Source: http://www.google.com/patents/US6922964?dq=5927278
Timestamp: 2016-06-30 17:21:27
Document Index: 60592694

Matched Legal Cases: ['art 40', 'art 44', 'art 44', 'art 44', 'art 72', 'art 72', 'art 72']

Patent US6922964 - Locking system and flooring board - Google PatentsSearch Images Maps Play YouTube News Gmail Drive More »Sign inPatentsA floorboard system includes a plurality of floorboards, wherein each of the floorboards is a rectangular floorboard provided with long edges and short edges and having a floorboard body provided with an integrated long edge locking system and an integrated short edge locking system for mechanical joining,...http://www.google.com/patents/US6922964?utm_source=gb-gplus-sharePatent US6922964 - Locking system and flooring boardAdvanced Patent SearchPublication numberUS6922964 B2Publication typeGrantApplication numberUS 10/361,815Publication dateAug 2, 2005Filing dateFeb 11, 2003Priority dateJun 3, 1998Fee statusPaidAlso published asCA2333941A1, CA2333941C, CN1109172C, CN1247867C, CN1306595A, CN1420247A, DE1084318T1, DE29924259U1, DE29924260U1, DE69912950D1, DE69912950T2, DE69912950T3, DE69916666D1, DE69916666T2, EP1084318A1, EP1084318B1, EP1084318B2, EP1215352A2, EP1215352A3, EP1215352B1, EP1437457A2, EP1437457A3, EP1437457B1, EP2275620A2, EP2275620A3, US6446405, US6532709, US20020095894, US20030115812, WO1999066152A1Publication number10361815, 361815, US 6922964 B2, US 6922964B2, US-B2-6922964, US6922964 B2, US6922964B2InventorsDarko PervanOriginal AssigneeValinge Aluminium AbExport CitationBiBTeX, EndNote, RefManPatent Citations (100), Non-Patent Citations (51), Referenced by (63), Classifications (21), Legal Events (2) External Links: USPTO, USPTO Assignment, EspacenetLocking system and flooring board
US 6922964 B2Abstract
A floorboard system includes a plurality of floorboards, wherein each of the floorboards is a rectangular floorboard provided with long edges and short edges and having a floorboard body provided with an integrated long edge locking system and an integrated short edge locking system for mechanical joining, both vertically and horizontally, the floorboards, along the long edges thereof and along the short edges thereof. The long edge locking system differs from the short edge locking system in respect of at least one of material composition and material properties. And, at least one of the long edge locking system and the short edge locking system includes a separate element which is integrally connected with the floorboard body at the factory and is made of a material other than that included in the floorboard body.
1. A floorboard system comprising a plurality of rectangular floorboards, each floorboard of the floorboard system comprising:
a body; a top layer on one side of the body; a balance layer on a rear side of the body, the rear side opposite the one side; a plurality of edges of the body, the plurality of edges including a first long side, a second long side, a first short side, and a second short side; and a mechanical joining system including a first locking device and a second locking device, wherein the body is formed of a first material and an edge portion is attached to the body on the first short side and the second short side, the edge portion including a second material, the second material different from the first material, wherein the second material is attached to the edges of the body on the first short side and the second short side and is arranged between the top layer and the balancing layer, and wherein the edge portion extends over a height which is at least a part of a thickness of the body, the thickness measured from the one side to the rear side, wherein a part of the mechanical joining system is formed in the edge portion, and wherein the second material is a wood fiber material. 2. The floorboard system as in claim 1, wherein the top layer and the balancing layer are made of a different material than the second material.
3. The floorboard system as in claim 1, wherein a part of the mechanical joining system formed in the edge portion is the first locking device, the first locking device including a projection portion projecting from a joint edge and supporting a locking element at a distance from the joint edge, the joint edge being defined as a plane perpendicular to the first side at a point where the first side ends.
4. The floorboard system as in claim 1, wherein a part of the mechanical joining system formed in the edge portion is the second locking device, the second locking device including a tongue with a locking groove.
5. The floorboard system as in claim 1, wherein a part of the mechanical joining system formed in the edge portion is the first locking device and the second locking device, the first locking device including a projection portion projecting from a joint edge and supporting a locking element at a distance from the joint edge, the joint edge defined as a plane perpendicular to the first side at a point where the first side ends and the second locking device including a tongue with a locking groove, and
wherein the second locking device is formed at an opposite joint edge from the first locking device for engagement of the floorboard with an adjacent similar floorboard. 6. The floorboard system as in claim 5, wherein the short sides are locked vertically and horizontally.
