Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
CA 02369602 2002-O1-29
FLOOR PANEL FOR FINISHED FLOORS
Background of Invention
There are a number of places in a dwelling or office where moisture and/or
humidity can affect the structural properties of wooden floors. One such
example is the
concrete foundation typical of basement floors. Not only does water have a
tendency to
seep into basement floors, but also the temperature difference between the
coal concrete
and the warm top surface of the wooden floor can cause condensation on the
bottom
surface of the wooden floor. This problem must be dealt with in many flooring
applications.
In the prior art, floors have typically been constructed by applying a number
of
flooring layers, i.e., sub-floors, prior to installing the finished wood,
carpet or vinyl
surface. This process often requires a fair degree of manual labour to carry
out. It would
be beneficial if the labour requirements were minimized, especially if the
floor is
intended to be installed by non-professionals, as will be encountered in the
"do-it-
yourself ' or "handyman" market. In any such application moisture and
condensation
problems must also be dealt with.
Summary of Invention
According to one aspect of the invention a floor panel is provided which
includes
a structural core and a finished surface layer disposed an a top side of the
structural core.
A substantially water-impervious sheet is affixed to a bottom side of the
structural core.
The sheet has a plurality of projections for providing an air gap between the
panel and a
mounting surface, such as a concrete foundation. The panel also preferably
includes
means for interconnecting the panel to another said panel in abutting
relationship.
In one embodiment, the finished surface layer is carpet. In another
embodiment,
the finished surface is a finished wood or wood-like surface. The structural
core can be
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an unfinished wooden board with finished wood or wood-like strips, planks or
tiles
affixed to the top side of the wooden board provide the finished surface of
the panel.
Alternatively, the wooden board may be omitted such that the structural core
is provided
by finished wood or wood-like strips, planks or tiles which provide the
finished surface
of the panel.
According to another aspect of the invention a floor panel is provided which
includes a wooden core; a carpet underlayment layer affixed to a topside of
the wooden
core; and a substantially water-impervious sheet affixed to a bottom side of
the structural
core. The sheet includes a plurality of projections for providing an air gap
between the
panel and a mounting surface.
According to yet another aspect of the invention a kit is provided, comprising
a
plurality of floor panels and a carpet. Each floor panel has a wooden core; a
carpet
underlayment layer affixed to a tap side of the wooden core; a substantially
water-
impervious sheet affixed to a bottom side of the structural core, the sheet
having a
plurality of projections for providing an air gap between the panel and a
mounting
surface; and means for interconnecting means for interconnecting the panel to
another
said panel in abutting relationship. The carpet may then be disposed over the
floor panels
when they are interconnected and installed over a mounting surface such a
concrete
foundation.
Brief Description of Drawings
The foregoing and other aspects of the invention will become more apparent
from
the following description of illustrative embodiments thereof and the
accompanying
drawings which illustrate, by way of example, the principles of the invention.
In the
drawings, in which certain features are not drawn to scale for the purpose of
description:
Fig. 1A is a perspective view, taken from the top, of a flooring panel
according to
a first embodiment having a finished surface composed of carpet;
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Fig. 1 B is a perspective view, taken from the bottom, of the flooring panel
shown
in Fig. 1A;
Fig. 1C is a cross-sectional view of the flooring panel shown in Fig. 1A;
Fig. 2 is an cross-sectional view of a series of interconnected floor panels
according to a second embodiment upon which a non-sectioned layer of carpet
may be
overlaid;
Fig. 2A is a cross-sectional view of a variant of the panel shown in Fig. 2
further
including a carpet attachment strip;
Fig. 3 is a cross-sectional view of a flooring panel according to a third
embodiment having a finished wood or wood-like surface;
Fig. 4 is a cross-sectional view of a flooring panel according to a fourth
embodiment having a finished wood or wood-like surface including an
interconnect
structure;
Fig, 5 is a cross-sectional view of a flooring panel according to a fifth
embodiment having a beveled finished wood ar wood-like surface;
Fig. 6 is a cross-sectional view of a flooring panel according to a sixth
embodiment having a finished wood or wood-like surface without an intermediate
core
layer; and
Fig. 7 is a cross-sectional view of a flooring panel according to a seventh
embodiment having a painted or varnished wood or wood-like surface.
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Detailed Description of Illustrative Embodiments
Referring to Figs. lA-1C, a first embodiment of a flooring panel 10 is shown.
The panel 10 comprises a core 12 which provides the panel with structural
rigidity. This
layer is preferably formed from an engineered wood product such as %i inch,
5/8 inch or
3/4 inch oriented strand board (OSB), waferboard or one of the many
commercially
available plywoods. Other dimensions and/or other materials may be used in the
alternative for the core 12, depending on load handling or stiffness
requirements.
