PT106468A - PROCESS OF PRODUCTION OF LAMINATED PANELS - Google Patents

Abstract

A process for producing laminated panels is disclosed, comprising the process: a) having a web (7) on a base layer (2); B) FULLY FILLING THE SPACE (9) DEFLATED BY EACH MELT (8) OF THE NETWORK (7) WITH A RESPECTIVE STRUCTURAL LAYER (1); C) there is provided a top layer (3) on the set formed in the previous step; D) SEPARATING THE NETWORKS (8) OF THE NETWORK (7) BY CUT OF THE COMMON MARGIN (11) BETWEEN ADJACENT KNITTINGS (8). THE KNITTING SEPARATION CUT (8) MAY BE PERFORMED BY GUILTINATION TO OBTAIN SO MANY PANELS AS MANY MATERIALS (8) OF THE NET (7) ONLY WITH A MOVEMENT OF CUTTING. THE PRESENT PANEL APPLIES, ESPECIALLY, TO FLOORS, WALLS AND CEILINGS.

Description

DESCRIPTION " PRODUCTION PROCESS OF LAMINATED PANELS "

FIELD OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to a process for the manufacture of laminated panels, in particular waterproof panels. The resulting panels apply in particular to the construction of floors, walls and false ceilings.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION The use of cellulosic and cork materials in floors, walls and false ceilings is well known. These materials provide high levels of comfort to their users, and the combination between themselves and other materials also allows them to be more versatile in terms of aesthetic and other aspects such as resistance to loads and wear.

In the particular case of pavements, the permeability of said materials to liquids, namely water, is known, and therefore has not found reliable application in places subject to high levels of humidity and / or frequent contact with water and aqueous solutions, such as in kitchens , bathrooms, saunas, swimming pool facilities and the like. Indeed, given the nature of the activities occurring at these sites, in addition to the intrinsically wet atmospheres, frequent washing operations are required, which are incompatible with the use of cork and / or wood materials, which, as noted, do not exhibit adequate wet strength. The technique has developed products based on wood and cork that present a combination of materials to overcome this problem, namely through products in " sandwich ", in which the layers of cork and / or wood are coated with layers of waterproofing materials. However, these solutions have not proved to be sufficiently reliable, mainly due to the infiltration of liquids in the joining areas between panels or in the areas connecting to the walls of the site, which are the weaknesses from the point of view of total waterproofing of a floor.

These deficiencies or difficulties in the total waterproofing of cork and / or wood flooring provide, in the course of normal use of such wet spaces, more or less localized areas of pavement degradation, as well as concentration of micro-organisms, with their consequences with detrimental impact on the salubrity of spaces and on aesthetic or even structural aspects.

For these reasons, it has not hitherto been possible to provide such wet spaces, in particular kitchens and bathrooms, with floorings made of cork and / or wood-based materials, in order to benefit from their aesthetic, comfort and thermal and acoustic insulation. European patent EP 1634696 BI discloses a multi-layer flooring element comprising a core layer 2 and a cover layer which is arranged above the core layer. The core layer contains a pressure resistant wood material and the coating layer contains polyvinyl chloride of heterogeneous structure which comprises a foam core and is disposed between two or more sheets. Below the core layer is a layer of cork having a thickness between 1.0 and 3.0 mm. European patent EP 528194 BI relates to a process for the production of floorings from ethylene-vinyl acetate copolymers and fillers with a clear cover without polyvinyl chloride (PVC). The low density and / or very low density linear ethylene copolymer containing up to 2% by weight of conventional processing aids is melted and unwound on a calender to provide a sheet. Such sheet is then duplicated or tripliced with the PVC-free floor sheets based on the ethylene-vinyl acetate copolymer and, optionally, provided with a cloth, fabric or non-woven base support, or cork. Japanese Patent Application JP 9151596 A discloses a laminate flooring comprising a layer of vinyl chloride resin and wood powder, an adhesive, a layer of cork and a transparent surface layer. The cork layer is formed by natural cork or compressed cork and has a thickness of 0.3-3 mm. German patent application DE 102007008062 discloses a process for the production of floor tiles with digital cork printing. This application further claims the tile, manufactured by said process, comprising: a layer of insulation, a layer of HDF, high density cork (thickness 2 to 5 mm), an acrylic based paint, a layer of curing varnish by UV and two to four layers of sealant.

