WO2009059647A1

WO2009059647A1 - Board for covering a surface, and a method for producing said board

Info

Publication number: WO2009059647A1
Application number: PCT/EP2007/062162
Authority: WO
Inventors: Tony Johansson; Ken Johansson
Original assignee: Eurodesign Scandinavia Ab
Priority date: 2007-11-09
Filing date: 2007-11-09
Publication date: 2009-05-14
Also published as: EP2219937A1

Abstract

The present invention relates to a board (10) for covering a surface. The board (10) comprises solid wooden blocks (11) and an elastic supporting layer (15) to which the blocks (11) are bounded by an elastic adhesive (24) in a predetermined pattern. The blocks (11) are joined together by an elastic joint (12) that seals the board and keeps the blocks (11) separated from each other. The present invention furthermore relates to method for producing said board (10).

Description

Title: Board for covering a surface, and a method for producing said board

Technical field of the invention

The present invention relates to a wooden board for covering a surface, for example a part of a deck on a yacht.

Background of the invention

Today, the deck, and other surfaces, on yachts are covered by wood, both for having a nice appearance and in order to resist wear. The wood is normally cut in blocks, planks or slats and secured to the deck in a predetermined pattern. The top corners of the wooden blocks are milled so that a groove is generated between the blocks when they are secured to the deck side by side and in contact with each other to cover the intended surface. Each wooden block is secured to the deck, for example made of plywood, aluminium or a reinforced plastic material, by at least two screws before the grooves between the blocks are filled with an elastic material that fills the groove and provides an upper sealing between the blocks.

However, wooden material exposed to a high humidity or water expand, and shrink when the humidity is low. Theses variations generate movements, and consequently high tensions within the wooden decking. Furthermore, these movements generate considerably loads on the screws that secure each wooden block. Unfortunately, these loads and movements cause leakage around the screws and water pouring into the deck.

Another severe drawback with the conventional wooden decking on yachts is that it is very time consuming to mount since every wooden block is shaped and secured separately on to the deck. These wooden decks are consequently very expensive. The object of the present invention is to provide a wooden decking with improved durability, and that could be manufactured and assembled to a reduced cost.

Summary of the invention

The object above is achieved by an invention as defined in claim 1.

The present invention relates to a board that could be used for covering a surface like for example the deck on a yacht. The board comprises solid wood blocks and an elastic supporting layer to which the blocks are bounded by an elastic adhesive in a predetermined pattern. The blocks are furthermore joined together by an elastic joint that keeps the blocks separated from each other.

The claimed board is producible to the desired shape, size and pattern before it is applied on the therefore intended surface that it is supposed to cover. The board is applied on the surface of the deck by an appropriate adhesive, or an appropriate adhesive in combination with some screws to ensure that the board will remain in the intended position. If screws are used to secure the board to the surface the number of screws are considerably fewer than in conventional wooden decks where every wooden block is secured by at least two screws.

Normally the surface of a wooden deck is grinded at some occasions in order to restore the original nice appearance. This restoration however means that some mm of the wooden layer is removed and could therefore only be done one or a few times to avoid that the screw heads appear on the surface of the deck. If the claimed board is secured to the deck by adhesive, the thickness of the wooden blocks could be reduced without reducing the number of restoration that can be performed on the deck. This is an important advantage since wooden material is saved, and the overall weight of the deck is reduced. The reduced weight is an important factor that affects the seaworthiness of the yacht or ship.

If the board is secured to the deck by a combination of adhesive and screws, the holes that are drilled for the screws could be countersinked further down into the wooden block, since the elastic layer and adhesive underneath the blocks prevent the blocks from cracking. This means that the screws could be screwed further down into the blocks and the distance between the top of the screw head and the top surface of the block increased. The numbers of possible restorations are thereby increased, or alternatively the thickness of the wooden blocks could be is reduced to get the benefits described above.

The fact that the board could be produced to the final shape and appearance in a production plant specifically designed for this purpose saves a considerably amount of time, and consequently the cost for the wooden decking is reduced.

