Static structures (e.g. – buildings) – Module or panel having discrete edgewise or face-to-face...
Reexamination Certificate
2001-01-29
2003-07-08
Mai, Lanna (Department: 3637)
Static structures (e.g., buildings)
Module or panel having discrete edgewise or face-to-face...
C052S591100, C052S592200, C052S586100, C052S592100, C403S381000, C403S364000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06588166
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a building panel, such as a flooring panel or wall panel and the use thereof to form floors, walls, cladding, etc., by assembling a plurality of the panels. In one embodiment, the panels have particular utility for flooring or cladding a wet room.
2. Description of the Related Art
During the last few years laminated floors have achieved and increased in popularity and on many markets they are beginning to replace parquet floors and wall-to-wall carpets. In the production of laminated floors a decorative thermosetting laminate is first produced. This laminate usually consists of a base layer of paper sheets impregnated with phenol-formaldehyde resin and a decorative surface layer comprising a decor paper sheet impregnated with melamine-formaldehyde resin. The laminate is produced by pressing the different layers at a high pressure and at an increased temperature.
The laminate thus obtained is then glued to a carrier of particle board, for instance, or used as such without any carrier and it is then called compact laminate. The laminated panel thus produced is then sawn up to a number of floor boards which are provided with groove and tongue at the long sides and the short sides thereof. Often the floor boards produced have a thickness of about 7 mm, a length of 120 cm and a width of about 20 cm. Thereby they can usually be put on top of an existing flooring material at a renovation. According to another alternative, instead one or more of the above decorative sheets can be laminated directly towards a base sheet of particle board for instance.
At the assemblage of such a flooring, glue is normally applied in the groove when the floor boards are assembled. Therefore, it will be difficult to change a damaged board or to remove a whole flooring and, for instance, install it in another room.
To avoid the above problem efforts have been made to achieve floor boards which can be assembled without glue. One such construction is disclosed in the U.S. Pat. No. 5,295,341. There the boards are provided with groove and tongue in the usual way, but here a snap-together system is included in the groove-tongue joint.
These floorboards can be assembled without glue. However, they have the disadvantage that the joints between the boards will be flexible and not rigid. Moreover, the joint between adjacent boards is not tight. This means that if the surface below the floor boards is not completely even, which is usually the case, a gap will be formed between the boards. Into these gaps dirt and water can penetrate.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
According to the present invention, the last mentioned problem has been solved and a building panel, such as a flooring panel or wall panel, preferably of thermosetting laminate having two pairs of parallel side edges has been brought about. Two of these side edges are provided with a locking means in the form of a groove and the other two are provided with a tongue fitting in the groove whereby a tongue/groove joint for assembling of the panels is formed. The groove and the tongue are made of a water resistant or water tight material and formed with a snap-together joint including one or more snapping webs or the like with corresponding cooperating snapping grooves. In one embodiment, the groove in front of the snap-together joint has an entrance opening and continues inside the snap-together joint into a stabilizing groove. The tongue is formed with a rear neck intended to fit in the entrance opening and a forwardly protruding stabilizing part situated in front of the snap-together joint and intended for a tight fit in the stabilizing groove, whereby connecting panels when assembled by the snap-together joints and the stabilizing parts in the stabilizing grooves are fixed to each other and prevented from unintentional separation while at the same time a rigid floor covering or wall covering respectively with water tight joints and without unintentional gaps between the panels is obtained. In other embodiments, where the effect provided by the stabilizing groove and stabilizing part is not desired, these stabilizing parts can be omitted.
According to one preferred embodiment two adjacent side edges of the panel are provided with a groove and the other two side edges with a tongue. In this embodiment, the panel is usually quadrilateral, such as rectangular, but it can also be square.
In square panels it is also possible to provide a pair of parallel sides with a groove and the other pair with a tongue. However, the choice of pattern on the surface layer of the panel is limited with this shape. In other embodiments, the perimeter of the panel comprises three or five, or more, such as six or eight, side edges and the arrangement of the grooves and tongues can be varied. The series of panels which are connected to form a floor, wall, or other system need not all be of the same shape.
It is preferred that the groove and the tongue are made of a water proof or water resistant material, such as a thermoplastic, a thermosetting laminate, aluminum or a cellulosic product such as a wood fiber board, chipboard or particle board or a veneer impregnated or coated with a waterproofing material, such as oil, wax or a thermoplastic or thermosetting substance including, but not limited to, polymeric resins. It has been found that treating the panel with a liquid plastic substance such as a polyurethane gives excellent results. Of course, also other waterproof, water tight or water resistant materials can be used.
In another embodiment, the groove, as well as the tongue, are formed as a ledge fixed to the side edges of the panel. Suitably the ledge-formed groove and tongue respectively are then fixed in a recess along the side edges with glue, for instance. Alternatively, the integral tongue and groove portions of the panels can be formed in either the base material, the laminate material and/or both.
Protrusions which form the snapping webs can be formed on the upper and/or lower side of the tongue while cooperating depressions which form the snapping grooves are formed in the groove.
In one preferred embodiment one snapping web is formed on the upper side of the tongue and one on the lower side thereof while the groove has two fitting snapping grooves one at the top and one at the bottom of the groove. These snapping webs may be diametrically opposite one another or offset from one another. The corresponding snapping grooves will be positioned according to the position of the snapping webs so as to cooperate therewith. In an alternative, but equally preferred embodiment, the tongue may be provided with an uneven number of snapping webs on the upper and lower side of the tongues, e.g., none above and one below, one above and two below, etc.
If necessary one pair of snapping webs can be formed on the upper side of the tongue and one pair on the lower side thereof. Of course, you then need two snapping grooves at the top and two snapping grooves at the bottom of the groove to fit with the snapping webs. This construction will give an extremely strong joint.
Of course, in all these embodiments, the snapping webs can be arranged in the groove and the snapping grooves on the tongue. A greater number of snapping webs may also be positioned above the tongue than below the tongue without departing from the invention.
In the preferred embodiment using the stabilizing parts, the width of the stabilizing part is 1-10 mm, preferably 2-10 mm, most preferably 4-10 mm. Generally, a wider stabilizing part with fitting stabilizing groove gives a better rigidity of the assembled panels.
The stabilizing part will also assist in a correct assemblage of the panels. Thus, when the stabilizing part moves into the stabilizing groove you get a correct level of the panels and the panels can easily be pushed into the correct position where you do not have any gap between the panels. Of course, without any substantial gap between the panels, water and dirt are prevented from entering the assembled panels, flooring or
Kulik Magnus
Martensson Goran
Mai Lanna
Nguyen Chi Q
Pergo (Europe) AB
Stevens Davis Miller & Mosher L.L.P.
LandOfFree
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