Floor panel with coupling means and methods of making the same
A floor panel for forming a floor. In one embodiment, the floor panel includes a body portion having a first end, an opposite, second end, a male coupling portion protruding from the first end and having a convex surface portion and a concave groove formed on the convex surface portion, and a female coupling portion protruding from the second end and having a concave surface portion complementary to the convex surface portion of the male coupling portion such that, as assembled, the male coupling portion of a floor panel is received in and engaged with the female coupling portion of an adjacent floor panel, whereby an adhesive channel corresponding to the concave groove is formed by the convex surface portion of the male coupling portion and the corresponding concave surface portion.
The present invention relates generally to a floor panel, and in particular to a floor panel having a male coupling portion, a female coupling portion and an adhesive channel.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTIONFloor is an important part of residential and office buildings. Hard wood floor creates a warm and welcome feeling and brings beauty to the houses or offices. Traditionally, the hard wood floor is made with tongue and groove hard wood floor strips nailed to a sub-floor. After an installation of the hard wood floor, several sanding and staining processes have to take place before the floor is finished. This is a very time-consuming and labor-intensive process. The staining process also puts people into a hazardous environment. Additionally, the installation of the hard wood floor requires skilled workers and special tools.
Over the years, engineers have developed various products to overcome the above-mentioned drawbacks of the conventional hard wood floor. For example, floorboards with each having a core made of materials such as medium/high density fiberboard, and/or plywood and a pre-finished floor surface laminated on the core to create a hard wood-like floorboard are available on the market. For a floor using the floorboards, no sanding and staining processes are needed after the floor installation, hence eliminating the dusty and unhealthy environment of sanding and staining as a conventional hard wood floor installation creates.
Different types of floorboards have been developed to ease floor installations. However, many obstacles remain to be overcome. For example, some floorboards require the use of a separately manufactured aluminum strip fixed to the floorboard at the factory for floor installations. Such additional metal parts require considerable amount of investment and extensive reconstruction of the manufacture facility. Certain floorboards include a notch mechanism/structure to prevent the adjoined floor boards to drift apart. The notch structure requires a material of the floorboards be resilient. Such techniques are not suitable for certain rigid materials such as marbles, granite and some of hard wood. Some other floorboards have an adhesive coating disposed on the interlocking portion of the floorboard. The adhesive coating is adapted for cohesively bonding the adjoined floorboards upon contact with itself under ambient conditions and without external activation. Such process requires additional procedures to disposing the adhesive coating onto the surface of the interlocking portion of the floorboards, and additional care have to be taken to protect the adhesive coating during the transportation.
Therefore, a heretofore unaddressed need exists in the art to address the aforementioned deficiencies and inadequacies.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTIONThe present invention, in one aspect, relates to a floor panel for forming a floor. In one embodiment, the floor panel comprises a body portion. The body portion has a first end and an opposite, second end, and is defined therebetween an upper edge and a lower edge, where a thickness d is defined between the upper edge and the lower edge. The floor panel further comprises a male coupling portion protruding from the first end. The male coupling portion has an edge in parallel with the upper edge of the body portion, an edge in parallel with the lower edge of the body portion, and a convex surface portion connecting the two edges in parallel with the upper and lower edges of the body portion, where a concave groove is formed on the convex surface portion of the male coupling portion. The floor panel also comprises a female coupling portion protruding from the second end. The female coupling portion has an edge in parallel with the upper edge of the body portion, an edge in parallel with the lower edge of the body portion, and a concave surface portion connecting the two edges in parallel with the upper and lower edges of the body portion.
The male coupling portion and the female coupling portion are formed such that the male coupling portion of a first floor panel is receivable in and engageable with the female coupling portion of a second floor panel, and an adhesive channel corresponding to the concave groove can be formed by the convex surface portion of the male coupling portion and the corresponding concave surface portion of the female coupling portion. In one embodiment, the male coupling portion of a first floor panel and the female coupling portion of a second floor panel are cross-sectionally complementary such that, as assembled, the male coupling portion of the first floor panel is received in and engaged with the female coupling portion of the second floor panel. In one embodiment, the convex surface portion of the male coupling portion cross-sectionally is a part of circle characterized by a radius R, and the concave surface portion of the female coupling portion cross-sectionally is a part of circle characterized by the radius R.
