized by one percent solids from about 10 to about 80, more preferably from about 20 to about 70 and more preferably from about 30 to about 60, based on the total weight of the thermoplastic resin. The water-soluble curing catalyst may be present in an amount of about 0.1 to about 15 percent by weight, based on the weight of the thermoplastic resin. Suitable curing catalyst agents include, but are not limited to, phenol tridimethyl aminomethyl, phenol dimethyl aminomethyl, dicyanodiamide, polyamines such as, for example, ethylenediamine, diethylenetriamine, triethylenenetetramine, tetraethylene-pentamine and isophoronadiamine. The latex component of the curable latex composition may also include an emulsifier or a surfactant. Suitable surfactants include conventional anionic or non-anionic surface active agents. Suitable nonionic surfactants include the ethylene oxide derivatives of alkylphenols, such as octyl or nonylphenol containing from 10 to 60 moles of ethylene oxide per mole of phenol, and long chain alcohols, such as dodecyl alcohol containing the same proportion of ethylene oxide. Suitable anionic surfactants include alkyl sulfates, dicarboxylic acids, especially succinic acid. Ethoxylated nonionic surfactants are preferred. The emulsifier or surfactant may be present in amounts from about 0.5 to 5 percent by weight, based on the dry weight of the copolymer. It has been found that including an emulsifier or surfactant can improve the shelf life of the curable coating composition. Preferred latex compositions comprise carboxylated latex, an epoxy resin emulsion containing an organoluble or organomiscible catalyst and a water soluble curing catalyst. The carboxylated latex comprises an interpolymer of at least one aromatic vinyl monomer and at least one ethylenically unsaturated monomer containing carbonyl. In a preferred form, the interpolymer comprises a monomer diene. The ethylenically unsaturated carbonyl monomer may be a monocarboxylic acid, dicarboxylic acid or polycarboxylic acid such as, for example, acrylic acid, methacrylic acid, fumaric acid, malic acid, itaconic acid, derivatives thereof and mixtures thereof. The ethylenically unsaturated carbonyl monomer may be present in amounts of about 0.5 to about 25 weight percent, based on the total weight of the plastic resin. Preferably, the ethylenically unsaturated carboxyl-containing monomer is present in amounts of about 1 to about 5 percent by weight and, more preferably, about 3 to about 5 percent by weight, based on the total weight of the thermoplastic resin. The latex may comprise an additional ethylenically unsaturated monomer component (s) such as, for example, without limitation, methyl methacrylate, ethyl acrylate, butyl acrylate, hexyl acrylate, 2-ethylhexyl acrylate, lauryl methacrylate, sodium acrylate, phenyl, acrylonitrile, methacrylonitrile, ethyl chloroacrylate, diethyl maleate, polyglycol maleate, vinyl chloride, vinyl bromide, vinylidene chloride, vinylidene bromide, vinyl methyl ketone, methyl isopropenyl ketone and vinyl ethyl ester. Derivatives of these or mixtures of these may also be included. The latex may comprise a styrene / butadiene / acrylic acid copolymer or a styrene / hydroxyethyl acrylate / itaconic acid copolymer. The latex may also include a mixture of copolymers. A mixture of styrene / acrylic acid and polymers of styrene / butadiene / hydroxyethyl / itaconic acrylate in equal amounts by weight may be used. The epoxy resin component can suitably be any component that possesses more than one epoxy group. In general, the epoxy resin component is a saturated or unsaturated compound. aliphatic cycloaliphatic, aromatic or heterocyclic and can be substituted or not. Epoxy resins can be selected from the compounds of polyglycidyl ethers of bisphenol, the polyglycidyl ethers of a novolac resin, and the polyglycidyl ethers of a polyglycol. Mixtures of two or more epoxy resins can also be used. Preferred epoxy resins are the polyglycidyl ether compounds of bisphenol and can be formed as the rion of products of epichlorohydrin and bisphenol A or bisphenol F or derivatives thereof. The level of epoxy resin used will vary over a wide range depending on the properties required of the final product as well as the types of epoxy resin and carboxylic acid used. The epoxy resin component of the curable latex composition may further include an emulsifier or surfactant such as, for example, an anionic or nonionic surfactant, although nonionic surfactants are preferred and ethoxylated nonionic surfactants are more preferred, such as, for example, Capcure ™ 65 which is supplied by Diamond Shamrock. The emulsifying agent or surfactant may be present in amounts of about 5 to about 10 percent by weight, based on the weight of the epoxy resin. Preferably, the emulsifying or surfactant agent is present in amounts of about at least 8 percent by weight. The epoxy resin emulsion component of the latex composition comprises an organoluble or organomiscible catalyst. Suitable organolysible or organomiscible catalysts include the phosphoammonium salts, such as, for example, ethyryphenyl phosphonium acetate and ethyltriphenyl phosphonium phosphate and the quaternary ammonium salts, such as, for example, alkylbenzyl dimethyl ammonium chloride, benzyltrimethyl ammonium chloride, methyltrioctyl chloride ammonium, tetraethyl ammonium bromide, N-dodecyl pyridium chloride and tetraethyl ammonium iodide. Preferred organoleptic or organomiscible catalysts are ethyltriphenyl phosphonium acetate, ethyltriphenyl phosphonium phosphate and methyltrioctyl ammonium chloride. If ethyltriphenyl phosphonium phosphate is not readily available, it can be manufactured from the reaction of ethyltriphenyl phosphonium acetate with phosphoric acid. The organoluble or organomiscible catalyst may be present in amounts of about 0.1 to about 10.0 percent, preferably about 0.3 about 2.0 percent, by weight, based on the weight of the epoxy resin. Suitable curable latex compositions and, in particular, the carboxylated butadiene-styrene latex systems for use as the foam backsheet of the present invention are described, for example, by Helbling in the U.S. Pat. No. 4,857,566 and also available from The Dow Chemical Company. The carboxylated latex systems are preferred because, surprisingly, it has been found that such systems show unexpected levels of adhesion to the waterproof polyolefin polymer layers. The level of this adhesion allows the elimination of additional adhesive materials to integrate the cured foamed backs to the appropriate upper layers. A suitable curable latex composition is based on a carboxylated butadiene-styrene interpolymer filled with expandable microspheres containing a chemical blowing agent or a volatile compound such as, for example, sobutane. However, when foaming is achieved by the use of expandable microspheres, additional procedures and techniques may be required to avoid uneven or irregular foam surfaces. defective (for example "glass formation"). Such additional techniques and procedures may include, for example, the use of a foaming technique within the mold. Particularly for textile substrate layers, inorganic fillers such as carbonate and aluminum trihydrates are can add to the latex composition. However, for substrate layers of polyolefin polymers (as opposed to textile substrate layers), preferably, at least one organic or polymeric filler such as, for example, high density polyethylene powder (e.g. , this is less that 150 microns to facilitate processing) is added to the latex composition to obtain better resilience and strength. Other polymers in the form of powder that are thought to be suitable as fillers for the latex compositions include, but are not limited to. medium density polyethylene (MDPE), linear low polyethylene - > density (LLDPE), ultra-low density polyethylene, homogeneously branched linear polymers, substantially linear ethylene polymers (as well as grafts of such ethylene polymers as, for example, high density polyethylene grafted maieic anhydride, grafted linear low density polyethylene) of maleic anhydride and other examples described, for example, in U.S. Patent Nos. 4,966,810, 4,927,888, 4,762,860, 5,089,556, 4,739,017, 4,950,541, 5,346,963, ethylene interpolymers (such as interpolymers of ethylene-acrylic acid, interpolymers of ethylene-methacrylic acid , ethylene-methyl methacrylate interpolymers, ethylene-vinyl acetate interpolymers, ethylene-ethyl acrylate copolymers, and the like), polypropylene, polycarbonate, polyamide, polystyrene, styrene interpolymers (such as ethylene-styrene polymers), styrene-propylene polymers (such as propylene ethylene diene monomer polymers), and re Epoxy sinas A foam can be generated by techniques and methods known in the art. Known techniques and methods include, for example, releasing a non-coagulating gas as nitrogen, or causing the decomposition of a gas releasing material, which chemically reacts with an ingredient in the mixture and causes the release of a non-coagulable gas as a product. of the reaction. The latex composition can also be formed with whipping techniques, air injection techniques, and / or using devices equipped with foam heads. Foaming aids (e.g., sodium lauryl sulfate) and foam stabilizers (e.g., potassium oleate) may be added if desired. The preferred stabilizers and additives are non-reactors such as those in the latex polymer group or coreactive materials. Other additives and ingredients such as soaps, emulsifiers, wetting agents and surfactants can also be used, although they can react to a limited extent. The foamed mix can be emptied into molds, spread on trays or flat strips or on covered substrates. For the purpose of this specification, the term "substrate" is defined as any material such as polyolefin polymer, fabric, textiles, nonwovens, leather, wood, glass or metal or any form of back or top structure to which the mixture Foamed or foam composition will adhere when applied and cured. The foam can be applied to the polyolefin polymer or textile substrate before drying and curing. A typical foam formed from the continuous foam will have a density in the range of about 200 to 500 grams per liter in its wet state and approximately 400 grams per liter. The foam can be applied to the substrate using a scraper blade. Once formed, the foam can be dried and cured at a temperature of about 110 to 150 ° C. Drying and curing can be carried out in a forced air circulation oven. The internal temperature of the furnace should be maintained at preferably or above about 120 ° C. In another embodiment of the invention, the rear resilient filler foam is provided by a melt process and chemically blowing a polyolefin polymer such as, for example, at least one substantially linear ethylene polymer as described by Lai et al. in the patents of E.U.A. Nos. 5,272,236 and 5,278,272. Techniques of foaming by process with fusion suitable for the polyolefin polymer includes roll rolling. Haake twist mixing, kneading, calendering, extrusion casting and hot blown film fabrication where before the melt process, the polyolefin polymer is composed of from about 0.5 to about 5 weight percent, preferably about 1 to about 3.5 percent by weight of a suitable chemical blowing agent such as, for example, without being limited to, azodicarbonamide, with or without a leveler such as metal oxide (for example zinc oxide) and without a foam stabilizer, such as, for example, sodium sulfosuccinate, as is typically required for aqueous latex foams. The following describes a process temperature range that should be used when using multiple equipment either as a melt feeder preprocessing device or an independent melt process equipment. When using internal mixers and mixers such as the Haake and Brabender torsion mixers, the polyolefin processing temperatures should be maintained from about 150 ° C to about 180 ° C. When a composite extruder is used already 2D is a twin screw extruder or a single screw extruder, the processing temperatures of the polyolefins should be maintained from about 170 ° C to about 190 ° C. When using two roll mills, the processing temperatures of the polyolefins should be maintained from about 160 ° C to about 190 ° C. Residence times should be kept to a minimum and where the residence time is extended, such as, for example, to an excess of 45 minutes, additional stabilization of additives may be required to maintain the performance attributes of the polymer. For the process under melting by calendering of 2-4 rollers, the friction grades similar to PVC should be used, for example, the friction degrees from approximately 1: 1 to approximately 1: 3, preferably from approximately 1: 1 to approximately 1: 2 The calendering temperature should be maintained at about 150 ° C to about 170 ° C and the last calender roll should be set to provide the lowest processing temperature. Also, a minimum distance should be set between the last calender roll and the unloader rollers. Further details for preparing resilient foams with process base under melting of substantially linear ethylene polymers are described by Park et al. in the patent of E.U.A. No. 5,288,762. However, the preferred melt processed polyolefin polymer foams are microcellular.

