Patent Publication Number: US-2013247502-A1

Title: Barb-type lock floor made of plastic material

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
     This application is the §371 National Stage of International Application No. PCT/CN2011/082242, filed on Nov. 15, 2011, which claims the benefit of Chinese Patent Application No. 201110029196.3, filed on Jan. 27, 2011, the contents of which applications are herein incorporated by reference in their entirety. 
    
    
     FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention relates to a building decoration material, specifically relates to a decorative panel made of a plastic material with elastic deformation, and more particularly relates to an assembly floor decoration material made of plastic material. 
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     Floor decoration materials have been widely used in home or in public places. Under normal circumstances, wooden flooring or composite laminate flooring are primarily used. Plastic flooring is also a commonly used floor decoration material, which typically has two structural patterns, one being large area roll form and the other being in a square form of small area. The two have the common points in that the thickness is thin, glue needs to be spread on a large area during installation for bonding with the ground, and it is difficult to maintain due to local wear after a period of use and inconvenient to replace. Currently, the lock structure similar to those on composite laminate flooring is also used on plastic flooring. The structures disclosed by Chinese Patent No. CN97190692.0, for example, has a basic structure of plate that comprises a tongue portion extending horizontally at one end thereof and a horizontal slot at the other end. The tongue portion inserts into the slot for connection. This structure is suitable for composite laminate flooring with substantial rigidity and thickness, and is not suitable for flooring made of thinner and softer plastic material. The installation of the above structure is time consuming. Moreover, the length of the overlapping segment between the tongue portion and the slot may be 3˜5% of the plate width. As a result, the waste is relatively high during large-scale production. It also has other drawbacks, for example, it is easy to deform when contacting water. Formaldehyde is typically used as adhesive for composite laminate flooring, which is harmful to both the environment and people. How to solve the connection problem of relatively soft plates made of plastic material is important for practical applications. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     The object of the present invention is to disclose a buckle structure suitable for the connection of strip-shaped sheets made of plastic material such that they can be effectively connected and have a plurality of advantages. 
     The technical solutions of the present invention are as follows: comprising a sheet made of strip-shaped plastic material, its one side is formed with a slot, and the opposing other side has a corresponding tenon that may be inserted into the slot. The key is that the slot opens upwardly, the tenon points downwardly, and when the slot and the tenon are mutually meshed, the angle A between the slot and the plane of the sheet is 50 to 80 degrees, forming an obliquely downward slot, the tenon is adapted to fit the obliquely downward slot. 
     More preferably, the angle A between said slot and the plane of the sheet is 60 to 70 degrees. 
     A transition section with a smooth curve is formed between the slot and the sheet. 
     More preferably, both the end portion of the tenon and the inner end angle of the external hook of the slot have a transition of a smooth curve. 
     The inner edge of said slot has a folding platform on the top portion thereof to form a larger opening of the slot. 
     A small gap is formed between said tenon and the inner edge of the slot that forms a space for accommodating tenon deformation. 
     A small gap is formed between the upper surface of the external hook of the slot and the sheet. 
     Although the structure according to the present invention is simple, a horizontal barb structure is formed through the connection between the slot and the tenon, namely the oblique opening of the slot is upward while the tenon goes downward obliquely. Said barb-shaped slot and tenon structure that is obliquely configured is particularly suitable for the connection of strip-shaped plates made of relatively thin plastic material. During installation, the tenon just needs to be pressed into the slot, and the tenon will smoothly enter the slot due to the relatively large deformation during the pressing process as a result of the high ductility and elasticity of the plastic material. No regular hardwood or composite plates could achieve the above press-fit process. With the above barb structure, the engagement effect is extraordinary after installation and will not be disengaged due to environmental changes. The excellent engagement effect makes the connected plates a great single piece and makes it unnecessary to spread glue on the ground. As a result, it saves labor and materials for the installation process. When the plate surface is worn, moreover, it is easy to take out the plates with worn surface for replacement, which is difficult for the current plastic floor decoration materials. Although the present invention has a simple structure, therefore, it has outstanding practical effect, doubtlessly creates areas for the application of plates made of plastic materials, and makes them easier to be accepted by users. The structure according to the present invention is suitable for all types of plastic materials, such as PVC, PE or other synthetic materials. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         FIG. 1  is a sectional view of the structure of an embodiment of the present invention. 
         FIG. 2  is a sectional view of the structure of another embodiment of the present invention. 
