FIELD OF THE INVENTION

[0001] The subject invention relates to a method and apparatus for paneling. In a specific embodiment, the subject invention pertains to paneling used in the installation and disassembly of floor covering systems or wall panels.

BACKGROUND OF INVENTION

[0002] Floor panels having either substantially rectangular or square shapes can be installed in various ways. Generally, it is desirable to have a floor covering composed of panels positioned together to form tight fitting joints and an outer appearance devoid of large gaps or cracks. It is also desirable that the panels be easily and quickly assembled and disassembled to reduce installation time and costs. Previous techniques in assembling snap-together paneling systems involved careful planning in positioning and laying panels end to end to form an aesthetically pleasing covering. Once the panels were laid out and presented a desired covering, they were permanently attached to an underlying floor, either by means of gluing or nailing. Disadvantages of this installation method are that installation is complex and time consuming and disassembly requires the panels be broken from the underlying floor. Further, this floor covering does not take into account the inevitable expansion or shrinkage of the floor covering and/or sub-flooring due to changes in humidity and/or temperature. Thus, the floor panels can drift apart and result in the formation of undesired gaps, for example, in those joints where the glue connection is broken.

[0003] To address these problems, various techniques for constructing impermanent as well as permanent floor coverings using interconnecting floor panels have been proposed. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 6,006,486 discloses a flooring system in which interconnecting floor panels are engaged at the edges with tongue and groove coupling elements. These floor panels can be installed by snapping connecting edges together by means of a pure lateral translation movement or by means of a turning movement. Tongue and groove coupling joints provide both lateral and vertical locking elements between panels, whereby lateral locking elements resist movement in a direction parallel to the plane of the underlying floor and vertical locking elements resist movement in a direction perpendicular to the plane of the underlying floor. Where all of the side edges of a panel are tongue and groove joint elements, installation of such floor panels requires considerable physical manipulation to connect the floor panels without disengaging the joints of adjacent panels. Thus, floor panels that are interconnected using solely tongue and groove joints on all side edges are difficult to assemble and disassemble.

[0004] Further examples of interlocking floor panels include those commonly referred to as floating parquet flooring. The floor panels in this system are installed loosely to a sub-flooring. These floor panels mutually interconnect with each other by means of a tongue and groove coupling, and are further attached together with the application of glue at the tongue and groove connection. The floor covering obtained in this manner is difficult to disassemble. In addition, assembling the flooring system was particularly messy when the excess glue leaked from between the joints.

[0005] Additional panel designs with interconnecting elements include U.S. Pat. No. 5,050,362, which discloses construction panels for roofing and the like having interconnecting sides that “define a connection which is highly resistant to both clockwise and counter-clockwise movements applied about a connection axis” (column 3, lines 53-56). U.S. Pat. No. 3,538,819 discloses air field matting having interconnecting members. Finally, U.S. Pat. No. 4,845,907 discloses interlocking panel modules usable for decking sections in poultry operations. While these panels disclose various interconnecting means, they do not provide optimum, durable panel coupling while ensuring ease of assembly or disassembly.

[0006] Thus, these and other known panels used to form floors, walls, cladding, and the like do not effectively provide snap-together panels for various uses that may be speedily installed and/or disassembled while also providing tight joints between panels and durability of covering. Present covering systems generally involve panels with adjacent sides having couplings that are difficult to install, often requiring either substantial rotation of more than one panel to interconnect the panels or else requiring simple rotation followed by forcible action to “snap” a tongue joint element into a groove joint element. Thus, assembly and disassembly of these coverings require a great deal of time and energy. Consequently, there still exists a need for a paneling system that is aesthetically appealing, durable, and provides ease of installation and disassembly.

BRIEF SUMMARY

[0007] The subject technology provides an improved paneling system. The subject paneling system can incorporate interlocking panels having a pair of opposite connecting sides with substantially tongue and groove joint elements and at least one pair of opposite connecting sides with substantially complimentary lateral motion limiting joint elements. In a specific embodiment, the subject substantially tongue and groove joint elements can be snap-together tongue and groove joint elements. In embodiments of the subject invention the complimentary lateral motion limiting joint elements are male and female hook joint elements. In a specific embodiment, the panel has four sides with substantially tongue and groove joint elements located on opposite sides and substantially complimentary lateral motion limiting joint elements located on the remaining opposite sides. Another embodiment according to the subject invention provides panels with six sides, having one tongue joint element, one groove joint element, and two of each substantially complimentary lateral motion limiting joint elements. In embodiments where a panel has more than one of each complimentary lateral motion limiting joint element, identical joint elements can be adjacently located on the panel. Thus, on a panel with more than one pair of complimentary lateral motion limiting joint elements, a male hook joint element can be located adjacent another male hook-joint element. The male hook joint elements can be located opposite from their complimentary female hook-joint elements.

[0008] Installation of the subject paneling system, such as a floor covering, can commence with preparation of the desired area with materials well-known by the skilled artisan. For example, metal clips may be placed over open joint elements of the panels to be situated along the outermost row of the desired area. A first panel is then placed on a sub-flooring. A second panel is aligned next to the first panel so that the male hook joint element of the second panel is placed over the female hook joint element of the first panel. A third panel is then aligned next to the second panel so that the male hook joint element of the third panel is placed over the female hook joint element of the second panel. These steps can be repeated along one length of an area that requires paneling.

[0009] A fourth panel can be attached to the first and, optionally to a second panel, by manipulating the fourth panel into an “up-rotated” position and inserting the tongue joint element of the fourth panel into corresponding groove joint elements of the first and second panel. By rotating the fourth panel downward, the tongue joint element of the fourth panel is connected with the groove joint elements of the first and second panels to form a tight-fitting joint. Further, if the fourth panel is connected to the first and second panels, the connection between the first, second, and fourth panels advantageously limits vertical movement along the hook joint between the first and second panels.

[0010] A fifth panel can be installed adjacent the fourth panel by aligning the male hook joint element of the fifth panel with the female hook joint element of the fourth panel. The aligned fifth panel is then manipulated into the “up-rotated” position and its tongue joint element is inserted into the groove joint elements of the second and third panels. Advantageously, when rotating the fifth panel downward to form a tongue and groove joint with the second and third panels, the fourth panel is also easily secured with the fifth panel. Specifically, as the tongue and groove joint elements of the fifth, second and third panels are engaged through the downward rotation of the fifth panel, the side of the fifth panel having a male hook joint element is simultaneously coupled to an adjacent side of the fourth panel having a female hook joint element. Downward rotation of the fifth panel simultaneously accomplishes the coupling of at least two sides of the fifth panel to adjacent panels (second, third, and fourth panels) through tongue and groove elements as well as hook joint elements. These steps are repeated as necessary until a desired area is covered by the subject paneling system. The final steps to complete the installation process is well understood by those skilled in the art. For example, a metal clip may be placed into the un-used joint elements of the final row of panels to provide a “finished” quality to the paneling system.

[0011] To disassemble a paneling system according to the present invention, the fifth panel, or the last panel installed in the paneling system, is merely rotated into the upward position to disengage the male hook joint of the fifth panel from the female hook joint of the fourth panel. The tongue joint element of the fifth panel is then withdrawn from the groove joint elements of the second and third panels to disengage the fifth panel from the paneling system. The remaining panels are disengaged accordingly.

[0012] According to the subject invention, two very distinct limitations on panel movement are conferred by the two different joint elements that run along the side edges of the panels. The interconnection of tongue and groove joint elements hinders movement both parallel and perpendicular to the tongue and groove joint connection in the plane of the panels. In contrast, the interconnection of hook joint elements allows substantial movement perpendicular to the plane of the panels while limiting lateral movement in a direction perpendicular to the hook joint connection between the interconnected sides of the panels. By applying a combination of two forms of connection means to panel sides, namely tongue and groove joints and lateral motion limiting joints along opposite edges, the subject invention advantageously enables the user to easily assemble and disassemble a paneling system, such as a floor covering.

[0013] In order to facilitate the understanding and description of the present invention a brief description of the basic design and function of known tongue and groove joint elements, herein incorporated by reference, are described below with reference to FIGS. 1A to 1 F in the accompanying drawings.

[0014] FIG. 1A is a cross-section illustration of tongue-and-groove joint elements of two panels 1 and 1 ′ according to WO 9426999 and WO 9966151 (owner Välinge Aluminium AB), herein incorporated by reference. The tongue and groove joint edges 4 a , 4 b of the panels 1 and 1 ′ on an underlying ground surface U are joined together by means of downward angling. In an embodiment, the panel 1 has a flat strip 6 which extends throughout the length of the side 4 a and which is made of flexible, resilient sheet material. The strip 6 is formed with a locking element 8 extended throughout the length of the strip 6 . The locking element 8 has in its lower part an operative locking surface 10 . When a floor is being laid, this locking surface 10 coacts with a locking groove 14 formed in the underside of the joint edge portion 4 b of the opposite side of an adjoining panel 1 ′.