That is, the foam is characterized by having cell sizes of from about 5 to about 100 microns, preferably less than about 70 microns, more preferably less than about 50 microns, a density of about 1 75 to about 351 kg / cm 2 (about 400 to about 800 kg / m 3) preferably less than about 2 81 Kg / cm 2 (about 641 kg / m 3), and an open cell content of about 15 to about 100 percent, preferably equal to or greater than about 50 percent, more preferably equal to or greater than about 75 percent. Preferred microcellular foams with melt processing comprise at least one substantially linear ethylene polymer that can be used in at least one i * foam backing in a multi-foamed backsheet product as well as a foamed printed layer In the preparation of microcellular foams, the melt extrusion casting process generally provides lower foam densities and slightly more or smaller cell sizes Large in relation to blown film extrusion In addition blown film extrusion generally requires a higher polymer density to maintain the small size of the cells and rolling by rolls generally provides the smallest cell sizes and the smallest variability in sizes ^ As such, the processors Preferred low melt preparations for preparing the microcellular polyolefin polymer foams are with roller rolling or calendering equipment. Also, the polyolefin polymer foam can be entangled (whether microcellular or not) by various methods such as those described in the U.S. patent. No. 5,288,762 and by C.P. Park in "Polyolefin Foam", "Handbook of Polymer Foams and Technology" chapter 9, Hanser Publishers, New York (1991), which is incorporated herein by reference. Suitable methods of entanglement include adding an interlacing agent (eg, dicumyl peroxide) to the polyolefin polymer prior to extrusion or irradiating the polyolefin polymer before or after foaming or using an extruder in the melt process, which has a large surface die as described in GB Patent No. 2,145,961A, the disclosure of which is also incorporated herein by reference, to effect oxidative thermal entanglement. In another embodiment, the butt of resilient filler foam is provided mechanically by foaming a poly-olefin polymer dispersed in solvent wherein the polyolefin polymer is. for example, a substantially linear ethylene polymer as described by Lai et al. in the patents of E.U.A. Nos. 5,272,236 and 5,278,272. Suitable methods for preparing the polyolefin polymer systems, dispersed in solvent, preferably dispersed in water, are described above with reference to the transparent top wear layer.

