阅读说明：本技术 包含陶瓷材料或天然石材的地板镶板 (Floor panel comprising ceramic material or natural stone ) 是由 托马斯·卢克·马丁·贝尔特 汤姆·范·波尔 斯万·伯恩 于 2019-01-31 设计创作，主要内容包括：本发明涉及一种包含芯层和顶部层的层压件的地板镶板,所述芯层包含陶瓷或矿物材料和粘合剂以及第一对对置边缘,所述第一对对置边缘包含互补的耦接部分以便允许多个地板镶板彼此互联,所述顶部层包含陶瓷材料或天然石材,其中所述芯层的面对所述顶部层的一侧包含增强层,所述增强层的局部的密度比所述芯层的其余部分的密度更高。(The present invention relates to a floor panel comprising a laminate of a core layer comprising a ceramic or mineral material and an adhesive and a first pair of opposite edges comprising complementary coupling parts for allowing a plurality of floor panels to be interconnected with each other, and a top layer comprising a ceramic material or natural stone, wherein the side of the core layer facing the top layer comprises a reinforcement layer, the local density of which is higher than the density of the rest of the core layer.)

1. A panel adapted for assembly of a floor or wall covering device, comprising:

-a core layer comprising

Ceramic or mineral materials and binders;

at least one pair of opposing edges, the pair of opposing edges including complementary coupling portions allowing a plurality of floor panels to be coupled to one another;

-a top layer comprising ceramic material, tile, porcelain ceramic, natural stone or mosaic;

wherein a side of the core layer facing the top layer comprises a reinforcement layer, a local density of the reinforcement layer being different from a density of a remainder of the core layer.

2. The floor panel according to claim 1, wherein the reinforcement layer has a higher density than the remainder of the core layer.

3. The floor panel according to claim 2, wherein the density of the reinforcement layer is at least 5% higher, more preferably 10% higher, most preferably at least 20% higher than the density of the rest of the core layer.

4. The floor panel according to any one of the preceding claims, comprising a fiber web located near a surface of the reinforcement layer.

5. The floor panel according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the reinforcement layer is a hard shell layer.

6. The floor panel according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the core layer has a density lower than the density of the top layer.

7. The floor panel according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the complementary coupling parts comprise a click coupling.

8. The floor panel according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the core layer comprises MgO, Mg (OH)₂、MgSO₄、MgCl₂、CaCO₃As a ceramic or mineral material.

9. Floor panel according to claim 7, wherein the mineral or ceramic content of the core layer is at least 50%, more preferably more than 75%, most preferably at least 85%.

10. The floor panel according to any of the preceding claims, wherein the core layer comprises lignocellulose as a binder, especially in a content of between 8% and 15%, more preferably 9% or 10%.

11. The floor panel according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the top layer comprises ceramic, natural stone, stone veneer, mosaic or tile.

12. The floor panel according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the thickness of the top layer is from 1 to 12mm and the thickness of the core is from 2 to 10mm, preferably about 6 to 8 mm.

13. The floor panel according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the surface area of the top layer is less than the surface area of the core layer.

14. The floor panel according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein on at least one side the core layer is visible so as to simulate a pointing.

15. The floor panel as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, wherein a pointing agent can be applied to achieve a waterproof mounting.

16. The floor panel according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein at least a portion of the core layer not covered by the top layer has a finish material pre-applied to simulate a pointing.

17. The flooring panel according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the core layer has a bottom layer at a side facing away from the top layer, the bottom layer having sound damping and levelling properties.

Technical Field

The present invention relates to a floor panel comprising ceramic material or natural stone.

Background

Tiles (tiles) installed according to conventional methods known in the art are adhered to the substrate by mortar or adhesive. Once installed, they are provided with a pointing agent (grout) ("pointing") to provide a water-tight surface that can even be paved and used in environments with standing or running water, such as bathrooms. The inherent stability and resistance of the tiles to temperature and humidity fluctuations enables the watertightness of the pointing to last long. The result of this traditional way of tile installation by pointing agent satisfies certain requirements, thanks to its obvious advantages of waterproofness, aesthetics and stability.

However, it is also clear that tiles have certain drawbacks: the process of laying tiles is quite time consuming and laborious and can only be done by specialists. Specialized equipment and skills are required from surface preparation and reinforcement of the underlying flooring to support the overall weight of mortar and tiles, to tile placement and application of pointing agents. For installations requiring pointing, a predetermined spacing must be left between the tiles, and optimally, the tile spacing is of uniform width. The spaces are then filled with a pointing agent, such as mortar or epoxy, having a selected color and material. The addition of such pointing agents imposes the following specific limitations on the matrix: at least minimum weight bearing capacity and flatness. If the substrate is not sufficiently pretreated, the pointing agent or even the tile may crack during use. Once installed, the finished flooring is durable. The tile floor becomes part of the structure, removing it requires special heavy equipment and may damage the rest of the base. It is not possible to reuse or retrofit tiles installed in this manner.