The foregoing documents disclose flooring elements comprising laminated combinations of cork, wood and thermoplastic material. However, these floors do not solve the problems related to the aforementioned liquid infiltration and therefore can not be reliably applied in wet spaces and / or subject to frequent washing operations.

In order to waterproof a laminated panel, it is possible to waterproof a panel having a structural layer of cork-based material disposed between two layers of liquid impervious (polymeric) material. For this purpose it is necessary to waterproof the transverse profile throughout the periphery of said panel in order to ensure a reliable seal throughout the panel structure.

There are, however, two problems associated with the provision of a sealant layer on the cross-section throughout the periphery of the panel: 1. on the one hand, given the nature of the cork or wood material, the profile of a The structural layer consisting of any of these materials has a rather rough and even discontinuous surface. This profile surface provides an area of poor adhesion to a seal coating layer, promoting the existence of adhesion discontinuity points 4, in which the seal is locally engaged; 2. Furthermore, since a placement of the sealant layer directly on the transverse profile of the panel creates an over-thickness of the coating material which materializes in lines of joining between panels when assembling the floor, it is found that these lines are visible in contrast to a pattern optionally used on the visible surface of the panels or in contrast to the visible color of the panels if this is different from the color of the cover layer. This situation is highly limiting and undesirable, especially when it is intended to provide the floor with an aesthetic standard that excludes the visibility of the joining lines of the panels that constitute it.

Accordingly, there is a need for a process for producing laminated panels which overcomes all of the problems mentioned above, by providing laminated panels which preferably comprise a structural layer of cellulosic and / or cork base material and are completely waterproofed to provide the formation of impermeable floors in wet spaces, allowing the combination of the demanding actions of use and maintenance / cleaning of these spaces with the exceptional characteristics of the floors of wood and / or cork. 5

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to a process for producing laminated panels, comprising the steps of: a) arranging a net (7) on a base layer (2); the net (7) having a certain thickness (E) and the netting (7) being formed by at least one mesh (8); each of the at least one meshes (8) defines an empty space (9) and a surrounding edge (10); and the meshes (8) are adjacent and are connected by a common margin (11) defining a plurality of cut lines (L); b) integrally filling the empty space (9) defined by each of said at least one meshes (8) with a respective structural layer (1); c) arranging a top layer (3) on the assembly formed in step b); d) attaching the layers (1, 2, 3) to the net (7) in an inseparable manner, wherein the thickness of the structural layer (1) of cork-based material is equal to or less than the thickness (E) of the net ( 7).

In a preferred embodiment the method further comprises a step e) separating the meshes 8 from the net 7 by cutting into one of the common edge cut lines L of between 6 adjacent meshes 8, forming as many panels as the meshes (8) of the net (7),

Preferably, said web (7) is comprised of a material selected from the group comprising polymeric material, metal, cellulosic, cork and their combinations, more preferably polymer material.

In one aspect of the invention, the net (7) has a thickness (E) in the range of 1 to 5 mm.

In another aspect of the invention, the structural layer (1) to be used in step b) is a composite of cork and PVC or the structural layer (1) is comprised of cork and wood material.

In yet another aspect, the base (2) and top layers (3) are made of PVC, each having a thickness in the range of 0.4 to 2 mm.

In a preferred embodiment, the process of the invention further comprises, between said steps c) and d), an additional step of arranging a film 5 printed on the top layer 3 followed by the arrangement of a layer 6 ) of wear on the printed film (5).

