WO2025168121A1

WO2025168121A1 - A surface covering product

Info

Publication number: WO2025168121A1
Application number: PCT/CN2025/076524
Authority: WO
Inventors: Yukang WEI; Jin Li
Original assignee: Novalis Holdings Ltd
Current assignee: Novalis Holdings Ltd
Priority date: 2024-02-08
Filing date: 2025-02-08
Publication date: 2025-08-14
Anticipated expiration: 2026-08-08

Abstract

The present disclosure provides a surface covering product including a surface ornamental layer and a support layer. The support layer is located under and attached to the surface ornamental layer. The support layer is made of a supercritical foaming polymer material and has a density of more than 400 kg/m³ (including 400 kg/m³).

Description

A SURFACE COVERING PRODUCT

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present disclosure relates to a surface covering product.

BACKGROUND

Surface covering products are a kind of decorative materials that can be seen everywhere in life, and include flooring panels, ceiling or wall panels, etc, . The surface covering products, which are expected to serve as flooring panels and ceiling or wall panels, have excellent properties such as acoustic effects of sound insulation and radiated sound by impact and dimensional stability. If a surface covering product is used as the flooring panel, it is also desirable that the panel has good residue indentation property, and locking strength, etc, .

SUMMARY

The present disclosure provides a surface covering product. The surface covering product of the present disclosure includes a support layer made of a supercritical foaming polymer material, so that the surface covering product of the present disclosure is environmentally friendly and has excellent acoustic effects of sound insulation and radiated sound by impact. In addition, the surface covering product of the present disclosure brings good foot feel if it is used as the flooring panel. The support layer made of the supercritical foaming polymer material has good locking strength, sufficient strength and rigidity, and good dimensional stability, etc, .

The present application provides a surface covering product comprising a surface ornamental layer and a support layer located under the surface ornamental layer and attached to the surface ornamental layer. The support layer is made of a supercritical foaming polymer material and has a density of more than 400 kg/m³ (including 400 kg/m³) .

According to the present application, the surface covering product further comprises a backing layer located under the support layer and attached to the support layer.

According to the present application, the surface ornamental layer comprises a wear layer, and the backing layer comprises a balance layer attached to the support layer. The balance layer is configured to cooperate with the wear layer to enable the surface covering product to have a smooth and flat surface.

According to the present application, the surface ornamental layer comprises a base layer having a bottom surface attached to the support layer and an upper surface attached to the wear layer. The base layer has elasticity to provide buffering for the support layer (106) when the surface covering product is subjected to impact.

According to the present application, the backing layer comprises a pad layer attached to a bottom surface of the balance layer (109) . The pad layer is elastic to provide the surface covering product with elasticity and impart the surface covering product with sound insulation effect.

According to the present application, the support layer is made of a supercritical foaming halogen-free resin.

According to the present application, the support layer is made of a supercritical foaming PET resin.

According to the present application, the supercritical foaming PET resin is produced using carbon dioxide as the foaming agent through a supercritical foaming process.

According to the present application, supercritical foaming PET resin comprises an inorganic filler.

According to the present application, the surface covering product is a ceiling or wall panel, wherein the support layer has a density of 400-800 kg/m³.

According to the present application, the surface covering product is a flooring panel, wherein the support layer has a density of more than 800 kg/m³ (including 800 kg/m³) .

According to the present application, the support layer has a density of 800-1200 kg/m³.

According to the present application, the support layer has a hardness of Shore D40-70.

According to the present application, the support layer has an elastic modulus of at least 500 Mpa.

According to the present application, the support layer has an elastic modulus of 500-1500 Mpa.

According to the present application, the support layer has an elastic modulus of 1500-6000 Mpa.

According to the present application, the surface covering product has coupling structures for connecting the adjacent surface covering products of a plurality of the surface covering products. The coupling structures are formed on the support layer by cutting at least a part of the support layer.

According to the present application, the coupling structures comprise a tongue structure and a groove structure respectively located at two opposite side edges of the support layer.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure will be described in detail below with reference to accompanying drawings, in which

FIG. 1A is a perspective view of a surface covering product according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

FIG. 1B is a cross-sectional view of the surface covering product in FIG. 1A taken along line A-A.

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of a plurality of connected surface covering products in FIG. 1A.

FIG. 3 is a flow chart of the production of the surface covering product in FIG. 1A.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS

This application discloses a broad description of various exemplary embodiments of the application. The description is to be construed as exemplary only and does not describe every possible embodiment, as describing every possible embodiment would be impractical if not impossible. It will be understood that any feature, characteristic, component, composition, ingredient, product, step, or methodology described herein can be deleted, combined with, or substituted for, in whole or part, any other feature, characteristic, component, composition, ingredient, product, step or methodology described herein. Numerous alternative embodiments could be implemented using either current technology or technology developed after the filing date of this patent while still falling within the scope of the claims. All publications and patents cited herein are incorporated herein by reference.

