Patent Application
20240183173
The disclosure relates to a hard floor panel for floating installation to form a flooring panel network, in particular a laminate floor.
Flooring panels with tongue-and-groove profiles on the side edges for installation to panel networks, such as laminate flooring, are widely and conventionally known. The tongue-and-groove profiles allow easy installation of floor panels to floor coverings. Such floor coverings can be, for example, fiberboard or plastic panels. Most often, the floor panels are covered with a decorative layer and an abrasion-resistant surface layer.
However, the conventionally used tongue-and-groove profiles have the disadvantage that gaps of different sizes are formed between the adjacent panels. Dirt as well as moisture can penetrate into these gaps and lead to an expansion or swelling of the floor panel's carrier board, especially in case of using wood-based material boards as carrier boards. The expansion or swelling of the wood-based material carrier panel causes the surface layer to lift, so that the surface layer is exposed to increased abrasion.
Different devices to join the floor panels during installation can reduce or prevent such gaps. However, the use of appropriate devices complicates the application of the floor panels and is therefore not advantageous.
Accordingly, various alternative tongue and groove profiles have been developed in the past to reduce the gap size.
For example, a floor panel for realizing a floor covering is known from EP 1026341 B1, wherein coupling parts in the form of a tongue and groove are provided at the edges of two opposite sides of the panels. In this case, the tongue and groove are designed in such a way that, when two or more floor panels are joined together, a clamping force is exerted on one another, which forces the floor panels together. The clamping force is caused by an elastically bendable lip in the groove, which is at least partially bent in the assembled state and thus provides the aforementioned clamping force.
However, even this approach causes a gap on the upper side of the joined panels, and here especially at the contact points of the joining surfaces of the two opposite side edges of two joined floor panels, through which moisture and dirt can penetrate between the floor panels.
Accordingly, it was the object of the proposed solution to further develop the tongue-and-groove profiles known from the prior art in such a way that gap formation at the joint surfaces of the floor panels is avoided, so as to prevent the penetration of moisture and dirt and the associated disadvantages.
This object is solved with a floor panel having features as described herein. Accordingly, a flooring panel, in particular having a core of a wood-based material board, a wood-based material-plastic board or a plastic board, having a top side and a bottom side and having side edges along the panel sides (i.e. along the longitudinal sides and transverse sides) is provided for floating installation to form a flooring panel network,
For the purposes of the proposed solution, joining surfaces means the pair of surfaces on which the joined panels bear against each other to form a flat upper surface of the joined and interlocked panels that is as closed as possible. Accordingly, the technical term joining surface includes the section of the side edges that are actually pressed together. The joining surfaces lie directly against each other to close the surface.
The combination of clamping force and line pressure according to the solution now makes it possible to avoid the formation of gaps between adjacent floor panels, thus reducing the ingress of moisture and dirt into the floor covering. The line pressure results from the profile geometry and the pressure to be applied.
In the present context, the term “line pressure” is to be understood as pressure, which runs in a line or essentially in a line along the joining or interlocking surfaces. In this case, the joining surfaces press against each other (along the entire or almost entire surface) in a practically linear manner.
The tongue and groove preferably have shapes that are complementary to each other. The projection on the lower side of the tongue extends along the lower lip of the groove and engages the recess of the lower lip of the groove in the coupled state of two panels. The contact surfaces of the projection of the tongue and the recess are in contact with each other. The tongue, in the coupled state of the floor panels, precisely abuts against the upper side and the lower side of the groove, exerting a pressure P on the upper lip of the groove. This pressure is not only absorbed by the upper lip, but by the complete structure, as the pressure can be transmitted through the tongue and the lower lip. The pressing pressure P causes the tensioning force by which the panels are assembled and held.
As explained above, when the beveled joining surface of the tongue profile edge and the beveled joining surface of the upper lip of the groove profile edge are in contact, a line pressure occurs, which prevents moisture penetration.
For the purposes of the solution, chamfering of the joining surfaces or joining edges means a chamfering or inclination of the joining surfaces or joining edges from the upper side of the panel inwards away from the vertical away from the tongue or towards the groove.
Usually, the panel top and the respective joining surface of the side edges form a right angle (90°); i.e., the panel top and the joining surface are arranged at right angles to each other. In the present case, the angle between the panel top and the joining surface is no longer right-angled, but forms an (acute) angle of between 85° and 89°, preferably between 87° and 89°, particularly preferably 88° and 89°.
