Static structures (e.g. – buildings) – Module or panel having discrete edgewise or face-to-face... – Having integral key
Reexamination Certificate
1999-07-27
2001-02-06
Lev, Bruce A. (Department: 3634)
Static structures (e.g., buildings)
Module or panel having discrete edgewise or face-to-face...
Having integral key
C052S309800, C052S592100
Reexamination Certificate
active
06182413
ABSTRACT:
FIELD OF INVENTION
The invention relates to engineered hardwood flooring systems. In particular, the invention relates to flooring systems having a hardwood top plate and a core plank which is perforated to muffle or attenuate sound caused by people walking on the floor.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Engineered hardwood flooring has a relatively thin hardwood top plate (e.g. about ⅛ of an inch) glued to a top surface of a core plank. The core plank is typically about six inches wide and about seven or eight feet long. It is typically ¼ to ½ inch thick, and normally made of plywood, fiberboard, particle board, lumber board, OSB. The top of the hardwood top plate is coated with a polyurethane or similar finish to protect the luster and beauty of the hardwood. The core plank has tongue and groove construction to facilitate installation. The hardwood top plate is manufactured by gluing and clamping two inch wide hardwood strips to form a planar surface. The hardwood top plate is then glued to a top surface of the core plank. A backing layer (e.g., wood fiber, hardwood, softwood, veneer, paper, etc.) is normally glued to the bottom of the core plank to balance the core and prevent warping. The backer also helps to seal the core plank from moisture, and help maintain structural integrity of the floor.
While plastic laminate floors can be convenient to install, the noise and appearance of repetitive printed wood grain images of such floors is not particularly appealing to many consumers. On the other hand, engineered hardwood flooring provides the luster and beauty of hardwood floors, yet is typically less expensive and more convenient to install than conventional hardwood floors. Engineered hardwood flooring is typically installed to float over the sub-floor, although it can also be attached to the sub-floor. In order to make engineered hardwood floors more comfortable to walk on and quieter, it is known in the art to provide a foam underlayment on the sub-floor before installing the engineered hardwood floor. It has been found that foam underlayments dampen floor vibrations, and reduce decibel level and duration of both low frequency impact noise (such as the sound of walking across the floor) and high frequency room noise. When used on a second story room, the foam underlayment also reduces sound transmission through the floor/ceiling into the room below. While foam underlayments often work well, it is not always practical to use foam underlayment when installing an engineered hardwood floor.
In many applications, it would be desirable for the engineered hardwood flooring plank to have inherent sound attenuation characteristics.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The invention is engineered hardwood flooring in which the core tongue and groove plank has perforations or holes extending completely through the core plank from a top surface of the plank to a bottom surface of the plank. The perforations or holes are preferably positioned in staggered rows. After acoustic energy propagates through the hardwood top plate into the core, the energy disperses in all directions within the core plank. Inasmuch as the acoustic energy normally has a component propagating laterally in the core plank, the energy will eventually encounter one of the perforations or holes in the core board. The perforations or holes attenuate the acoustic energy, thereby muffling the sound.
By staggering the perforations or holes as shown in the drawings, a vast majority of acoustic energy propagating through the core plank will intersect a perforation or hole within a relatively short distance, thus effectively attenuating the energy before it is able to return into the room as sound. In order to be effective, it is important that the perforations or holes extend completely through the core plank from its top surface to its bottom surface. Otherwise, substantial amounts of acoustic energy will be able to propagate within the core plank for substantial distances without encountering a perforation or hole to attenuate the energy.
Other features of the invention may be apparent to those skilled in the art upon inspecting the drawings and the following description thereof.
REFERENCES:
patent: 3551270 (1970-12-01), Sharkey
patent: 3567563 (1971-03-01), Haudenchild et al.
patent: 3579941 (1971-05-01), Tibbals
patent: 4567087 (1986-01-01), O'Dell et al.
patent: 4880680 (1989-11-01), Kistner
patent: 5238260 (1993-08-01), Scherübl
patent: 5706621 (1998-01-01), Pervan
patent: 5879781 (1999-03-01), Mehta et al.
patent: 5894700 (1999-04-01), Sweet
patent: 5983584 (1999-11-01), Staten et al.
Award Hardward Floors Brochure No. ML1550/032898/100M/ORG/DB.
QS 3.0 Quiet System Underlayment, Award Hardwood Floors, admitted prior art.
Andrus Sceales, Starke & Sawall
Award Hardwood Floors, L.L.P.
Lev Bruce A.
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