Floor panel

Abstract

A floor panel (1) provided with corresponding, mechanical locking elements (7, 12) on at least two opposed sides (5, 6) thereof, and having a core (4), a walk-on surface (2) and a bottom surface (3). In order to provide a floor panel of this type with impact sound insulation in a structurally simple and effective manner, it is suggested that at least one recess (13, 19) is provided, which extends from said bottom surface (3) into said core (4).

Description

The present invention relates to a floor panel of rectangular shape of the type defined in the generic clause of claim 1.

Such a floor panel is known from EP 1 264 946. The known floor panel includes a sound insulation in the form of at least one sound insulation layer which is arranged on the side of the core facing the walk-on surface. The sound insulation layer is made of a thin, soft, resilient material, in particular a plastic material, and must be incorporated into the laminate during the production of the floor panel; this is comparatively complicated and expensive.

WO 99/00242 shows a floor panel of rectangular shape comprising a core of solid wood and two thinner boards which are also made of solid wood and which are arranged on the upper and the lower side of the core. The floor panel is sound insulated; in a first embodiment, sound insulation layers are interposed between the core and the boards covering the core on both sides thereof, the drawbacks being the above-described ones.

In another embodiment, the sides of the core which face the neighbouring thinner boards are provided with grooves by means of which the wood-to-wood contact area is reduced, so as to effect sound insulation. However, this arrangement also leads to a reduction of the force-transmitting area between the wood layers; in extreme cases, this may have the effect that, in floor areas which are frequently walked on, the vertices located between the grooves may flatten so that the floor will slightly drop there.

In addition, the core has provided therein longitudinally extending grooves, which are incorporated alternately from the upper and the lower side, said grooves extending into the core over a distance corresponding to half the thickness of said core. These grooves are provided for the purpose of compensating the swelling and the shrinking of the wood in the case of humidity changes so that the so-called working of the wood will not cause distortions of the flooring. These grooves do, however, not extend up to the bottom surface, but they are covered by said thinner boards, which act as acoustical bridges. In addition, the solid-wood floor panels described are configured for glueing; the layers of glue extending between the panels produce a sound-insulating effect as well, so that the demands to be satisfied by an additional sound insulation are not as high.

Finally, it is common practice to insert sound-absorbing layers of (needled) felt, plastic material, rubber or the like below the panels during floor laying, or said layers may be glued to the panels in the course of the production process; this is rather complicated and expensive.

It is therefore the object of the present invention to provide a floor panel with an effective impact sound insulation which is easy to produce.

This object is achieved by a floor panel provided with corresponding, mechanical locking elements on at least two sides thereof, and comprising a core, a walk-on surface and a bottom surface, wherein at least one recess is provided, which extends from said bottom surface into said core.

It turned out that, surprisingly enough, it is possible to achieve for floor panels with mechanical locking systems, i.e. floor panels which are not provided with a layer of glue between the individual panels, an effective impact sound insulation by means of a recess extending from the bottom surface up to an into the core. In practical tests, it turned out that the impact sound can be reduced significantly, e.g. by 3 dB.

Advantageous further developments of the present invention are disclosed in the subclaims.

In the following, an embodiment of the present invention will be explained in detail making reference to the drawings in which:

FIG. 1 shows a perspective view of a floor panel according to the present invention,

FIG. 2 shows the section II-II according to FIG. 1,

FIG. 3 s hows the section III-III according to FIG. 1,

FIG. 4 shows part of a flooring made of the floor panels according to the present invention, and

FIG. 5 shows part of another flooring made of other floor panels according to the present invention.

FIG. 1 shows in a perspective view a first embodiment of a floor panel 1 according to the present invention, comprising a walk-on surface 2 and a bottom surface 3, which cannot be seen in FIG. 1 and which serves as a contact surface that rests on a floor substrate, as well as a core 4 arranged between said bottom surface 3 and said walk-on surface 2.

The floor panel 1 shown represents part of a laminate floor, the walk-on surface 2 being preferably defined by a laminate layer which is resistant to footsteps, insensitive to damage and dirt, and decorative. The core 4 is preferably made of an industrially produced wood fibre material, in particular an MDF/HDF board or a chipboard. The bottom surface 3 is the bottom surface of the core 4 consisting of the material of said core or it can be formed by a protection or compensation layer (here not shown in the drawing) which is laminated onto the core.

