Flooring panel or wall panel and use thereof

A method of assembling a glueless laminated flooring having a tight joint between abutting floor panels, said method comprising

• joining a plurality of similar flooring panels, each of said panels comprising a surface of a thermosetting laminate or a paper sheet impregnated with thermosetting resin;
• said surface being bonded to a carrier;
• said panels comprising two sets of parallel side edges;
• two of said side edges comprising a groove and two of said side edges comprising a tongue;
• said tongue and said groove being formed of at least one material selected from the group consisting of chipboard and particle board and being shaped so as to form a tight floor joint when snapped together.

A flooring panel for use in assembling a glueless floor, said flooring panel comprising

• a surface of a thermosetting laminate or a paper impregnated with a thermosetting resin said surface being bonded to a carrier of wood particles impregnated with a plastic;
• said panel comprising two sets of parallel side edges;
• two of said side edges comprising a groove and two of said side edges comprising a tongue;
• at least said tongue being formed of as a material selected from the group consisting of;
• a chipboard and a particle board, and the tongue and groove being cooperatively shaped so as to form a tight floor joint in the absence of glue when snapped together with a similar panel.

A glueless panel system comprising

• a plurality of similar panels to be assembled without glue, each of said panels comprising
• a surface layer selected from the group consisting of
• paint,
• a thermoplastic foil,
• a paper impregnated with thermosetting resin and
• a thermosetting laminate;
• each of said panels comprising two sets of parallel side edges,
• two of said side edges comprising a groove and two of said side edges comprising a tongue;
• said tongue being a unitary, monolithic structure formed of bonded wood particles having a length extending substantially the length of said panel, and at least one snapping web formed thereon,
• and said groove of each of said panels having snapping grooves therein, and being shaped so as to receive said tongue and the at least one snapping web, thereby forming a water tight joint when snapped together with a similar panel, said joint substantially preventing moisture from passing through a joint formed between assembled similar panels.

A panel for use with other similar panels to be assembled by snapping one panel to another similar panel in the absence of glue;

• said panel having
• a surface layer selected from the group consisting of
• paint,
• a thermoplastic foil,
• a paper impregnated with thermosetting resin, and
• a thermosetting laminate;
• said panel comprising two sets of parallel side edges;
• two of said side edges comprising a groove and two of said side edges comprising a tongue;
• said tongue being a unitary, monolithic structure formed of bonded wood particles having a rear neck configured to tightly fit within an entrance opening of a respective groove, and a forwardly-protruding stabilizing part separated from the neck by at least one snapping web positioned on the tongue, the stabilizing part and the neck being substantially parallel to the first surface;
• and
• said groove being shaped with at least one snapping groove, each configured and positioned so as to receive a respective snapping web, and to thereby form a tight joint when snapped together with a similar panel.

A method of assembling a glueless panel system having

• a tight joint between abutting panels, said method comprising the steps of
• providing a plurality of similar panels,
• each of said panels comprising a surface layer selected from the group consisting of paint, a thermoplastic foil, a paper impregnated with thermosetting resin and a thermosetting laminate;
• configuring said panels with two sets of parallel side edges;
• configuring one of a groove or a tongue on each said edge;
• selecting each of the tongue and groove to comprise bonded wood particles;
• forming the tongue to have a neck portion configured to extend from a respective edge, and a stabilizing part distal the edge, each of the neck and the stabilizing part having walls extending substantially orthogonal to the respective edge;
• positioning at least one snapping web between the neck and the stabilizing part;
• forming at least one snapping groove within the groove;
• shaping each of the said tongue and groove so as to form a tight joint;
• joining the panels together by snapping the tongue into the groove.

A panel with two pairs of parallel side edges, the panel comprising:

• one pair of side edges having a locking means that includes a groove having a lower groove definition and an upper groove definition, and
• the other pair of side edges having a tongue configured to fit into the groove, thereby forming a tongue and groove joint for joining the panels;
• and,
• at least one snap action projection configured on at least one of an upper side or bottom side of the tongue, and at least one snap action groove are formed within the groove, such that the snap action projections and the snap action grooves are cooperatively configured to snugly engage one another when the panels are in an installed position;
• wherein,
• the panels, when in the installed position, are joined together by the snap action joint, and are secured to one another and prevented from becoming separated from one another, while simultaneously maintaining a fixed covering without undesired space between adjacent panels;
• and wherein
• the bottom side of the tongue has a snap-action rib;
• and wherein,
• the lower groove definition has a snap action groove formed to receive the snap-action rib;
• and wherein,
• the lower groove definition is longer than the upper groove definition, such that the lower groove definition protrudes over the upper groove definition at a corresponding side edge of the panel.