In one embodiment, the body portion of the floor panel further compreses a third end and an opposite, fourth end, where one of the third end and the fourth end is formed with a male coupling portion, and the other of the third end and the fourth end is formed with a female coupling portion, respectively.
In one embodiment, the body portion of the floor panel includes a laminated panel, a solid wood panel, a plywood panel, a medium/high density fiberboard (MDF/HDF), a marble/granite panel, or a plastic panel.
In another aspect, the present invention relates to a floor. In one embodiment, the floor comprises a first floor panel and a second floor panel. The first floor includes a body portion having a first end and an opposite, second end and defined therebetween an upper edge and a lower edge, where a thickness d is defined between the upper edge and the lower edge, and a male coupling portion protruding from the first end. The male coupling portion has an edge in parallel with the upper edge of the body portion, an edge in parallel with the lower edge of the body portion, and a convex surface portion connecting the two edges in parallel with the upper and lower edges of the body portion, where a concave groove is formed on the convex surface portion of the male coupling portion. The second floor panel includes a body portion having a first end and an opposite, second end and defined therebetween an upper edge and a lower edge, and a female coupling portion protruding from the second end. The female coupling portion has an edge in parallel with the upper edge of the body portion, an edge in parallel with the lower edge of the body portion, and a concave surface portion connecting the two edges in parallel with the upper and lower edges of the body portion. The male coupling portion of the first floor panel and the female coupling portion of the second floor panel are formed such that the male coupling portion of the floor panel is receivable in and engageable with the female coupling portion of the floor panel, and an adhesive channel corresponding to the concave groove can be formed by the convex surface portion of the male coupling portion and the corresponding concave surface portion. In one embodiment, the male coupling portion of the first floor panel and the female coupling portion of the second floor panel are cross-sectionally complementary such that, as assembled, the male coupling portion of the first floor panel is received in and engaged with the female coupling portion of the second floor panel.
In yet another aspect, the present invention relates to a method for forming a floor with a plurality of floor panels. Each floor panel comprises a body portion, a male coupling portion and a female coupling portion. The body portion has a first end and an opposite, second end and defined therebetween an upper edge and a lower edge, where a thickness d is defined between the upper edge and the lower edge. The male coupling portion protrudes from the first end of the body portion, and has an edge in parallel with the upper edge of the body portion, an edge in parallel with the lower edge of the body portion, and a convex surface portion connecting the two edges in parallel with the upper and lower edges of the body portion, where a concave groove is formed on the convex surface portion of the male coupling portion. The female coupling portion protrudes from the second end, and has an edge in parallel with the upper edge of the body portion, an edge in parallel with the lower edge of the body portion, and a concave surface portion connecting the two edges in parallel with the upper and lower edges of the body portion. The male coupling portion and the female coupling portion are formed such that, as assembled, the male coupling portion of one of the plurality of floor panels is receivable in and engageable with the female coupling portion of another one of the plurality of floor panels, and an adhesive channel corresponding to the concave groove can be formed on the convex surface portion of the male coupling portion. In one embodiment, the method comprises the steps of providing a first one of the plurality of floor panels, providing a second one of the plurality of floor panels, and coupling the first one floor panel and the second one floor panel such that the male coupling portion of the second one floor panel is received in and engaged with the female coupling portion of the first one floor panel to form the adhesive channel.
In one embodiment, the method further comprises the step of injecting an amount of adhesive into the adhesive channel. In another embodiment, the method further comprises the step of injecting the adhesive into the adhesive channel from both ends of the adhesive channel. In an alternative embodiment, the method further comprises the step of applying an amount of adhesive into the concave groove prior to the coupling step.
In a further aspect, the present invention relates to a floor panel for forming a floor. In one embodiment, the floor panel has a body portion with a first end and an opposite, second end. The floor panel further has a male coupling portion protruding from the first end, and a female coupling portion protruding from the second end. The male coupling portion has a protrusion with a groove formed therein, and the female coupling portion defines a complimentary groove for receiving a protrusion of the male portion of a floor panel therein.
