FLOOR PANEL AND METHOD FOR MANUFACTURING FLOOR PANELS

Abstract

A floor panel has a substrate and a decorative layer of wood veneer provided thereon having a thickness of 1 millimeter or less. The substrate has an average density of more than 750 kilograms per cubic meter. The floor panel is rectangular and oblong and comprises a pair of opposite short edges and a pair of opposite long edges. The floor panel, on at least said two opposite long edges, is provided with coupling means allowing that two of such floor panels can be coupled to each other in a vertical direction perpendicular to the plane of the coupled panels and in a horizontal direction in this plane and perpendicular to the respective edge. The wood veneer and/or the substrate immediately underneath the wood veneer is treated at least at the short edges with a fluoro copolymer or a polymeric methylene diphenyl diisocyanate.

Claims

1. A floor panel with a substrate and a provided thereon decorative layer of wood veneer having a thickness of 2 mm or less; wherein said substrate has an average density of more than 750 kilograms per cubic meter; wherein said substrate has a swelling of less than 15%, as measured according to EN 317:1993; and wherein said decorative layer is provided on the substrate by means of a layer on the basis of thermosetting resin situated between the substrate and the decorative layer.

2. The floor panel of claim 1, wherein said wood veneer has a of 1 millimeter or less.

3. The floor panel of claim 2, wherein said wood veneer has thickness between 0.3 and 1 millimeters.

4. The floor panel of claim 1, wherein said substrate, at the surface where the decorative layer is situated, has a density of more than 900 kilograms per cubic meter.

5. The floor panel of claim 1, wherein said substrate is a wood fiberboard of an HDF type.

6. The floor panel of claim 1, wherein said thermosetting resin relates to a melamine-based resin.

7. The floor panel of claim 1, wherein said substrate has a thickness between 5 and 15 millimeters.

8. The floor panel of claim 1, wherein said wood veneer has a thickness between 0.3 and 1 millimeter.

9. The floor panel of claim 1, wherein said decorative layer of wood veneer consists of hardwood on the top of the said decorative layer.

10. The floor panel of claim 1, wherein said decorative layer of wood veneer is at least partially impregnated by means of the aforementioned thermosetting resin.

11. The floor panel of claim 1, wherein said decorative layer comprises a transparent or translucent surface material at the surface.

12. The floor panel of claim 11, wherein said transparent or translucent surface material is a UV-hardened lacquer.

13. The floor panel of claim 11, wherein said transparent or translucent surface material is a polyurethane-based or polyacrylate-based lacquer.

14. The floor panel of claim 11, wherein said transparent or translucent surface material is obtained on the basis of said thermosetting resin.

15. The floor panel of claim 11, wherein said transparent or translucent surface material comprises 15 to 30 percent by weight of hard particles.

16. The floor panel of claim 11, wherein said transparent or translucent surface material follows a possible relief present on the surface of the wood veneer.

17. The floor panel of claim 1, wherein said floor panel is provided with lower edge regions on one or more edges and wherein said wood veneer extends in one piece from on the surface of the substrate over said lower edge regions.

18. The floor panel of claim 17, wherein said lower edge region forms a bevel or other chamfer, wherein the wood veneer extends over the lower edge region at least up to a point, wherein the veneer surface is situated on a level in a horizontal plane which intersects said substrate.

19. The floor panel of claim 1, wherein said layer on the basis of thermosetting resin extends uninterruptedly underneath the entire wood veneer.

20. The floor panel of claim 1, wherein this floor panel, on at least two opposite edges, is provided with coupling means allowing that two of such floor panels can be coupled to each other in a vertical direction perpendicular to the plane of the coupled panels and in a horizontal direction in this plane and perpendicular to the respective edge.

21. The floor panel of claim 20, wherein said at least two opposite edges are short edges and wherein at least one of said short edges is provided with a male coupling part and at least one of said short edges is provided with a female coupling part and wherein a coupling of said male coupling part and said female coupling part is obtained at least by means of downward movement allowing locking in a vertical direction, as a result of a pair of cooperating protrusions and recesses, said recesses being partially formed by a resilient element present in the female coupling part.

22. The floor panel of claim 1, wherein on the bottom side of the substrate a backing layer is provided, on the basis of a paper sheet impregnated with resin or a wood veneer layer attached to the substrate by means of a thermosetting resin.

23. A method for manufacturing floor panels, wherein these floor panels comprise at least a substrate and a provided thereon decorative layer of wood veneer, wherein the method comprises at least the following steps: the step of providing a base plate having an average density of 750 kilograms per cubic meter or more, wherein said base plate has a swelling of less than 15%, as measured according to EN 317:1993; the step of composing a stack which comprises at least the structured base plate, a layer on the basis of thermosetting resin on said stack and one or more wood veneers; the step of pressing said stack in a heated press, wherein said layer on the basis of thermosetting resin is hardened, such that said veneers are adhered to the base plate; the step of dividing the pressed whole into panels, of which panels said floor panels can be formed; the step of finishing said panels to form said floor panels.

