Armstrong World Industries, Inc.

Awi Licensing Company

Other

Ralph W Wright, Jr

William J Kauffman

Cheryl W Landers

Gary A Sigel

Jennifer W Sager

William B Saporetti

Brenda L Finley

Dong Tian

Peter A Christie

Timothy D Colyer

W Craig Brossman

Steven F Hynicka

Scott Whalen

Scott A Whalen

Methods for providing surface coverings with differential gloss, and surface coverings prepared by the method, are disclosed. The methods involve screen printing or rotogravure printing a relatively low gloss primer onto portions of a substrate surface covering. The primer-coated substrate is then coated with a relatively higher gloss coating composition, and the coating compositions are cured, advantageously in a single curing step. The result is a surface covering including a top coat having a lower gloss level overlying the primer and a higher gloss level in the regions not overlying the primer.

Multiple gloss level surface coverings and method of making

A method and composition for providing a colored high performance wear surface for floor coverings is disclosed. Specifically, the floor covering includes a substrate and a high performance layer comprising a radiation cured pigmented composition. The exposed surface of the floor covering has a stain resistance of less than about 150 Delta E units. A pigmented high performance wear layer can be added in register with a printed design on the substrate or in register with an embossed texture of the substrate. Additionally, a high performance topcoat wear layer may be added. The pigmented high performance layer may include a nacreous pigment.

Pigmented radiation cured wear layer

Disclosed is both a method and apparatus for mechanically embossing a surface covering. The apparatus includes an embossing tool comprising a slurry. The slurry includes both a filler and binder. The method includes printing a slurry onto a surface covering and compressing the slurry onto the surface covering to create a mechanically embossed texture onto the surface covering.

Method for mechanically embossing a surface covering using a recyclable solidified slurry embossing tool

A sheet flooring product, including a homogeneous melt processable resin layer formed of a melt processable, non-plastisol layer, and an adjacent felt layer produced by a beater saturated method and having a substantially uniform thickness of between about 5 mils and about 40 mils. The melt processable resin layer is preferably applied by a hot melt calender (&ldquo;HMC&rdquo;) process to achieve enhanced can drop, refrigerator drag and indentation values.

Sheets flooring product and method

A flooring installation is characterized by installing an underlayment between the flooring material and the subfloor. The underlayment includes a polymeric layer, preferably a foamed polymeric layer, and a fiber mat, preferably a glass fiber. The foamed polymer interpenetrates at least the lower portion of the glass mat. A portion of the fiber mat is preferably unsaturated. The fiber mat may have an acrylic latex tie coat opposite the foamed polymer layer.

Floor covering underlayment

A product having a textured surface thereon (and its process of manufacture) is disclosed wherein the textured surface is obtained by relieving the stress in pre-stressed polymeric chips that have been distributed as a single layer throughout a polymeric layer superimposed on a substrate.

Laminate having textured wear surface and process of preparation

A flooring installation is characterized by installing an underlayment between the flooring material and the subfloor. The underlayment includes (from the subfloor up) a foamed polymeric layer and a glass fiber mat. The foamed polymer interpenetrates at least the lower portion of the glass mat. The upper portion of the glass fiber mat is preferably unsaturated. The glass mat may have an acrylic latex tie coat opposite the foamed polymer layer.

A multi-dimensional image is obtained in a substantially flat surface covering by aligning the platelets of a platey material in the optical surface of the surface covering parallel to the exposed surface of the surface covering and realigning predetermined platelets to a predetermined angle with respect to the original alignment. The platelets can be realigned by pressing a gelled transparent or translucent element into the platey material containing layer or by mechanically embossing the platey material containing layer.

Decorative surface covering with controlled platelet layer orientation

A decorative laminate and method of manufacture therefor are provided wherein the laminate has a differential texture and a differential gloss wherein the textured regions contain PVC resin particles and have a lower gloss than adjoining regions without PVC resin particles. The decorative article is useful as a floor covering.

Growing community of inventors

Lancaster, PA, United States of America

Ralph W Wright, Jr