Armstrong World Industries, Inc.

Awi Licensing Company

Lowell E West

Harry D Ward

Chau H Duong

R Suter Hudson

Robert E Waters

Surface coverings and surface covering components and methods for forming them using slot die coating are disclosed. The methods involve applying a plurality of wet layers to a substrate simultaneously or in sequence using a slot die coater, wherein a plurality of wet layers can be applied before any of the individual layers are dried, gelled, cured and/or fused. The layers remain separate and distinct before and after drying, gelling, curing and/or fusing, and can be dried, gelled, cured and/or fused together or separately after wet on wet application to the substrate. The surface coverings may be decorative surface covering, including floor coverings.

Method and apparatus for manufacturing sheet flooring by simultaneous multi-layer die coating

A highly filled surface covering, preferably a floor covering and more preferably a floor tile, includes a resin layer which has about 80% to about 95% by weight of filler and a chlorine-free binder. The binder includes a mixture of a maleic anhydride grafted polyethylene and a substantially linear ethylene/octene copolymer. The ratio of maleic anhydride grafted polyethylene and ethylene/octene copolymer is from about 1:5 to about 1:15 by weight. The preferred formulation for the binder includes a solid tackifier selected from the group consisting of a hydrocarbon resin having an ester moiety and hydrogenated aromatic resin.

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Elizabethtown, PA, United States of America

Lowell E West