FLOORING

Field of Invention

The present invention relates to edging strips. Edging strips are used as a transition system between two different types of flooring. The edging strips of the present invention are particularly useful with contamination control flooring systems. The present invention also relates to a method of installing a flooring system, including the edging.

Background to the Invention

Flooring within a building often involves more than one different type of floor covering. This is particularly the case where a specialist contamination control flooring system is provided at the exit or entry area to a controlled environment.

Maintaining a controlled environment is essential in many academic, industrial and medical settings, and controlling contamination entering that environment is very important. For example, many hospitals, factories, food preparation areas, spray-paint booths and laboratories utilise a controlled environment, which may be referred to as a cleanroom. Precautions are taken such as subjecting cleanroom staff to strict clothing regulations and using a gowning room where the staff can change clothes under "controlled" conditions so as to prevent any particulates from entering from the outside environment. Certain areas in a cleanroom may have more stringent measures than others, with packaging areas, corridors, gowning rooms and transfer hatches being incorporated to maintain strict contamination control measures.

In hospitals, cleanroom precautions can be used to try to reduce the incidence of infectious diseases spreading. In industry, particularly in the pharmaceutical, electronics, aerospace, catering, automotive, biomedical, IT, nuclear, optical and medical devices industries, it is often essential to ensure that the products are free from contamination. In industry contamination of a controlled environment poses a threat to product processes, the consequences of which are lower product yields, raised costs and decreased profits. Contaminants are particles that enter an environment where they may potentially have a negative effect. There are many types of contaminants and they can have a wide variety of effects on different environments. Contaminants can be bacteria or other organisms that are potentially harmful to their surroundings. More familiar contaminants can be things such as dust and dirt.

Contaminants can be carried on any surface entering a controlled environment, or in the air. Particles can be suspended in the air for hours where they undergo rapid proliferation, contaminating the surrounding environment. Once there is no movement and turbulence stops, airborne contaminants fall. If they fall onto an unprotected floor they may rise again and be redistributed into the air as a result of the vortices created by the movement of personnel and wheeled traffic.

Studies have shown that over 80% of contamination enters a controlled environment through entrances and exits, mostly at or near floor level. As a result of this, attempts have been made to reduce the contamination entering a controlled environment by using particular floor coverings.

It is known to use particular floor coverings in entry and exit areas to controlled environments to attract, collect and retain foot and wheel borne contaminants, thereby reducing the contamination entering the controlled environment.

Typically where one type of floor covering meets another type of floor covering, a transition system is needed. This is for safety, to minimise the chance of tripping on the edges of the floor coverings and, in some cases, to draw attention to the boundary between different floor coverings.

It is known to provide an edging strip, which is a flexible extruded length of polyvinyl chloride (PVC) which overlays the boundary between the two different floor coverings.

Whereas much attention has been paid to the properties and composition of contamination control floor coverings, little thought has been given to date to edging strips. The present invention aims to provide improved edging strips, particularly improved edging strips that are suitable for use with contamination control flooring systems.

Summary of the Invention

According to a first aspect, the present invention provides an edging strip which is made from polyvinyl chloride, and which does not comprise bis(2-methoxyethyl) phthalate, bis(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate, di-(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate, dibutyl phthalate, 1, 2-benzenedicarboxylic acid, dipentylester, n-pentyl-isopentylphthalate, di-n-pentyl phthalate, diisopentylphthalate, benzyl butyl phthalate, diisobutyl phthalate, diisononyl phthalate, diisodecyl phthalate, or di-n-octyl phthalate. Plastic materials such as PVC typically contain phthalates as softeners, to ensure the plastic is extrudable and flexible. However, increasing attention is being paid to the health implications of certain chemicals in the environment, including certain phthalates. "REACH" is European Regulation (No 1907/2006) concerning chemicals and their safe use. It aims to improve the protection of human health and the environment through a system of Registration, Evaluation, Authorisation and Restriction of Chemicals. As a European Regulation REACH applies directly in all 27 Member States of the European Union. It also applies to Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway as member countries of the European Economic Area.

The REACH regulation has controlled the use of certain phthalates, which are subject to health concerns. In particular, at the present date the regulation concerns: bis(2- methoxyethyl) phthalate; bis(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate; di-(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate; dibutyl phthalate; 1, 2-benzenedicarboxylic acid; dipentylester; n-pentyl- isopentylphthalate; di-n-pentyl phthalate; diisopentylphthalate; benzyl butyl phthalate; diisobutyl phthalate; diisononyl phthalate; diisodecyl phthalate; and di-n-octyl phthalate. The phthalates in this group are hereinafter referred to as controlled phthalates.

