WO2020001723A1

WO2020001723A1 - Floor panel for a raised-access floor

Info

Publication number: WO2020001723A1
Application number: PCT/EP2018/000325
Authority: WO
Inventors: Michael Suthhof
Original assignee: Knauf Gips Kg
Priority date: 2018-06-28
Filing date: 2018-06-28
Publication date: 2020-01-02
Also published as: EP3814585A1

Abstract

The present invention relates to a raised-access floor, particularly to the floor panel of a raised-access floor. Preferably, said floor panel allows for closed floor surfaces, which further preferably improve the fire resistance and the load-bearing capacity of the raised- access floor. Said floor panel has an edge surface that is fashioned such that its upper segment as well as its lower segment are both substantially perpendicular to the visible surface of the floor panel. The lower edge segment is offset by a predetermined spacing towards the central region of the floor panel. The middle segment of the edge is a bevel connecting the upper and the lower segments. Preferably, the described edge shape does not require an edge band.

Description

Floor panel for a raised-access floor

The present invention relates to a raised-access floor, particularly to the floor panel of a raised-access floor. Preferably, said floor panel allows for closed floor surfaces, which further preferably improve the fire resistance and the load-bearing capacity of the raised- access floor.

Indoors raised floors provide a space beneath to hide installations, whereas outdoors they can, for example, provide a level floor surface in uneven or sloping terrain. A raised floor comprises a plurality of floor panels on support units, often also referred to as support pedestals.

For easy and immediate access to the space beneath, all floor panels of this type of raised- access floor can be removed and inserted individually. It is desirable that the floor panels, in particular their visible surfaces or upper surfaces, are aligned flat and flush to give the floor an almost seamless appearance. The aesthetic appearance of the visible surface can be fashioned as desired. Floor panels of a raised-access floor are usually placed on support units. The spaced apart support units generally encompass support plates on their upper surface, which typically receive the corner regions of the floor panels. Spacer tabs, also called positioning tabs, are protrusions on the support plates, which project upwards. These spacer tabs act as stop unit and aid in the alignment of the floor panel.

The raised-access floor must have the desired static load-bearing capacity. Durability and wear resistance, particularly pertaining to the visible surface, are further desirable features.

Sufficient fire resistance is a frequent requirement for raised-access floors. In Europe fire resistance for building boards, including floor panels for raised access floors, is evaluated by the following norms: EN 13501-1 for non-combustible building materials, EN 15283-2 for CE marking for gypsum fibreboards and/or EN 14190 for the surface coating of gypsum boards in general.

It is the object of this invention to improve a floor panel for a raised-access floor, in particular with regard to the floor’s load-bearing capacity, preferably also in terms of its fire resistance.

According to the invention, this objective is achieved with a floor panel for a raised-access floor, which is advantageously distinguished by at least one edge surface without an edge band or edge finish. This edge surface of a floor panel is further fashioned such that its upper segment as well as its lower segment are both substantially perpendicular to the visible surface of the floor panel. The lower edge segment is offset by a predetermined spacing towards the central region of the floor panel. The middle segment of the edge is a bevel connecting the upper and the lower segments, e.g. essentially forming an inverted V- or U-shape in between the upper and lower segments of the edge. The described bevel includes straight bevels, rounded bevels as well as other shapes.

The upper segment of the edge can adjoin the visible surface of the floor panel either directly or indirectly. Direct joining is achieved by a substantially right angle between the edge’s upper segment and the visible surface. A chamfer is an example of indirect joining of the visible surface with the upper segment whereby the chamfer takes up at most 20%, preferably less than 15%, further preferably less than 10% of the height of the upper surface section of the edge.

According to the invention, the upper segments of adjacent floor panel edges can abut against one another substantially seamlessly and without gaps thereby achieving a substantially closed floor surface regardless of whether or not the visible surface of floor panel joins the upper segment directly or indirectly.

The shape of the edge described herein is relatively robust compared to e.g. tapered edges or tongue-and-groove edges, which are common for floor panels, but tend to break easily. The height of the upper edge segment determines the material thickness of the upper portion of the floor panel. The material thickness of the upper portion in turn is essentially constant throughout the panel and determines the floor’s overall mechanical and static load- bearing capacity. By using a non-combustible building material for at least the upper portion of the floor panel, uninterrupted and high fire protection can be achieved. Furthermore, an essentially closed floor surface has superior moisture resistance in that it can limit the penetration of liquids, for example, but not limited to common household spills or mopping.

Not only the material thickness of a floor panel can vary, but also the height of the edge’s upper as well as lower segments in relation to one another can vary. Preferably, fire resistance purposes determine the height of the edge’s upper segment while the height of the edge’s lower segment can be adjusted as needed for spatial arrangements. The ratio of the height of the upper segment to the height of the lower segment preferably is ³ 1.

Ideally, the offset of the lower edge segment relative to the upper edge segment is dimensioned such that the space created between two joining panels is suitable to accommodate the spacer tabs of the support units. Preferably, the dimensions of this space allow for a form fit or precision fit of the spacer tabs, such that the spacer tabs will not wedge apart the two adjacent floor panels thereby creating a gap between them. As a further advantage, the floor panels according to this invention have an improved fire resistance, because said edge shape does not require a band. Edge bands are generally made of a combustible material as well as combustible bonding material, which can both fuel a fire and also create gaps between individual panels when the bands burn off or melt.

The inventive edge shape can cover any number of edges of a floor panel. Preferably, it is designed to encompass all edges of a floor panel. In other embodiments, only selected sections of an edge can be formed according to the invention. Selected sections could include, but are by no means limited to, the support regions of a floor panel, in particular the corner regions.