Unless defined otherwise, all technical and scientific terms used herein have the same meaning as commonly understood by one of ordinary skill in the art to which this application belongs. In case of conflict, the present application including the definitions will control. Also, unless otherwise required by context, singular terms shall include pluralities, and plural terms shall include the singular. All publications, patents, and other references mentioned herein are incorporated by reference in their entireties for all purposes.

Unless otherwise specified, when the following abbreviations are used herein, they have the following meaning:

As used herein, the terms “comprises, ” “comprising, ” includes, ” “including, ” “has, ” “having, ” “contains, ” or “containing, ” or any other variation thereof, will be understood to imply the inclusion of a stated integer or group of integers but not the exclusion of any other integer or group of integers. For example, a composition, a mixture, a process, a method, an article, or an apparatus that comprises a list of elements is not necessarily limited to only those elements but can include other elements not expressly listed or inherent to such composition, mixture, process, method, article, or apparatus. Further, unless expressly stated to the contrary, “or” refers to an inclusive or and not to an exclusive or. For example, a condition A or B is satisfied by any one of the following: A is true (or present) , and B is false (or not present) , A is false (or not present) , and B is true (present) , and both A and B are true (or present) .

Also, the indefinite articles “a” and “an” preceding an element or component of the application are intended to be non-restrictive regarding the number of instances, that is, occurrences of the element or component. Therefore “a” or “an” should be read to include one or at least one, and the singular word form of the element or component also includes the plural unless the number is obviously meant to be singular.

The term “application” or “present application” as used herein is a non-limiting term and is not intended to refer to any single embodiment of the application but encompasses all possible embodiments as described in the application.

The terms “about” and “approximately, ” when referring to a numerical value or range are intended to encompass the values resulting from experimental error that can occur when taking measurements. Concentrations, amounts, and other numerical data may be presented herein in a range format. It is to be understood that such range format is used merely for convenience and brevity and should be interpreted flexibly to include not only the numerical values explicitly recited as the limits of the range, but also to include all the individual numerical values or subranges encompassed within that range as if each numerical value and sub-range is explicitly recited. For example, a weight range of about 1 weight percentage (wt %) to about 20 weight percentage (wt %) should be interpreted to include not only the explicitly recited concentration limits of 1 wt %to approximately 20 wt %, but also to include individual concentrations such as 2 wt %, 3 wt %, 4 wt %, and sub-ranges such as 5 wt %to 15 wt %, 10 wt %to 20 wt %, etc, .

FIG. 1A is a perspective view of a surface covering product 100 according to an embodiment of the present disclosure, and FIG. 1B is a cross-sectional view of the surface covering product 100 in FIG. 1A taken along A-A. As shown in FIGS. 1A and 1B, the surface covering product 100 includes a surface ornamental layer 110, a support layer 106, and a backing layer 111. The surface covering product 100 has a thickness of 5.0-20.0 mm. The support layer 106 is attached between the surface ornamental layer 110 and the backing layer 111, with a top surface of the support layer 106 being attached to the surface ornamental layer 110 and a bottom surface of the support layer 106 being attached to the backing layer 111. In some embodiments, the support layer 106, the surface ornamental layer 110 and the backing layer 111 are attached to each other through a hot press lamination process. In some embodiments, the support layer 106, the surface ornamental layer110, and the backing layer 111 are attached to each other by an adhesive. In some embodiments, the support layer 106, the surface ornamental layer 110 and the backing layer 111 are attached to each other by a fully-cured hot melt adhesive. In some embodiments, the fully-cured hot melt adhesive is selected from the adhesives including a polyurethane-reactive (PUR) adhesive, an AB structural adhesive and a water-based cold adhesive. The surface covering product 100 can be used as a flooring panel, or a ceiling or wall panel, etc, . Although the surface covering product 100 shown in FIGS. 1A and 1B includes a surface ornamental layer 110, a support layer 106 and a backing layer 111, in other embodiments, the surface covering product 100 includes only one or more of the surface ornamental layer 110, the support layer 106 and the backing layer 111, or the surface covering product 100 further includes one or more other layers. In the embodiments where the surface covering product 100 further includes one or more other layers, the one or more other layers are attached between the support layer 106 and the surface ornamental layer 110 or between the support layer 106 and the backing layer 111; and alternatively, some of the one or more other layers are attached between the support layer 106 and the surface ornamental layer 110, and the others are attached between the support layer 106 and the backing layer 111.

