Panels with a detachable protruding lip for wall- , ceiling- or floor coverings

Abstract

A panel for wall-, ceiling- or floor coverings is provided, the panel comprising an upper side, a lower side, and front ends, defining a circumference of the panel in the installed state, and at least one front end is protruded with respect to the circumference by a detachable protruding lip formed at the lower side, one horizontal locking groove at the lower side, characterized in that the protruding lip has a predetermined break-off surface. Furthermore, methods are provided for manufacturing wall-, ceiling- and/or floor coverings comprising or consisting of a plurality of the panels.

Claims

1. A panel for wall-, ceiling- or floor coverings, the panel comprising: an upper side, a lower side, and a plurality of front ends, the upper side, the lower side and the front ends defining a perimeter of the panel in an installed state; a detachable protruding lip formed at the lower side, wherein the detachable protruding lip protrudes from at least one of the front ends with respect to the perimeter; and one horizontal locking groove at the lower side, wherein the detachable protruding lip comprises one or more start notches, one or more cuttings, one or more laser cuttings, one or more drillings, one or more milled slots, and/or a density gradient within the panel, wherein the detachable protruding lip is configured to be detached and removed so as to provide a remaining portion of the panel having a complementary shape with a predetermined break-off surface for receiving a protruding lip of a neighbored panel, where the neighbored panel is identical to the panel with the protruding lip.

2. The panel of claim 1, wherein the detachable protruding lip of the panel comprises at least one horizontal locking element configured to alternatively engage in a horizontal locking groove of the neighbored panel, wherein the protruding lip of the neighbored panel has been removed.

3. The panel of claim 2, wherein the horizontal locking element retains the neighbored panel in a vertical and/or a horizontal direction.

4. The panel of claim 1, wherein at least two detachable protruding lips are fixed at opposite sides of the panel.

5. The panel of claim 1, wherein all of the front ends are protruded with respect to the perimeter by the detachable protruding lip formed at the lower side.

6. The panel of claim 1, wherein a vertical locking groove is incorporated in the at least one of the front ends.

7. The panel of claim 1, wherein the panel comprises one or more materials selected from the group consisting of MDF, HDF, cork, OSB, solid wood, plywood, plastics, PVC, cement fibers, basalt, rock wool, ceramics, genuine stone, metal, aluminum or steel panel, glass, plastics, chipboard, and laminate floorboards.

8. The panel of claim 1, wherein the at least one of the front ends comprises at the upper side a vertical locking groove over the whole length of the at least one of the front ends or at least over parts of the length of the at least one of the front ends.

9. The panel of claim 2, wherein a vertical locking groove is formed at the horizontal locking element, said vertical locking groove configured to accommodate a vertical locking element.

10. The panel of claim 1, wherein the panel has a rectangular shape, and the length of the panel is an integer multiple of the width of the panel.

11. The panel of claim 1, wherein the predetermined break-off surface is formed by one start notch of the one or more start notches and one end notch, wherein the one end notch is arranged in the horizontal locking groove.

12. The panel of claim 1, wherein the detachable protruding lip of the panel comprises MDF, HDF, and/or a plastic and, wherein a core of the panel comprises MDF, HDF, PVC, a plastic and/or any mixture thereof.

13. The panel of claim 1, wherein the break-off surface of the protruding lip is beveled.

14. The panel of claim 1, wherein a start notch of the one or more start notches is oriented in a vertical distance in a range from 0.1 to 10 mm above an upper lip surface for forming a crack gap.

15. A method for manufacturing wall-, ceiling- and/or floor coverings comprising a plurality of panels including a first panel and a neighbored panel, wherein each of the panels comprises: an upper side, a lower side, and a plurality of front ends, the upper side, the lower side and the front ends defining a perimeter of the panel in the installed state; a detachable protruding lip formed at the lower side, wherein the detachable protruding lip protrudes from at least one of the front ends with respect to the perimeter; and one horizontal locking groove at the lower side, wherein the detachable protruding lip of the first panel is configured to be detached and removed so as to provide a remaining portion of the first panel having a complementary shape with a predetermined break-off surface for receiving the protruding lip of the neighbored panel, where the neighbored panel is identical to the panel with the protruding lip, and, wherein the method comprises connecting the first panel at the front end comprising the detachable protruding lip with the at least one of the fronts end of the neighbored panel by removing the protruding lip of the first panel at the predetermined break-off surface and by joining the protruding lip of the neighbored panel with the first panel.