Furthermore each wooden block is surrounded by an elastic section that make is possible for the wooden block to expand or shrink depending on the surrounding conditions and still be sufficiently bounded to the elastic layer by the adhesive material. This is an important advantage since the movements in the blocks could be absorbed by the elastic sections and deformation of the board avoided. In order to provide sufficient space for expansion of the wooden blocks the distance between two blocks placed side by side should be at least 3% of the width of the wooden blocks. If the blocks have different width the distance should be at least 3% of the width of the widest block. The elastic layer is preferably elastic in both the longitudinal and transverse direction of the layer in order to be adaptable to the movements in the wooden blocks.

One preferred embodiment of the layer is a layer that has a grid- structure and is made of a material that provides a reliably bounding by the adhesive material, for example nylon. The grid structure provides the required elasticity and a strong bounding between the wooden block and the elastic layer since the adhesive is allowed to penetrate the grid-structured net.

Preferably the solid wooden blocks have a thickness of at least 6 mm or more, and are made of a hard and resistant material like for example teak to be resistant to wear for a long period of time.

Preferably the adhesive is an adhesive that provides a strong and elastic bounding to both the wooden blocks and the elastic layer. This is important since the blocks are bounded by the adhesive to the elastic layer and a reliably bounding is essential to ensure that the board will remain intact over a long period of time.

One preferred adhesive that provides the required strength is an adhesive comprising epoxy.

The elastic joint between the wooden blocks is preferably an elastic out-door UV-resistant sealant that seals the gap between the wood blocks. It is important that the elastic joint provides a resistant sealing between the blocks to avoid water and/or dirt to penetrate into the board since the bounding strength between the blocks could be affected. In another preferred embodiment, each wooden block is separated by a strip of elastic material with less thickness than the wooden block. The strips are bounded by the elastic adhesive to the elastic layer and on the opposite sided covered by the elastic joint that seals the gap between the wood blocks. This embodiment saves wooden material since each block is slightly smaller. Furthermore, this embodiment make it possible to position the blocks correctly in relation to each other since the strip provides the exact required distance between the blocks and allow the wooden blocks to expand and shrink. The side of the strips that will be facing away from the surface covered by the board is covered by the elastic joint that provides a sealing between the blocks and the required, nice, appearance of the board.

The claimed board is produced with a method comprising the steps: 1 placing a number of wood block in a predetermined pattern with the top surface facing upwards;

2 applying a material that generates an elastic joint and sealing between the wooden blocks;

3 turning the board around so that the top surface is facing downwards;

4 applying an adhesive and an elastic layer on the bottom surface of the wood blocks so that the blocks are bounded together by the elastic layer and the adhesive.

This method makes it possible to produce a board with the final appearance in a production plant designed for this purpose, and located separated from the shipyard. A preferred embodiment of the method comprises the additional step of placing a strip of elastic material between each wood block before the adhesive material is applied. This additional step provides a method for producing the preferred embodiment of the board described above.

Brief description of the drawings

Two embodiments of the present invention are illustrated in the appended drawings, in which:

Figure 1 discloses a cross-section of a first embodiment of the claimed board,

Figure 2 discloses a cross-section of a second embodiment of the board.

Detailed description of the invention

A cross-section 10 of one embodiment of the claimed board is illustrated in figure 1. The board 10 comprises a number of solid wooden blocks 11 placed in a predetermined pattern. The wooden blocks 11 are placed at a predetermined distance from each other so that a gap 19 is generated between the blocks 11. The gap between the blocks is at least about 3% of the width of the blocks in order to allow expansion of the blocks 11 when the humidity is high.

The gaps 19 between the blocks 11 are filled by elastic out-door UV-resistant sealant that that provides an elastic joint 12 between the blocks 11 that seals the gap 19 and is able to adapt to the movement in the wooden material.

The blocks 11 have substantially vertical sides 22, a top surface 13 and a bottom surface 14. The top surface 13 is substantially flat and smooth to ensure a nice appearance of the board. The top surface could however also be provided with a structure that reduces the risk slipping on the board. The bottom surface 14 is substantially flat, or provided with a structure that in combination with the adhesive 24 provides a strong and reliably bounding for a long period of time to an elastic layer 15. The bottom surface 14 should, in order to provide a reliably bounding, be free from particles or dirt before the adhesive is applied.

