Patent ID: 8683769

Claim:
A modular flooring system for supporting an overlayment above a ground surface, the system comprising: a first floor tile having a first substantially-flat top surface; a second floor tile adjacent the first sub-floor tile and having a second substantially-flat top surface; at least one bridge connector coupled between and atop the first and second floor tiles, allowing controlled relative lateral movement and restraining relative vertical movement between the floor tiles, while maintaining a substantially smooth top surface alignment across adjacent edges of the first and second top surfaces; wherein, a first corner of the at least one bridge connector is adapted to mate with a corner of the first floor tile and a second corner of the at least one bridge connector is adapted to mate with a corner of the second floor tile and wherein the corner of the first and second floor tiles comprises an L-shaped protruding member extending from one side of a corner to an adjacent side of the corner and a continuous L-shaped recess disposed behind the protruding member, the recess extending from one side of a corner to an adjacent side of the corner; and wherein the bridge connector has a finger extending downward from a top of the bridge and into the L-shaped recess.