US 6,209,278 · Granted 2001-04-03
The Click-Lock Flooring Patent That Changed How Homes Get New Floors
Imagine flooring panels that snap together like LEGO bricks instead of needing nails or glue. This patent describes a groove-and-tongue connection system with special bumps and indents on both sides that lock panels together tightly and make them quick to install without special tools.
The plain-English version
What it protects
The claim covers a flooring panel design with two interlocking connection members: one with a groove (and matching bumps and indents on the underside) and another with a tongue that slides into that groove. What's protected here is the specific geometric profile where these parts meet — the arrangement of the upper and lower projections, indentations, and auxiliary protuberances that allow panels to lock together securely while remaining easy to manufacture.
Why it matters
This patent protects a foundational locking mechanism for laminate and engineered wood flooring. By creating a simple, repeatable click-lock profile, it made DIY flooring installation accessible to homeowners without specialized skills or equipment. The design balanced assembly speed with manufacturing efficiency, which helped drive the laminate flooring category's growth in residential construction over the past two decades.
Real-world use
Every time someone snaps together floating laminate or vinyl plank flooring in a bedroom or kitchen, they're using the geometric interlocking principle this patent locks down.
Original USPTO abstract
Flooring panel with two connection members whose sides face each other for attachment to other flooring panels of the same type. A first connection member has an upper projection, a lower projection, and groove between them. A second connecting member features a tongue for insertion in the groove of an adjacent connection member. In order to achieve good assembly as well as economical production of the panels, provision is made for a lower protuberance, lower indentation, lower auxiliary protuberance, and lower auxiliary indentation on the lower projection of the first connection member. The profile thus created is fitted to a corresponding profile on the lower side of the tongue which has an upper indentation, an upper protuberance, an upper auxiliary indentation, and an upper auxiliary protuberance.
Patent details
- Publication number
- US 6,209,278
- Filing date
- 1999-10-12
- Grant date
- 2001-04-03
- Assignee
- Kronotex Gmbh
- Inventor(s)
- TYCHSEN DETLEF
- CPC class
- F16B5/008
Want to file your own patent?
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