         FIG. 3  is a sectional view of the structure of the sheet with a slot on the end in  FIG. 2 . 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
     Refer to  FIG. 1  to  FIG. 3 , a specific embodiment of the present invention is as follows: comprising a sheet  1 ,  1 A made of strip-shaped plastic material, the strip-shaped sheet  1 ,  1 A is typically 8˜15 cm wide and about 50˜100 cm long. Of course, it is not limited to the above dimension. The thickness may be a few millimeters, and therefore the sheet has relatively low rigidity, i.e. it is relatively soft. A slot  2 ,  2 A is formed on one side thereof, and the opposing side has a corresponding tenon  3 ,  3 A that can be inserted into the slot  2 ,  2 A, the other opposing side also has corresponding slot  2 ,  2 A and tenon  3 ,  3 A. As a result, the sheets can be connected to each other in a desired area. Significantly, the slot  2 ,  2 A has an upward opening (as shown in  FIG. 3 ), the tenon  3 ,  3 A goes downward (as shown in  FIG. 1  and  FIG. 2 ) when the slot  2 ,  2 A and the tenon  3 ,  3 A are mutually meshed. The angle A between the slot  2 ,  2 A and the plane of the sheet  1 ,  1 A is  50  to  80  degrees, forming an obliquely downward slot  2 ,  2 A. The tenon  3 ,  3 A is adapted to fit the obliquely downward slot  2 ,  2 A, i.e. the external end portion of the slot  2 , 2 A forms an external hook  6 ,  6 A, the tenon  3 ,  3 A also forms a hook with the sheet that forms an integral piece therewith, said hook-shaped connection structure forms a barb-shaped structure, and said barb-shaped structure is particularly suitable for thin flexible sheets. 
     During use, the tenon  3 ,  3 A is placed above the slot  2 ,  2 A, the sheet with the tenon  3 ,  3 A is pressed to push the tenon  3 ,  3 A into the slot  2 ,  2 A. During the press-fit process, the external hook  6 ,  6 A on one side of the slot  2 ,  2 A is squeezed by the tenon  3 ,  3 A and develops a deformation toward the outer side, and at the same time, the tenon is also pressed to develop a deformation toward the outer side of its own sheet. Due to the presence of the above deformations of the external hook  6 ,  6 A and the tenon  3 ,  3 A, the tenon  3 ,  3 A can enter the slot  2 ,  2 A. When the tenon  3 ,  3 A completely enters the slot  2 ,  2 A, the above deformations disappear, thereby realizing the fitting and mutual engagement between the slot  2 ,  2 A and the tenon  3 ,  3 A such that the two sheets are connected. 
     To make the above press-fit process between the tenon  3 ,  3 A and the slot  2 ,  2 A smooth, the angle A between the plane of said slot  2 ,  2 A and the plane of the sheet  1  is  60  to  70  degrees, both to ensure relatively small deformation during the press-fit process and to ensure that there is sufficient engagement between the slot  2 ,  2 A and the tenon  3 ,  3 A, such that the two will not be disengaged during use. In the above deformation process of the external hook  6 ,  6 A and the tenon  3 ,  3 A, there is a concentration of stress between the root of the tenon  3 ,  3 A and the sheet  1 ,  1 A that is connected integrally therewith. Therefore, it is easy to produce tiny cracks as a result of the stress at the angle portion formed between the tenon  3 ,  3 A and the sheet  1 ,  1 A that is connected integrally therewith. The angle portion formed between the tenon  3 ,  3 A and the sheet  1 ,  1 A that is connected integrally therewith is consequently formed to be a transition section  4 ,  4 A with a smooth curve, thereby eliminating the above stress and preventing damages to the root of the tenon  3 ,  3 A; similarly, a transition with a smooth curve is also formed between the above external hook  6 ,  6 A and the sheet  1 ,  1 A that is connected integrally therewith. To make the process that the tenon  3 ,  3 A is pressed into the slot  2 ,  2 A smoother, both the end portion  5 ,  5 A of the tenon  3 ,  3 A and the inner end angle  7 ,  7 A of the external hook  6 ,  6 A of the slot  2 ,  2 A have a transition of a smooth curve. 
     In one embodiment ( FIGS. 2 and 3 ), the inner edge  8 A of said slot  2 A has a folding platform  9 A on the top portion thereof such that the opening of the slot  2 A has a larger opening and it is easier for the tenon  3 A to enter the slot  2 A, making it difficult to obstruct the entering. 
     A small gap  10 ,  10 A is formed between said tenon  3 ,  3 A and the inner edge  8 ,  8 A of the slot  2 ,  2 A that forms a space for accommodating the deformation of tenon  3 ,  3 A, making it easier for pushing the tenon  3 ,  3 A into the slot  2 ,  2 A, and at the same time, leaving a space for the expansion caused by heat and contraction caused by cold, preventing the sheet  1 ,  1 A from bulging due to expansion. At the same time, a small gap is formed between the upper surface of the external hook  6 ,  6 A of the slot  2 ,  2 A and the sheet  1 ,  1 A. Said gap ensures that the tenon  3 ,  3 A will be completely pushed into the slot  2 ,  2 A even when the tenon  3 ,  3 A has processing errors. 
     The present invention has a simple structure, but is particularly suitable for the connection of sheets made of plastic material with relatively low rigidity. Said plastic sheets may be rectangular or square, the thickness may be relatively small, such as 3 to 5 mm. At the same time, it is suitable for relatively thick sheets. Therefore, the barb (hook) type floor of plastic material disclosed by the present invention has a broad range of suitable materials, can be easily processed, achieves firm connection, and makes the installation and replacement extremely convenient. Meanwhile, the overlapping part of the connecting portion of sheets with this structure takes up only about 1.5 to 2% of the total sheet area, which is far lower than 3˜5% of the total area taken up the slot and tenon structure according to the prior art level, which can save a lot of material during large scale production.