Floor panel
AssigneeUnilin BV
InventorsKristof Van Vlassenrode, Paul Brusseel, Nick Vanhulle, Jochen Bossuyt
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Abstract
A floor panel with a substrate, including thermoplastic material, a decor provided thereon, and, on at least one pair of opposite edges, coupling parts realized at least partially from the substrate. The coupling parts allow a mechanical locking between two of such floor panels, where the substrate includes a rigid, non-foamed substrate layer of thermoplastic material.
Claims22
A floor panel comprising a substrate and a decor provided thereon, wherein said substrate comprises a rigid substrate layer of thermoplastic material, and wherein said rigid substrate layer of thermoplastic material is foamed;
- wherein the thermoplastic material of said rigid substrate layer is polyvinyl chloride and comprises an impact modifier, a stabilizer, a color pigment and a proportion of fillers between 30 and 70 percent by weight;
- wherein said rigid substrate layer has a density between 1300 and 2000 kg/m3;
- wherein on at least one pair of opposite edges, said floor panel comprises coupling parts, said coupling parts allowing to effect a mechanical locking between two of such floor panels;
- wherein said coupling parts are realized as a tongue and groove connection, the groove being bordered by an upper lip and a lower lip, and wherein the tongue and groove connection comprises locking elements;
- wherein said upper lip and said lower lip are at least partially realized from said rigid substrate layer;
- wherein said rigid substrate layer comprises plasticizers in an amount of less than 15 phr or does not comprise any plasticizer at all, and wherein said floor panel has a modulus of elasticity of at least 2000 N per square millimeter.
A floor panel comprising a substrate and a decor provided thereon, wherein said substrate comprises a rigid substrate layer of thermoplastic material, and wherein said rigid substrate layer of thermoplastic material is foamed and formed by extrusion of a composition consisting essentially of polyvinyl chloride, an impact modifier, a stabilizer, a color pigment and a proportion of inorganic or mineral filler between 30 and 70 percent by weight;
- wherein said rigid substrate layer has a density between 1300 and 2000 kg/m3;
- wherein on at least one pair of opposite edges of the substrate, coupling parts are realized at least partially from the substrate, wherein said coupling parts are configured to, in a coupled condition of two such floor panels, effect a mechanical locking at said one pair of opposite edges, wherein said mechanical locking is operative in both a horizontal direction and a vertical direction, said coupling parts being realized as a tongue and groove connection, the groove being bordered by an upper and a lower lip, wherein said tongue and groove connection comprises locking elements in the form of a protrusion at a lower side of the tongue and a recess in an upper side of the lower lip, which, in a coupled condition, counteract the moving apart of the tongue and the groove in a horizontal direction, wherein said mechanical locking is realized by cooperating locking surfaces of said tongue and groove and locking elements;
- wherein said upper lip and said lower lip are at least partially realized from said rigid substrate layer;
- wherein a center line through said tongue is in said rigid substrate layer and wherein said groove comprises a most inwardly located point, said point being situated in said rigid substrate layer;
- wherein zones in which the locking surfaces cooperate are situated at least partially in said rigid substrate layer;
- wherein said rigid substrate layer comprises plasticizers in an amount of less than 15 phr or does not comprise any plasticizer at all, wherein a thickness of said rigid substrate layer is at least 65% of an overall thickness of said floor panel;
- wherein said overall thickness of said floor panel is between 3 and 10 mm, the floor panel showing a modulus of elasticity or Young's modulus of at least 2000 N per square millimeter.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.