US 3,553,919 · Granted 1971-01-12
The Metal Clip That Changed How Wooden Floors Stay Put
Imagine wooden floorboards that slot together like puzzle pieces, but instead of nails or glue, tiny metal clips with teeth bite into the wood and lock everything down tight. This patent describes a system where those clips grab onto the boards from below without splitting the wood or messing up the fit between boards.
The plain-English version
What it protects
The claim covers a flooring system that uses metal holding clips to secure tongue-and-groove wooden floorboards to support channels below. What's protected here is the specific clip design — a metal piece with a toothed upper portion that drives into the board's edge above the tongue, plus either a clamping action or a penetrating portion that engages the groove, all without requiring special slots cut into the boards or damaging the tight fit between adjacent boards.
Why it matters
This patent solved a real installation headache: how to fasten wood floors securely without splitting the boards or weakening the interlocking tongue-and-groove joint that makes floors strong and gap-free. By using metal clips instead of nails or screws driven through visible surfaces, builders could install floors faster while keeping the wood intact and the joints tight. It's a practical engineering solution that reduced labor time and material waste during floor installation.
Real-world use
When a contractor lays down hardwood flooring in a house, those metal clips hidden beneath the boards are what prevent the wood from shifting, warping, or creaking as people walk across the floor.
Original USPTO abstract
A FLOORING SYSTEM UTILIZING CONVENTIONAL TONGUE AND GROOVE WOOD FLOOR BOARDS, THE BOARDS BEING SUPPORTED ON TRANSVERSELY DISPOSED SPACED CHANNELS, METALLIC HOLDING CLIPS SECURING THE BOARDS IN BEARING ENGAGEMENT WITH THE CHANNELS, THE BOARDS BEING FREE FROM ANY SPECIAL SLOTS FOR CLIP ENGAGEMENT, SPACED PORTIONS OF THE TONGUES ABOVE THE CHANNELS BEING REMOVED TO ACCOMMODATE CLIP ENGAGEMENT, THE CLIPS ENGAGING THE BOARDS IN A DRIVEN PENETRATING RELATION AND/OR A CLAMPING ACTION WHICH DOES NOT INTERFERE WITH THE TIGHT VERTICAL ENGAGEMENT OF THE TONGUES AND GROOVES NOR CAUSE SPLITTING OF TE BOARDS, THE CLIPS ENGAGING THE CHANNELS EACH HAVING A BODY PORTION VERTICALLY DISPOSED BETWEEN THE BAORDS AND HAVING AT THE UPPER MARGIN OF THE BODY PORTION A HORIZONTALLY EXTENDING TOOTHED PORTION DRIVEN IN PENETRATING ENGAGEMENT INTO THE BOARD ALONG THE EDGE AT LOCATIONS ABOVE THE LOWER MARGIN OF THE TONGUE ON TE GONGUE SIDE OF THE BOARD, AND/OR A PENETRATING AND/OR CLAMPING PORTION ACTING IN THE GROOVE.
Patent details
- Publication number
- US 3,553,919
- Filing date
- 1968-01-31
- Grant date
- 1971-01-12
- Assignee
- Omholt Ray / Powerlock Floors Inc
- Inventor(s)
- RAY E. OMHOLT
- CPC class
- E04F15/04
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