US4312686A
Expired / Lapsed
US
⏱️ 0.0 years remaining
Printed and embossed floor covering and method and apparatus for its manufacture
Assignee: RESILIENT HOLDINGS Inc
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Filing: 1980-02-11
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Granted: 1982-01-26
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Expires: 2000-02-11
Abstract
Abstract Distortions during printing and laminating are minimized by printing the design on a stable base, preferably release paper, and then transferring the printed design to a hot plastic web made continuously by an extruder. A stress relieved hot plastic film is then laminated to the printed web to provide a protective wear coat. To emboss in register with the printed design, the laminated product is first aligned by means of registration marks that are printed along with the design. Embossing is then made using a conventional engraved roll having raised sections which are images of the printed design. After embossing, the web is partially cooled and annealed. It is then aligned with a die cutter using the same registration marks as used for alignment during embossing. As a result, individual tiles can be cut automatically in register to the printed and embossed pattern.
Inventors
- 👤 Merrill M. Smith
- 👤 Ernest R. Holmstrom
- 👤 Donald C. Ferguson
Bibliographic Details
Application Number
—
Jurisdiction
US
Data Source
google_patents
Last Synchronized
2026-10-31 18:02
CPC Classifications
B; B32; B32B; B32B38/00; B32B38/04; B29; B29C; B29C43/00; B29C43/22; B29C43/30; B29C43/305; B32B37/00; B32B37/14; B32B37/26; B32B38/06; B32B38/14; B41; B41F; B41F16/00; B41F19/00; B41F19/02; B41M; B41M1/00; B41M1/26; B41M1/30; D; D06; D06N; D06N7/00; D06N7/0005; D06N7/0007; D06N7/001; B32B2419/00; B32B2419/04; Y; Y10; Y10T; Y10T156/00; Y10T156/10; Y10T156/1002; Y10T156/1007; Y10T156/1023; Y10T156/1039; Y10T156/1041
Claims Analysis
Total Claims: 12
Claim 1
Independent Claim
335 words
A method of making, on a continuous basis, a composite vinyl tile comprising the steps of: forming a continuous base web on a moving supported surface, said web being formed from a vinyl composition, said moving surface being made of a material such that the base web will adhere to the surface when the web is hot but can be removed from it when the web is cooled, raising the temperature of said plastic web, transferring a printed design from a pre-printed stable carrier sheet to the continuous base web after said web has been heated, said printed design being formed by a vinyl material compatible with said base web, said printed design including a first portion which constitutes a decorative design for the finished product and a second portion which provides registration indicia for use in the manufacture thereof, laminating a clear plastic wear layer over the printed design on the hot base web, after the web is laminated, aligning the web by means of the printed registration indicia so that the web is aligned with an embossing roll in both the direction transverse to the direction of travel of the web and the direction that is the same as the direction of travel of the web, mechanically embossing the printed side of the base web with depressions in registration with the printed decorative design, cooling the base web, stripping the cooled web from the moving surface, after it has been stripped from the moving surface, annealing the web to remove the strains imparted by laminating and embossing, aligning the annealed web by means of the printed registration indicia so that the web is aligned with a cutting tool in both the direction transverse to the direction of travel of the web and the direction that is the same as the direction of travel of the web, cutting the continuous base web into discrete tiles so that the decorative design is in register with the edges of the tile, and cooling the cut tiles.
