US 6,385,936 · Granted 2002-05-14
The Angled Groove Patent That Made Snap-Together Flooring Click
Imagine floor tiles that lock together like puzzle pieces — but in two directions at once. This patent covers a clever angled groove-and-tongue edge design that lets laminate, parquet, and other tiles click securely into place side by side AND prevent them from lifting or shifting up and down. No nails, no adhesive required.
The plain-English version
What it protects
The claim covers a floor tile with a modified groove-and-tongue joint on two opposite edges, where both the tongue and groove are angled rather than vertical. What's protected here is the specific geometry: the tongue and groove rise at an angle from the bottom of the tile, the groove's bottom wall is inclined, and the top surfaces are horizontal. This angled profile allows tiles to lock in both horizontal (side-to-side) and vertical (up-and-down) directions simultaneously. Anyone manufacturing a tile system with this exact interlocking angled-edge design would be infringing.
Why it matters
This patent addresses a real problem in flooring installation: traditional flat tongue-and-groove joints let tiles shift, separate, or cup over time, especially in humid environments or under foot traffic. By locking tiles in two dimensions at once, this design creates a more stable, durable floor that's easier to install without adhesives. For manufacturers of laminate and engineered wood flooring, this kind of mechanical lock became a major selling point — it reduced installation labor, improved product reliability, and created a category of 'floating floor' systems that dominated residential markets in the 2000s.
Real-world use
When you step on a laminate or engineered wood floor in a modern home, the tiles beneath your feet stay locked in place and won't separate at the seams or curl at the edges because they're held tight by this angled interlocking profile.
Original USPTO abstract
A floor tile, in particular a laminate panel, parquet element or such like, with an edge profile on at least two opposite edges in the form of a modified groove and tongue joint, is designed in such a way that there is a tongue 20, 30 and a groove 22, 26 on each of the said two edges. The edge profiles are contrived so that the adjacent tiles can be locked in place in relation to each other in both the vertical and horizontal directions. Tongue 20 on the first tile 10 and groove 22 in the second tile 12 rise upwards from the bottom of the tiles at an angle. Accordingly, the bottom wall of groove 26 in the first tile and the bottom outer surface of tongue 30 on the second tile 12 are also inclined at an angle, while the top surfaces of the groove and tongue are oriented horizontally or parallel to the plane of the tile.
Patent details
- Publication number
- US 6,385,936
- Filing date
- 2000-10-24
- Grant date
- 2002-05-14
- Assignee
- Hw-Industries Gmbh & Co., Kg
- Inventor(s)
- SCHNEIDER BERND
- CPC class
- E04F15/04
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