Patent Application
20250146300
The present invention relates to the field of floor or wall coverings and more specifically to a covering panel, such as a tile or plank, comprising coupling means with increased resistance to horizontal/vertical disassembly.
The invention applies to floor or wall covering panels, at least two sides of which are assembled by rotating one panel relative to the other around an axis parallel to the assembled sides.
Prior art documents, such as U.S. Pat. No. 4,426,820, WO2020/083614, WO2021105798, describe a floor covering panel comprising at least a first side with upper coupling means and a second, parallel and opposite side with lower coupling means.
In these documents, the lower coupling means comprise at least one lower groove made from the upper face of the panel, extending parallel along the first side to define a lower tongue extending at the edge of the panel towards the upper face of the panel.
The upper coupling means comprise at least one upper groove made from the lower face of the panel, extending parallel along the second side to define an upper tongue extending at the edge of the panel towards the lower face of the panel.
The upper and lower coupling means are complementary such that the upper tongue and groove of one panel are intended to engage with the lower groove and tongue of a side of an adjacent panel, following an assembly kinematics by rotation around an axis parallel to the assembled sides.
The disadvantage of this type of panel is that the coupling means are not robust enough to withstand at least 25,000 cycles of a rolling chair as defined in ISO 4918 or NF EN 425 standards. In particular, the coupling means disengage and fail to meet the standard.
This drawback is exacerbated when the covering panel is laid on soft underlays to improve acoustics.
Documents WO2021/144613 and WO2016/029255 are also known but do not fully satisfy the requirements.
One of the aims of the invention is to improve the resistance to disengagement of the coupling means assembled by rotating one panel relative to an adjacent panel around a rotation axis parallel to the assembled sides, notably to withstand at least 25,000 cycles of a rolling chair as defined in ISO 4918 or NF EN 425 standards.
The invention also generally aims to obtain a panel comprising coupling means with better mechanical characteristics (vertical resistance, horizontal resistance, bending resistance, etc.).
To this end, a floor or wall covering panel has been developed, comprising at least a first side with upper coupling means, and a second, parallel and opposite side with lower coupling means.
The lower coupling means comprise at least one lower groove made from the upper face of the panel, extending parallel along the first side to define a lower tongue extending at the edge of the panel towards the upper face of the panel.
The upper coupling means comprise at least one upper groove made from the lower face of the panel, extending parallel along the second side to define an upper tongue extending at the edge of the panel towards the lower face of the panel.
The upper and lower coupling means are complementary so that the upper tongue and groove of a first side of a panel are intended to engage with the lower groove and tongue of a second side of an adjacent panel following an assembly kinematics by rotation around an axis parallel to the assembled sides.
According to the invention:
Also according to the invention, the external wall of the lower tongue and the internal wall of the upper groove have complementary locking means.
This configuration allows, on one hand, a first locking effect of the upper tongue in the lower groove, but also a second locking effect of the lower tongue in the upper groove of the panel. This second locking effect, located in a lower area of the panel, improves the mechanical characteristics of the coupling means and notably enhances resistance to disengagement, better resisting horizontal traction to meet ISO 4918 or NF EN 425 standards for the rolling chair test.
The locking means can be of the type lug/notch arranged respectively on the external wall of the lower tongue and on the internal wall of the upper groove
In a preferred embodiment, the external wall of the lower tongue and the internal wall of the upper groove are stepped, so that the free end of the lower tongue and the bottom of the upper groove are widened to form the locking means themselves.
In this configuration, the stepped external wall of the lower tongue and the stepped internal wall of the upper groove each comprise an upper section on the side of the upper face of the panel, an intermediate section, and a lower section.
In a particular embodiment, the upper section of the stepped internal wall of the upper groove is inclined at an angle between 5° and 45°, preferably between 20° and 45°, more preferably between 25° and 30°, and is parallel to the upper section of the stepped external wall of the lower tongue, to optimize vertical and horizontal disengagement resistance. The smaller the angle, the less the coupling means resist vertical disengagement, and vice versa. These value ranges are designed to offer the best compromise for vertical/horizontal disengagement resistance.
Alternatively, the upper section of the stepped external wall of the lower tongue is vertical or inclined at an angle between 1° and 15°, preferably between 5° and 10°, towards the interior of the panel moving away from the lower face of the panel, to facilitate the assembly of the coupling means, notably during the initial contact of the lower tongue and the upper groove to more easily start the rotation movement around an axis parallel to the edges of the panels.
In this configuration, the bulk of the lower tongue is also limited, reducing the amount of chips generated during the machining of the coupling means.
