Floor covering, floor element and method for manufacturing floor elements
AssigneeFlooring Industries Limited, Sarl
InventorMark Cappelle
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A floor covering made of floor elements which have at least at two opposite sides a male coupling part and a female coupling part. The coupling parts allow two of the floor elements to be interconnected at their respective sides by pushing one of the floor elements with the male coupling part, by means of a downward movement, into the female coupling part of the other floor element. At least one of the coupling parts, either the male coupling part or the female coupling part, is made as least partially in a filled synthetic material composite.
Claims30
Floor covering, consisting of floor elements, which, at least at a first pair of two opposite sides, comprise coupling parts, which substantially are performed as a male coupling part and a female coupling part, which are provided with vertically active locking portions, which, when the coupling parts of two of such floor elements cooperate with each other, effect a locking in vertical direction, perpendicular to a plane of the floor covering, and also are provided with horizontally active locking portions, which, when the coupling parts of two of such floor elements cooperate with each other, effect a locking in horizontal direction, perpendicular to the respective sides and in the plane of the floor covering, wherein said coupling parts are of a type allowing that two of such floor elements can be connected to each other at said sides by pushing one of these floor elements with the male coupling part, by means of a downward movement, into the female coupling part of the other floor element;
- wherein at least one of said coupling parts, either the male coupling part or the female coupling part, is at least partially made of a fiber-filled synthetic material composite;
- wherein said floor elements comprise at least a substrate and a separate edge portion defined as an insert;
- wherein an actual substrate of the floor elements substantially consists of one or more other materials than the fiber-filled synthetic material;
- wherein said separate edge portion comprises a bendable or compressible portion taking part in said locking in vertical direction, said bendable or compressible portion at least temporarily undergoing a deformation or compression during a coupling action performed by said downward movement;
- and wherein the deformation or compression of said bendable or compressible portion relaxes by springing back only partially at the end of said coupling action.
Floor covering, consisting of floor elements, which, at least at a first pair of two opposite sides, comprise coupling parts, which substantially are performed as a male coupling part and a female coupling part, which are provided with vertically active locking portions, which, when the coupling parts of two of such floor elements cooperate with each other, effect a locking in vertical direction, perpendicular to a plane of the floor covering, and also are provided with horizontally active locking portions, which, when the coupling parts of two of such floor elements cooperate with each other, effect a locking in horizontal direction, perpendicular to the respective sides and in the plane of the floor covering, wherein said coupling parts are of a type allowing that two of such floor elements can be connected to each other at said sides by pushing one of these floor elements with the male coupling part, by means of a downward movement, into the female coupling part of the other floor element;
- wherein said floor elements comprise at least a substrate;
- wherein said substrate substantially consists of a filled synthetic material composite;
- wherein said substrate forms at least one side of said first pair of opposite sides, such that at least one of said coupling parts, either the male coupling part or the female coupling part, is at least partially made of said filled synthetic material composite;
- wherein the floor elements have a second pair of opposite sides, which also are provided with mutually cooperating coupling parts, which substantially are made as a male and a female coupling part, which are provided with vertically active locking portions and horizontally active locking portions;
- and wherein the coupling parts of the second pair of opposite sides allow that two of such floor elements can be interconnected at this pair of sides by providing one of these floor elements with the male coupling part, by means of a turning movement, in the female coupling part of the other floor element.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.