US 5,706,621 · Granted 1998-01-13
The Swedish Patent That Revolutionized Click-Together Flooring
Imagine floor planks that snap together like LEGO blocks without nails or glue. This patent describes a two-way locking system where the edges of panels grip each other horizontally and vertically at the same time, letting installers lay beautiful floors that can shift slightly without popping apart.
The plain-English version
What it protects
What's protected here is a mechanical joining system for building panels—specifically, a design where two panels lock together using both a vertical edge-to-edge grip and a horizontal strip-and-groove connection. The claim covers the combination of these two locking mechanisms working together on the same joint, allowing the panels to shift along the joint line while staying locked perpendicular to the floor plane.
Why it matters
This patent became foundational for the modern click-lock flooring industry. By enabling floating floors that don't need to be glued or nailed down, it made floor installation faster, cheaper, and more forgiving for both professionals and DIY installers. The design also improved durability by allowing wood and laminate panels to expand and contract with humidity without cracking. Valinge's patents in this space became industry standards that shaped how millions of homes get their floors installed.
Real-world use
Every time you install a floating laminate or wood floor by clicking planks together without nails, you're using the core mechanics this patent locked down decades ago.
Original USPTO abstract
The invention relates to a system for laying and mechanically joining building panels, especially thin, hard, floating floors. Adjacent joint edges (3, 4) of two panels (1, 2) engage each other to provide a first mechanical connection locking the joint edges (3, 4) in a first direction (D1) perpendicular to the principal plane of the panels. In each joint, there is further provided a strip (6) which is integrated with one joint edge (3) and which projects behind the other joint edge (4). The strip (6) has an upwardly protruding locking element (8) engaging in a locking groove (14) in the rear side (16) of the other joint edge (4) to form a second mechanical connection locking the panels (1, 2) in a second direction (D2) parallel to the principal plane of the panels and at right angles to the joint. Both the first and the second mechanical connections allow mutual displacement of joined panels (1, 2) in the direction of the joint.
Patent details
- Publication number
- US 5,706,621
- Filing date
- 1994-04-29
- Grant date
- 1998-01-13
- Assignee
- Valinge Aluminum Ab
- Inventor(s)
- PERVAN; TONY
- CPC class
- E04F15/02
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