WO2019197822A1

WO2019197822A1 - Flooring

Info

Publication number: WO2019197822A1
Application number: PCT/GB2019/051034
Authority: WO
Inventors: Dale NUNN
Original assignee: Tier Global Holdings Limited
Priority date: 2018-04-10
Filing date: 2019-04-09
Publication date: 2019-10-17
Also published as: GB201805902D0; GB2572773B; GB2572773A

Abstract

Flooring is described comprising a plurality of flooring elements (10), each element (10) having an upper flooring layer (12), a lower supporting layer (18), and an acoustic damping material layer (16) disposed between the upper layer (12) and the lower supporting layer (18), the layers (12, 16, 18) being bonded to one another.

Description

FLOORING

This invention relates to flooring, and in particular to a floor covering made up of individual elements such as tiles or boards to be laid over a supporting surface.

A wide variety of flooring materials are known. By way of example, in addition to carpets and linoleum materials, floor coverings in the form of stone or ceramic tiles are in widespread use. Also, a range of wooden materials or wood effect materials are commonly used, taking the form of parquet flooring, wooden board, or wood laminate materials. Other materials such as suitable hard wearing plastics materials are also used. These materials are typically laid over a supporting surface in the form of, for example, a concrete floor, wooden floorboards, or chipboard or the like material floor materials. Also, in some building designs the flooring materials are laid over supporting surfaces in the form of metallic sheets.

In some buildings, the structure of the building tends to conduct sounds from one part of the building to another. By way of example, footsteps or sounds generated by moving equipment or furniture over the floor in one part of the building may be conducted elsewhere and so form a nuisance to individuals elsewhere in the building. This can be particularly noticeable in multi occupancy or multi-use buildings. By way of example, where part of a building is used as a retail establishment and other parts are used as domestic dwellings, residents within the dwellings may be disturbed by the transmission of sounds from the part of the building used for retail purposes, for example arising from the movement of equipment or people around the retail establishment. In order to reduce the conduction of such sounds from one part of a building to another, it is known to provide an acoustic damping or insulating material beneath the flooring.

The installation of flooring may, depending upon the type of flooring used, involve spreading a suitable adhesive over the supporting surface and laying the flooring over the adhesive so that the adhesive bonds the flooring to the supporting surface. The adhesive may take a period of time to cure, during which time use of the room or space in which the flooring has been laid should be avoided. Where an acoustic damping or insulating material has to be laid, the process for laying the flooring is extended in that an adhesive must be laid to bond the acoustic damping or insulating material in position. After curing of that adhesive, further adhesive is spread over the acoustic damping or insulating material and the flooring is laid thereon. Again, the adhesive must then be allowed to cure before the room or space in which the flooring has be laid can be used. The process of laying the flooring can, in these circumstances, take several days. Clearly, this is undesirable.

EP1364774 describes a parquet flooring arrangement in which an acoustic damping or insulating material in the form of cellulose fibres is adhered to the rear of a parquet flooring tile. Such an arrangement is advantageous in that the installation process may be accelerated through avoiding the need to first lay acoustic damping or insulating material and subsequently laying the flooring thereon. However, the acoustic damping or insulating material may easily be damaged during handling or transportation thereof, and cutting of the tiles to a desired size may result in delamination of the acoustic damping or insulating material from the tile. There is a risk, therefore, that the use of such an arrangement may result in inadequate acoustic damping or insulation being achieved, and installation of the flooring may be difficult to achieve without the use of specialist equipment. Furthermore, there is a risk that failure of the acoustic material to properly bond to the adhesive may result in the flooring lifting over time.

It is an object of the invention to provide flooring in which at least some of the disadvantages associated with known flooring arrangements are overcome or are of reduced effect.

According to the present invention there is provided flooring comprising a plurality of flooring elements, each element having an upper flooring layer, a lower supporting layer, and an acoustic damping material layer disposed between the upper layer and the lower supporting layer, the layers being bonded to one another.

The acoustic clamping material layer is preferably of a rubber or rubber like material. The lower, supporting layer may be of wooden form, for example it may comprise plywood. However, other materials may be used. By way of example, magnetic materials could be used to allow dry laying of the flooring.

