SELF-ADHESIVE FLOOR COVERING AND METHOD FOR THE PRODUCTION THEREOF

Abstract

The invention relates to a self-adhesive floor covering comprising a base layer, containing a polymer composition, which comprises an elastomer and/or a thermoplastic elastomer, wherein the floor covering has, on a first side of the base layer, an adhesive layer comprising an adhesive for connecting the floor covering to a substrate. The floor covering is characterised in that the adhesive comprises a styrene-based thermoplastic elastomer. The invention also relates to a method for producing a self-adhesive floor covering.

Claims

1. Self-adhesive floor covering comprising a base layer, containing a polymer composition, which comprises an elastomer and/or a thermoplastic elastomer, wherein the floor covering has, on a first side of the base layer, an adhesive layer comprising an adhesive for connecting the floor covering to a substrate, characterised in that the adhesive comprises a styrene-based thermoplastic elastomer.

2. The self-adhesive floor covering according to claim 1, wherein the adhesive is a contact adhesive.

3. The self-adhesive floor covering according to claim 1, wherein the adhesive is a hot-melt adhesive.

4. The self-adhesive floor covering according to claim 1, wherein the styrene-based thermoplastic elastomer comprises a styrene block copolymer.

5. The self-adhesive floor covering according to claim 1, wherein the styrene-based thermoplastic elastomer comprises a triblock copolymer having the structure SXS, wherein S is a styrene block and X is a block having elastomeric properties at 20 C.

6. The self-adhesive floor covering according claim 1, wherein the styrene-based thermoplastic elastomer comprises a diblock copolymer.

7. The self-adhesive floor covering according to claim 1, wherein the styrene-based thermoplastic elastomer comprises at least one compound from the group consisting of styrene-butadiene-styrene block copolymer, styrene-isoprene-styrene block copolymer, styrene-ethylene-butylene-styrene block copolymer and styrene-ethylene-propylene-styrene block copolymer.

8. The self-adhesive floor covering according to claim 1, wherein the adhesive is applied to the first side of the base layer in a quantity of between 10 g/m.sup.2 and 1000 g/m.sup.2.

9. The self-adhesive floor covering according to claim 1, wherein the polymer composition comprises a polymer which comprises at least one monomer unit selected from the group consisting of styrene, butadiene and isoprene.

10. The self-adhesive floor covering according to claim 1, wherein the polymer composition comprises at least one substance selected from the group consisting of natural rubber, polybutadiene, styrene-butadiene rubber, acrylonitrile-butadiene rubber, styrene-butadiene-styrene block copolymer and styrene-isoprene-styrene block copolymer.

11. The self-adhesive floor covering according to claim 1, wherein the base layer has a matrix which contains the polymer composition.

12. A method for producing a self-adhesive floor covering, comprising the steps of: providing a base layer which comprises an elastomer and/or a thermoplastic elastomer; providing an adhesive which comprises a styrene-based thermoplastic elastomer; applying the adhesive to a first side of the base layer for producing a floor covering with an adhesive layer for connecting to a substrate.

Description

[0047] Further objectives, features, advantages and possible applications of the present invention will be apparent from the description hereinafter of embodiments and the drawing. All of the described and/or figuratively illustrated features form the subject matter of the invention in their own right or in any meaningful combination, even irrespective of the combination in individual claims or dependency references thereof.

[0048] In the figures:

[0049] FIG. 1 shows a schematic view of a self-adhesive floor covering in accordance with the invention;

[0050] FIG. 2 shows a device for coating the floor covering with the adhesive layer.

[0051] FIG. 1 schematically shows a floor covering 1 in accordance with the invention. The floor covering has a base layer 2. Arranged on a first side shown in FIG. 1 at the bottom is an adhesive layer 3 which has an adhesive for connecting the floor covering to a substrate. The adhesive layer 3 is provided with a cover 4. This protects the adhesive layer 3 until the point in time the laying procedure is to take place. Prior to the laying procedure, the cover 4 is peeled off so that the floor covering 1 comprising the adhesive layer 3 can be brought into contact with the substrate.

[0052] The base layer 2 has a matrix which contains a polymer composition. The polymer composition comprises an elastomer which is produced by cross-linking rubber. According to another embodiment, the base layer comprises a thermoplastic elastomer.

[0053] The adhesive layer 3 contains an adhesive which is a pressure-sensitive contact adhesive. Therefore, the floor covering 1 can be permanently adhered to a substrate, such as e.g. a screed, at typical room temperatures immediately after removal of the cover 4. It is sufficient to lay the floor covering 1 having the adhesive layer 3 onto the substrate and to press the floor covering 1 against the substrate in order to establish the adhesive connection. After applying the floor covering 1, there is no need to observe any waiting time.

[0054] The adhesive in the adhesive layer comprises a styrene-based thermoplastic elastomer. A corresponding adhesive is available under the designation Technomelt PS 8795-22 from the company Henkel AG & Co. KGaA.

[0055] The cover 4 is an HDPE film which is siliconized on one side.

[0056] The size ratios illustrated in FIG. 1 are not to scale. Typically, the thickness of the base layer 2 is between 1 mm and 10 mm. The thickness of the adhesive layer 3 is between 0.01 mm and 1 mm and preferably between 0.5 mm and 0.2 mm.

[0057] In order to verify the adhesion properties, the floor covering noraplan 913 signa from the company nora systems GmbH was used for the base layer. This is an elastomer floor covering of NR and SBR. The product was coated on one side with the adhesive Technomelt PS 8795-22 from the company Henkel AG & Co. KGaA. The adhesive was applied in a quantity of 130 g/m.sup.2. The cover used was an HDPE film which is siliconized on one side.

[0058] After peeling off the cover 4, the floor covering 1 having the adhesive layer 3 was adhered onto an aluminium sheet. Then, the peel strength was determined in accordance with DIN 13 72:2015. This resulted in a peel strength of 0.7 N/mm. A good peel strength is achieved thereby.

[0059] Furthermore, a change in dimension was determined after the exposure to heat (50 C.). The change in dimension was only 0.17%. This low change in dimension after the exposure to heat proves the high quality of the adhesion of the floor covering 1 to the substrate.

[0060] FIG. 2 explains the method of producing the self-adhesive floor covering. It can be clearly seen that a sheet-like base layer 2 is provided. Furthermore, an adhesive 5 is provided which comprises a styrene-based thermoplastic elastomer. The adhesive 5 is heated to a processing temperature between 170 and 190. The adhesive 5 is a hot-melt contact adhesive. The adhesive is introduced into the gap between an application roller 7 and a further roller 6. The application roller 7 is rotating and picks up on its surface a thin layer of the adhesive 5 and transfers it to the base layer 2. The base layer 2 is pressed with the counter-pressure roller 8 against the application roller 7. The base layer 2 which is provided with the adhesive layer 3 in this manner can be covered by a cover 4 in a manner not illustrated. Subsequently, the floor covering 1 is cut to the desired length and is sold as sheet-like floor covering or as floor covering tiles.