Floor covering and locking systems

• US 20050166514A1
• Filed: 01/13/2005
• Published: 08/04/2005
• Est. Priority Date: 01/13/2004
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Valinge Aluminium AB (Valinge Innovation AB)
• Original Assignee: Valinge Aluminium AB (Valinge Innovation AB)
• Inventors: Pervan, Darko
• Granted Patent: US 7,516,588 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 52/578
• CPC Class Codes: B27F 5/026 Slotting a workpiece before introducing into said slot a guide which belongs to a following working device, and which is parallel to the feed movement of this working device
• CPC Class Codes: B27M 3/04 of flooring elements, e.g. parqueting blocks assembling wooden elements on backings of other substances B32B, e.g. B32B21/042, E04F15/16; furniture joints F16B12/00
• CPC Class Codes: E04F 15/02033 Joints with beveled or recessed upper edges
• CPC Class Codes: E04F 15/02038 characterised by tongue and groove connections between neighbouring flooring elements
• CPC Class Codes: E04F 15/04 only of wood or with a top layer of wood, e.g. with wooden or metal connecting members rollable parquet E04F15/16
• CPC Class Codes: E04F 2201/0115 with snap action of the edge connectors
• CPC Class Codes: E04F 2201/0138 by moving the sheets, plates or panels perpendicular to the main plane
• CPC Class Codes: E04F 2201/0153 by rotating the sheets, plates or panels around an axis which is parallel to the abutting edges, possibly combined with a sliding movement
• CPC Class Codes: E04F 2201/025 with tongue and grooves alternating transversally in the direction of the thickness of the panel, e.g. multiple tongue and grooves oriented parallel to each other
• CPC Class Codes: E04F 2201/026 with rabbets, e.g. being stepped
• CPC Class Codes: E04F 2201/041 Tongues or grooves with slits or cuts for expansion or flexibility
• CPC Class Codes: E04F 2201/05 Separate connectors or inserts, e.g. pegs, pins, keys or strips

Abstract

Floorboards with a mechanical locking system that allows movement between the floorboards when they are joined to form a floating floor.

Claims

1. Equipment for production of building panels, having a horizontal plane which is parallel with a panel surface, the equipment comprising a chain, a belt, a pressure shoe and tool set, the chain and the belt are arranged to displace the floorboard relative the tool set and the pressure shoe, in a feeding direction, the pressure shoe is arranged to press towards a rear side of the floorboard, the tool set is arranged to form an edge portion of the floorboard when the floorboard is displaced relative to the tool set, wherein one of the tools of the tool set forms a guiding surface in the floor board, the pressure shoe has a guiding device which cooperates with the guiding surface and prevents deviations in a direction perpendicular to the feeding direction and parallel to the horizontal plane.

2. The equipment as claimed in claim 1, wherein the building panel is a floor board with a mechanical locking system, such locking system comprising a locking element which cooperates with a locking groove and locks the floorboards horizontally parallel to the horizontal plane,

the guiding surface comprises a groove open towards a rear side and that the groove is in an edge portion of the floor board where some parts of the locking system are formed.

3. A semi-floating floor comprises rectangular floorboards joined by a mechanical locking system and in which the joined floorboards have a horizontal plane which is parallel to a floor surface and a vertical plane which is perpendicular to the horizontal plane, said locking system having mechanically cooperating locks for vertical joining parallel to the vertical plane and for horizontal joining parallel to the horizontal plane HP of a first and a second joint edge and in which locking system the vertical lock comprises a tongue which cooperates with a tongue groove and the horizontal lock comprises a locking element with a locking surface which cooperates with a locking groove, wherein the format, installation pattern and locking system of the floorboards are designed and combined in such a manner that a semi-floating continuous surface, with length or width exceeding 12 m, is adapted to be installed without expansion joints.

4. The semi-floating floor as claimed in claim 3, wherein the floor surface is a continuous floor surface with a length or width exceeding 20 m.

5. The semi-floating floor as claimed in claim 3, wherein the floorboards have a width which do not exceed 120 mm.

6. The semi-floating floor as claimed in claim 3, wherein the floorboards have a width which do not exceed 100 mm.

7. A locking system for mechanical joining of floorboards, in which locking system the joined floorboards have a horizontal plane which is parallel to a floor surface and a vertical plane which is perpendicular to the horizontal plane, which locking system has mechanically cooperating locks for vertical joining parallel to the vertical plane and for horizontal joining parallel to the horizontal plane of a first and a second joint edge, and in which locking system the vertical lock comprises a tongue which cooperates with a tongue groove and the horizontal lock comprises a locking element with a locking surface which cooperates with a locking groove, the first and the second joint edge have upper and lower joint edge portions positioned between the tongue and the floor surface, the upper joint edge portions being closer to the floor surface (31) than the lower joint edge portions, and in which locking system, when the floorboards are joined and pressed towards each other the upper joint edge portion in the first joint edge overlaps a lower joint edge portion in the second joint edge.

8. The locking system as claimed in claim 7, wherein when the floorboards are joined and pressed towards each other, the two upper joint edge portions are spaced from each other.

9. The locking system as claimed in claim 7, wherein there is an overlap when the floorboards are subjected to a tensile load.

10. The locking system as claimed in claim 9, wherein there is an overlap when the tensile load F is 100 kg/m of joint edge.

11. The locking system as claimed in claim 9, wherein there is an average play of at least 0.1 mm when the floorboards are subjected to a compressive and a tensile load of 200 kg/m.

12. The locking system as claimed in claim 7, wherein the upper overlapping joint edge portion is formed close to the floor surface 31 and has a lowest part which is positioned closer to the floor surface than to the upper part of the tongue.

13. The locking system as claimed in claim 12, wherein the minimum joint opening is greater than half the maximum joint opening.

14. The locking system as claimed in claim 7, wherein the surface layer is made of wood, and that the upper overlapping joint edge portion is formed in this wear layer.

15. The locking system as claimed in claim 8, wherein the floorboards have a surface layer of laminate and a core of fiber-board-based material, and that the upper overlapping joint edge portion is formed in this surface layer and in the upper portions of the core next to the surface layer, and that the vertical extent of the overlapping portion is less than 0.1 times the floor thickness.