24. The method of claim 23, wherein said layer on the basis of thermosetting resin is provided at least partially in a powder form.

25. The method of claim 23, wherein said step of pressing in a heated press is performed at a temperature of more than 80° C., and/or at least the upper surface of the base plate has a temperature of more than 60° C. during the pressing step.

26. A method for manufacturing floor panels, wherein these floor panels comprise at least a substrate and a provided thereon decorative layer of wood veneer, wherein the method comprises at least the following steps: the step of providing a base plate having an average density of 750 kilograms per cubic meter or more and wherein said base plate has a swelling of less than 15%, as measured according to EN 317:1993; the step of composing a stack comprising at least the base plate, a resin layer, and one or more wood veneers; the step of pressing said stack in a press, wherein said base plate is deformed, such that the upper surface of said base plate shows a structure, and that said wood veneers at least partially follow the contour of the structured upper surface of the base plate; the step of dividing the pressed whole into panels, of which panels the aforementioned floor panels can be formed; the step of finishing said panels to form said floor panels.

27. The method of claim 26, wherein said floor panel is provided with lower edge regions on one or more edges; wherein said wood veneer extends in one piece from on the surface of the substrate over said lower edge regions; wherein said lower edge region forms a bevel or chamfer, wherein the wood veneer extends over the lower edge region at least up to a point, wherein the veneer surface is situated on a level in a horizontal plane which intersects said substrate; and wherein the wood veneer defines a thickness tapering over the chamfer from a first thickness at the surface of the substrate to a second thickness at the lower edge regions, the second thickness being less than the first thickness.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0071] With the intention of better showing the characteristics of the invention, hereafter, as an example without any limitative character, some preferred embodiments are described, with reference to the accompanying drawings, wherein:

[0072] FIG. 1 in perspective represents a floor panel having the characteristics of the invention;

[0073] FIGS. 2 and 3, at a larger scale, represent a cross-section according to the lines II-II and III-III, respectively, shown in FIG. 1;

[0074] FIG. 4, in a view similar to that of FIG. 2, represents a variant;

[0075] FIG. 5, at a larger scale, represents the floor panel of FIG. 4 in coupled condition;

[0076] FIG. 6, at a larger scale, shows a view of the area indicated by F6 in FIG. 2;

[0077] FIGS. 7 and 8, in a view similar to that of FIG. 6, represent variants; and

[0078] FIGS. 9 and 10 illustrate a step in a method with the characteristics of the invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF VARIOUS EMBODIMENTS

[0079] FIG. 1 represents a decorative panel, more particularly a floor panel 1, in accordance with the invention. The panel 1 is rectangular and oblong and comprises a pair of opposite short edges 2-3 and a pair of opposite long edges 4-5. The decorative top layer 6 is formed by a wood veneer 7 having a thickness of 1 millimeter or less; in this case, the veneer has a thickness T1 of approximately 0.6 millimeters.

[0080] FIG. 2 clearly shows that the decorative panel 1 comprises a substrate material 8 on which the wood veneer 7 is provided by means of a layer on the basis of thermosetting resin 9, which is situated between the substrate and the decorative layer. According to the invention, the substrate material 8 has an average density of more than 750 kilograms per cubic meter. In this case, this relates to a HDF plate material having an average density of 900 kilograms per square meter and a surface density of more than 1000 kilograms per square meter. On the edges 2-3 and 4-5, mechanical coupling means 10 are formed in the substrate material by means of milling. On the bottom side of the substrate material 8, a backing layer 11 is provided, for example, glued or fixed in another manner against the substrate material 8. According to a preferred embodiment of the invention, such backing layer 11 is also attached to the substrate material 8 by means of a layer of thermosetting resin. Such backing layer 11 preferably is made of a wooden veneer layer having a thickness T2 of at least 50 percent of the decorative top layer. Still better, and in accordance with the particular independent aspect mentioned in the introduction, the decorative top layer or the wood veneer 7 and the backing layer 11 differ from each other at least in that the wood veneer of the backing layer 11 is thicker than the wood veneer 7 of the top layer. The backing layer 11 may consist, for example, of a “rotary peeled veneer” having a thickness T2 of 1.5 millimeters or thicker, whereas the wood veneer 7 of the top layer is a veneer having a thickness T1 of less than 1 millimeter. According to a variant, for the backing layer 11 a similar composed veneer 7 can be used as for the top layer.

[0081] FIGS. 2 and 3 represent that both pairs of opposite edges 2-3-4-5 are provided with mechanical coupling means 10 which substantially are realized as a tongue 12 and a groove 13 bordered by an upper lip 14 and a lower lip 15, wherein the tongue 12 and the groove 12 substantially are responsible for the locking in a vertical direction V, and wherein the tongue 12 and the groove 13 are provided with additional locking parts 16-17, which substantially are responsible for the locking in a horizontal direction H. Preferably, the locking parts comprise a protrusion 16 on the bottom side of the tongue 12 and a recess 17 in the lower groove lip 15. The coupling means 10 represented in FIGS. 2 and 3 allow at least a coupling by means of a rotational movement W around the respective edges 2-3-4-5 and/or a coupling by means of a shifting movement S in a substantially horizontal manner of the edges 2-3-4-5 to be coupled towards each other.

