PRESSABLE COATING SYSTEM FOR THE PRODUCTION OF PANEL PRODUCTS

Abstract

A panel and a panel production method are provided wherein an elastomeric coating, and preferably, a water-based elastomeric polyurethane coating, is applied to a pre-existing, finished panel construct, by pressing the coating onto the panel construct, and thereby bond the coating to the surface of the panel construct. The method is used to produce enhanced panels which can be used in the production of flooring materials, wall panels, furniture, countertops, and the like. The resultant panels typically have an enhanced surface that protects the surface layer of the panel construct. The coated panel can also be made abrasion resistant, and can also be enhanced so as to provide better acoustical properties while providing a soft touch, haptic surface.

Claims

1-44. (canceled)

45. A process for the production of a coated panel comprising: applying one or more layers of a liquid coating material to a surface of a panel construct, so as to produce a coated panel construct; and subsequently pressing said coated panel construct under conditions of heat and pressure, for sufficient time to cure and crosslink said coating material, and bond said coating material to the surface of said panel construct, wherein said coating material is a solution or dispersion of an elastomeric resin-based material in water or another solvent, and wherein said coating material is based on a resin selected from polyurethane, polyethylene or polypropylene-based resins; Ethylene vinyl acetate; Ethylene vinyl alcohol; Polyesters; Polyolefin, modified Melamine-based thermoset resins; Urea and Urea modified resins; ESI (ethylene styrene interpolymer), or any of the styrene acrylic copolymers and Acrylic resins; rubber based materials selected from NBR (nitrile Butadiene), SBR (styrene butadiene), and CR (chloroprene), silicone, fluorocarbon, acrylamide, epichlorohydrin, and/or carboxylated, and natural and synthetic latexes.

46. The process as claimed in claim 45, wherein said elastomeric resin-based material is a water-borne solution or dispersion of an elastomeric polyurethane-based resin, and preferably, a water based, UV-resistant, aliphatic polyurethane resin.

47. The process as claimed in claim 45, wherein said coating material provides a clear, transparent coating on the surface of the panel construct, and wherein said applying comprises adding the coating material to an upper surface of the panel construct, using a technique selected from spray coating, roller coating, curtain coating, knife coating, vacuum coating, and dip coating, and subsequently drying the liquid coating material prior to said pressing step.

48. The process as claimed in claim 47, wherein each layer of coating material is dried between coating layer applications by air-drying each of the coated layers at ambient temperature, or by drying each of the coating layers in an oven at a temperature of less than 130 C. for a time period of between 30 seconds and 5 minutes in order to avoid or minimize any curing or crosslinking of the applied coating material.

49. The process as claimed in claim 45, wherein said coated panel construct, during said pressing step, is heated and pressed in a press at pressures of between 10 to 80 kg/cm.sup.2, and more preferably at pressures of between 20 and 60 kg/cm.sup.2 to achieve the final crosslinking of the elastomeric coating.

50. The process as claimed in claim 45, wherein said coated panel construct is heated and pressed, during said pressing step, in a press at a temperature of between 100 C. and 220 C., and more preferably at a temperature of between 110 C. and 150 C.

51. The process as claimed in claim 45, wherein said coated panel construct is heated and pressed, during said pressing step, in a press for a time period of less than 1 minute, more preferably for a time period of less than 30 seconds, and most preferably, for a time period of less than 15 seconds.

52. The process as claimed in claim 45, wherein said pressing step is conducted in a press, and wherein said press includes smooth or textured press plate so that the smooth or textured surface of the plate will be transferred to the surface of the coated panel.

53. The process as claimed in claim 52, wherein the said press plate has a wood grain pattern, or a geometric pattern, or wherein the texture plate embosses the surface of the coated panel.

54. The process as claimed in claim 45, wherein said panel construct is a laminated panel, a laminated flooring panel, particleboard, MDF (medium density fibreboard) board, HDF (high density fibreboard) board, OSB (oriented strand board), a multi-layer glued wood veneer applied to plywood or engineered wood panels or applied to the surface of a composite panel, laminated panels for use in the production of flooring, furniture panels and wall panels, panels having a core layer to which a surface layer of cork has been applied, linoleum, pressed wood powders, an HPL (high pressure laminate) material, or a PVC based panel, a panel produced by direct printing of a pattern directly on to the upper surface of another panel, a panel construct based on panels having a core material comprised of one of more layers of a plastic material, a luxury vinyl tile (LVT), a vinyl plank, or a WPC (wood plastic composites) panel.

