Method for producing a decorated wall or floor panel

Abstract

The disclosure relates to a carrier material for producing a carrier for a decorated wall or floor panel, wherein the carrier material comprises a matrix material having a plastic and a solid material, wherein the solid material is formed by talc in a proportion of at least 50 wt.-%, in particular at least 80 wt.-%, in particular at least 95 wt.-% in relation to the solid material, wherein the matrix material is present in a quantity of >30 wt.-% to <70 wt.-%, in particular >40 wt.-% to <60 wt.-% in relation to the carrier material, and wherein the solid material is present in a quantity of >30 wt.-% to <70 wt.-%, in particular >40 wt.-% to <60 wt.-% in relation to the carrier material, and wherein the matrix material and the solid material together are present in a quantity of >95 wt.-%, in particular 99 wt.-% in relation to the carrier material. In summary, said carrier material provides the advantage of good producibility alongside high dimensional stability, in particular relating to moisture and temperature influence, and good mechanical characteristics. The disclosure also relates to a method for producing a decorated wall or floor panel with the carrier according to the disclosure.

Claims

1. A carrier material for producing a carrier for a decorated wall or floor panel, wherein the carrier material comprises i) a matrix material including a plastic material and ii) a solid material, wherein the solid material comprises talcum to at least 50 wt.-%, wherein the matrix material is present in the carrier material in an amount from 30 wt.-% to 70 wt.-%, and wherein the solid material is present in the carrier material in an amount from 30 wt.-% to 70 wt.-%, and wherein the matrix material and the solid material together are present in the carrier material in an amount of 95 wt.-%, wherein the matrix material comprises polypropylene, wherein the polypropylene comprises a mixture of a homopolymer and a copolymer, and wherein the homopolymer of the polypropylene has a melt mass flow rate of 50 g/10 min, and wherein the melt flow rate of the homopolymer is greater than the melt flow rate of the copolymer, and wherein the homopolymer in the polypropylene is present in an amount from 10 wt.-% to 40 wt.-%, and/or that the copolymer in the polypropylene is present in an amount from 60 wt.-% to 90 wt.-%.

2. The carrier material according to claim 1, wherein talcum is present in the form of particles having a particle size D.sub.50 in a range from 3 m to 6 m, and/or that talcum is present in the form of particles having a particle size D.sub.98 in a range from 10 m to 30 m.

3. The carrier material according to claim 1, wherein the copolymer has a ball indentation hardness of 15 MPa.

4. The carrier material according to claim 1 wherein the density of the copolymer is greater than or equal to the density of the homopolymer.

5. The carrier material according to claim 1, wherein the matrix material further comprises polyethylene in the form of LDPE.

6. The carrier material according to claim 5, wherein the matrix material is free of an adhesion promoter.

7. The carrier material according to claim 1, wherein the carrier material consists of the plastic material, talcum and optionally an adhesion promoter.

8. The carrier material according to claim 1, wherein the solid material in addition to talcum comprises at least one further solid.

9. The carrier material according to claim 8, wherein the further solid has a bulk density in a range of 2000 kg/m.sup.3, and/or that the further solid is selected from the group consisting of wood, expanded clay, volcanic ash, pumice, cellular concrete, foams and cellulose.

10. A decorated wall or floor panel, comprising a carrier and a decoration applied onto the carrier, wherein a top layer provided with a structure is applied on top of the decoration, wherein the carrier comprises a carrier material according to claim 1.

Description

DRAWINGS

(1) The drawings described herein are for illustrative purposes only of selected embodiments and not all possible implementations, and are not intended to limit the scope of the present disclosure.

(2) The disclosure is further explained below with reference to the Figures and an exemplary embodiment.

(3) FIG. 1 schematically shows an embodiment of a device according to the disclosure for performing a part of the method according to the disclosure; and

(4) FIG. 2 shows an exemplary S-roller for performing a step of the method according to the disclosure.

(5) Corresponding reference numerals indicate corresponding parts throughout the several views of the drawings.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

(6) Example embodiments will now be described more fully with reference to the accompanying drawings.

