The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document.
The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge covers the following: Patent number, Date patent was issued, Date patent was filed, Title of the patent, Applicant, Inventor, Assignee, Attorney firm, Primary examiner, Assistant examiner, CPCs, and Abstract. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document (in Adobe Acrobat format, aka pdf). To download or print any patent click here.
Patent No.:
Date of Patent:
Dec. 09, 2008
Filed:
Jun. 21, 2004
Richard Arnold Hills, Jackson, MI (US);
Richard Arnold Hills, Jackson, MI (US);
CertainTeed Corp., Valley Forge, PA (US);
Abstract
The present invention relates to a method of producing a plank product and related components having a controllable and realistic wood-grain appearance, the planks and related components having at least one accent color, the method including the steps of: a) introducing into an extruder a powdered or pelletized base material and accent color pellets, the base material containing less than about 75% by weight wood flour, and having a vicat softening temperature, the accent color pellets (i) having a higher vicat softening temperature than said base material, and (ii) including a styrene polymer having a high vicat softening temperature and a melt flow index of greater than or equal to 1.0 gram per 10 minutes, and at least one additional resin having a substantially lower vicat softening temperature than the styrene polymer; and b) extruding said base material and the accent color pellets through an extrusion die to form a plank under processing temperatures whereby the accent color pellets cause delayed introduction and controlled dispersion of the accent color into the plank material.