The surface ornamental layer 110 is of a multi-layered structure. As shown in FIGS. 1A and 1B, the surface ornamental layer 110 includes a coat layer 101, a wear layer 102, a decor layer 103 and a base layer 104. In other embodiments, the surface ornamental layer 110 includes only one or more of the coat layer 101, the wear layer 102, the decor layer 103 and the base layer 104. In some embodiments, if the surface covering product 100 is a ceiling or wall panel, the surface ornamental layer 110 includes only the coat layer 101 and the decor layer 103. In some embodiments, if the surface covering product 100 is a flooring panel, the surface ornamental layer 110 includes only the coat layer 101, the wear layer 102 and the decor layer 103. As shown in FIGS. 1A and 1B, the coat layer 101, the wear layer 102, the decor layer 103 and the base layer 104 are sequentially disposed from top to bottom, and the base layer 104 is attached to a top surface of the support layer 106. The layers of the surface ornamental layer 110 are attached to each other by an adhesive or through a hot press lamination process. In some embodiments, the layers of the surface ornamental layer 110 are attached to each other by a fully-cured hot melt adhesive. In some embodiments, the adhesive is a PUR adhesive. In other embodiments, the surface ornamental layer 110 does not include the wear layer 102 and/or the base layer 104. In still other embodiments, the surface ornamental layer 110 is an impregnated film paper with a printed pattern. In some embodiments, the surface ornamental layer 110 is a melamine impregnated film paper with a printed pattern. In some embodiments, the surface ornamental layer 110 has a thickness of 0.1-2.5 mm. Further, if the surface covering product 100 is a ceiling or wall panel, the surface ornamental layer 110 has a thickness of 0.1-0.5 mm; and if the surface covering product 100 is a flooring panel, the surface ornamental layer 110 has a thickness of 0.3-2.5 mm.

The coat layer101 provides the surface covering product 100 with excellent stain resistance, excellent wear resistance and a good antibacterial effect, and makes it is easy to color and maintain the surface covering product 100 without waxing. In some embodiments, the coat layer 101 is made from at least one of the materials including an epoxy resin compound, an acrylic acid compound, a polyurethane compound and a lipid compound. In some embodiments, the coat layer 101 is a UV-curable coating made from an acrylic acid compound. In some embodiments, the coat layer 101 has a thickness of 0.01-0.10 mm.

The wear layer 102 provides the surface covering product 100 with an excellent wear-resisting property. The wear layer 102 has a thermal shrinkage rate approximate to that of the balance layer 109 (described in the context below) of the backing layer 111, such that the support layer 106 could experience roughly equal upward and downward forces exerted by the wear layer 102 and the balance layer 109. In this way, the curling of the surface covering product 100 is avoided and the surface covering product 100 could maintain a smooth and flat surface. In some embodiments, the wear layer 102 is made from at least one of the thermoplastic materials including polyethylene terephthalate (PET) , polyvinyl chloride (PVC) , polypropylene (PP) , and polyethylene terephthalate modified with 1, 4-cyclohexanedimethanol (PETG) . In some embodiments, the wear layer 102 is made of PET. In some embodiments, the wear layer 102 has a thickness of 0.1-1.0 mm.

The decor layer 103 provides the surface covering product 100 with a unique pattern and color. In some embodiments, the decor layer 103 is made from at least one of the materials including polyethylene terephthalate (PET) , polyvinyl chloride (PVC) , polypropylene (PP) , and polyethylene terephthalate modified with 1, 4-cyclohexanedimethanol (PETG) , or is alternatively a melamine impregnated film paper. In some embodiments, the decor layer 103 is made of PET. In some embodiments, the decor layer 103 has a thickness of 0.05-0.2 mm.

The base layer 104 is elastic to provide the surface covering product 100 with elasticity. Further, the elasticity of the base layer 104 allows the base layer 104 to provide buffering for the support layer 106 when the surface covering product 100 is subject to impact. This prevents the support layer 106 from developing cracks or dents, thereby providing structural stability for the surface covering product 100. As described below, the support layer 106 is of a foaming structure and has high rigidity. Therefore, the buffering effect of the base layer 104 is particularly beneficial in preventing the support layer 106 from being damaged by an impact force. The base layer 104 is made of an elastic polymer material. In some embodiments, the base layer 104 is made of a polymer resin material. In some embodiments, the base layer 104 is made from at least one of the polymer resin materials including polyethylene terephthalate (PET) , polyvinyl chloride (PVC) , polypropylene (PP) , and polyethylene terephthalate modified with 1, 4-cyclohexanedimethanol (PETG) . In some embodiments, the base layer 104 has a thickness of 0.1-2.0 mm. In some embodiments, the base layer 104 has a thickness of 0.2-0.5 mm.

