US 6,006,486 · Granted 1999-12-28
The Locking Floor Panel That Revolutionized Click-Together Flooring
Imagine floor planks that snap together like LEGO blocks instead of needing nails or glue. This patent describes how to design the edges of hard floor panels so they lock together both horizontally and vertically, creating a tight, gap-free floor that homeowners can install themselves without special tools.
The plain-English version
What it protects
The claim covers the specific mechanical design of floor panel edges where a tongue-and-groove system is combined with integrated locking elements that prevent two connected panels from separating perpendicular to their shared edge. What's protected here is the geometry and arrangement of these coupling parts — the way the tongue fits into the groove and how the locking elements physically grip and hold the panels together to prevent drift or lifting.
Why it matters
This patent became foundational to the 'click-together' or 'floating floor' category that transformed flooring installation from a job requiring professionals, adhesives, and nails into something DIY-friendly. By locking panels both horizontally and vertically with a mechanical system rather than relying solely on gravity or fasteners, manufacturers could offer floors that were faster to install, easier to replace, and attractive to homeowners and contractors alike. The patent gave Unilin a significant competitive advantage in engineered hardwood and laminate flooring markets.
Real-world use
When you install luxury vinyl plank or engineered wood flooring in a bedroom or basement, you're using this exact locking-edge technology — pressing planks together at an angle until they click into place and lock automatically.
Original USPTO abstract
Floor covering, including hard floor panels (1) which, at least at the edges of two opposite sides (2-3, 26-27), are provided with coupling parts (4-5, 28-29), cooperating which each other, substantially in the form of a tongue (9-31) and a groove (10-32), wherein the coupling parts (4-5, 28-29) are provided with integrated mechanical locking elements (6) which prevent the drifting apart of two coupled floor panels in a direction (R) perpendicular to the related edges (2-3, 26-27) and parallel to the underside (7) of the coupled floor panels (1).
Patent details
- Publication number
- US 6,006,486
- Filing date
- 1997-06-10
- Grant date
- 1999-12-28
- Assignee
- Unilin Beheer Bv, Besloten Vennootschap
- Inventor(s)
- MORIAU; STEFAN SIMON GUSTAAF, CAPPELLE; MARK GASTON MAURITS, THIERS; BERNARD PAUL JOSEPH
- CPC class
- E04F15/02038
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