Preferably, the bonding step d) is carried out by bonding or thermo-fusion and the cutting of step d) is effected by slitting the average line (M) of the common edge (11) of adjacent meshes (8). 7

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS The following is a description of the invention with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: Fig. 1 is a schematic view showing the cross-section of a laminated panel comprised of three layers and omitting the profile coating layer . Fig. 2 is a schematic perspective view of the panel of Fig. 1 with its cross-section coated with a coating layer. Fig. 3 is a schematic perspective view of a laminated panel comprised of five layers and omitting the profile facing layer. 4 is a schematic plan view of a floor constructed from laminated panels, showing the joining zones between panels. 5 is a schematic perspective view of an exemplary network used in the panel manufacturing process of the invention. Fig. 6 is a schematic perspective view of only one mesh of the net shown in Fig. 5; Fig. 7 is a schematic perspective view of a two-mesh net. 8 is an exploded schematic view illustrating the sequence of steps a), b) and c) of the process of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to a process for producing laminated panels preferably having a structural layer of cellulosic and / or cork base material for forming a floor, wall or false ceiling. The present process is particularly suitable for the production of impermeable panels.

In the context of the present invention, the term " cork material " or simply " cork " refers to natural cork, corked natural cork, agglomerated cork, micro-agglomerated cork or the like and combinations thereof. The phrase " agglomerated cork " refers, in accordance with ISO 2190, to cork material comprising at least 51% (by weight) of cork granulate with a minimum particle size of 0,5 mm and a water content equal to or less than 8%, with the term " micro-agglomerated cork " refers to agglomerated cork, but whose cork grains have a particle size of 0.1 - 2 mm. The term " cellulosic material " or " cellulosic base material " refers to wood and wood products, such as wood pellets, plywood, wood and polymer composites and thermo-laminates, where: • wood pellets are produced from impregnated small-sized wood particles with urea-formaldehyde resins and agglomerated by hot pressing. A particular case is the so-called medium density fibreboard, also known as MDF (Medium Density Fiberboard); • High density fibreboards, also known as HDF (High Density Fiberboard), are obtained from compressed wet fibers under high pressure and temperature, and the union is favored by the resin of natural origin that is found in the fibers; • the plywood consists of an odd number of thin sheets of wood bonded together with urea-formaldehyde resin and arranged so that the direction of the fibers in a sheet is perpendicular to the adjacent one, and heat and pressure are then applied to the composition for one period of time; • Composites of Wood Fibers with Thermoplastics, also known as WPC ("Wood Plastic Composites") combine wood pulp with thermoplastics such as polypropylene (PP), polystyrene (PS) or poly vinyl (PVC) and • the thermo-laminates are formed of several layers of kraft paper impregnated with thermosetting synthetic resins, bound together by heat and pressure. The term " polymeric material " refers to material which, according to its mechanical characteristics, can be divided into thermoplastics, thermosetting and elastomers. Thermoplastics include the known plastics, which are widely available on the market, which can be melted several times and in some cases can even dissolve in various solvents and are therefore recyclable materials. The thermosetting agents are rigid and brittle and are very stable at temperature variations, although heating of the finished thermosetting polymer promotes the decomposition of the material prior to its melting, making its recycling complicated. With respect to elastomers, these materials have high elasticity, not being rigid like thermosetting and not being meltable, a situation that reduces the possibility of recycling. The " metal material " or only " metallic " refers to material selected from the group comprising iron, aluminum, copper, lead, zinc, tin, nickel, magnesium, chromium, tungsten, titanium and its alloys. The term " fabric " refers to natural fabrics of animal origin (wool and silk), mineral (asbestos), or vegetable (cotton, jute, hemp, flax and sisal), and synthetic man-made fabrics from petrochemical industry, such as polyester, polyamide, acrylic, polypropylene and elastomeric polyurethane (Elastane), as well as aramid (Kevlar and Nomex).

By thermofusion is meant a process in which layers of material to be bonded are preheated to a temperature close to their melting point and subsequently subjected to the action of a compressive force and thus held until cool, creating a connection. This method is particularly suitable for bonding polymeric materials.

