Patent ID: 7467499

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, whereby these coupling parts allow that two of such panels can be coupled to each other; wherein said lower lip has a proximal end and a distal end; 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; wherein the recess has a deepest bottom portion; 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 lower lip, seen in a cross sectional view, shows a thickness which over the majority of the length starting from said deepest bottom portion up to said proximal end of the lower lip is increasing in thickness; wherein the recess at its distal side is bordered by a locking surface, provided at an actual locking element, and wherein said lower lip increases in thickness such that the upper side of this lower lip at the proximal end of this lip ends up in a position higher than the top side of said actual locking element; and wherein said lower lip extends beyond said upper lip.