After the latex or polyolefin polymer composition has been suitably foamed, the foamed sheet is then heat laminated or with adhesive to the upper structure or to an optional intermediate layer, however, alternatively, the polyolefin polymer can be compounded with a chemical blowing agent and other suitable additives and processed under melting (and optionally entangled) at temperatures below the decomposition temperature of the chemical blowing agent (e.g., at composite extrusion or laminate temperatures under melting of less than about 120 ° C) and manufactured to form a compact sheet. This compact sheet can then be laminated to form, for example, an optional intermediate layer, wherein the intermediate sheet is subsequently foamed by exposure to temperatures at or above the decomposition temperature of the chemical blowing agent. The upper structure consisting of a transparent wear layer and a polymeric printed layer without an optional intermediate reinforcement layer has a thickness in the range of about 50 to about 800 microns, preferably from about 80 to about 200 microns and comprises at least one polyolefin polymer either as or in the clear top wear layer or in the printed layer or both. The optional intermediate reinforcement layer of the upper structure has a thickness in the range from about 5 to about 500 microns, preferably from about 100 to about 300 microns. The optional intermediate layer when at least one polyolefin polymer with melt process is used can also be filled with organic or polymeric fillers and can also contain a small amount of chemical blowing agent and other additives as process aids (eg stearate) of calcium) and a foam deactivator (for example, a triazole). The backfill foam layer and the intermediate reinforcement layer as well as the clear top wear layer, the printed layer and the intermediate reinforcement layer are integrated with each other by suitable lamination techniques. The backfill foam layer and the intermediate reinforcement layer can be integrated with or without the use of an intermediate material such as, for example, a nonwoven glass fleece material to add dimensional stability to the structure. The upper wear transparent layer, the printed layer and the intermediate reinforcement layer can be integrated by pressure and / or heat lamination techniques as well as by adhesive lamination techniques by applying a liquid coating of an aqueous dispersion of a copolymer of ethylene-acrylic acid, a polyethylene imide adhesive or a urethane adhesive and evaporating the solvent (eg, water). Another suitable lamination technique is the use of tape with adhesive on both sides such as, for example, Scoth Brand Tape 415 available from the 3M Corporation. The transparent top wear layer alone can be prepared using several different products and application technologies such as by making a film by cast extrusion of a polyolefin polymer or by manufacturing a biaxially oriented cast or blown sheet or film (such as, for example, oriented polypropylene) and laminating the prefabricated sheet or film to the optional intermediate reinforcement layer or the printed layer. An alternative method includes liquid coating a polyolefin polymer dispersed in solvent directly on the optional intermediate reinforcement layer or the printed layer and subsequently evaporating the solvent. The polymeric printed layer can be made with any melt process technique, however, preferably the printed layer is prepared using a calendering process and then hot rolled to the intermediate reinforcing layer. A suitable design can conveniently be imparted to the printed layer after it is laminated to the intermediate reinforcing layer but before being laminated to the transparent top wearing layer. Preferably, the top transparent wear layer is heat laminated to the printed polyimic layer, the polymeric printed layer comprises a chemical blowing agent composed of a polyolefin polymer and its hot application during lamination is sufficiently above the temperature of decomposition of the chemical blowing agents in such a way that the chemical enhancement occurs. Alternatively, the printed design can be reversibly printed on the wear layer which is then hot rolled onto a printed, smooth, single-color layer; that is, the printed layer in this case, essentially provides an antecedent for the printed design rather than actually containing the design itself. The polyolefin polymer that is used as the foam backing layer can be an ethylene α-olefin interpolymer having a high comonomer content where differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) techniques such as when used, for example, a Perkin Elmer DSC7 is equal to or less than about 40 percent, preferably equal to or less than about 30 percent, more preferably equal to or less than about 20 percent and more preferably equal to or less than about 15 percent. Suitable polyolefin polymers include ethylene polymers such as substantially linear ethylene polymers (which are sold under the name of AFFINITY and Engage resins, by the Dow Chemical Company and Dupont Dow Elastomers, respectively), the homogeneously branched substantially linear ethylene polymers. (which are sold under the name of TAFMER resins by the Mitsui Chemical Corporation and under the names of EXACT and EXCEED resins by the Exxon Chemical Corporation), the heterogeneously branched, substantially linear ethylene polymers (such as those sold under the name of ATTANE and DOWLEX by the Dow Chemical Company and under the name of FLEXOMER by Union Carbide Corporation) and ethylene / propylene interpolymers (such as those sold under the name of VISTALON by the Exxon Chemical Corporation). Particularly preferred polyolefin polymers that are used in the top layer and the foam layer of the present invention are substantially linear ethylene polymers because of their improved melt extrusion processability and unique rheological properties as described by Lai et al. in the patents of E.U.A. Nos. 5,272,236 and 5,278,272. The term "melt process" as used herein refers to processing or working of a polymer composition at elevated temperatures above its melting point in an extruder, calender, Haake mixers, Banbury, Henschel mixer, Brabender mixer, or Buss mixer. The term "homogenously branched linear ethylene polymer" is used in the conventional sense with reference to a linear ethylene interpolymer in which the comonomer is randomly distributed within a given polymer molecule and wherein substantially all the polymer molecules have the same ethylene at the molar level of comonomer. The term refers to an ethylene interpolymer which is characterized by having a relatively high short chain branching distribution index (SCBDI) or a branching distribution composition index (CDBI). That is, the interpolymer has a SCBDI greater than or equal to about 50 percent. preferably greater than or equal to about 70 percent. more preferably greater than or equal to about 90 percent and preferably essentially suffer from a measurable high density (crystalline) polymer fraction. The SCBDI is defined as the weight percentage of the polymer molecules having a comonomer content within 50%. percent of the average molar content of total comonomers and represents a comparison of the distribution of monomers in the interpolymer to the expected monomer distribution for a Bernoullian distribution The SCBDI of an interpolymer can be easily calculated from the information obtained from the techniques known in the technique, such as, for example, elution fractionation of temperature increase (hereinafter abbreviated as "TREF") as described, for example, by Wild et al in the Journal of Polymer Science. Polv Phvs Ed Vol 20, pg 441 (1982), or in U.S. Patent 4,798,081, or by LD Cady, "The Role of Comonomer Type and Distinction in LLDPE Product Performance, SPE Regional Technical Conference, Quaker Square Hilton, Akron, Ohio, October 1-2, pp. 107-119 ( 1985) However, the preferred TREF technique does not include purge quantities in calculations SCBDI More preferably, the distribution of interpolymer monomers and SCBDI are determined using 13CNMR analysis in accordance with the techniques described in US Pat. No. 5,292,845 and by JC Randall in Rev Macromol Chem Phys, C29 pgs 201-317" > - In addition to referring to a homogeneous short (or narrow) branching distribution, the term "homogenously branched linear ethylene interpolymer" also means that the interpoiimer has no long chain branching, that is, the ethylene interpolymer. it has an absence of long chain branching and a linear polymer backbone in the conventional sense of the term "linear." However, the term "homogenously branched linear ethylene polymer" does not refer to a high pressure branched polyethylene which it is known to those skilled in the art to have numerous long chain branches.Ethylene polymers homogeneously Branches can be made using polymerization processes (for example, those described by Elston in the US patent. No. 3,645,992) which provides a uniform distribution of short (narrow) branching (ie, homogeneously branched). In this polymerization process, Elston uses soluble vanadium catalytic systems to make such polymers, however, others such as Mitsui Chemical Corporation and Exxon Chemical Corporation have used the so-called single-site catalyst systems to make polymers that have a structure homogeneous similar. Homogeneously branched linear ethylene polymers can be prepared in solution processes. mixture or gas using catalytic systems with hafnium, zirconium and vanadium. Ewen et al. in the patent of E.U.A. No. 4,937,299 discloses a method of preparation using a meilanocene catalyst. The term "homogenously branched linear ethylene polymer" is used hereafter in the conventional sense with reference to a linear ethylene interpolymer having a comparatively low short chain branching distribution index. That is, the interpolymer has a relatively broad short chain branching distribution. Linear heterogeneously branched ethylene polymers have a SCBDI typically less than about 30 percent. Homogeneously branched linear ethylene polymers are well known among practitioners of the linear polyethylene technique. Homogeneously branched linear ethylene polymers are prepared using phase polymerization processes of Ziegier-Nata solution, mixture or gas and metal coordination catalysts as described, for example, by Anderson et. al., in the patent of E.U.A. No. 4,076,698. These conventional linear polyethylenes of the Ziegler type are not homogeneously branched, do not have long chain branches and have a linear polymer main structure in the conventional sense of the term "linear". Also, heterogeneously linear ethylene polymers show no substantial amorphousness at low densities since they inherently possess a substantially high density (crystalline) polymer fraction. At densities less than 0.90 g / cc, these materials are more difficult to prepare than the homogeneously branched ethylene polymer and are also more difficult to granulate than their higher density counterparts. At lower densities, homogenously branched ethylene polymer granules are generally more viscous and have a greater tendency to bind, than their higher density counterparts. The term "propylene / ethylene interpolymer" as used herein refers to a polymer having at least ethylene and propylene interpolymerized therein. Said interpolymer can have a higher ethylene content than propylene and vice versa and include other monomers such as, for example, at least one diene or at least one other α-olefin. Typically, the homogenously branched linear ethylene polymer and the homogeneously branched ethylene polymer are ethylene / α-olefin interpolymers, wherein the α-olefin is at least one C7-C2o α-olefin (e.g., propylene, 1-) butene, 1-pentene, 4-methyl-1-pentene, 1-hexene, 1-hexene, 1-octene and the like) and preferably at least one C3-C20 α-olefin is 1-hexene. More preferably, the ethylene / α-oieffine interpolymer is a copolymer of ethylene and a C3-C20 α-olefin, especially an ethylene / α-olefin copolymer is a copolymer of ethylene and a C3-C20 α-olefin. especially an ethylene / C4-C5 ethylene / α-olefin copolymer and more especially an ethylene / 1-hexene copolymer. The term "substantially linear ethylene polymer" as used herein refers to homogeneously branched ethylene / α-olefin polymers having a narrow short chain branching distribution and containing long chain branching as well as short chain branching attri bui bies to the incorporation of homogeneous comonomers. The substantially linear α-olefin polymers have from 0.01 to 3 carbons of long chain / 1000 branching. Preferred substantially linear polymers for use in the invention have 0.01 long chain branch carbons / 1000 to 1 long chain branch / 1000 carbon, and more preferably 0.05 long chain branch carbons / 1000 to 1 branch carbon long chain / 1000. The long chain branching is defined here as a chain length of at least 6 carbons, above the length that can not be distinguished using a 13C nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy. The long chain branching may be as long as the same length as the length of the main structure of the polymer to which it is attached. The long chain branches are obviously longer than the short chain branches resulting from the incorporation of the comonomer. The presence of the long chain branching can be determined in ethylene homopolymers using a 13C nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy and quantified using the method described by Randall (Rev. Macromol. Chem. Phys., C29 .V.2 &;3. pgs. 285-297). As a practical matter, current 13C nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy can not determine the length of the long chain branch by more than six carbon atoms.

