Interlocking flooring system using locking strips

Abstract

Improved interlocking flooring system that allows for a solid wood floor to be fully finished on all surfaces to provide moisture protection and can be installed over a solid subfloor surface without need for attachment to the subfloor with nails, adhesives or other fastening methods. Adjacent interlocking strips are held securely in place by a plurality of novel asymmetric locking strips.

Claims

1. An interlocking flooring system comprising a plurality of rectangular flooring strips (2) formed of substantially solid wood, each strip having a tongue profile (8) along one edge, each said tongue profile having an extended tongue (46), and a groove profile (6) along the opposite edge plus a plurality of shaped locking strips (4), each locking strip being shorter than any of said flooring strips and adapted to simultaneously engage with the tongue profile of one of said flooring strips and the groove profile of another of said flooring strips, in a manner such that the two flooring strips are securely mated edge-to-edge by the engagement of said shaped locking strips with the tongue and groove profiles of adjacent pairs of said flooring strips, wherein said tongue profiles comprise a horizontal slot in said one edge of each of said flooring strips, adapted to receive a thin flat edge of said shaped locking strips and said groove profiles comprise open grooves therein and lower faces having bevel edges on bottom corners thereof, with said tongue and groove profiles designed and adapted to mate securely together with the aid of said shaped locking strips inserted therebetween to engage said tongue and groove profiles of the adjacent flooring strips, wherein said shaped locking strips (4) have an asymmetrical cross section comprising solid lower protrusions (22) on the lower surfaces of said shaped locking strips (4) which are designed and shaped to fit into machined slots (20) on upper faces (48) of said tongue profiles (8) of said flooring strips (2) and upper protrusions (24) on upper surfaces of said shaped locking strips (4) designed and shaped to fit into machined recesses (26) on upper faces (50) of the groove profiles (6) of flooring strips (2) to be mated with the tongue profiles (8) of the adjacent flooring strips (2).

2. The flooring system of claim 1 wherein said shaped locking strips (4) further comprise gaps (28) below said upper protrusions (24), said gaps (28) being positioned to allow said upper protrusions (24) to flex downward during mating of said flooring strips (2) so that said upper faces (50) of said groove profiles (6) can pass over said upper protrusions (24) of said shaped locking strips (4) during the mating to the point that said upper protrusions (24) can return to their original raised positions and lock into said machined recesses (26) on the upper surfaces (50) of said groove profiles (6).

3. The flooring system of claim 1 wherein said solid lower protrusions (22) on said lower surfaces of said shaped locking strips (4) are designed and shaped to allow them to fit into said machined slots (20) on the upper faces (48) of said tongue profiles (8) of each flooring strip (2).

4. The flooring system of claim 1 wherein said asymmetrical cross section having one end thicker than the other, with portions (34) of said locking strips which fit into the grooved profiles (6) of said flooring strips (2) being thicker than the opposite, thinner ends (36) of said shaped locking strips (4) which fit into the tongue profiles (8) of said flooring strips (2) so that said shaped locking strips (4) can fit between said adjacent pairs of said flooring strips (2) in only one configuration to secure the flooring strips (2) firmly together.

5. The interlocking flooring system of claim 4 wherein the tongue profiles (8) are machined into said one edge of each flooring strip (2) to include said horizontal slots (40) which are sized and shaped to receive thinner edges (36) of said shaped locking strips (2) and radius corners (42) adjacent said horizontal slots (40) to allow for clearance as said shaped locking strips (4) are inserted into place and the slots (20) on the upper faces (48) of said tongues (46) which are sized and located to receive the solid bottom protrusions (22) of said shaped locking strips (4).

6. The interlocking flooring system of claim 1 wherein said groove profiles, shapes (6) of said flooring strips further comprise a horizontal slot (52) adapted to receive both an edge (34) of each said shaped locking strip (4) and the extended tongues (46) of the tongue profiles of said adjacent flooring strips (2), and lower sections (54) of the groove profiles (6) of the flooring strips (2) fit below said extended tongues (46) of said tongue profiles (8) and force said extended tongues to align vertically with said groove profiles (6).

