Patent ID: 7328536

Claim:
A floor panel, for forming a floor covering, said floor panel having a limited panel thickness, which thickness is comprised in the range of 5 to 15 mm; said floor panel further being of the type comprising a core material selected from the group consisting of MDF and HDF; said floor panel at least at the edges of two opposite sides being provided with coupling parts substantially in the form of a tongue and a groove, said groove being bordered by an upper lip and a lower lip, and wherein the coupling parts are arranged so as to enable two of such panels to be coupled to each other; wherein said lower lip extends beyond said upper lip, so that the lower lip comprises a portion which is located underneath the upper lip and a portion which extends beyond the upper lip; wherein the coupling parts are provided with integrated mechanical locking elements which prevent the drifting apart of two coupled floor panels in a direction perpendicular to the related edges and parallel to the underside of the coupled floor panels; wherein said locking elements comprise a recess in said lower lip and a protrusion at the lower side of said tongue, such that in coupled condition of two of such panels the protrusion of one of said panels cooperates with the recess of the other panel; wherein said coupling parts and said locking elements are formed in one piece from said core material selected from the group consisting of MDF and HDF; wherein said recess is partially located in the portion of the lower lip which is located underneath the upper lip and partially in the portion of this lower lip which extends beyond the upper lip; and wherein in coupled condition of two of such panels they define a vertical plane where the panels with their upper sides fit against each other, and wherein the upper side of the tongue and the lower side of the upper lip are provided with corresponding flat contact surfaces, which in coupled condition of two of such panels cooperate with each other, wherein the contact defined by said cooperating flat surfaces ends at a location laterally offset from said vertical plane in a direction towards a deepest point of the groove.