The support layer 106 is a supercritical foaming polymer material prepared through a supercritical foaming process. The supercritical foaming polymer material of the support layer 106 includes a resin and an inorganic filler. In some embodiments, the supercritical foaming polymer material is prepared through an extrusion process that involves injecting supercritical carbon dioxide (CO₂) , which has been compressed to its critical point, into a well-mixed blend of resin and inorganic fillers. In some embodiments, the resin is selected from halogen-free resin, which does not have halogens. The use of the halogen-free resins reduces hazards to the human body and the environment. In some embodiments, the resin is polyethylene terephthalate (PET) , and the support layer 106 is a supercritical foaming PET material prepared through a supercritical CO₂ foaming process. In some embodiments, the inorganic filler is calcium carbonate (CaCO₃) powder. In some embodiments, the support layer 106 includes 30-40%of CaCO₃ by weight of the support layer 106. Thanks to the good stability of the PET, it facilitates material recycling if the support layer 106 is made from the supercritical foaming PET material.

In some embodiments, the support layer 106 has a density of more than 400 kg/m³ (including 400 kg/m³) . In some embodiments, if the surface covering product 100 is a ceiling or wall panel, the surface covering product 100 uses a support layer 106 having a density of 400 kg/m3-800 kg/m3 to meet the requirement of light weight to the ceiling or wall panel. In some embodiments, if the surface covering product 100 is a ceiling panel and the support layer 106 has a density of 400-800 kg/m3, the support layer 106 is made of PET. In some embodiments, if the surface covering product 100 is a flooring panel, the surface covering product 100 uses a support layer 106 having a density of more than 800 kg/m³ (including 800 kg/m³) to meet the property requirements to the flooring panel, including but not limited to residue indentation property, dimensional stability, and locking strength, etc, . In some embodiments, if the surface covering product 100 is a flooring panel, the surface covering product 100 uses a support layer 106 having a density of 800-1200 kg/m³. In some embodiments, when the density of the support layer 106 is between 800-1200 kg/m³, the support layer 106 is made from PET. In some embodiments, the support layer 106 has a thickness of 4.0-15.0 mm. In some other embodiments, the support layer 106 has a thickness of 4.0-10.0 mm. In some embodiments, if the surface covering product 100 is a ceiling or wall panel, the surface covering product 100 uses a support layer 106 having a thickness of 5-10 mm. In some embodiments, if the surface covering product 100 is used as a flooring panel, the surface covering product 100 uses a support layer 106 having a thickness of 4-8 mm.In some other embodiments, if the surface covering product 100 is used as a flooring panel, the surface covering product 100 uses a support layer 106 having a thickness of 12 mm.In some embodiments, the support layer 106 has an elastic modulus of at least 500 Mpa. In some embodiments, the support layer 106 has a hardness of Shore D40-70. In some embodiments, if the surface covering product 100 is a ceiling or wall panel, the elastic modulus of the support layer 106 ranges from 500 to1500 Mpa, and the hardness of the support layer 106 is Shore D40-60. In some embodiments, if the surface covering product 100 is a flooring panel, the elastic modulus of the support layer 106 ranges from 1500 to 6000 Mpa, and the hardness of the support layer 106 is Shore D60-70.

Compared with a conventional hard support layer, a cellular structure of the support layer 106 provides the surface covering product 100 with improved acoustic effects of sound insulation and radiated sound by impact and improved foot feel. Compared with a soft material, the support layer 106 has improved hardness and rigidity so as to provide the surface covering product 100 with improved indentation-resisting property, strength, and dimensional stability, etc, .

Further, compared with a conventional soft support layer, the support layer 106 with the cellular structure has sufficient rigidity and hardness to allow bearing the entire coupling structures, which connect the adjacent surface covering products 100, on the support layer 106 by cutting the peripheral edges of the support layer 106. As shown in FIG. 1B, the coupling structures comprise a tongue structure 108 and a groove structure 107, which are respectively constructed on the opposite lateral sides of the supporting layer 106. The two adjacent surface covering products 100 are joined together by inserting the tongue structure 108 of one surface covering product 100 into the groove structure 107 of the adjacent surface covering product 100. Since the entire coupling structures are formed on the support layer 106, it is convenient to assemble the surface covering products 100. In some embodiments, the coupling structures are formed to extend from the support layer 106 to other layers of the surface covering product 100.