The flooring industry has been relatively slow to come under regulatory control. Contamination control flooring systems have been the subject of particular consideration, as they perform a very important job of protecting a controlled environment from contamination.

However, very little attention has been paid to edging strips, even when they are used as a transition system between a contamination controlled zone and the regular flooring. To date it is believed that all PVC edging strips have contained regulated phthalates.

The edging strip of the present invention is distinguished from existing edging strips in that it does not contain any controlled phthalates. The edging strip of the present invention is advantageous as it complies with the regulations controlling the use of phthalates. As there are health concerns associated with the controlled phthalates, the edging strip of the present invention is advantageous as it is free from these health concerns.

According to a second aspect, the present invention relates to the use of the edging strip according to the first aspect of the invention at the edge of a contamination control flooring system.

This has the particular benefits of reducing the chance that the controlled phthalate contaminates will enter a controlled environment which is protected by the contamination controlled flooring system.

According to a third aspect, the present invention provides a method of installing a flooring system in an entry or exit area of a controlled environment, the method comprising the steps of: a) providing a secondary floor covering over an existing floor covering, where the secondary floor covering extends across the floor and up the walls of the entry or exit area; b) sealing the secondary floor covering to the walls; c) removing a section of the secondary floor covering from the floor; d) inlaying a contamination control floor covering into the secondary floor covering; e) sealing the edges of the contamination control floor covering to the secondary floor covering; f) providing an edging strip according to the first aspect of the invention along the full length of at least one of the edges of the secondary floor covering that extends over the floor and up the walls; and g) sealing the edging strip to the secondary floor covering.

This new method of installing flooring has many advantages over known methods. In this method, the contamination control floor covering is inlaid into the secondary floor covering. This means it can be inlaid flush with the secondary flooring. By ensuring that the contamination control flooring is sealed to the secondary flooring, it is possible to avoid pooling of cleaning water and other fluids, as there are no gaps between the contamination control floor covering and the secondary floor covering. In addition, the secondary floor covering extends up the walls of the entry or exit areas and is sealed to the walls, as well as to an edging strip. This means that the whole area of secondary flooring is sealed, so it is possible to avoid pooling of water, and the potential bacterial contamination that is associated with this.

Previous systems utilising an inlay involved inlaying a contamination control floor covering into existing flooring. This has the effect of destroying the existing flooring. In the event that the contamination control flooring needs to be removed for any reason, for example if the controlled environment is moved, this means that a whole new flooring system needs to be laid. However, the method of installing flooring according to the present invention involves providing a secondary floor covering over an existing floor covering. It is the secondary floor covering that is partially destroyed in order to inlay the contamination control floor covering. In this way, the existing floor covering can be unaffected by the flooring system installed on top of it. If, therefore, the contamination control flooring system needs to be moved for any reason, the secondary floor covering and edging can simply be removed from the existing floor covering, leaving it intact. A flooring system installed according to the method of the present invention, has been found to reduce the contamination entering the controlled environment by 80 to 99.8%.

Brief Description of the Drawings Figure 1 shows a perspective view of an existing flooring system;

Figure 2 shows a close up of the existing flooring system of figure 1;

Figure 3 shows a flooring system according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention; Figure 4 shows a close up of the preferred embodiment of the flooring system of the present invention according to figure 3; and

Figure 5 shows an edging strip according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention.

Description

The present invention concerns an edging strip which is made of polyvinyl chloride. By edging strip, we mean a piece of material which is flexible and is relatively flat, and which can be used to transition between different flooring systems. The edging strip is typically significantly longer than it is wide. The edging strip is made from polyvinyl chloride (PVC). Preferably, the PVC is extruded to form the edging strip. PVC is a very widely produced plastic. It is made softer and more flexible by the addition of plasticisers, including phthalates.

As noted above, not much attention has been paid to the composition of edging strips, and they have, in the past, included at least one controlled phthalate. The edging strip of the present invention does not include any controlled phthalates. It has been possible to produce a PVC edging strip without any of the controlled phthalates by using carefully selected plasticisers in the manufacturing process. For example, Material reference DVF422/283 NAT 141 supplied by Doeflex Compounding Ltd. Chemical testing of materials can determine whether or not they contain controlled phthalates. For the present invention testing has been carried out by Hall Analytical and certificated as not containing controlled phthalates against HAL 13-145. It is expected that is the future, further chemicals may be banned, or become controlled substances, through regulation such as REACH. It is preferred that the edging strip does not contain any phthalates. In addition to being free from controlled phthalates, the edging strip preferably contains an antimicrobial agent, such as silver nitrate.