7. The flooring system of claim 4 wherein said flooring strips with said tongue (8) and groove profiles (6) are adapted to fit together securely with minimum space between adjacent upper edges (70 and 72) when mated with said locking strips engaged to form said flooring system with said locking strips engaged therebetween.

8. The interlocking flooring system of claim 1 wherein each flooring strip (2) has a finish that provides water protection applied to all surfaces after said tongue profiles (8) and said groove profiles (6) are machined into the edges of said flooring strips (2).

9. The flooring system of claim 1 wherein said shaped locking strips (4) are formed by extrusion or molding.

10. The interlocking flooring system of claim 1 wherein said locking strips comprising a first portion having a rounded end and said upper protrusion comprising a flexible protrusion, with a groove below said flexible protrusion, a second portion at the opposite end from said first portion, also having a rounded end but a thickness less than that of said first portion, and each of said lower protrusions having a trapezoidal projection on the lower surface between said first and second portions, the entire asymmetric cross section being designed and adapted to allow said locking strips to fit between and interlock with the tongue and groove profiles of said flooring system.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

(1) The invention will be better understood and aspects other than those set forth above will become apparent when consideration is given to the following detailed description and drawings. The same numerals are used to designate like components in these figures. Such description makes reference to the annexed drawing wherein:

(2) FIG. 1 is a cross section of two adjacent wood strips interlocked with a section of the shaped locking strip as installed over a solid subfloor.

(3) FIG. 2 is a detailed cross section of the interlocking edges of two wood strips and the shaped locking strip.

(4) FIG. 3 is an end view of the shaped locking strip.

(5) FIG. 4 is a detailed cross section of the tongue edge profile.

(6) FIG. 5 is a detailed cross section of the groove edge profile.

(7) FIGS. 6A and 6B are depictions of the insertion of the shaped locking strip into the tongue edge profile.

(8) FIG. 7 is a detailed cross section of the tongue and groove profile with the shaped locking strip installed in the process of being connected.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

(9) In general, the following description adopts a terrestrial frame of reference, in which the bottom of a component is considered to be the side nearest the floor or earth when in normal use, and the top being the side opposite and facing upward. The term and/or is used in the conventional sense, in which A and/or B indicates that A or B, or both, may be present.

(10) With reference to FIG. 1, two flooring strips (2A & 2B) are shown installed over a solid subfloor surface (10). Each flooring strip (2A & 2B) has a groove profile (6) machined into one edge and a tongue profile (8) of an adjacent strip machined into the opposite edge. The groove profile (6) is designed to overlap the tongue profile (8) and allow clearance for the shaped locking strip (4) to fit in between. The shape of the tongue profile (8) is such that the shaped locking strip (4) can be inserted into it and will become secured in place. The tongue profile (8) with the shaped locking strip (4) secured in place is then inserted into the groove profile (6) edge and the shaped locking strip (4) creates an interlocked joint.

(11) With reference to FIG. 2, the details of the interlock created by the shaped locking strip (4) between the groove profiled edge (6) and the tongue profiled edge (8) of adjacent flooring strips (2A & 2B) are shown. Specifically, the shaped locking strip (4) is asymmetrical in design and features a solid lower protrusion (22) on the lower surface that is designed to fit into the machined slot (20) that is on the upper face of the tongue profile (8). The upper surface of the shaped locking strip (4) features an upper flexible protrusion (24) on the upper surface that is designed to fit into the machined recess (26) in the underside of the upper face of the groove profile (6). The shaped locking strip (4) has a clearance gap (28) below the upper protrusion (24) so that it can flex downward and allow for the upper face of the groove profile (6) to pass over it to the point that the upper protrusion (24) can return to its raised position and lock into the machined recess (26).

