US-12618244-B2 - Floor element for forming a floor covering and a floor covering

US12618244B2US 12618244 B2US12618244 B2US 12618244B2US-12618244-B2

Abstract

A floor element for forming a floor covering, wherein the floor element comprises a decorative layer made of a ceramic material; a support layer arranged below the decorative layer; and a reinforcing layer arranged in between the decorative layer and the support layer, wherein the support layer comprises edges provided with coupling elements configured to realize a mechanical coupling with coupling elements of an adjacent floor element.

Inventors

Rahul Patki
Laurent Meersseman
Claudio BENEVENTI
Claudio Caselli

Assignees

UNILIN BV

Dates

Publication Date: 20260505
Application Date: 20231031
Priority Date: 20170515

Claims (16)

1 . A floor element for forming a floor covering, the floor element comprising: a decorative layer made of a ceramic material; a support layer arranged below the decorative layer, the support layer comprising a rigid polyvinylchloride (PVC), wherein the rigid PVC comprises less than 15 phr of plasticizer; and a reinforcing layer located between the decorative layer and the support layer, wherein the support layer comprises edges provided with coupling elements configured to realize a mechanical coupling with coupling elements of an adjacent floor element, wherein the coupling elements comprise at least one male part and at least one female part, wherein in a coupled condition of adjacent floor elements, locking surfaces are formed limiting the mutual movement of the adjacent floor elements in at least in a vertical direction, wherein the male part protrudes outwardly beyond an upper edge of the decorative layer and the female part extends inwardly beyond an upper edge of the decorative layer to thereby form an undercut underneath the decorative layer so that the locking surfaces limiting the movement in the vertical direction are at least formed by a top surface of the male part and an upper surface of the undercut formed by the female part, wherein the upper surface of the undercut is a bottom surface of the decorative layer delimiting the undercut in an upward direction, wherein the floor element has an impact strength greater than 1.91 Newton-meter (Nm), wherein in a coupled condition of the adjacent floor elements, the locking surfaces are formed, limiting the mutual movement of the adjacent floor elements in at least one horizontal direction, wherein in a coupled condition of the adjacent floor elements, first locking surfaces are formed limiting the mutual movement of the adjacent floor elements in a horizontal direction along the coupled edges, as well as second locking surfaces limiting the mutual movement of the adjacent floor elements in a direction that is substantially horizontal and perpendicular to the coupled edges, and wherein the locking surfaces comprise portions positioned on resilient arms.
2 . The floor element according to claim 1 , wherein the reinforcing layer comprises a fiberglass layer or a fiberglass mat.
3 . The floor element according to claim 1 , wherein the reinforcing layer comprises a metal plate with a coefficient of thermal expansion higher than the coefficient of thermal expansion of the decorative layer.
4 . The floor element according to claim 1 , wherein the decorative layer has a thickness between 4 and 15 mm.
5 . The floor element according to claim 1 , wherein the floor element has a thickness of 13 mm or less.
6 . The floor element according to claim 1 , wherein the decorative layer comprises a brittle material and/or comprises natural stone, glass, or concrete.
7 . The floor element according to claim 1 , wherein the support layer further comprises fiber cement.
8 . The floor element according to claim 1 , wherein the coupling elements are configured to realize the coupling by means of a translational downward motion of the floor element with respect to the adjacent floor element.
9 . The floor element according to claim 1 , wherein the male part is in the form of a tongue and the female part is in the form of a groove, or wherein the male part and the female part are dovetail shaped in a top plane view.
10 . The floor element according to claim 1 , wherein the decorative layer is mounted on the support layer in such a way that, in a coupled condition of two of the floor elements an intermediate distance is available between the decorative layers.
11 . A floor covering comprising a plurality of adjacent floor elements according to claim 1 .
12 . A floor covering comprising a plurality of adjacent floor elements, wherein at least one floor element of the plurality of floor elements comprises: a decorative layer of ceramic; a support layer arranged below the decorative layer, the support layer comprising a rigid polyvinylchloride (PVC), wherein the rigid PVC comprises less than 15 phr of plasticizer, wherein the at least one floor element of the plurality of floor elements has an impact strength greater than 1.91 Newton-meter (Nm), wherein the floor covering comprises the combination of the following features: coupling elements configured to realize a coupling with coupling elements of adjacent floor elements; and a grout filling an intermediate distance separating the decorative layers of the floor elements, wherein the coupling elements comprise at least one male part and at least one female part, wherein in a coupled condition of adjacent floor elements, locking surfaces are formed limiting the mutual movement of the adjacent floor elements in at least in a vertical direction, wherein the male part protrudes outwardly beyond an upper edge of the decorative layer and the female part extends inwardly beyond an upper edge of the decorative layer to thereby form an undercut underneath the decorative layer so that the locking surfaces limiting the movement in the vertical direction are at least formed by a top surface of the male part and an upper surface of the undercut formed by the female part, wherein the upper surface of the undercut is a bottom surface of the decorative layer delimiting the undercut in an upward direction, wherein the floor element has an impact strength greater than 1.91 Newton-meter (Nm), wherein in a coupled condition of the adjacent floor elements, the locking surfaces are formed, limiting the mutual movement of the adjacent floor elements in at least one horizontal direction, wherein in a coupled condition of the adjacent floor elements, first locking surfaces are formed limiting the mutual movement of the adjacent floor elements in a horizontal direction along the coupled edges, as well as second locking surfaces limiting the mutual movement of the adjacent floor elements in a direction that is substantially horizontal and perpendicular to the coupled edges, and wherein the locking surfaces comprise portions positioned on resilient arms.
13 . The floor covering according to claim 12 , wherein the floor covering comprises an underlayment beneath the plurality of floor elements configured to act as a moisture and/or noise barrier.
14 . The floor covering according to claim 12 , wherein the plurality of floor elements lie on a subsurface and wherein the plurality of floor elements are separated from the subsurface.
15 . The floor covering according to claim 12 , wherein the plurality of floor elements have an elongated shape.
16 . The floor covering according to claim 12 , wherein the plurality of floor elements are disposed in an offset relationship.

