Floor covering

(12) PATENT DESCRIPTION (19) PL (11) 201159 (21) Application number: 359970 ^{(13) B1} (22) Date of notification: 12/01/2001 ^{(51) Int.Cl.}

E04F 15/04 (2006.01) (86) Date and number of the international application:

2001, PCT / BE01 / 00008 (87) Date and publication number of the international application:

December 20, 2001, WO01 / 96688 PCT Gazette no. 51/01 (54) Floor covering and a panel for making a floor covering

<td>(30) Priority: 2000/06/13, BE, 2000/0381</td><td>(73) The right holder of the patent: FLOORING INDUSTRIES LTD., Dublin, IE</td>

<td>(43) Application announced: September 6, 2004 BUP 18/04</td><td>(72) Inventor (s): Bernard Paul Joseph Thiers, Oostrozebeke, BE</td>

<td>(45) The grant of the patent was announced: March 31, 2009 WUP 03/09</td><td>(74) Representative: Karcz Katarzyna, PATPOL Sp. z o. o</td>

(57) A floor covering consisting of hard panels (2) comprising a core (23) and a decorative layer (25) printed on the upper side of the panels, the core being made of a wood-based material, in particular wood ground into chips or fibers, mixed with a binding agent, i.e. MDF or HDF material, while the panels (2) at least on two opposite edges (3-4, 5-6) are provided with coupling means (7) made as part of the panels (2) yes, that a plurality of panels (2) can be interconnected with or without play, the coupling means (7) locking the panels (2) in a direction (R1) perpendicular to the plane of the floor covering (1) as well as in the direction (R2) ) perpendicular to the edges to be joined and parallel to the plane of the floor covering (1), in which the panels (2) at least on the above-mentioned edges (3-4, 5-6), near the top surface, have a bevel passing through the decorative printed layer (25) and through the core (23) on which the core surface (27) is provided with a separate print (25) made by decal. Panel for making the above-described covering.

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Description of the invention

The subject of the invention is a floor covering consisting of hard panels and a panel for making the floor covering.

It is known that laminate panels can be made of different layers. Typically, the panels are made of wood-based boards such as particle board or fibreboard, especially MDF or HDF, to which, at least from the top, one or more layers, including a decorative layer, are applied. The decorative layer can be a layer of printed paper, but it can also be a layer of wood, in particular veneer. Such panels can also be made of other materials, for example a completely synthetic material, or on a wood-based board backing, e.g. chipboard, MDF or HDF or the like, on which, instead of a layer of printed paper or veneer, there is another such material. such as cork, thin strips of wood etc.

There is also known a method of joining the described panels together along the edges during their laying by means of a tongue and tongue, possibly glued together, or by means of a joint without glue, locking the panels both horizontally and vertically. This method is described, for example, in the international patent application WO 97/47934.

The floor covering according to the invention consists of hard panels comprising a core and a decorative layer printed on the upper side of the panels, the core being made of a wood-based material, in particular wood ground into chips or fibers, mixed with a binder, i.e. MDF-type material. or HDF, while the panels on at least two opposite edges are provided with coupling means made as part of the panels so that that a plurality of panels can be joined to each other with no or virtually no play, the engaging means locking the panels in a direction perpendicular to the plane of the floor covering as well as in a direction perpendicular to the edges to be joined and parallel to the plane of the floor covering.

The covering according to the invention is characterized in that the panels, at least on the above-mentioned edges, near the upper surface, have a bevel passing through the decorative printed layer and through the core, on which the core surface is provided with a separate print made by means of a decal technique.

Preferably, the bevels are at an angle of 45 ° to the plane defined by the panels.

The slants preferably extend a horizontal distance of about 2 millimeters.

Below the slants, there are preferably lateral contact surfaces which, after joining the panels, fit together at least in their upper part.

The engaging means can be made such that the panels are engageable and / or disengageable at least along said edges.

The engaging means is preferably made such that the panels are not detachable by at least rotation, but are detachable at least in one other way.