These and other aspects of the present invention will become apparent from the following description of the preferred embodiment taken in conjunction with the following drawings, although variations and modifications therein may be affected without departing from the spirit and scope of the novel concepts of the disclosure.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGSThe accompanying drawings illustrate one or more embodiments of the invention and, together with the written description, serve to explain the principles of the invention. Wherever possible, the same reference numbers are used throughout the drawings to refer to the same or like elements of an embodiment, and wherein:
The present invention is more particularly described in the following examples that are intended as illustrative only since numerous modifications and variations therein will be apparent to those skilled in the art. Various embodiments of the invention are now described in detail. Referring to the drawings, like numbers indicate like parts throughout the views. As used in the description herein and throughout the claims that follow, the meaning of “a,” “an,” and “the” includes plural reference unless the context clearly dictates otherwise. Also, as used in the description herein and throughout the claims that follow, the meaning of “in” includes “in” and “on” unless the context clearly dictates otherwise. Moreover, titles or subtitles may be used in the specification for the convenience of a reader, which has no influence on the scope of the invention. Additionally, some terms used in this specification are more specifically defined below.
The description will be made as to the embodiments of the present invention in conjunction with the accompanying drawings of
Referring in general to
As shown in
The female coupling portion 122 has an edge 124 in parallel with the upper edge 106 of the body portion 101, an edge 125 substantially perpendicular to and connecting the upper edge 106 and the edge 124 of the body portion 101, an edge 126 in parallel with the lower edge 108 of the body portion 101, an edge 127 substantially perpendicular to and connecting the lower edge 108 and the edge 126 of the body portion 101, and a concave surface portion 128 connecting the edges 124 and 126. Two angular surfaces 125A and 127A are optionally formed at the corner between the edges 125 and 124, and the corner between the edges 127 and 104, respectively. The surface 127A may provide additional space for adhesive. The surface 125A may allow easy coupling of two floor panels to form a part of a floor.
As shown in
The body portion 101 of a floor panel 100 preferably contains a laminated panel, a solid wood panel, a plywood panel, a medium/high density fiberboard (MDF/HDF), a marble/granite panel, or a plastic panel. Many other rigid or resilient materials can also be used to manufacture such floor panels.
Referring now to
A floor can be formed with a plurality of floor panels of the present invention. In one embodiment, each floor panel has a male coupling portion at its first end and a female coupling portion at its second end. For example, in one embodiment, a first floor panel 100B is positioned at a location and the male coupling portion 112A of a second floor panel 100A is inserted into the female coupling portion 122B of the first floor panel 100B and the coupling is secured with rotational motion 150 relative to each other, as shown in
A floor built from the floor panels of the present invention can be a floor without being fastened to the underlay. The floor can also be fastened with nails, staples, adhesives or any other means for attaching the floor panels to the underlay such as subfloor.
In one embodiment, the floor panel manufacturing process includes the following steps: at first, the first set of edge profiling tools and the second set of edge profiling tools of the edge profiling machine are configured to form a profiling path on the platform such that the edge profiling machine is capable of forming desired edge profiles of the floor panel. The profiling path has a first lateral side and an opposite, second lateral side, and the number of male profiling blades 512, 522, 532 and 542 are spaced-apart positioned in the first lateral side of the profiling path, and the number of female profiling blades 514, 524, 534 and 544 are spaced-apart positioned in the second lateral side of the profiling path. The desired edge profiles of the floor panel, as described above, include a male coupling portion and a female coupling portion. Next, a floor panel to be formed with the desired edge profiles is placed in the profiling path on the platform of the edge profiling machine. Then, the placed floor panel is moved horizontally along the profiling path on the platform of the edge profiling machine so as to form the desired edge profile of the floor panel. In operation, the male profiling blades 512, 522, 532 and 542, and the corresponding female profiling blades 514, 524, 534 and 544 rotate in opposite directions, as shown in
Specifically, as shown in
As shown in
Then, a curved blade 542 operating at an angle relative to the floor panel is used to form the remaining partial curved surface 118 and straight edges 116 and 117 in the first end of the floor panel 100. A curved blade 544 operating at an angle relative to the floor panel is used to form the remaining partial curved surface 128, as illustrated in
Optionally, edge profiling machine can also be used to produce a male coupling portion at one of a third end and a fourth end of the floor panel and a female coupling portion at the other one of a third end and a fourth end of the floor panel.
The floor panels of the present invention can find many applications. Among them, some of the applications are given as examples as follows:
Floors for office or residential buildings: Floor panels can be laid or attached onto the surface of any floor. Under normal circumstances, a plurality of the floor panels is used to create a coverage area large enough to cover the floor surface. Such floor panels can be made of solid wood, plywood, composite materials with laminated surface. For solid wood, the floor panel surface can be pre-finished to eliminate the needs to sand and stain the finished floor. For the plywood, or composite materials, such as MDF/HDF, a laminated surface is preferably formed to create a real wood feeling.
Wall Panels: Floor panels can also be used as wall panels to cover the walls of either residential or office buildings. A plurality of the floor panels is used to create multiple sections of wall to create an elegant real wood feeling even if the panels are not made of real wood. The panels is preferably made larger based on the location of uses and not necessarily in the floor strip shape. The materials can be solid wood, plywood, composite materials with laminated surface. For solid wood, the floor panel surface can be pre-finished to eliminate the needs to sand and stain the finished wall. For the plywood, or composite materials, such as MDF/HDF, a laminated surface is preferred.
Floor or walls for bathroom, kitchen or laundry: Floor panels with the design of the present invention can also be used as floor of bathroom, kitchen, and laundry room or any where water is nearby. Such floor panels or tiles with male and female coupling portions are preferably made of water-resistance material such as marble, granite, other type of stones, corian, ceramic, or plastic. They can be used to cover floors, walls, and shower stalls, bathtub surroundings, etc.
Floor or walls for bathroom, kitchen or laundry: Floor panels with the design of the present invention can also be used as floor of bathroom, kitchen, and laundry room or any where water is nearby. Such floor panels or tiles with male and female coupling portions are preferably made of water-resistance material such as marble, granite, other type of stones, ceramic, or plastic. They can be used to cover floors, walls, and shower stalls, bathtub surroundings, etc.
The foregoing description of the exemplary embodiments of the invention has been presented only for the purposes of illustration and description and is not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the invention to the precise forms disclosed. Many modifications and variations are possible in light of the above teaching.
The embodiments were chosen and described in order to explain the principles of the invention and their practical application so as to enable others skilled in the art to utilize the invention and various embodiments and with various modifications as are suited to the particular use contemplated. Alternative embodiments will become apparent to those skilled in the art to which the present invention pertains without departing from its spirit and scope. Accordingly, the scope of the present invention is defined by the appended claims rather than the foregoing description and the exemplary embodiments described therein.
Claims
1. A floor panel for forming a floor, comprising:
- a. a body portion having a first end, an opposite, second end and defined therebetween an upper edge and a lower edge, where a thickness d is defined between the upper edge and the lower edge;
- b. a male coupling portion protruding from the first end, wherein the male coupling portion has an edge in parallel with the upper edge of the body portion, an edge in parallel with the lower edge of the body portion, and a convex surface portion connecting the two edges in parallel with the upper and lower edges of the body portion, and wherein a concave groove is formed on the convex surface portion of the male coupling portion; and
- c. a female coupling portion protruding from the second end, wherein the female coupling portion has an edge in parallel with the upper edge of the body portion, an edge in parallel with the lower edge of the body portion, and a concave surface portion connecting the two edges in parallel with the upper and lower edges of the body portion.
2. The floor panel according to claim 1, wherein the male coupling portion and the female coupling portion are formed such that the male coupling portion of a first floor panel is receivable in and engageable with the female coupling portion of a second floor panel, and an adhesive channel corresponding to the concave groove can be formed by the convex surface portion of the male coupling portion and the corresponding concave surface portion.
3. The floor panel according to claim 2, wherein the male coupling portion and the female coupling portion are cross-sectionally complementary such that, as assembled, the male coupling portion of the first floor panel is received in and engaged with the female coupling portion of the second floor panel.
4. The floor panel according to claim 3, wherein the convex surface portion of the male coupling portion cross-sectionally is a part of circle characterized by a radius R, and the concave surface portion of the female coupling portion cross-sectionally is a part of circle characterized by the radius R.
5. The floor panel according to claim 1, wherein the body portion of the floor panel further has a third end and an opposite, fourth end.
6. The floor panel according to claim 5, wherein one of the third end and the fourth end is formed with a male coupling portion, and the other of the third end and the fourth end is formed with a female coupling portion, respectively.
7. The floor panel according to claim 1, wherein body portion comprises a laminated panel, a solid wood panel, a plywood panel, a medium/high density fiberboard (MDF/HDF), a marble/granite panel, or a plastic panel.
8. A floor comprising:
- a. a first floor panel comprising: i. a body portion having a first end and an opposite, second end and defined therebetween an upper edge and a lower edge, where a thickness d is defined between the upper edge and the lower edge; and ii. a male coupling portion protruding from the first end, wherein the male coupling portion has an edge in parallel with the upper edge of the body portion, an edge in parallel with the lower edge of the body portion, and a convex surface portion connecting the two edges in parallel with the upper and lower edges of the body portion, and wherein a concave groove is formed on the convex surface portion of the male coupling portion; and
- b. a second floor panel comprising: i. a body portion having a first end and an opposite, second end and defined therebetween an upper edge and a lower edge, where a thickness d is defined between the upper edge and the lower edge; and ii. a female coupling portion protruding from the second end, wherein the female coupling portion has an edge in parallel with the upper edge of the body portion, an edge in parallel with the lower edge of the body portion, and a concave surface portion connecting the two edges in parallel with the upper and lower edges of the body portion, wherein the male coupling portion of the first floor panel and the female coupling portion of the second floor panel are formed such that the male coupling portion of the floor panel is receivable in and engageable with the female coupling portion of the floor panel, and an adhesive channel corresponding to the concave groove can be formed by the convex surface portion of the male coupling portion and the corresponding concave surface portion.
9. The floor according to claim 8, wherein the male coupling portion of the first floor panel and the female coupling portion of the second floor panel are cross-sectionally complementary such that, as assembled, the male coupling portion of the first floor panel is received in and engaged with the female coupling portion of the second floor panel.
10. The floor according to claim 8, wherein each of the body portion of the first floor panel and the body portion of the second floor panel comprises a laminated panel, a solid wood panel, a plywood panel, a medium/high density fiberboard (MDF/HDF), a marble/granite panel, or a plastic panel.
11. A method for forming a floor with a plurality of floor panels, wherein each floor panel comprises:
- a. a body portion having a first end and an opposite, second end and defined therebetween an upper edge and a lower edge, where a thickness d is defined between the upper edge and the lower edge;
- b. a male coupling portion protruding from the first end, wherein the male coupling portion has an edge in parallel with the upper edge of the body portion, an edge in parallel with the lower edge of the body portion, and a convex surface portion connecting the two edges in parallel with the upper and lower edges of the body portion, and wherein a concave groove is formed on the convex surface portion of the male coupling portion; and
- c. a female coupling portion protruding from the second end, wherein the female coupling portion has an edge in parallel with the upper edge of the body portion, an edge in parallel with the lower edge of the body portion, and a concave surface portion connecting the two edges in parallel with the upper and lower edges of the body portion,
- wherein the male coupling portion and the female coupling portion are formed such that, as assembled, the male coupling portion of one of the plurality of floor panels is receivable in and engageable with the female coupling portion of another one of the plurality of floor panels, and an adhesive channel corresponding to the concave groove can be formed on the convex surface portion of the male coupling portion, comprising the steps of: (i). providing a first one of the plurality of floor panels; (ii). providing a second one of the plurality of floor panels; and (iii). coupling the first one floor panel and the second one floor panel such that the male coupling portion of the second one floor panel is received in and engaged with the female coupling portion of the first one floor panel to form the adhesive channel.
12. The method according to claim 11, further comprising the step of injecting an amount of adhesive into the adhesive channel.
13. The method according to claim 11, further comprising the step of injecting the adhesive into the adhesive channel from both ends of the adhesive channel.
14. The method according to claim 11, further comprising the step of applying an amount of adhesive into the concave groove prior to the coupling step.
15. A floor panel for forming a floor, comprising:
- a. a body portion having a first end, and an opposite, second end;
- b. a male coupling portion protruding from the first end, wherein the male coupling portion has a protrusion with a groove formed therein; and
- c. a female coupling portion protruding from the second end, wherein the female coupling portion defines a complimentary groove for receiving a protrusion of the male coupling portion of a floor panel therein to form an adhesive channel corresponding to the groove formed in the protrusion of the male coupling portion.
Type: Application
Filed: Sep 28, 2005
Publication Date: Mar 29, 2007
Inventor: Bing-Hong Liu (Suwanee, GA)
Application Number: 11/238,650
International Classification: E04B 2/00 (20060101);