16. The method of claim 15, wherein the protruding lip of the first panel comprises at least one horizontal locking element configured to alternatively engage in the horizontal locking groove of the neighbored panel whose protruding lip has been removed, wherein during joining, the horizontal locking element is incorporated in the horizontal locking groove.

17. The method of claim 15, wherein the first panel and the neighbored panel each has a vertical locking groove at one of their front ends and prior to joining, an insertable locking element connecting the vertical locking grooves is introduced in the vertical locking grooves.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

(1) Preferred embodiments of the invention are described in the following with reference to the drawings, which are for the purpose of illustrating the present preferred embodiments of the invention and not for the purpose of limiting the same.

(2) FIG. 1 shows a side view of a panel (1) with a detachable protruding lip (5) according to the present invention.

(3) FIG. 2 also shows a side view of a panel (1) with a detachable protruding lip (5) according to the present invention, wherein the protruding lip (5) with a horizontal locking element (9) is now detached.

(4) FIG. 3 shows a side view of two panels (1,1′) which are joined together by a horizontal and vertical locking system. In this embodiment, vertical locking is achieved by an insertable locking element (12).

(5) FIG. 4 shows a side view of two panels (1,1′) joined by an alternative embodiment of the locking system according to the present invention.

(6) FIG. 5 shows a side view of a panel (1,1′) with an alternative embodiment of the locking system according to the present invention. In this embodiment, gluing is intended to achieve vertical locking.

(7) FIG. 6 shows a top view of a multitude of panels known from the prior art. Panels with such locking elements are not well suited for e.g. herringbone laying patterns. Panels that have a tongue shaped element on one of the long and one of the short sides and a groove shaped element on the other long and short sides.

DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

(8) FIG. 1 shows a side view of a cut off panel (1), focusing on the locking system according to the present invention. A horizontal locking element (9) is mounted on a protruding lip (5). The horizontal locking element is designed in such a way, that it fits into a horizontal locking groove (6) of a neighboring panel (1′) and thereby provides locking in a horizontal direction. The panel (1) has an upper side (2), which may or may not be decorated or covered by an additional abrasion resistant surface. Furthermore, the panel (1) may or may not have a decorative bevel (20) at its edge. With the embodiment shown in FIG. 1, a start notch (8) is created in the panel (1). By applying a downward force at the end of the protruding lip (5), for example by applying a downward pressure by hand on the abutment surface (16), a lever is created by the protruding lip (5). This lever is further lengthened by the start notch (8) which thereby acts as starting point for a crack. This crack intentionally propagates from the start notch (8) to an end notch surface (15).

(9) FIG. 2 shows another side view of a cut off panel (1) according to the invention. FIG. 2 shows how the protruding lip (5) with the horizontal locking element (9) is detached from the panel (1) along a predetermined break off surface (7, 7′).

(10) FIG. 3 shows a side view of two panels (1, 1′) which are now joined together. Here the horizontal locking element (9) on the protruding lip (5) of a first panel (1) is fitted into the horizontal locking groove (6′) of a second panel (1′) and thereby prevents any movement in the horizontal direction. The protruding lip (5) of the second panel (1′) has been removed by detachment along the predetermined break off surface (7) in order to achieve said horizontal locking.

(11) In the embodiment of FIG. 3, vertical locking is simultaneously achieved in several ways:

(12) Firstly, vertical locking against a movement of both panels (1,1′) towards the lower side of the panels (3,3′) is prevented by the substrate onto which the panels (1,1′) are mounted, which is the floor, the wall, the ceiling or any further coverings thereof.

(13) Secondly, vertical locking against a movement of the second panel (1′) towards the lower side if the panel (3′) is prevented by the abutment surfaces (16,16′).

(14) Thirdly, an insertable locking element (12) is provided which is inserted into the vertical locking grooves (10,10′) of both panels (1,1′). This insertable locking element (12) together with the locking grooves (10,10′) prevent vertical movement of both panels in both vertical directions, towards the lower sides (3,3′) and the upper sides (2,2′). The insertable locking element may either be inserted into the right groove by the person installing the panels, or by being pre-mounted in the factory. In the case that the insertable locking elements (12) are pre-mounted at the production facility, a user friendly solution is obtained by mounting the insertable locking elements (12) into the vertical locking grooves (10,10′) on all four sides of rectangular panels, such that the person installing the panels can remove them together with the detachable protruding lips (5) as required for the particular laying pattern.

