Floor covering

FLOOR COVER s The present invention provides a floor covering, especially of a type comprising hard panels. In a special and not yet limited way, it is a floor covering made of laminate boards, also called laminate flooring.

It is known that such laminate boards can be made of different layers. Usually laminates are formed from wood-based panels, such as particle board or pressed wood fiber board, in particular MDF or HDF, on which one or more layers, including the decorative layer, are applied at least to the top side. The decorative layer may be a layer of printed paper, and in certain embodiments it may be only a layer of wood, in particular veneer. Such boards may also be made of other materials, such as synthetic materials only, or of a wood-based baseplate such as particle board, MDF or HDF and the like, on which another material is applied instead of a layer of printed paper or veneer. such as cork, thin strips of wood and the like.

It is also known that these panels can be joined at their edges when they are laid, by means of a conventional tongue and groove joint, which can be glued together, or by means of an adhesive-free joint that allows the plates to be interconnected horizontally and vertically directions, such as described in international patent no. WO 97/47934.

The present invention is intended to be a hardwood floor covering, in particular laminate flooring, which allows new embodiments in respect of various aspects and offers certain advantages.

According to the first aspect, the invention provides a hardwood floor covering, with at least two opposite edges provided with joints made at one of the two opposite edges, which are made in one piece with the plates, so that several such plates can be joined, whereby these joints allow for interconnection in a direction perpendicular to the floor plane, as well as in a direction perpendicular to said edges and parallel to the floor plane, these jointing means being constructed in such a way that so that the plates can be rotated towards and / or out of the other plate, at least along the edges mentioned above, characterized in that the plates are at least at the edges mentioned above, near the top side, provided with a part from which a certain amount of material has been removed .

is Removing some of the material from the top edge offers several advantages. The first advantage is that the panels can move more easily with each other as they rotate towards each other or away from each other, since there are no longer any angular parts that would interfere with the rotation of the plates. Another advantage is that heavier plates can be produced, especially thicker than usual, since the thickness of the plates has little or no effect on the good working order of the joints mentioned above during inward rotation and / or outward rotation.

Preferably, the aforementioned parts comprise oblique steps, in particular with a 45 ° inclination. The sloping steps are preferably at least 1 millimeter long in the horizontal direction. Preferably, this length is of the order of 2 millimeters.

₅ According to a second embodiment of the first aspect of the invention, the fasteners are made so that the plates can be spaced apart in at least one other way, instead of being spaced apart only by rotation. Even then, the aforementioned oblique step provides certain advantages which will be clarified in the following description.

io According to the most preferred embodiment, the panels are rectangular and are provided with the aforementioned parts, with the aforementioned oblique steps on all four sides.

In a second aspect, which may or may not be related to the first aspect, the invention provides a hardwood floor covering with a core to which it is applied and an ornamental layer, these plates being rectangular and elongated and provided with connecting means at least two opposite longitudinal edges so that several such plates can be joined together, these joints allowing each other to be connected in a direction perpendicular to the plane of the flooring, as well as in a direction perpendicular to said edges and parallel to the plane of the floor covering, said joints being constructed so that the plates can be joined and / or spaced by rotation along its longitudinal edge, characterized in that panel width less than 17 cm and possibly even less than 16 cm.

Furthermore, in addition to the maximum width mentioned above, these panels preferably have a length of at least eight times the width value.

Rigid boards, which are provided with fasteners that allow horizontal and vertical interconnections on at least two edges of the panels, are known to be made as relatively small panels of width 19 to 20 cm and length of 1.20 to 1.40 m. . It is also known that, when laid, the panels must occasionally rotate one against the other or one side of the other so that they fit into the wall, the finishing edges of the interior walls or similar structures. A disadvantage of the known embodiments of the aforementioned panels is that io is often difficult to perform said rotation, for example when the panels have to be mounted with their distal ends under the edge of a standing cabinet or similar elements. According to the second aspect of the invention mentioned above, this weakness, as well as others, is excluded or at least reduced. Due to the small width, the panels are lower when rotated, so there are no disadvantages during mounting a large number of is boards.

Furthermore, the above-mentioned link between length and width provides a technical solution, which eliminates the visual effect of "panel similarity".