Preferably, the upper section of the stepped internal wall of the upper groove is vertical or inclined at an angle between 1° and 15°, preferably between 5° and 10°, towards the interior of the panel moving away from the upper face of the panel, and more preferably parallel to the upper section of the stepped external wall of the lower tongue, also limiting the bulk of the upper groove.
Preferably, the intermediate section of the stepped internal wall of the upper groove is more inclined than the upper and lower sections and is inclined at an angle between 45° and 90°, preferably 60°, towards the outside of the panel moving away from the upper face of the panel, and is parallel to the intermediate section of the stepped external wall of the lower tongue. These characteristics increase vertical disengagement resistance.
Advantageously, the intermediate section of the stepped external wall of the lower tongue and the intermediate section of the stepped internal wall of the upper groove measure between 0.3 and 2 mm, preferably between 0.4 and 1.5 mm, to obtain better vertical disengagement resistance of the system
Advantageously, the lower section of the stepped internal wall of the upper groove is parallel or less inclined towards the outside of the panel moving away from the upper face of the panel than the lower section of the stepped external wall of the lower tongue and is inclined at an angle between 5° and 45°, preferably between 20° and 45°, more preferably between 25° and 30°.
These characteristics optimize vertical/horizontal disengagement resistance. The smaller the angle, the less the coupling means resist vertical disengagement, and vice versa. These value ranges offer the best compromise for vertical/horizontal disengagement resistance.
To facilitate the insertion of the lower tongue into the upper groove, the lower section of the stepped internal wall of the upper groove is less inclined than the lower section of the stepped external wall of the lower tongue.
Conversely, the lower section of the stepped external wall of the lower tongue is parallel or more inclined than the lower section of the stepped internal wall of the upper groove and is inclined at an angle between 5° and 45°, preferably between 20° and 45°, more preferably between 25° and 30°.
The internal wall of the lower tongue is inclined at an angle between 5° and 45°, preferably between 20° and 45°, more preferably between 25° and 30°, and is parallel to the external wall of the upper groove to optimize vertical/horizontal disengagement resistance. The smaller the angle, the less the coupling means resist vertical disengagement, and vice versa. These value ranges offer the best compromise for vertical/horizontal disengagement resistance.
In a preferred embodiment, the upper section of the stepped external wall of the lower tongue is parallel to the internal wall of the lower tongue. In another characteristic, the upper section of the external wall of the upper tongue is vertical or inclined at an angle between 1° and 10°, preferably 5°, and is parallel to the upper section of the internal wall of the lower groove.
The lower section of the external wall of the upper tongue is inclined at an angle between 45° and 80°, preferably between 55° and 70°, and is parallel to the lower section of the internal wall of the lower groove.
Other features and advantages of the invention will become apparent from the following description, given by way of non-limiting example, with reference to the attached figures, in which:
Referring to
The panel (1) according to the invention has at least a first side comprising upper coupling means (2a) and a second, parallel and opposite side comprising lower coupling means (2b) intended to couple with each other according to kinematics by rotation around an axis parallel to said sides.
The panel (1) comprises, for example, two other sides, adjacent to the first and second sides, parallel to each other and opposite, and comprising complementary male (6) and female (7) coupling means intended to couple according to vertical kinematics, see
The panel (1) according to the invention is advantageous in that it has optimal horizontal disassembly resistance, i.e., for example, greater than approximately 500 N/10 cm, enabling it to withstand rolling chair tests according to ISO 4918 or NF EN 425 standards.
The panel (1) of the invention is preferably made of plastic material, such as polyvinyl chloride, for example plasticized and rigid, and possibly containing a mineral filler. However, it is evident that the panel (1) can be made from any suitable plastic material.
Preferably, the panel (1) has a core bonded to a decorative layer consisting of a decorative film bonded to a transparent surface layer. The core can be single-layer or multi-layer, and is made, for example, from plastic material such as polyvinyl chloride, polypropylene, polyurethane, thermoplastic polyurethane, polyethylene, polyethylene terephthalate, or any other suitable plastic material, possibly containing fillers in the form of fibers, chips, dust, or wood shavings and/or mineral fillers, such as chalk, lime, talc, and one or more plasticizers to define the rigidity of the core.
The core, or a layer of the core in the case of a multi-layer core, can optionally be based on urea-formaldehyde or melamine-formaldehyde and wood, such as medium-density fiberboard (MDF) or high-density fiberboard (HDF) layers. Each layer can also be a layer of laminated wood, wood composite (WPC “wood plastic composite).
Each layer can be compact or foamed, for example, the core can be made with a foamed rigid polyvinyl chloride layer sandwiched between two rigid and compact polyvinyl chloride layers.