7. The floorboard system as in claim 1, wherein the short sides are locked vertically and horizontally.
8. The floorboard system as in any of claims 1-7, wherein the long sides are locked mechanically vertically and horizontally with angling.
9. The floorboard system as in claims 3 or 4, wherein the long sides have a first locking device and a second locking device which are locked vertically and horizontally with angling, and
wherein the first locking device includes a tongue with a locking groove and the second locking device includes a projecting portion with a locking element, the locking element cooperating with the locking groove to form the horizontal locking. 10. The floorboard system as in claim 9, wherein the projecting portion with the locking element on the long side is formed in one piece with the body.
11. The floorboard system as in claim 9, wherein the projecting portion with the locking element on the long side is formed of a separate material different than the body.
12. The floorboard system as in claim 11, wherein the separate material on the short side has a higher strength with respect to the locking function than the material of the body.
13. The floorboard system as in claim 11, wherein the separate material on the short side has is more flexible than the material of the body.
This application is a continuation of U.S. application Ser. No. 10/100,032, filed on Mar. 19, 2002, now U.S. Pat. No. 6,532,709 which was a continuation of application Ser. No. 09/679,300, filed on Oct. 6, 2000, now U.S. Pat. Ser. No. 6,446,405, which was a continuation of International Application No. PCT/SE99/00934, filed on May 31, 1999, which International Application was published by the International Bureau in English on 23 Dec. 1999. The entire contents of Ser. Nos. 09/679,300 and 10/100,032 are hereby incorporated by reference.
Both the long sides 4 a, 4 b and the short sides 5 a, 5 b can be joined mechanically without any glue in the direction D2 in FIG. 1 c. To this end, the board 1 has a planar strip 6 which is mounted at the factory and which extends horizontally from one long side 4 a, the strip extending along the entire long side 4 a and being made of a flexible, resilient aluminium sheet. The strip 6 can be mechanically fixed according to the illustrated embodiment, or fixed by means of glue or in some other fashion. Other strip materials can be used, such as sheet of some other metal, and aluminium or plastic sections. Alternatively, the strip 6 can be integrally formed with the board 1, for instance by some suitable working of the body of the board 1. The strip, however, is always integrated with the board 1, i.e. it is not mounted on the board 1 in connection with laying. The width of the strip 6 can be about 30 mm and its thickness about 0.5 mm. A similar, although shorter strip 6′ is arranged also along one short side 5 a of the board 1. The edge side of the strip 4 facing away from the joint edge 4 a is formed with a locking element 8 extending along the entire strip 6. The locking element 8 has an active locking surface 10 facing the joint edge 4 a and having a height of e.g. 0.5 mm. In connection with laying, the locking element 8 cooperates with a locking groove 14, which is formed in the underside 3 of the opposite long side 4 b of an adjacent board 1′. The short side strip 6′ is provided with a corresponding locking element 8′, and the opposite short side 5 b has a corresponding locking groove 14.
FIGS. 1 a-1 c show how two such boards 1, 1′ can be joined by downwards angling. FIGS. 2 a-2 c show how the boards 1, 1′ can instead be joined by snap action. The long sides 4 a, 4 b can be joined by both methods whereas the short sides 5 a, 5 b—after laying of the first row are normally joined after joining of the long sides and merely by snap action. When a new board 1′ and a previously laid board 1 are to be joined along their long sides according to FIGS. 1 a-1 c, the long side 4 b of the new board 1′ is pressed against the long side 4 a of the previously laid board 1 according to FIG. 1 a, so that the locking tongue 20 is inserted into the recess 16. The board 1′ is then angled downwards to the subfloor 12 according to FIG. 1 b. Now the locking tongue 20 completely enters the recess 16 while at the same time the locking element 8 of the strip 6 enters the locking groove 14. During this downwards angling, the upper part of the locking element 8 can be active and accomplish a guiding of the new board 1′ towards the previously laid board 1. In the joined state according to FIG. 1 c, the boards 1, 1′ are locked in both D1 direction and D2 direction, but may be displaced relative to each other in the longitudinal direction of the joint.