(15) It is clear that with the many different types of possible materials or material combinations out of which the panels (1) according to the invention can be made, it cannot be expected that the predetermined break-off surface (7) is always a smooth and straight, perfect surface. For panel materials such as e.g. wood based fiber boards known as MDF/HDF laminate, a generally irregular break-off surface (7) is rather to be expected. The geometry of the break off surface (7) can only be predetermined within limits. This is why it is important to choose the start notch (8) at some vertical distance above the upper lip surface (14). By this measure, a crack gap (13) is achieved, which can accommodate any irregular break off surface (7). This is important in that only the abutment surfaces (16,16′) are intended to touch in the horizontal plane and not the upper lip surface (14) somewhere at the irregular break off surface (7), as this would result in panels which have their respective upper sides (2,2′) in different planes thereby resulting in an irregular paneled surface. It is also important to add a well defined end notch surface (15) into which the crack will exit because it enables the crack to travel the shortest available distance. In the embodiments of FIGS. 1 to 3 and 5, a slightly inclined contact surface (18) is chosen, which enables horizontal locking. The inclination of the locking surface (18) enables to pull two panels (1,1′) towards each other in the final laying stage and is chosen to be 40 to 80 degrees to laying plane. A further inclined surface on the horizontal locking element (9) between the locking surface (18) and the abutment surface (16) additionally also serves as a guiding surface (19) to help to align the panels during laying.

(16) For those panel materials or combinations of materials which exhibit some elasticity, the thickness of the protruding lip (5) is carefully chosen and a further inclined bend surface (17) is added below the horizontal locking element (9) so that when a second panel (1′) is joined by generally pushing it downward, the protruding lip (5) can be elastically deformed to some degree, thereby providing a slight snapping action which further holds the panels together.

(17) FIG. 4 shows a side view of two cut off panels (1, 1′) joined by an alternative embodiment of the locking system according to the invention. In this embodiment, vertical locking is achieved by a vertical locking element (11) which interacts with a vertical locking groove (10) on the horizontal locking element (9). For some panel materials or material pairings it can be a mechanical or an economical advantage to provide the protruding lip (5), together with the horizontal locking element (9) by gluing the protruding lip (5) to a panel (1) at the factory, so that the glued surface then acts as predetermined break off surface. Such a solution can be chosen e.g. for ceramic panels or tiles with a protruding lip (5) made of a plastic material.

(18) FIG. 5 shows a side view of a panel (1) with another alternative embodiment of the locking system according to the invention. In this embodiment, no mechanical means are provided for locking in the vertical direction away from the laying plane. However, since the protruding lip (5) together with the front end of the panel (4) and the horizontal locking element (9) form a trough, an adhesive or a glue may be provided onto the upper lip surface to provide the locking function in the vertical direction away from the laying plane.

(19) In the panel with a detachable protruding lip according to the present invention a very good balance between the properties “easy removable” before the laying process and ensuring a “stable connection” after the laying process has been realized. There is only a small risk that the panel is damaged when removing the protruding lip, because the protruding lip can be removed after laying, so that forces acting on the panel are not critical. Furthermore, the protruding lip is easily removable manually without using any tools.

LIST OF REFERENCE SIGNS

(20) 1, 1′: Panel 2, 2′: Upper side of the panel 3, 3′: Lower side of the panel 4, 4′: Front end of the panel 5: Protruding lip 6: Horizontal locking groove 7, 7′: Predetermined break-off surface 8: Start notch 9: Horizontal locking element 10: Vertical locking groove 11: Vertical locking element 12: Insertable locking element 13: Crack gap 14: Upper lip surface 15: End notch 16, 16′: Abutment surface 17: Bend surface 18: Locking surface 19: Guiding surface 20, 20′: Decorative bevel 21: Missing locking elements 22: Superfluous locking elements 23: Core of the panel

(21) To clarify the use of and to hereby provide notice to the public, the phrases “at least one of <A>, <B>, . . . and <N>” or “at least one of <A>, <B>, . . . <N>, or combinations thereof” or “<A>, <B>, . . . and/or <N>” are defined by the Applicant in the broadest sense, superseding any other implied definitions hereinbefore or hereinafter unless expressly asserted by the Applicant to the contrary, to mean one or more elements selected from the group comprising A, B, . . . and N. In other words, the phrases mean any combination of one or more of the elements A, B, . . . or N including any one element alone or the one element in combination with one or more of the other elements which may also include, in combination, additional elements not listed. Unless otherwise indicated or the context suggests otherwise, as used herein, “a” or “an” means “at least one” or “one or more.”