The upper surface may take a range of forms. By way of example, it may comprise wood materials, ceramic or natural stone, glass, suitable plastics materials or the like.

It will be appreciated that the invention is advantageous in that installation is relatively simple, there being no need to lay a separate acoustic damping or insulating material layer prior to installation of the flooring, and by having the acoustic damping material layer sandwiched between and so supported by the upper layer and the lower supporting layer, damage to the acoustic layer during handling and storage, or during installation, for example, during cutting, may be reduced.

As the flooring is provided with a lower, supporting layer, secure bonding of the flooring in position may be achieved with a reduced risk of the flooring lifting over time. Fitting or installation of the flooring can be undertaken in substantially the usual manner and so little, if any, specific training is required to enable installation to be undertaken, and so specialist equipment is required.

If desired, the underside of the lower supporting layer may be provided with a magnetic material layer. However, as mentioned above, in some arrangements the lower supporting layer may take the form of a magnetic material layer. Where the supporting surface upon which the flooring is to be laid is of a suitable material such as steel sheet, the presence of the magnetic material layer may allow the flooring to be laid without the use of adhesives to bond the flooring in position, the flooring being maintained in position through the magnetic attraction between the magnetic material layer and the supporting surface. Such an arrangement is advantageous in that the process of laying the flooring may be shortened, there being no need to apply adhesives or to wait for them to cure. The flooring may, if desired, be provided with tongue and groove formations to allow each flooring element or section to interlock with an adjacent flooring element or section.

If desired, an additional layer may be provided between the upper layer and the acoustic damping material layer. By way of example, a plywood layer may be located therebetween.

The invention also relates to a flooring element for use in the flooring set out hereinbefore.

The invention will further be described, by way of example, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

Figure 1 is a diagrammatic cross-sectional view of two flooring elements or sections in accordance with an embodiment of the invention; and

Figures 2 and 3 are views illustrating a step in the manufacture thereof.

Referring to the accompanying drawings, a flooring element 10 is illustrated. The flooring element 10 takes the form of a wood laminate board comprising an upper layer 12 of wooden form, suitably finished to provide the desired visual flooring effect and finish. To the underside of the upper layer 12 may be bonded a plywood layer. Flowever, this need not always be required and the arrangement illustrated does not include such a layer. The upper layer 12 may be relatively thin and flexible, and so supporting the upper layer 12 upon a plywood layer may serve to enhance the strength of the flooring element 10. To the underside of the layer 12, or plywood layer, where provided, is bonded a layer 16 of an acoustic damping material. To the underside of the layer 16 is bonded a lower supporting layer 18. The adhesives used to bond the various layers to another are selected so that good, strong bonds are formed between the various layers. The acoustic clamping material of the layer 16 takes the form of a rubber or rubber like material, conveniently including a quantity of recycled material. It may comprise as Regupol^® 4515 Eco or similar materials. This material also contains a quantity of cork. However, other materials not including cork may be used if desired. The material is sufficiently compressible that impacts experienced by the upper layer 12, for example as a result of individuals walking across the surface, trolleys or other wheeled equipment being rolled across the flooring, furniture or other equipment being dragged across the flooring, are damped and so the transmission of sounds arising from such actions into the structure of the building in which the flooring is installed is reduced. The likelihood of nuisance being caused elsewhere in the building as a result of the conduction of sounds from such actions through the building structure is reduced.

The lower supporting layer 18 is conveniently of plywood form.

As illustrated, the flooring element 10 is conveniently machined along an edge thereof to form a protruding tongue 20, and an opposite edge thereof is conveniently machined to define a groove 22 of dimensions similar to the tongue 20 so that, in use, the groove 22 of one flooring element 10 can receive and interlock with the tongue 20 of an adjacent flooring element 10, ensuring that the flooring elements 10 are arranged coplanar with one another and resisting lifting of one of the flooring elements 10 relative to the adjacent flooring elements 10. As illustrated, the tongue and groove formations are conveniently provided in the edges of the lower layer 18. However, it may be provided elsewhere in the assembly. The nature of the material of the layer 16 is such that formation of the tongue and groove formations in this layer may not be practical.