FIGS. 2 a-2 c illustrate how also the short sides 5 a and 5 b of the boards 1, 1′ can be mechanically joined in both D1 and D2 direction by the new board 1′ being moved essentially horizontally towards the previously laid board 1. This can be carried out after the long side 4 b of the new board 1′ has been joined as described above. In the first step in FIG. 2 a, bevelled surfaces adjacent to the recess 16 and the locking tongue 20 cooperate so that the strip 6′ is forced downwards as a direct consequence of the joining of the short sides 5 a, 5 b. During the final joining, the strip 6′ snaps upwards as the locking element 8′ enters the locking groove 14. By repeating the operations shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the entire floor can be laid without glue and along all joint edges. Thus, prior-art floorboards of the above-mentioned type are joined mechanically by, as a rule, first being angled downwards on the long side, and when the long side is locked, the short sides are snapped together by horizontal displacement along the long side. The boards 1, 1′ can be taken up again in reverse order, without the joint being damaged, and be laid once more.
In addition to the disclosure of the above-mentioned patent specifications, Norske Skog Flooring AS (licensee of Valinge Aluminium AB) introduced a laminate flooring with a mechanical joining system according to WO 94/29699 in January 1996 in connection with the Domotex fair in Hannover, Germany. This laminate flooring marketed under the trademark Alloc� is 7.6 mm thick, has a 0.6 mm aluminium strip 6 which is mechanically fixed to the tongue side and the active locking surface 10 of the locking element 8 has an inclination of about 70�-80� to the plane of the board. The joint edges are impregnated with wax and the underside is provided with underlay board which is mounted at the factory. The vertical joint is designed as a modified tongue-and-groove joint. The strips 6, 6′ on long side and short side are largely identical, but slightly bent upwards to different degrees on long side and short side. The inclination of the active locking surface varies between long side and short side. The distance of the locking groove 14 from the joint edge, however, is somewhat smaller on the short side than on the long side. The boards are made with a nominal play on the long side which is about 0.05-0.10 mm. This enables displacement of the long sides and bridges width tolerances of the boards. Boards of this brand have been manufactured and sold with zero play on the short sides, which is possible since the short sides need not be displaced in connection with the locking which is effected by snap action. Boards of this brand have also been made with more bevelled portions on the short side to facilitate snapping in according to FIGS. 2 a-c above. It is thus known that the mechanical locking system can be designed in various ways and that long side and short side can be of different design.
Although the flooring according to WO 94/26999 and the flooring marketed under the trademark Alloc� have great advantages compared with traditional, glued floorings, further improvements are desirable.
Summing up, there is a great need for providing a mechanical joint of the above type at a low cost and with optimal locking functions at each joint edge. It is not possible to achieve a low cost with prior-art solutions without also lowering the requirements as to strength and/or laying function. An object of the invention is to provide solutions which aim at lowering the cost with maintained strength and function. According to the invention, these and other objects are achieved by the disclosed locking system and floorboard.
According to a first aspect of the invention, a locking system for mechanical joining of floorboards is thus provided, where immediately juxtaposed upper parts of two adjacent joint edges of two joined floorboards together define a joint plane perpendicular to the principal plane of the floor boards. To obtain a joining of the two joint edges perpendicular to the joint plane, the locking system comprises in a manner known per se a locking groove which is formed in the underside of and extends in parallel with the first joint edge at a distance from the joint plane, and a portion projecting from the lower part of the second joint edge and below the first joint edge and integrated with a body of the board, said projecting portion supporting at a distance from the joint plane a locking element cooperating with the locking groove and thus positioned entirely outside the joint plane seen from the side of the second joint edge, said projecting portion having a different composition of materials compared with the body of the board. The inventive locking system is characterised in that the projecting portion presents at least two horizontally juxtaposed parts, which differ from each other at least in respect of the parameters material composition and material properties.
This embodiment of the invention thus provides a kind of combination strip in terms of material, for example a projecting portion comprising an inner part with the material combination wood fibre/rear laminate/aluminium, and an outer part of aluminium sheet.
According to a second aspect of the invention, a locking system for mechanical joining of floorboards is provided. In this second aspect of the invention, the projecting portion is instead formed in one piece with the body of the board and thus has the same material composition as the body of the board. This second aspect of the invention is characterised in that the projecting portion, as a direct consequence of machining of its upper side, presents at least two horizontally juxtaposed parts, which differ from each other in respect of at least one of the parameters material composition and material properties.
The inventive principle of dividing the projecting portion into several parts which differ from each other in terms of material and/or material properties thus is applicable also to the prior-art “wood fibre strip”.