The bevels are preferably provided on all four sides.

The decorative layer on the upper surface preferably comprises a pattern-printed layer, in particular a paper layer.

The print preferably has a pattern similar to that on the decorative layer of the upper surface.

A decorative, impervious, moisture-resistant print is preferably used on the slants.

One or more, preferably all, the bevels may be directed at an angle such that their extension extends beyond the panel's cross-sectional contour, or is in contact with the contour.

The panels preferably have a thickness of at least 9 mm, possibly at least 10 mm.

The engaging means advantageously enables the panels to be joined at least by sliding them together.

The panel according to the invention, for producing the covering according to the invention, comprises a core and a decorative layer printed on the upper side of the panel, the core being made of a wood-based material, in particular ground wood into chips or fibers, mixed with a binder, i.e. MDF or HDF, while the panel is provided on at least two opposite edges with engaging means made as part of the panel so that that a plurality of panels can be joined to each other with no or virtually no play, the engaging means locking the panels in a direction perpendicular to the plane of the floor covering as well as in a direction perpendicular to the edges to be joined and parallel to the plane of the floor covering.

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The panel according to the invention is characterized in that at least on the above-mentioned edges, near the upper surface, it has a bevel passing through the decorative printed layer and through the core, on which the core surface is provided with a separate print made by transfer.

Due to the fact that there is a bevel on the upper edge of the panel, many benefits are obtained. The first is that the panels during rotation, both when they are joined and when they are disconnected, can be more easily displaced in relation to each other because they do not have corner portions that would impede the rotation of the panels. A second advantage is that the panels can be heavier and in particular thicker than the panels normally made, since their thickness, due to the bevel, has little or no effect on the proper operation of the coupling means when the panels are rotated to connect and / or disconnect them. .

According to a variant of the invention, the engaging means is designed such that the panels can be disengaged not only by rotation, but by at least one other method. Even in such a case, the said bevel offers certain advantages, as will appear from the following description.

In the most preferred embodiment of the invention, the panels are provided with bevels at all four edges.

According to the invention, the printing is made using the technique of decals. In this way, all possible patterns can be obtained quickly. In addition, this technique eliminates the risk of contamination of the top decorative layer of the panels. Another important advantage is that the print dries instantly or almost instantly, so the panels can be stacked and packaged almost immediately.

The floor panels according to the invention have a core made of a wood-based material, in particular wood ground into chips or fibers, which are mixed with a binder, a decorative layer is provided on the core, the bevels described above being made in the core material. In this way, a porous surface of the slants is obtained, which guarantees good adhesion of the print.

The decorative layer usually comprises a layer printed with a pattern, for example a wood-like pattern, and the decorative layer of the panels according to the invention, especially on the slants, is also printed with a similar pattern.

The floor covering according to the invention consists of hard panels with a core based on MDF or HDF or other similar material, which may be provided with an underlay attached to the bottom of the panel, preferably made of polyethylene or a material based on polyethylene. The combination of MDF or HDF with an attached backing, in particular of polyethylene or a polyethylene-based material, results in particularly good sound insulation.

In a particular embodiment of the invention the panels have a thickness of at least 9 mm, preferably at least 10 mm, in contrast to known panels which are usually 7 or 8 mm thick.

Thus, relatively heavy panels are obtained, which consequently have better sound insulation properties, so that less noise is generated when walking on them.

The coupling means used in the panels according to the invention that allow the panels to be joined without glue can be of a wide variety. These measures may have one of the following characteristics or a combination of two or more of them:

- are located on two opposite edges of the panels;

- they are located on rectangular panels on both pairs of their opposite edges;

- at least on some edges, they allow installation by the following methods:

- at least by sliding the panels together;

- only by sliding the panels together;

- at least by turning the panels around the edges to be joined;

- solely by rotating the panels around the edges to be joined;

- by pushing the panels together or by turning them, depending on the choice;

- they can be disassembled at least on some edges by the following methods:

- at least by moving the panels apart in a direction perpendicular to the edge;