As indicated, the assembly of this type of panel (1) is done at an angle, for example between 10° and 50°, and according to kinematics by rotation on a first edge around an axis parallel to said edge, and according to vertical kinematics on an adjacent second edge. In particular, during the laying of this type of panel (1), the installer lays a first row of panels (1), assembling them side by side according to vertical assembly kinematics. Then, the installer starts a second row of panels (1) by assembling a first panel (1), according to an inclined kinematics relative to the panels (1) of the previous row. The following panels (1) of the second row are assembled according to inclined kinematics relative to the panels (1) of the previous row and, by a pivoting movement of the panel (1) towards the floor or wall, the panel (1) is assembled to the adjacent panel (1) according to vertical kinematics.
For this purpose and referring to
Referring to
To achieve the assembly, the upper (2a) and lower (2b) coupling means are complementary so that the upper tongue (Ls) and upper groove (Rs) of one side of the panel (1) are intended to engage with the lower groove (Ri) and lower tongue (Li) of an adjacent panel (1), notably according to the assembly kinematics by rotation around an axis parallel to said sides.
Referring to
Notably, the internal wall (F) of the lower tongue (Li) is inclined at an angle between 5° and 45°, preferably between 20° and 45°, and more preferably between 5° and 30°.
The external wall of the lower tongue (Li) has locking means (4) with the internal wall of the upper groove (Rs), which are stepped, so that the free end of the lower tongue (Li) and the bottom of the upper groove (Rs) are widened to form said locking means (4).
The stepped external wall of the lower tongue (Li) and the stepped internal wall of the upper groove (Rs) each comprise an upper section (A, A′) on the side of the upper face of the panel (1), an intermediate section (B, B′), and a lower section (C, C′).
The upper section (A′) of the stepped internal wall of the upper groove (Rs) is inclined at an angle between 5° and 45°, preferably between 20° and 45°, more preferably between 25° and 30°, and is parallel to the upper section (A) of the stepped external wall of the lower tongue (Li), to optimize vertical/horizontal disengagement resistance of the lower (2b) and upper coupling means.
Referring to
In this configuration, the bulk of the lower tongue (Li) is also limited, reducing the amount of chips generated during the machining of the coupling means. Indeed, the more the coupling means extend along an axis parallel to the floor and perpendicular to the edges of the panels, the more their machining generates a significant amount of chips. This solution offers a compromise between ease of implementation, disengagement resistance, and the bulk of the coupling means.
Preferably, the upper section (A′) of the stepped internal wall of the upper groove is vertical or inclined at an angle between 1° and 15°, preferably between 5° and 10°, towards the interior of the panel (1) moving away from the upper face of the panel (1), and more preferably parallel to the upper section (A) of the stepped external wall of the lower tongue (Li), also limiting the bulk of the upper groove (Rs).
The intermediate section (B′) of the stepped internal wall of the upper groove (Rs) is more inclined than the upper section (A′) and the lower section (C′), and is inclined at an angle between 45° and 90°, preferably 60°, and is parallel to the intermediate section (B) of the stepped external wall of the lower tongue (Li).
Advantageously, the intermediate section (B) of the stepped external wall of the lower tongue and the intermediate section (B′) of the stepped internal wall of the upper groove measure between 0.3 and 2 mm, preferably between 0.4 and 1.5 mm, to obtain better vertical disengagement resistance of the system.
The lower section (C′) of the stepped internal wall of the upper groove (Rs) is parallel, or less inclined to facilitate the engagement of the lower tongue (Li), than the lower section (C) of the stepped external wall of the lower tongue (Li), and is inclined at an angle between 5° and 45°, preferably between 20° and 45°, more preferably between 25° and 30°, to optimize vertical/horizontal disengagement resistance.
Complementarily, the lower section (C) of the stepped external wall of the lower tongue (Li) is parallel or more inclined than the lower section (C′) of the stepped internal wall of the upper groove (Rs), and is inclined at an angle between 5° and 45°, preferably between 20° and 45°, more preferably between 25° and 30°.
Preferably, the upper section (A) of the lower tongue (Li) is less inclined than the lower section (C) to facilitate machining.
Referring to
Complementarily, the lower groove (Ri) has a lateral recess (5a) towards the interior of the panel (1) to define an internal wall comprising an upper section (E) on the side of the upper face of the panel (1), vertical or inclined relative to a vertical plane towards the outside of the panel (1) moving away from the lower face of the panel (1), and a lower section (G) inclined at a steeper angle than the upper section (E) relative to a vertical plane and towards the outside of the panel (1) moving away from the lower face of the panel (1).