In other words, the joining surfaces are each inclined away from the vertical (to the top of the panel) by an angle of between 1 and 5°, preferably between 1 and 3°, particularly preferably 2 and 3°.
Accordingly, in one embodiment of the present panel, the slope or inclination of the joining surface of the first side edge of the tongue profiling away from the top of the floor panel is between 1 and 5°, preferably between 1 and 3°, more preferably between 1 and 2º.
In another embodiment of the present panel, the slope or inclination of the joining surface of the second side edge of the groove profiling from the top of the floor panel along the upper lip to the groove is between 1 and 5°, preferably between 1 and 3°, more preferably between 1 and 2°.
In a preferred embodiment, the bevel or inclination of the joining surfaces of the tongue profiling and the groove profiling each have the same angle. Thus, the joining surface of the tongue profiling can be beveled by 1° and the joining surface of the groove profiling can also be beveled by 1°.
However, it is also possible for the bevel or inclination of the joining surfaces of the tongue profiling and the groove profiling to have different angles. For example, the joining surface of the tongue profiling can be beveled by 1° and the joining surface of the groove profiling can be beveled by 2°.
It is also possible that in a variant the joining surface of the tongue profiling has no bevel or inclination (i.e. running at right angles to the upper side of the floor panel) and second joining surface of the groove profiling has a bevel or inclination.
The reverse case is also possible. In such a variant, the first joining surface of the tongue profiling would have a bevel and the second joining surface of the groove profiling would not have a bevel (i.e. running at right angles to the upper side of the floor panel).
When the beveled joining surface of the tongue profiling and the beveled joining surface of the groove profiling are in contact in the joined state of two floor panels, a line pressure occurs at the contact point of the joining surfaces. Due to the bevel of the joining surfaces, starting from the (upper) contact point as the apex, an angle is formed between the opposing joining surfaces, the size of which depends on the angular sizes of the beveled joining surfaces and lies between 2 and 10°, preferably between 2 and 6°, preferably between 2 and 3º. Thus, in the case of a bevel of the joining surface of the tongue profiling of 1° and a bevel of the joining surface of the groove profiling of 1°, the angle between the opposing joining surfaces can be 2° in total. In the case of a bevel of the joining surface of the tongue profiling of 1° and a bevel of the joining surface of the groove profiling of 2°, the angle between the opposing joining surfaces is 3° in total.
The design of tongue profiling and groove profiling is described in more detail below.
The profiles with tongue and groove provided in the present floor panel as coupling parts between two panels are preferably formed in one piece.
As noted above, a tongue having an upper side and a lower side is provided in a first side edge. The distance of the top of the tongue from the top of the panel and the bottom of the tongue from the bottom of the panel may vary depending on the thickness of the panel.
The thickness of the tongue is preferably equal to the width of the groove, so that the upper lip of the groove is supported by the tongue, and the tongue is in turn supported by the lower lip of the groove.
The upper side of the tongue is flat and horizontal in relation to the upper side of the panel. The upper side of the tongue (or lower side of the upper lip of the tongue) is also flat and horizontal so that the tongue and tongue can engage or slide into each other without resistance. The upper side of the tongue and the lower side of the upper lip form contact surfaces that are substantially parallel to the plane defined by the floor panel.
In another embodiment of the present flooring panel, a recess is provided between the joining surface of the tongue profiling and the top surface of the tongue.
It is also envisaged that the lower side of the tongue has a bevel at its edge. This bevel can also be described as a chamfer with an angle between 45-55°.
As described above, the projection provided on the lower side of the tongue extends along the lower lip of the groove. The projection engages the recess of the lower lip of the groove in the coupled state of two panels. The angle of the contact surfaces of the projection of the tongue and the recess of the lower lip is between 30 and 70° with respect to the horizontal plane. This angle is ideal to achieve optimal pressing of the floor panels together and at the same time to allow easy engagement and assembly of the floor panels.
In the joined or coupled state of tongue and groove, an additional space can be formed between the projection of the lower tongue side and the recess in the lower lip of the groove, which functions, for example, as a dust chamber. The size of the dust chamber can vary, for example, between the profiles in the panel longitudinal sides (longitudinal profile) and panel transverse sides (transverse profile).
