Abstract:
A portable floor is provided comprising a first panel board, a second panel board and a biscuit. The first panel board has a plurality of first panel sides, where one of the first panel sides includes a first panel slot. The second panel board has a plurality of second panel sides, where one of the second panel sides includes a second panel slot. The biscuit inserted into the first panel slot and the second panel slot.

Description:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION  
       [0001]     The present invention relates generally to a portable floor and a method of creating and installing the portable floor.  
       BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
       [0002]     Conventional portable floors tend to be complicated to install and manufacture, and require numerous, bulky pieces. Thus, there is a need for a simple, light weight portable floor that is easy to manufacture.  
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
       [0003]     In accordance with the present invention, a floor panel is provided comprising a panel board and a biscuit. The panel board has a top surface, a bottom surface, and a plurality of sides. One side of the panel board includes a first slot and a second side includes a second slot. The biscuit is attached to the first slot or the second slot.  
         [0004]     In accordance with the present invention, a portable floor is provided comprising a first panel board, a second panel board and a biscuit. The first panel board has a plurality of first panel sides, where one of the first panel sides includes a first panel slot. The second panel board has a plurality of second panel sides, where one of the second panel sides includes a second panel slot. The biscuit is inserted into the first panel slot and the second panel slot.  
         [0005]     In accordance with the present invention, a method is provided, comprising the steps of locking a tongue of a first interlocking panel into a groove of a second interlocking panel to form a row of interlocking panels, attaching the row of interlocking panels to a surface of a substrate, locking a tongue of a third interlocking panel to a groove of a fourth interlocking panel to form a second row of interlocking panels, attaching the second row of interlocking panels to the surface of the substrate adjacent the first row of interlocking panels, wherein the substrate, first row of interlocking panels and second row of interlocking panels forms a floor panel, trimming a groove from the first interlocking panel, trimming a tongue from the second interlocking panel, trimming a groove from the third interlocking panel, trimming a tongue from the fourth interlocking panel, and carving a slot on a side of the floor panel.  
         [0006]     Other systems, methods, features and advantages of the invention will be or will become apparent to one with skill in the art upon examination of the following figures and detailed description. It is intended that all such additional systems, methods, features and advantages be included within this description, be within the scope of the invention, and be protected by the accompanying claims. 
     
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0007]     The accompanying drawings, which are incorporated in and constitute a part of this specification, illustrate an implementation of the invention and, together with the description, serve to explain the advantages and principles of the invention. In the drawings,  
         [0008]      FIG. 1  depicts a top perspective view of one embodiment of a floor panel, in accordance with the present invention;  
         [0009]      FIG. 2  depicts a bottom perspective view of the floor panel shown in  FIG. 1 ;  
         [0010]      FIG. 3  depicts a top view of one embodiment of a biscuit, in accordance with the present invention;  
         [0011]      FIG. 4  depicts a top view of another embodiment of a biscuit in the unlocked position, in accordance with the present invention;  
         [0012]      FIG. 5  depicts a top view of the biscuit shown in  FIG. 3  in the locked position;  
         [0013]      FIG. 6  depicts a top perspective view of an interlocking panel, in accordance with the present invention;  
         [0014]      FIG. 7  depicts a front view of the interlocking panel shown in  FIG. 6 ;  
         [0015]      FIG. 8  depicts a front view of two interlocking panels with the tongue of one panel inserted into the groove of the second panel, in accordance with the present invention;  
         [0016]      FIG. 9  depicts a perspective view of two interlocking panels shown in  FIG. 8 ;  
         [0017]      FIG. 10  depicts a front view of the two interlocking panels shown in  FIG. 8  with the panels in the locked position;  
         [0018]      FIG. 11  depicts a perspective view of three interlocking panels attached to a substrate, in accordance with the present invention;  
         [0019]      FIG. 12  depicts a perspective view of nine interlocking panels attached to a substrate, in accordance with the present invention;  
         [0020]      FIG. 13  depicts a perspective view of the nine interlocking panels attached to the substrate shown in  FIG. 12  with the edges of the panels trimmed;  
         [0021]      FIG. 14  depicts a perspective view of two floor panels and a transition, in accordance with the present invention;  
         [0022]      FIG. 15  depicts a perspective view of the transition shown in  FIG. 14 ;  
         [0023]      FIG. 16  depicts a cross-sectional view of the transition attached to the two floor panels shown in  FIG. 14 ;  
         [0024]      FIG. 17  depicts a perspective view of a U-bolt connecting two floor panels, in accordance with the present invention;  
         [0025]      FIG. 18  depicts a perspective view of one embodiment of a locking mechanism in the unlocked position;  
         [0026]      FIG. 19  depicts the locking mechanism shown in  FIG. 18  in the locked position; and  
         [0027]      FIG. 20  depicts a perspective view of a portable floor, in accordance with the present invention. 