The wooden blocks 11 are bounded to the elastic layer 15 by an adhesive. The elastic layer could be a grid structure that is elastic in all directions in the plane of the layer 15. The layer 15 could be a net, for example made of nylon or another material that provides the required support for the wooden blocks 11 and provides a strong and resistant bounding together with the selected elastic adhesive.

The combination of wooden blocks 11, elastic joint 12 and elastic layer 15 bounded by the elastic adhesive provides a substantially flat and stiff board 10 that is ready to be bound by an adhesive, or bound by an adhesive in combination with securing by screws, on the intended surface.

In figure 1 is one screw 16 for securing the board 10 illustrated. The screw 16 is placed in a countersinked hole 17. One advantage with the inventive board 10 is that the elastic layer 15 that the wooden blocks 11 are bounded to prevents the block 11 from cracking when the screw 16 is tightened. The holes 17 for the screws 16 could therefore be countersinked further down into the block 11. The distance from the top of the screw 16 to the top surface 13 is thereby increased and which increases the life time for the board 10 and increases the number of restorations that can be done on the blocks 11 before the screws are exposed on the top surface of the wooden blocks 11. In figure 2 is a second embodiment of the present invention illustrated. In this embodiment the lower part of the gap 19 between the wooden blocks 11 is filled with stripes 21 with the same width as the desired distance between the blocks 11. The makes it easier to position the blocks 11 at a constant distance from each. The top part of the gaps are filled with the same elastic out-door UV-resistant sealant that covers the strips 21 and seals the gap 19 between the wood blocks 11.

The present invention should not be limited to the described embodiments, since these embodiments only serves as examples falling within the scope of the invention defined by the appended claims.

Claims

1. Board (10) for covering a surface, said board (10) comprising solid wood blocks (11), characterised in that the board (10) further comprises an elastic support layer (15) to which the blocks (11) are bounded by an elastic adhesive (24) in a predetermined pattern, and that said blocks (11) are joined together by an elastic joint (12) that seals the board (10) and keeps the blocks (12) separated from each other.

2. Board (10) according to claim 1, wherein the elastic layer (15) is a layer that is elastic in both the longitudinal and transverse direction.

3. Board (10) according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the elastic layer (15) has a grid-structure and is made of a material that provides a reliably bounding by the adhesive material, for example nylon.

4. Board (10) according to any of the previous claims, wherein the wooden blocks (11) have a thickness of at least 6 mm or more, and are made of a hard and resistant material like for example teak.

5. Board (10) according to any of the previous claims, wherein the adhesive (24) is an adhesive that provides a strong elastic bound to both the wooden blocks (11) and the elastic layer (15).

6. Board (10) according to any of the previous claims, wherein the adhesive (24) is an adhesive comprising epoxy.

7. Board (10) according to any of the previous claims, wherein the elastic joint (12) between the wooden blocks (11) is an elastic out-door UV-resistant sealant that seals the gap (19) between the wooden blocks (11).

8. Board (10) according to any of the previous claims, wherein each wooden block (11) is separated by a strip (21) of elastic material with less thickness than the wooden block (11), said strips (21) are bounded by the elastic adhesive to the elastic layer (15) and on the opposite side covered by the elastic joint (12) that seals the gap (19) between the wooden blocks (11).

9. Method for producing a board (10) for covering a surface comprising the steps: placing a number of wooden blocks (11) in a predetermined pattern with the top surface (22) facing upwards; - applying a material that generates an elastic joint (12) and sealing between the wooden blocks (11); turning the board (10) around so that the top surface (22) is facing downwards; applying an adhesive (24) and an elastic layer (15) on the bottom surface (14) of the wooden blocks (11) so that the blocks (11) are bounded together by the elastic layer (15) and the adhesive.

10. Method according to claim 8, further comprising the step of placing a strip (21) of elastic material between each wooden block (11) before the material that generates an elastic joint (12) and sealing between the wooden blocks (11) is applied.