US 6,418,683 · Granted 2002-07-16

The Snap-Together Flooring Patent That Changed How Floors Lock

Imagine flooring panels that snap together like a puzzle without nails or glue—that's what this patent does. It describes panels with a groove-and-tongue joint designed to click securely into place and resist water damage, making installation faster and cleaner.

Curated and verified by the IsItPatented Editorial team

The plain-English version

What it protects

The claim covers a building panel (flooring or wall) equipped with a locking mechanism made of groove and tongue joints that snap together. What's protected here is the specific design of these interlocking edges made from water-resistant material, and the method of assembling multiple panels into a continuous floor or wall surface using that snap-together joint system.

Why it matters

This patent represents a shift in how flooring manufacturers approached installation and durability. By combining the snap-together joint with water-resistant materials, it created a faster, easier assembly method that homeowners and contractors could use without specialized tools or adhesives. This approach became foundational to the modern click-lock flooring category that dominates retail home improvement today.

Real-world use

When you install laminate, vinyl plank, or engineered wood flooring in your home and snap each plank into the previous one without using nails, you're using the locking principle this patent describes.

Original USPTO abstract

A building panel, such as a flooring panel or wall panel and a method of assembling the same into a floor, wall cladding, etc. 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. In a preferred embodiment, the groove ( 6 ) and the tongue ( 7 ) are made of water resistant material and formed with a snap-together joint.

Patent details

Publication number: US 6,418,683
Filing date: 2000-08-11
Grant date: 2002-07-16
Assignee: Perstorp Flooring Ab
Inventor(s): MARTENSSON GORAN, KULIK MAGNUS
CPC class: E04F15/02

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