Tongue and groove profile

Abstract

A tongue and groove construction panel in which the tongue comprises a protruding extension formed on a first edge of the panel. The tongue has a head with chamfered sides that expand from a narrowed tip to a neck having essentially parallel sides. The neck merges into a shoulder portion having chamfered sides that expand to merge with the panel. The groove comprises a correspondingly shaped cavity formed on a second edge. The groove has a head with chamfered sides that expand from a base to a neck having parallel sides that merge into a shoulder portion having chamfered sides that expand to a groove opening. The tongue and groove have adjacent chamfered head and shoulder surfaces in an assembled joint. The chafered surfaces of the tongue are disposed at a more acute angle than the chamfered surfaces of the groove to leave spaces therebetween in an assembled joint. The tongue tip is substantially smaller than the mouth of the groove opening to allow easy penetration of the tongue head into the groove shoulder. Furthermore, the tongue tip is substantially smaller than the neck of the groove to allow easy penetration of the tongue head into the groove neck.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.