     
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION  
       [0028]     Reference will now be made in detail to implementations consistent with the present invention as illustrated in the accompanying drawings. Wherever possible, the same reference numbers will be used throughout the drawings and the following description to refer to the same or like parts.  
         [0029]      FIG. 1  depicts one embodiment of a floor panel  100 . Floor panel  100  includes a panel board  110  with slots  120  carved into each side  130  of the panel board  110 , a number of biscuits  140  inserted into some of the slots  120 , and a number of support blocks  170  under the panel board  110 . Although depicted with three slots  120  in each side  130  of the floor panel  100 , one skilled in the art will appreciate that any number of slots  120  can be carved into each side  130  of the floor panel  100  without departing from the scope of the invention.  
         [0030]     Biscuits  140  are inserted into the slots  120  to ensure that adjacent floor panels  100  are aligned. Biscuits  140  may be made of any rigid material, such as wood, plastic or metal. Biscuit  140  may be a single piece, as depicted in  FIG. 3 . Alternatively the biscuit may include two pieces, such as a Simplex biscuit  150 .  FIG. 4  depicts the Simplex biscuit  150  in the unlocked position, and  FIG. 5  depicts the Simplex biscuit  150  in the locked position. Each 1/2  Simplex biscuit  160  is inserted into the corresponding slots  120  of adjacent floor panels  100  so that the Simplex biscuits  150  not only align the floor panels, but also lock the floor panels  100  together. Floor panel  100  is shown with three single-piece biscuits  140  on one side, one 1/2  Simplex biscuit  160  and two empty slots  120  on the second side, three empty slots  120  on the third side, and one 1/2  Simplex biscuit  160  and two single-piece biscuits  140  on the fourth side. One skilled in the art, however, will recognize that any combination of biscuits can be used between the floor panels  100  without departing from the scope of the invention. For example, floor panel  100  may include three single-piece biscuits  140  on one side, three empty slots  120  on the opposite side, and three 1/2  Simplex biscuits  160  in the remaining slots.  
         [0031]     The biscuits may be attached to the slots  120  by any means known in the art. For example, the biscuits may be glued into the slots  120  or may include barbs to frictionally hold the biscuit in the slot  120 .  
         [0032]     Support blocks  170  are attached to the bottom of the floor panel  100  to allow a user to run cables under the portable floor. The support blocks  170  also provide additional support for the flooring, and distribute the weight across each floor panel  100 . Although depicted with nine support blocks  170 , one skilled in the art will appreciate that any number of support blocks  170  can be attached to each floor panel  100  without departing from the scope of the invention.  
         [0033]      FIGS. 6-11  illustrate one method of constructing a floor panel  100  in accordance with the present invention. An interlocking panel  600 , depicted in  FIG. 6 , is used to construct the surface of a floor panel  100  in accordance with the present invention. One example of such an interlocking panel is provided by Kährs. Other examples of interlocking panels are described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,606,834; 6,588,166; 6,532,709; 6,510,665; and 6,516,579.  
         [0034]     Interlocking panel  600  includes a top surface  610  having a desired flooring finish, for example as illustrated with a hardwood floor finish. Interlocking panel  600  also includes a tongue  620  along one end of the panel, and a groove  630  along the opposite end of the panel. As depicted in  FIGS. 8 and 9 , the tongue  620  of one interlocking panel  600  can be placed into the groove  630  of another interlocking panel  600  so that when the interlocking panels  600  are aligned as depicted in  FIG. 10 , the panels  600  lock together.  
