Resilient floor

• US 8,365,499 B2
• Filed: 09/03/2010
• Issued: 02/05/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 09/04/2009
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Valinge Innovation AB
• Original Assignee: Valinge Innovation AB
• Inventors: Nygren, Per, Nilsson, Mats
• Primary Examiner(s): Glessner, Brian
• Assistant Examiner(s): FIGUEROA, LUZ ADRIANA
• Application Number:
  US12/875,293
• Publication Number:
  US 20110056167A1
• Time in Patent Office: 886 Days
• Field of Search: 527/471.1, 527/452, 527/471, 525/911, 525/921, 525/924, 525/822
• US Class Current: 52/747.1
• CPC Class Codes: E04B 5/00 Floors; Floor construction with regard to insulation; Connections specially adapted therefor elements for floors, e.g. bricks, stones, filling bodies, girders, E04C; flooring as finishing work, insulation of flooring, sectional false floors, e.g. for computers E04F15/00
• CPC Class Codes: E04F 15/02038 characterised by tongue and groove connections between neighbouring flooring elements
• CPC Class Codes: E04F 15/10 of other materials, e.g. fibrous or chipped materials, organic plastics, magnesite tiles, hardboard , or with a top layer of other materials
• CPC Class Codes: E04F 15/105 of organic plastics with or without reinforcements or filling materials
• CPC Class Codes: E04F 2201/0138 by moving the sheets, plates or panels perpendicular to the main plane
• CPC Class Codes: E04F 2201/0146 with snap action of the edge connectors
• 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: Y10T 29/49623 Static structure, e.g., a building component

Abstract

A method of assembling resilient floorboards is disclosed that includes the step of bending an edge of a floorboard during the assembling. The bending reduces the force required for connection of the edge to another edge of a juxtaposed floorboard.

Claims

1. A method of assembling resilient floorboards, which are provided with a mechanical locking system for vertical and horizontal locking of two adjacent floorboards, wherein the method comprises the steps of:

positioning a first floorboard edge of a first floorboard, provided with a first device of said mechanical locking system, juxtaposed a second edge of a second floorboard, provided with a second device of said mechanical locking system, so that the first device of the mechanical locking system overlies the second device, the first floorboard edge having an outermost surface closest to the second edge of the second floorboard;

bending the first floorboard along at least the outermost surface of the first floorboard edge above the top surface of the second floorboard while the first device of the mechanical locking system overlies the second device; and

applying a force on a first part of the first floorboard edge, wherein at said first part of the first floorboard edge said first device is pushed into said second device to obtain a vertical and horizontal mechanical locking of a part of the first and second edges.

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein the bending is achieved by raising at least a part of the outermost surface of said first floorboard edge.

3. The method according to claim 2, wherein the raising is achieved by positioning of a raising device under said first floorboard in order to raise the part of the outermost surface of the first floorboard edge with respect to the juxtaposed second edge of the second floorboard.

4. The method according to claim 1, wherein the method comprises the step of applying a force to a new part of the first floorboard edge, which new part is adjacent to said first part to reduce the overall force required to mechanically lock the first floorboard edge to said second edge of the second floorboard, and repeating this step until the whole first floorboard edge is vertically and horizontally locked to said second edge.

5. The method according to claim 1, wherein the force is applied to a part of the first floorboard edge that is unlocked and closest to said second edge.

6. The method according to claim 1, wherein the force is applied by a tool.

7. The method according to claim 6, wherein the force is applied by a rotating part of the tool.

8. The method according to claim 1, wherein the method comprises the step of bending of a floorboard across said first floorboard edge and/or said second edge.

9. The method according to claim 1, wherein the method comprises the step of connecting an adjacent edge of the first floorboard to a juxtaposed edge of a third floorboard in another row by angling.

10. The method according to claim 1, wherein the first device comprises an upper locking strip and the second device comprises a lower locking strip, which upper and lower locking strips are integrally formed in the floorboards, the upper and the lower locking strips are provided with a downwardly and an upwardly protruding locking element respectively, each locking element provided with a locking surface configured to cooperate for horizontal locking of the floorboards, wherein the upper locking strip is upwardly resiliently bendable in order to facilitate a positioning of the downwardly protruding locking element, between the upwardly protruding locking element and an upper edge of the second floorboard, into a position where the locking surfaces cooperate.

11. The method according to claim 10, wherein the lower locking strip is downwardly resiliently bendable in order to facilitate the positioning.

12. The method according to claim 10, wherein the downwardly protruding locking element is provided with a first guiding surface, which is configured to cooperate with the upwardly protruding locking element in order to facilitate the positioning.

13. The method according to claim 12, wherein the first guiding surface cooperates with another guiding surface of the upwardly protruding locking element, which said another guiding surface is configured to facilitate the positioning.