It is known in the field of hard-faced floorings to provide the core of the floorboard, such as a laminate or a PVC floorboard, with a locking mechanism. The installation of such interlocking panels is known as "floating" and provides unprecedented convenience, so that even non-professional or home chores can install and remove the floor. In order to eliminate the disadvantages of tiles and make them easy to install, remove and replace, it has been proposed to also provide the edges of the tiles with this type of locking mechanism. However, this is not possible because of the inherent stiffness and brittleness of the tile.

It has therefore been proposed in us patent 7,442,423 et al to provide a rigid substrate with a hard facing panel formed from ceramic, glass or stone tiles and to provide the substrate with a locking mechanism to allow for floating installation. It is even proposed herein to simulate pointing with the aim of providing the look and feel of a traditional, stitched tile. However, the proposals proposed by this prior art are too theoretical and fail to provide details on how to solve the actual challenges faced when actually implementing such a product.

First, when the core is not absolutely stable, the tiles will move in the lateral and vertical directions, stressing the installation. Such stresses destroy the structural integrity of the tile pointing, making such installations unsuitable for use in wet environments. For example, core sheets of HDF material as suggested in US 7, 442, 423 swell or expand up to 15% when in contact with moisture, as measured by the north american laminate flooring association's NALFA3.2 laminate swell test, thereby permanently destroying the installation. No viable alternatives are provided for the envisaged basis. Furthermore, as shown in the present invention, although the invention refers to a "rigid and stable core", the base panels will change dimensions independently under temperature changes.

It is known in the floating flooring industry to provide an alternative matrix based on polymers such as PP, PE, PVC, PU instead of a core based on lignocellulose or wood fibers (e.g. HDF or MDF) as a basis. These alternative substrates are known to be off-the-shelf alternatives in the industry, often combined with different plastic layers for designing manufactured products. For example, a low density core or a high density solid core, common matrix of foam may be provided in the laminate and plastic flooring industries. However, the materials proposed in said field are not suitable for the intended purpose, since the physical property of lignocellulose or plant-based materials is that they move in humid environments, and the physical property of plastics is that they move in environments with fluctuating temperatures. No specific method for solving this problem is provided.

Secondly, dimensional changes can also stress the tile itself. The flexural strength of ceramic, porcelain and stone tiles is such that slight stresses can lead to surface cracking (multiple fine cracks) and breakage. To illustrate, when bonded to a 4mm solid PVC substrate of 2000kg/m3, 4.8mm marble tiles showed cracking when heated from 23 ℃ to 60 ℃, a temperature that is easily reached in a living environment, such as in a sunroom or behind a window.

Third, the prior art claims that a substrate having a weight less than the top layer is advantageous for transportation, installation and the environment. It is proposed to use HDF as matrix with a uniform density of about 850kg/m 3. Since the density of ceramic tiles (ceramic tiles) is about 2200kg/m3, the density of solid stones is about 2800kg/m3, and the density of porcelain is about 2400kg/m3 or higher, a significant weight reduction can be achieved compared to conventional solid stones or ceramic tiles. However, when combined with a uniform density substrate such as HDF, the impact and indentation resistance of ceramic tiles is insufficient to support commercial or even normal residential use. When subjected to high pressures, particularly localized pressures (such as those generated by high-heeled shoes), the tiles tend to crack or exhibit cracks because the matrix does not provide sufficient support for the top layer, particularly when the top facing sheet has a thin dimension.

Details as to how to form a practical stable and rigid core and a feasible structure for the intended purpose are missing. Thus, there are still no commercially available products on the market today, illustrating the drawbacks of the prior art in the field.

Disclosure of Invention

It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a base panel which obviates at least some of the disadvantages of the prior art, or which at least provides a useful and feasible alternative to the prior art.

Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a composition comprising MgO, Mg (OH)₂、MgSO₄、MgCl₂、CaCO₃As a core layer of ceramic or mineral material. These preferred materials exhibit little or no expansion or contraction due to moisture or temperature fluctuations, for which reason the core layer preferably has a mineral or ceramic content of at least 80% and good results can be obtained with a mineral or ceramic content of at least about 85%. These core materials-unlike plastic compositions-are neither known nor recognized-are detrimental to human health. It is well known that HDF contains high amounts of melamine urea formaldehyde, a thermosetting resin, which raises concerns about human health and the environment since these resins are not degradable, while its waste management releases harmful toxins into the environment; thermoplastic substitutes also cause problems with respect to durability.

The present invention provides a floor panel comprising a core layer laminate and a top layer, the laminate of the core layer comprising a ceramic or mineral material and an adhesive, a first pair of opposite edges comprising complementary coupling parts allowing a plurality of floor panels to be coupled to each other, the top layer comprising a ceramic material or natural stone, wherein the side of the core layer facing the top layer comprises a reinforcement layer, the local density of the reinforcement layer being higher than the density of the rest of the core layer.