         [0035]     In the present invention, a number of interlocking panels  600  are locked together to form one row of panels  1100 . For example, as depicted in  FIG. 11 , three interlocking panel  600  are locked together to form the row of panels  1100 . Although depicted with three interlocking panels  600 , one skilled in the art will appreciate that any number of interlocking panels  600  can be locked together to form the row of panels  1100  without departing from the scope of the invention. The row of panels  1100  is attached onto a substrate  1110 , for example by gluing the row  1100  onto the substrate  1110 . The substrate  1110  is made of a rigid material, such as a particle board, plywood, luaun, or any other type of wood. Preferably, the substrate  1110  will be made of a light-weight material to reduce the weight of the floor panel  100  to make it easier to handle. For example, the substrate  1110  may be made of a 1/8  inch featherply.  
         [0036]     Additional rows of panels  1100  are attached to cover the surface of the substrate  1110 , as illustrated in  FIG. 12 . The edges  1120  of the rows of panels  1100  are trimmed to remove the outer tongues  1130  and grooves  1140 , and form a rectangular panel board  110 , as depicted in  FIG. 13 . Slots  120  are carved into the sides  130  of the panel board  110 , and biscuits are attached to the slots  120 , as described above. Support blocks  170  are also attached to the bottom of the panel board  110  by any conventional means, such as by nailing or gluing the support blocks  170  to the panel board  110 , to form the floor panel  100  of the present invention.  
         [0037]     Two floor panels  100  are attached by inserting a single-piece biscuit  140  in a first floor panel into the corresponding empty slot  120  of a second floor panel, and by locking one 1/2  Simplex biscuit  160  in the first floor panel into the corresponding 1/2  Simplex biscuit  160  in the second floor panel, as depicted in  FIG. 14 . In addition, a transition  1400  can be used to further lock together two floor panels  100  along the outer edge of the final flooring. Transition  1400  includes prongs  1410  that can be inserted into holes  1420  drilled into two support blocks  1430  of adjacent floor panels  100 , as shown in detail in  FIG. 14 .  FIG. 16  illustrates a cross-section through the prong  1410  of the transition  1400  after the transition  1400  is inserted into the blocks  1430  of adjacent floor panels  100 . Alternatively, a U-bolt  1700  can be placed through holes in adjacent floor panels  100  to lock adjacent panels  100  together along the outer edge of the final floor, as illustrated in  FIG. 17 .  
         [0038]      FIG. 18  depicts one embodiment of a locking mechanism to hold the transition  1400  onto the panel board  110 . The locking mechanism includes a first part  1800  and a second part  1810 . The first part  1800  includes a recess  1820  between two walls  1830 , and the second part includes a prong  1840 . The prong  1840  of the second part  1810  engages the recess  1820  of the first part  1800  to lock the transition  1400  onto the panel board  110 , as depicted in  FIG. 19 . Although depicted with the first part  1800  attached to the panel board  110  and the second part  1810  attached to the transition  1400 , one skilled in the art will appreciate that the first and second parts may be switched.  
         [0039]     The locking mechanism may be attached to the transition  1400  and the panel board  100  by any means known in the art. For example, screws  1850  may be used to attach the first part  1800  and the second part  1810  to the panel board  110  and the transition  1400 .  
         [0040]     One skilled in the art will appreciate that the methods described above to attach the panel boards  110  together or to attach the transitions  1400  to the panel boards  110  may be used in various combinations without departing from the scope of the invention. For example, biscuits  140  and/or Simplex biscuits  150  may be used to attach transitions  1400  onto the panel boards  110 . Similarly, locking mechanism  1800 ,  1810  may be used to hold the panel boards  110  together. Moreover, a combination of biscuits, Simplex biscuits and locking mechanisms may be used to attach the various pieces together.  
         [0041]     After all floor panels are attached and locked together with transitions  1400 , additional transitions  1440  are attached around the floor panels to create a portable floor  2000 , as illustrated in  FIG. 20 . Although depicted with four floor panels  100 , one skilled in the art will appreciate that any number of floor panels can be attached together to form the portable floor without departing from the scope of the invention.  
         [0042]     While various embodiments of the present invention have been described, it will be apparent to those of skill in the art that many more embodiments and implementations are possible that are within the scope of this invention. Accordingly, the present invention is not to be restricted except in light of the attached claims and their equivalents.