Composition for providing a gloss controlled, abrasion resistant coating on surface covering products

• US 20020156143A1
• Filed: 01/31/2002
• Published: 10/24/2002
• Est. Priority Date: 07/28/1999
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Armstrong World Industries Incorporated
• Original Assignee: Armstrong World Industries Incorporated
• Inventors: Ross, Jeffrey S., Leininger, Larry W., Sigel, Gary A., Malkowski, Elizabeth A., Herr, Richard E. Jr.
• Application Number:
  US10/066,256
• Publication Number:
  US 20020156143A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 522/33
• CPC Class Codes: C08F 283/01 on to unsaturated polyesters C08F283/004 takes precedence

Abstract

The invention comprises a composition and method for controlling the gloss of surface covering products through curing of the composition to create a wearlayer surface, and preferably on a floor covering product. The surface covering product preferably is prepared by application of an aromatic polyester acrylate composition including a flatting agent and/or hard particles, and at least one free-radical generating compound to a substrate, and then the coating is partially cured by exposure to low peak irradiance UV light in either ambient or inert air, followed by fully curing the coating with high peak irradiance UV light in preferably an inert atmosphere to form a low gloss abrasion resistant wearlayer surface. Alternatively, a high gloss wearlayer surface is obtained by solely exposing the preferred composition to high peak irradiance UV light in ambient atmosphere. Furthermore, a differential gloss flooring product is obtained by using the present inventive method described herein.

Claims

1. A radiation curable coating composition, comprising:

a binder composition comprised of a resin including an acrylated aromatic polyester and an ethoxylated polyfunctional acrylate;

a flatting agent and/or hard particulate materials; and

at least one free-radical generating compound.

2. The radiation curable coating composition of claim 1, wherein said free-radical generating compound is a photoinitiator.

3. The radiation curable coating composition of claim 1, wherein said flatting agent is a silica flatting agent present at up to 10% by weight.

4. The radiation curable coating composition of claim 1, wherein said binder composition further includes an acrylated urethane.

5. The radiation curable coating composition of claim 1, wherein said hard particulate materials are aluminum oxide particles between 1 μ

m to 50 μ

m in approximate diameter, and said aluminum oxide particle present at up to 25% by weight.

6. The radiation curable coating composition of claim 5, wherein said aluminum oxide particles being about 10 μ

m to about 40 μ

m in diameter and said aluminum oxide particles present at up to about 15% by weight.

7. The radiation curable coating composition of claim 2, wherein said photoinitiator compound is a benzophenone type initiator.

8. The radiation curable coating composition of claim 2, wherein said photoinitiator compound is an acetophenone derivative.

9. The radiation curable coating composition of claim 1, further including a surfactant.

10. The radiation curable coating composition of claim 1, further including an ultraviolet absorbent.

11. A method of manufacturing a surface covering product having a gloss controlled wearlayer, comprising the steps of:

coating a substrate with a radiation curable coating composition comprised of;

a resin including an acrylated aromatic polyester and an ethoxylated

polyfunctional acrylate;

a flatting agent and/or hard particulate materials; and

at least one free-radical generating compound;

partially curing the coating by irradiating the coated substrate with ultraviolet radiation having a spectral distribution from 200 nm to 400 nm; and

further curing the partially cured coating by irradiating the partially cured coated substrate with high peak ultraviolet radiation having a spectral distribution from 200 nm to 400 nm.

12. The method of claim 11, wherein the free-radical generating compound of the radiation curable coating is a photoinitiator.

13. The method of claim 11, further including the step of directing the substrate through an apparatus where the apparatus performs the steps of the method.

14. The method of claim 11, wherein the radiation curable coating further includes an acrylated urethane.

15. The method of claim 11, wherein the step of coating the substrate with a radiation curable coating is coating the substrate with the radiation curable coating to a thickness of between about 0.25 mils and about 4 mils.

16. The method of claim 11, wherein the substrate is flooring material.

17. The method of claim 11, wherein the flatting agent and/or hard particulate materials of the coating composition is a silica flatting agent present at up to 10% by weight.

18. The method of claim 11, wherein the step of further curing the partially cured coated substrate occurs in an inert atmosphere.

19. The method of claim 11, wherein the flatting agent and/or hard particulate materials of the coating composition are aluminum oxide particles between 1 μ

m to 50 μ

m in approximate diameter, and the aluminum oxide particles present at up to 15% by weight.

20. The method of claim 19, wherein the aluminum oxide particles are about 10 μ

m to about 40 μ

m in diameter, and present at up to about 15% by weight.

21. The method of claim 12, wherein the photoinitiator compound of the coating composition is a benzophenone type initiator.

22. The method of claim 12, wherein said photoinitiator compound of the coating composition is acylphosphine oxide.

23. The method of claim 21, wherein the photoinitiator compound of the coating composition is an acetophenone derivative.

24. A differential gloss surface covering product prepared from the process of claim 11.

25. A differential gloss floor covering product prepared from the process of claim 11.

27. The intermediate product of claim 26, wherein the radiation curable coating composition, comprises (1) a resin binder including an acrylated aromatic polyester and an ethoxylated polyfunctional acrylate, (2) a flatting agent and/or hard particulate materials, and (3) at least one free-radical generating compound.

29. The floor covering of claim 27, wherein said flatting agent is a silica flatting agent present at up to 10% by weight.

26. An intermediate surface covering product coated with a radiation curable coating composition, wherein said coating composition is curable to selectively yield a high or low gloss wearlayer.

28. A floor covering comprising a high gloss wearlayer, said high gloss wearlayer including a flatting agent.