Classifications

• • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
  • B32—LAYERED PRODUCTS
  • B32B—LAYERED PRODUCTS, i.e. PRODUCTS BUILT-UP OF STRATA OF FLAT OR NON-FLAT, e.g. CELLULAR OR HONEYCOMB, FORM
  • B32B21/00—Layered products comprising a layer of wood, e.g. wood board, veneer, wood particle board
• • E—FIXED CONSTRUCTIONS
  • E04—BUILDING
  • E04F—FINISHING WORK ON BUILDINGS, e.g. STAIRS, FLOORS
  • E04F15/00—Flooring
  • E04F15/02—Flooring or floor layers composed of a number of similar elements
• • E—FIXED CONSTRUCTIONS
  • E04—BUILDING
  • E04F—FINISHING WORK ON BUILDINGS, e.g. STAIRS, FLOORS
  • E04F15/00—Flooring
  • E04F15/02—Flooring or floor layers composed of a number of similar elements
  • E04F15/02005—Construction of joints, e.g. dividing strips
  • E04F15/02016—Construction of joints, e.g. dividing strips with sealing elements between flooring elements
• • E—FIXED CONSTRUCTIONS
  • E04—BUILDING
  • E04F—FINISHING WORK ON BUILDINGS, e.g. STAIRS, FLOORS
  • E04F15/00—Flooring
  • E04F15/02—Flooring or floor layers composed of a number of similar elements
  • E04F15/02005—Construction of joints, e.g. dividing strips
  • E04F15/02033—Joints with beveled or recessed upper edges
• • E—FIXED CONSTRUCTIONS
  • E04—BUILDING
  • E04F—FINISHING WORK ON BUILDINGS, e.g. STAIRS, FLOORS
  • E04F15/00—Flooring
  • E04F15/02—Flooring or floor layers composed of a number of similar elements
  • E04F15/02161—Floor elements with grooved main surface
  • E04F15/02166—Floor elements with grooved main surface wherein the grooves are filled with inserts
• • E—FIXED CONSTRUCTIONS
  • E04—BUILDING
  • E04F—FINISHING WORK ON BUILDINGS, e.g. STAIRS, FLOORS
  • E04F15/00—Flooring
  • E04F15/02—Flooring or floor layers composed of a number of similar elements
  • E04F15/04—Flooring or floor layers composed of a number of similar elements only of wood or with a top layer of wood, e.g. with wooden or metal connecting members
• • E—FIXED CONSTRUCTIONS
  • E04—BUILDING
  • E04F—FINISHING WORK ON BUILDINGS, e.g. STAIRS, FLOORS
  • E04F15/00—Flooring
  • E04F15/18—Separately-laid insulating layers; Other additional insulating measures; Floating floors
• • E—FIXED CONSTRUCTIONS
  • E04—BUILDING
  • E04F—FINISHING WORK ON BUILDINGS, e.g. STAIRS, FLOORS
  • E04F21/00—Implements for finishing work on buildings
  • E04F21/0092—Separate provisional spacers used between adjacent floor or wall tiles
• • E—FIXED CONSTRUCTIONS
  • E04—BUILDING
  • E04F—FINISHING WORK ON BUILDINGS, e.g. STAIRS, FLOORS
  • E04F21/00—Implements for finishing work on buildings
  • E04F21/20—Implements for finishing work on buildings for laying flooring
  • E04F21/22—Implements for finishing work on buildings for laying flooring of single elements, e.g. flooring cramps ; flexible webs
• • E—FIXED CONSTRUCTIONS
  • E04—BUILDING
  • E04F—FINISHING WORK ON BUILDINGS, e.g. STAIRS, FLOORS
  • E04F2201/00—Joining sheets or plates or panels
  • E04F2201/01—Joining sheets, plates or panels with edges in abutting relationship
  • E04F2201/0153—Joining sheets, plates or panels with edges in abutting relationship by rotating the sheets, plates or panels around an axis which is parallel to the abutting edges, possibly combined with a sliding movement
• • E—FIXED CONSTRUCTIONS
  • E04—BUILDING
  • E04F—FINISHING WORK ON BUILDINGS, e.g. STAIRS, FLOORS
  • E04F2201/00—Joining sheets or plates or panels
  • E04F2201/03—Undercut connections, e.g. using undercut tongues or grooves
• • E—FIXED CONSTRUCTIONS
  • E04—BUILDING
  • E04F—FINISHING WORK ON BUILDINGS, e.g. STAIRS, FLOORS
  • E04F2201/00—Joining sheets or plates or panels
  • E04F2201/04—Other details of tongues or grooves
  • E04F2201/042—Other details of tongues or grooves with grooves positioned on the rear-side of the panel
• • E—FIXED CONSTRUCTIONS
  • E04—BUILDING
  • E04F—FINISHING WORK ON BUILDINGS, e.g. STAIRS, FLOORS
  • E04F2201/00—Joining sheets or plates or panels
  • E04F2201/05—Separate connectors or inserts, e.g. pegs, pins, keys or strips
• • E—FIXED CONSTRUCTIONS
  • E04—BUILDING
  • E04F—FINISHING WORK ON BUILDINGS, e.g. STAIRS, FLOORS
  • E04F2201/00—Joining sheets or plates or panels
  • E04F2201/05—Separate connectors or inserts, e.g. pegs, pins, keys or strips
  • E04F2201/0523—Separate tongues; Interlocking keys, e.g. joining mouldings of circular, square or rectangular shape
• • E—FIXED CONSTRUCTIONS
  • E04—BUILDING
  • E04F—FINISHING WORK ON BUILDINGS, e.g. STAIRS, FLOORS
  • E04F2201/00—Joining sheets or plates or panels
  • E04F2201/07—Joining sheets or plates or panels with connections using a special adhesive material
• • E—FIXED CONSTRUCTIONS
  • E04—BUILDING
  • E04F—FINISHING WORK ON BUILDINGS, e.g. STAIRS, FLOORS
  • E04F2203/00—Specially structured or shaped covering, lining or flooring elements not otherwise provided for
  • E04F2203/08—Specially structured or shaped covering, lining or flooring elements not otherwise provided for with a plurality of grooves or slits in the back side, to increase the flexibility or bendability of the elements

Definitions

• This invention relates generally to flooring but more particularly to a floor having means for compensating for wood expansion and contraction.
• One such means comprises a top layer, a bottom layer and a core layer sandwiched in between and which is made up of a series of transverse lattes. Since the wood grain of those lattes is set transverse to the wood grain of the other layer(s) it will help reduce the expansion and contraction along the width.
• wood plank will describe both strips and planks. Therefore, in accordance with a general aspect of the present invention, there is provided a flooring system using a combination of features which work with the expansion/contraction naturally occurring when wood is subjected to moisture variations.
• plank Part of the process is taken witkiin the plank, which is the internal or intra-plank compensation and another part is taken by interacting between the planks which is the inter-plank compensation.
• the present invention is applicable to either solid wood planks or to multiply, engineered, MDF or HDF planks.
• the planks may be cut so tl-tat they have either the tongue and groove profile of typical wood floors or an innovative "groove on all sides" profile and a special surface groove as well as a system of grooves placed in the core, inner core or anywhere within the plank to give it a. spring-like expansion and contraction.
• a flooring system comprising a number of flooring members installed next to each other in a coplanar relationship so as to define an open top inter-member gap between each adjacent pairs of flooring members, and a compressible/extensible sealing filler in said open top inter-member gap, said sealing filler being visible and accessible from above.
• a flooring system comprising first and second floori-ng members adapted to be laid down side-by-side in a coplanar relationship, an-d a floating interlocking joint between said first and second flooring members, said floating interlocking joint comprising a compressible/stretchable filler provided in a gap between opposed facing sides of said first and second flooring members, said filler being adhesively engaged with said opposed facing sides, and a locking key provided on a first one of said opposed facing sides and engageable with a complementary locking groove provided in a second one of said opposed facing sides, said locking key having a limited freedom of movement within said locking groove in a direction perpendicular to said opposed facing sides to accommodate expansion and contraction movements of said first and second flooring members.
• a floor plank adapted to be laid in a coplanar side-by-side relationship with similar floor planks to form a floor surface, said floor plank comprising an internal expansion/contraction accommodation means to provide for local absorption of floor expansion and contraction movements and pre"vent chain transmission of stresses from one plank to another, said internal expansion/contraction accommodation means comprising at least one top groove defined in an exposed top surface of said floor plank.
• a flooring member adapted to be laid in a side-by-side coplanar relationship with similar floor planks to form a substantially level surface, said floor plank having a bottom surface, a series of grooves defined in said bottom surface, and wherein at least one of said grooves is filled with a filli ⁇ g material having adhesive properties.
• a flooring system comprising first and second flooring members adapted to be laid down side-by-side in a coplanar relationship, and an interlocking joint between said first and second flooring members, said interlocking joint comprising a compressible/stretchable filler provided in a gap between opposed facing sides of said first and second flooring members, said filler being adhesively engaged with said opposed facing sides and retaining said first and second flooring members together in an assembled relationship, and a locking key provided on a first one of said opposed facing sides and engageable with a complementary locking groove provided in a second one of said opposed facing sides.
• Fig. 1 is a perspective view of a floor assembly
• Figs. 2ab are perspective views showing the laying of a floor using inter-plank spacing with spacers
• Fig. 3 a is a perspective view of groove and groove profile, hardwood, with two types of splines
• Fig. 3b is a perspective view of groove and groove profile, multi-ply, with two types of splines
• Fig. 3 c is a perspective view of groove and groove profile, MDF/HDF with two types of splines
• Fig. 3d is a perspective view of a floating key lock joint and filler
• Fig. 3 a is a perspective view of a floating key lock joint and filler
• FIG. 3e is a perspective view of a floating key lock joint and filler when compressed as a result of plank expansion
• Fig. 3f is a perspective view of a key lock joint of the prior art
• Figs. 4ab are perspective view of prior art regarding pushing out of nailing
• Figs. 5ab are perspective view of prior art hardwood floor
• Figs. 6ab are perspective view of a multi-groove system
• Figs. 7, 8ab illustrate variations of the multi-groove system with inter- plank
• Figs. 9, 10 are perspective view of a multi-ply floor with spring system and cross grain groove applicable lengthwise and crosswise
• Fig. 11 is a perspective view of close grouping.
• Fig. 12 is a perspective view of cross grain planks
• Fig. 13 is a plan view of an insert.
• a floor assembly generally comprising strips of moisture barrier membranes (10) laid down next to each other in a coplanar relationship on a subfloor (12), and an intermediate layer of substantially rigid panels (44) installed next to each other in a coplanar relationship on top of the moisture barrier membranes (10) for receiving a floor covering including a plurality of floor covering planks (52) installed transversally to the intermediate panels.
• the moisture barrier membrane (10) is as described in applicant US provisional application No. 60/560,332 filed on 04/06/2004, the contents of which is herein incorporated by reference. As shown in Figs.
• an open top inter-plank spacing (50) is provided between each plank (52) so that each plank (52) is allowed to expand.
• the spacing depends on a variety of factors such as the nature of the plank (essence of the wood), whether it is of a single piece hardwood, multi-ply, engineered, MDF, HDF or otherwise. Once a spacing is determined from the manufacturer's specs which are based on the specification of the type of floor installed, moisture content, as well as the typical humidity content of the geographical location the floor is to be installed, installation can proceed. When installing, a proper spacer tool (104, 106, and 108) will set the recommended spacing and insure that each plank (52) is set parallel to the next.
• spacer tool (104) since it is not a true square angle, squeezing it between planks (52) lifts the long flat piece (110) when the appropriate spacing is obtained.
• a minimum of two spacers (104, 106, 108) are preferably used. Both spacers (104) and (106) have grab holes (114) to remove them after use except that spacer (104) has an extension (112) in which the grab hole (114) is defined.
• a spline is used to bridge each individual plank (52).
• a T-shaped spline (56) is preferably used in that it advantageously allows for nails (46) (Fig.
• the T-shaped spline (56) can be made of any type of material or combination of materials judged appropriate for the use and can be used for all groove and groove materials such as hardwood, multi-ply, engineered, MDF, HDF or any other such types.
• the stem portion (58) is advantageously used as a stopper to prevent excessive compression of the inter-plank filler (60) as a result of a plank expansion.
• the T-shaped spline (56) follows by being inserted into a groove (72) until the leg (58) of the "T" spline (56) abuts against the side of the first plank (52), and then a second grooved plank (52') is engaged with the T-shaped spline (56), the side of the second plank being spaced from the leg (58) by a predetermined distance.
• the spacing set between planks (52, 52') creates a spacing or gap around the T-shaped spline (56) so that it will not interfere with the expansion of the plank (52').
• the T-shaped spline (56) being asymmetric, has a longer side to allow for a greater inter-plank spacing.
• the filler (60) is applied into each open top inter-plank spacing (50) to seal it. Once applied, the filler (60) remains visible and directly accessible.
• the filler (60) can be provided in the form of a variety of sealers already available on the market for uses not necessarily related to flooring but which are preferably compressible up to about 50% of their sizes and preferably 100% stretch.
• the filler (60) can vary its specs by varying its chemistry so that higher or lower percentages of stretch can be achieved and does preferably not contaminate varnishes.
• the filler must also have waterproof or hydrophobic properties and be able to stick permanently to wood during expansion compression cycles. It can be transparent or have a matching color to the wood or can have a contrasting color or even be matched to the color of the walls and can open new possibilities for interior decorators. It is directly accessible and, thus, it is easy to remove the product if one would like to change the color or else, after sanding and re-varnishing the floor, in which case the filler (60) would be inserted only after the varnishing is completed.
• the filler (60) could for instance be of a malleable polyolefm adhesive.
• the filler (60) properties makes inter-plank joints totally impervious to moisture or water infiltration at the edges of the plank (52), a source of swelling for wood, and also impedes the accumulation of dirt and grime, thus making the inter-plank spacing (50) totally sanitary.
• the plank (52) is in not restricted in its expansion or contraction by the presence of the filler (60) and no moisture or water is allowed to enter the side of the plank (52) where no vamish is present.
• the width of the stem (58) of the T-shaped spline (56) is selected to ensure that the inter-plank gap (50) always remains open at the top to prevent excessive compression of the filler (60).
• a floating interlocking joint including a floating lock key (62) can be used as long as its complementary locking groove (64) is deep enough to allow for expansion/contraction displacements. Tins type of floor can be stapled, nailed or left floating. As shown in Fig. 3d, the floating lock key (62) has a depthwise freedom of movement in the locking groove (64) between the end wall of the groove (64) and the locking projection depending downwardly from the entry portion of the groove (64).
• the shape or specific configuration of the interlocking joint is not relevant as long as it provides a play in the interlocking direction.
• the floating interlocking join defines an inter-plank gap which is filled with the filler, as per the way described herein-above with respect to Figs. 3a, b and c.
• the play between the locking key (62) and the end wall of the locking groove (64) is selected to ensure that the inter-plank gap (50) remains open at the top in order to prevent excessive compression of the filler (60).
• the filler (60) can be used with conventionally designed lock joints as shown at (200) in Fig. 3e to seal in between planks (52, 52') in order to stop moisture infiltration - a cause of swelling.
• the filler (60) can be applied: during the manufacturing process, during the floor installation in the shape of a roll which is applied as long strips or by direct application into the spacing (50) once the floor has been installed.
• the sealer or filler (60) be applied so as to have a concave shape (e.g. N-shaped) so that it is never higher than the surface of the floor and dust and sand can be pushed in so that it will minimize potential scratching of the floor surface. From Figs. 4ab, it can be appreciated that if a plank (52) has no room for expansion, the wood will expand by way of least resistance.
• Figs. 5ab show prior art hardwood planks (66) having a top finished face (68), a tongue (70) and a groove (72) and a series of underside grooves (74) on the bottom face (76).
• the side edges (78, 78') can be square as shown in Fig.
• Fig. 6a shows a multi-groove flooring plank system (82) providing an improved compensation of the expansion contraction behavior of the planks.
• the flooring plank system (82) is made to look like two side-by-side strips by having a top groove (84) set in its middle which is preferably, but not necessarily, shaped to look like two half-beveled side edges (80,80') put together.
• the top groove is mimicking the top adjoining edges of two side by side planks, h vertical alignment with the top groove (84) is a bottom groove (86).
• the top and bottom grooves (84) and (86) cooperate to provide some transversal springiness to the flooring plank.
• the grooves (84) and (86) could be offset and deepened to overlap in a thickness direction of the plank to provide a bellows formation or buffering zone in which expansion could be locally absorbed.
• the central bottom groove (86) is made deeper than the other bottom grooves and is preferably filled with a filling material having adhesive properties. Filler (60) can be used to fill the central groove (86). Excess material is allowed to flow from the central bottom groove (86) to the other bottom grooves.
• the filler in the bottom grooves can be used to adhesively retain the plank on the underlying surface and also to provide resiliency to absorb expansion and contraction movement as well as impact from falling objects onto the planks.
• a curable glue could be used as an alternative to fill at least one of the bottom grooves.
• Each multi-groove plank or floor covering member is designed to handle its part of the expansion/contraction variations as opposed to the prior art hardwood planks (66), most notably "free floating" floor systems where the entire floor surface expands or contracts and gaps of the order of 1/2 inch or more have to be made around the perimeter of the room to take in the expansion and an expansion j oint trim has to be put at every twenty feet or so, depending upon the specification of the floor, to accommodate the expansion, both lengthwise and widthwise.
• the expansion and contraction can be accommodated locally without any impact on the neighboring planks. Accordingly, the peripheral floor covering planks could be fixed in place against the wall of the room without any risk of rupture due to floor expansion and contraction.
• prior art hardwood planks (66) such as when a plywood subfloor becomes unduly wet in spots for any reason (rain, snow, etc) prior to installation of the floor which will cause the prior art hardwood planks (66) to absorb that excess moisture when it is first laid. Since there is no spacing and no compensation means, each prior art hardwood planks (66), expands, which creates cupping on the floor surface but more importantly, when the plywood of the subfloor loses its moisture, it shrinks and displaces prior art hardwood planks (66), in an uneven fashion since moisture level may not be spread evenly across the subfloor.
• FIG. 6b shows one possible variation of the multi-groove system (82) wherein the top groove (84') is made deeper and there is no equivalent bottom groove (86) but rather a series of deep cut underside grooves (74').
• a blend of various groove depths, widths and shapes aligned or not can be mixed depending upon the result desired.
• the filler (60) can be applied to the long sides of the planks (52) only or across the width as well.
• the filler (60) can be applied to the long sides of the planks (52) only or across the width as well.
• a grouping can have the entire thickness of the plank.
• the depth of the various grooves can also vary between groupings and within groupings so does the width and shape and alignment. Similar cuts can also be done on hardwood 14 with no ply but when using this type of multi-ply floor (88), it can further reduce its natural expansion tendency by having cross grain plies (116) as per Fig. 12 which restrict expansion across the width since expansion of wood along the length of the grain is only 0.1 % or width expansion.
• the filler (60) can be used. For example, when laying down an insert (120) in a floor (40) as shown in

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• Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
• Architecture (AREA)
• Civil Engineering (AREA)
• Structural Engineering (AREA)
• Life Sciences & Earth Sciences (AREA)
• Wood Science & Technology (AREA)
• Floor Finish (AREA)

Applications Claiming Priority (2)

Publications (2)

Family

ID=35125131

Family Applications (1)

Country Status (5)

Families Citing this family (25)

Citations (11)

Family Cites Families (9)

• 2005
  • 2005-04-06 CN CNA2005800183247A patent/CN1965134A/zh active Pending
  • 2005-04-06 WO PCT/CA2005/000519 patent/WO2005098164A1/en active Application Filing
  • 2005-04-06 CA CA002563186A patent/CA2563186A1/en not_active Abandoned
  • 2005-04-06 US US10/599,684 patent/US20070193180A1/en not_active Abandoned
  • 2005-04-06 EP EP05734304A patent/EP1751372A4/en not_active Withdrawn

Patent Citations (11)

Non-Patent Citations (1)

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