However, there are other known techniques useful for determining the presence of long chain branches in ethylene polymers, including ethylene / 1-ketene interpolymers. Two such methods are gel permeation chromatography coupled with a low-angle laser light diffusing detector (GPC-LALLS) and gel permeation chromatography coupled to a differential viscometer detector (GPC.DV). The use of these techniques for the detection of long chain branching and the preceding theories have been well documented in the literature. See, for example, Zimm, G.H. I Stockmayer, W.H., J Chem. Phys., 17,1301 (1949) and Rudin, A., Modern Methods of Polymer Characterization, John Wiley & Sons, New, York (1991) pgs. 103-112. A. Willem deGroot and P. Steve Chum, both of the Dow Chemical Company, at the October 4, 1994 conference of the Federation of Analytical Chemistry and Spectroscopy Society (FACSS) in St. Louis, Missouri, presented information demonstrating that the GPC-DV is a useful technique for quantifying the presence of long chain branches in substantially linear ethylene polymers. In particular, deGroot and Chum found that the level of long chain branches in samples of linear ethylene homopolymers measured using the Zimm-Stockmayer equation correlated well with the level of long chain branches measured using 13C NMR. In addition, deGroot and Chum found that the presence of octene does not change the hydrodynamic volume of the polyethylene samples in solution and, as such, one can consider that the molecular weight increase is attributed to the short chain branches of octene knowing the percentage of moles of octane in the sample. By deconvoluining the contribution to the molecular weight increase attributable to the short chain branches of octene, deGroot and Chum showed that GPC-DV can be used to quantify the level of long chain branches in substantially linear ethylene / octene copolymers. deGroot and Chum also showed that a Log diagram (12, melt index) as a function of Log (GPC Average Weight of Molecular Weight) as determined by GPC-DV illustrates that aspects of long chain branching (but not until the long branching point) of the substantially linear ethylene polymers can be compared to those high-density, low-branched, high-pressure polyethylenes (LDPE) and are clearly distinct from the ethylene polymers produced using the Ziegler-type catalytic converters as complexes. titanium and ordinary homogeneous catalysts such as hafnium and vanadium complexes. The substantially linear ethylene polymers used in the present invention are a unique class of compounds that are further defined in the U.S.A. 5,272,236 and in the patent of E.U.A. 5,278,272. Substantially linear ethylene polymers differ significantly from the type of polymers conventionally known as homogenously branched linear ethylene polymers described, for example, by Elston in the U.S.A. No. 3,645,992 in which the substantially linear ethylene polymers do not have a linear polymer backbone in the conventional sense of the term "linear." The substantially linear ethylene polymers also differ significantly from the type of polymers conventionally known as traditional Ziegler heterogeneously branched heterogeneously branched linear ethylene interpolymers (e.g., ultra low density polyethylene, linear low density polyethylene or high density polyethylene) made, for example , using the techniques described by Anderson et al., in the US patent 4,076,698, in which the substantially linear ethylene interpolymers are homogeneously branched interpolymers. The substantially linear ethylene polymers also differ significantly from the type known as highly branched high density low density ethylene homopolymers initiated with free radicals and ethylene interpolymers as, for example, copolymers of ethylene-acrylic acid (EAA) and ethylene-vinyl acetate (EVA) copolymers, in which the substantially linear ethylene polymers do not have equivalent long-chain branching degrees and are made using catalyst systems of only one place instead of peroxide catalytic systems with free radicals Single-site polymerization catalysts (for example the catalytic catalysts for polymerization of metal olefins of ion-forming compounds, uncoordinated, compatible, inert. preferred are inert non-coordinated boron compounds The polymerization conditions for making the substantially linear ethylene polymers used in the present invention are preferably those useful in the continuous solution polymerization process, although the application of the present invention is not limited to that.The processes of gas phase polymerization and mixing They can also be used, taking into account that the proper catalytic and polymerization conditions must be used. To polymerize the substantially linear, useful polymers of the invention, the above-mentioned forced geometry and single-site catalysts can be used, but for substantially linear ethylene polymers the polymerization processes should operate in such a way that the ethylene polymers are substantially linear. actually form. That is, not all polymerization conditions inherently produce the substantially linear ethylene polymers, even when the same catalysts are used. For example, in one embodiment of a polymerization process useful in the production of substantially linear ethylene polymers, a continuous process is employed, unlike the process as a whole. The substantially linear ethylene polymer that is used in the present invention is characterized by having a) a melt flow ratio, 0 / l2 = 5.63. b) a molecular weight distribution, Mw / Mn, as determined by gel permeation chromatography and defined by the equation: (Mw / M ") >; (l10 / 12) - 4.63, c) a gas extrusion rheology such that the degree of critical shear stress at the beginning of the surface melt fracture for the substantially linear ethylene polymer to be at least 50 percent greater than the degree of critical shear stress at the beginning of the surface melt fracture for a linear ethylene polymer, wherein the substantially linear ethylene polymer and the linear ethylene polymer comprise the same comonomer or comonomers, the linear ethylene polymer has a 12 and Mw / Mn within ten percent of the linear ethylene polymer and wherein the respective critical shear rates of the substantially linear ethylene polymer and the linear ethylene polymer are measured at the same melting temperature using an extrusion rheometer Of gas. d) a single differential scanning calorimeter, DSC, melting peak between -30 and 1501C, and e) a short chain branching distribution index greater than about 50 percent. The substantially linear ethylene polymers that are used in this invention are homogeneously branched interpolymers and essentially suffer from a measurable "high density" fraction as can be measured with the TREF technique (i.e. having a narrow short chain distribution and a high SCBD index) Substantially linear ethylene polymers generally do not contain a polymer fraction with a degree of branching 5 less than or equal to 2 methyl / 1000 carbons The "high density polymer fraction" can also be described as a polymer fraction with a degree of branching less than about 2 meth / 1000carbon The substantially linear ethylene interpolymers that are used in the present invention are interpolymers of ethylene with at least one C3-C20 α-olefin and / or C-C18 diolefin. Copolymers of ethylene and the carbon atoms of the C3-C2 α-olefin are especially preferred. The term "interpolymer" is used herein to denote a copolymer or an interpolymer, or the like, wherein, at least one other comonomer is polyepped with ethylene to make the interpolymer. Suitable comonomers useful for polyepying with ethylene include, for example, ethylenically unsaturated monomers, conjugated or non-conjugated dienes, polyenes, etc.