In order to provide an anti-slip function, the edging strip can have along its length at least three groves, preferably at least twenty grooves, most preferably 30 to 50 grooves. The profile of the edging strip is preferably graduated towards one edge, with the grooves bring provided on the graduation section. Alternatively, in a preferred embodiment, the edging strip is smooth, without any grooves, and is preferably graduated towards one edge.

The edging strip of the present invention can be made of two materials, wherein a strip of plastic is coextruded with the main body of the edging strip. This is advantageous because the strip of plastic can be provided in a different colour from the edging strip, or can have words written on it, which can be personalised to the situation. This can draw attention to the fact that the flooring is changing, and particular attention may be needed. Alternatively, where the edging is used at the edge of a contamination control flooring system, it can provide a visual warning at the entry or exit area to the controlled environment. In a preferred embodiment, the strip of plastic is red and the edging strip is black.

Figure 5 shows an edging strip 8 according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention. The edging strip 8 is graduated from one edge, 9, towards the opposite edge, 10. The edging strip is provided with many grooves, 1 1, which provide an anti- slip feature. In another preferred embodiment the edging strip has the same profile as in Figure 5 but does not have any grooves. This edging strip is made from extruded PVC. It contains silver nitrate. It does not contain any controlled phthalates. According to the third aspect of the invention, the edging strip is used in a new method of installing a flooring system in an entry or exit area of a controlled environment.

A controlled environment is any space where precautions have been taken to minimise the contamination entering that space. As discussed in the background section, maintaining a controlled environment is essential in many academic, industrial and medical settings. Controlled environments are used in the pharmaceutical, electronics, aerospace, catering, automotive, biomedical, IT, nuclear, optical and medical device industries, among many others. Where products are being manufactured, particularly high value products, such as in the electronics, aerospace and automobile industries, or very sensitive products such as in the pharmaceutical, catering, optical and medical device industries, it is very important to keep contamination of the controlled environment below an acceptable level.

As set out in the background section, by contaminants we mean any particles that enter an environment where they may potentially have a negative effect. There any many types of contaminants, including organisms such as bacteria, or non living organisms such as dust, dirt, sand and soil. It is known that a large proportion, around 80% of contamination enters a controlled environment at or near the floor level through entrance and exits. Accordingly, the method of the present invention provides a method of installing a flooring system in an exit or entry area of the controlled environment.

By exit or entry area, we mean an area which is adjacent to an opening into the controlled environment. The entry or exit area is typically a hallway adjacent to a doorway into the controlled environment. All exit and entry areas to a controlled environment will, of course, have an existing floor covering. This could just be the basic foundations such as a flat concrete floor. However, often in a hospital or industrial setting where a controlled environment is located, the existing flooring will include a floor covering over concrete foundations. This is often a vinyl floor covering, which may extend some distance up the walls. The purpose of flooring extending up the walls, is to avoid a sharp right angle between the floor and the wall, which can encourage pooling of liquids, such as cleaning material. Having the floor covering extending up the wall, makes cleaning of the walls and floor easier. In addition, providing floor covering on the walls protects the walls from damage, for example from wheeled trolleys, wheelchairs or vehicles. This kind of system is often provided in hospital corridors.

Figures 1 and 2 show a typical existing floor covering. A flexible vinyl floor covering 2 extends over the basic concrete floor. The walls 1 are also covered to a particular height by the vinyl floor covering 3. The vinyl floor covering does not extend right into the corner between the wall and the floor to create a 90° angle, but instead is curved at the corner, as shown in figures 1 and 2, to minimise the pooling of cleaning fluids. In a hospital the floor covering often extends up the walls. There is no standard height, but it can extend up the walls around 10 to 50 cm, or 20 to 30 cm.

One of the advantages of the method of the present invention, is that it can be used to install a flooring system over any existing floor covering. For example, the existing floor covering could be tiles, carpet, vinyl, lino, wooden floorboards or concrete.

A secondary floor covering is provided in the method of the present invention. By secondary floor covering we mean a floor covering that is provided over the existing floor covering. The secondary floor covering extends across the floor and up the walls of the entry or exit area. As discussed above, normally the entry or exit area is a corridor. In this situation, the secondary floor covering extends across the entire width of the floor between the walls, and some distance up the walls of the entry or exit area. The secondary floor covering can be made of any material which is sufficiently flexible to bend up the walls, and which can be relatively easily cut into to remove a section for the inlay. Preferably the secondary floor covering is a vinyl material. Vinyl materials with particular properties can be selected as desired, for example it may be desired for the vinyl to have antislip or anti static properties, or a particular surface hardness. Suitable vinyl materials are available from Tarkett, Altro or Forbo. The secondary floor covering typically extends up the walls of the entry or exit areas, and can, for example, extend up the walls around 10 to 50 cm.