According to a third aspect of the invention, it enables a hardwood floor covering with a laminate structure having an ornamental layer on the upper surface, characterized in that the oblique steps are located on one or more edges of the panels, near the top side, and the surface of these stairs is also provided with a decorative layer, preferably a separate layer. This layer preferably comprises a separately applied printed layer. By using such a printed layer, the sloping steps can be easily lined with a decorative layer. In this way, the base plates can be made in the usual way by being burnt out of a large plate already lined with a decorative layer, while the oblique steps are later lined.

s According to the main embodiment of the third aspect, the aforementioned printed layer comprises a printed layer that is printed by means of portable printing. Thus, portable printing offers the advantage that, in combination with its use on floorboards, a high level of production can be achieved and that any pattern can be produced. Furthermore, this technique eliminates the risk that the decorative top surface of the panels will become dirty. Another major advantage of this embodiment is that the printed layer dries immediately or almost immediately, so that the boards can be folded and packaged almost immediately.

Floor boards made according to the third aspect of the invention preferably have a core made of wood-based material, in particular wood that has been broken into particles or fibers, mixed with a bonding agent to which the decorative layer is applied. , and wherein the aforementioned oblique steps extend through the core material. This creates a porous surface on the sloping steps, which ensures good bonding of the printed layer.

As usual, the decorative layer preferably comprises a layer with a printed 20 pattern, such as a wood pattern, and the decorative layer according to the invention, especially the printed layer on sloping steps or similar elements, is preferably made with a similar pattern.

Further, preferably a moisture-resistant, waterproof decorative layer or printed layer is used, which is advanced especially if the panels have a base plate made of porous material such as MDF, HDF or similar materials. This gives a completely moisture-resistant layer on the top surface, on a flat surface with the usual synthetic material layer on one side and on the sloping steps with the help of an additional decorative layer on the sloping step on the other.

Although the decorative layer on sloping stairs is preferably made using portable printing, other options are not excluded. For example, self-adhesive tape may be used.

According to a fourth aspect, the invention provides a floor covering made of MDF or HDF core core boards or similar material, characterized in that each panel on the underside is provided with a sublayer attached to a panel preferably made of polyethylene or polyethylene based, is the combination of MDF or HDF using a sublayer attached to the plate, especially when made of polyethylene or made of polyethylene, offers this advantage, above all to achieve good and high quality sound insulation.

The present invention relates to embodiments using only one of the foregoing aspects as well as embodiments in which two or more of the foregoing aspects are combined. It should be appreciated that two or more of the above-mentioned embodiments may be combined at any one time, in any combination, provided that these embodiments do not have mutually conflicting properties.

Although, according to some of the foregoing aspects, boards may contain different types of material, the invention is particularly suitable for panels made of MDF or HDF or similar material.

In a particular embodiment, the panels have a thickness of at least 9 mm or preferably 5 at least 10 mm, as opposed to the usual thickness of 7 or 8 mm.

This produces relatively heavy panels, which, as a result, have a better sound insulation effect and thus produce less noise when walking on them.

As mentioned above, binders are used that allow io bonding without adhesive and can be of different types. Thus, these coupling agents may have one of the following properties or a combination of two or more properties;

that they are mounted on two opposite edges of the panels;

that they are mounted on panels which are rectangular, with iss being placed on both pairs of opposite edges;

to allow for at least some edges to be assembled by one of the following options:

at least by moving the panels against each other; exclusively by moving the panels one against the other;

at least by rotating the plates along the edges involved;

exclusively by rotating the plates along the edges involved; by moving the panels one against the other or by turning the panels as desired;

to allow for at least some edges to be disassembled by one of the following options:

at least by moving the plates one side of the other in a direction perpendicular to the edges;

by exclusively moving the plates one side of the other in a direction perpendicular to the edges; at least by rotating the plates along the edges involved; exclusively by rotating the plates along the edges involved; by moving the plates from one side to the other and rotating the plates;

- be of a type comprising a tongue and groove on the one hand, and locking means that provide at least a special connection in a direction perpendicular to the edges of the jointed plates and parallel to the plane of the plates, on the other;

that they are made as described in the preceding paragraph, wherein the edge limiting the bottom of the groove extends beyond the upper edge in cross section and the locking means comprise one or more parts of the edge limiting the bottom of the groove and one or more parts at the bottom of the tongue that work in conjunction with the latter on the other.

that the tongue and groove mentioned above are made in such a way that when two of such plates move freely towards each other through the base or similar part, the tongue automatically enters the groove;

that they are designed to fit the boards properly after joining without any additional movement or almost no additional movement.

s Of course, the invention also relates to panels from which the flooring described above can be made.

