US 2,004,139,678 · Filed 2003-12-09
The Interlocking Floorboard Patent That Changed How Homes Are Built
Imagine flooring pieces that snap together like puzzle blocks without needing nails or glue — that's what this patent covers. These rectangular boards lock to each other on all four sides, so they can float on top of your subfloor and be installed or removed quickly without permanent damage.
The plain-English version
What it protects
The claim covers rectangular floorboards with mechanical locking connectors on all four edges (long and short sides) that allow boards to interlock both vertically and horizontally without adhesive or fasteners. What's protected here is the specific design of these connectors that create a mechanically joined floating floor system, along with the board dimensions and the method of manufacturing and installing them.
Why it matters
This patent represents a major shift in how residential flooring is installed. By eliminating the need for glue, nails, or screws, floating floor systems made installation faster, cheaper, and more accessible to DIY homeowners. The mechanical locking design also allows homeowners to replace individual boards if damaged and to remove flooring entirely when moving or renovating — a huge advantage over traditional nailed-down hardwood.
Real-world use
Every time you walk across a laminate, vinyl, or engineered wood floor that clicks into place without nails, you're stepping on technology descended from this patent design.
Original USPTO abstract
Floorboards with a format corresponding to a traditional parquet block for laying of mechanically joined floating flooring. Rectangular floorboards include a surface layer and a core with two long sides and two short sides, for making a floating flooring, which floorboards are mechanically lockable and which along their four sides have pairs of opposing connectors for locking similar, adjoining floorboards to each other both vertically and horizontally wherein the long sides have a length not exceeding 80 cm and the short sides have a width not exceeding 10 cm.
Patent details
- Publication number
- US 2,004,139,678
- Filing date
- 2003-12-09
- Grant date
- Application — not yet granted
- Assignee
- Valinge Aluminium Ab
- Inventor(s)
- PERVAN DARKO
- CPC class
- B44C3/12
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