It is also envisaged that the lower lip of the groove extends beyond the upper lip of the groove. In this case, the recess in the lower lip of the groove is located in the section of the lower lip that extends beyond the upper lip of the groove.
In one embodiment of the present flooring panel, at least one saddle is provided in the recess of the lower lip of the groove. This saddle may be of different thickness in the transverse profile and longitudinal profile.
The thickness of the upper lip of the groove can be greater than or equal to the thickness of the lower lip. In the case of different thicknesses of the upper and lower lip, the center line through the tongue and groove is located below the center line of the panel. In this arrangement, the bottom lip of the groove is bent when two floor panels are joined, so that the top of the floor panel is not subjected to changes or deformation.
Also, upper and lower lips have rounded edges, which simplifies the joining of the panels. For example, the joining surface of the upper lip may have a rounded edge or chamfer. The chamfer is provided at the point of contact of the upper lip of the groove with the top of the tongue and allows for easy joining of the floor panels.
In another embodiment, a slope surface or chamfer (or ramp surface) is also provided at the free end of the lower lip of the groove, allowing the tongue-and-groove profiles to be easily slid into one another.
At the transition from the tongue and groove profiling to the underside of the panel, a chamfer or bevel is provided over a length of 0.6 mm with an angle of between 20 and 30°, preferably 25°. The chamfer is provided in particular in a counter-drawing arranged on the underside of the panel and enables better laying without splintering.
In further embodiments of the present floor panel, it is provided that the tongue-and-groove profilings have any of the following features or a combination thereof: Curves at the corners (or edges) of the tongue and groove profilings; dust chambers between all sides of the interlocking floor panels; in particular, the aforementioned dust chamber between the recess of the lower lip of the groove and the projection of the tongue;
The tongue and groove profiles allow two floor panels to engage with each other while applying a rotating or pivoting movement (“Angle-Angle”). First, a first floor panel is attached at an angle to a horizontally arranged second floor panel, followed by pivoting of the first floor panel in the direction of the installation plane so that the joined floor panels lie in the installation plane. To enable the two floor panels to engage with each other with a turning movement, the edges or curvatures are preferably rounded or circular.
The present flooring panel preferably has a rectangular shape, with tongue-and-groove profiling provided on the longitudinal side edges and on the transverse side edges, respectively.
The longitudinal profile used for connecting the panels along the longitudinal side edges may have the same or different tongue and groove profiling than the transverse profile used for connecting the panels along the transverse side edges.
Major differences between the longitudinal profile and the transverse profile concern the formation of a saddle in the recess of the lower lip, which also causes a larger space or chamber between the tongue projection and the groove recess in the assembled state of the floor panels. Also, in the case of the transverse profile, the lower lip of the groove has a ramp surface at the groove end, which is not provided in the longitudinal profile.
Preferably, the present panels have a core made of a wood-based panel, preferably an HDF or MDF panel, of a wood-based plastic panel, preferably a WPC panel, or of a plastic carrier panel, preferably a PVC carrier panel. In the case of the use of plastic, the core may have at least one filler in an amount of up to 70% of the total weight of the core of the carrier board, preferably using calcium carbonate or materials with comparable properties.
The thickness of the panels can be between 4 and 16 mm, preferably between 4.5 and 12 mm. Preferred panel thicknesses are 4.5 mm and 12 mm.
As indicated above, the present floor panels are used for floating installation of floor panels. A corresponding installation procedure comprises the following steps:
The pretension caused by the interaction of tongue and groove is optimally transferred to the upper side of the floor panel, whereby the joining surfaces of the tongue and groove profiles are pressed against each other in the direction of engagement in such a way that a line pressure occurs at the contact point of the joining surfaces, forming an angle between the joining surfaces.
The solution is explained in detail below by means of the figures with reference to the following embodiments.
The solution is explained for rectangular floor panels, which can be joined together both at their longitudinal sides and at their transverse sides, or only at one side.
Thus, the tongue profiling shown in
The present floor panels have a rectangular shape with side edges 10, 20 extending along the longitudinal sides and transverse sides of the panel and are suitable for floating installation forming a floor panel.
The floor panels typically have a length of one to 2 m. The thickness of the panels can also vary, but is 4.5 mm in the embodiments described in
Each floor panel has tongue-and-groove profiling on the opposite edges 10, 20, as described in detail below, which enables 2 adjacent floor panels to be joined together. Here, a tongue 11 is provided in a first side edge 10 and a groove 21 is provided in the second opposite side edge 20.
