Patent Publication Number: US-6339908-B1

Title: Wood floor board assembly

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     1. Field of the Invention 
     The present invention relates to a wood floor board assembly. 
     2. Description of the Related Art 
     A conventional wood floor board assembly in accordance with the prior art comprises a plurality of base plates each having a front side, a rear side, a left side and a right side, wherein the front side and the left side respectively formed with a rib, and the rear side and the right side respectively formed with a recess so that the plurality of base plates can be secured together with each other by means of the rib being inserted into the recess, thereby assembling the entire wood floor board assembly. 
     However, the base plates are connected with each other by the rib in conjunction with the recess only whereby the snap connection between the base plates is extremely tight so that the connection between the base plates easily protrudes or tilt upward, thereby easily wearing the conventional floor board assembly, and thereby greatly decreasing the aesthetic quality of the conventional floor board assembly. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     In accordance with one aspect of the present invention, there is provided a wood floor board assembly comprising: a plurality of base plates, and a plurality of linking members, wherein, 
     each of the base plates has a front side provided with a rib and a rear side defining a recess, the rib having a bottom provided with a first snap portion, the recess having a bottom provided with a second snap portion, a contact portion provided on a bottom of each of the base plates and located between the first snap portion and the second snap portion, each of the base plates having a left side provided with a third snap portion having an upward directed opening and a tight side provided with a fourth snap portion having a downward directed opening; and 
     each of the linking members has a front side defining a first fitting channel, a rear side defining a second fitting channel, and a mediate portion provided with an interface flange, each of the front side and the rear side of the linking member provided with a locking portion which extends inward and is inclined downward. 
     The wood floor board assembly further comprises a plurality of border ornamental members each attached to an outermost one of the base plates which are assembled together, each of the border ornamental members including a first side defining a third fitting channel for receiving the first snap portion or the second snap portion of the base plate, a mediate portion provided with an interface flange, and a second side provided with a ornamental portion which is rested on an outer periphery of the base plate. 
     Each of the third snap portion and the fourth snap portion of each of the base plates is provided with an upright flat face for facilitating assembly of the third snap portion and the fourth snap portion of two adjacent base plates. 
     Further benefits and advantages of the present invention will become apparent after a careful reading of the detailed description with appropriate reference to the accompanying drawings. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     FIG. 1 is an exploded view of a wood floor board assembly in accordance with the present invention; 
     FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a base plate of the wood floor board assembly as shown in FIG. 1; 
     FIG. 3 is a side plan view of the base plate as shown in FIG. 2; 
     FIG. 4 is a perspective view of a linking member of the wood floor board assembly as shown in FIG. 1; 
     FIG. 5 is a side plan view of the linking member as shown in FIG. 4; 
     FIG. 6 is a perspective view of a border ornamental member of the wood floor board assembly as shown in FIG. 1; 
     FIG. 7 is a side plan view of the border ornamental member as shown in FIG. 6; 
     FIG. 8 is a side plan assembly view of the wood floor board assembly as shown in FIG. 1; 
     FIG. 9 is an operational view of the border ornamental member as shown in FIG. 8; 
     FIG. 10 is a perspective view of a base plate of the wood floor board assembly in accordance with another embodiment of the present invention; 
     FIG. 11 is a side plan view of the base plate as shown in FIG. 10; 
     FIG. 12 is an enlarged view of the base plate as shown in FIG. 10; 
     FIG. 13 is an assembly view of the base plates as shown in FIG. 12; and 
     FIG. 14 is a top plan assembly view of the wood floor board assembly as shown in FIG.  1 . 
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
     Referring to the drawings and initially to FIGS. 1-7, a wood floor board assembly in accordance with the present invention primarily comprises a substrate plate  1  placed on the floor, a plurality of base plates  2  mounted on the substrate plate  1  and assembled with each other, a plurality of linking members  3  for securing the base plates  2  together, and a plurality of border ornamental members  4  each attached to an outermost one of the base plates  2  which are assembled together. 
     The substrate plate  1  is made of a soft tough foam material which is waterproof, vibration damping and anti-slip so that the substrate plate  1  can be smoothly placed on the floor. 