55. The process as claimed in claim 45, wherein the thickness of said coating material applied to said panel construct is from 50 microns to 3 mm, and said coating material is applied to said panel construct at a level of from 3 to 150 grams per square meter, and more preferably, at a level of between 5 and 100 grams per square meter, and most preferably, at a level of between 40 and 80 grams per square meter, after drying.

56. The process as claimed in claim 45, wherein said coating material contains wear particles selected from ceramic particles, and corundum or other aluminum oxide particles, and wherein said wear particles are between 50 and 300 microns in size and are transparent after being pressed.

57. The process as claimed in claim 45, wherein said coating material additionally comprises a coupling agent, a surfactant or other surface modifying agent, release agent, or an amine based reaction catalyst or cross-linking agent.

58. The process as claimed in claim 45, wherein said coating material additionally comprises colorants, stains, dry or liquid inks or pigments, fire and flame retardants, smoke suppressants, internal mold release additives, blocking agents, UV protectants, anti-bacterial agents, anti-microbial agents, oleophobic materials, antistatic agents, or flattening agents.

59. The process as claimed in claim 45, wherein said coating material is applied to both an upper and bottom surface of the panel construct.

60. A coated panel comprising one or more layers of a coating material applied to the surface of a panel construct, wherein said coating material is a solution or dispersion of an elastomeric resin-based material in water or another solvent, and wherein said layer of coating material has been bonded to the surface of said panel construct by use of a pressing and heating operation so as to cure and crosslink said coating material, and bond said coating material to a surface of said panel construct, and wherein said coating material is based on a resin selected from polyurethane, polyethylene or polypropylene-based resins; Ethylene vinyl acetate; Ethylene vinyl alcohol; Polyesters; Polyolefin, modified Melamine-based thermoset resins; Urea and Urea modified resins; ESI (ethylene styrene interpolymer), or any of the styrene acrylic copolymers and Acrylic resins; rubber based materials selected from NBR (nitrile Butadiene), SBR (styrene butadiene), and CR (chloroprene), silicone, fluorocarbon, acrylamide, epichlorohydrin, and/or carboxylated, and natural and synthetic latexes.

61. The coated panel as claimed in claim 60, wherein said coating material is an elastomeric polyurethane coating.

62. The coated panel as claimed in claim 60, wherein said coating material contains wear particles selected from ceramic particles, and corundum or other aluminum oxide particles, and wherein said wear particles are between 50 and 300 microns in size and are transparent after the pressing operation.

63. The coated panel as claimed in claim 60, wherein said panel construct is particleboard, MDF (medium density fibreboard) board, HDF (high density fibreboard) board, OSB (oriented strand board), a multi-layer glued wood veneer applied to plywood or engineered wood panels or applied to the surface of a composite panel, laminated panels for use in the production of flooring, furniture panels and wall panels, panels having a core layer to which a surface layer of cork has been applied, linoleum, pressed wood powders, an HPL (high pressure laminate) material, or a PVC based panel, a panel produced by direct printing of a pattern directly on to the upper surface of another panel, a panel construct based on panels having a core material comprised of one of more layers of a plastic material, a luxury vinyl tile (LVT), a vinyl plank, or a WPC (wood plastic composites) panel.

64. The coated panel as claimed in claim 63, wherein said panel construct is a laminated flooring panel.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0066] Embodiments of this invention will now be described by way of example only in association with the accompanying drawings in which:

[0067] FIG. 1 is a side view of a wood veneer panel with a coating of elastomeric film in accordance with the present invention;

[0068] FIG. 2 is a side view of a cork veneer panel with a backing layer, and having a coating of elastomeric film incorporating corundum;

[0069] FIG. 3 is a side view of a laminate floor panel with a coating of elastomeric film;

[0070] FIG. 4 is a side view of a wood veneer panel with a backing layer, and having a coating of elastomeric film incorporating corundum;

[0071] FIG. 5 is a side view of an extruded PVC-based plastic panel, and having a coating of elastomeric film; and

[0072] FIG. 6 is a side view of an HPL panel, having a coating of elastomeric film.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0073] The novel features which are believed to be characteristic of the present invention, as to its structure, organization, use and method of operation, together with further objectives and advantages thereof, will be better understood from the following examples and figures in which a presently preferred embodiment of the invention will now be illustrated by way of example only. In the figures, like reference numerals depict like elements.

[0074] It is expressly understood, however, that the figures are for the purpose of illustration and description only and are not intended as a definition of the limits of the invention.

[0075] Also, unless otherwise specifically noted, all of the exemplified features described herein may be combined with any of the above aspects, in any combination. Also, it should be understood that the drawings are not to scale.