Whilst providing a tongue and groove arrangement is preferable, there may be situations in which it is not required, and so may be omitted. Furthermore, depending upon the material of the flooring element 10, providing such formations may not always be practical. Figures 2 and 3 illustrate the formation of the tongues 20 and grooves 22. As illustrated, a single tool is conveniently used to form the tongues 20 and grooves 22 in two flooring elements 10 simultaneously. However, this need not always be the case. The location of the layer 16 such that it is sandwiched between and supported by the layers 12, 16 ensures that the layer 16 is properly supported during the manufacturing process, reducing the risk of damage thereto during manufacture.

Installation of flooring made up of a plurality of flooring elements 10 of the type described hereinbefore is relatively straightforward. After appropriate cleaning of the support surface upon which the flooring is to be installed, a suitable adhesive is applied thereto. The flooring elements 10 are laid upon the adhesive, with the tongue and groove formations interlocking with one another. Where individual flooring elements 10 require cutting to size, this may be undertaken relatively simply without the need for specialist equipment, the sandwiched nature of the flooring element ensuring that the acoustic material layer 16 is properly supported during such cutting.

As the supporting layer 18 is of plywood form, it will be appreciated that the same adhesives as would normally be used in the installation of a wooden material floor may be used. The plywood material of the supporting layer 18 is sufficiently strong and resilient that bonding that layer to the supporting surface results in the flooring element 10 being properly, securely bonded in position.

Once the flooring elements 10 have been laid and the adhesive has cured, the flooring is ready for use. As the flooring elements 10 incorporate the acoustic damping material layer 16, the flooring is acoustically damped without the need of including in the installation process a separate step of laying an acoustic damping material layer.

Manufacture of the flooring elements 10 may be undertaken in a relatively straightforward manner. Large panels of materials forming the various layers can be bonded or laminated to one another to form a large panel of flooring element material that can then be cut to the size of individual flooring elements 10, and the tongue and groove formations formed thereon. As the acoustic material layer 16 is sandwiched between the upper layer 12 and the lower supporting layer 18, and so is well supported, cutting of the large panel into the individual flooring elements 10 can be undertaken in a relatively straightforward manner without the need to use specialist materials.

Although the description hereinbefore is of a wooden laminate flooring element 10, it will be appreciated that the invention is also applicable to other flooring materials. By way of example, the wooden upper layer 12 may be replaced by a natural or reconstituted stone tile material or by a ceramic or glass tile. Furthermore, suitable plastics materials may be used, if desired. The selection of material of the upper layer 12 will depend upon the application in which the flooring is to be used and the desired visual appearance of the flooring.

If desired, a magnetic material element may be secured to the underside of the lower supporting layer 18, or such a material may be used as the layer 18. Where to be laid over or upon a suitable metallic material supporting surface, for example a steel sheet material supporting surface, then the flooring elements 10 may be retained in position through magnetic attraction between the flooring elements 10 and the support surface without the need to use adhesives. Such an approach may further shorten the time taken to lay the flooring. Furthermore, removal and refitting or replacement of individual flooring elements may be undertaken relatively simply.

The flooring is suitable for use in a wide range of applications. For example, it may be used in retail establishments, offices, hotels, domestic dwellings and in multi-use buildings.

Whilst specific embodiments of the invention are described herein, it will be appreciated that a number of modifications or alterations may be made to the described flooring without departing from the scope of the invention as defined by the appended claims.

Claims

CLAIMS:

1. Flooring comprising a plurality of flooring elements, each element having an upper flooring layer, a lower supporting layer, and an acoustic damping material layer disposed between the upper layer and the lower supporting layer, the layers being bonded to one another.

2. Flooring according to Claim 1, wherein the acoustic damping material layer is of or contains a rubber or rubber like material.

3. Flooring according to Claim 1 or Claim 2, wherein the lower, supporting layer is of wooden form.

4. Flooring according to any of the preceding claims, wherein material of the upper surface is selected from: wood materials, ceramic or natural stone, glass, suitable plastics materials.

5. Flooring according to any of the preceding claims, wherein the underside of the lower supporting layer is provided with a magnetic material layer or the lower supporting layer comprises a magnetic material layer.

6. Flooring according to any of the preceding claims, and provided with tongue and groove formations.

7. A flooring element for use in the flooring of any of the preceding claims.