Floor panel with edge connectors
AssigneeUnilin Beheer B.V., besloten vennootschap
InventorsStefan Simon Gustaaf Moriau, Mark Gaston Maurits Cappelle, Bernard Paul Joseph Thiers
Life of this patent
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Abstract
Floor covering, including hard floor panels (1) which, at least at the edges of two opposite sides (2-3, 26-27), are provided with coupling parts (4-5, 28-29), cooperating which each other, substantially in the form of a tongue (9-31) and a groove (10-32), wherein the coupling parts (4-5, 28-29) are provided with integrated mechanical locking elements (6) which prevent the drifting apart of two coupled floor panels in a direction (R) perpendicular to the related edges (2-3, 26-27) and parallel to the underside (7) of the coupled floor panels (1).
Claims66
A floor covering laminated panel comprising a wood product containing composite core and an upper decorative surface, said panel having an upper side terminating at opposed upper side edges, an underside extending parallel to the upper side, and side edges terminating at said upper side edges at their upper ends and provided with coupling parts integrally formed in one piece with said core, said coupling parts configured to cooperate by coupling with cooperative coupling parts of an identical one of said panel;
- said coupling parts comprising a tongue and a groove configured to lock together coupled identical ones of said panel in a direction perpendicular to the plane of the coupled panels when cooperative coupling parts of the panels are engaged, said groove and tongue having respective upper and lower sides, and wherein the panel side edge provided with the groove has an upper lip located above and adjacent the upper side of the groove, and terminating at a distal upper lip edge, and a lower lip extending distally beyond said distal upper lip edge in the plane of the panel;
- said coupling parts including locking elements formed integrally in one piece with said core, said locking elements including cooperative contact surfaces arranged to be engaged when adjacent identical ones of said panel are coupled together with their coupling parts cooperatively engaged to prevent substantial separation of two coupled identical ones of said floor panels at said upper side edges in a direction perpendicular to the edges of the panel sides and parallel to the undersides of the coupled floor panels;
- said locking means comprising a locking element in the form of a downwardly extending protrusion located on the lower side of the tongue and an upwardly facing cooperating locking recess in the lower lip, said locking recess being located at a position that is at least partially distally beyond a distal edge at which the upper lip terminates, said cooperative contact surfaces defined respectively by said protrusion and said recess, and configured, when engaged in a cooperative relationship upon coupling in a common plane of two identical ones of said panel, to meet each other at a common plane of tangency that with respect to the lower lip is inclined at an angle other than 90.degree. relative to the common plane of the coupled panels, said angle extending inwardly and downward from a distally outer location to a proximal inner location.
A floor covering laminated panel comprising a wood product containing composite core and an upper decorative surface, said panel having an upper side terminating at opposed upper side edges, an underside extending parallel to the upper side, said underside including a backing layer, and side edges terminating at said upper side edges at their upper ends and provided with coupling parts integrally formed in one piece with said core, said coupling parts configured to cooperate by coupling with cooperative coupling parts of an identical one of said panel;
- said coupling parts comprising a tongue and a groove configured to lock together coupled identical ones of said panel in a direction perpendicular to the plane of the coupled panels when cooperative coupling parts of the panels are engaged, said groove and tongue having respective upper and lower sides, and wherein the panel side edge provided with the groove has an upper lip located above and adjacent the upper side of the groove, and terminating at a distal upper lip edge, and a lower lip extending distally beyond said distal upper lip edge in the plane of the panel;
- said coupling parts including locking elements formed integrally in one piece with said core, said locking elements including cooperative contact surfaces arranged to be engaged when adjacent identical ones of said panel are coupled together with their coupling parts cooperatively engaged to prevent substantial separation of two coupled identical ones of said floor panels at said upper side edges in a direction perpendicular to the edges of the panel sides parallel to the undersides of the coupled floor panels;
- said locking elements comprising a locking element in the form of a downwardly extending protrusion located on the lower side of the tongue and an upwardly facing cooperating locking recess in the lower lip, said cooperative contact surfaces defined respectively by said protrusion and said recess, and configured, when engaged in a cooperative relationship upon coupling in a common plane of two identical ones of said panel, to meet each other at a common plane that, with respect to the lower lip, is inclined at an angle of 30.degree. to 70.degree. relative to the common plane of the coupled panels, said angle extending inwardly and downward from a distally outer location to a proximal inner location;
- said composite core comprising a fiberboard;
- said contact surfaces both being inclined with respect to the lower lip, the inclination of said contact surfaces extending inwardly and downwardly from a distally outer location to a proximal inner location with respect to the lower lip;
- said contact surfaces located distally beyond said upper lip distal upper lip edge;
- said coupling parts being dimensioned to provide a coupling free from play in all panel separation directions in a plane extending perpendicular to the side edges when two identical ones of said panel are coupled together;
- said coupling parts being configured such that two identical ones of said floor panel can be selectively coupled either by laterally sliding and snapping the cooperating coupling parts together or by turning one panel relative to the other with their cooperative coupling parts partially engaged;
- said lower lip being elastically yieldable at least when two identical ones of said floor panel are coupled by laterally sliding and snapping the cooperative coupling parts together;
- the complete thickness of said panel is less than 1.5 cm.;
- and said tongue and groove each having a profile susceptible to forming by cutting by rotary milling cutters.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.