Examples of such comonomers include C3-C20 α-olefins such as propylene, isobutylene, 1-butene, 1-hexene, 4-methyl-1-pentene, 1-heptene, 1-octene, 1-nonene, 1-decene, and the like. Preferred comonomers include propylene 1-butene, 1-hexene, 4-methyl-1-pentene and 1-octene, and 1-octene is especially preferred 2 Other suitable monomers include styrene, halo or substituted alkyl styrenes, tetrafluoroethylene, vinylbenzocyclobutane, 1,4-hexadiene, 1,7-octadiene, and cycloalkenes, for example, cyclopentene, cyclohexene and cyclohexen. The determination of the degree of critical shear stress and shear stress stress critical to fusion fracture as well as to other rheological properties such as the "rheological processing index" (Pl), are achieved using an extrusion rheometer of gas (GER). The gas extrusion rheometer is described by M.Shida, R.N. Shroff and L.V. Cancio in Polymer Engineering Science, Vol. 17, No. 11, pg. 770 (1977), and in "Rheometers for Molten Plastics" by John Dealy, published by Van Nostrand Reinhold Co. (1982) on pgs. 97-99. The GER experiments are performed at a temperature of about 190 ° C, at nitrogen pressures of between 250 to about 5500 psig using approximately a diameter of 0.0754mm, a die of 20: 1 L / D with an entry angle of approximately 180 °. For the substantially linear ethylene polymers described herein, Pl is the apparent viscosity (in kpoise) of a material measured by the GER at a shear stress of about 2.15 x 106 dyne / cm2. The substantially linear ethylene polymer that is used in the invention are ethylene interpolymers having a Pl in the range of about 0.01 kpoise to about 50 kpoise. preferably about 15 kpoise or less. The substantially linear ethylene polymers used herein have a Pl less than or equal to about 70 percent of the Pl of a linear ethylene ether (either a conventional Ziegler polymerized interpolymer or a homogenously branched linear interpolymer as described by Elston in the US Patent 3,645,992) having one l2 and one Mw / Mn, each within ten percent of the substantially linear ethylene interpolymer. An apparent shear stress versus the apparent shear stress pattern is used to identify the melting fracture phenomenon and the amount of critical shear stress degree and the critical shear stress of ethylene polymers. According to Ramamurthy in the Journal of Rheology, 30 (2), 337-357, 1986, above a certain critical flow relationship, the irregularities of the extrudate can be broadly classified into two main types: surface fusion fracture and Total fusion fracture. The surface fusion fracture occurs under seemingly stable flow conditions and varies in detail from the loss of specular film brightness to a more severe form of "shark skin". As determined herein, using the GER described above, the beginning of the surface melting fracture (OSMF) is characterized at first by losing the brightness of the extrudate at which the firmness of the extruded surface can only be detected by an enlargement. of 40x. The degree of effort Critical cutting at the start of the surface fusion fracture for substantially linear ethylene interpolymers is at least approximately 50 percent greater than the degree of critical shear stress at the beginning of the surface melting fracture of a linear ethylene interpolymer which has essentially the same l2 and Mw / Mn. The total fusion fracture occurs under unstable extrusion flow conditions and varies in detail from regular distortions (alternating rigid and smooth), helical, etc.) to random distortions. For commercial acceptability and maximum wear layer properties to scratches and abrasion, surface defects should be minimal, if not null. The critical shear stress at the beginning of the total melt fracture for the substantially linear ethylene polymers used in the invention, which are those having the density less than about 0.91 g / cc, is greater than about 4 x 1 O6 dynes / cm2 . The degree of critical shear stress at the beginning of the fracture under surface melting (OSMF) and at the beginning of the fracture under total melting (OGMF) will be used here based on changes in surface stiffness and extrusion configurations extruded by a GER. Preferably, in the present invention, the substantially linear ethylene polymer will be characterized by its degree of critical shear stress, rather than its critical shear stress. The substantially linear ethylene polymers also consist of a single material that is composed of polymer and characterized by a single DSC melting peak. The unique melting peak is determined using a differential scanning calorimeter standardized with indium and deionized water. The method involves around 5-7 mg. of sample sizes, a "first heating" at about 140 ° C which is maintained for about 4 minutes, a cooling at about 10 ° / min, at about -30 ° C which is maintained for about 3 minutes, and a heating at approximately 10 ° C / min. at approximately 180 ° C for the "second heating". The single melting peak is taken from the heat flow of the "second heating" against the temperature curve. The total melting heat of the polymer is calculated from the area under the curve. For substantially linear ethylene interpolymers having a density of about 0.875 g / cc to about 0.91 g / cc, the only spike under melting can show, depending on the sensitivity of the equipment, a "shoulder" or a "hump" on the side low melting constituting less than about 12 percent, typically, less than about 9 percent, and more typically less than about 6 percent of the total melting heat of the polymer. Said artifact is observed for another homogeneously branched polymer as EXACT resins and is discerned from the base of the inclination of the single melting peak that varies monotically through the melting region of the artifact. Such an artifact occurs within about 34 ° C, typically within about 27 ° C, and more typically within about 20 ° C of the melting point of the single melting peak.

The heat of the fusion attributable to an artifact can be separately determined by the specific integration of its associated area under the heat flow against the temperature curve. The molecular weight distributions of the ethylene α-olefin polymers are determined by gel permeation chromatography (GPC) in a Waters 150 ° C high temperature chromatographic unit equipped with a differential refractometer and three columns of mixed porosity. The columns are supplied by Polymer Laboratories and are commonly packaged with pore sizes of 103, 104, 105 and 106 A. The solvent is 1, 2,4-trichlorobenzene, of which approximately 0.3 percent by weight of sample solution is prepare for injection. The flow rate is about 1.0 milliliters / minute, the operating temperature of the unit is about 140 ° C and the injection size is about 100 microliters. The determination of molecular weight with respect to the main structure of the polymer is deduced using narrow molecular weight distribution polystyrene standards (from the Polymer Laboratories) in conjunction with their elution volumes. The molecular weights of the equivalent polyethylene are determined using the appropriate Mark-Houwink coefficients for polyethylene and polystyrene (as described by Williams and Ward in Journal of Polymer Science, Polymer Letters, Vol. 6, page 621, 1968) to derive the following equation : Polyethylene = a (Mpolystyrene) b.

In this equation, a = 0.4316 and b = 1.0. The average molecular weight, Mw, is calculated in the usual manner according to the following formula: M, = (S w ^ M, ')) J; where w is the weight fraction of molecules with molecular weight M, eluting from the GPC column in fraction i and j = 1 when calculating Mw and j = -1 when calculating Mn. For the homogeneously branched ethylene interpolymers that are used in the present invention, the Mw / Mn are preferably less than about 3, more preferably less than about 2.5, and especially from about 1.5 to about 2.5 and more especially from about 1.8 to about 2.3 . Substantially linear ethylene polymers are known to have excellent processability, despite having a relatively narrow molecular weight distribution (ie, the Mw / Mn grades are typically less than about 3.5, preferably less than about 2.5, and more preferably less than that approximately 2). Surprisingly, unlike heterogeneously branched linear ethylene polymers, the melt flow ratio (10.0 / 2) of the substantially linear ethylene polymers can be varied essentially and independently of the molecular weight distribution, Mw / Mn- Accordingly, the preferred ethylene α-olefin polymer that is used in the present invention is a substantially linear ethylene polymer.

The density of the polyolefin polymer (as measured in accordance with ASTM D-792) which is used in the present invention, is generally greater than about 0.850 g / cc, especially from about 0.860 g / cc to about 0.930 g / cc, more preferably, from about 0.880 g / cc to about 0.920 g / cc and more preferably, from 0.880 to about 0.910. When used as or in the foam layer, the density of the preferred polymer of the polyolefin polymer is less than or equal to about 0.915 g / cc, especially less than or equal to about 0.9 g / cc. When used as or in the top wear layer and the printed layer, the density of the preferred polymer of the polyolefin polymer is greater than or equal to about 0.91 g / cc, especially greater than or equal to about 0.92 g / cc. The molecular weight of the polyolefin polymers is conveniently indicated using a melt index measurement according to ASTM D-1238. The condition 190 ° C / 2.16kg (formerly known as "Condition E" and is also known as l2). The melt index is inversely proportional to the molecular weight of the polymer. In this way, the higher the molecular weight, the lower the melting index, although the relationship is not linear. The melt index for the polyolefin polymers useful herein is generally about 0.01 g / 10 mg. at about 200g / 10min., preferably about 0.01g.75min. at about 10 g / 10 min., especially about 0.1 g / 1 Omin. at about 20g / 10min., and more especially about 1g / 10min. at approximately 10 g / 10 min. However, a generally lower melt index is preferred for the upper wear layer and the printed layer relative to the foam layer. Other useful measures for characterizing the molecular weight of substantially linear ethylene interpolymers and homopolymers involve melt index determinations with higher molecular weights, such as, for example, ASTM D-1238, Condition 190 ° C / 10 kg (formerly known as "Condition N" and also known as l10). The degree of determination of a higher melting index to a lower weight determination is known as the melt flow ratio, and for melt index values l 0 and l2 the melting flow ratio is conveniently designated like 11 o /? 2 - For the substantially linear ethylene polymers used to prepare the films of the present invention, the melt flow ratio indicates the degree of long chain branching, i.e., the more melt flow ratio l? O / l2, Largest long chain branch in the polymer. The ratio o / l2 of the substantially linear ethylene polymers is preferably at least about 7, and especially at least about 9. The additives such as antioxidants (for example, opposition phenolics (such as lrganoxa1010 or Irganox e1076) , phosphites (for example, lrgafos®168), and PEPO ™ (a trademark of Sandoz Chemical, the main ingredient of which is believed to be a biphenyl phosphonite) as well as FR additives (eg, antimony, magnesium hydroxide and aluminum trihydroxide (ATH)), pigments, dyes, fillers (for example, CaCO3), and the like can also be included in polyolefin polymers, to the extent that they do not interfere with the abuse, transparency or foam properties required by However, with respect to antioxidants and stabilizers, only nominal quantities such as 100 to 2500 ppm will generally be required to successfully process under melting. the preferred polyolefin polymers used in the present invention. Layers manufactured as for rolling operations may also contain additives to improve handling characteristics, anti-blocking and coefficient of friction including, but not limited to, treated silicone dioxide, talc, calcium carbonate, and mud, as well as amides of primary and secondary fatty acids, silicone coatings, etc. Still other additives, such as quaternary ammonium compounds alone or in combination with copolymers of ethylene acrylic acid (EAA) or other functional polymers, commercial antistatic additives (for example, HOSTASTAT available from Hoeschst Celanese, IRGASTAT available from Ciba Geigy and ATMER available from ICI) and hydrophobic fillers such as, for example, talc can also be added to the polyolefin polymer for the purpose of meeting the surface and volume resistivity standards. Also several oils can be compounded within the polyolefin polymer to reduce production costs, improve the flexibility and acceptability of the filler and / or reduce the powderiness during the composition. Suitable oils include, for example, paraffinic and hydrogenated oils (for example, SUNPAR available from Sun Oil Company and MENIDOL available from Witco) although naphthenic and aromatic oils may also be used. In general, the amount of oil that can be successfully added without incurring signs or incompatibility as, for example, bleeding, will increase as the viscosity of the oil decreases and / or the crystallinity of the polyolefin polymer decreases.

