Elastomer floor covering and method for its manufacture

Abstract

A homogeneous floor covering composed of elastomer, varicolored granular particles contains 3 to 20 percent by weight of a copolymer of ethylene, including at least one comonomer of vinyl esters of saturated carboxylic acids having up to 4 C-atoms in the acid group, or including at least one unsaturated mono- or dicarboxylic acid, or including at least one ester of unsaturated mono- or dicarboxylic acids having up to 8 C-atoms in the alcohol portion. In this context, the ethylene content of the copolymer is 40 to 95% percent by weight, the rest is comonomer, and the melt-flow index of the copolymer must lie between 0.1 and 50. A corresponding manufacturing process is specified.

What is claimed is:  
     
         1 . A homogeneous floor covering compromising a cross-linkable, elastomer material, having a multicolored, directionless pattern, and a thickness of 1.5 to 3.5 mm, characterized in that the floor covering, in the case of widths of 1 m to 2 m, has no change in thickness exceeding +5% over its entire width, that the floor covering has a minimum elongation of 60% according to DIN 53 504 (tensile test), and that it contains 3 to 20 percent by weight, with respect to its total weight, of a copolymer of ethylene including at least one comonomer of 
 vinyl esters of saturated carboxylic acids having up to 4 C-atoms in the acid group,    unsaturated mono- or dicarboxylic acids,    esters of unsaturated mono- or dicarboxylic acids having up to 8 C-atoms in the alcohol portion, or    α-olefins having 4 to 10 C-atoms,    the ethylene content of the copolymer being 40 to 95 percent by weight, the comonomer content 5 to 60 percent by weight, and the melt-flow index of the copolymer lying between 0.1 and 50.    
     
     
         2 . The floor covering according to  claim 1 , wherein it contains 3 to 10 percent by weight of a copolymer.  
     
     
         3 . The floor covering according to  claim 1 , wherein the granular particles forming it have a single color in and of themselves.  
     
     
         4 . The floor covering according to  claim 2 , wherein the granular particles forming it have a single color in and of themselves.  
     
     
         5 . The floor covering according to  claim 1 , wherein the granular particles forming it have a colored pattern in and of themselves.  
     
     
         6 . The floor covering according to  claim 2 , wherein the granular particles forming it have a colored pattern in and of themselves.  
     
     
         7 . A process for manufacturing a homogeneous floor covering of cross-linkable, elastomer material, having a multicolored, directionless pattern, a thickness of 1.5 to 3.5 mm and a width of 1 to 2 m, comprising producing granular particles existing in at least two colors which differ from each other, from correspondingly varicolored rubber mixtures produced independently of each other, which are formed into strands using extruding machines, and subsequently granulated into grain sizes of up to 3.0 mm; further comprising the subsequent spreading of the granular particles on a band-shaped, horizontally moving carrier, the compression and vulcanization in a band molding press appropriate for the width of the floor covering to be produced, at 160 to 180° C. and at a pressure of 3 to 10 N/mm 2 , and the subsequent polishing of the surface forming the back side of the resulting web, wherein, with respect to the total weight of all materials to be processed, 3 to 20 percent by weight of a copolymer of ethylene including at least one comonomer, are mixed with the unvulcanized rubber mixtures prior to their processing, the comonomer selected from the group consisting of 
 vinyl esters of saturated carboxylic acids having up to 4 C-atoms in the acid group,  
 unsaturated mono- or dicarboxylic acids,  
 esters of unsaturated mono- or dicarboxylic acids having up to 8 C-atoms in the alcohol portion, and  
 α-olefins having 4 to 10 C-atoms,  
 the ethylene content of the copolymer being 40 to 95% percent by weight, the comonomer content 5 to 60 percent by weight, and the melt-flow index of the copolymer lying between 0.1 and 50.  
 
     
     
         8 . The process according to  claim 7 , wherein the weight percent of copolymer is from 3 to 10.  
     
     
         9 . The process according to  claim 7 , wherein granular particles having a single color in and of themselves are produced and used.  
     
     
         10 . The process according to  claim 8 , wherein granular particles having a single color in and of themselves are produced and used.  
     
     
         11 . The process according to  claim 7 , wherein granular particles having a colored pattern in and of themselves are produced and used.  
     
     
         12 . The process according to  claim 8 , wherein granular particles having a colored pattern in and of themselves are produced and used.