FIG. 2 shows a cross-sectional view of three surface covering products 100a, 100b, 100c connected together. The tongue structure108 on the support layer 106 of the intermediate surface covering product 100b is inserted into the groove structure 107 on the support layer 106 of the adjacent surface covering product 100a, and the groove structure 107 on the support layer 106 of the intermediate surface covering product 100b receives the tongue structure 108 on the support layer 106 of the adjacent surface covering product 100c. By forming the tongue structure 108 and the groove structure 107 on the support layer 106, on the one hand, it enables the installation of floating flooring panels or ceiling or wall panels, and on the other hand, the free movement of the connected surface covering products 100 is avoided by locking the tongue structures 108 with the corresponding groove structures 107.

Since the cellular structure of the support layer 106 is obtained by the supercritical foaming process, foaming agents and cross-linking agents are eliminated from the support layer 106 compared with a support layer prepared through a conventional chemical foaming process. Hence, less or no harmful substances are released, and the surface covering product 100 is more environmentally friendly. In addition, compared with a foaming material prepared through a conventional chemical foaming process, the support layer 106 prepared through the supercritical foaming process has improved physical properties, including improved impact-resisting property, improved thermal stability, and improved toughness, etc, . The support layer 106 prepared through a supercritical foaming process also has a very low thermal conductivity coefficient and very low thermal conductivity.

As shown in the figures, in some embodiments, the backing layer 111 includes a pad layer 105 and a balance layer 109. The balance layer 109 is attached to the bottom surface of the support layer 106, and the pad layer 105 is attached under the balance layer 109. In other embodiments, the backing layer 111 includes only one of the pad layer 105 and the balance layer 109. In some embodiments, the backing layer 111 has a thickness of 0.3-3.0 mm.

The balance layer 109 serves to counterbalance the surface ornamental layer 110. The balance layer 109 is configured to have a thermal shrinkage rate approximate to that of the wear layer 102 of the surface ornamental layer 110, so that the support layer 106 experiences roughly equal upward and downward forces exerted by the wear layer 102 and the balance layer 109. In this way, the curling of the surface covering product 100 is avoided and the surface covering product 100 could maintain a smooth and flat surface. In some embodiments, the balance layer 109 is made of an elastic polymer material. In some embodiments, the balance layer 109 is made of a polymer resin material. In some embodiments, the polymer resin material of the balance layer 109 is selected from at least one the materials including polyethylene terephthalate (PET) , polyvinyl chloride (PVC) , polypropylene (PP) , and polyethylene terephthalate modified with 1, 4-cyclohexanedimethanol (PETG) and the like. In some embodiments, the balance layer 109 is a melamine impregnated film paper. In some embodiments, the balance layer 109 has a thickness of 0.1-1.0 mm. In some embodiments, the balance layer 109 has a thickness of 0.2-0.5 mm.

The pad layer 105 is elastic to provide the surface covering product 100 with elasticity and impart the surface covering product 100 with good sound insulation effect. Further, the elasticity of the surface covering product 100 prevents the support layer 106 from developing cracks or dents when the surface covering product 100 is subjected to impact, contributing to the structural stability of the surface covering product 100. As described above, the support layer 106 is of a foaming structure with high rigidity. Therefore, the elasticity of the surface covering product 100 is particularly beneficial to preventing the support layer 106 from damaging by an impact force. In some embodiments, the pad layer 105 is made of a soft material having a cellular structure. By adding a foaming agent to a molten material, the cellular structure is obtained before the molten material is shaped and hardened, and the soft material having a cellular structure is obtained. This soft material has an open or closed cellular structure. Compared with a solid structure, the cellular structure provides improved acoustic effects of sound insulation and radiated sound by impact and thermal insulation. Further, since a cellular structure has a lower density than a solid structure, the use of the pad layer 105 further reduces the weight of the surface covering product 100. In some embodiments, the pad layer 105 is made of at least one a cellular-structured material selecting from a group including polyvinyl chloride (PVC) , polypropylene (PP) , polyethylene (PE) , ethylene-vinyl acetate copolymer (EVA) and polyurethane (PUR) , or is a natural cellular-structured material, for example, cork. In some embodiments, the pad layer 105 is a cork layer. In some embodiments, the pad layer 105 has a thickness of 0.5-2.0 mm. In some embodiments, the pad layer 105 has a thickness of 1.0-1.5 mm. In some embodiments, the pad layer 105 has a thickness of 0.7-1.5 mm. In some embodiments, the pad layer 105 has a density of 70-400 kg/m³. In some embodiments, the pad layer 105 has a density of 100-250 kg/m³.

An embodiment of preparing the surface covering product 100 will be described as follows with reference to FIG. 3.