The polyolefin polymer used in the invention can be a mixture of at least one polyolefin polymer and at least one other polymer wherein the mixture is formed by any convenient method, including dry mixing of the individual polymers and subsequently mixing under melting in a mixer or mixing the polymers directly in a mixer (eg, a Banburry mixer, a Haake mixer, an internal Brabender mixer, or a twin screw or single screw extruder including a compound extruder and an extruder with side boom It is used directly downstream of the interpolymerization process, which mixtures can also be formed in-situ by multiple reactor interpolymerizations with reactors operated sequentially in series or in parallel, for example, an interpolymerization of ethylene and the desired alpha olefin using a catalytic of forced geometry in at least one reactor and a forced geometry catalytic or a Ziegler type catalytic converter in at least one other reactor. An exemplary in-situ interpolymerization process is described in PCT patent application 94/01052. The multilayer resilient coating product for floors and walls and method for preparing the same currently claimed are described more fully in the following examples, but are not limited to the examples shown. The homogeneously branched, substantially linear ethylene polymers used in the following examples were prepared according to the procedures and techniques described in the examples of the U.S. Patents. 5,272,236 and 5,278,272.

EXAMPLES In an evaluation for preparing a foam backer using poly-olefin polymers (Example 1A), a substantially linear ethylene / 1-ketene copolymer having a density of about 0.902 g / cc and an ASTM D-1238, Condition 190 ° C / 3.0 kg 12 melt index of approximately 3g / 10min and sold by the Dow Chemical Company under the name of AFFINITY FW 1650 a melt composition was produced in a twin screw extruder 30: 1L / D Werner-Pflieder with 30mm corotation with 3.0 parts percent (pph) of SAFOAM FPE-50, an azodicarbonamide blowing agent supplied by Reedy International Corporation. The extruder was connected to a transfer line, which was attached to a conventional gear pump, which was then connected to an 8-inch cast sheet die that produced a foam sheet. The resulting foam sheet obtained a thickness of approximately 1mm and a foam density of approximately 439 g / liter (g / l). The average foam cell size was approximately 55 microns and the foam was characterized as having approximately 87% of the original thickness when indented according to EN433. This polyolefin polymer foam backsheet was subsequently hot rolled to form a top layer structure prepared as will be described below. Another evaluation essentially repeating Example 1A above except that the melt composite composition of the polyolefin polymer and the blowing agent were transferred to a 1 inch blown film unit instead of a casting sheet die. In this evaluation, the resulting foam sheet (Example 1B) obtained a thickness of approximately 0.58mm, a density of approximately 631 g / l, an average foam cell size of approximately 41m3c according to EN433. For further evaluations of melt processed foam backing, Table 1 below shows Examples 1A and 1B as well as Examples 1C and 1D, of the foam backing processed under melting. Likewise, Table 2 shows the corresponding melt process information for Examples 1C-1G and Table 3 shows the respective yield information (i.e., percentage of indentation recovery, percentage of dimensional stability and resistance to bending). . TABLE 1 TABLE 2 TABLE 3 In another evaluation, a foam backer (Example 1) was prepared using an aqueous latex composition. In this evaluation, approximately 100 parts by dry weight of styrene-carboxylated butadiene latex, supplied by The Dow Chemical Company under the name of XZ 9160, was mixed with about 4.6 parts by dry weight of sodium sulfosuccinate (as a stabilizer foam), about 8 parts by dry weight of paraffin (as anti-caking agent to help prevent the agglutination of the cell wall of the foam), about 100 parts by dry weight of a high density polyethylene powder having about 40 mesh (less than about 150 microns) as a reinforcing filler to improve the resilience and hardness, and about 8 parts by dry weight of a Epoxy curing resin. The aqueous dispersion formulated was about 75% solids by weight and its viscosity was adjusted to about 3,000 centipoises (cps) using Viscalex HV-30, which is a polyacrylate thickener available from Allied Colloids Ltd. The aqueous dispersion formulated was foamed mechanically using air injection and vigorous shaking to reduce the density of the foam, it was spread on the back side of the appropriate topcoat structure and then allowed to dry in a forced air oven at 140 ° C for approximately 20 minutes to allow the complete cure. In another evaluation for preparing a foam backer (Example 1K) with a latex composition base, about 100 parts by dry weight of the same carboxylated butadiene-styrene latex used for Example 1J was mixed with about 4 parts by weight dry sodium sulfosuccinate, about 20 parts dry weight of Expancel microspheres containing isobutane as supplied by Nobel Industries Sweden, about 50 parts by dry weight of a high density polyethylene resin milled to form a 40 mesh powder (less than about 150 microns), and 8 parts by dry weight of an epoxy curing resin The aqueous dispersion formulated was about 65% solids by weight and its viscosity was adjusted to about 3,000 cps using Viscalex HV-30 This formulated latex composition was placed on the back side of a suitable top layer structure and then placed in a forced air oven at 140 ° C for approx. ximately 20 minutes where the isobutene blowing agent was released causing foaming and the foamed backside was finally cured In another evaluation an investigation was made to determine the performance attributes of a carboxylated latex composition in a textile and polymer substrate layer of polyolefin The following materials were used and formulated as shown in Tables 4 and 5 below Materials Used Epoxy Resin RTC 7- Aqueous dispersion of epoxy resin 15445-9A experimental from The Dow Chemical Co Catalyst ethyl tpphenyl phosphonium acid acetate Latex a copolymer of 32% by weight of styrene 65 by weight of butadiene and 3% by weight of acrylic acid from The Dow Chemical Co. Impermax 888/2 an emulsion of paraffin wax from Albpght and Wilson (UK) Empiment M KB sodium sulfosuccinate from Albpght and Wilson (UK) HDPE High density polyethylene eg from The Dow Chemical Co. BL 200 a CaC03 filler from Omya. Viscalex ™ HV-30 an acrylic thickener from Allied Colloids LTD. Emulsion L an antioxidant dispersion of Great Lakes. Viscalex HV-30 a polyacrylate thickener from Allied colloids LTD.