For durability as well as aesthetic appearance, the visible surface of the floor panel can also have a surface coating. Preferably, the surface coating is applied in a liquid state and eventually sets or cures to form the target coating. Surface coatings can include, but are not limited to, lacquers and resins. Because edge bands are not necessary according to the present invention, the surface coatings can extend all the way to the edge surface. This can improve the durability as well as provide a continuous appearance of the visible floor surface.

A continuous appearance could be particularly advantageous for a wood look with continuous graining across adjoining panels, e.g. if mimicking a parquet.

The floor panel according to the present invention can be made of various materials.

Examples include, but are not limited to gypsum, gypsum fibre, calcium silicate, concrete, metal, composite materials, plastics, wood materials or other suitable materials. From fire resistance points of view, a non-combustible building material would be preferred. According to a further development of the invention, the floor panel’s main component is a gypsum material, for example a gypsum fibre material. A panel mainly comprising a calcium sulphate material means a panel is produced from calcium sulphate hemihydrate with a content of at least 60% w/w, preferably of at least 95% w/w, with respect to the dry ingredients prior to slurry formation in the production process.

A surface coating could also be laminated onto each of the materials mentioned above. Examples include, but are not limited to, wood veneers. Particularly thin veneers made of a softwood provide a relatively inexpensive alternative. With an additional surface coating the softwood veneer could obtain the appearance of a high-grade wood. A thin veneer is defined as having a thickness of less than 1 mm, preferably at most 0.6 mm, preferably ranging from about 0.2 to 0.6 mm, further preferably from about 0.2 to 0.3 mm. Floor panels with these characteristics meet the non-combustibility requirements when the board itself is fire-rated.

A surface coating could further encompass a surface coating that has set or cured, preferably a lacquer or resin. At least part of the surface coating could be a print, preferably a digital print. A type of ink, in particular a water-based, solvent-free ink can be used for the printing technique, particularly a digital printing technique. Suitable industrial printers are available on the market.

The surface coating can comprise multiple layers, which can be selected from the following non-exclusive list: veneer, other laminated coatings, paint, print, digital print, lacquer, resin, and various combinations thereof. A varnish can further be applied as finishing coat.

As additional advantage, the floor panel according to this invention can be considered environmentally friendly and ecological with regard to both its production and its use in buildings.

One embodiment, which is intended as example and not meant to restrict the subject matter of the invention or its protective scope as modifications are expected to occur from those having ordinary skill in the art, is illustrated in the drawing:

Fig- 1 : A schematic cross-section of a butt joint between two floor panels 1 according to the invention.

According to Fig. 1, the floor panel 1 has at least one edge with an upper surface section 3 as well as lower surface section 6 aligned substantially vertically to the essentially horizontal visible surface of the floor panel 2. The lower surface section of the edge 6 is offset essentially parallel by a predetermined spacing 7 towards the central region of the floor panel. An intermediate section 8 bridges this offset by extending obliquely from the upper surface section to the lower surface section, thereby connecting both. Except for the chamfer 5, the upper surface sections of both panels are in full contact creating an essentially seamless transition between the panels. The floor panel edges do not have a band. Outer vertical dotted dashed lines 4 indicate a cutaway view of the floor panels.

There could be a narrow chamfer 5 in the transition area between the upper floor surface 2 and the upper edge surface section 3. The chamfer preferably encompasses not more than 20%, more preferably less than 15%, further preferably less than 10% of the total height of the upper edge surface section 3.

The visible floor surface 2 preferably comprises a surface coating, preferably a multi-layer surface coating, possibly incorporating the chamfers 5.

Figure 1 indicates a support plate 9 situated beneath the floor panels, particularly beneath their corner regions, on which the corners of typically four panels 1 rest to form a raised access floor. The support plate 9 is disposed atop a pillar 10, which is depicted only partially. On its upper side, the support plate 9 has spacer tabs 1 1 , which are arranged substantially in the form of a cross, so that Fig. i shows a narrow side of one of these tabs 11 and a wide side of two tabs. The width of the narrow side of the tabs 1 1 is slightly less than twice the width of the offset 7 such that there is a form fit between the tabs of the support plate and the floor panels positioned thereupon. Depending on the size and shape of the floor panel, the support units could also have other numbers and arrangements of spacer tabs. For example, there could be only three spacer tabs essentially forming a three-pointed star on a support unit for hexagonal panels. In another alternative, a support unit could be disposed somewhere along the length of a panel with one or more spacer tabs arranged linearly on a support plate.

List of Reference Numbers

1 floor panel

2 visible surface

3 upper segment

4 dotted dashed line indicating a cutaway view

5 chamfer

6 lower segment

7 predetermined spacing

8 bevel

9 support plate

10 support unit

1 1 spacer tab

Claims

1. Floor panel for a raised-access floor,

characterized by

at least one edge surface which, adjacent to the visible surface (2) of the floor panel (1 ) has an upper segment (3) as well as lower segment (6), which are both substantially perpendicular to the visible surface (2), wherein the lower segment (6) is offset by a predetermined spacing (7) towards the central region of the floor panel and a middle segment of the edge is a bevel (8) connecting the upper and the lower segments (3, 6).

2. Floor panel according to Claim 1 , characterized in that the visible surface (2) is at least partially coated.

3. Floor panel according to Claim 2, characterized in that the surface coating

comprises, an originally liquid coating that has set or cured in its target state, preferably a lacquer or resin.

4. Floor panel according to Claim 3, characterized in that at least part of the surface coating is a print, preferably a digital print.

5. Floor panel according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the floor panel (1 ) mainly comprises a calcium sulphate material, preferably gypsum or a gypsum fibre material.

6. Raised-access floor comprising floor panels according to any one of claims 1 to 5, which rest on support plates (9) with spacer tabs (1 1), such that there is a form fit between the tabs of the support plate and the floor panels positioned thereupon.