EXAMPLES

[0076] The examples described hereinbelow make reference to the drawings provided in FIGS. 1 to 6, and as such, reference numbers related to the figures are provided in each example.

Example 1

[0077] Referring to FIG. 1, a coating (1) comprising 125 g of WB420, available from Purchem Systems Inc., as a water-based elastomeric aliphatic polyurethane, and having a solids content of 40%, was mixed with 7 g of WB475 (Purchem) of a 60% solids, water based amine crosslinking agent, and 4 g of AD-200R (Purchem) as a 55% solids, aqueous fluoro-based release agent. This mixture was applied to a panel construct (2) by spraying the mixture onto the panel construct (2), using a spray coater.

[0078] In this example, panel construct (2) consisted of a thin wood veneer surface (4) glued to an HDF core panel (3). After a first coat, the coated panel was dried in a lab oven at 80 C. for 3 minutes to remove moisture. When dried, the coated panel was re-coated with the same coating material, and again dried in a lab oven at 80 C. for 3 minutes to remove moisture. This process of coating and drying was repeated until the coating on the panel surface reached the desired weight of 30 grams per m.sup.2.

[0079] The resultant dried coated panel, as shown in FIG. 1, was placed in a heated press with a surface temperature of 120 C. for both the upper and lower press plates. The upper press plate included a wood-grain embossing texture. The press pressure was 20 kg/cm.sup.2 and the press time was 20 seconds. After the press cycle was completed, the hot panel was removed from the press and allowed to cool.

[0080] A fully elastomeric coated, textured, laminated wood veneer panel with a soft elastomeric upper surface coating and excellent transparency was produced.

Example 2

[0081] With respect to FIG. 2, a coating (6) comprising a mixture of 100 g of WB420 (available from Purchem Systems Inc.), as a water-based elastomeric aliphatic polyurethane, and 25 g of WB-100 (Purchem) as a second, more elastic, water-based aliphatic polyurethane, with both polyurethanes having a solids content of 40% by weight, 7 g of WB475 (Purchem) of a 60% solids, water-based amine crosslinking agent, 4 g of AD-200R (Purchem) as a 55% solids, aqueous fluoro-based release agent, and 10 parts by weight of corundum particles, was applied to a panel construct (5), by use of a roller coater. Panel construct (5) included a cork veneer surface (7) bonded to an MDF core panel (8) and had a cork veneer backer layer (9). The coated panel was dried in a lab oven at 80 C. for 3 minutes to remove moisture. The coated panel was then re-repeatedly coated and dried in a lab oven at 80 C. for 3 minutes to remove moisture, until the coating on the panel surface reached the desired weight of 15 grams per m.sup.2.

[0082] The dried coated panel as shown in FIG. 2 was placed in a heated press with a surface temperature of 120 C. for both the upper and lower press plates. The upper press plate included a smooth low gloss surface structure. The press pressure was 7 kg/cm.sup.2 and the press time was 45 seconds.

[0083] After the press cycle was completed, the hot panel was removed from the press and placed in a cooling press to allow the panel temperature to cool down to 26 C. The cooling press pressure was also set at 7 kg/cm.sup.2 and the press time was 60 seconds.

[0084] As a result, a fully elastomeric coated, textured, laminated cork panel with a soft elastomeric upper surface coating with excellent abrasion resistance and excellent transparency was produced.

Example 3

[0085] With respect to FIG. 3, a coating (10) comprising the same resin formulation as described in Example 1, was applied by spraying the coating material onto a previously pressed and cured, laminate floor panel (11) as a panel construct, using a spray coater. Floor panel (11) included a melamine overlay layer (with corundum) (12); a melamine treated decor paper (13), a particleboard core (14) and a melamine backer layer (15). After coating, the coated panel was dried in a lab oven at 80 C. for 3 minutes to remove moisture. The coated panel was then repeatedly re-coated and dried in a lab oven at 80 C. for 3 minutes to remove moisture, until the coating on the panel surface reached the desired weight of 20 grams per m.sup.2.

[0086] The dried coated panel was placed in a heated press with a surface temperature of 100 C. for both the upper and lower press plates. The upper press plate included a wood-grain texture. The press pressure was 45 kg/cm.sup.2 and the press time was 12 seconds. After the press cycle was completed, the hot laminate floor panel was removed from the press and allowed to cool.

[0087] A fully elastomeric coated, textured, laminate floor panel with a soft elastomeric upper surface coating and excellent transparency was produced.