Claim 2
Independent Claim
335 words
A method of making, on a continuous basis, a composite vinyl tile comprising the steps of: forming a continuous base web on a moving supported surface, said web being formed from a vinyl composition, said moving surface being made of a material such that the base web will adhere to the surface when the web is hot but can be removed from it when the web is cooled, raising the temperature of said plastic web, transferring a printed design from a pre-printed stable carrier sheet to the continuous base web after said web has been heated, said printed design being formed by a vinyl material compatible with said base web, said printed design including a first portion which constitutes a decorative design for the finished product and a second portion which provides registration indicia for use in the manufacture thereof, laminating a clear plastic wear layer over the printed design on the hot base web, after the web is laminated, aligning the web by means of the printed registration indicia so that the web is aligned with an embossing roll in both the direction transverse to the direction of travel of the web and the direction that is the same as the direction of travel of the web, mechanically embossing the printed side of the base web with depressions in registration with the printed decorative design, cooling the base web, stripping the cooled web from the moving surface, after it has been stripped from the moving surface, annealing the web to remove the strains imparted by laminating and embossing, aligning the annealed web by means of the printed registration indicia so that the web is aligned with a cutting tool in both the direction transverse to the direction of travel of the web and the direction that is the same as the direction of travel of the web, cutting the continuous base web into discrete tiles so that the decorative design is in register with the edges of the tile, and cooling the cut tiles.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim
71 words
The method of claim 1 wherein said plastic base sheet is formed from a vinyl composition comprising a minor portion of plasticized vinyl chloride polymer, and/or vinyl acetate copolymer, containing at least 80% vinyl chloride, uniformly mixed with a major proportion of mineral filler, said minor portion constituting about 16 to 25% by weight of the composition and said major portion constituting about 75 to 84% by weight of the composition.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim
50 words
The method of claim 1 wherein said plastic base sheet is made of a material having substantially the following composition: ______________________________________
Component Weight Percent
______________________________________
Vinyl Chloride-Vinyl Acetate Copolymer
13.5
Butylbenzyl Phthalate 5.0
Epoxidized Soybean Oil
0.3
50 mesh Limestone 50.0
325 mesh Limestone 30.9
Barium Stearate 0.3
100.0
______________________________________
Claim 5
Dependent Claim
14 words
The method of claim 1 wherein said plastic composition material is a vinyl ink.
Claim 6
Dependent Claim
39 words
The method of claim 1 wherein the stable carrier sheet for the printed design is a release coated paper having an average basis weight in the range between 30 and 40 pounds and coated with a suitable release coating.
Claim 7
Dependent Claim
31 words
The method of claim 1 wherein said clear plastic wear layer is a vinyl film comprising a plasticized vinyl chloride polymer, and/or vinyl acetate copolymer, containing at least 90% vinyl chloride.
Claim 8
Dependent Claim
36 words
The method of claim 1 wherein said clear plastic wear layer has substantially the following composition: ______________________________________
Component Weight Percent
______________________________________
Polyvinyl Chloride
76.05
Dioctyl Phthalate 19.01
Epoxidized Soybean Oil
3.80
Barium Cadmium Laurate
1.14
______________________________________
Claim 9
Dependent Claim
87 words
The method of claim 1 wherein said plastic base web has an average thickness in the range of 30 to 120 mils (0.75 to 3 mm.), the printed design has an average thickness in the range of 0.1 to 1 mil (0.0025 to 0.025 mm.), the plastic wear layer has an average thickness in the range of about 3 to 12 mils (0.075 to 0.3 mm.) and the embossing depressions have an average depth in the range of about 6 to 14 mils (0.15 to 0.35 mm.).
Claim 10
Dependent Claim
140 words
The method of claim 1 wherein the plastic base web and the plastic wear layer are vinyl compositions and the plastic base web is heated to an average temperature in the range of about 200° F. to 280° F. (93° C. to 138° C.) prior to transfer printing, the stable carrier sheet is heated to an average temperature in the range of about 60° F. to 150° F. (16° C. to 66° C.) prior to transfer printing, the clear plastic wear layer is heated to an average temperature in the range of about 330° F. to 350° F. (166° C. to 177° C.) prior to laminating, and the clear plastic wear layer and the plastic base web are heated to an average temperature in the range of about 270° F. to 310° F. (132° C. to 154° C.) during lamination.
Claim 11
Dependent Claim
59 words
The method of claim 9 wherein the embossing roll is cooled to an average temperature in the range of about 60° F. to 80° F. (16° C. to 27° C.) and the embossed web is cooled to achieve an average web temperature in the range of about 110° F. to 140° F. (43° C. to 60° C.) before cutting.
Claim 12
Dependent Claim
10 words
A flooring tile made by the method of claim 1.
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USPTO Annuity & Maintenance Windows
| Annuity Stage | Window Opens | Payment Deadline | Surcharge Period Until | Estimated Fee | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3.5 Years (Year 4) | 1985-01-25 | 1985-07-27 | 1986-01-26 | $2000.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 7.5 Years (Year 8) | 1989-01-25 | 1989-07-27 | 1990-01-26 | $3760.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 11.5 Years (Year 12) | 1993-01-25 | 1993-07-27 | 1994-01-26 | $7700.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |