SURFACE COVERING CONNECTION JOINTS
The present technology relates to connection joints for surface coverings which includes but is not limited to floor coverings and building panels. Embodiments of the present technology include connection joints that are strong and allow for the use of less material than is needed for tongue and groove connection joints. The connection joints includes cleats, clefts, and/or gap shims which allow for swelling and shrinking of the floor covering while maintaining a strong connection and preventing damage to the floor covering.
Field of the Invention
The technology of the present application generally relates to a system for providing a connecting joint along adjacent joint edges of two building panels. More particularity, the technology provides new and improved connection joints that provide strength and use less material than existing connection joints. Thus, this technology is especially well suited for use in joining thin floor covering panels.
Description of Related Art
The subject matter discussed in the background section should not be assumed to be prior art merely as a result of its mention in the background section. Similarly, a problem mentioned in the background section or associated with the subject matter of the background section should not be assumed to have been previously recognized in the prior art. The subject matter in the background section merely represents different approaches, which in and of themselves may also correspond to implementations of the claimed technology. The term “plank” is used in a functional sense indicating a generally elongated structural member.
A common type of surface covering is wood flooring. Wood flooring may consist of a plurality of adjacent wooden floor planks affixed to a sub-floor.
Floor planks with tongue and groove connection joints require substantial thickness in order to form a strong joint and a large portion of each floor plank remains as residual waste when the floor plank is replaced. The top portion of the cross-sections of the floor planks in
To manufacture a thin floor plank with a tongue and groove connection joint either, one or more of the tongue, bottom portion of the groove, or top portion of the groove must be made thinner in order to reduce the overall thickness of the floor plank. It is more beneficial to reduce the thickness of the tongue and/or bottom portion of the groove to reduce overall plank thickness because reducing the top portion of the groove will reduce the thickness of the wear layer of the floor plank and therefore reduce the life span of the floor plank. Reducing the thickness of the tongue and/or bottom portion of the groove results in a connection joint that is not a mechanically strong joint because one or more of the tongue, or bottom portion of the groove will be too thin and will become flimsy and likely to crack or break if the joint is stressed. Therefore it is desirable to provide a connection joint that allows overall thickness of the board to be reduced while maintaining a large proportion of wear layer and maintaining a mechanically strong connection joint.
Surface coverings tend to be exposed to changes in temperature and humidity which may affect characteristics of the coverings. For example, wooden surface coverings in a high humidity climate may start to swell and cause cupping or even buckling problems. In a low humidity dry climate wooden floor planks may shrink. Shrinking may cause lateral movements perpendicular to the direction of the grain. Under this condition, in a nail-down application example the un-affixed side of a first plank may move away from an affixed side of a second plank, which results in a lateral separation between the planks. This lateral separation may cause loosening of an un-affixed side of a plank causing a hazard or damage to the floor covering. It is therefore desirable to provide a surface covering with a connection joint that reduces buckling and loosening caused by swelling and shrinking conditions.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTIONThe present technology relates to connection joints for surface coverings which includes but is not limited to floor coverings and building panels. Embodiments of the present technology include connection joints that are strong and allow for the use of less material than is needed for tongue and groove connection joints. In embodiments related to floor coverings, these advantages are accomplished by reducing total thickness of a floor plank while increasing the thickness of the wear layer relative to the overall thickness of the floor plank and still be able to maintain a structurally strong connection joint.
In embodiments the wear layer comprises a larger portion of the thickness of a plank than planks with tongue and groove connection joints. For example 30%-70% compared to ˜30% with tongue and groove. In embodiments the same thickness of wear layer may be provided with a thinner overall plank thickness. A thinner overall plank thickness significantly improves the log yield, the amount of area, e.g. square footage, of surface coverings that a single log can produce. Therefore embodiments of the technology may save thousands of trees per year. Further, because less volume of raw material is needed to produce the same square footage of surface covering products, manufacturing costs will be reduced, as well as transportation costs and drying process costs, which may allow manufacturers to be more competitive by offering consumers superior products at a lower costs than competitors, which is beneficial to both manufacturers and consumers.
The higher percentage of wear layer may also reduce the amount of residual waste because the amount of material left after the floor plank can no longer be refinished is significantly less. The higher percentage of wear layer may also be implemented to increase the lifetime of the plank by increasing the thickness of the wear layer without increasing the overall thickness of the plank.
These increases in wear layer thickness are accomplished with improved connection joints. Embodiments of connection joints provide equal or greater structural strength than existing connection joints, such as tongue and groove, while using less material. This advantage is achieved by using unique shapes that will be described in detail below. Embodiments further provide connection joints that maintain strength and surface evenness when conditions cause expansion (e.g. swelling) and contraction (e.g. shrinking) of the panels. This is achieved through unique shapes of connection joints which include gaps, swell reliefs, and one or more overlapping surfaces that will be described below.
Other aspects and advantages of the present invention can be seen on review of the drawings, the detailed description and the claims, which follow.
The following description of the technology will typically be with reference to specific structural embodiments and methods. It is to be understood that there is no intention to limit the invention to the specifically disclosed embodiments and methods but that the invention may be practiced using other features, elements, methods and embodiments. Embodiments are described to illustrate the present technology, not to limit the scope of the invention, which is defined by the claims. Those of ordinary skill in the art will recognize a variety of equivalent variations on the description that follows. Like elements in various embodiments are commonly referred to with like reference numerals.
The embodiments in
The wedge 300 shown in the embodiments in
In the embodiments the wedge 300 may include a protrusion on the outwardly angled side 316.
The wedge shaped slot 302 shown in the embodiments in
In the embodiment shown in
In embodiments, the angles between the plurality of sides of the wedge, cleat, cleft, and slot different than what is shown in
The wedge 300 shown in the embodiments in
In embodiments, in order to form a gap between complementary sides of the wedge and slot the dimensions of other sides need to be set accordingly. For example, to create a vertical gap between the upwardly facing side 310 of the wedge of a first plank and the downward facing side 322 of the slot of a second plank the contact side 314 of the second plank is made shorter than the contact side 312 of the first plank as is shown in
A gap between inward angled side 324 and the outward angled side 316 is formed when the horizontal separation occurs as shown in
In the embodiment shown in
The surface coverings including embodiments of the connections joints may be installed in various ways. For example, floor planks can be installed using a fastener method as disclosed above, a glue-down method or a floating method. In a glue down method the planks may be glued down directly onto a subfloor, or the planks may be edge glued resulting in a glue-connected floating floor.
A method of installing floor planks 100 using a fastener method may include; nailing down a first row of planks along a guideline or straight wall with the wedge side facing the direction the floor covering is going to cover. Then either by face-nailing or nailing through the recess 332 of the wedge, fastening the first row of floor planks to a sub-floor 114. Then sliding 702 the slot side of a plank in the second row of planks horizontally along the sub-floor 114 toward the wedge side of the first row of floor planks, as shown in
Surface covering including embodiments of connection joints may be manufactured in a plurality of ways. For example, surface coverings may be manufactured from wooden planks from sawmills. Drying, planing and sanding processes may be performed to the wooden planks prior to performing cutting processes with various milling tools to form the features of the connection joints. For example, wooden floor planks with embodiments of connection joints may be manufactured using one or more milling processes to form wedges, slots, cleat, cleft, recesses, kerfs, bevels and swell reliefs. As shown in the embodiment in
As shown in
The wedge shaped slot 302 of
As noted above, protruding tip 308 may be rounded, and one or more sides of a cleat, and corresponding cleft, may be curved. As shown in
The wedge shaped slot 302 of
Since wood is a hygroscopic material, as noted above, high humidity may cause wood floor coverings to swell. For example, a 5 inch wide plank of white oak may increase around 2.9% in moisture content when the indoor environment changes from 60 degrees Fahrenheit and 30% relative humidity to 80 degrees Fahrenheit and 50% relative humidity. This increase in moisture content may increase the width of the plank about 1.3 mm, using the dimensional change coefficient of 0.00365 for white oak. In more extreme changes in environment, such as flooded and under water, a plank may swell even more.
Swelling of planks may result in cupping or buckling of a floor covering. Specifically, swelling of planks of a floor covering may cause the abutting contact sides to expand toward each other and therefore exert force against each other. This expansion and force causes portions of the floor covering along the seams where contact sides meet to become raised relative to the rest of the top side of the plank in order to accommodate the additional volume of the swollen planks. This is referred to as cupping. Also, swelling of a plurality of rows of planks may cause the planks to pull away from the sub-floor and form an arc to accommodate the additional width and length caused by the swelling of the plurality of planks, this is referred to as buckling. Cupping and buckling are undesirable because they may permanently damage the floor covering.
In embodiments cupping and buckling may be reduced, or eliminated, by providing a gap between installed planks. In embodiments the gap is provided between the contact sides of the planks. In embodiments, one or more edges of the joint may include features to contact the opposite edge of the joint to create the gap between the contact sides when installed. The gap between contact sides when the planks are installed and under typical indoor environmental conditions, for example at 70 degrees Fahrenheit and 40% relative humidity, may be between 0.1 mm to 2.0 mm, and more preferably between 0.3 and 0.5 mm. The size of the gap may be determined based on a combination of one or more of the width of the plank, the thickness of the plank, the species of wood of the plank, and the expected seasonal environmental changes where the plank is installed. The gap allows the planks to swell and each expand, roughly half the size of the gap in each direction, before the contact sides make contact and the edges start to compress each other which may result in cupping or buckling, as discussed above.
In embodiments, the wedge and wedge shaped slot may be sized and shaped to form the gap between contact sides. In embodiments, one or more sides of a wedge or a wedge shaped slot may include a gap shim configured to form the gap between contact sides. Gap shims may protrude away from one or more sides of a wedge or wedge shaped slot. Gap shims are configured to create a first gap between at least the side, of the wedge or wedge shaped slot, which the gap shim protrudes from and a corresponding complementary side of an adjacent plank which the gap shim contacts. The gap shim is further configured create the gap between the contact sides, as discussed above. In embodiments, gap shims may be substantially triangular in shape and end in a contact tip. However, in embodiments, gap shims may be other shapes, for example round or square, In embodiments, the end of a gap shim configured to contact an adjacent plank may form a point, may be rounded or may be flat. In embodiments, gap shims extend along the entire length or a portion of the length of an edge of a plank.
As shown in
During installation, as discussed above, the contact of a gap shim 901 and a corresponding side on an adjacent installed plank and/or the contact of the protruding tip 908 and end side 903 prevent the contact sides 912 and 914 from contacting and create the gap between the contact sides.
As shown in
As shown in
In embodiments, gap shims may be located on any side of the wedge or wedge shaped slots. In embodiments, a joint may include one of more gap shim extending from one or more sides. For example, inwardly angled side may include two gap shims. Further for example, a side of a wedge may include a first gap shim, and a side of the wedge shaped slot may include a second gap shim.
Surface covering including embodiments of connection joints as discussed above may be manufactured in a plurality ways. For example, wooden floor planks with embodiments of connection joints many be manufactured using one or more milling process to form wedges, cones, slots, cleat, cleft, recesses, kerfs, bevels, gap shims and expansion reliefs.
While the present technology is disclosed by reference to the embodiments and examples detailed above, it is to be understood that these examples are intended in an illustrative rather than in a limiting sense. For example, while the present technology is particularly advantageous as use with floor coverings, embodiments of the connection joints may be used in other surface covering applications, including, but not limited to construction panels, such as housing indoor and outdoor frame panels, structural panels, subfloor panels, roofing panels, wall panels, ceiling panels, floor covering panels, decorative panels, decks and patio panels, furniture surfaces, shelving, partition panels, horizontal and vertical surfaces, table tops, counter tops, and other surface coverings or parts currently using tongue and groove connecting systems.
Further, while embodiments were disclosed in relation to a rectangular plank, such as the one shown in
Further, embodiments of connection joints have been described using cross-sections including what may be referred to as a male side (e.g. wedge) and a female side (e.g. slot) of connection joints. In embodiments, a surface covering panel may include a single male or female of a connection joint. Further, a surface covering panel may include any combination of male and female sides of a plurality of connection joints. For example, the two edges of a four side floor plank may include complementary connection joints (e.g. male and female), identical connection joints (e.g. male and male), or different connection joints (e.g. male of first type of connection joint and female of second type of connection joint). Further one or more sides or edges of a panel may have no connection joints while other sides do include one or more connection joints.
Further, the embodiments of connection joints have been described using cross-sections to illustrate various functional aspects of different connection joints. The cross-sections may further include other functional or ornamental features of a plank. For example, the cross-section of a plank 100, may further include provides kerf cuts 334, along the bottom side 104, as shown in
The embodiments described and shown in the figures portray relative dimensions of cross sections of connection joints, however other embodiments may have different relative dimensions of the various components without departing from the scope of the technology.
Descriptions of embodiments of the present technology included wood as an example of a material that may be used to construct the connection joints. However, other materials and combinations of materials may alternatively be used including, metals, plastics, composites, bamboo, cork, fiberboard, coconut palm, particle board (e.g. MDF and HDF), and other natural, organic, recycled, or synthetic materials, or any other similar materials. Those in the art will understand that any suitable material, now known or hereafter developed, may be used in making the panels described herein. In embodiments including two or more layer engineered floors, the layers may be made from any combination of the conventional materials used in the surface covering product industry.
The various aspects, embodiments, implementations or features of the described embodiments can be used separately or in any combination. For example, any of the features disclosed in relation to the embodiments shown in
Claims
1. A method of forming a floor covering comprising:
- affixing a first floor plank to a sub-floor, the first floor plank including a first edge including a first contact side, and a wedge shaped portion including a cleat;
- mating the first edge of the affixed first floor plank to a complementary shaped second edge of a second floor plank, the second edged including a second contact side and a wedge shaped slot including a cleft;
- affixing the second floor plank to the sub-floor with the first edge of the first floor plank mated with the second edge of the second floor plank;
- wherein the cleat and cleft are configured to maintain an overlap to limit vertical movement of the second floor plank when the second floor plank shrinks in a direction away from the first floor plank, due to a change in temperature or humidity, and increases a distance between the first edge and the second edge.
2. The method of claim 1, wherein the first floor plank is affixed to the sub-floor with the first contact side of the first floor plank contacting the second contact side of the second floor plank.
3. The method of claim 1, wherein the first floor plank is affixed to the sub-floor with the first contact side of the first floor plank and the second contact side of the second floor plank separated by a gap.
4. The method of claim 3, wherein the gap is between 0.3 mm and 0.5 mm and is configured to reduce cupping or buckling of the floor covering due to swelling of the plank.
5. The method of claim 3, wherein the wedge shaped portion of the first floor plank includes a gap shim extending from a side of the wedge shaped portion, wherein the second floor plank is affixed to the sub-floor with the gap shim contacting a side of the wedge shaped slot of the second floor plank, and wherein the gap shim prevents the first contact side of the first floor plank and the second contact side of the second floor plank from contacting during the mating of the first edge of the first floor plank to the second edge of the second floor plank.
6. The method of claim 3, wherein the wedge shaped slot of the second floor plank includes a gap shim extending from a side of the wedge shaped slot, wherein the second floor plank is affixed to the sub-floor with the gap shim contacting a side of the wedge shaped portion of the first floor plank, and wherein the gap shim prevents the first contact side of the first floor plank and the second contact side of the second floor plank from contacting during the mating of the first edge of the first floor plank to the second edge of the second floor plank.
7. A floor plank for horizontal flooring assemblies comprising:
- a top side;
- a bottom side substantially parallel to the top side, wherein the floor plank is affixed to a horizontal surface with the bottom side contacting the horizontal surface;
- a first edge extending from the top side to the bottom side comprising; a first contact side extending from the top side to a first terminal position between the top side and the bottom side; and a wedge shaped portion comprising; a first upwardly facing side extending from the first terminal position; a first angled side extending between the bottom side and the first upwardly facing side and forming an obtuse angle with the bottom side; and a cleat protruding from the first angled side;
- wherein the first edge is configured to mate with a second edge, of a second floor plank affixed to the horizontal surface adjacent the floor plank, the second edge having a complementary shape to the first edge; and
- wherein the second floor plank is configured to shrink in a direction away from the floor plank when affixed to the horizontal surface adjacent the floor plank, creating a gap between the first edge and the second edge and the cleat of the first edge and a cleft of the third edge are configured to maintain an overlap to limit vertical movement of the second floor plank when shrunk.
8. The floor plank of claim 7, wherein the cleat includes a horizontal cleat side extending from and forming an obtuse angle with the first angled side.
9. The floor plank of claim 8, wherein the first upwardly facing side extends downwardly from the first terminal position to the cleat.
10. The floor plank of claim 9, wherein the cleat includes a vertical cleat side extending from an end of the first upwardly facing side to the horizontal cleat side.
11. The floor plank of claim 8, wherein the end of the first upwardly facing side includes a rounded portion.
12. A floor plank for horizontal flooring assemblies comprising:
- a top side;
- a bottom side substantially parallel to the top side, wherein the floor plank is configured to be affixed to a horizontal surface with the bottom side contacting the horizontal surface;
- a first edge extending from the top side to the bottom side comprising; a first contact side extending from the top side to a first terminal position between the top side and the bottom side; and a wedge shaped portion comprising; a first upwardly facing side extending from the first terminal position; and a first angled side extending between the bottom side and the first upwardly facing side and forming an obtuse angle with the bottom side; and
- a second edge extending from the top side to the bottom side and opposite the first edge, wherein the second edge comprises a second edge geometry having a complementary shape to the first edge;
- wherein the first edge is configured to mate with a third edge, of a second floor plank affixed to the horizontal surface adjacent the floor plank, the third edge comprising the second edge geometry, and
- wherein the first edge is configured to form a gap between the first contact side of the floor plank and a second contact side of the second floor plank.
13. The method of claim 12, wherein the gap is between 0.3 mm and 0.5 mm and is configured to reduce cupping or buckling of the floor covering due to swelling of the plank.
14. The floor plank of claim 12, wherein the wedge shaped protrusion further comprises a cleat protruding from the first angled side, and
- wherein the cleat is configured to contact a side of the third edge of the second floor plank in order to create the gap between the first contact side of the floor plank and the second contact side of the second floor plank.
15. The floor plank of claim 12, wherein the second edge geometry includes a gap shim extending from a side of a wedge shaped slot complementary in shape to the wedge shaped portion, and
- wherein a side of the wedge shaped portion is configured to contact the gap shim of the second floor plank in order to form the gap.
16. The floor plank of claim 15, wherein the second edge geometry includes an inwardly angled side, forming a bottom portion of the wedge shaped slot, and the gap shim extends out from the inwardly angled side.
17. The floor plank of claim 15, wherein the wedge shaped portion includes a vertical end side configured to contact the gap shim of the second plank.
18. A floor plank for horizontal flooring assemblies comprising:
- a top side;
- a bottom side substantially parallel to the top side, wherein the floor plank is configured to be affixed to a horizontal surface with the bottom side contacting the horizontal surface;
- a first edge extending from the top side to the bottom side comprising; a first contact side extending from the top side to a first terminal position between the top side and the bottom side; and a wedge shaped slot comprising; a first downwardly facing side extending from the first terminal position and facing toward the bottom side; a first angled side extending from the bottom side toward the first downwardly facing side and forming an obtuse angle with the bottom side; and a gap shim extending outwardly from a side of the wedge shaped slot; and
- wherein the first edge is configured to mate with a second edge of a second floor plank affixed to the horizontal surface adjacent the floor plank, the second edge having a complementary shape to the first edge, and
- wherein the gap shim is configured to contact a side of a wedge portion of the second edge to form a gap between the first contact side of the floor plank and a second contact side of the second floor plank.
19. The floor plank of claim 18, wherein the gap shim extends from the first angled side.
20. The floor plank of claim 18, wherein the first downwardly facing side includes a portion forming and acute angle with the top side, and
- wherein the gap shim extends downwardly from the portion.
Type: Application
Filed: Sep 26, 2016
Publication Date: Jan 12, 2017
Inventor: Paul Yau (Napa, CA)
Application Number: 15/276,280