A water-impermeable membrane 14 is fixed to the underside of the core layer
12,
preferably by adhesive bonding. The membrane 14 is preferably formed from
polyethylene and includes a plurality of projections such as frusto-conical
cones 16 for
spacing the panel 10 from the (typically concrete) foundation and enabling air
to circulate
underneath the panel. The cones 16 are also somewhat defonmable thus providing
some
cushioning effects when walking over the panel. The membrane 14 protects the
wood
core from warping, deforming or delaminating as a result of excess humidity or
moisture
that may arise in basements or as a result from temperature differentials
between the
foundation and wooden core. As such, the air gap provided by the membrane 14
also
functions as a thermal insulation barner. The membrane is especially useful
when OSB
is used as the core material since it is more susceptible to damage from
moisture than
plywood. The membrane 14 is preferably sourced from Delta FLTM polyethylene
sheets
manufactured by Cosella Dorken of Beamsville, Ontario, Canada. Alternatively,
a
similar product (which appears to be less deformable) may be sourced from
PlatonTM
polyethylene sheet distributed by Armtec Limited of Orangeviile, Ontario,
Canada.
Other types of dimpled, bossed, or cleated sheets of substantially water-
impervious
material may be used in the still further alternative. The shape of the
projections on the
water-impervious sheet is not as important as the fact that the projections
and the panel
can withstand a reasonable Ioad and the projections provide an air gap through
which a
reasonable flow of air can circulate.
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In the illustrated embodiment, a sectioned piece of carpet 22 is affixed to
the top
surface of the core 12 by adhesive bonding, stapling, nailing, or other such
fastening
means as known in the carpet-laying art. Hook and loop fasteners are also
contemplated.
Because the preferred membrane 14 has some shock-absorbing qualities, a carpet
underlayment may not be necessary. However, a shock-absorbing carpet
underlayrnent
may be disposed between the core 12 and carpet 22, if desired.
The side-walls or perimeters of the core layer 12 include one or more tongues
and
grooves 18,20 for interconnecting panels in abutting relationship. The carpet
22 is
preferably selected with sciently long hairs so as to hide any seam lines or
imperfections in tire tongue & groove joints that may arise when the panels 10
are
interconnected or that may arise as a result of the panels shifting somewhat
over time.
The panel 10 preferably has a breadth of about 2 feet by 2 feet. This size
enables
the panels 10 to be conveniently handled and installed, especially by non-
professionals.
The panels may be installed as a floating floor system, i.e., without nailing
or otherwise
fastening them to the foundation. Because the panel 10 has a finished surface,
installing
a fully finished floor can be accomplished quickly. Irnperfectians in the
surface level of
the foundation can lx compensated for by disposing one or more extra layers of
the
membrane 14 under select panels. Alternatively, because the preferred membrane
14 is
somewhat deformable, select panels can be nailed or more preferably screwed
into the
foundation under various tensions or depths to achieve a level finished
surface.
If desired, the carpet 22 may be replaced with a carpet underlayment 30 as
shown
in panels 25 of Fig. 2. In this case, a non-sectioned layer of carpet 32 may
be disposed
over the floor panels 10 to completely hide any seam lines preserned by the
tongue and
groove joints. If desired, the panels may be fitted with one component 34
(shown in
phantom) of a hook and loop fastener system (e.g., VelcroTM) and the underside
of the
carpet layer 32 may have the other component 3b (shown in phantom) of the
fastener
system affixed thereto. Furthermore, certain panels may be provided with
integrated
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carpet attachment strips 37 as shown in the fragmentary view of Fig. 2A which
have
upright nails upon which the carpet 32 may be attached.
Fig. 3 shows the embodiment of another panel 40 which features the preferably
wooden core 12 and the waterproof membrane 14. A finished wooden top floor or
wood
like surface 42, such as hardwood flooring, laminated flooring, or melamine
wood
flooring, is affixed to the top surface of the core 14, preferably by adhesive
bonding.
Because the wood flooring 42 is itself comprised of multiple strips, planks or
parquet
tiles 42a, 42b, ..., 42n, any seam lines that may arise between the tongue and
groove
joints 18,20 of the panel appear to be part of the finished wood flooring 42.
If desired, the strips, planks or parquet tiles 42a, 42n located on the
periphery of
the panel 40 may also have tongues and grooves 44, 46, as shown in Fig. 4.
This
provides a double interlocking structure for interconnecting adjacent panels.
Alternatively, as shown in Fig. 5, the strips, planks or parquet tiles 42a,
42n located on
the periphery of the panel 40 may have beveled edges 48 to thereby simulate
grout lines.
The beveled edges 48 may be painted, to provide a contrast relative to the
surface colour
of the strips, planks or parquet tiles 42a, 42b, ..., 42n.
In the further alternative, the wooden core 14 may be omitted altogether as
shown
in Fig. 6. In this embodiment, a plurality of the strips; planks or parquet
tiles 42a, 42b,
..., 42n used in conventional wood flooring systems are interconnected and
bonded to
the water impervious membrane 14 to form a panel 50. The tongue and grooves
44, 46 of
the strips, planks or parquet tiles 42a, 42n located on the periphery of the
panel 50 are
used to interconnect adjacent panels 50. In this embodiment, the strips,
planks or parquet
tiles have a thickness sufficient to function as the structural core of the
flooring panel.
In a still further embodiment as shown in Fig._7, a panel 60 may comprise the
wooden core 12 and the water impervious membrane 14. In this case, the core 12
is
painted or varnished so as to provide a finished surface.
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Those skilled in the art will understand that numerous other variations and
modifications may be made to the embodiments disclosed herein without
departing from
the spirit of the invention.