TABLE 4 Formula (I) for the Polyolefin Polymer Substrate layer adjusted using Viscalex HV-30 TABLE 5 Formula (II) for Textile Substrate Layers The ingredients were mixed with agitation in the sequence that were listed above. The mixture was passed through a continuous skimmer that produced a foam with a density of 350 grams / liters. The foam was placed on a pre-covered carpet fastened with buttons with a thickness of approximately 3.5mm. The foam was then dried and cured at about 120 ° C in a forced air circulation oven. After cooling and conditioning at 23 ° C50% RH for 24 hours, the foam was sliced from the folder and the performance attributes were measured. Tests were carried out in accordance with EN433 recovery of indentation, in accordance with DIN53455 for each percentage of elongation and in accordance with DIN53571 for tensile strength. Resilience was determined using the ball drop bounce method. To determine the resilience percentage of the foam backs, the rebound height of the steel bearing was measured when dropped from a height of 45.7cm. In the resilience test, specimens of the same dimensions were provided as is used for density determinations. The test apparatus (shown in Figure I) consisted of an electromagnet which maintained the bearing above the test specimen. The diameter of the bearing was 1,588 centimeters and its weight was 16.3 grams. The bearing was dropped into a vertical tube of transparent plastic graduated with percentages. The plastic tube was placed in the test specimen at a force of 100 ± 10 grams where the required force was adjusted to the needs using a counterbalance assembly located in a fixed vertical support of the apparatus. To read the bounce rate, attention was paid to the rebound of the bearing. Thus, this test was taken as zero percent rebound (resilience) for a height of 1,588 cm and 100 percent rebound (resilience) was taken for a height of 45.7cm. Two values were measured and reported for each specimen test. The first value (lower) was the reading of the first fall and the second reading was obtained by dropping the ball in the same place until the maximum value (equilibrium) was reached for which 5-10 falls were required. The performance results are shown below in Table 6.

TABLE 6 The results in Table 6 indicate that both the foam rear carboxylated polyolefin polymer substrate layer product and the foam textile rear carboxylated substrate layer product meet or exceed the performance of the standards for the market segment of heterogeneous floor covering. In an evaluation to prepare the printed layer (Example 1 L) using a polyolefin polymer, approximately 97.5 parts by weight of a substantially linear copolymer / 1-octene with a density of about 0.87 g / cc and a fusion sub-index ASTM 1238 l2 about 1g / 10 minutes and supplied by The Dow Chemical Company under the name of ENGAGE DSH 8501. 00 was mixed dry with about 2.5 parts by weight of Genitron AZ2, a chemical blowing agent of azodicarbonamide supplied by Bayer Chemical A.G. and about 1.0 parts by weight of zinc oxide. This mixture was processed under melting at about 120 ° C (i.e., below the decomposition temperature of the blowing agent) for approximately 5 minutes according to ISO 1163/2 and a sheet was formed, which was allowed to cool to room temperature. The sheet was subsequently foamed using a conveyor furnace at a temperature of about 190 ° C and a movement speed of about 20mm / minute where the foaming started after about 850 seconds and the maximum foaming expansion was achieved after about 1,160 seconds. In another evaluation for preparing the printed foam layer (Example 1M). about 100 parts by dry weight of an aqueous dispersion of a substantially linear copolymer / 1-octene at about 53 percent solids by dry weight were mixed with about 1 part by dry weight of Celogen AZNP, a blowing azodicarbonamide chemical agent supplied by Uniroyal Chemical Company and approximately 1 part by dry weight of zinc oxide. The copoiimer was supplied by The Dow Chemical Company under the name of XU 58000.52 and was prepared to form an aqueous dispersion using the continuous method and procedure described in the U.S.A. No. 5,539,021 and in the co-pending applications with application numbers 08 / 463,160; 08 / 630,187; and 08 / 702,824. The dispersion of formulated polyolefin polymers was then cast to form a Mylar film and dried at about 68 ° C for about 12 hours. The resulting film was characterized by having a modulus of approximately 7.3Mpa and a breaking strength percentage of approximately 1,300%. The dried film was conveniently foamed by introducing it into a forced air oven at a temperature of about 210 ° C for several minutes. In an evaluation to prepare a clear top wear layer (Example 1N), a substantially linear ethylene / 1-ketene copolymer with a density of about 0.903 g / cc and an ASTM D-1238, Condition 190 ° C / 2.16 kgl2 index of fusion of approximately 1.0 g / 10 minutes and supplied by The Dow Chemical Company under the name of AFFINITY PL 1880 was processed under melting in a double roller mill at 160-190 ° C for approximately 10 minutes to achieve a transparent sheet. The resulting sheet was characterized by having abrasion resistance according to DIN-53516 of approximately 15mm3, an optical clarity of 1mm according to ASTM-D1003-61 of approximately 68 percent, a visual resistance to scratches according to ISO -4586.2 of about 0.1, and a scoring thickness of about 150 microns. The transparent top wear layer processed under melting was separately heated and laminated under pressure or laminated by adhesive with a double adhesive tape to form the printed layers of Example 1L and Example 1M and each laminate was heated and laminated under pressure to form the back foam layers of Examples 1A, 1B, 1J and 1K. Similarly, the biaxially oriented polypropylene film (Example 10) was hot rolled to form the printed layer of Example 1L. In another evaluation, a polyolefin polymer coating layer (Example 1P) for the clear top wear layer of Example 1N was prepared by coating an aqueous dispersion thereon. The aqueous dispersion, which was about 40 percent solids by dry weight and ammonium hydroxide used, was based on a copolymer of ethylene acrylic acid (EAA) containing about 20 weight percent acrylic acid and was supplied by Michelman. The dispersion was molded under melt to form the clear top wear layer with a wet thickness of about 400 microns and then dried in a forced air oven at a temperature of about 140 ° C for about 4 minutes. The resulting top coat transparent wear layer was characterized by having a scoring thickness measured using a 0.5 N needle pressure according to ISO-4586-2, a paragraph 14 of approximately 118 microns and an average weight loss of abrasion Taber after 500 revolutions with a S39 disc, loaded with a kilogram of weight and a particle feeder set at 21 grams of particles / minute according to ASTM F510-93, of approximately 6.1mg. In another coating layer evaluation (Example 1Q), an aqueous dispersion comprising a percentage of 1/1 of about 20 percent by weight of acrylic acid, about 130012 of melt index at 190 ° C of ethylene glycol copolymer. Acrylic (EAA) and a substantially linear ethylene / 1-ketene copolymer having a density of about 0.901g / cc and a l2 melt index of about 16g / 10 minutes at 190 ° C was prepared at 50 percent solids per dry weight using potassium hydroxide and conventional dispersion techniques. The resulting aqueous potassium ionomer dispersion was cast under melt to form the clear top wear layer of Example 1N with a wet thickness of about 400 microns and then dried in a forced air oven at a temperature of about 70 ° C. approximately 15 minutes. The resulting transparent upper wear layer was characterized by having a Taber abrasion average weight loss after 500 revolutions with a S39 disc, loaded with a weight of 1 kilogram and the particle feeder fixed to 21 grams of particle / minute according to ASTM F510-93, approximately 5.0mg. The excellent resistance to abrasion and scratches obtained by using the coating layers based on dispersions of ethylene-acrylic acid copolymers with a relatively high content of acrylic acid and substantially linear ethylene polymers with a relatively high content of 1-octene ( and thus with relatively low crystallinity) are very surprising. That is, a conventional polyurethane top layer will show approximately 14mg of Taber abrasion weight loss under the same test conditions. These results are surprising in that experts would ordinarily expect polyolefin polymers with low densities and / or high comonomer levels to exhibit excessive weight loss in abrasion tests and less abrasion resistance than a polyurethane top coat. In another evaluation several different polyurethane polymer compositions were investigated as solid polymers with melt process to be used as the clear top wear layer of the present invention. Table 7 provides the description of the various polymer compositions and their respective properties: TABLE 7 Resin A = APPRYL PP3050NMI, polypropylene resin supplied by Atochem. Resin B = AFFINITY 1880, a substantially linear ethylene / 1-octene copolymer (Y 12 Ml at 190 ° C and 0.903 g / cc density) and supplied by The Dow Chemical Company. Resin C = PRIMCOR 1410, a copolymer of ethylene-acrylic acid containing approx. 9.5% pp. of acrylic acid and having an L2 melt index of approx. 1.5g / 10min. and supplied by The Dow Chemical Company 10 Resin D = PRIMACOR 5990, a copolymer of ethylene-acrylic acid containing approx. 20% pp. of acrylic acid and having an L2 melt index of approx. 1300g / 10min at 190 ° C and supplied by The Dow Chemical Company. Resin E = SURLYN 1702, an ionomer of ethylene-acrylic acid 15 neutralized with a zinc metal salt supplied by Dupont Chemical Company. 0 -? (-)

