Awi Licensing Company

Elizabeth A Malkowski

Jeffrey S Ross

Gary A Sigel

Larry W Leininger

William M McQuate

Richard E Herr, Jr

John J Orlando

David A Kraft

An apparatus for placing particles onto a substrate, methods for using the apparatus to deposit particles on a substrate and substrates prepared using the apparatus are disclosed. The apparatus includes a rotary screen, a blade disposed for directing and urging the particles through the screen, and a sheet mounted in a position to receive the particles from a feeder and deliver the particles to the rotary screen substantially across the blade. The apparatus can include a frame on which a rotary screen is rotatably mounted and a feed system disposed within and extending substantially along the length of the screen for distributing the particles. The apparatus can optionally include a vacuum means, an anti-static means and/or collection pans for handling stray particles. The screen can include a series of openings in the form of a pattern, and can be used to place particles in a pattern in register with a design or pattern on a substrate as the substrate passes under the openings in the screen.

Apparatus for placing particles in a pattern onto a substrate

The invention comprises a composition and method for controlling the gloss of surface covering products through curing of the composition to create a wearlayer surface, and preferably on a floor covering product. The surface covering product preferably is prepared by application of an aromatic polyester acrylate composition including a flatting agent and/or hard particles, and at least one free-radical generating compound to a substrate, and then the coating is partially cured by exposure to low peak irradiance UV light in either ambient or inert air, followed by fully curing the coating with high peak irradiance UV light in preferably an inert atmosphere to form a low gloss abrasion resistant wearlayer surface. Alternatively, a high gloss wearlayer surface is obtained by solely exposing the preferred composition to high peak irradiance UV light in ambient atmosphere. Furthermore, a differential gloss flooring product is obtained by using the present inventive method described herein.

Process for providing a gloss controlled, abrasion resistant coating on surface covering products

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Lancaster, PA, United States of America

Elizabeth A Malkowski