IP Library Granted Patent US 11,795,702
Granted Patent B2
US 11,795,702 · App. 18/087,299 · Granted Oct 24, 2023

Floor panel

Inventors: Laurent Meersseman (Mont de l' Enclus, BE); Martin Segaert (Ypres, BE); Mark Cappelle (Staden, BE)
Assignee: FLOORING INDUSTRIES LIMITED SARL
E04F15/107B27N7/00B32B3/06B32B5/18B32B7/12B32B21/02B32B21/08B32B27/08B32B27/30B32B27/304B32B27/32B32B27/40B32B37/10B32B37/153B44C1/10B44C5/043B44C5/0476E04B1/54E04F13/0866E04F13/0894E04F13/18E04F15/02E04F15/02022E04F15/02033E04F15/02038E04F15/102E04F15/105E04F15/18B32B38/145B32B2255/10B32B2255/26B32B2260/021B32B2262/067B32B2262/101B32B2266/0235B32B2266/0278B32B2307/412B32B2307/414B32B2307/712B32B2307/718B32B2307/7242B32B2307/732B32B2307/75B32B2309/02B32B2309/105B32B2310/0825B32B2310/0831B32B2317/16B32B2323/04B32B2323/10B32B2327/06B32B2419/04B32B2471/00B32B2479/00B32B2607/00E04F2201/0107E04F2201/0115E04F2201/0123E04F2201/0138E04F2201/0146E04F2201/0153E04F2201/0176E04F2201/023E04F2201/049E04F2201/0523E04F2201/0535E04F2201/0588E04F2201/091E04F2201/095E04F2201/098Y10T428/17Y10T428/195Y10T428/24488Y10T428/24777
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Quick Facts
Patent No.
US 11,795,702
App. No.
18/087,299
Granted
Oct 24, 2023
Kind
B2
Abstract

A floor panel has a rectangular and oblong shape, and includes a substrate and a top layer provided on the substrate and forming a decorative side of the floor panel. The top layer is composed of a print provided on a carrier sheet and a transparent thermoplastic layer situated above the print. The substrate has a thickness from 2 to 10 millimeter and forms at least half of the thickness of the floor panel. The substrate is a polyurethane-based substrate and the transparent thermoplastic layer is polyurethane-based. The floor panel has a length of more than 1.1 meters and has a plurality of reinforcing layers situated outside the center line of the substrate. A reinforcing layer may be provided in combination with the substrate and the top layer.

Claims (35)

1. A floor panel having a rectangular shape with two pairs of opposite edges, the floor panel comprising:

a waterproof substrate comprised of a single layer and defining a thickness of 2 to 10 millimeters; said thickness being more than half of the entire thickness of the floor panel; the substrate material being chosen from the list consisting of a polyvinyl chloride containing substrate, a polyethylene containing substrate, a polypropylene containing substrate, and a polyurethane containing substrate,

a top layer provided on the substrate, the top layer including a print provided on a carrier sheet with said carrier sheet being provided underneath said print,

a transparent thermoplastic layer of less than 1 millimeter thickness situated above said print;

the floor panel either being free from intermediate layers between said substrate and said carrier sheet, or including a glue layer between said substrate and said carrier sheet;

the floor panel, at least on one pair of two opposite edges, including mechanical coupling parts for coupling two of such floor panels to each other, such that a locking is created in a vertical direction perpendicular to the plane of coupled panels, and in a horizontal direction perpendicular to the coupled edges and in the plane of the panels; said coupling parts being substantially realized in said substrate material.

2. The floor panel of claim 1 , wherein said carrier sheet consists of a film selected from the list consisting of a polyvinylchloride film, a polyurethane film and a polypropylene film.

3. The floor panel of claim 1 , wherein said transparent thermoplastic layer is chosen from the list consisting of a polyvinyl chloride containing layer, a polyvinyl dichloride containing layer, a polyurethane containing layer and a polypropylene containing layer.

4. The floor panel of claim 1 , wherein said transparent thermoplastic layer comprises a lacquer layer.

5. The floor panel of claim 1 , wherein the whole of the top layer consists of an annealed or relaxed thermoplastic layer having a thickness between 0.5 and 3 millimeters.