Example 4

[0088] In respect of FIG. 4, a coating (16) having the same formulation as the coating used in Example 2, was applied by use of a curtain coater, to an engineered flooring panel (17). Engineered flooring panel (17) consisted of an upper decorative wood veneer surface (18) bonded to an HDF panel (19) and a wood veneer balancing layer (20) bonded to the underside. The coated panel was dried in a lab oven at 80 C. for 3 minutes to remove moisture. The coated panel was then re-coated and dried in a lab oven at 80 C. for 3 minutes to remove moisture so that the coating applied reached the desired weight of 20 grams per m.sup.2.

[0089] The dried coated panel was placed in a heated press with a surface temperature of 120 C. for both the upper and lower press plates. The upper press plate included a wood-grain texture. The press pressure was 20 kg/cm.sup.2 and the press time was 20 seconds. After the press cycle was completed, the hot panel was removed from the press and allowed to cool.

[0090] A fully elastomeric coated, textured, laminated abrasion resistant wood veneer panel with a soft elastomeric upper surface coating and excellent transparency was produced.

Example 5

[0091] In respect of FIG. 5, a coating (24) comprising 100 g of ENCOR 2173, available from Arkema, as a water-based acrylic, and having a solids content of 40%, was mixed with 5 g of WB475 (Purchem) of a 60% solids, water based amine crosslinking agent, and 3.5 g of AD-200R (Purchem) as a 55% solids, aqueous fluoro-based release agent. This mixture was applied using a spray coater, to a WPC panel (23), as the panel construct, having a rigid PVC core (21) and a decorative vinyl veneer overlay layer (22). The coated panel was dried in a lab oven at 70 C. for 3 minutes to remove moisture. Only a single coat of coating material was required to reach the desired weight of 15 grams per m.sup.2.

[0092] The dried coated panel was placed in a heated press with a surface temperature of 140 C. for both the upper and lower press plates. The upper press plate includes a smooth surface structure with no embossing. The press pressure was 20 kg/cm.sup.2 and the press time was 15 seconds. After the press cycle was completed, the hot panel was removed from the press and allowed to cool.

[0093] A fully elastomeric coated, smooth WPC panel with a soft elastomeric acrylic surface coating having excellent transparency was produced.

Example 6

[0094] With respect to FIG. 6, a coating (25), comprising the same resin formulation as described in Example 1, was applied by spraying the coating material onto a previously pressed and cured, HPL panel (30), as a panel construct. HPL panel (30) included a melamine impregnated decor layer (26), and three layers of phenolic-treated kraft paper layers (27, 28 and 29). After the first coat of coating material, the coated HPL panel was dried in a lab oven at 80 C. for 3 minutes to remove moisture. The coated panel was then repeatedly re-coated and dried in a lab oven at 80 C. for 3 minutes to remove moisture, until the coating on the panel surface reached the desired weight of 20 grams per m.sup.2.

[0095] The dried coated HPL panel was placed in a heated press with a surface temperature of 100 C. for both the upper and lower press plates. The upper press plate included a wood-grain texture. The press pressure was 45 kg/cm.sup.2 and the press time was 30 seconds. After the press cycle was completed, the hot laminate floor panel was removed from the press and allowed to cool.

[0096] A fully elastomeric coated, textured, HPL panel with a soft elastomeric upper surface coating and excellent transparency was produced.

[0097] Thus, it is apparent that there has been provided, in accordance with the present invention, a process for producing a coated panel construct which fully satisfies the goals, objects, and advantages set forth hereinbefore. Therefore, having described specific embodiments of the present invention, it will be understood that alternatives, modifications and variations thereof may be suggested to those skilled in the art, and that it is intended that the present specification embrace all such alternatives, modifications and variations as fall within the scope of the appended claims.

[0098] Unless otherwise specifically noted, all of the features described herein may be combined with any of the above aspects, in any combination.

[0099] Additionally, for clarity and unless otherwise stated, the word comprises and variations of the word such as comprising and comprises, when used in the description and claims of the present specification, is not intended to exclude other additives, components, integers or steps. It will also be understood that the term comprising, or the like, can be replaced by the phrase consisting of or by the phrase consisting essentially of so that the claims can be limited to the exact formulations described in the description or claims, without additional materials being present.

[0100] Moreover, the words substantially or essentially, when used with an adjective or adverb is intended to enhance the scope of the particular characteristic; e.g., substantially planar is intended to mean planar, nearly planar and/or exhibiting characteristics associated with a planar element.

[0101] Further, use of the terms he, him, or his, is not intended to be specifically directed to persons of the masculine gender, and could easily be read as she, her, or hers, respectively.

[0102] Also, while this discussion has addressed prior art known to the inventor, it is not an admission that all art discussed is citable against the present application.