Patent ID: 7343717

Claim:
A floor panel comprising a hard panel, said panel being of the type formed of a board on the basis of wood, upon which at least one decorative layer is provided on the top side, said decorative layer being selected from the group consisting of a printed paper layer, veneer, cork, thin strips of wood and a layer of wood; said panel having coupling profiles on at least two opposite edges thereof made in one piece with the panel, so that several such panels can be mutually coupled together along said edges to form a flooring, said coupling profiles configured so as to enable interlocking of adjacent similar panels in a direction perpendicular to the plane of the coupled panels, as well as in a direction perpendicular to the coupled edges and parallel to the plane of coupled panels, said coupling profiles comprising vertically active coupling parts providing said interlocking in a direction perpendicular to the plane of the coupled panels and horizontally active coupling parts providing said interlocking in a direction perpendicular to the coupled edges and parallel to the plane of coupled panels; said vertically active coupling parts being in the shape of a tongue and a groove; said tongue having a distal tip, a top side and a bottom side; said groove being delimited by an upper lip and a lower lip; said upper lip having a lower side; said horizontally active coupling parts being in the shape of a protrusion on the top side of the tongue and a meshing recess provided in the lower side of the upper lip; wherein in coupled condition of two of such panels the top side of the tongue abuts on the upper lip, whereas the bottom side of the tongue abuts on the lower lip; wherein in coupled condition said tongue at its bottom side is at least partially delimited by a space in the groove that extends from said tip of the tongue at least up to a point located vertically underneath said protrusion; wherein the top portion of said protrusion is located at a distance from a vertical plane through the tip of the tongue; and wherein the coupling profiles are configured so as to enable two coupled panels to be disengaged by angling up one panel relative to the other; and wherein said top side of the tongue between its distal end and said protrusion comprises a portion which extends generally parallel with the plane of the floor panel and forms a contact surface cooperating with the lower side of said upper lip.