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 17/660,866 filed 27 Apr. 2022, which is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 16/612,574 filed on 11 Nov. 2019, now U.S. Pat. No. 11,346,113, which is a National Stage Entry of and claims priority to PCT Application No. PCT/IB2018/053331, filed on 14 May 2018, which claims priority to EP Application No. EP17000832.0, filed 15 May 2017, the disclosures of each of which are herein incorporated by reference in their entirety. BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a floor element for forming a floor covering and a floor covering. More particularly, the invention is related to a floor element for forming a floor covering, wherein this floor element comprises a decorative layer made of a brittle material such as natural stone, glass or sintered ceramic materials like porcelain, earthenware or the like. The decorative layer can for example be a ceramic tile. 2. Related Art Traditionally, ceramic tiles are installed by laying them side by side on a surface such as a floor or wall. Typically, an adhesive compound is used to attach the tiles to the surface. Seams between the tiles are grouted. In this way, the tiles are bonded to a rigid surface, for example a concrete subfloor, thereby improving their impact strength. The bound with the subfloor, and thus also with the structure of the dwelling, also leads to a high attenuation of walking sounds, both in the room where the floor is installed, and in quarters below the respective room. The tiled surface is water impervious and hygienic, since it can be cleaned in a very wet manner. The step of installing the tiles with an adhesive is, however, labor intensive and represents a significant portion of the labor involved in a typical floor covering installation. Moreover, this installing technique requires a high professional competence in order to obtain a well levelled floor covering. Thus, due to the time and labor involved in the installation, it is typically quite costly to have tiles professionally installed. To substitute an existing floor covering made of tiles, it is often necessary to break the tiles, regenerate the surface by removing the residues of adhesive and then install a new floor covering. Thus, the demolition of a floor covering made of tiles is a labor and time consuming operation. If the aim of the restoration is to substitute only one or a few damaged tiles, this operation becomes also difficult, since the substitution of one tile preferably does not damage the adjacent tiles. In recent years, manufacturers have attempted to produce do-it-yourself tiling solutions that are easier to install. Some examples of these attempts are shown in WO 2004/097141 and WO 2008/097860. The floor elements disclosed in those documents can be laid on a surface and mechanically coupled together to form a floor covering without the use of an adhesive, thereby reducing the labor and time of the installing phase. Such kind of floor covering is known as a floating floor covering. In particular, in these documents, a ceramic tile or natural stone slab is fixed to a support layer that comprises coupling elements configured to realize a coupling with coupling elements of an adjacent floor element, thereby forming a floor covering. On the other hand, since such floor elements are not bonded to a common rigid surface, the impact strength and, consequently, the fatigue strength is significantly reduced. The floating installation may also give rise to louder walking noise. The joints between the tiles of WO 2008/097860 may be prone to water penetration especially upon wet cleaning. According to some embodiments of WO 2004/097141, grout may be applied in the joints available between adjacent floor elements, which may lead to water imperviousness of the respective joint. To improve the impact resistance of ceramic tiles, US 2014/349084 suggests a tile with a composite build-up. In this composite tile, a reinforcing layer is arranged in between two ceramic layers or in between a ceramic layer and a polymer laminate. As example of a reinforcing layer, a fiberglass layer is mentioned. The installation of this tile is, however, still cumbersome. A bonding with an underlying subfloor is required, for example via a bottom layer with pressure sensitive adhesive or tack fast loop fabric so that the tile is substantially made solid with the subfloor for improving the impact strength. Moreover, a precise positioning of the tile is difficult. WO 2010/072704 proposes a different type of reinforcing layer, namely a steel plate. This steel plate is adhered to the back surface of the ceramic tile or slab. Also here, the installation is, however, difficult. The installation is done by simply resting the tiles on a subfloor, so that a precise positioning of the tile is difficult and the floor covering results in a not well leve