Snap-together flooring system
AssigneeNikken Seattle, Inc.
InventorMatsuji Kajiwara
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A flooring system having a base member having a top side, an underside, and four circumferentially spaced outer edges, a tongue connector secured to one outer edge by an interlocking rib and groove, a groove connector secured to another outer edge by an interlocking rib and groove, the tongue connector having forwardly converging compressible sidewalls terminating in rear transverse locking surfaces, the groove connector having an enlarged inner opening and a smaller outer opening, the tongue sidewalls in a compressed position being smaller than said groove outer opening to pass through the outer opening but elastically expandable to be larger than said outer opening to lock a tongue in a groove.
Claims9
A snap-in flooring system having a plurality of base members, a surface sheet on each base member, and connector means for interlocking the base members to one another, said connector means including an elongated groove on one base member and an elongated tongue on the other base member, said tongue and groove having an interlocking overlapping fit with abutting confronting locking surfaces, said interlocking fit being resiliently overcome by deflecting the tongue to allow the tongue to insert into the groove along a path of insertion until the abutting confronting locking surfaces overlap to lock the base members together, said tongue having a forward end with forwardly converging sidewalls separated by a slot, the sidewalls terminating rearwardly in rear locking surfaces substantially transverse to said tongue and at least ninety degrees at its forward angle to the path of insertion between the tongue and the groove, said groove having a forward end with forwardly diverging sidewalls, said groove sidewalls terminating rearwardly in intermediate locking surfaces substantially transverse to said groove and also at least ninety degrees at its forward angle to the path of insertion between the tongue and the groove, said tongue slot lying along the path of insertion between the tongue sidewalls to allow the tongue sidewalls to elastically bend toward one another, wherein said tongue sidewalls bend toward one another to reduce the space between the tongue sidewalls so that the tongue sidewalls pass inwardly in the groove until the tongue rear locking surfaces pass the groove intermediate locking surfaces and then the tongue expands so that the tongue rear locking surfaces overlap and abut said groove intermediate locking surfaces, said mating tongues and grooves extending for substantially the entire width and length of said surface sheets, said groove having an outer opening with inwardly and forwardly converging sidewalls, and said tongue having rearward sidewalls also converging inwardly and forwardly and mating with said groove outer opening sidewalls.
A flooring having a base member having four peripheral outer edges, a top side, and an underside, a first connector attached to one outer edge and having an elongated elastically compressible tongue, the tongue having a first transverse width when in its normal condition and a second smaller transverse width when compressed, another of said outer edges having a groove, said groove having an inner opening and an outer opening greater in transverse width than said inner opening, said tongue normal width in its normal condition being greater than said groove outer opening but smaller than said groove outer opening when the tongue is compressed;
- said tongue having a forward end with forwardly converging sidewalls separated by a slot, the sidewalls terminating rearwardly in rear locking surfaces substantially transverse to said tongue and at least ninety degrees at its forward angle to the path of insertion between the tongue and the groove, said groove having a forward end with forwardly diverging sidewalls, said groove sidewalls terminating rearwardly in intermediate locking surfaces substantially transverse to said groove and also at least ninety degrees at its forward angle to the path of insertion between the tongue and the groove, said tongue slot lying along the path of insertion between the tongue sidewalls to allow the tongue sidewalls to elastically bend toward one another, wherein said tongue sidewalls bend toward one another to reduce the space between the tongue sidewalls so that the tongue sidewalls pass inwardly in the groove until the tongue rear locking surfaces pass the groove intermediate locking surfaces and then the tongue expands so that the tongue rear locking surfaces overlap and abut said groove intermediate locking surfaces, said mating tongues and grooves extending for substantially the entire width and length of said surface sheets, said groove having an outer opening with inwardly and forwardly converging sidewalls, and said tongue having rearward sidewalls also converging inwardly and forwardly and mating with said groove outer opening sidewalls.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.