For example, the upper section (E′) of the external wall of the upper tongue (Ls) is vertical or inclined at an angle between 1° and 10°, preferably 5°, and is parallel to the upper section (E) of the internal wall of the lower groove.
The lower section (G′) of the external wall of the upper tongue (Ls) is inclined at an angle between 45° and 80°, preferably between 55° and 70°, and is parallel to the lower section (G) of the internal wall of the lower groove (Ri).
Preferably, the upper tongue (Ls) is slightly wider, by 0.2 mm or less, compared to the lower groove (Ri), to achieve a force fit. After assembly, there remains a clearance between the upper sections (A, A′) of the stepped walls of the lower tongue (Li) and the upper groove (Rs) to allow assembly.
As illustrated in
Another characteristic is that the distance measured between the upper edge of the upper section (E′) of the external wall of the upper tongue (Ls) and the upper edge of the external wall (F′) of the upper groove (Rs) is identical or slightly less than the distance measured between the same upper edge of the upper section (E′) of the external wall of the upper tongue (Ls) and the lower edge of the external wall (F′) of the upper groove (Rs), to ensure better locking after assembly.
The applicant conducted tests for horizontal and vertical disengagement resistance, bending before disengagement, and the force required for assembly, the results of which are compiled in the table below.
To measure bending before disengagement, two 20 cm wide panels (1) are assembled, then blocked at the edges opposite to those assembled. A vertical force is then applied to the assembled edges, and the vertical displacement at which the coupling means disengage is measured. If this value is less than or equal to 5 mm, the coupling means are considered likely to disengage when the panels (1) are laid on soft underlays, such as acoustic underlays, which is unsatisfactory.
Referring to
Referring to
Similarly, the female coupling means (7) of the vertically assembled edges (3) comprise a female groove (7a) extending along the edge and opening onto the upper face of the panel (1), defining a female tongue (7b).
The male and female tongues (6b, 7b) have substantially rectangular cross-sections and are flexible and elastically deformable to allow their engagement in the corresponding female and male grooves (6a, 7a).
The male tongue (6b) has an external wall (6c) inclined relative to a vertical plane and towards the outside of the panel (1), at an angle between 1° and 45°, preferably between 5° and 15°. An inclination of the external wall (6c) between 5° and 15° provides a good compromise between ease of assembly of the panels (1) and horizontal disengagement resistance of the coupling means. Thus, during the engagement of the male tongue (6b) in the female groove (7a), according to vertical kinematics, the male tongue (6b) rests against the upper part of the female tongue (7b). Consequently, during the laying operation, the installer sees the female groove (7a) and can easily position the external wall (6c) of the male tongue (6b) opposite the female groove (7a) to start the assembly. This greatly facilitates the vertical assembly operation during the rotation movement. Furthermore, and advantageously, given the inclination towards the outside of the external wall (6c) of the male tongue (6b) and the complementary inclination of the internal wall of the female groove (7a), during pivoting, the two panels (1) move closer together. This further facilitates the laying operation, and the machining constraints for having perfect surface contact of the panels (1) are also easier to meet.
In a particular embodiment, the male tongue (6b) has an internal wall inclined relative to a vertical plane and towards the outside or the inside of the panel (1).
Preferably, and to facilitate the assembly of two adjacent panels (1), the male tongue (6b) has an internal wall inclined towards the outside of the panel (1), at an angle between 1° and 45°, preferably between 5° and 15°. An inclination of the internal wall of the male tongue (6b) between 5° and 15° also provides a good compromise between ease of assembly of the panels (1) and horizontal disengagement resistance of the coupling means. More preferably, the male tongue (6b) has an internal wall inclined at the same angle as the external wall (6c). This characteristic also facilitates the manufacture, particularly the machining of the complementary male (6) and female (7) coupling means.
The engagement of the male tongue (6b) in the female groove (7a) resists the horizontal disengagement of two assembled panels (1).
To contribute to vertical disengagement resistance, the male coupling means (6) of the vertically assembled edges (3) comprise a lug (10) or a notch (11), and the female coupling means (7) of the vertically assembled edges (3) comprise a complementary notch (11) or lug (10) forming, after assembly of two adjacent panels (1), stops against vertical movement between two assembled adjacent panels (1).
From the above, several embodiments are possible. For example, the lug (10) or notch (11) is provided on the external wall of the male tongue (6b) and, complementarily, the notch (11) or lug (10) is provided on an internal wall of the female groove (7a).
