Shape-conforming surface covering
A shape-conforming surface covering useful for covering any type of surfaces, and including planks or sheets of a plastic or flexible material adapted to be interconnected aside of each other thereby forming an assembled surface covering of optional length and width, and which planks or sheet are of a material that can be brought to curved formations, and which at the upper surface of the covering is roughened, for instance sanded or filed so as to imitate any unique grain effect of wooden material. Preferably the planks or sheet are formed with a connection arrangement at the longitudinal edges thereof. The surface covering may be an assembled unit including planks and caulking elements between each pair of planks.
The present application is a continuation of U.S. application Ser. No. 10/018,316, filed Aug. 5, 2003. Priority of application Ser. Nos. 10/018,316 filed on Aug. 5, 2003 is/are claimed under 35 U.S.C. § 120/119(e).
FIELD OF THE INVENTIONThe present invention relates to a shape-conforming surface covering useful for covering a floor surface, a wall surface, a boat or yacht deck, floor boards in boats and yachts, bath and shower room floors and walls coverings, swimming pool surroundings, curved floor plans inside and outside buildings, claddings and coverings of many other types of surface recipients, including decoration. The surface covering according to the invention is formed by strips of an flexible material and is adapted for being laid in slightly curved formation where necessary, and it is generally intended to imitate a type of deck made by teak, mahogany, Oregon pine etc. and which is sometimes formed with narrow seams by a rubber type material, which is normally of a contrasting colour, often black.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTIONThere are in use many surface coverings, many of which are made of straight planks with a version of the present invention easily being usable. Some applications, however, require conformity to curved shapes of the covering base. A typical example is teak planked deck of a yacht. Such surfaces have to be of a good, non slip character, and have to be at least fairly unaffected by water and have to look attractive. Wood, such as teak has been used for many years, but such wooden material is in many ways impractical and of relatively short lifespan. Curved wooden surfaces necessitate considerable stressing, preparation like adapting of the wooden ribs to any curved surface, fixing by screws, use of sealing compound and regular maintenance, especially scrubbing, oiling and varnishing and the use of pollution-causing cleaning chemicals on a regular basis and in large amounts. When used on boats, in particular, these chemicals may drain into the surrounding water. Curved wooden ribs or planks also involve an inherent spring stress requiring a strong fixation, generally using screws or bolts. Further, the new look of a teak deck is lost within weeks, and the whole deck requires major work or replacement in four to six years on average.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTIONEcologically this invention does not require the cutting down of trees and is recyclable. The invention can take the place of tropical hardwoods used throughout the world in many applications.
The present invention is adapted to suggest a shape-conforming surface covering comprising lengths of ribs of mostly the same cross section, but with differing cross sections included within the surface or at its edges or ends as required, of specifically shaped plastic material, which plastic ribs are of such flexibility that then can be made to follow at least slightly curved surfaces, tight curves being attainable with the use of heat. The lengths of ribs are adapted to be connected edge to edge in various combinations to form collectively the required size and shape of the surface to be covered. A variation of the invention can be produced with the same material and finish in other cross sections to used for the edges of steps for example, or other functional or decorative applications. Normally a jointing compound must be used on wooden decks, but according to the invention the individual planks and/or caulking strips are malleable, becoming more and more malleable at increasing temperatures. According to the present invention the need for these “later applied” compound along the joints is no longer necessary. The new shapes or curves taken up by the planks or caulking strips become a relatively stress free feature of these planks or caulking strips unless re-adjustment is necessary, whereby re-adjustment can be made by applying heat to the strips, for instance using a hot air gun, hot water, radiant heat etc.
The planks and strips preferably are formed by extrusion of a plastic material and with matching locking means along the longitudinal edges thereof, preferably groove and tenon means. The planks likewise can be formed with narrow strips of a different colour imitating seams of the type used in applying wooden deck on a yacht. The colours of the described planks and strips can easily be changed in the manufacturing extrusion process.
The surface covering as assembled, complete or in sections, is fixed to the recipient surface by means of an adhesive, and to this end the planks and strips preferably are formed with a suitable bottom surface facilitating the fixing of the covering. There is no need for using screws or bolts and associated holes because captive springing is not a problem as is normally the case with wooden planking made to conform with a curvature.
The surface covering according to the invention can be subjected various mechanical an manual abrasive techniques for specifically forming the surface of the plastic material such as sanding under specific conditions to provide a surface effect which is extremely similar to that of grained wood both in texture and appearance.