Figure 3 shows the secondary floor covering 4 extending across the floor of an entry or exit area. The secondary flooring 5 also extends up the walls 1 of an entry or exit area. Figure 4 shows in more detail how the secondary flooring 4, 5, extends over the existing flooring 2, 3, across the floor and up the walls of the entry of exit area of a controlled environment. It is preferable that the secondary flooring does not form a right angle between the floor and the wall, but instead has a curved profile, as shown in figures 3 and 4. This helps to ensure that water cannot pool at the junction between the wall and the floor, thereby reducing the possibility of bacterial or other organism multiplying in stagnant fluid.

Coving can optionally be used, where the coving is placed into the 90° angle between the floor and the wall. The secondary flooring can then be placed over the coving. This can help to ensure a regular uniform curve shape for the secondary floor covering between the floor and the wall. In other words, the coving is used to provide a smooth transition between floor and wall. The coving also allows any liquid applied to the wall to run down and onto the floor. If no coving was used then the install of a secondary flooring system would create a 90° join between floor and wall which could create a pooling area for any liquids applied to the wall. It is, however, not essential to use coving.

The secondary floor covering is sealed at its upper edges to the wall. This sealing can be carried out before or after a contamination control floor covering has been inlaid into the secondary floor covering.

The method steps (a) to (g) in the claims can be carried out in any order, and do not need to be carried out sequentially in the order they are set out in the claim.

The secondary floor covering can be sealed to the walls in any way that avoids gaps between the secondary floor covering and the wall which could allow cleaning fluids or other materials to get between the secondary floor covering and wall. For example, it can simply be glued to the wall using adhesive. Advantageously, a capping system can be used. A capping system is shown in figures 3 and 4. The cap 6 is made of any suitable plastic material, and is attached to the wall using adhesive. The secondary floor covering is placed underneath the cap, and the join between the cap and the secondary floor covering is usually sealed with tape. In the method of the present invention, a contamination control floor covering is inlayed into the secondary floor covering. This means that a section of the secondary floor covering must be removed. This is removed from the floor area, rather than the wall areas. This is most simply done by cutting through the secondary floor covering, taking care not to damage the existing floor covering, and removing the whole depth of the secondary floor covering. Alternatively, it would be possible to cut through a portion of the depth of the secondary floor covering and remove a portion of the depth from a section of the secondary floor covering on the floor. The contamination control floor covering is preferably the same depth as the secondary floor covering, so that when the whole thickness of the secondary floor covering is removed, and the contamination control floor covering is placed into the hole in the secondary floor covering, the contamination floor covering is flush with the secondary floor covering.

By inlaying the contamination floor covering into the secondary floor covering, we mean that the contamination control floor covering is placed into a hole though the full or partial depth of the secondary floor covering, and is surrounded by the secondary floor covering along all the edges. Generally the contamination control floor covering is rectangular, for simplicity of inlaying.

By contamination control floor covering we mean any floor covering that is designed to attract, collect and retain foot and wheel bourn contaminants. Various different contamination control floor coverings are known. They are often a polymeric material. Suitable floor coverings are described in WO2006/114599, GB1399191, GB1475366, GB2025319, and GB2144139. Suitable contamination control floor coverings are available from Dycem, under the "CleanZone" and "WorkZone" trade names. The contamination controlled flooring (7) is shown in figures 3 and 4. The contamination control flooring is often a different colour from the secondary floor covering, and may have words or designs printed on it. The edges of the contamination control floor covering are sealed to the secondary floor covering. This is usually done by hot welding.

The dimensions of the secondary floor covering are, of course, dictated by the width of the entry or exit area. In the direction of travel through the entry or exit area, it is preferred that the secondary floor covering extends 6-20m. This is, on average, at least, six footsteps, or three full rotations of a wheel. Usually contamination control floor covering inlayed in step d) covers between 50 and 80% of the surface area of the secondary floor covering provided in step a), preferably wherein the polymeric contamination control floor covering inlayed in step d) covers between 60 and 70% of the surface area of the secondary floor covering provided in step a).

An edging strip according to the present invention is provided along the full length of at least one of the edges of the secondary floor covering that extends over the floor and up the walls. The edging strip is designed to be installed as a transition between the secondary floor covering and the existing floor covering. The edging strip is not shown in figures 1 to 4, but is shown in figure 5.

The edging strip is sealed to the secondary floor covering, usually by hot welding, or by adhesive. In this way, the method of installing the flooring system ensure that all junction points are sealed, and the pooling of cleaning fluid, which could potentially allow bacteria to propagate, is minimised.