Floor panel, as well as method, device and accessories for manufacturing such floor panel

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9249580-B2
Application number	US-31529005-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Dec 23, 2005
Priority date	Dec 23, 2004
Publication date	Feb 2, 2016
Grant date	Feb 2, 2016

Abstract

Floor panel, more particularly a laminate floor panel, which, at least at two opposite edges ( 2 - 3 - 4 - 5 ), is provided with coupling parts ( 6 - 7 - 8 - 9 ), whereby this floor panel ( 1 ), at its decorative side, forms an imitation of wood, from which, by means of a tool, wood portions have been removed from the surface, more particularly forms an imitation of so-called scraped wood, and whereby this floor panel ( 1 ) comprises a decor ( 10 ) representing a wood pattern ( 18 ), a top layer ( 11 ) on the basis of synthetic material ( 12 ), and an underlying substrate ( 13 ), whether or not composed of several layers or parts, characterized in that the floor panel ( 1 ), in the surface over which the decor ( 10 ) extends, is provided with embossed portions ( 19 and/or 20 ) continuing up into the aforementioned substrate ( 13 ), whereby these embossed portions ( 19 and/or 20 ) are at least applied in order to imitate the aforementioned removed wood portions.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. Floor panel including an oblong rectangular top surface surrounded by edge portions; and said floor panel further comprising:
an underlying substrate formed from a material selected from the group consisting of MDF and HDF;
at least two opposite side edges having coupling parts;
a decorative side having an appearance imitating a wood surface from which portions have been removed by a tool so as to resemble scraped wood;
a decor layer including a carrier paper and a printed wood pattern located on the carrier paper, the decor layer continuously extending over substantially the entire decorative side of the panel, the carrier paper being intermediate to the underlying substrate and the printed wood pattern that is located on the carrier paper;
a top layer comprising a synthetic material and continuously extending over the decor layer; and
embossments in at least a portion of the surface of the decorative side of the floor panel over which the decor and top layers extend, said embossments formed from and extending into the underlying substrate and providing said appearance imitating a wood surface from which portions have been removed by a tool to resemble scraped wood, the decor layer extending continuously across the entirety of the embossments and following contours of the embossments, the printed wood pattern extending into the embossments;
said embossments each defining a generally planar configuration in a transverse direction of the floor panel and extending in the form of longitudinal paths over the rectangular top surface of the floor panel in a longitudinal direction of the floor panel, said embossments are located between and spaced apart by a distance from the at least two opposite side edges;
wherein said embossments, in the transverse direction, have a cross-section defined by opposed slopes bounding the generally planar configuration.

2. Floor panel according to claim 1 , wherein the decor layer represents a wood pattern and the wood pattern comprises at least one edge area in which a visual edge effect is integrated.

3. Floor panel according to claim 1 , wherein the depths of the embossments in the underlying substrate measured from their peaks to their deepest portions are at least 0.4 mm.

4. Floor panel according to claim 1 , wherein substantially an entire core of the floor panel comprises said underlying substrate, the underlying substrate being compacted not exceeding 1% of the original thickness before embossment.

5. Floor panel according to claim 1 , wherein the top layer is a DPL (Direct Pressure Laminate), the top layer including a thermosetting melamine resin.

6. Floor panel according to claim 5 , wherein said top layer comprises at least two layers, including the decor layer which is resin-impregnated, and an overlay.

7. Floor panel according to claim 1 , wherein the thickness of the top layer is smaller than 0.2 mm.

8. Floor panel according to claim 1 , wherein the top layer comprises a thermosetting melamine resin.

9. Floor panel according to claim 1 , wherein the depth of the embossments of said embossed portion of the decorative side measured from an un-embossed portion of the upper side of the panel to the deepest point of the embossments is less than 1.5 mm.

10. Floor panel according to claim 1 , wherein the depth of the embossments of said embossed portion of the decorative side measured from an un-embossed portion of the upper side of the panel to the deepest point of the embossments is at least 0.4 mm.

11. Floor panel according to claim 1 , wherein the decor layer has a pattern representing wood with portions removed from the surface thereof, and the embossments of the embossed portion substantially correspond to the pattern of the decor layer representing wood with portions removed from the surface.

12. Floor panel according to claim 1 , wherein the embossments imitate a wood surface from which wood has been removed by a tool so as to imitate scraped wood in the at least one edge portion.

13. Floor panel according to claim 12 , the panel having an upper surface, and including embossments imitating removed wood portions that merge from the panel upper surface into each respective sloping edge portion.

14. Floor panel according to claim 1 , wherein the decor layer includes a main pattern and the edge portion extends substantially over the main pattern.

15. Floor panel according to claim 14 , wherein the main pattern comprises a wood pattern.

16. Floor panel according to claim 1 , wherein the floor panel is provided with an edge area over which the decor layer extends and in which a visual edge effect is provided, said edge effect comprising a shadow effect in the decor layer in the edge area.

17. Floor panel according to claim 1 , the panel having an upper side, the decor layer represents a wood pattern and the upper side of the panel includes secondary embossments imitating wood pores.

18. Floor panel according to claim 17 , wherein the secondary embossments imitating the wood pores correspond to the wood pattern.

19. Floor panel according to claim 17 , including at least one sloping edge portion, wherein the secondary embossments imitating the wood pores are present in at least some of the embossments simulating removed wood portions.

20. Floor panel according to claim 17 , wherein the depths of the secondary embossments imitating the wood pores are smaller than the thickness of the top layer.

21. Floor panel according to claim 1 , including one or more upper edges, which, when two of such panels are joined, rest against each other, with the decor layer extending to the upper edges.

22. Floor panel according to claim 1 , wherein a thickness of the top layer decreases along the opposed slopes from a nominal thickness at an un-embossed upper side of the floor panel outside the embossment to a deepest point of the embossment defined along the generally planar configuration.

23. Floor panel according to claim 1 , wherein a depth of the embossment defined as a height difference between an un-embossed upper side of the floor panel and a deepest point of the embossment is larger than a nominal thickness of the top layer.

24. Floor panel, comprising an oblong rectangular top surface surrounded by edge portions; and said floor panel further comprising:
an underlying substrate;
at least two opposite edges having coupling parts;
a decor layer including a carrier paper and a printed wood pattern located on the carrier paper, the decor layer continuously extending over substantially the entire decorative side of the panel, the carrier paper being intermediate to the underlying substrate and the printed wood pattern that is located on the carrier paper;
a top layer comprising a synthetic material extending over the decor layer;
wherein the decor and top layers continuously extend over the underlying substrate;
wherein said decor layer extends over substantially the entire floor panel;
wherein a surface of the panel over which the decor layer extends is provided with at least two different portions formed by means of embossing, including at least a scraped wood embossed portion formed from and extending into said underlying substrate, and at least a wood pore embossed portion substantially extending locally in the top layer, the decor layer and the printed wood pattern on the decor layer extending continuously across and into the entirety of the scraped wood embossed portion and follow

Assignees

• Meersseman Laurent
• Vandevoorde Christian
• Thiers Bernard
• Flooring Ind Ltd Sarl

Inventors

• Meersseman Laurent
• Vandevoorde Christian
• Thiers Bernard

Classifications

• B44C3/08

  Stamping or bending · CPC title

• E04F15/02033 Primary

  Joints with beveled or recessed upper edges · CPC title

• E04F2201/026

  with rabbets, e.g. being stepped · CPC title

• E04F15/02038

  characterised by tongue and groove connections between neighbouring flooring elements · CPC title

• E04F2201/0115

  with snap action of the edge connectors · CPC title