Note that irrespective of the explicit presentation of the quantitative expression " about X ", any X value presented in the course of the present description is to be interpreted as an approximate value of the actual X value, since such an approximation to the real value would reasonably be expected by the person skilled in the art due to experimental and / or measurement conditions which introduce deviations from the actual value. All values mentioned in the present description should be interpreted as approximate values, for example the reference to " 2.0 " means " about 2.0 ".

Unless otherwise noted, the ranges of values given in the present description are intended to provide a simplified and technically accepted way to indicate each individual value within the respective range. By way of example, the expression " 1 to 2 " or " between 1 and 2 " means any value within this range, for example 1.0; 1.1; 1,2; 1,3; 1.4; 1.5; 1.6; 1.7; 1.8; 1.9; 2.0.

In the context of the present disclosure, the term " comprising " should be understood as " including, among others ". As such, the said term should not be construed as " consisting only of ". The use of the expression " and / or " in the present description is intended to mean that both conditions are met or only one of them occurs. For example, the term " wood material and / or cork " means " wood material and cork or material of wood or cork material ".

Referring to Figs. 1 to 8, the detailed description of the process of the present invention is given below. The production process of the laminated panels of the invention comprises combining several layers of materials to provide a laminated panel configuration. Said layers are organized in a net-like structure (see Fig. 5) which can subsequently be subjected to a cutting action in order to provide the individual panels.

With reference to Fig. 5 to 8, said net (7) comprises at least one mesh (8), wherein the mesh (8) is defined by an empty space (9) delimited by surrounding edges (10), as shown in Figs. 6 and 7.

In the case where the net (7) comprises two or more meshes (8), these are arranged adjacent one another, as shown in Figures 5 and 7.

Alternatively, the meshes (8) of the net (7) instead of being fully open can be closed at the bottom. This bottom layer integrated in the meshes (8) of the net corresponds to and performs the functions of a base layer (2). 13

Depending on the intended applications for the panels resulting from the process of the invention, the netting 7 may be any functionally suitable material.

Preferably, the web material (7) is selected from the group comprising polymeric, metallic, cellulosic, cork material and combinations thereof.

Most preferably, the net (7) is composed of polymeric material, in particular polyvinyl chloride. The shape and dimensions of the mesh 8 correspond to the final shape and dimensions of the panel to be obtained, whereby a net 7 having N meshes 8 may give rise to N individual panels.

Said surrounding edges (10) of the mesh (8) establish a cutting zone in which a cutting action of the meshes (8) can be performed, thereby providing said individual laminated panels.

Thus, by taking as an example a network (7) with two square meshes (8), as shown in Fig. 7, it should be noted that it will allow to obtain two distinct panels. Each panel has the dimensions defined by the width (B) of the surrounding edges of each mesh (8) plus the width (V) of its empty space (9) (Fig. 6). Referring still to Fig. 7, it is noted that the thickness (E) of the net (Ί) corresponds to the thickness of a structural layer (1) of the panel to be obtained. However, such thickness (E) may exceed the thickness of the structural layer (1), providing for the possibility of, for example, to include a foam, fabric or other filler. Of course, network structures of any number of meshes (8) can be constructed, as shown in Fig. 5.

As can be seen in Fig. 7, there is a joint margin (11) common to the two meshes (8). This connecting margin 11 has at least twice the width of the remaining surrounding edge 10 of each mesh 8, whereby it defines a plurality of separating or cutting lines L of respective meshes 8, .

As will be understood, in the case of Fig. 7, after cutting and corresponding separation into two meshes (8), these give rise to an equal number of panels. Subsequently, the resulting panels can be combined to form, for example, a floor (Fig. 4). Of course, the cutting step can be deleted, depending on the intended application for the resulting panel.