For a better explanation of the properties of the invention, the following desirable embodiments are described by way of example, but in no way limited in any way, and refer to the accompanying drawings in which:

Figure 1 schematically represents a portion of a floor covering made of panels of the invention;

Figure 2 is a floor plan of the floor covering of Figure 1; Figures 3 and 4 represent the sections with respect to the lines 1111 and IV-IV in Fig. 2; Fig. 5 represents the section with respect to the line VV of Fig. 1 in larger magnification;

Figure 6 represents the section with respect to line VI-VI of Figure 1 in larger magnification;

Fig. 7 represents the portion marked F7 in Fig. 6 in larger magnification; Fig. 8 shows a similar aspect to Fig. 7, wherein the panels are substantially displaced in one and the same plane;

Fig. 9 shows a section of the second plate according to the invention, with oblique planes lined with a printed layer;

-1010 FIG. 10 schematically shows how a printed layer can be applied in the embodiment of FIG. 9;

Fig. 11 schematically shows the section with respect to the line ΧΙ-ΧΙ in Fig. 10; Figure 12 represents a section of the second panel after embodiment.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the invention concerns floor cover 1 as well as the hard panels 2 from which such floor cover 1 is made.

According to a first aspect of the invention, which relates to the floor cover 1 of the rigid panels 2, wherein these panels 2 are arranged on at least two opposite edges 3-4 and io, preferably as presented in Figures 2 to 8, on both pairs of edges 34, 5-6, which are connected by jointing means 7 into one piece from the material of the panels 2, so that several such panels 2 can be connected together with each other, these connecting means 7 allowing interconnection in the direction R1 perpendicular to the floor plane 1, as well as in the direction R2 perpendicularly to the edges 3-4 or 5-6 and parallel to the plane of the floor covering 1, and wherein these connecting means 7 are designed so that the panels 2 can be assembled and / or disassembled at least along the aforementioned edges 3-4, 5-6, by rotation.

Such coupling means 7, which allow the joints of plates 2 to be bonded without any 2o adhesive, on at least two sides and preferably on all sides, and wherein plates 2 are disassembled by rotating the plates one side to the other, are as such known from international patent no. . 97/47834.

-1111

It is also known from WO 97/47834 that the aforementioned coupling means 7, as presented in Figures 3 to 8 of the present application, may comprise a tongue 8 and a groove 9 on the one hand, and locking means 10 on the other, which at least provide specific interconnection in a direction perpendicular to the edges 3-4, 5-6 of the joined panels 2 and parallel to the plane of these boards 2. As further presented, these coupling means 7 are further preferably constructed such that the edge 11, which restricts the bottom of the groove 9 when viewed in cross-section, extends beyond the upper edge 12, while the locking means 10 are formed from the connecting parts 13- 14, acting in conjunction, on the io above-mentioned edge 11, which restricts the bottom of the groove 9 and the bottom of the joined plate

2, especially to the bottom of the tongue 8 or to the extension of its bottom.

As explained in WO 97/47834, such coupling means 7, depending on their embodiment, allow different couplings. According to the most preferred embodiment, as will be described later with reference to Fig. 1, they are designed to allow the joints to be rotated by rotating one panel towards the other, as well as by moving one panel towards the other. The latter allows the joining of such panels first by rotating one panel against the other at their edges 3-4, as represented by panel 2A in Figure 1, by rotating W1, and then by contacting the panels at their edges 5-6 by means of a tie element T1. In the second embodiment, the edges 3-4 on the boards under consideration may also be connected starting at the position schematically denoted by 2B and joining the board under consideration by means of a tie element T2.