The distance of the upper side of the tongue 12 from the upper side of the panel or panel surface 2 and the distance of the lower side of the tongue 13 from the lower side of the panel 3 can vary depending on the panel thickness.
The top side 12 of the tongue 11 has a planar surface 19 that is horizontally disposed with respect to the panel top side. The length of the upper side of the tongue may be the same in the transverse profile (
The lower side of the tongue 11 has a bevel or chamfer 17 at its edge with an angle between 45-55°.
The projection 14 with a contact surface 15 is provided on the lower side 13 of the tongue. The projection 14 has an inclination between 10° (transverse profile) and 44° (longitudinal profile) with respect to the flat, horizontal section of the bottom side 13 of the tongue.
The length and height of the projection 14 also vary depending on the design of the tongue as a transverse profile or longitudinal profile.
The tongue profile of
A recess 16a is provided at the transition of the joining surface 16 of the tongue profiling to the upper side 12 of the tongue.
The groove 21 provided in the second side edge 20 of the floor panel 1 according to the illustration of
The lower side of the upper lip 23 of the tongue with surface 29, like surface 19 of the upper side of the tongue, is flat and horizontally arranged so that the tongue and tongue can engage or slide into each other without resistance. Surface 19 of the top of the tongue and surface 29 of the bottom of the top lip 23 form contact surfaces that are substantially parallel to the plane defined by the floor panel.
The thickness of the upper lip 22 and the lower lip 23 differ, and the upper lip 22 can be thicker than the lower lip 23. Due to a smaller thickness of the lower lip 23, it serves as an elastically bendable projection.
A recess 24 with a contact surface 25 is provided in the lower lip 23 of the groove, recess 24 cooperating with contact surface 25 in a complementary manner to tongue 11 with contact surface 15. A saddle 27 is formed in recess 24. The formation of the saddle 27 in the transverse profile (
The groove profiling of
A chamfer or bevel 26a is provided at the junction of the mating surface 26 to the underside of the upper lip 23 with the surface 29.
A ramp surface 28 is provided at the free end of the lower lip 23 of the groove to facilitate interlocking of the short transverse sides. The corresponding ramp surface 48 in the longitudinal profile (
In the assembled state (see
When the beveled joining surface 16 of the tongue profiling and the beveled joining surface 26 of the groove profiling are in contact in the joined state of two floor panels, a line pressure occurs along the beveled joining surfaces 16, 26 at the contact of the joining surfaces 16, 26. An angle of 2° is formed between the beveled joining surfaces 16, 26. The upper contact points of the joining surfaces 16, 26 are thus pressed together to form an almost continuous surface.
Due to the geometric design of the tongue and groove profiles, dust chambers are formed between all sides of the interlocking floor panels. Particular reference should be made to the chamber shown in the transverse profile between the recess 24 of the lower lip 23 of the groove 20 and the projection 14 of the tongue 11 (
In the longitudinal profile (see
In the coupled state of the floor panels shown in
The second embodiment of the tongue-and-groove profiling shown in
The tongue profile of
In addition, the geometry of the projection 14 in the transverse profile differs from the geometry of the projection 34 in the longitudinal profile. The projection 14 in the transverse profile is weaker than the projection 34 in the longitudinal profile, i.e. the 14 in the transverse profile is smaller than the height of the projection 34 in the longitudinal profile. This geometric difference is also due to the different behavior of the transverse profile and the longitudinal profile when the profiles are angled in during installation by different lever arms.
The groove profiling of
In the joined state (see
Also, the length of the lower lip 23 of the transverse profile differs from the length of the lower lip 43 of the longitudinal profile, with the lower lip 23 of the transverse profile being longer than the lower lip 43 of the longitudinal profile.
The third embodiment of the tongue-and-groove profiling shown in
The fourth embodiment of the tongue-groove profiling shown in
The tongue-groove profiles of
| Number | Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 19162167.1 | Mar 2019 | EP | regional |
This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 17/436,133, filed Feb. 24, 2020, which is the United States national phase of International Patent Application No. PCT/EP2020/054767, filed Feb. 24, 2020, and claims priority to European Patent Application No. 19162167.1, filed Mar. 12, 2019, the disclosures of which are hereby incorporated by reference in their entireties.
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Parent | 17436133 | Sep 2021 | US |
| Child | 18442151 | US |