The wear layer 102, the decor layer 103 and the base layer 104 are obtained and attached to each other through an adhesive or a hot press lamination process. Then, a UV-curable coating is applied to a surface of the wear layer 102 to obtain the coat layer 101. The surface ornamental layer 110 is obtained after the coat layer 101 is formed. The surface ornamental layer 110 then undergoes a high-temperature heat treatment. The process of high-temperature heat treatment is described as follows. Firstly, the surface ornamental layer 110 is heated to a temperature of 80-100℃. At this temperature, the surface ornamental layer 110 is placed in hot water for 40 seconds or more. The surface ornamental layer 110 is then cooled. When the temperature of the surface ornamental layer 110 reaches 25-35℃, the high-temperature heat treatment is completed. In some embodiments, the surface ornamental layer 110 is cooled through water cooling. In other embodiments, the surface ornamental layer 110 is not subjected to a high-temperature heat treatment.

The support layer 106, the pad layer 105 and the balance layer 109 are obtained. The top surface of the support layer 106 is attached to the base layer 104 of the surface ornamental layer 110. The top and bottom surfaces of the balance layer 109 are respectively attached to the bottom surface of the support layer 108 and the top surface of the pad layer 105. Thus, a panel sheet is obtained. Although it is described above that the UV-curable coating is applied to the surface of the wear layer 102 to obtain the coat layer 101 after the wear layer 102, the decor layer 103 and the base layer 104 are attached together, in other embodiments, the operation of applying the UV-curable coating to the surface of the wear layer 102 to form the coat layer 101 is performed after the panel sheet is obtained.

The panel sheet is then cut into multiple planks or tiles after a 24-hour conditioning period.

Each plank or tile is cut at the opposite side edges of the support layer 106 to form the coupling structures (i.e., the tongue structure 108 and the groove structure 107) .

After the above steps are completed, the surface covering product 100 of the present disclosure is obtained.

Comparisons between Examples of the surface covering product 100 of the present disclosure and Comparative Examples of the surface covering product are provided below.

Example 1

The surface covering product 100 in Example 1 is prepared by the above method with an overall thickness of 6.0 mm. The surface covering product 100 includes a surface ornamental layer 110, a support layer 106, and a backing layer 111.

The surface ornamental layer 110 includes a coat layer 101 made of a mixture of an epoxy resin and an acrylic resin, a PET wear layer 102, and a PET decor layer 103. The surface ornamental layer 110 has a thickness of 0.5 mm. The dimensional stabilities in an MD direction and in an AMD direction of the PET wear layer 102, which are measured according to ISO 23999, are both less than 0.5%.

The support layer 106 is made of the supercritical carbon dioxide foaming PET. The support layer 106 has a thickness of about 4.0 mm, a density of 1000 kg/m³, a hardness of Shore D60 and an elastic modulus of 1980 MPa, and its dimensional stabilities in the MD direction and the AMD direction measured according to ISO 23999 are both less than 0.5%.

The backing layer 111 includes a PET balance layer 109 and a pad layer 105 made of an irradiated cross-linked polyethylene foam (IXPE) . The backing layer 111 has a thickness of 1.5 mm with the balance layer 109 having a thickness of 0.5 mm and the pad layer 105 having a thickness of 1.0 mm. The dimensional stabilities of the PET balance layer 109 in the MD direction and in the AMD direction, which are measured according to ISO 23999, are both less than 0.5%.

Example 2

The surface covering product 100 in Example 2 is prepared by the above method with an overall thickness of 7.0 mm. The surface covering product 100 includes a surface ornamental layer 110, a support layer 106, and a backing layer 111. The surface covering product 100 of Example 2 has a same support layer 106 with that of Example 1, and has a surface ornamental layer 110 and a backing layer 111 different from those of Example 1.

The surface ornamental layer 110 includes a coat layer 101 made of a mixture of an epoxy resin and an acrylic resin, a PVC wear layer 102, and a PVC decor layer 103. The surface ornamental layer has a thickness of 2.0 mm. The dimensional stabilities of the PVC wear layer 102 in an MD direction and in an AMD direction, which are measured according to ISO 23999, are both less than 0.5%.

The backing layer 111 includes a PVC balance layer 109 and a cork pad layer 105. The backing layer 111 has a thickness of 1.5 mm with the balance layer 109 having a thickness of 0.5 mm and the pad layer 105 having a thickness of 1.0 mm. The dimensional stabilities of the balance layer 109 in the MD direction and in the AMD direction, which are measured according to ISO 23999, are both less than 0.5%.

Comparative Example 1

The surface covering product has an overall thickness of 6.0 mm. The surface covering product 100 includes a surface ornamental layer, a support layer, and a backing layer. The surface covering product of Comparative Example 1 has a same surface ornamental layer and same backing layer as those of Example 1, and has a support layer different from that of Example 1.

The support layer is made of non-foaming PET and has a thickness of about 4.0 mm, a density of 2100 kg/m³, a hardness of Shore D72 and an elastic modulus of 6880 MPa.