(7) The device 10 of FIG. 1 is adapted for a method for producing a decorated wall or floor panel. Herein, with reference to FIG. 1 in particular processing stations for the following steps are described: a) providing a pourable carrier material 20, in particular a granulate, b) placing the carrier material 20 between two belt-like conveying means 12, 14, c) molding the carrier material 20 under the action of heat to form a web-shaped carrier 36, d) compressing the carrier 36, e) treating the support 36 under the action of temperature and pressure, in particular by use of a twin belt press, f) optionally cooling the carrier 36,

(8) The device 10 according to FIG. 1 first of all comprises two circumferential belt-like conveying means 12, 14, which in particular are passed through guide rollers 16 such that between them a receiving space 18 for receiving and processing a provided pourable, in particular granular carrier material 20 is formed. The carrier material 20 comprises i) a matrix material including a plastic material and ii) a solid material, wherein the solid material consists of talcum to at least 50 wt.-%, in particular at least 80 wt.-%, in particular at least 95 wt.-%, based on the solid material, wherein the matrix material, based on the carrier material, is present in an amount from 30 wt.-% to 70 wt.-%, in particular 40 wt.-% to 60 wt.-%, and wherein the solid material, based on the carrier material, is present in an amount from 30 wt.-% to 70 wt.-%, in particular 40 wt.-% to 60 wt.-%, and wherein the carrier material and the solid material, based on the carrier material 20, in common are present in an amount of 95 wt.-%, in particular 99 wt.-%.

(9) In particular, the carrier material 20 may further be provided by use of a kneader mixer, in which the starting materials are mixed and conveyed by means of a worm and thus are pressed through a perforated plate and cut in small particles, for example, by means of an angled cutter, so as to obtain a granulate material.

(10) The conveying means 12, 14 may be at least partially constructed of polytetrafluoroethylene, for example, be coated therewith. Furthermore, the conveying means 12, 14 may at least partially be roughened or structured in particular on their side facing the receiving space 18. Moreover, the conveying means 12, 14 may have a width in a range of about 1.5 m.

(11) In order to apply the carrier material 20 between the belt-like conveying means 12, 14 or in the receiving space 18, a discharge unit 22 with one or a plurality of discharge heads 24 is provided, by means of which the carrier material 20 can be placed on the lower conveying means 14. The discharge heads 24 can comprise a funnel 25 which applies the carrier material 20 onto corresponding scattering rollers 26, whereupon the carrier material 20 can be scattered onto the lower conveying means 14.

(12) In order to ensure a homogeneous application of the carrier material 20 onto the lower conveying means 14 a sensor for checking the placement of the carrier material 20 between the two belt-like conveying means 12, 14 may be provided. The sensor can in particular be coupled with the discharge unit 22 in order to immediately correct a potentially inaccurate filling of the receiving space 18.

(13) In order to enable a homogeneous distribution of the carrier material 20, moreover, vibrators may be provided. These may, for example, act on the lower conveying means 14 and may be arranged, for example, below the lower conveying means 14, such that the carrier material 20 is finely distributed.

(14) In order to prevent an unwanted contamination and a damage of downstream processing stations, moreover a sensor for detecting metals can be provided, which is able to detect inadvertently introduced metal.

(15) Furthermore, a molding unit 28 is provided in the conveying direction of the conveying means 12, 14, which is indicated by the arrow 13, wherein the molding unit is adapted to mold the carrier material 20 under the action of temperature or heat to fuse the carrier material 20 in order to form a web-shaped carrier 36. For this purpose, the molding unit 28 may have two plate-like molding means 30, 32 which can be heated by one or a plurality of heating means 34, for example by means of a thermal oil. As a result, the carrier material 20 can be heated until, for example depending on the melting point of the carrier material 20 or a portion thereof, it has reached a temperature, for example and depending on the material used, from 180 to 200 C. To this end, the molding unit 28 or the molding means 30, 32 can be heated, for example, to a temperature of up to 250 C. To this end, for example, one or for setting a temperature gradient a plurality of independently adjustable heating sections can be provided. For example, the entire molding means 30, 32 which may have a length of several meters, can be heatable, or only a part thereof can be heatable.

(16) Furthermore, the molding unit 28 can in particular comprise a parallel gap which can be formed by the plate-like molding means 30, 32. In this case, however, at the inlet an inlet mouth can be provided by a conical form in order to allow an improved inflow of the carrier material 20. The force acting on the carrier material 20 may here be in a range of >0 kg/m.sup.2 up to 1 kg/m.sup.2. In this manner, in particular a uniform pressurization can be provided without the provision of a pressure profile or a pressure gradient.

(17) In FIG. 1 it can also be seen that the lower molding means 32 is longer than the upper molding means 30 and also starts before the upper one. Thereby it can be achieved that a processing takes place only when the carrier material 20 is already molten or is at least partially molten and at least partially softened. This enables a particularly defined shaping process.

