Static structures (e.g. – buildings) – Underlying compressible layer or pad
Reexamination Certificate
1999-02-12
2001-02-20
Friedman, Carl D. (Department: 3635)
Static structures (e.g., buildings)
Underlying compressible layer or pad
C052S480000, C052S346000, C052S408000, C428S095000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06189279
ABSTRACT:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
This invention relates to floating floor systems. More particularly, this invention relates to a floating floor underlay product and method of installing a floating floor over a subfloor.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Products installed on top of a subfloor and under a floor treatment that aid in the floor treatment's installation are known in the art. Often, it is desirable to prevent a floor treatment from absorbing moisture that seeps up through a subfloor that may cause a floor treatment to degrade or swell, potentially causing the flooring to buckle to lift away from the subfloor, causing, for example, premature glue-joint failure. A problem associated with prior art underlays applied between the floor treatment arid subfloor is that their installation tends to be overly complicated and difficult. One example of a known underlay product uses a layer of low density thermoplastic foam applied over a subfloor. This foam is generally porous and allows moisture to seep up through the foam and contact the floor treatment, which may thereby damage the floor treatment in the manner mentioned above. In order to prevent this problem, a second layer of thermoplastic film must be installed over the layer of foam to act as a moisture barrier. The foam layer and the film layer tend to shift and fold during installation and must be adhesively tacked both together and to the subfloor so that shifting or folding is minimized when laying the floor treatment. Also, the low density foam used in this system allows vertical impacts, e.g., foot falls, to resonate and be amplified through the floor treatment where the treatment is laminate wood flooring, for example, resulting in an undesirably loud floor installation.
Another underlay system uses a compressed rigid fiberboard in conjunction with a thermoplastic layer. The fiberboard is directly applied to a subfloor in small sheets. Small sheets of the rigid fiberboard installed side by side result in a large number of joints in the assembled underlay which must be sealed. The large number of joints to be sealed increases the probability of premature joint failure from repeated foot falls to the joints since the rigid fiberboard sheets tend not to give but, rather, to separate relative to each other. As with the above example, in order to make this underlay moisture impermeable, a thermoplastic film must be adhesively tacked to the fiberboard. The fiberboard and film assembly degrades and literally falls apart over time due to repeated vertical impacts to the floor treatment, i.e., walking over the floor. Once the fiberboard fails, a soft spot is created under the floor treatment which leads to an uneven surface and, ultimately, failure of the floor treatment above the degraded underlay region. This construction is also susceptible to amplifying the sound of foot falls.
Certain foams are unsuitable for use as flooring underlay. For instance, a polyethylene foam is a closed cell foam, the closed cells being under slightly positive pressure from the physical blowing agent captured therein, formed during the foaming process. The closed cells are what give the foamed product its resiliency and much of its thickness. If the foam cells are ruptured, the foam loses its resiliency and thickness and creates a dead spot in the foam that leads to degradation of the floor treatment, and increased noise as mentioned above.
OBJECTIVES OF THE INVENTION
It has therefore been an object of the present invention to provide an underlay for a floating floor that facilitates floating floor installation without bunching, folding, or sliding of the underlay product before or during installation of the floating floor.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a thin underlay for a floating floor with acoustic damping characteristics superior to those of the prior art in a one piece composite that resists bunching, folding, or sliding prior to or during installation of the floating floor.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a method of installing a floating floor over a subfloor.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The objectives of the present invention are achieved by providing in the preferred embodiment a composite underlay product for a floating floor made from a moisture impermeable vinyl film to which an open cell latex foam is directly cast. The open cell latex foam allows lateral and vertical moisture transmission therethrough. As used herein, the vinyl film creates a moisture impermeable underlay when laid over a subfloor and under a floating floor and seams created between abutting sheets of underlay are sealed with moisture impermeable tape.
The latex foam surface of the composite underlay has a relatively high coefficient of friction between itself and a subfloor so that when placed against the subfloor prior to installation of a floating floor, the underlay grips the subfloor and does not shift and fold. The vinyl film surface of the composite underlay has a relatively low coefficient of friction between itself and a floating floor so that when the floating floor is installed against this film surface of the underlay, the floating floor easily slides over the film surface, preventing bunching of the composite underlay. Because the film is permanently cohered to the foam, no bunching or separation occurs between the two components of the underlay during installation or use.
The underlay of the present invention is thin, dense and soft producing low durometer readings on the Shore 00 Scale. This combination acts as an efficient acoustic dampener to absorb noise created by foot falls transmitted through the floating floor and also absorbs more kinetic energy than polyethylene foam underlays. The latex foam is of open cellular structure. As a result, the underlay does not lose its resiliency and will not degrade beneath a floating floor over time due to repeated vertical impacts, thereby prolonging the life of the floating floor.
Also contemplated is a method for installing the underlay between the subfloor and the floating floor, wherein the subfloor is cleaned of debris, the foam surface of the underlay is placed against the subfloor and position the floating floor onto the film layer of the underlay. Seams formed between strips of underlay are optionally taped.
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Chevez Patrick J.
Friedman Carl D.
L&P Property Management Company
Wood Herron & Evans L.L.P.
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