Patent ID: 7650727

Claim:
A floor panel, for forming a floor covering, said floor panel having an upper side, an underside and a thickness in the range of 5 to 15 mm; said floor panel further comprising a laminate having a core material selected from the group consisting of medium density fiberboard and high density fiberboard; said floor panel having at least first and second pairs of opposite side edges provided with coupling parts substantially in the form of a tongue and a groove, said side edges including upper side edges at the upper ends of the side edges adjacent the panel upper side; said groove having an innermost point and being bordered by an upper lip and a lower lip, said coupling parts configured so as to enable two of the panels to be coupled to each other by placement of the tongue of one panel into a groove of the other panel with the panels extending in a common plane and with the respective upper side edges adjoining each other; wherein at the first pair of side edges 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 side edges and parallel to the underside of the coupled floor panels; wherein said locking elements comprise a recess having a bottom in said lower lip and a protrusion at the lower side of said tongue, so that in coupled condition of two of such panels the protrusion of one of said panels cooperates with the recess of the other panel to prevent said drifting apart of the coupled panels; wherein said recess is bordered by two lateral walls, respectively a distally located lateral wall and a proximally located lateral wall, the distally located lateral wall defining a locking surface of the recess; wherein, at the first pair of side edges, said coupling parts and said locking elements, including said recess, are formed in one piece from said core material; and wherein said proximally located lateral wall of said recess is obliquely inclined, extending in a direction proximally and upwardly from the bottom of the recess towards a proximal end of the lower lip; and wherein the locking elements comprise a locking surface located at said protrusion adapted to cooperate with the locking surface of said recess, said locking surfaces contacting each other when a pair of the panels are coupled by placement of the tongue of one panel into the groove of the other panel with the upper side edges of the panels adjoining each other, to thereby secure the upper side edges of said coupled panels in adjoined relationship while preventing unintentional separation between the upper side edges that would produce undesired gaps between the upper side edges in a direction perpendicular to the related side edges and parallel to the underside of the coupled floor panels.