-1212

The aforementioned rotation is further shown in Figures 6 and 7, while the glide is shown in Fig. 8. It should be added that the tongue 8 and the groove 9 are preferably constructed in the same way as in Fig. 8 when two such plates 2 move freely towards each other across the bottom or from a similar part, the tongue 8 automatically enters the groove 9.

It is also possible, while holding the 2A plate in a rotating position, to connect the following 2C plate at the edges 5 and 6 under consideration, by means of a T3 connecting element or by rotating the plates 2A and 2C with each other, rotating the plates 2A and 2C down to interconnect io connect to the previous row of boards.

Another advantage is that it is still possible to join without adhesive and without further movement, including the joining of thicker panels, which can rotate against each other or sideways without any stronger compression at the edges during rotation. Oblique steps provide for the elimination and / or restriction of such forces, so that the risk of injury, including the top layer or the surface of oblique steps, is excluded or limited.

In the first aspect of the invention, in particular, the above-mentioned panels 2 are provided at least on two of their edges 3-4 or 5-6, and preferably on all four edges 3 to 6, on the upper side, with the part from which it was made a certain amount of material is removed and which preferably comprises an oblique step 15.

-1313

As shown in FIGS. 6 and 7, these oblique steps 15 offer, among other things, the advantage that the panels 2 can be easily rotated relative to one another, while parts of the material 16 and 17 that are otherwise present are no longer pressed with each other, and a contact area 18 is formed which is located at a relatively low.

Another advantage is that when for the aforementioned connecting parts 13 and 14, especially for the supporting joint surfaces 19 and 20, it is required to extend touching or almost touching about a circle having a contact area 18 at its center, the average slope A of the joints of surfaces may be relatively high for the same distance E of the convex part of the lower edge 11 as indicated in Figure 5, which provides a solid interconnection, even for thicker panels 2.

Another advantage is that, regardless of the thickness D of the panels 2, the contact area 18 can always be located at a certain height H above the bottom of the panels 2, and provided that the oblique steps 15 are made with a corresponding height H1. If required, it is always possible to work with a similar cutting tool to form the tongue 8 and the groove 9, for thinner and thicker plates 2.

Although the aforementioned advantages apply primarily to type embodiments, at 20 where the disassembly of the plates 2 can be accomplished by rotating about the aforementioned contact area 18, it should be noted that the aforementioned oblique steps 15 offer advantages which are not necessarily in accordance with the fact that panels 2 can be dismantled by rotation. Take it

-1414 sloping steps 15 offer the advantage that panels 2 never press directly against each other on their top surfaces, so that the possibility of damage to the top layer due to the mutual contact between panels 2, which is especially important in the case of laminate flooring, as well as in the case of floor coverings that are bonded without any adhesive, the panels being laid into each other by means of a hammer and blocker.

Likewise, according to various embodiments, the first aspect of the invention is no longer applicable only to panels 2 which can be dismantled by rotation, but is applicable to all types of panels 2 provided with connecting means 7 that allow the panels 2 to interconnect vertically and horizontal directions at their edges 3-4, 5-6, regardless of whether assembly and / or disassembly must or may be accomplished by rotation or sliding.

The aforementioned sloping steps 15 preferably extend at an angle X = 45 ° with respect to the plane defined by the panels 2. Other slopes are not excluded.

The sloping steps will practically extend horizontally for a distance of Z in the order of 2 millimeters, although other sizes are not excluded here as well.

As further illustrated in Figure 5, the lateral surfaces, in particular the 2o contact surfaces 21-22, are located under the aforementioned oblique steps 15, which coincide with each other at least at the top when the panels 2 are joined, thus forming an interlocking.

-1515

Obviously, the first aspect of the invention can be applied to panels 2 having an elongated shape, as shown in Figure 2, as well as to panels 2 having a square shape.

According to the aforementioned second aspect of the invention, which is optionally combined with the aforementioned first aspects of Figs. 1 and 2, but which can be carried out separately from the first aspect, the invention relates to a floor covering 1 of hard panels 2 having a core 23 and ornamental top surface 24, wherein said panels 2 are rectangular and elongated and are provided with connecting means 7 on at least two opposite longitudinal edges 3-4 and / or 5-6, whereby several such panels may be joined to one another by second, wherein these connecting means 7 are provided with an interconnection in a direction perpendicular to the plane of the floor covering 1, as well as in a direction perpendicular to the edges 3-4-5-6 and parallel to the plane of the floor covering, and wherein these connecting means 7 made in such a way that panels 2 can be joined and / or disassembled with or by rotation along their longitudinal edges 3-4 and / or 5-6, characterized in that the usable width B of panels 2 is less than 17 cm and options are 15.5 cm.