[0082] FIGS. 4 and 5 represent a variant with a pair of short edges 2-3 which allow obtaining a coupling at least by means of a downward movement D. An edge 2 is provided with a male coupling part 18, whereas the other edge 3 is provided with a female coupling part 19. By means of the downward movement D, the male coupling part 18 is pressed into the female coupling part 19 in order to be locked in the vertical direction V, as a result of a pair of cooperating protrusions 20 and recesses 21. In this case, the recess 21 is partially formed by a resilient element 22 present in the female coupling part 19.

[0083] FIG. 6 represents a detail of the upper edge of the floor panel of FIG. 2. It is clearly shown that the layer of thermosetting resin 9 can penetrate partially into the substrate material 8 and partially into the wood veneer 7 of the top layer.

[0084] FIG. 6 further clearly shows that the decorative layer 6 shows transparent or translucent surface material 23 at the surface. In this case, this relates to a material having a matte structure, namely with a gloss degree of 10 or less, as measured according to DIN 67530.

[0085] The floor panel of the FIGS. 1 to 8 is provided with lower edge regions on one or more edges 2-3-4-5, wherein the wood veneer 7 extends in one piece from on the surface 25 of the substrate 8 over these lower edge regions 24. In the example, the lower edge regions 24 are realized as a chamfer or bevel. The wood veneer 7 extends over the lower edge region 24 at least up to a point 26, wherein the veneer surface is situated on a level L in a horizontal plane which intersects the aforementioned substrate 8. At the location of the lower edge regions 24, the wood veneer 7 on average has a thickness TB which is smaller than the global thickness T1 of the wood veneer 7. On these edges, the wood veneer 7 is compressed or indented. In the present case, the substrate material 8, too, is indented at the location of these edges. This compressing of the wood veneer 7 leads to an increased resistance against moisture penetration. Preferably, the average thickness TB of the wood veneer on the lower edge regions is less than 85% of the global thickness T1 of the wood veneer.

[0086] In the examples, the thermosetting resin 9 extends uninterruptedly underneath the entire wood veneer 7, including the lower edge regions 24.

[0087] The surface material 25 follows the relief of the wood veneer 7 at least over the lowered edges 24 or chamfers.

[0088] FIG. 7 represents that the thermosetting resin 9 may comprise wear-resistant particles 26, preferably of an average particle size of 20 micrometers or more. These particles penetrate into the wood veneer 7 at the bottom side and provide for a barrier there against the complete wearing through of the veneer 7. Such wear-resistant particles may also be situated in the surface material 25, or only in the surface material 25, however, preferably with a smaller average particle size, for example, of 10 micrometers or less.

[0089] FIG. 8 represents another variant, wherein the thermosetting resin 9 encloses a material sheet, such as a paper sheet 27. Preferably, this relates to a paper sheet 27 having a surface weight between 50 and 150 grams per square meter. Preferably, the thermosetting resin 9 is provided by means of this paper sheet 27, namely in that this paper sheet is impregnated with resin 9, preferably is saturated with resin, and in this manner is placed on the substrate material 8.

[0090] FIG. 9 represents a stack 28, which is pressed by means of the method of the second and the third aspect. For the press treatment, a structured press element 29 is applied. The stack 28 comprises a base plate 8A having an average density of more than 750 kilograms per cubic meter, a layer of thermosetting resin 9 and a wood veneer 7 for forming the decorative top layer 6. Further, the stack 28 also comprises a wood veneer for forming the backing layer 11 and a layer of thermosetting resin 9 for attaching this backing layer 11 against the bottom side of the base plate 8a. In the example, the layers with thermosetting resin 9 each time are realized by means of a paper sheet 27 which is impregnated with this resin. The wood veneer 7 comprises a sewing connection 30 which is positioned above a portion 31 of the base plate 8A which has to be removed in following treatments for dividing and for forming coupling means 10, which latter here already are represented in dashed line. In the example, the base plate 8 shows a flat upper surface 25. However, it is not excluded that the upper surface may be pre-formed, entirely or partially, in accordance with the applied press element 29.

[0091] FIG. 10 represents the obtained pressed whole 32. Herein, the decorative top layer 6 and the backing layer 11 is represented only schematically as a single layer, namely, without showing the layers with resin 9 and the paper sheets 27. This shows that the veneer 7 and the backing layer 11 are adhered to the base plate 8A by means of the hardened resin 9. Moreover, the base plate 8A is deformed such that the upper surface 25 shows a structure. The wood veneer 7 follows the contour of the structured upper surface 25. Hereby, in this case is obtained that the wood veneer 7 shows a relief of scraped parquet with lowered edges 24.

[0092] The present invention is in no way limited to the herein above-described embodiments, on the contrary may such methods and decorative panels be realized according to various variants, without leaving the scope of the present invention.