- solely by moving the panels apart in a direction perpendicular to the edge;

- at least by turning the panels around the edges to be joined;

- solely by rotating the panels around the edges to be joined;

- by moving the panels apart as well as by turning them;

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they are tongue and groove type engaging means and such that they provide at least locking in a direction perpendicular to the edges of the panels to be joined and parallel to the plane of the panels;

- these are the means as described in the preceding paragraph of this text, the rim bounding the groove from below, seen in cross section, extends beyond the top rim, the locking means being one or more portions on the rim bounding the groove from below and one or more a plurality of parts located at the bottom of the pen which are mutually cooperating;

- said groove and tongue are made in such a way that when the panels lying on the ground are sliding together, the tongue automatically hits the groove;

- said groove and tongue are made in such a way that the panels fit together with no or almost no play when joined.

The invention also relates to panels from which the above-described floor covering can be made.

The subject of the invention is shown in the drawing in an exemplary embodiment, in which: Fig. 1 schematically shows a fragment of a floor covering made of panels according to the invention; Figure 2 is a plan view of a panel that is made of the floor covering in Figure 1; figures 3 and 4 show sections according to the lines III-III and IV-IV of figure 2, respectively; figure 5 is a section on line VV in figure 1 to a larger scale; Fig. 6 shows a section taken along line VI-VI of Fig. 1 on a larger scale; figure 7 represents the part indicated by F7 in figure 6 to a larger scale; Fig. 8 is a view similar to that of Fig. 7, but in this the panels are mainly brought together in the same plane; Fig. 9 is a sectional view of another panel according to the invention with printed slants; Figure 10 is a schematic view of how the print is applied to for example Figure 9; Figure 11 shows a schematic section view taken along line XI-XI in Figure 10; fig. 12 shows a cross section of another panel according to the invention.

As can be seen from figures 1 and 2, the invention relates to a floor covering 1 and to hard panels 2 of which the floor covering 1 is made.

The floor covering 1 according to the first aspect of the invention consists of hard panels 2 provided on at least two opposite edges 3-4 and preferably as shown in fig. from 2 to 8, on both pairs of edges 3-4, 5-6, respectively, into coupling means 7 made as part of the panels 2 so that a plurality of such panels 2 can be mutually interconnected, the coupling means 7 ensuring that the panels are locked against each other. the direction R1, which is perpendicular to the plane of the floor covering 1, and in the direction R2, which is perpendicular to the edges 3-4 or 5-6 to be joined and parallel to the plane of the floor covering 1. The coupling means 7 are made such that the panels 2 can be connected to each other and / or disconnected at least along the above-mentioned edges 3-4, 5-6, respectively, by rotation.

Such coupling means 7 that allow the panels 2 to be joined without the use of glue, provided at least on two edges, and preferably at all edges of the panels, that allow the panels 2 to be joined and detached by rotating them relative to each other, are known from the international application published under the number WO 97/47834.

It is also known from WO 97/47834 that the coupling means 7, as can be seen in Figures 3 to 8 of the present application, can consist firstly of a tongue 8 and a groove 9 and secondly of locking means 10 which are intended to at least specifically for locking in a direction perpendicular to the edges of 3-4, 5-6 panels 2 to be joined, respectively, and parallel to their plane. It can also be seen that the engaging means 7 are preferably made such that the rim 11 delimiting the groove 9 from below, seen in section, extends beyond the top rim 12, while the locking means 10 are formed as intermeshing portions 13-14 which cooperate with each other. on said rim 11 delimiting a groove 9 at the bottom and at the bottom of the panel 2, in particular at the bottom of the tongue 8 or the projection of the bottom of the panel.

As explained in WO 97/47834, the coupling means 7, depending on the embodiment, allow different connection methods. In the most preferred example, as will be explained below with reference to Fig. 1, they are made so as to allow the panels to be joined by turning relative to each other as well as by sliding the panels together. This allows the panels to be joined by first rotating W1 about the edges 3-4, as in the case of panel 2A of Fig. 1, and then snapping them together along edges 5-6 due to movement T1. According to an embodiment, joining the edges of 3-4 panels can be made starting from the position schematically shown as 2B and joining the panel by sliding it along T2.

