US 5,295,341 · Granted 1994-03-22
The Click-Lock Floor Tile That Changed How Homes Get Flooring
Imagine floor tiles that snap together like LEGO blocks instead of needing glue or nails. This patent covers the clever tongue-and-groove system that lets tiles lock tight when you push them together, then compress slightly to slide in, and spring back to hold firm. It's the innovation that made DIY flooring possible.
The plain-English version
What it protects
The claim covers a flooring tile system where one edge has a compressible tongue connector with slanted sidewalls that squeeze down when pushed into a matching groove on an adjacent tile, then spring back to lock in place. What's protected here is specifically the geometry of those converging, flexible sidewalls and how they interact with the groove's inner and outer openings to create a mechanical lock without fasteners or adhesive.
Why it matters
This patent was foundational to the snap-together flooring category that exploded in popularity during the 1990s and 2000s. By eliminating the need for glue, nails, or professional installation, it democratized flooring renovation and created a massive DIY market. Manufacturers could now produce lightweight, stackable floor products that homeowners could install themselves in a weekend, disrupting the traditional flooring industry's reliance on skilled labor.
Real-world use
When you install luxury vinyl plank flooring or laminate in your basement and simply click each plank into the next one without any tools, you're using the exact mechanical principle this 1994 patent locked down.
Original USPTO abstract
A flooring system having a base member having a top side, an underside, and four circumferentially spaced outer edges, a tongue connector secured to one outer edge by an interlocking rib and groove, a groove connector secured to another outer edge by an interlocking rib and groove, the tongue connector having forwardly converging compressible sidewalls terminating in rear transverse locking surfaces, the groove connector having an enlarged inner opening and a smaller outer opening, the tongue sidewalls in a compressed position being smaller than said groove outer opening to pass through the outer opening but elastically expandable to be larger than said outer opening to lock a tongue in a groove.
Patent details
- Publication number
- US 5,295,341
- Filing date
- 1992-07-10
- Grant date
- 1994-03-22
- Assignee
- Nikken Seattle, Inc.
- Inventor(s)
- KAJIWARA; MATSUJI
- CPC class
- E04B1/6129
Want to file your own patent?
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