Claims (20)

1. A foamed multilayer resilient filler coating for floors and walls comprising an upper layer, wherein the top layer includes: a) an upper wear transparent layer composed of at least one polyolefin polymer processed under melting or at least one polyolefin polymer dispersed in solvent or both, b) a printed layer processed under melt or dispersion in solvent composed of at least one polyolefin polymer and interposed below the transparent top wear layer, and c) a polyolefin polymer processed under melting optional or intermediate textile reinforcement layer interposed below the printed layer, wherein the upper wear clear layer and the printed layer have a combined thickness of approximately 50 to 800 microns and the optional intermediate layer has a thickness of approximately 5 to 500 microns , and where the top layer is integrated with a foamed back layer composed of a composition of e latex, a polyolefin composition processed under melting of at least one polyolefin polymer, or a polyolefin composition dispersed in solvent of at least one polyolefin polymer.

2. The multilayer coating according to claim 1, characterized in that the upper layer is integrated with a foamed latex composition.

3. The multilayer coating according to claim 2, characterized in that the foamed latex composition comprises a carboxylated polymer.

4. The multilayer coating according to claim 3, characterized in that the carboxylated polymer is a styrenic polymer.

5. The multilayer coating according to claim 4, characterized in that the styrenic polymer is a styrene-butadiene copolymer. The multilayer coating according to claim 1, characterized in that the upper layer is integrated with a foamed latex composition or a foamed composition dispersed in solvent and the selected foamed composition includes a chemical blowing agent or microspheres containing a compound volatile or both. The multilayer coating according to claim 6, characterized in that the chemical blowing agent is azodicarbonamide and the volatile compound is isobutane. 8. The multilayer coating according to claim 2, characterized in that the foamed latex composition is entangled with an epoxy resin. 9. The coating of multilayers according to claim 2, characterized in that the foamed latex composition is formulated with at least one polymeric or organic filler. 10. The multilayer coating according to claim 9, characterized in that at least one filling is made of high density polyethylene. The coating of multilayers according to claim 1, characterized in that at least one polyolefin polymer of the upper wear transparent layer is a substantially linear ethylene polymer characterized by having a) a melting flow ratio of 10 / i2 = 5.63, b) a molecular weight distribution, Mw / Mn, as determined by gel permeation chromatography and defined by the equation: (Mw / Mn) < (l? o / l2) - 4.63, c) a gas extrusion rheology such that the degree of shear stress at the beginning of the melt surface fracture for the substantially linear ethylene polymer is at least 50 percent greater that the degree of critical shear stress at the beginning of the melt surface fracture for a linear ethylene polymer, wherein the substantially linear ethylene polymer and the linear ethylene polymer comprise the same comonomer or comonomers, the linear ethylene polymer has one l2 and one M "/ Mn within ten percent of the substantially linear ethylene polymer and wherein the respective critical shear stress grades of the substantially linear ethylene polymer and the linear ethylene polymer are measured at the same melting temperature using a gas extrusion rheometer, d) a melting peak of a single differential scanning calorimetry, DSC between -30 and 150 ° C, and e) a short chain branching distribution index greater than about 50 percent, or a homogenously branched linear ethylene polymer. characterized by having a molecular weight distribution of less than 3 and a short chain branching distribution index equal to or greater than 50 percent. 12. The multilayer coating according to claim 11, characterized in that the homogenously branched linear ethylene polymer is further characterized by having a melting peak of a single differential scanning calorimetry, DSC, between -30 and 150 ° C. 13. The multilayer coating according to claim 1, characterized in that at least one polyolefin polymer from the upper wear transparent layer group, the printed layer, the optional intermediate reinforcement layer and the back foam layer is a substantially linear ethylene polymer characterized by having a) a melt flow ratio, l10 / l2 = 5.63, b) a molecular weight distribution, Mw / Mn, as determined by gel permeation chromatography and defined by the equation : (Mw / M ") <; (I10 / I2) - 4.63, c) a gas extrusion rheology such that the degree of shear stress at the beginning of the melt surface fracture for the substantially linear ethylene polymer is at least 50 percent greater than the degree of critical shear stress at the beginning of the melt surface fracture for a linear ethylene polymer, wherein the substantially linear ethylene polymer and the linear ethylene polymer comprise the same comonomer or comonomers, the linear ethylene polymer has a l2 and a Mw / Mn within ten percent of the substantially linear ethylene polymer and wherein the critical shear stress grades of the substantially linear ethylene polymer and the linear ethylene polymer are measured at the same melting temperature using an extrusion rheometer of gas, d) a melting peak of a single differential scanning calorimetry, DSC, between -30 and 150 ° C, and e) a distribution index of short chain mification greater than 50 percent, or a homogenously branched linear ethylene polymer characterized by having a molecular weight distribution of less than 3 and a short chain branching distribution index equal to or greater than 50 percent. 14. The multilayer coating according to claim 13, characterized in that the homogenously branched linear ethylene polymer is further characterized by having a melting peak of a single differential scanning calorimetry, DSC, between -30 and 150 ° C. The multilayer coating according to claim 1, characterized in that the top transparent wear layer comprises at least one interpolymer of ethylene and at least one comonomer with carbonyl content. 1

6. The multilayer coating according to claim 15, characterized in that at least one interpolymer of ethylene and at least one comonomer with a carbonyl content is a copolymer of ethylene-acrylic acid. 1

7. The multilayer coating according to claim 1, characterized in that the transparent top wear layer is prepared using an aqueous dispersion mixed with cations. The multilayer coating according to claim 1, characterized in that the top transparent wear layer comprises a mixture of an ethylene interpolymer dispersed in solvent and at least one α, β-unsaturated comonomer and a substantially linear ethylene polymer. dispersed in solvent characterized by having a) a melt flow ratio, l10 / l2 = 5.63, b) a molecular weight distribution, Mw / Mn, as determined by gel permeation chromatography and defined by the equation: ( Mv./Mn) < (l10 / l2) - 4.63, c) a gas extrusion rheology such that the degree of shear stress at the beginning of the melt surface fracture for the substantially linear ethylene polymer is at least 50 percent greater than the degree of critical shear stress at the beginning of the melt surface fracture for a linear ethylene polymer, wherein the substantially linear ethylene polymer and the linear ethylene polymer comprise the same comonomer or comonomers, the linear ethylene polymer has a l2 and a Mw / Mn within ten percent of the substantially linear ethylene polymer and wherein the critical shear stress grades of the substantially linear ethylene polymer and the linear ethylene polymer are measured at the same melting temperature using an extrusion rheometer of gas, d) a melting peak of a single differential scanning calorimetry, DSC, between -30 and 150 ° C, and e) a distribution index of e short chain branching greater than 50 percent. 19. A method for making a multilayer coating for floors and walls comprising a) providing a top layer by means of i. Disperse in solvent or process under melt at least one polyolefin polymer to form a transparent layer of superior wear; ii. dispersing in solvent or processing under melt at least one polyolefin polymer to form a printed layer with a back surface and interposing the printed layer formed under the transparent top wear layer with the back surface of the printed layer exposed; iii. optionally, processing under melting at least one polyolefin polymer providing a textile material to form an intermediate reinforcing layer with a back surface, and interposing the optional intermediate reinforcement layer below the printed layer with the exposed back surface; b) foaming a latex composition, a melt-processed polyolefin composition containing at least one polyolefin polymer, or a polyolefin composition dispersed in solvent containing at least one polyolefin polymer, and c) integrating the top layer with the back surface of the printed layer or with the rear surface of the optional intermediate reinforcement layer with the composition of step (b) during foaming or after the foamed composition is cured. 20. The multilayer coating according to claim 1, characterized in that the printed layer is foamed.