The floor panel 1 shown here is rectangular in shape and comparatively small; the width B ranges from 5 cm to 15 cm, and is preferably 8 cm, and the length L ranges from 20 cm to 80 cm, and is preferably 60 cm. The floor panel has therefore two opposed long sides 5a and 5b as well as two opposed short sides 6a and 6b. At least the long sides 5a, 5b are provided with corresponding, mechanical locking elements 7a and 7b by means of which neighbouring floor panels can be interlocked via a snap-in connection. The locking element 7a comprises for this purpose a strip 8 with a projection 8a which is delimited towards the inner side by a groove 9. The locking element 7b includes a recess 10 for receiving therein the strip 8, with an undercut portion 10a for receiving therein the projection 8a, said recess 10 being delimited towards the outside by a strip 11 which is adapted to be received in said groove 9. This allows the long sides of neighbouring floor panels to be interlocked through a snap-in connection; in order to do so, it will only be necessary to place the long sides of the two panels in contact with one another at an angle in such a way that the projection 8a is introduced in the recess 10, and to orient the two panels subsequently such that they are brought into aligned, flat relationship with one another, whereby the projection 8a will move into the undercut portion 10a. The dimensions of the locking elements 7a, 7b, in particular the widths b thereof, are adapted to one another in such a way that the two panels cannot be displaced relative to one another in a direction parallel to the short sides 6a.

In the embodiment shown, also the two short sides 6a, 6b are provided with corresponding locking elements 12a, 12b; the locking element 12a corresponds to the locking element 7b and the locking element 12b corresponds, in analogy therewith, to the locking element 7a, but without the projection, so that the short sides of the panels can be connected to one another simply by pressing down, whereby the laying of the floor will be facilitated.

The connection via the locking elements 7a, 7b and 12a, 12b does not necessitate an application of glue.

The floor panel 1 according to the present invention is provided with a sound insulation, especially an insulation against impact sound, which is easy to produce and nevertheless effective, said sound insulation being provided in the form of at least one recess 13 which extends into the panel from the bottom surface 3 thereof, said bottom surface 3 being, with the exception of said recess 13, level and flat. In the embodiment shown, sound insulation is effected by a single recess 13 extending in the form of a groove from one short side 6a continuously up to the other short side 6b. The recess 13 has a depth t which is dimensioned such that said recess 13 extends from the bottom surface 3 into the core 4 over a distance corresponding to one third up to one half of the thickness D of said core 4. The recess 13 is open and should also remain open towards the bottom surface 3. If actually necessary, however, it is possible to apply a thin layer, which does not establish an acoustical bridge, to the bottom surface 3 in such a way that said recess 13 is covered. The recess 13 should, however, not lose its sound wave-interrupting function under any circumstances.

The recess has a width s between 1 and 10 mm and extends approximately in the middle between the long sides 5a, 5b, parallel to said long sides 5a, 5b and up to and into the area of the locking elements 12a, 12b of the short sides 6a, 6b. From the outer strip of the locking element 12a, a small connecting web 14 can remain, which will improve the coherence.

FIG. 4 shows a part of a flooring 15 which has been produced from a plurality of floor panels 1 according to FIG. 1 to 3. FIG. 4 shows the bottom surface of the flooring 15 and an arrangement of the floor panels 1 in which said respective floor panels are arranged in parallel and displaced by one half of their length, in the form of a regular plank flooring. As can be seen from FIG. 4, the locking elements 7a, 7b as well as 12a, 12b of neighbouring floor panels are implemented such that, on the bottom surface of the flooring, grooves 16 are formed between the long sides of neighbouring panels and grooves 17 are formed between the short sides of neighbouring panels, whereas the walk-on surfaces 2 of neighbouring panels abut on one another almost without any intermediate gaps. This means that, with floor panels 1 having a width B of 8 cm, longitudinally extending continuous grooves 13, 16, which provide effective impact sound insulation, will be formed every 4 cm. In addition, also the grooves 17 between neighbouring short sides serve to provide impact sound insulation.

FIG. 5 shows a further embodiment of a flooring 18 consisting of a further embodiment of floor panels 1′ implemented according to the present invention, in the form of a herringbone flooring; also said FIG. 5 shows the bottom surfaces 3.

