IMITATION WOOD PLANK

Abstract

An imitation wood plank comprises an elongate planar member having a top surface, a bottom surface and opposing sides. The top surface includes a wood grain pattern. The bottom surface includes a central portion and side margins disposed on opposing sides of the central portion. An adhesive material for adhering the elongate member to a sub-floor is applied to the central portion and extends substantially the entire length of the elongate member. The side margins are free of adhesive and provide a pathway for moisture to migrate from the sub-floor through gaps between adjacent imitation wood planks.

Description

RELATED APPLICATION

The application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Patent Application 61/658,614 filed Jun. 12, 2012, which is incorporated herein by reference.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention relates generally to flooring and, more particularly, to an imitation wood plank.

BACKGROUND

Most home owners prefer natural flooring materials such as wood, stone, brick, marble and granite. However, such traditional flooring materials tend to be expensive to produce and install.

Laminate flooring provides an attractive alternative to natural flooring materials. Laminate flooring is manufactured to look like natural products, such as wood flooring or natural stone, yet is made of a synthetic material. Laminate flooring is typically less expensive than wood or natural stone, and is relatively easy for a homeowner to install on his own.

There are several problems with conventional laminate flooring products. First, although laminate flooring is designed to imitate natural flooring materials, most laminate flooring is not realistic in appearance and texture. Thus, most people can readily distinguish laminate flooring products from natural products.

Another problem relates to installation of laminate flooring over a concrete subfloor. Concrete is a porous material that can allow moisture to migrate into the laminate flooring, which can cause adhesives to loosen, flooring to warp, and mold and mildew to develop. In the case of a concrete sub-floor, a moisture barrier is typically installed between the sub-floor and the laminate flooring to prevent moisture in the concrete from migrating.

SUMMARY

The present invention comprises an imitation wood plank that is realistic in appearance and texture, and can be applied directly over a sub-floor without a moisture barrier. The imitation wood plank comprises an elongate planar member having a top surface, a bottom surface and opposing sides. The top surface includes a wood grain pattern. The bottom surface includes a central portion and side margins disposed on opposing sides of the central portion. An adhesive material for adhering the elongate member to a sub-floor is applied to the central portion and extends substantially the entire length of the elongate member. The side margins are free of adhesive and provide a pathway for moisture to migrate from the sub-floor through gaps between adjacent imitation wood planks.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a floor system comprising imitation wood planks.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view illustrating a top surface of an imitation wood plank.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view illustrating a bottom surface of an imitation wood plank.

FIG. 4 illustrates air circulation between the floor system and the subfloor.

FIG. 5 illustrates a mold for forming the imitation wood planks.

FIG. 6 illustrates a mold bed for creating a mold to form the imitation wood planks.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The present invention comprises an imitation wood plank floor system 10 as shown in FIG. 1. The floor system 10 comprises a plurality of with imitation wood planks 12 molded from a thermoset polyester.

As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, each plank 12 comprises a generally planar member having a top surface 14, a bottom surface 16, sides 18, and ends 20. The top and bottom surfaces 14, 16 are generally parallel. The sides 18 of the plank 12 are perpendicular to the top and bottom surface 14, 16 and parallel to one another. The ends 20 of the plank 12 are square to the sides 18 and perpendicular to the top and bottom surfaces 14, 16. The top surface 14 of the plank 12 has a grain pattern 22 that imitates a natural wood grain. The bottom surface 16 of the plank 12 preferably has a smooth finish.

A pressure sensitive adhesive (PSA) 24 is applied to the bottom surface 30 of the plank as best seen in FIG. 3. A peel-away cover 26 protects the PSA 24 prior to installation. The PSA 24 is applied to a center portion 30 of the bottom surface 16 and extends longitudinally for substantially the entire length of the plank 12. The adhesive is preferably resistant to alkali compounds. The side margins 32 on bottom surface 16 are free of adhesive. By allowing the side margins 32 to remain un-adhered, a pathway is provided to allow moisture migrating up through the subfloor to escape through gaps between adjacent planks. As shown in FIG. 4, the weight of persons walking on the floor system 10 creates air circulation in the side margins 32 and joints between the planks 12, thus allowing normal aspiration of the subfloor.

Referring to FIG. 5, the planks 12 can be molded in an open face silicon rubber mold 70 using polyester or other thermoset plastic material. The plank 12 is formed by pouring the polyester or other thermoset plastic material into the mold 70, allowing the polyester or thermoset plastic material to set to create the plank 12, and removing the plank 12 from the mold 70. If necessary, the board can be planed or sanded to ensure that the boards are uniform in size.

To obtain the natural grain pattern 22, a natural board 60 can be used as a plug to create the silicon rubber mold 70. To create the mold 70, a natural board 60 can be placed in a mold bed 50. The mold bed 50 comprises a base 52 and an enclosed sidewall structure 54 mounted on the top surface of the base 52. The board 60 is placed in the mold bed 50 so that the side with the desired grain pattern faces up. Silicon rubber is then poured over the natural board 60 to create a mold 70. When the rubber is set, the mold 70 is removed from the mold bed 50 and the natural board 60 is removed from the mold cavity.

One advantage of the present invention is that the floor system is “breathable” so that moisture beneath the floor system 10 is provided a pathway to escape. This feature allows the floor system 10 to be applied directly over the subfloor without the need for a moisture barrier. In the case of concrete subfloors, the moisture may have high concentrations of alkali compounds that could possibly attack and degrade adhesives. The breathable floor system 10 of the present invention allows the moisture to escape and thus prevents degradation of the adhesives securing the floor system 10 to the subfloor.

Of course, those skilled in the art will appreciate that the present invention is not limited to the above contexts or examples, and will recognize additional features and advantages upon reading the following detailed description and upon viewing the accompanying drawings

Claims

1. An imitation wood plank comprising:

an elongate planar member formed of a thermoplastic material and having a top surface, a bottom surface, and opposing sides, wherein the bottom surface includes a central portion and two side margins disposed on opposing sides of the central portion;

a wood grain pattern formed on the top surface of the planar member;

a pressure sensitive adhesive applied to a central portion of bottom surface of the planar member and extending substantially the entire length of the planar member;

wherein the side margins on the bottom surface on either side of the central portion are free of adhesive.

2. The imitation wood plank of claim 1 wherein the adhesive comprises an alkali-resistant adhesive.

3. A floor system comprising:

a sub-floor;

a plurality of imitation wood planks disposed over the sub-floor, each wood plank comprising: an elongate planar member formed of a thermoplastic material and having a top surface, a bottom surface, and opposing sides, wherein the bottom surface includes a central portion and two side margins disposed on opposing sides of the central portion; a wood grain pattern formed on the top surface of the planar member; a pressure sensitive adhesive applied to a central portion of bottom surface of the planar member and extending substantially the entire length of the planar member for adhering the wood planks to the sub-floor; wherein the side margins on the bottom surface on either side of the central portion are free of adhesive to allow moisture to migrate from the sub-floor through gaps between adjacent wood planks.

4. The floor system of claim 3 wherein the adhesive comprises an alkali-resistant adhesive.