Floor panel for forming a floor covering

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-11066837-B2
Application number	US-202017036958-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Sep 29, 2020
Priority date	Jan 9, 2014
Publication date	Jul 20, 2021
Grant date	Jul 20, 2021

Abstract

A floor panel for forming a floor covering wherein the floor panel is substantially realized on the basis of synthetic material. The floor panel is rectangular and comprises a first pair of opposite edges and a second pair of opposite edges such that both pairs of opposite edges comprise coupling parts allowing for mutually coupling a plurality of such floor panels to each other. The coupling parts of at least the first pair of opposite edges are configured such that two of such panels can be coupled to each other at these edges by means of a turning movement and the coupling parts to this aim consist of a tongue and a groove as well as locking parts, which, in the coupled condition, prevent the shifting apart of the tongue and groove. The floor panel has a global thickness which is smaller than or equal to 4.5 millimeters.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. A floor panel for forming a floor covering,
wherein the floor panel comprises a substrate based on a synthetic material formed as one or more base layers;
wherein the floor panel is rectangular, either oblong or square, and comprises a first pair of opposite edges and a second pair of opposite edges;
wherein both the first pair of opposite edges and the second pair of opposite edges each comprise coupling parts which allow mutually coupling a plurality of such floor panels to each other;
wherein said coupling parts, on both the first pair of opposite edges and the second pair of opposite edges, form a first locking system which, in a coupled condition of two of such floor panels, effects a locking in the plane of the floor panels and perpendicular to the respective edges, and said coupling parts, on the first pair of opposite edges and the second pair of opposite edges also form a second locking system, which, in a coupled condition of two of such floor panels, effects a locking transverse to the plane of the floor panels;
wherein the coupling parts on the first pair of opposite edges substantially are formed of the material of the floor panel itself and in said substrate;
wherein the coupling parts of the first pair of opposite edges are configured such that two of such panels can be coupled to each other at the first pair of opposite edges by means of a turning movement, and such that the coupling parts on the first pair of opposite edges include a tongue and a groove as well as locking parts which, in the coupled condition, prevent the shifting apart of the tongue and groove; and
wherein, on the first pair of opposite edges, the groove is bordered by a lower lip and an upper lip, of which the lower lip extends laterally to beyond the distal end of the upper lip;
wherein the locking parts of the first pair of opposite edges have a locking distance (A) which is greater than 0.6 times the value of the overall thickness (T) of the floor panel, the locking distance (A) being formed by the horizontal distance between a vertical closing plane (S) of two coupled floor panels and a vertical plane (VS) through the middle of the zone over which the locking surfaces of the locking parts, in coupled condition, make contact with each other, as measured in horizontal direction, and the closing plane (S) being defined as a vertical plane through the most distal end of the upper lip;
wherein on the first pair of opposite edges said upper side of the tongue is provided with a contact surface intended for contacting said lower side of said upper lip over a certain contact zone, said contact zone viewed in a cross section of the tongue extending between a distal end point and a proximal end point, wherein a first horizontal distance is defined by a horizontal distance measured between said distal end point and said proximal end point; and wherein said contact surface at the upper side of the tongue is horizontal or is inclined downwards in a distal direction of the tongue.

2. The floor panel according to claim 1 , wherein the substrate comprises fillers, wherein the fillers comprise chalk or lime.

3. The floor panel according to claim 1 , wherein the coupling parts on the second pair of opposite edges substantially are formed of the material of the floor panel itself and in said substrate.

4. The floor panel according to claim 1 , wherein the floor panel has a global thickness which is smaller than or equal to 4.5 millimeters.

5. The floor panel according to claim 1 , wherein the first pair of opposite edges is configured such that, when two of such floor panels are coupled to each other, a first contact is present between the underside of the tongue and the upper side of the lower lip,
wherein the respective coupling parts of the first pair of opposite edges are configured such that in coupled condition there is a second contact which, in respect to the groove side, is located proximally from the locking surfaces is separated from the first contact by a space.

6. The floor panel according to claim 1 , wherein in the coupled condition of two of such panels, on said first pair of edges, a space is present underneath the tongue, which space extends from the tip of the tongue at least to beyond a vertical center plane through the zone over which the contact between the upper side of the tongue and the underside of the upper lip extends;
wherein the space ends at a first contact formed by a contact point or a contact zone, between the underside of the tongue and the upper side of the lower lip; and
wherein the first contact, in distal direction of the groove, ends and merges into a space, wherein a transition, in respect to the groove side, is situated proximally to the vertical center plane which, in respect to the groove side, is situated distally at a distance from the closing plane of the floor panel, which distance is smaller than 0.5 times the overall thickness.

7. The floor panel according to claim 6 , wherein the respective coupling parts of the first pair of opposite edges are configured such that in coupled condition there is a second contact which, in respect to the groove side, is located proximally from the locking surfaces is separated from the first contact by a space.

8. The floor panel according to claim 1 , wherein the synthetic material of the floor panel is a supple material.

9. The floor panel according to claim 1 , wherein the coupling parts on the second pair of opposite edges are configured such that two of such floor panels at the second pair of opposite edges can be coupled to each other by a downward movement of one panel in respect to the other panel in such a manner that a plurality of such panels can be coupled to each other by a “fold-down” technique.

10. A floor panel for forming a floor covering,
wherein the floor panel comprises a substrate based on a synthetic material formed as one or more base layers;
wherein the floor panel is rectangular, either oblong or square, and comprises a first pair of opposite edges and a second pair of opposite edges;
wherein both the first pair of opposite edges and the second pair of opposite edges each comprise coupling parts which allow mutually coupling a plurality of such floor panels to each other;
wherein said coupling parts, on both the first pair of opposite edges and the second pair of opposite edges, form a first locking system which, in a coupled condition of two of such floor panels, effects a locking in the plane of the floor panels and perpendicular to the respective edges, and said coupling parts, on the first pair of opposite edges and the second pair of opposite edges also form a second locking system, which, in a coupled condition of two of such floor panels, effects a locking transverse to the plane of the floor panels;
wherein the coupling parts on the first pair of opposite edges substantially are formed of the material of the floor panel itself and in said substrate;
wherein the coupling parts of the first pair of opposite edges are configured such that two of such panels can be coupled to each other at the first pair of opposite edges by means of a turning movement, and such that the coupling parts on the first pair of opposite edges include a tongue and a groove as well as locking parts which, in the coupled condition, prevent the shifting apart of the tongue and groove; and
wherein, on the first pair of opposite edges, the groove is bordered by a lower lip and an upper lip, of which the lower lip extends laterally to beyond the distal end of the upper lip;
wherein the upper side of the lower lip at the height of the closing plane, in the coupled condition of two of such panels, is located on a level (N 1 ) whi

Assignees

• Flooring Ind Ltd Sarl

Inventors

• Cappelle Mark
• Devos Pieter

Classifications

• E04F15/02038 Primary

  characterised by tongue and groove connections between neighbouring flooring elements · CPC title

• E04F2201/0153

  by rotating the sheets, plates or panels around an axis which is parallel to the abutting edges, possibly combined with a sliding movement · CPC title

• E04F15/107

  composed of several layers, e.g. sandwich panels (layered products in general B32B; producing decorative panels or veneers B44C5/04) · CPC title

• E04F15/105

  of organic plastics with or without reinforcements or filling materials · CPC title

• E04F15/102

  of fibrous or chipped materials, e.g. bonded with synthetic resins · CPC title