Patent ID: 7559179

Claim:
A method of assembling a planar surface from interlockable panels, each panel having a first upper surface lying substantially in a first plane and a second lower surface facing opposite the first surface, and edges comprising at least one of male edges and female edges, the edges defining a perimeter of each panel and connecting the first and second surfaces, the method comprising the steps of: joining at least two of the panels, at least one of the panels having a tongue extending outwardly from the male edge and a void extending inwardly of the tongue, and at least one of the panels having a groove extending along the female edge, the tongue comprising an upper and lower surface, at least one of the upper and lower surfaces of the tongue comprising a substantially horizontal surface lying in a second plane substantially parallel to the first plane after “edge,” the groove having at least one protrusion positioned within the groove and configured to engage the tongue by extending into the void; placing the first surfaces of adjacent panels within a common plane; manually linking the male edge of a first panel with the female edge of a second panel by relatively moving the panels towards each other in a horizontal plane, the male edge and female edge being configured to retain the linked panels in a linked condition until an adhesive is cured; selecting a relative position of the first panel with respect to the second panel; activating an adhesive positioned on at least one edge of at least one of the first or second panels, said activating comprising rupturing microballoons contained on at least one of the male or female edges, the microballoons containing at least one of the adhesive and a reactant that activates the adhesive, the microballoons positioned to rupture during the linking step; and allowing the adhesive to cure, wherein the tongue comprises at least two flange-shaped finger, and a respective void extends between each of the fingers, and the fingers are biased outwardly away from one another as the protrusion enters the void during the linking step.