The floor panel 1′ differs from the floor panel 1 only with regard to a deviating kind of recess, the recesses provided here being a plurality of individual, slot-shaped recesses 19 which are disposed in an in-line arrangement one after the other. As for the rest, the structural design of the floor panel 1′ corresponds to that of the floor panel 1; in particular, the in-line arrangement of the recesses 19 is again disposed in the middle between and parallel to the long sides 5a and 5b and extends from one short side 6a to the opposed short side 6b. Also in the case of the herringbone pattern of the flooring 18, grooves 20 are formed for impact sound insulation between the long and the short sides.

As modifications of the embodiments described and shown hereinbefore, the recesses can be varied with respect to their shape, size (depth, width, length), arrangement and number. For example, two or more continuous recesses can be provided for larger floor panels, or a plurality of recesses can be distributed over the bottom surfaces in the form of rows, in a diamond shape or in some other kind of arrangement. The recesses need not necessarily be arranged such that they extend parallel to the long sides, but they may also be arranged along the short sides or at random. The recesses need not necessarily be implemented as grooves, but they may, for example, also be implemented as notches, blind holes, incisions or the like. It is not absolutely necessary that the floor panels are provided with locking elements on all four sides thereof; especially when the floor panels are laid in the form of a plank flooring, it may e.g. suffice to provide only the long sides with these locking elements. The shape and the mode of operation of the locking elements can be varied as well. The present invention can therefore be used for floor panels with all kinds of commonly used locking elements or for floor panels that have to be glued together. In addition, the present invention can be used for floor panels having other shapes and dimensions, including panels of normal size and standard size having dimensions of 120×20 cm, or panels with miter joints, square, hexagonal or the like. Also the material chosen for the floor panel can be adapted to changes in the intended use. Finally, all the embodiments of the floor panels are suitable for all commonly used laying patterns.

Claims

1. A floor panel (1, 1′) provided with corresponding, mechanical locking elements (7a, 7b; 12a, 12b) on at least two sides (5a, 5b; 6a, 6b) thereof, and comprising a core (4), a walk-on surface (2) extending a bottom surface (3), and at least one recess (13, 19) extending from said bottom surface (3) into said core (4).

2. A floor panel according to claim 1, wherein the recess (13, 19) extends into the core (4) over a distance corresponding to approximately one third up to one half of the thickness (D) of said core (4).

3. A floor panel according to claim 1, wherein the recess (13, 18) has a width (s) of from 1 to 10 mm.

4. A floor panel according to claim 1, wherein the floor panel is formed of a rectangular shape with short and long sides (5a, 5b; 6a, 6b), the recess (13, 18) extending continuously from one short side (6a) to the opposite short side (6b).

5. A floor panel according to claim 1, and wherein a plurality of spaced-apart recesses (19) is provided.

6. A floor panel according to claim 5, wherein the plurality of spaced-apart recesses (19) is arranged in at least one row extending from one short side (6a) to an opposite short side (6b) of a rectangular shape.

7. A floor panel according to claim 1, wherein the core (4) contains a wood fiber material.

8. A floor panel according to one claim 1, wherein the locking elements (7, 12) are implemented such that, when one panel is joined with a neighboring panel, a recess (16, 17) will be formed on the bottom surface (3).

9. A floor panel according to claim 1, wherein the floor panel is formed so that the long sides (5a, 5b) of a rectangular shape are each provided with corresponding, mechanical locking elements (7a, 7b) for locking engagement with neighboring neighbouring panels, and a groove-shaped recess (13) extends from the bottom surface (3) into the core (4), the recess extending continuously from one short side (6a) to the opposite short side (6b).

10. A floor panel according to claim 1, wherein the floor panel is formed so that the short and the long sides (6a, 6b; 5a, 5b) of a rectangular shape are each provided with corresponding locking elements (7a, 7b; 12a, 12b) for engagement with neighboring panels, and a plurality of spaced-apart recesses (19) extend in an in-line arrangement from the bottom surface (3) into the core (4), the in-line arrangement extending from one short side (6a) to the opposite short side (6b).

11. A floor panel according to claim 1, and wherein a flooring (15, 18) is produced from a plurality of floor panels (1, 1′).

12. A floor panel according to claim 9, and wherein a flooring (15) is produced from a plurality of floor panels (1) being laid parallel to one another.

13. A floor panel according to claim 10, and wherein a flooring (18) is produced from a plurality of floor panels (1′) being laid in a herringbone pattern.

14. A floor panel according to claim 7, wherein the wood fiber material is MDF/HDF board.