US 5,797,237 · Granted 1998-08-25
The Click-Lock Flooring Patent That Changed DIY Installation
Imagine two pieces of flooring with a specially designed tongue and groove that snap together like puzzle pieces—and stay locked no matter how hard you pull sideways. A tiny barb in one piece catches and holds the other piece securely in place, making it impossible to shift or slide once locked, but easy to remove when you lift and rotate.
The plain-English version
What it protects
The claim covers a mechanical locking system for flooring where one piece has a channel with a downward-extending barb, and the adjacent piece has a tongue with a groove. What's protected here is the specific way these parts interact: the barb rides up an inclined face as pieces snap together, then clicks down into the groove to prevent lateral movement. Any flooring system using this barb-and-groove locking mechanism without permission would infringe on this patent.
Why it matters
This patent represents a key innovation in laminate and snap-together flooring technology, which transformed the flooring industry by making installation accessible to homeowners rather than requiring professional installers. The locking mechanism prevents gaps and movement between planks, which improves durability and appearance. By securing this mechanical design, the patent holder could control manufacturing and licensing of these flooring systems, making it a valuable asset in the competitive home-improvement materials market.
Real-world use
When you install laminate or luxury vinyl flooring in your bedroom by snapping planks together without nails or glue, you're using the click-lock mechanism this patent describes—the satisfying 'snap' sound as each plank locks into place.
Original USPTO abstract
A snap-together flooring system which fixes adjacent flooring members from lateral movement with respect to one another. A first flooring member includes a channel having a downwardly extending barb. A second flooring member includes an outwardly extending tongue having a groove defined therein. The first and second flooring members are snapped together by moving the tongue into the channel, which causes the barb to ride upwardly on an inclined face of the tongue in an elastic manner, and to ultimately snap downwardly into place within the groove of the tongue. The engagement of the barb in the groove of the tongue prevents laterally removal of the tongue from the channel, and thus holds the adjacent flooring members together. Disengagement of the flooring members is provided by lifting of the interface between the adjacent flooring members and rotating the flooring member having the tongue downwardly in order to disengage the barb from the groove of the tongue, and to thus allow extraction of the tongue from the channel.
Patent details
- Publication number
- US 5,797,237
- Filing date
- 1997-02-28
- Grant date
- 1998-08-25
- Assignee
- Standard Plywoods, Incorporated
- Inventor(s)
- FINKELL, JR.; DONALD R.
- CPC class
- E04F15/04
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