Referring to Fig. 7, a common margin (11) has a median line (M) dividing its width into two equal parts, whereby said average line (M) of the common margin (11) is in a manner preferred but not exclusive, a particular case of a line (L) for separating or cutting the meshes (8). It should be noted that any other cutting line (L) (other than the median line (M)) defined in the common edge (11) of the meshes (8) to be separated can be used to cut and separate the meshes (8 ), although it is assumed that, from the operational point of view, the average line (M) is the most important. 15

As will be understood, a net (7) may comprise as many meshes (8) adjacent to each other as the individual panels to be obtained. The process of cutting the common margins (11) may be chosen from among processes known in the art. By way of example and not limitation, slicing and laser cutting are referred to as admissible methods.

Ideally, the cutting of the common edges (11) should preferably be made only by a single cutting operation, for example by slitting, so that only one cutting movement can produce as many individual panels as there are the meshes (8) of the respective net (7).

In accordance with the foregoing and referring to Figs. 5 to 8, the laminated panel production process of the invention comprises the steps of: a) arranging a net (7) on a base layer (2), the network ( 7) a certain thickness (E) and the net (7) being formed by at least one mesh (8). The mesh 8 defines an empty space 9 and a surrounding edge 10 and, in the case of nets with two or more meshes 8, these are adjacent and are connected by a common edge 11 defining a plurality of cutting lines (L); b) integrally filling the empty space (9) defined by each of said meshes (8) with a respective structural layer (1); C) arranging a top layer (3) on the assembly formed in step b); d) joining the structural (1), base (2) and top (3) layers with lattice (7) in an inseparable manner, wherein the thickness of the structural layer (1) is equal to or less than the thickness (7).

In a preferred embodiment, the method of the invention further comprises a step e) separating the meshes (8) of the net (7) by cutting into one of the cut lines (L) of the common edge (11) between adjacent meshes (8) , preferably by cutting in the middle line (M), thereby forming as many panels as the meshes (8) of the net (7).

Furthermore, the process according to the present invention may further comprise between steps c) and d) mentioned above an additional step of arranging a film 5 imprinted on the top layer 3 followed by arrangement of a (6) on said printed film (5).

Alternatively, the process may comprise only the arrangement of one of said layers (5, 6). In this way, it is possible to create patterns for the aesthetic enrichment of the floor, as well as better protect the floor from wear caused by the use. The web 7 may be comprised of a material selected from the group comprising polymeric, metallic, cellulosic, cork material and combinations thereof. 17

In a preferred embodiment, the material of said network (7) is selected from the group consisting of polyvinyl chloride, polyethylene, polypropylene, polystyrene, polyethylene terephthalate, ethylene vinyl acetate, polyurethane, teflon, rubber, foams and the like and combinations thereof. Preferably, the polymeric material is polyvinylchloride.

In one embodiment, said net (7) has a thickness (E) in the range of about 1 to 5 mm, more preferably about 2 to 4 mm, even more preferably about 3 mm .

In another embodiment, the net (7) has a thickness (E) in the range of about 5 to 15 mm, more preferably about 8 to 12 mm, even more preferably about 10 mm .

In yet another embodiment the net (7) has a thickness (E) in the range of about 15 to 30 mm, more preferably about 15 to 25 mm, even more preferably about 20 mm .

Said layers (1, 2, 3, 5, 6) may be any functionally suitable material, which preferably allows an inseparable attachment therebetween.

Preferably, said structural layer (1) is comprised of cellulosic and / or cork based material.

More preferably, the structural layer (1) is comprised of cork and wood material. 18

This means that said structural layer (1) may consist of one or more layers of different materials joined together to give the panel its main characteristics. For example, a cork and wood structural layer 1 may comprise a layer of cork material disposed on a layer of wood material, this combination providing the main structural and mechanical characteristics (strength, insulation, impact cushioning, etc.). ) to the panel. On the other hand, the type of relationship between the (exemplary) materials of cork and wood may be different from that mentioned above to form the structural layer (1), such as, for example, by means of a composite type bond.

It will be appreciated that, depending on the combined properties required for the structural layer (1), it may combine the cellulosic and / or cork based material with another material selected from the group comprising polymers, natural fibers, synthetic fibers and the like and their combinations.