In one embodiment, said two parts may comprise an inner part closest to the joint plane and an outer part at a distance from the joint plane. There may be further parts outside the outer part. Specifically, an outer part can be formed of fewer materials than an inner part. For instance, the inner part may consist of wood fibre and rear laminate, whereas the outer part, by machining from above, consists of rear laminate only. In one embodiment, the projecting portion may comprise—seen from the joint plane outwards—an inner part, an outer part and, outside the outer part, a locking element supported by the outer part. The locking element may differ from both inner and outer part in respect of said material parameters.
According to a third aspect of the invention there is provided a floorboard presenting a locking system according to the first aspect or the second aspect of the invention as defined above. Several possibilities of combining prior-art separate strips, prior-art wood fibre strips and “combination strips” according to the invention are available. These possibilities can be used optionally on long side and short side.
According to a fourth aspect of the invention, a rectangular floorboard is thus provided, comprising a body and first and second locking means integrated with the body and adapted to provide a mechanical joining of adjacent joint edges of such floorboards along long sides and short sides, respectively, of the boards in a direction perpendicular to the respective joint edges and in parallel with the principal plane of the floorboards. According to this aspect of the invention, the floorboard is charactensed in that said first and second locking means differ in respect of at least one of the parameters material composition and material properties. Preferably, said first and second locking means each comprise on the one hand a portion which projects from a joint edge and which at a distance from the joint edge supports a locking element and, on the other hand, a locking groove, which is formed in the underside of the body at an opposite joint edge for engaging such a locking element of an adjacent board. At least one of said locking means on the long side and the short side may comprise a separate element which is integrally fixed to the body of the board at the factory and is made of a material other than that included in the body of the board. The other locking means may comprise an element which is formed in one piece with the body of the board.
Within the scope of the fourth aspect of the invention, there are several possibilities of combination. For example, it is possible to select an aluminium strip for the long side and a machined wood fibre strip for the short side or vice versa. Another example is that for the short side or the long side a “combination strip” according to the first and the second aspect of the invention is selected, and for the other side a “pure” aluminium strip or a “pure” worked wood fibre strip is selected.
Different aspects of the invention will now be described in more detail by way of examples with reference to the accompanying drawings. The parts of the inventive board which are equivalent to those of the prior-art board in FIGS. 1-3 are provided with the same reference numerals.
FIGS. 2 a-c illustrate in three steps a snap-in method for mechanical joining of short sides of floorboards according to WO 94/26999.
FIG. 6 a shows on a larger scale a broken-away corner portion C1 of the board in FIG. 5, and FIGS. 6 b and 6 c are vertical sections of the joint edges along the long side 4 a and the short side 5 a of the board in FIG. 5, from which it is particularly evident that the long side and the short side are different.
The strip 6 is formed with a locking element 8, whose active locking surface 10 cooperates with a locking groove 14 in an opposite joint edge 4 b of an adjacent board 1′ for horizontal locking together of the boards 1, transversely of the joint edge (D2). With a view to forming a vertical lock in the D1 direction, the joint edge 4 a has a laterally open groove 36 and the opposite joint edge 4 b has a laterally projecting tongue 38 (corresponding to the locking tongue 20), which in the joined state is received in the groove 36 (FIG. 7 c). The free surface of the upper part 40 of the groove 36 has a vertical upper portion 41, a bevelled portion 42 and an upper abutment surface 43 for the tongue 38. The free surface of the lower part 44 of the groove 36 has a lower abutment surface 45 for the tongue 38, a bevelled portion 46 and a lower vertical portion 47. The opposite joint edge 4 b (see FIG. 7 a) has an upper vertical portion 48, and the tongue 38 has an upper abutment surface 49, an upper bevelled portion 50, a lower bevelled portion 51 and a lower abutment surface 52.
In the joined state (FIG. 7 c), the two juxtaposed vertical upper portions 41 and 48 define a vertical joint plane F. As is best seen from FIG. 4, the lower part 44 of the groove 36 is extended a distance outside the joint plane F. The joint edge 4 a is in its underside formed with a continuous mounting groove 54 having a vertical lower gripping edge 56 and an inclined gripping edge 58. The gripping edges formed of the surfaces 46, 47, 56, 58 together define a fixing shoulder 60 for mechanical fixing of the strip 6. The fixing is carried out according to the same principle as in the prior-art board and can be carried out by means of the methods that are described in the above-mentioned documents. A continuous lip 62 of the strip 6 thus is bent round the gripping edges 56, 58 of the groove 54, while a plurality of punched tongues 64 are bent round the surfaces 46, 47 of the projecting portion 44. The tongues 64 and the associated punched holes 65 are shown in the broken-out view in FIG. 6 a. There is a significant difference between the inventive floorboard shown in FIGS. 4-7 and the prior-art board according to FIGS. 1-3. The area P in FIG. 4 designates the portion of the board 1 which is positioned outside the joint plane 1. According to the invention, the portion P has two horizontally juxtaposed parts P1 and P2, which differ in respect of at least one of the parameters material composition and material properties. More specifically, the inner part P1 is, closest to the joint plane F, formed partially of the strip 6 and partially of the worked part 44 of the body. In this embodiment, the inner part P1 thus comprises the material combination aluminium+wood fibre core+rear laminate whereas the outer part P2 is a made of aluminium only. In the prior-art board 1 in FIGS. 1 a-c, the corresponding portion outside the joint plane is made of aluminium only.