In another embodiment, the lug (10) or notch (11) is provided on the external wall of the female tongue (7b) and, complementarily, the notch (11) or lug (10) is provided on an internal wall of the male groove (6a).
Preferably, these two embodiments are combined so that the male coupling means (6) of the vertically assembled edges (3) comprise two lugs (10) or notches (11), and the female coupling means (7) of the vertically assembled edges (3) comprise two complementary notches (11) or lugs (10).
To further improve vertical disengagement resistance, the male (6a) and female (7a) grooves each have an external wall, i.e., positioned not on the panel body side, but on the outside of the panel (1) side, intended to be in contact, after assembly of the two panels (1). To achieve contact, the grooves (6a, 7a) and tongues (6b, 7b) have appropriate widths and/or inclinations. For example, the tongues (6b, 7b) and grooves (6a, 7a) have widths of about 2 mm and are inclined at 10° to the vertical and towards the outside of the panel (1).
Thus, the external wall of the male groove (6a) is in contact with the external wall of the female groove (7a). In practice, after assembly, these contacting walls are parallel to each other. After assembly, and preferably, the male tongue (6b) is in contact with the bottom of the female groove (7a) to provide vertical support. Furthermore, after assembly, there remains a clearance of a few tenths of a millimeter between the vertical external wall of the female tongue (7b), located below the notch (11), and the vertical wall facing the male groove (6a), located below the lug (10). This characteristic facilitates assembly.
According to another characteristic of the invention, the female tongue (7b) has a chamfered part (12) at the lower face of the panel (1) forming an angle between 2° and 20° relative to the lower face of the panel (1). Thus, during the assembly of two adjacent panels (1), the chamfered part (12) allows the lowering of the female tongue (7b) to come into contact with the floor by deformation, thus reducing the assembly effort. To further facilitate the assembly operation, the chamfered part (12) of the female tongue (7b) extends up to the right of the upper internal edge of the female tongue (7b).
Furthermore, the upper face of the panel (1) can also have chamfers (13) at the male tongue (6b) and the female groove (7a) to contribute to the overall aesthetics of the panels (1) after assembly. Each chamfer (13) forms an angle between 2° and 20° relative to the upper face of the panel (1). The interface between the two assembled panels (1) thus forms a V-shaped groove, see
In another embodiment of the upper (2a) and lower (2b) coupling means illustrated in
In this configuration, the bulk of the lower tongue (Li) and the lower groove (Ri) along an axis “X” parallel to the floor and perpendicular to the rotation axis of the panels during assembly is reduced. To this end, the distance (A1) measured on axis X between the end of the external wall of the lower tongue (Li) and the area of the upper section (E) closest to the outside of the panel is between 3.5 and 4 mm, and the distance (A2) measured on axis X between the area of the upper section (E) closest to the outside of the panel and the end of the lateral recess (5a) of the lower groove (Ri) towards the interior of the panel is between 1 and 1.5 mm.
Still in this configuration, the bulk of the upper tongue (Ls) and the upper groove (Rs) along axis “X” parallel to the floor and perpendicular to the rotation axis of the panels during assembly is also reduced.
In this embodiment, the upper tongue (Ls) has at its free end a lip (5) protruding laterally towards the outside of the panel (1), defining an external wall comprising an upper section (E′) on the side of the upper face of the panel (1), vertical or inclined relative to a vertical plane towards the outside of the panel (1) moving away from the upper face of the panel (1), a lower section (G′) inclined at a steeper angle than the upper section (E′) relative to a vertical plane and towards the outside of the panel (1) moving away from the upper face of the panel (1) and an intermediate section (G″) inclined at a lesser angle than the upper section (E′) relative to a vertical plane to present an angle between 0° and 15°, preferably less than 5°, relative to the vertical.
The distance (B1) measured on axis X between the point of contact between the external wall (F′) and the curved portion (8) and the end of the internal wall of the upper groove (Rs) closest to the interior of the panel is between 2 and 3 mm, preferably between 2.2 and 2.6 mm, and the distance (B2) measured on axis X between the area of the intermediate section (G″) closest to the outside of the panel and the point of contact between the external wall (F′) and the curved portion (8) is between 2 and 3 mm, preferably between 2.4 and 2.8 mm.
For example, the applicant conducted tests for horizontal and vertical disengagement resistance of a coupling means according to
This embodiment reduces the bulk and the amount of chips generated during the machining of the coupling means while maintaining very good vertical and horizontal disengagement resistance.
| Number | Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| FR2114751 | Dec 2021 | FR | national |
| Filing Document | Filing Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| PCT/FR2022/052503 | 12/26/2022 | WO |
