US 6,101,778 · Granted 2000-08-15
The Watertight Click-Lock That Made Bathroom Flooring DIY-Friendly
This patent describes a flooring or wall panel with a special interlocking edge design that snaps together and stays completely waterproof—perfect for wet bathrooms and kitchens. Instead of glue or nails, the panels lock together like puzzle pieces, and the watertight groove-and-tongue joint means water can't seep through the seams.
The plain-English version
What it protects
The claim covers a flooring or wall panel featuring a tongue-and-groove joint mechanism where both the groove and tongue are manufactured from water-resistant material and engineered to snap together. What's protected here is specifically the combination of the watertight materials used in the groove-and-tongue joint plus the snap-together assembly method itself—the design prevents water infiltration at the seams where panels meet.
Why it matters
Waterproof flooring was traditionally difficult and expensive to install in bathrooms and wet rooms because seams had to be sealed separately or the entire floor had to be one continuous material. This patent represents an early innovation in click-lock or snap-together flooring systems that made waterproof installation faster and more reliable for both professionals and DIY installers. The mechanical solution of using water-tight materials in the joint itself rather than relying on sealants was a meaningful shift in how modular flooring could handle moisture.
Real-world use
When you click together luxury vinyl plank flooring in a bathroom, the watertight interlocking edges protecting your subfloor from splashes and humidity trace back to designs like this one.
Original USPTO abstract
Flooring panel or wall panel and a use thereof in a wet room. The panel is provided with a locking means in the form of groove (6) and tongue (7) forming a tongue/groove joint for assembling of the panels. The groove (6) and the tongue (7) are made of water tight material and formed with a snap-together joint.
Patent details
- Publication number
- US 6,101,778
- Filing date
- 1996-02-29
- Grant date
- 2000-08-15
- Assignee
- Perstorp Flooring Ab
- Inventor(s)
- MAARTENSSON; GOERAN
- CPC class
- E04F15/02
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