US 2,008,134,613 · Filed 2007-12-07
The Patent That Made Click-Together Flooring Click Into Place
Imagine floor planks that snap together like LEGO bricks—no nails, no glue, just clever mechanical hooks and slots. This patent describes a locking system on the edges of floor panels that lets you slide them together at an angle and lock them tight, making DIY flooring way easier than it used to be.
The plain-English version
What it protects
The claim covers a floor panel design with mechanical locking systems built into both the long and short edges. What's protected here is specifically the mechanism where a tongue (a protruding lip on one edge) can slide from an unlocked position into a locked position in essentially one direction, allowing panels to be installed by angling the long edges together first and then pressing down to lock.
Why it matters
This patent matters because it solved a real problem in flooring installation: how to make it fast and easy for non-professionals to lay down floor panels without special tools or expert skills. By patenting the specific locking geometry, the assignee (Valinge Innovation Ab) could control a key manufacturing feature that competitors would have to design around, giving them a lasting advantage in the laminate and engineered wood flooring market.
Real-world use
Every time someone installs click-lock laminate or vinyl plank flooring in their bedroom or kitchen without calling a contractor, they're using the locking mechanism this patent protects.
Original USPTO abstract
Floor panels ( 1, 1 ′) are shown, which are provided with a mechanical locking system on long ( 5 a , 5 b ) and short edges ( 4 a , 4 b ) allowing installation with angling of long edges and where the short edge locking system has a displaceable tongue that is displaceable essentially in one direction from an inner unlocked position to an final locked position.
Patent details
- Publication number
- US 2,008,134,613
- Filing date
- 2007-12-07
- Grant date
- Application — not yet granted
- Assignee
- Valinge Innovation Ab
- Inventor(s)
- PERVAN DARKO
- CPC class
- E04F15/02038
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