The surface covering according to the invention is advantageous in several respects over ordinary wooden coverings of similar types:
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- it is completely waterproof; it is easily washable to look new every time, even jet washable what is not possible for ordinary wooden coverings since jet washing is damaging to the wood grain; it is extremely non slip, it is extremely stain resistant; it is easy to assemble; it can easily be laid in curvature; it can easily be shaped using heat; there is no need for using nails, screws or bolts for fixing same to the recipient; it is throughout a solid or an integral material which can be sanded repeatedly upon need.
Now the invention is to be described in detail by way of examples and with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:
In a version of the invention a sheet would be extruded without the caulking strips with the caulking strips co-extruded integral, or with facility to incorporate applied caulking strips.
Both the planks and the caulking strips can be made with different colours, imitating wood like teak, mahogany, pine, Oregon pine, redwood, etc. For example, the planks may have a colour and lustre imitating the colour and grain structure of a wooden material. The caulking strips preferably are made of another colour than the planks, for instance a black colour imitating the rubber material seams in seamed decks of yachts. It also retains its colour far better than the natural wood which it resembles. Moreover, the planks may be made of a plastic or resin material, such as PVC for example, that may include additives for providing UV protection, fire retardants, and natural or synthetic fibres. The planks may be formed with streaks of lines of colour included in the extrusion to further imitate the grain in wood. The planks may be used as a floor surface, a wall surface a boat or yacht deck, floor board in boats and yachts, bath and shower room floors and walls covering, swimming pool surroundings, curved floor planks inside and outside buildings, claddings and covering of many other types of surfaces. The planks may also be partly filled with a rigid material.
The planks and the caulking strips can be arranged for interconnection in several ways. In
In any of the examples the caulking strip could be a softer material than that of the plank to come under compression, captive or otherwise when the product is assembled
For giving the planks, and the caulking strips a configuration similar to that of wood, the planks are, according to the invention, sanded, for instance using a belt sander 14 as shown in
The assembled surface covering material 18 is glued at the bottom side thereof and laid as shown in
Claims
1. A surface covering comprising planks of a flexible shape-conforming material interconnectable to form a surface, said planks being formed from a material that can be laid in curved formations, said planks having a roughened upper surface and having longitudinal slots on a surface opposite said upper surface for facilitating the curving of the planks and providing a base for a glue or adhesive material for mounting the surface covering on a surface recipient.
2. The surface covering of claim 1 wherein said upper surface comprises a simulated wood grain.
3. The surface covering of claim 1, wherein the planks comprise one or more additives selected from the group consisting of additives for providing UV protection, fire retardance substances, natural fibers and synthetic fibers.
4. The surface covering of claim 1, wherein each of the planks includes a longitudinally extending male connecting portion and a longitudinally extending female connecting portion.
5. The surface covering of claim 1 including caulking strips between pairs of adjacent planks.
6. A surface covering comprising at least first and second shape-conforming planks, said first plank being conformed to the curved edge of a surface to be covered and the second plank being conformed to the curved edge of said first plank.
7. The surface covering of claim 6 including shape-conforming caulking strip between said first and second planks.
8. The surface covering of claim 6 wherein said first and second planks are interconnected.
9. The surface covering of claim 7 wherein said caulking strip is connected to at least one of said first and second planks.
10. The surface covering of claim 7 wherein said first plank is formed from PVC.
11. The surface covering of claim 7 wherein said first plank has a wood grain texture.
12. The surface covering of claim 7 wherein said first plank has a roughened surface.
13. The surface covering of claim 7 wherein said first plank, said second plank, and said caulking strip are co-extruded.
14. The surface covering of claim 7 wherein each of said planks and said caulking strip includes a male interconnecting portion and a female interconnection portion, the male interconnecting portion of said first plank being connectable to a female interconnecting portion on the second plank or the caulking strip.
15. A method of covering a surface having a curved edge comprising the steps of:
- providing a plurality of planar planks;
- placing a first planar plank on a surface to be covered;
- heating the first plank;
- bending the first plank to conform it to the curved edge of the surface to be covered;
- placing a second plank on the surface to be covered;
- heating the second plank; and
- forcing the second plank against the first plank to conform the second plank to the curve of the first plank.
16. The method of claim 15 including the additional steps of:
- providing a plurality of planar caulking strips;
- bending a first one of the caulking strips and placing the bent caulking strip against the first plank before forcing the second plank against the first plank.
17. The method of claim 15 including the additional step of attaching the first plank to the surface.
18. The method of claim 15 including the additional step of forming a simulated wood grain in the first plank by sanding or brushing the surface of the first plank.
19. The method of claim 15 including the additional step of forming a simulated wood grain in the first plank by sanding discrete portions of the first plank at an oblique angle to a length of the plank.
Type: Application
Filed: Dec 30, 2004
Publication Date: May 26, 2005
Inventor: Derek Whitaker (East Yorkshire)
Application Number: 11/024,817