Hamont, Belgium—i4F and Hymmen have received notices of allowance from the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office issued for the grant of two new Hymmen U.S. patents. The patents (granting on applications 16/494,308 and 16/494,309) cover digital embossing technologies delivering enhanced embossed optics on panels.
At the same time, Hymmen also received a patent grant from China (patent number CN110290925B), covering aspects of Hymmen’s award-winning DLEPlus digital embossing technology. All new U.S. and China patents are exclusively available via an i4F license and provide further protection for Hymmen’s state-of-the-art digital printing technologies on any type of panel material.
“These latest grants add even more patent protection for those licensed by i4F to use our advanced digital printing technologies,” said Dr. René Pankoke, Hymmen’s CEO. “Additionally, this further validates the novelty and effectiveness of our digital printing embossing technologies on panels in any material. Hymmen’s portfolio goes from strength to strength, capturing the newest and most exciting areas of the digital printing market space.”
The new Hymmen patents are included in i4F’s cluster of Digital Printing Technologies covering advanced digital printing and digital embossing technologies. i4F’s patent portfolio covers all relevant jurisdictions—including the U.S., China as well as Europe—offering one of the world’s most comprehensive digital printing patent portfolios for flooring on offer today, the company said.
Digital printing is set to play a crucial role in the future of new material flooring, i4F said, as it enables unlimited design as well as embossing-in-register flexibility and can be applied to a wide range of materials. This facilitates faster response times to market demands and trends while reducing material waste.