Comparative Example 2

The surface covering product has an overall thickness of 7.0 mm. The surface covering product includes a surface ornamental layer, a support layer, and a backing layer.

The surface ornamental layer includes a coat layer, a PVC wear layer, a PVC decor layer and a PVC base layer. The coat layer, the PVC wear layer and the PVC decor layer of the surface ornamental layer in Comparative Example 2 are same as the corresponding layers in Example 2.

The support layer is made of chemical foaming PVC and has a thickness of about 4.0 mm, a density of 1070 kg/m³, a hardness of Shore D65 and an elastic modulus of 1300 MPa.

The backing layer includes a cork pad layer. The backing layer has a thickness of 1.0 mm.

Test results

The following tests were performed on the samples of the above Examples and Comparative Examples.

Acoustic test for sound insulation: The test is performed in a self-developed acoustic testing facility simulating the impact sound insulation class (IIC) rating according to ASTM E492. A higher impact insulation class (IIC) means better sound insulation.

Acoustic test for radiated sound by impact: Following similar concept as EN 16205 method, the acoustic test performed per self-developed test method to assess the noise radiated from the product while receiving impact the impact is generated by a dropped steel ball instead of tapping machine as described in EN 16205. The product subjected to test is firstly acclimated in room temperature (25℃) for 24 hours. Then the product is placed on a flat surface in a specially constructed room with concrete walls and sealed door which can effectively block the ambient noise. Then a solid steel ball with diameter of 36.5 mm and weight of about 198 grams free falls from 1 meter height onto the deco surface of the test sample. A sound receiving device is placed in a fixed location in the same room and the sound pressure generated by the steel ball impacting on the sample product is measured. Then the sound receiving device will send a signal to a connected computational apparatus to output the result expressed in the unit of decibel (dB) . The lower number in this test indicates better acoustic performance in terms of noise radiation.

Residue indentation test: The test is performed according to ASTM F1914.

Locking strength test: The test is performed according to ISO 24334. The result is expressed in the unit of kN/m where kN indicates the destruction force of the locking and m indicates the averaged width of the sample surface of the clamped side of the test specimen.

Dimensional stability test: The test is performed according to ISO 23999.

Coefficient of Thermal Expansion (CTE) test: The CTE test is performed according to the test method as described below. The sample subject to test is firstly acclimated in room temperature (25℃) for 24 hours. After acclimation, the dimension including both machine direction (MD) and Across Machine Direction (AMD) had been measured by caliper. Then the sample is put into oven with a temperature set at 50 ℃ for 2 hours. After heating, the dimensions in both MD and AMD are immediately measured. Then CTE is calculated based on the dimension changes pre-and post-heating.

The test results are listed in Table 1.

Table 1

It can be seen from Table 1 that the surface covering products of the Examples of the present disclosure have smaller densities than the Comparative Examples 1 and 2. The surface covering products of the Examples of the present disclosure have similar sound insulation effects with the Comparative Examples 1 and 2. The surface covering products of the Examples of the present disclosure have slightly better radiated sound by impact than the Comparative Examples 1 and 2. The residue indentation properties of the surface covering products of the Examples of the present disclosure is similar to that of the Comparative Example 1, and are the same as or slightly higher than the Comparative Example 2. The locking strength of the surface covering products in the Examples of the present disclosure is between those of the Comparative Examples 1 and 2 and meet the property requirements to a flooring panel. The dimensional stabilities (curling after heating) of the surface covering products in the Examples of the present disclosure are much better than Comparative Example 2, and are similar to Comparative Example 1 without deformation, and meet the property requirement to a flooring panel. The coefficients of thermal expansion of the surface covering products of the Examples of the present disclosure are similar to Comparative Example 2 and meet the property requirement to a flooring panel.

Therefore, with having a support layer made of a supercritical foaming polymer material, the surface covering product of the present disclosure has a lower density, and thus the transportation cost and the mounting difficulty of the surface covering product are reduced. The support layer made of the supercritical foaming polymer material further improves the acoustic effects of sound insulation and radiated sound by impact and brings improved foot feel when being used as a flooring panel. Although the support layer of the surface covering product of the present disclosure is made of the supercritical foaming polymer material, the support layer can still provide good hardness and rigid support. Therefore, when being used as a flooring panel, the surface covering product of the present disclosure has a good indentation-resisting capability. Moreover, even though the support layer of the surface covering product of the present disclosure is made of the supercritical foaming polymer material, the support layer still has good locking strength to allow the entire coupling structures to be formed on the support layer so as to facilitate the assembly of the surface covering products of the present disclosure. The surface covering product of the present disclosure has good dimensional stability, is not prone to warping and can maintain surface flatness. The coefficient of thermal expansion of the surface covering product of the present disclosure meets the use requirement to a floor panel.

