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US 8,945,337 B2Granted
Method to produce a surface covering
AssigneeTarkett Inc.
InventorsVictor Caldas, Daniel Tremblay, Marcus Hyde, Jean-François Courtoy
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AssigneeTarkett Inc.
InventorsVictor Caldas, Daniel Tremblay, Marcus Hyde, Jean-François Courtoy
Estimating the term…
The present invention relates to a method to produce a polymeric sheet comprising the steps of providing an acid-based polymer, providing a neutralizing agent, the neutralizing agent being selected from the group consisting of an organic metallic compound, a metallic salt of a fatty acid, and an ionomer, or a mixture thereof, providing a processing oil, mixing said acid-based polymer, said neutralizing agent, said processing oil, to obtain a polymeric composition, and processing said polymeric composition to form a polymeric sheet. The polymeric sheet may be used as a component, or as a substrate, of a surface covering. The polymeric sheet may also be used to form polymeric particles which are component of so-called “homogenous”, or substrate-free, surface covering.
A method to produce a polymeric surface covering, said method comprising the steps of:
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.
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From the US filing history. Foreign family members aren’t listed.
With unsaturated acids, e.g. [meth]acrylic acid; with unsaturated esters, e.g. [meth]acrylic acid esters: salts thereof, i.e. ionomers
By dividing preformed material: in the form of plates or sheets
Of articles of indefinite length: calendering
Component parts, details or accessories; Auxiliary operations: heating or cooling
About 5 years 10 months of term left · ends 29 Aug 2032 (estimated)
The present invention relates to a method to produce a polymeric sheet, and in particular a polymeric surface covering, for example a floor covering.
Surface coverings, especially PVC-based surface coverings, are widely used to decorate buildings or houses surfaces as they are more pleasant, more aesthetic and more comfortable than a surface just painted.
However due to environmental issues on PVC coverings regarding VOC (Volatile Organic Compounds) release, plasticizers and thermal stabilizers toxicity, efforts on PVC alternatives were developed.
FIG. 1 is a schematic representation of the production line to implement the method according to the invention.
The present invention relates to a method to produce a polymeric sheet which is an element of a surface covering, in which the PVC and the phtalate plasticizers have been replaced by an acid-based polymer (homopolymer, copolymer or terpolymer). The surface covering is either a single polymeric sheet or a multiple layer surface covering comprising the polymeric sheet of the present invention. The surface covering can also be a so called “homogenous” surface covering, which is made of agglomerated and fused polymeric particles obtained by shredding the polymeric sheet.
The method according to the present invention, enables a significant improvement of the hot tensile strength of the polymeric sheet produced by the method according to the present invention, and an improvement of the extractability of such a sheet from the processing equipment, for example from the calender roll. This is achieved by the neutralisation of the acid of the acid-based polymer during the sheet manufacturing process.
It has been found that the partial or entire neutralisation of the acid groups of the acid-based polymer to form an ionomer generally lowers the polymeric sheet flexibility at room temperature. Consequently, it was possible to dose the neutralizing agent so as to attain the level of neutralisation necessary for the hot tensile strength that is required for the sheet extraction from the processing equipment and the sheet flexibility once the product is at room temperature.