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The described rotation is illustrated in Figs. 6 and 7, while the sliding is shown in Fig. 8. It should be noted that the tongue 8 and the groove 9 are preferably shaped (Fig. 8) that when the two panels 2 are pushed together the tongue 8 automatically hits the key 9.

It is also possible, while holding panel 2A in a pivoted position, connect to it another panel 2C along the edge 5-6 by sliding T3 or by pivoting panels 2A and 2C relative to each other, after which both panels 2A and 2C are then pivoted downwards so that engage with the previous row of panels.

Another advantage is that the joint can be made without the use of glue, with no or virtually no play, also in the case of thicker panels that can be joined and / or detached, without creating excessive compressive forces at the edges of the panels. The haunches exclude and / or limit the formation of such forces, which excludes or limits the risk of damage, among others, on the top layer or the surface of the bevels.

A special feature of the covering according to the first aspect of the invention is that in the panels 2, at least on the two edges 3-4 and preferably on all four edges 3-6, near the top surface, there is a portion from which a certain amount of material has been removed and which is preferably forms a slant 15.

As can be seen in Figures 6 and 7, the bevels 15 facilitate, inter alia, pivoting of the panels 2 relative to each other, since the parts 16 and 17 elsewhere do not press against each other at this point and a contact zone 18 is obtained which is relatively low.

Another advantage of the chamfer is that if it is necessary that the above-mentioned interlocking portions 13 and 14, and in particular the adjoining contact surfaces 19 and 20, point tangentially or almost tangentially to a circle whose center is in the contact zone 18, then a relatively large average angle A of the inclination of the contact surface can be obtained for the same distance E of the protruding part of the lower rim 11, as a result of which, even in the case of thicker panels 2, a strong mesh is created. These relations are shown in Fig. 5.

A further advantage of the bevels is that, irrespective of the thickness D of the panels 2, the hiss zone 18 can always be at a certain height H above the bottom surface of the panels 2, provided that the bevels 15 occupy the appropriate height H1. Similar tools can therefore be used to cut the tongue 8 and the groove 9, if necessary, for both thinner and thicker panels 2.

The above advantages are of particular importance in those cases where the disconnection of the panels 2 is performed by rotation about said contact zone 18. However, it should be noted that the bevels also have other advantages which are independent of whether the panels 2 can also be released by rotation. This advantage is that the panels 2 are never pressed against each other on the top surface, which excludes the possibility of damage to the top layer due to the mutual contact of the panels 2. This is especially important for laminate parquet, as well as for jointless floor coverings where the panels are pushed together with a hammer and block.

In another embodiment of the covering according to the first aspect of the invention, the panels 2 may not only be released by rotation, but may also be any kind of panel 2 provided with coupling means 7 which allow the panels 2 to engage along the edges 3-4, 5-6, respectively. both vertically and horizontally, regardless of whether the panels are joined and / or disconnected by turning or by pushing.

The above-described bevels 15 are preferably directed at an angle X of 45 ° to the plane formed by the panels 2. Other values ​​of this angle are not excluded, however.

In practice, the bevels 15 extend a distance Z, measured horizontally, of approximately 2 millimeters, although another distance is not excluded.

As can be seen in Fig. 5, the side surfaces, in particular the contact surfaces 21-22, are at the slants 15 and, after joining the panels 2, fit together at least at the top, forming a stop for each other.

It is clear that the panels 2 according to the first aspect of the invention can have both an elongated shape, as in figure 2, and a square shape.

