US 6,729,091 · Granted 2004-05-04
The Pergo Patent That Locks Laminate Floors Together
Imagine a jigsaw puzzle where each piece has tiny holes drilled along its edges. This patent describes floor tiles with hidden grooves and guide pegs that snap together perfectly, so your laminate floor stays aligned and doesn't shift or buckle when you walk on it.
The plain-English version
What it protects
The claim covers a floor tile or board with a decorative top surface and edges that have small holes drilled into them at specific distances from the corners and surface. These holes are designed to receive guide pegs or dowels that physically align adjacent tiles as they're installed. What's protected here is the geometric arrangement of those holes—their positioning, depth, and relationship to the tile's edges and decorative layer—that allows tiles to lock together with mechanical precision.
Why it matters
Laminate flooring became a mass-market alternative to real hardwood in the 1990s and 2000s, and installation precision is critical to its success. Tiles that shift or separate look cheap and can create noise, buckling, and moisture problems. This patented guide-hole system lets manufacturers like Pergo ensure that DIY installers and professionals could lay floors that stayed tight and aligned without needing special tools or skills. The patent gave Pergo a technical moat in a competitive commodity market.
Real-world use
When you install a laminate floor in your kitchen or bedroom, you're clicking tiles together that may well have these hidden guide holes ensuring each piece seats perfectly flush with its neighbors.
Original USPTO abstract
Floor element ( 1 ), which is mainly in the form of a board with triangular, quadratic, rectangular, rhomboidal or polygonal shape as seen from above. The floor element ( 1 ) is provided with edges ( 2 ), a lower side ( 7 ) and a decorative upper layer ( 3 ). The floor elements ( 1 ), which are intended to be joined via tongue and groove are on at least two opposite edges ( 2 ), preferably on all edges ( 2 ) provided with holes ( 4 ). The holes ( 4 ) extends inwards from the edge ( 2 ) mainly parallel to the decorative upper layer ( 3 ). The holes ( 4 ) are arranged on a predetermined distance from the decorative upper layer ( 3 ) and on a predetermined distance from a closest corner between two adjacent edges ( 2 ), whereby the holes ( 4 ) are intended to receive each one part of a guiding means ( 6 ).
Patent details
- Publication number
- US 6,729,091
- Filing date
- 2000-06-30
- Grant date
- 2004-05-04
- Assignee
- Pergo (Europe) Ab
- Inventor(s)
- MARTENSSON GOERAN
- CPC class
- E04F15/04
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