The top (3) and bottom (2) layers may preferably consist of material selected from the group comprising polymeric material, metallic, cellulosic, cork, fabric and combinations thereof.

More preferably, the top (3) and base (2) layers are comprised of polymeric material, most preferably polymer material selected from the group consisting of polyvinyl chloride, polyethylene, polypropylene, polystyrene, polyethylene terephthalate, ethylene vinyl acetate, polyurethane, teflon, rubber and the like and combinations thereof; even more preferably polyvinyl chloride.

Any suitable method may be used to bond the layers (1, 2, 3, 5, 6) to each other and to the web (7), such as, for example, glue or heat melt.

A method of sizing using binders (or also called binders) is preferably employed. These binding agents are well known to those skilled in the art and therefore do not require further description.

Said binding agents may be selected from the group comprising polyurethane, polyester, vinylester, epoxy resins, natural resins, biomass resins and the like and combinations thereof.

With the present process, the aforementioned drawbacks are totally solved, with the further advantage of being able to dimension without restriction the thickness of a coating layer (4) of the cross section of the panel (wherein the thickness of said layer (4) corresponds to the width (B) of the surrounding edges of the meshes), since this dimension is housed between the top (3) and base layers (2) after step c) of the present process without any influence on the final dimensions of the without being visible to the user. This gives a very significant advantage when it is desired to apply, for example, an impermeable floor made up of panels resulting from the process of the invention in spaces subject to particularly severe humidity conditions. 20

The laminated panels of the present invention are particularly suitable for forming pavements. However, their applications may vary and their use, for example in walls and false ceilings, is also foreseeable. The disclosure herein should be understood as exemplifying and not limiting the scope of the present invention, which is defined in the appended claims.

Lisbon, July 27, 2012 21

Claims (7)

Process for producing laminated panels, characterized in that it comprises the steps of: a) arranging a net (7) on a base layer (2); the net (7) having a certain thickness (E) and the netting (7) being formed by at least one mesh (8); each of the at least one meshes (8) defines an empty space (9) and a surrounding edge (10); and the meshes (8) are adjacent and are connected by a common margin (11) defining a plurality of cut lines (L); b) integrally filling the empty space (9) defined by each of said at least one meshes (8) with a respective structural layer (1); c) arranging a top layer (3) on the assembly formed in step b); d) joining the structural (1), base (2) and top (3) layers with lattice (7) in an inseparable manner, wherein the thickness of the structural layer (1) is equal to or less than the thickness (7). Method according to claim 1, characterized in that it further comprises a step e) for separating the meshes (8) from the net (7) by cutting into one of the cut lines (L) of the common edge (11) between meshes ( 8), forming as many panels as the meshes (8) of the net (7). Method according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that said net (7) consists of a material selected from the group comprising polymeric material, metallic, cellulosic, cork and their combinations. Method according to claim 3, characterized in that the net (7) is of polymeric material. Method according to claim 1, characterized in that the net (7) has a thickness (E) in the range of 1 to 5 mm. Method according to claim 1, characterized in that the structural layer (1) is a composite of cork and polymer. A process according to claim 6, characterized in that said polymer is polyvinyl chloride. Method according to claim 1, characterized in that the structural layer (1) consists of cork and wood material. Method according to claim 1, characterized in that the base layer (2) and the top layer (3) are polyvinyl chloride. Process according to claim 1, characterized in that the base layer (2) and the top layer (3) each have a thickness in the range of 0.4 to 2 mm. A method according to claim 1, further comprising, between steps c) and d), an additional step of arranging a film 5 printed on the top layer 3 followed by the arrangement of a layer 6) of transparent wear on the printed film (5). Process according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the coupling step d) is carried out by gluing. Process according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the coupling step d) is carried out by thermo-fusion. A method according to any one of claims 23, characterized in that the cutting of the meshes (8) of the net (7) is effected by slitting. Method according to the preceding claim, characterized in that said cut-out of the meshes (8) of the net (7) is carried out in the middle line (M) of the common edge (11) of adjacent meshes (8). Lisbon, July 27, 2012 3