6. The floor panel of claim 1 , wherein said substrate is a single layer.

7. The floor panel of claim 1 , wherein said substrate comprises fillers.

8. The floor panel of claim 7 , wherein said fillers comprise chalk.

9. A floor panel having a rectangular shape with two pairs of opposite edges, the floor panel comprising:

a waterproof substrate comprised of a single layer and defining a thickness of 2 to 10 millimeters; said thickness being more than half of the entire thickness of the floor panel; the substrate comprises thermoplastic material selected from the group consisting of polyvinyl chloride, polyethylene, polypropylene and polyurethane,

a top layer provided on the substrate, the top layer including a print provided on a carrier sheet with said carrier sheet being provided underneath said print,

a transparent thermoplastic layer of less than 1 millimeter thickness situated above said print;

the floor panel either being free from intermediate layers between said substrate and said carrier sheet, or including a glue layer between said substrate and said carrier sheet;

the floor panel, at least on one pair of two opposite edges, including mechanical coupling parts for coupling two of such floor panels to each other, such that a locking is created in a vertical direction perpendicular to the plane of coupled panels, and in a horizontal direction perpendicular to the coupled edges and in the plane of the panels; said coupling parts being substantially realized in said substrate.

10. The floor panel of claim 9 , wherein said carrier sheet consists of a film selected from the list consisting of a polyvinylchloride film, a polyurethane film and a polypropylene film.

11. The floor panel of claim 9 , wherein said transparent thermoplastic layer is chosen from the list consisting of a polyvinyl chloride containing layer, a polyvinyl dichloride containing layer, a polyurethane containing layer and a polypropylene containing layer.

12. The floor panel of claim 9 , wherein said transparent thermoplastic layer comprises a lacquer layer.

13. The floor panel of claim 9 , wherein the whole of the top layer consists of an annealed or relaxed thermoplastic layer having a thickness between 0.5 and 3 millimeters.

14. The floor panel of claim 9 , wherein said substrate comprises fillers.

15. The floor panel of claim 14 , wherein said fillers comprise chalk.

16. A floor panel having a rectangular shape with two pairs of opposite edges, the floor panel comprising:

a waterproof substrate comprised of a single layer and defining a thickness of 2 to 10 millimeters; said thickness being more than half of the entire thickness of the floor panel; the substrate comprises thermoplastic material and fillers, wherein the thermoplastic material comprises polyvinyl chloride and the fillers comprise chalk,

a top layer provided on the substrate, the top layer including a print provided on a carrier sheet with said carrier sheet being provided underneath said print,

a transparent thermoplastic layer of less than 1 millimeter thickness situated above said print;

the floor panel either being free from intermediate layers between said substrate and said carrier sheet, or including a glue layer between said substrate and said carrier sheet;

the floor panel, at least on one pair of two opposite edges, including mechanical coupling parts for coupling two of such floor panels to each other, such that a locking is created in a vertical direction perpendicular to the plane of coupled panels, and in a horizontal direction perpendicular to the coupled edges and in the plane of the panels; said coupling parts being substantially realized in said substrate.

17. The floor panel of claim 16 , wherein said carrier sheet consists of a film selected from the list consisting of a polyvinylchloride film.

18. The floor panel of claim 16 , wherein said transparent thermoplastic layer is chosen from the list consisting of a polyvinyl chloride based layer.

19. The floor panel of claim 16 , wherein said transparent thermoplastic layer comprises a lacquer layer.

20. The floor panel of claim 16 , wherein the whole of the top layer consists of an annealed or relaxed thermoplastic layer having a thickness between 0.5 and 3 millimeters.

Assignments (2)
NUNC PRO TUNC ASSIGNMENT Recorded Mar 18, 2024
From: FLOORING INDUSTRIES LIMITED, SARL
To: UNILIN BV
Reel/Frame 066805/0445 →
ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNOR'S INTEREST Recorded Dec 22, 2022
From: MEERSSEMAN, LAURENT; VANHASTEL, LUC; SEGAERT, MARTIN; CAPPELLE, MARK
To: FLOORING INDUSTRIES LIMITED SARL
Reel/Frame 062189/0331 →