Patent ID: 7827754

Claim:
A floor covering, said floor covering comprising a plurality of hard floor panels, said floor panels each comprising a laminate including an upper side, a lower side, a top layer on the upper side, and a wood-based core material; and at least two opposite lateral sides defining respective side edges including upper side edges adjacent the upper side, said upper side edges comprising said wood based core material, said core material being exposed along said upper side edges; said floor panels at least at said side edges each being provided with coupling parts substantially in the form of a tongue and a groove, said tongue being formed of said core material, said groove being bordered by an upper lip and a lower lip, said floor panels being mutually coupled without glue by means of said coupling parts; said coupling parts being provided with integrated mechanical locking elements at the tongue and groove which contact each other when the panels are coupled by the tongue of one panel being received in the groove of the other panel, with the upper side edges adjoining each other, to 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 at least at the location of said upper side edges of two of such coupled floor panels a sealing material other than glue is provided, said sealing material being separate from the top layer; said sealing material providing a watertight sealing between the coupled panels at the upper side edges concerned; and said locking elements including locking surfaces engaging each other when the panels are coupled without glue with the tongue received in the groove and retaining the upper side edges of the coupled floor panels together in adjoining relationship at the location of said sealing material, so that when the panels are coupled the integrity of said sealing is maintained to avoid ingress of moisture from above the coupled panels and exposure of said core material to such moisture and so that the coupled panels may be uncoupled without damage to the panels.