Armstrong World Industries, Inc.

Stephen E Becker

Walter J Lewicki, Jr

John S Forry

Richard M Ringer

The process for making a dimensionally stable, embossed, ornamented surface covering suitable for use as a floor or wall tile, involving, inter alia, laminating and embossing a resinous thermoplastic top layer having a plurality of openings extending through its thickness to allow the escape of air and extending to base material or substrate of pre-formed, low-density, reinforced, porous thermoplastic material. The base material may include hollow non-thermoplastic particles. The composite structure is subjected to heat and pressure in a flatbed press to emboss the structure without deformation, fuse the resins and render the top layer substantially impermeable. The improvement comprises the use of a rigid vinyl wear layer in a two step embossing operation involving a first embossing step in a heated press and immediately thereafter a second embossing step in a cooled press. The improvement also comprises partly providing a second resinous thermoplastic layer between the top layer and the base material, the second layer being capable of allowing passage of air through its thickness during the embossing and fusion step, and being adapted to soften and flow before the top layer does, thereby assuring complete closure of all openings in the top layers of the product.

Ornamented tile surface covering

The process for making a dimensionally stable, embossed, ornamented surface covering suitable for use as a floor or wall tile, involving, inter alia, laminating and embossing a resinous thermoplastic top layer having a plurality of openings extending through its thickness to allow the escape of air and extending to a base material or substrate of pre-formed, low-density, reinforced, porous thermoplastic material. The base material may include hollow non-thermoplastic particles. The composite structure is subjected to heat and pressure in a flatbed press having a cooled embossing plate and a cooled back-up plate, to emboss the structure without deformation, fuse the resins and render the top layer substantially impermeable. The improvement comprises providing a second resinous thermoplastic layer between the top layer and the base material, the second layer being capable of allowing passage of air through its thickness during the embossing and fusion step, and being adapted to soften and flow before the top layer does, thereby assuring complete closure of all openings in the top layers of the product.

Process for making a dimensionally stable, embossed, ornamented tile

The process for making a dimensionally stable, embossed, ornamented surface covering suitable for use as a floor or wall tile, involving, laminating and embossing a resinous thermoplastic top layer having a plurality of openings extending through its thickness to allow the escape of air and extending to a base material or substrate of pre-formed, low-density, reinforced, porous thermoplastic material. The composite structure is subjected to heat and pressure in a flatbed press to emboss the structure without deformation, fuse the resins and render the top layer substantially impermeable. The improvement comprises the use of a rigid vinyl wear layer in a two step embossing operation involving a first embossing step in a heated press and immediately thereafter a second embossing step in a cooled press. The improvement also comprises partly providing a second resinous thermoplastic layer between the top layer and the base material, the second layer being capable of allowing passage of air through its thickness during the embossing and fusion step, and being adapted to soften and flow before the top layer does, thereby assuring complete closure of all openings in the top layers of the product.

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Marietta, PA, United States of America

Stephen E Becker