[0015] Moreover, for mechanical joining of the sides in the vertical direction (direction D2) the panel 1 is formed with a tongue joint element 20 along joint edge portion 4 a . At the bottom, the groove joint element 16 is defined by the respective strip 6 . At the opposite edge portion 4 b , there is an upper recess defining a locking tongue 20 that coacts with the recess 16 .

[0016] FIGS. 1B to 1 F illustrate further tongue-and-groove joint elements of various laminated floor systems. FIG. 1B shows a tongue-and-groove joint according to WO 9426999, herein incorporated by reference. The operative locking surface 10 of the locking element 8 has an inclination (hereinafter termed locking angle) of about 80° to the plane of the board. The locking element has an upper rounded guiding part and a lower operative locking surface. The rounded upper guiding part, which has a considerably lower angle than the locking surface, contributes significantly to positioning of the boards in connection with installation and facilitating the sliding-in of the locking element into the locking groove in connection with angling and snap action. The vertical connection is designed as a modified tongue-and-groove joint, the term “modified” referring to the possibility of bringing the tongue groove and tongue together by way of angling.

[0017] FIG. 1C illustrates a tongue-and-groove joint according to WO 9426999 and WO 9966151 and FIG. 1D shows a tongue-and-groove joint according to WO 9747834, all of which are herein incorporated by reference. All of these tongue-and-groove joints are essentially based on the above known principles.

[0018] Other known tongue-and-groove locking systems for mechanical joining of board materials are described in, for example, GB-A2,256,023 (herein incorporated by reference), and FIG. 1 E, which illustrates a cross-section of the tongue and groove joint of a floor paneling system disclosed by U.S. application Ser. No. 09/954,180 (Darko) herein incorporated by reference. Further, FIG. 1F illustrates a tongue-and-groove joint according to WO 9966151, herein incorporated by reference.

[0019] Unlike current panels where only substantially tongue and groove joint elements are located along the side edges of the panels, the panel of the present invention includes complimentary lateral motion limiting joint elements to provide lateral locking while permitting substantially movement in the direction perpendicular to the plane of the panels. Further, in an embodiment of the present invention, negligible forcible action is required to engage or disengage hook-joint couplings, thus allowing ease of installation and disengagement of panels. Hook-joints also provide proper alignment and spacing between the panels. Another embodiment provides complimentary lateral motion limiting joint elements that include a “snap-in” mechanism to hinder movement in the direction perpendicular to the plane of the panels.

[0020] The present invention provides panels that can be interconnected to one another to make up a paneling system in which each of the individual panels is interconnected by a mechanical interconnecting system that can be quickly connected together at the installation site without the need for tools or fastening means. As a safeguard against water penetration or to provide a permanent connection between panels, an embodiment of the present invention includes a means for sealing along the joint couplings at the edges of the interlocked panels. The sealing means may include water-resistant or water proof materials such as oil, wax, thermoplastic or thermosetting substances, or glue.

[0021] The present invention further provides panels that can be easily and quickly disassembled from one another. According to the present invention, disassembly of interconnected panels may be performed by tilting a panel upward along a tongue and groove joint, which will cause the tongue coupling element to disengage from the groove coupling element while simultaneously unhooking the hook joint couplings along the sides of the panel.

[0022] According to the present invention, a paneling system is provided which is relatively easy to install and remove. The present invention also provides a paneling system that may be installed or disassembled in relatively little time.

[0023] Further, the subject invention provides a versatile paneling system in which individual panels may be composed of ceramic, wood, and other similar materials. By way of example, the panels contemplated by the subject invention are composed of wood planks or parquet squares in shapes that can be inter-fitted together in various different patterns simply by snapping together the panels to make a covering.

[0024] The present invention further provides an extremely flexible paneling system that can be configured to meet the requirements of complex floor plans or wall configurations, including those floor plans that involve intersecting passageways and several associated rooms.

[0025] A panel according to the subject invention may have a top side covered by a wood veneer or other attractive wear surface, and an underside which may be covered by a rubber cushion layer. The present invention confers simplicity of design, ease of assembly, and a significant decrease in the amount of time and labor required for installation. These same advantages are conferred in disassembly and reassembly, if desired. The advantages of the subject invention apply to panels of any thickness as well as to panels that serve a variety of purposes. For example, the present invention is applicable to indoor and outdoor floors and walls, where the panels have a variety of shapes and thickness.