Detailed Description

The invention thus provides additional support for the top layer. This local higher density improves the impact resistance and prevents fracture of the top layer. The higher density layer can optionally be reinforced with a fiberglass layer that is partially contained within the matrix material and located near the top surface of the support layer. Of course any other fibre layer having similar physical properties may be considered.

The reinforcement layer may be interpreted as a higher density top or hard shell layer that can be formed by an extrusion process, wherein the top and/or bottom surface is densified by a cooling process, or can be deposited in layers to a substrate in the form of slurries with different densities and subsequently dried, or layers with different densities are added. Preferably, its density is at least 5% greater than the remainder of the core, more preferably greater than 10% or more, and even more preferably greater than 20% or more.

The invention accordingly provides a tile having interlocking mechanisms on the sides, which can be installed as a floating floor that can withstand impacts, stresses during transport, humidity and temperature fluctuations, and is suitable for use in a commercial environment.

In general, top layers having a thickness of between 1 and 10mm are preferred according to the invention, and cores having a thickness of between 2 and 10mm (preferably about 6mm) are preferred according to the invention. A total product thickness of 8-15mm is more preferred. Good stability results were obtained with 8mm thick MgO-based boards having an overall density of 1200kg/m3, a 2mm thick hard outer shell with a density of 1600kg/m3 near the top surface and reinforced with a glass fiber mesh under humidity and temperature fluctuations. It is of course possible to replace the glass fibres with natural fibres to achieve a completely plastic-free construction or to add further reinforcement layers, for example near the bottom surface of the panel, to adjust the overall stability of the board. A further improvement can be achieved by applying at least one reinforcing glass fibre web, but preferably with two such layers, the second of which is close to the bottom surface of the panel-preferably integrated in a reinforcing layer: in this embodiment, it has been demonstrated that after 24 hours of immersion in water, the expansion of the dimensional stability in the length and width directions is limited to 0.03% when measured according to NALFA3.2, and a thickness expansion of less than 0.01% is recorded. The expansion rate at 23 ℃ to 60 ℃ is 0% and the shrinkage after heating to 80 ℃ is 0% when measured according to ISO 23999.

The complementary coupling parts may in particular comprise a click coupling, i.e. a coupling that snaps when two tiles are engaged with each other. The addition of a small amount of lignocellulose fibers to the core adds sufficient elasticity to the locking mechanism to allow smooth engagement of the locking element. However, the lignocellulose content is preferably less than 15%, most preferably less than 10%, in order to avoid swelling under humid conditions and mold or fungus problems. Satisfactory results with a level 0 antifungal activity (no fungal growth) were obtained with a lignocellulose content of about 9%, when determined according to the standard practice for determining the antifungal activity of synthetic polymeric materials-ASTM G21. Preferably, the lignocellulose content is higher than 8% so that sufficient flexibility can be obtained for the coupling portion, which needs to be bent in order to snap.

It is known in the art to further provide the core layer with a coating layer of a bioceramic material in order to achieve an antifungal and deodorising effect. This is necessary because lignocellulosic or plant based panels are sensitive to mold or fungal growth. Plastic-based substrates are also sensitive to mold or fungal growth due to the addition of vinylating agents (vinylizers) or plasticizers that are used as nutrients for fungi. Conventional vinyl or PVC flooring containing plasticizers, when tested according to ASTM G21, rated about a class 1-2 fungal resistance (little fungal growth). The invention relates to a mineral or ceramic matrix containing MgO, Mg (OH)₂、MgSO⁴、MgC_l2、CaCO₃Or alternative materials having similar properties, or even substantially made of them, so that said mineral or ceramic matrix has a natural antifungal property (no fungal growth) of grade 0 when tested according to astm g 21.

In a further embodiment of the invention, the surface area of the top layer is smaller than the surface area of the core layer. When assembling a floor with these panels, traces of pointing agent are given, which are formed by uncovered and thus visible parts of the core layer. Due to the prefabricated nature of the panels, the resulting spacing is consistent and easy to maintain. The gap may be caulked with mortar or epoxy, if desired, or the substrate may be used as a simulated caulk. In this case, the base body is preferably flush with the top layer on at least two sides, with a simulated pointing on at least one side. The pointing agent can be manufactured with a certain color to obtain aesthetic effect, or the color is added in the manufacturing process, or finishing material with a specific color is added on the surface of the pointing agent.

On the side of the core layer facing away from the top layer there may further be an additional bottom layer having sound damping properties. To this end, it can be considered that the low-density layer, for example having a foam structure in which closed or open cells are present, has a density of at least 85kg/m3, preferably a density of more than 130kg/m 3. The foam structure is typically obtained by adding a foaming agent to the melt before the melt is formed and hardened into a final shape. Common in the art are foamed layers consisting essentially of ethylene vinyl acetate, radiation crosslinked polyethylene, or similar alternative materials such as polyvinyl chloride. For environmental reasons, it is possible to consider selecting natural substances such as a cork layer or a layer of recycled PET (polyethylene terephthalate). Another benefit of such an acoustic damping layer is the reduction and smoothing of matrix irregularities, even further reducing the likelihood of the top layer breaking.