The floor covering 1 according to the second aspect of the invention, which in figures 1 and 2 also has the features of the first aspect described above, but can also be made without these features, is made of hard panels 2 having a core 23 and a decorative upper surface 24. Panels 2 they are rectangular and elongated and provided with engaging means 7 provided on at least two opposing long edges 3-4 and / or edges 5-6. As a result, a plurality of such panels 2 can be joined together, the coupling means 7 locking the panels in a direction perpendicular to the plane of the floor covering 1 as well as in a direction perpendicular to the edge to be joined.

3-4-5-6 and parallel to the coating plane. The coupling means 7 are designed such that the panels 2 can be joined and / or released by rotation about the long edges 3-4 and / or 5-6, and are characterized in that the usable width B of the panels 2 is less than 17 cm, and preferably is 15.5 cm.

Such a small width B, in combination with coupling means 7 of such a type that disconnection is made by pivoting the panels 2 relative to each other, as in Fig. 6, has the advantage that the height H2 to which the panel 2 has to be lifted in order to detach it, it is also relatively small, minimizing the inconvenience described at the beginning.

Moreover, the panels 2 according to the second aspect of the invention preferably also have a length L which is equal to at least eight times the width B.

Preferably, panels 2 according to the second aspect of the invention have a pattern repeated over the entire upper surface, in particular a wood-like pattern.

Figure 9 shows a third aspect of the invention. The floor covering 1 according to the third aspect of the invention consists of a hard panels 2 with a laminated structure having a decorative layer 25 on the upper face and characterized in that on one or more of the edges 3 to 6 of the panels a bevel is formed near the upper face 15 or a similar formation, the surface of which is also provided with a decorative layer, in this case a print 26. Print 26 is preferably obtained as a decal-printed layer.

Decorative layer 25 may also consist of a plurality of layers, but preferably comprises at least one layer printed with a pattern, for example a wood-like pattern printed on the paper layer. In this case, a similar print 26 can be made on the slants 15. Since printing techniques are used for both the decoration layer and the print 26, it is very easy to match both patterns in terms of color and / or drawing.

As mentioned at the outset, print 26 is preferably waterproof and impermeable. Thereby a sealing of the chamfers 15 is obtained, which is particularly useful when the core of the panels is porous, for example made of MDF or HDF.

Figures 10 and 11 show schematically how a print 26 can be applied to the surface 27 by transfer. The media 28, which carries the printed layer 29, is applied to surface 27 and pressed against it by a roller 30, which is preferably heated. As a result, the printed layer 29 adheres to the material of the panel 2 departing from the carrier 28 and the said print is produced. The carrier 28 with the printed layer 29 is fed from the roller 31, and after the printed layer 29 has been transferred to the surface 27, the carrier 28 is wound on the roller 32.

Other known printing techniques may also be used.

It should be noted that for both the described first aspect of the invention and the second aspect thereof, in individual embodiments, the bevels 15 - one or more, preferably all - are directed at an angle such that the extension of the bevel extends beyond the outline of panel 2. or exactly in this contour, as indicated by the line W in Figures 3, 4 and 10. As a result, the bevels 15 are easily accessible to the machine that produces them and the machine that applies the print 26.

The floor covering 1 according to the fourth aspect of the invention consists of hard panels 2 with a core 23 based on MDF or HDF or similar material and is characterized in that, as can be seen in Fig. 12, each separate panel 2 has a backing 36 made of plastic or another insulating or damping material attached to the underside of the panel and preferably made of polyethylene.

The combination of such materials has the advantage that the noise generated when walking on the panels 2 is low.

Said backing 36 can be attached to the underside of panel 2 in any way, for example glued or welded to the panel. A conventional laminate structure thus consists of a decorative layer 25, a core 23, usually based on MDF or HDF, a bottom layer 37 and said backing 36.

It is clear that the covering according to the fourth aspect of the invention can be used in combination with panels provided at the edges with a conventional tongue and groove, as well as in combination with panels that have horizontal and vertical locking engaging means, for example the coupling means 7 described above.

The invention is not limited to the above-described examples, which are shown in the drawing. On the contrary, the described floor covering and in particular the panels described can, within the scope of the invention, be produced in any shape and size.

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Patent claims