     As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, each of the base plates  2  has a front side provided with a rib  21  and a rear side defining a recess  22 , wherein the rib  21  has a bottom provided with a first snap portion  23 , and the recess  22  has a bottom provided with a second snap portion  24 . A contact portion  25  is provided on the bottom of each of the base plates  2  and is located between the first snap portion  23  and the second snap portion  24 . Each of the base plates  2  has a left side provided with a third snap portion  26  having an upward directed opening and a right side provided with a fourth snap portion  27  (see FIG. 10) having a downward directed opening. 
     As shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, each of the linking members  3  has a front side defining a first fitting channel  31 , a rear side defining a second fitting channel  32 , and a mediate portion provided with an interface flange  33 . Each of the front side and the rear side of the linking member  3  is provided with a locking portion  34  which extends inward and is inclined downward. 
     As shown in FIGS. 6 and 7, each of the plurality of border ornamental members  4  includes a first side defining a third fitting channel  42  for receiving the first snap portion  23  or the second snap portion  24  of the base plate  2 , a mediate portion provided with an interface flange  41 , and a second side provided with a ornamental portion  43  which is rested on the outer periphery of the base plate  2 . 
     In assembly, referring to FIGS. 8 and 9 with reference to FIGS. 1-7, the first snap portion  23  of a first base plate  2  is initially inserted into the second fitting channel  32  of the linking member  3 , and is located between the locking portion  34  and the interface flange  33 . The second snap portion  24  of a second base plate  2  is then pressed on the locking portion  34  as shown in FIG. 8 to be inserted into the first fitting channel  31  of the linking member  3  through the locking portion  34  as shown in FIG. 9 while the rib  21  of the first base plate  2  is received in the recess  22  of the second base plate  2 . In such a manner, the first snap portion  23  of the first base plate  2  is secured in the second fitting channel  32  of the linking member  3 , the second snap portion  24  of the second base plate  2  is secured in the first fitting channel  31  of the linking member  3 , and the rib  21  of the first base plate  2  is snapped into the recess  22  of the second base plate  2  as shown in FIG. 9 so that the two adjacent base plates  2  can be easily secured together with each other. Similarly, a plurality of parallel base plates  2  can be secured together by means of the linking members  3 . 
     Then, the border ornamental member  4  is attached to an outermost one of the base plates  2  with the second snap portion  24  (or the first snap portion  23 ) of the base plate  2  secured in the third fitting channel  42  of the border ornamental member  4  and with the ornamental portion  43  of the border ornamental member  4  abutting the outer periphery of the base plate  2  as shown in FIG. 9 to provide an decorative effect on the base plate  2 , thereby enhancing the aesthetic quality of the wood floor board assembly. 
     Referring to FIGS. 10-13, in accordance with another embodiment of the present invention, the third snap portion  26  has an upward directed opening and the fourth snap portion  27  has a downward directed opening, and each of the third snap portion  26  and the fourth snap portion  27  of each of the base plates  2  is provided with an upright flat face  28  for facilitating assembly of the third snap portion  26  and the fourth snap portion  27  of two adjacent base plates  2 . 
     In such a manner, the third snap portion  26  of a first base plate  2  can be easily and quickly engaged with the fourth snap portion  27  of an adjacent second base plates  2  as shown in FIG. 13 by provision of the upright flat face  28 . 
     As shown in FIG. 14, a plurality of base plates  2  can be easily and rapidly assembled together by the linking members  3 , the border ornamental members  4 , the third snap portions  26 , and the fourth snap portions  27  so as to form a complete integral floor board assembly. 
     Accordingly, the floor board assembly of the present invention has the following advantages. 
     1. The first snap portion  23  of the first base plate  2  is secured in the second fitting channel  32  of the linking member  3 , the second snap portion  24  of the second base plate  2  is secured in the first fitting channel  31  of the linking member  3 , the rib  21  of the first base plate  2  is snapped into the recess  22  of the second base plate  2 , the second snap portion  24  (or the first snap portion  23 ) of the base plate  2  is secured in the third fitting channel  42  of the border ornamental member  4 , and the third snap portion  26  of a first base plate  2  is engaged with the fourth snap portion  27  of an adjacent second base plates  2  so that the plurality of base plates  2  can be easily and rigidly secured together with each other with a decorative function. 
     2. The third snap portion  26  of a first base plate  2  can be smoothly engaged with the fourth snap portion  27  of an adjacent second base plates  2  by provision of the upright flat face  28  so that the base plates can be integrally snapped and assembled together. 
     It should be clear to those skilled in the art that further embodiments may be made without departing from the scope of the present invention.