The present disclosure has at least the following technical effects.

1. The surface covering product of the present disclosure has a low density, and thus the transportation cost and the mounting difficulty of the surface covering product are reduced.

2. With having a support layer made of the supercritical foaming polymer material, the surface covering product has good acoustic effects of sound insulation and radiated sound by impact and brings improved foot feel when being used as a flooring panel.

3. The support layer of the surface covering product of the present disclosure has sufficient locking strength to allow the entire coupling structures for connecting the adjacent surface covering products to be formed on the support layer so as to facilitate the assembly of the surface covering products.

4. The support layer of the surface covering product of the present disclosure has sufficient hardness and rigidity, so that the surface covering product has good indentation-resisting capability when being used as a flooring panel.

5. The surface covering product of the present disclosure has good dimensional stability and coefficient of thermal expansion.

6. No cross-linking agent and no foaming agent are used in the support layer prepared by using the supercritical foaming process, so that the surface covering product of the present disclosure is more environmentally friendly.

7. Using the PET to prepare the support layer facilitates the material recycling.

Although the present disclosure is described with reference to the examples of the embodiments outlined above, various alternatives, modifications, variations, improvements and/or substantial equivalents, which are known or can be anticipated at present or to be anticipated before long, may be obvious to those of at least ordinary skill in the art. In addition, the technical effects and/or technical problems described in this specification are exemplary rather than limiting; Therefore, the disclosure in this specification may be used to solve other technical problems and have other technical effects and/or may solve other technical problems. Accordingly, the examples of the embodiments of the present disclosure as set forth above are intended to be illustrative rather than limiting. Various changes may be made without departing from the spirit or scope of the present disclosure. Therefore, the present disclosure is intended to embrace all known or earlier disclosed alternatives, modifications, variations, improvements and/or substantial equivalents.

Claims

A surface covering product, characterized by comprising:

a surface ornamental layer; and

a support layer located under the surface ornamental layer and attached to the surface ornamental layer, wherein the support layer is made of a supercritical foaming polymer material and has a density of more than 400 kg/m³ (including 400 kg/m³) .
The surface covering product according to claim 1, characterized by further comprising

a backing layer located under the support layer and attached to the support layer.
The surface covering product according to claim 2, characterized in that

the surface ornamental layer comprises a wear layer; and

the backing layer comprises a balance layer attached to the support layer;

wherein the balance layer is configured to cooperate with the wear layer to enable the surface covering product to have a smooth and flat surface.
The surface covering product according to claim 3, characterized in that

the surface ornamental layer comprises a base layer having a bottom surface attached to the support layer and an upper surface attached to the wear layer, wherein the base layer has elasticity to provide buffering for the support layer (106) when the surface covering product is subjected to impact.
The surface covering product according to claim 4, characterized in that

the backing layer comprises a pad layer attached to a bottom surface of the balance layer (109) , wherein the pad layer is elastic to provide the surface covering product with elasticity and impart the surface covering product with sound insulation effect.
The surface covering product according to claim 1, characterized in that

the support layer is made of a supercritical foaming halogen-free resin.
The surface covering product according to claim 6, characterized in that

the support layer is made of a supercritical foaming PET resin.
The surface covering product according to claim 7, characterized in that

the supercritical foaming PET resin is produced using carbon dioxide as the foaming agent through a supercritical foaming process.
The surface covering product according to claim 7, characterized in that supercritical foaming PET resin comprises an inorganic filler.
The surface covering product according to claim 1, characterized in that

the surface covering product is a ceiling or wall panel, wherein the support layer has a density of 400-800 kg/m³.
The surface covering product according to claim 1, characterized in that

the surface covering product is a flooring panel, wherein the support layer has a density of more than 800 kg/m³ (including 800 kg/m³) .
The surface covering product according to claim 11, characterized in that

the support layer has a density of 800-1200 kg/m³.
The surface covering product according to claim 1, characterized in that

the support layer has a hardness of Shore D40-70.
The surface covering product according to claim 1, characterized in that

the support layer has an elastic modulus of at least 500 Mpa.
The surface covering product according to claim 14, characterized in that

the support layer has an elastic modulus of 500-1500 Mpa.
The surface covering product according to claim 14, characterized in that

the support layer has an elastic modulus of 1500-6000 Mpa.
The surface covering product according to claim 1, characterized in that

the surface covering product has coupling structures for connecting the adjacent surface covering products of a plurality of the surface covering products, wherein the coupling structures are formed on the support layer by cutting at least a part of the support layer.
The surface covering product according to claim 17, characterized in that

the coupling structures comprise a tongue structure and a groove structure respectively located at two opposite side edges of the support layer.