Flooring products and methods of making the same

Abstract

A plank is described wherein the plank comprises a core, and optionally, a print layer, and optionally an overlay. The core includes from about 30 wt % to about 95 wt % at least one polymeric material, by weight of the core, and from about 5 wt % to about 70 wt % of least one natural fiber or flour, by weight of the core, wherein the core includes a top surface and a bottom surface, and opposing sides, wherein said plank is substantially moisture resistant, having a swelling property of from about 0.5% to about 5% by NALFA Thickness Test Section 3.2 LF 01-2003 standard, and wherein said plank includes a bow of from about 0.5% to about 4%. In addition, a method of making the plank is further described.

Description

[0001] This application claims the benefit under 35 U.S.C. §119(e) of prior U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 60 / 592,488 filed Jul. 30, 2004, which is incorporated in its entirety by reference herein.[0002] The present invention relates to wood / polymer composite products, such as flooring products and methods to make the same. The present invention particularly relates to a plank or tile core that is structurally durable in providing excellent wear and durability properties as well as water resistance. The methods to make the product offer design versatility with superior sustainability by optionally incorporating high amounts of post consumer or post industrial recycled material into the flooring products without compromising the performance and aesthetics. Also, proper selections of the wear surface material for the product can greatly reduce the life-cycle cost by minimizing the frequency of maintenance. BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION [0003] Commercially available floorings, s...

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

[0009] A feature of the present invention is to provide a plank which can be used in a surface covering system. The plank is based on a wood / plastic composite as the core, wherein fiber or flour portions in the core are preferably encapsulated by the polymer portion, and which provides improved moisture resistance, and is not susceptible to damage caused by moisture.

[0010] Another feature of the present invention is to provide a plank and surface covering system which is versatile for many decorative and wear surfaces (e.g., veneers—oak, maple, ash, beech, cherry, hickory, and other wood styles, and e.g., laminate overlay, direct print, transfer printing, vulcanized paper, and the like) depending upon the needs of markets.

[0011] A further feature of the present invention is to provide a flooring system that has beneficial sustainability and life cycle cost.

Problems solved by technology

In some instances, the moisture can lead to some serious quality control issues and application restraints.

For instance, and just to name a few, the higher moisture content in the product, such as in the particle board or fiberboard, can cause blistering and adhesion failure of the melamine surface to the core.

Also, higher moisture contents can lead to dimensional instability of the finished product, which then results in the cupping or doming of the product, which is extremely undesirable, especially when installers are laying down the flooring.

Also, excessive moisture contents can create edge peaking due to the swelling of the product and such edge peaking can result in edge chip-off or premature wear-out or can soil more quickly.

The susceptibility to moisture content also leads to some installers not wishing to place such laminate flooring in areas which are subject to having water on the surface of the floor, such as in the kitchen and bathroom areas.

While this improvement has made the product more moisture resistant, the current commercially available laminate floorings are still prone to moisture damage.

However, if very stringent installation instructions are not followed, the laminate flooring will still be subjected to moisture damage.

Another weakness of laminate flooring is its susceptibility to break or chip at the corners of edges and the tongue and the groove profile because fibers in the high density fiber board are not cohesively bonded together with chemicals.

Typical acrylic impregnated wood flooring is not an environmental and operational friendly product.

It takes a long time to impregnate the liquid acrylic monomer into pores of the wood veneer.

It is often difficult or impossible to penetrate the liquid fully to the desirable depth or to penetrate uniformly into the pores of the wood.

Due to such a time consuming and a labor intensive process, the product normally is very expensive.

Consequently, only limited buyers can afford to use it.

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