14. The method according to claim 12, wherein the angle of the first guiding surface is more than about 30°

.

15. The method according to claim 12, wherein the angle of the first guiding surface is more than about 45°

.

16. The method according to claim 13, wherein the angle of said another guiding surface is more than about 30°

.

17. The method according to claim 13, wherein the angle of said another guiding surface is more than about 45°

.

18. The method according to claim 10, wherein the angle between the locking surfaces and the upper surface of the floorboards are more than 90°

to obtain a vertical locking in the position where the locking surfaces cooperate.

19. The method according to claim 10, wherein the edge of the first floorboard is provided with a tongue and the edge of said second floorboard is provided with a groove for vertical locking of the floorboards.

20. The method according to claim 10, wherein the edge of the first floorboard is provided with a groove and the edge of said second floorboard is provided with a tongue for vertical locking of the floorboards.

21. The method according to claim 11, the method further comprising bending the lower locking strip.

22. The method according to claim 21, wherein the bending of the lower locking strip is achieved by positioning a spacer between the second floorboard and the subfloor and offset from the lower locking strip such that the lower locking strip can bend freely.

23. The method accordingly to claim 21, wherein the bending of the lower locking strip is achieved by the lower locking strip whose including a lower part having a free space between the subfloor and a bottom of the lower locking strip.

24. The method according to claim 22, wherein the bending of the first floorboard is achieved by raising at least a part of the outermost surface of said first floorboard edge with a raising device positioned under said first floorboard in order to raise the part of the outermost surface of the first floorboard edge with respect to the juxtaposed second floorboard edge.

25. A method of assembling resilient floorboards, which are provided with a mechanical locking system for vertical and horizontal locking of two adjacent floorboards, wherein the method comprises the steps of:

positioning a first edge of a first floorboard, provided with a first device of said mechanical locking system, juxtaposed a second edge of a second floorboard, provided with a second device of said mechanical locking system;

bending the first floorboard along the first edge so that the first edge has an axis of curvature that is perpendicular to the second edge of the second floorboard, the axis of curvature being convex toward the bottom surface of the floorboards; and

applying a force on a first part of the first edge, wherein at said first part of the first edge said first device is pushed into said second device to obtain a vertical and horizontal mechanical locking of a part of the first and second edges.

26. The method according to claim 25, wherein the bending is achieved by raising at least a part of the outermost surface of said first edge of said first floorboard.

27. The method according to claim 26, wherein the raising is achieved by positioning of a raising device under said first floorboard in order to raise the part of the outermost surface of the first edge of the first floorboard with respect to the juxtaposed second edge of the second floorboard.

28. The method according to claim 25, wherein the method comprises the step of applying a force to a new part of the first edge of the first floorboard, which new part is adjacent to said first part to reduce the overall force required to mechanically lock the first edge to said second edge of the second floorboard, and repeating this step until the whole first edge of the first floorboard is vertically and horizontally locked to said second edge of the second floorboard.

29. The method according to claim 25, wherein the force is applied to a part of the first edge of the first floorboard that is unlocked and closest to said second edge of the second floorboard.

30. A method of assembling resilient floorboards, which are provided with a mechanical locking system for vertical and horizontal locking of two adjacent floorboards, wherein the method comprises the steps of:

positioning a first edge of a first floorboard, provided with a first device of said mechanical locking system, juxtaposed a second edge of a second floorboard, provided with a second device of said mechanical locking system, so that the first device of the mechanical locking system overlies the second device, the first edge having an outermost surface closest to the second edge of the second floorboard; and

applying a force on a first part of the first edge of the first floorboard such that the first floorboard bends along at least the outermost surface of the first edge, thereby at said first part of the first edge said first device is pushed into said second device to obtain a vertical and horizontal mechanical locking of a first part of the first and second edges, and at a second part of the first edge of the first floorboard, said first device is positioned above said second device such that a second part of the first and second edges remains in an unlocked position.

31. The method according to claim 30, wherein the bending of the first floorboard is achieved by raising at least a part of the outermost surface of said first edge of said first floorboard.

32. The method according to claim 31, wherein the raising is achieved by positioning of a raising device under said first floorboard in order to raise the part of the outermost surface of the first edge of the first floorboard with respect to the juxtaposed second edge of the second floorboard.

33. The method according to claim 30, wherein the method comprises the step of applying a force to a new part of the first edge of the first floorboard, which new part is adjacent to said first part to reduce the overall force required to mechanically lock the first edge to said second edge of the second floorboard, and repeating this step until the whole first edge of the first floorboard is vertically and horizontally locked to said second edge of the second floorboard.

34. The method according to claim 30, wherein the force is applied to a part of the first edge of the first floorboard that is unlocked and closest to said second edge of the second floorboard.