Such a narrow width B, in combination with coupling means 7 of this type, wherein the disassembly is performed by rotation of the plates 2, as shown in Figure 6, offers the advantage that the height H2 through which the plate 2 must rotate before disassembly relatively small, reducing the weakness mentioned in the introduction.

-1616

Further, panels 2 have, in another aspect of the invention, preferably a length L of at least eight times the width B value.

Panels 2 made according to another aspect of the invention preferably have a uniform pattern, which is repeated on all upper surfaces, especially the wood of the pattern.

Figure 9 shows a third aspect of the invention. According to this third aspect, the invention relates to a floor covering 1 made of rigid panels 2 with a laminate structure having an ornamental layer 25 on the upper surface, characterized in that the oblique steps 15 or similar structures are formed on several edges 3 to 6 of the panels 2 , vw near the top, and that the surface of these sloping steps 15 or similar structures is provided with a decorative layer, in this case a printed layer 26, preferably a printed layer, which was applied to this surface by means of portable printing.

Ornamental layer 25 may as such comprise several layers, but preferably is containing at least one layer with a printed pattern, for example a wood pattern printed on a paper layer. In this case, the printed layer 26 may be made on oblique steps 15 or similar structures with a similar pattern. By applying the printing technique to both the decorative layer and the printing layer 26, it is possible to reconcile both patterns in color and / or shape.

As mentioned in the introduction, the printed layer 26 is preferably moisture resistant and waterproof. In this way, the gasket on the oblique steps 15 is obtained, which is useful especially when the plates have a porous core made of, for example, MDF or HDF.

-1717

10 and 11 schematically illustrate how a printed layer 26 can be applied to a surface 27 by means of portable printing. The support layer 28, which is provided with a printed layer 29, is in contact with the surface 27 and is used with a preferably heated pressure roller 30, thereby binding the printed layer 29 to the material of the plate 2 and removing it from the support layer 28, thus to produce the aforementioned printed layer 26. In this case, a support layer 28 is added with a printed layer 29 for the cylinder 31, while said support layer 28, after the printing layer 29 is transferred to the surface 27, is wound on the cylinder 32.

Other portable printing techniques or similar techniques that are known, and of course, are not excluded.

It should be noted that with respect to the aforementioned first aspect and the third aspect, in the most desirable embodiment, one or more and preferably all sloping steps 15 lie at an angle such that the extension provided by said sloping step 15 lies outside the bend of the plate 2 or is barely touched, as indicated by the lines W in Figures 3, 4 and 10. The advantage of this is that when using the sloping steps 15 and the printed layer 26, these sloping steps are easily accessible to the machine parts used in the process.

According to a fourth aspect of the invention, this relates to a floor covering made of rigid boards 2 having a 2 core 23 based on MDF or HDF or similar material, characterized in that each of the panels 2 is separately provided with a sublayer 36 made of synthetic material or other sound-proofing material applied to the bottom and attached to it, preferably made of

-1818 polyethylene or polyethylene based, as shown in Figure 12. The combination of these materials offers the advantage of producing little noise when walking across these boards 2.

The aforementioned sublayer 36 can be attached to the underside of the plate 2 s by any means, for example by means of gluing or fusing. In the case of a conventional laminate structure, the structure thus comprises an ornamental layer 25, a core 23, usually based on MDF or HDF, overlay 37 and the aforementioned sublayer 36.

It is clear that the fourth aspect of the invention can be used in combination with floor io panels fitted with a conventional tongue and groove at their edges, as well as in combination with floor panels with connecting means that allow horizontal and vertical interconnections, for example coupling agents described above 7.

The invention is in no way limited to the foregoing embodiments, which are shown in the accompanying drawings; on the other hand, such floor coverings, in particular the aforementioned panels, can be made in all shapes and sizes, but still remain within the scope of the invention.

For:

FLOORING INDUSTRIES LTD.