(18) In the further course in the conveying direction of the conveying units 12, 14 the web-shaped carrier 36 is fed through a pressing means 38. The pressing means 38 can, for example, include an S-roller, which is shown in detail in FIG. 2. The S-roller may be displaceable substantially perpendicular to the surface of the carrier 36 and thus to the travel direction of the carrier 36, as indicated by the arrow 58, so that the desired pressures can be particularly advantageously be adjustable. Furthermore, the pressing means 38 can for example apply a pressure onto the carrier 36 in a range of 1 kg/m.sup.2 to 3 kg/m.sup.2. The S-roller comprises a main roller 60 which acts on the web-shaped carrier 36. Here, in some circumstances the belt tension may be sufficient as counter-pressure, however, it is preferred that at least one counter-pressure roller 62 is provided. For a suitable guidance of the web-shaped carrier 36, moreover, two pairs of calender rollers 64 and optionally deflection rollers 66 may be provided which may provide a suitable belt tension. In FIG. 2 it can be seen that the web-shaped carrier 36 is fed twice in an S-shaped manner around the deflection rollers 66 and the main roller 60, and it is this type of guidance that specifies the term S-roller. In detail, the web-shaped carrier 36 can be wound around the main roller 60 over a range of approximately 50% or more. The temperature of the carrier 36 at the entry into the pressing means 38 corresponds in particular to the temperature present at the exit of the molding unit 28.

(19) From the pressing means 38 the carrier 36 is subsequently fed to a further pressing means 40. In order to compensate any heat loss of the carrier 36 or to intentionally heat the carrier 36 further or to cool the carrier 36 one or a plurality of further tempering means 42 can be provided between the pressing means 38, 40.

(20) Returning to the pressing means 40, this can advantageously be a twin belt press which in particular may comprise steel belts 44, 46, wherein the belts 44, 46 of the twin belt press may be guided by deflection rollers 48, 50. The deflection rollers 48, 50 can, for example, be heated, for example by means of a thermal oil heating and/or the rollers on the same side of the gap may be disposed at a distance in a range from 1 m to 2 m, for example 1.5 m, from each other, wherein the belts 44, 46 may have a width in a range of about 1.5 m. According to FIG. 1, the carrier 36 disposed between the conveying means 12, 14 is guided between the deflection rollers 48, 50 and thus between the belts 44, 46, such as in particular steel belts. On the side of the belts 44, 46 opposite to the carrier 36 respective pressing and/or heating means 52, 54 are provided. These can both heat and slightly compress the conveying means 12, 14 and thus the carrier 36. For this purpose, for example, an air-heating can be provided and a plurality of rollers, which may enable an intermittent pressing. Here, a temperature in a range of up to 250 C. may act on the carrier 36. For example, the temperature may be in a range of 25 C. to 35 C. above the melting temperature or softening temperature of the carrier material or a portion thereof. Furthermore, a pressure may act on the carrier 36 such that the carrier 36 is compressed in step e) by a factor of 7.5%, preferably 5%, for example in a range from 0.1 mm to 0.2 mm. Here, the pressing and/or heating means 52, 54 can substantially occupy the entire region between the deflecting rollers 48, 50 or only a limited area along the conveying direction. After passing through the pressing means 40, the carrier may have a temperature in a range of 190 C.

(21) Here, the pressing means 40 may have a varying pressure profile, for example starting with 6 mm and ending with 4.1 mm, or advantageously be configured as an isochoric press.

(22) In the conveying direction downstream of the pressing means 40 according to FIG. 1 a cooling means 56 is arranged by means of which the carrier can be cooled down to a temperature which is, for example, in a range of 35 C. Here, the cooling means 56 may for example be based on water cooling and can comprise a plurality of cooling zones in order to allow a defined cooling by use of exactly adjustable cooling programs. The length of the cooling zone can correspond to the effective length of the pressing means 40. Downstream of the cooling means 56, for example, another cooling belt may be provided.

(23) After these process steps the carrier 36 which may have a final thickness in a range from 3 mm to 5 mm, for example 4.1 mm, may be directly further processed or stored, such as a web-shaped carrier 36 or as an already separated plate-shaped carrier 36.

(24) At this point, the further steps may follow: g) optionally applying a decorative subsurface onto at least a portion of the carrier 36, h) applying a decoration simulating a decorative template onto at least a portion of the carrier 36, and i) applying a protective layer onto at least a portion of the decoration. j) optionally patterning the protective layer, and k) optionally treating the carrier 36 for electrostatic discharge prior to one of the aforementioned steps.

(25) The foregoing description of the embodiments has been provided for purposes of illustration and description. It is not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the disclosure. Individual elements or features of a particular embodiment are generally not limited to that particular embodiment, but, where applicable, are interchangeable and can be used in a selected embodiment, even if not specifically shown or described. The same may also be varied in many ways. Such variations are to be regarded as a departure from the disclosure, and all such modifications are intended to be included within the scope of the disclosure.