This constructional change to achieve saving in material does not have a detrimental effect on the possibility of resilient vertical motion that must exist in the projecting portion P. The strength of the locking element 8 is not affected either. The outer part P2 of aluminium is still fully resilient in the vertical direction, and the short sides 5 a, 5 b can be snapped together according to the same principle as in FIGS. 2 a-c. The locking element 8 is still made of aluminium and its strength is not reduced. However, it may be noted that the degree of resilience can be affected since it is essentially only the outer part P2 that is resilient in the snap action. This can be an advantage in some cases if one wants to restrict the bending-down properties and increase the strength of the lock.
FIG. 8 shows a second embodiment of the invention. The board 1 in FIG. 8 can be used for parquet flooring. The board 1 consists of an upper wear layer 32 a, a core 30 and a rear balance layer 34 a. In this embodiment, the projecting portion P outside the joint plane F is to a still greater extent made of different combinations of materials. The locking groove 14 is reinforced by the use of a separate component 70 of, for instance, wood fibre, which in a suitable manner is connected with the joint edge, for instance by gluing. This variant can be used, for instance, on the short side 5 b of the board 1. Moreover, a large part of the fixing shoulder 60 is positioned outside the joint plane F.
FIG. 9 shows a third embodiment of the invention. The board 1 in FIG. 9 is usable to provide a strong attachment of the aluminium strip 6. In this embodiment, a separate part 72 is arranged on the joint edge supporting the locking element 8. The part 72 can be made of, for instance, wood fibre. The entire fixing shoulder 60 and the entire strip 6 are located outside the joint plane F. Only a small part of the separate strip 6 is used for resilience. From the viewpoint of material, the portion P located outside the joint plane F has three different areas containing the combinations of materials “wood fibre only” (P1), “wood fibre/balance layer/aluminium” (P2) and “aluminium only” (P3). This embodiment with the fixing shoulder 6 positioned entirely outside the joint plane F can also be accomplished merely by working the body of the board, i.e. without the separate part 72. The embodiment in FIG. 9 can be suitable for the long side. The locking element 8 has a large guiding part, and the projecting portion P outside the joint plane F has a reduced bending down capability.
The above technique of providing the edge of the body, on the long side and/or short side, with separate materials that are fixed to the body to achieve special functions, such as strength, moisture proofing, flexibility etc, can be used also without utilising the principles of the invention. In other words, it is possible also in other joining systems, especially mechanical joining systems, to provide the body with separate materials in this way. In particular, this material can be applied as an edge portion, which in some suitable fashion is attached to the edge of the body and which can extend over the height of the entire board or parts thereof.
Moreover, the aspects of the invention including a separate strip can preferably be implemented in combination with the use of an equalising groove of the type described in WO 94/26999. Adjacent joint edges are equalised in the thickness direction by working of the underside, so that the upper sides of the floorboards are flush when the boards are joined. Reference letter E in FIG. 1 a indicates that the body of the boards after such working has the same thickness in adjacent joint edges. The strip 6 is received in the groove and will thus be partly flush-mounted in the underside of the floor. A corresponding arrangement can thus be accomplished also in combination with the invention as shown in the drawings.
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E04F15/10, E04F2201/045, E04F2201/026, E04F2201/0115, E04F2201/041, E04F2201/0517, E04F2201/0153European ClassificationE04F15/02, E04F15/10, E04F15/04Legal EventsDateCodeEventDescriptionJan 27, 2009FPAYFee paymentYear of fee payment: 4Jan 3, 2013FPAYFee paymentYear of fee payment: 8RotateOriginal ImageGoogle Home - Sitemap - USPTO Bulk Downloads - Privacy Policy - Terms of Service - About Google Patents - Send FeedbackData provided by IFI CLAIMS Patent Services