(12) With reference to FIG. 3, the details of the shaped locking strip (4) are shown. Specifically, the asymmetrical design can be seen with the thick flat edge (34) of the shaped locking strip that fits into the grooved profile of the wood strip (not shown) being thicker than the opposite thin flat edge (36) of the shaped locking strip that fits into the tongue profile of the wood strip (not shown). The solid lower protrusion (22) is shaped with a radius and angled edge (32) to allow for it to slide into and fit into the slot (not shown) that is machined into the upper face of the tongue profile of the flooring strip (not shown) as it is inserted into place. The upper flexible protrusion (24) has a clearance gap (28) below it so that the upper flexible protrusion (24) can flex downward and allow the upper face of the groove profile in the wood strip (not shown) to slide across the upper face of the shaped locking strip (4). The asymmetrical design results in the shaped locking strip (4) being able to only be inserted and seated in the tongue profile of the wood strip (not shown) only in the correct orientation.

(13) With reference to FIG. 4, the details of the tongue profile (8) edge machined into the flooring strip (2B) are shown. The features of the tongue profile (8) shape include a horizontal slot (40) sized and shaped to receive the thinner edge of the shaped locking strip (not shown), a radius corner (42) to allow for clearance as the shaped locking strip (not shown) is inserted into place and a machined slot (20) in the upper face of the tongue profile (48) sized and located to receive the solid bottom protrusion of the shaped locking strip (not shown). In addition to the features designed to work with the shaped locking strip (not shown), there is an extended tongue (46) that overlaps the groove profile (not shown) to force it to align with the tongue profile (8) when they are brought together horizontally. All of the shapes machined are located and oriented so that they can be easily produced with tooling mounted on the vertical and horizontal shafts of a typical moulding machine.

(14) With reference to FIG. 5, the details of the groove profile (6) edge machined into the flooring strip (2A) are shown. The features of the groove profile (6) shape include a machined recess (26) cut into the underside of the upper face (50) of the groove profile (6) to capture and hold the upper protrusion of the shaped locking strip (not shown), a horizontal slot (52) of the grooved profile (6) sized to receive both the thicker end of the shaped locking strip (not shown) and the extended tongue of the tongue profile (not shown) and the lower face (54) of the groove profile (6) which sits below the extended tongue of the tongue profile (not shown) and forces it to align with the groove profile (6) when they are brought together horizontally. All of the machined shapes are located and oriented so that they can be easily produced with tooling mounted on the vertical and horizontal shafts of a typical moulding machine.

(15) With reference to FIGS. 6A and 6B, the insertion of the shaped locking strip (4) into the tongue profile (8) of the flooring strip (2B) is shown. FIG. 6A shows the shaped locking strip (4) beginning its insertion (arrow indicates direction of movement of shaped locking strip) into the tongue profile (8). FIG. 6B shows the shaped locking strip (4) as it is pivoted down (arrow indicates direction of movement of shaped locking strip) so that it will become fully seated into the tongue profile (8).

(16) With reference to FIG. 7, the process of connecting two flooring strips (2A & 2B) using the shaped locking strip (4) is shown. The shaped locking strip (4) has been fully seated into the tongue profile (8). The groove profile (6) of the adjacent flooring strip (2A) is being pushed horizontally (arrows indicate direction of movement of the two flooring strips) toward the tongue profile (8) edge of the flooring strip (2B). The extended tongue (46) of the tongue profile (8) overlaps the lower face (54) of the groove profile (6) and keeps the two adjacent flooring strips (2A & 2B) aligned horizontally. The upper face (50) of the groove profile (6) pushes the upper flexible protrusion (24) of the shaped locking strip (4) down and into the clearance gap (28) in the shaped locking strip (4). Once the two adjacent flooring strips (2A & 2B) are brought together fully (the point where the face edge of the groove profile (70) and the face edge of the tongue profile (72) come together and touch), the upper flexible protrusion (24) will come into alignment with the machined recess (26) and will return to its normal upright position to create an interlock between the adjacent flooring strips (2A & 2B).

(17) In the foregoing description, certain terms have been used for brevity, clarity and understanding. All equivalent relationships to those illustrated in the drawings and described in the preferred embodiment are to be encompassed by this present invention to produce the intended results. It is also to be understood that the following claims are intended to cover all of the generic and specific features of the invention herein described, and all statements of the scope of the invention which, as a matter of language, might be said to fall therebetween.