Connecting piece of floor panel

Abstract

A floor panel (1) has interlocking means (10, 11) formed on the sides of their mutually joined short edges (5, 5 '). These interlocking means (10, 11) comprise joining parts made as male (9) and female (12) joining parts and have vertically movable female (13) and male (14) locking parts and inclined guide surfaces (15, 16). Furthermore, a bendable portion (7) is formed in the lower surface (2a) of the floor panel (1), the bendable portion comprises a plurality of adjacent recesses (8, 8 ') formed in the lower surface (2a) close to the male joining portion (9), said recesses being inclined with respect to the short edge (5') of the side surface (6 '), allowing the angular deflection of the male joining portion (9) with respect to the horizontal plane to increase during interlocking of the male joining portion with the female joining portion (12) at the short edge (5, 5').

Description

[0001] The subject of the invention is a joining piece of floor panels intended for interlocking adjacent panels. The invention is applicable to floor panels made of solid wood, engineered wood floor panels, laminated wood-based panels and floor panels made of agglomerates of different materials. Technical Field

[0002] The interlocking of the floor panel connections is performed using complementary interlocking means formed near the joint edge and intended to lock the connected floor panels in a direction perpendicular to the upper surface of the panels and in a direction parallel to this surface. Such complementary interlocking means are usually made as male and female connection parts and have latching elements to achieve a stable connection so that accidental disconnection does not occur after the interlocking. However, such latching elements are difficult to connect, so that it is often necessary to use high pressing forces and sometimes impact forces in the form of hitting with a rubber hammer to press the parts to be connected together. Background Art

[0003] When joining plastic panels, in particular vinyl panels or SPC panels, the difficulty of joining the interlocking means is significantly increased due to the increased frictional resistance of such materials. An example of joining plastic panels is disclosed in US20200362567A1. In this known joining piece, once the long edges of the joined panels have been joined by means of a mechanical angle locking system, the locking on the short side is achieved by gradually pressing downwardly protruding interlocking elements, bending them and moving the pressing force in the direction from the long edge to the opposite long edge, so that the transverse lock is fully engaged.

[0004] In other known solutions, such as EP2339092B1, an additional deflection element in the form of a plate is used to facilitate smooth coupling of the interlocking device. Such a deflection element is placed underneath close to the female coupling part during assembly so that the female coupling part is raised above the floor during assembly. In this position, the male part fits more smoothly into the female part when vertical pressure is applied.

[0005] A panel locking system is known from EP3238899B1 in which the lower portion of the female fixing part has a reduced thickness so that the lip of the female fixing part is raised above the floor. This design increases the flexibility of the lower lip, thereby reducing the amount of angular pressure required for the male coupling part to fit smoothly.

[0006] In WO2020083613A1, the lower female joining part has in its lower portion a lower undercut substantially below the entire length of the protruding lip, which increases its sensitivity to deformation and is therefore also intended to interlock the parts to be joined when lower pressure is applied.

[0007] In WO2015144726A1, a hinged form of a lower lip is disclosed, the lower lip being formed by a local U-shaped or V-shaped recess of the floor panel in the lower surface of the floor panel spanning the entire width of the floor panel. Thus, the recessed portion is formed as a local weakening and at the same time forms a kind of hinge. The recess may be formed by cutting a slit in the lower surface of another panel.

[0008] In WO2016113677A1 the lower part of the male fixing portion has an undercut or notch in the lower part of the panel parallel to the floor, allowing the panel to be installed even if there are certain differences in the thickness of the panels to be joined.

[0009] In the known solutions of the prior art, the bending of the interlocking means during assembly using additional deflecting elements placed underneath near the female engaging part is a major inconvenience that increases the assembly time. On the contrary, reducing the thickness of the female fixing part by using local undercuts leads to a local reduction in the stiffness of the laid floor in a direction perpendicular to its top surface. In the area where such undercuts are formed, the surface of the panel may collapse, for example under the pressure exerted by shoes, in particular shoes with narrow heels. Panels of small thickness are particularly susceptible to this detrimental phenomenon. Summary of the invention

[0010] The object of the present invention is to develop a connection for floor panels, wherein the design of the interlocking means ensures easy connection and vertical and horizontal fixing, as well as prevention of accidental disconnection of the connection.

[0011] In the coupling piece of floor panels according to the present invention, the floor panels to be joined are in the form of rectangular plates, the floor panels comprising:

[0012] - an upper surface and a lower surface parallel to the upper surface, the lower surface being designed to be laid on a subfloor,

[0013] - two long edges of the side surfaces,

[0014] - two short edges of the side surfaces,

[0015] - complementary interlocking means formed on the sides of the edges engaging each other.

[0016] The complementary interlocking means formed on the sides of the short edges engaging each other include connecting parts made as male and female connecting parts and having vertically movable concave and convex locking parts and inclined guide surfaces; and also have a bendable part formed in the lower surface of the floor panel across the entire width of the floor panel.

[0017] The solution is characterized in that the bendable portion of the floor panel comprises a plurality of adjacent recesses formed in the lower surface close to the male connecting part, said plurality of adjacent recesses being inclined relative to the short edges of the side surface, thereby allowing an increased angular deflection of the male connecting part relative to the horizontal plane during interlocking of the male connecting part with the female connecting part at the short edges.

[0018] Preferably, the bendable portion of the floor panel comprises 3 to 20 adjacent recesses.

[0019] Preferably, the bendable portion of the floor panel comprises 4 to 10 adjacent recesses.

[0020] Preferably, the inclination angle of a first recess on the side of the short edge is greater than the inclination angles of the further recesses relative to each other.

[0021] Preferably, the bendable portion of the floor panel comprises a first recess arranged parallel to the short edge.

[0022] Preferably, the recess has a reduced height, wherein the recess has a minimum height on the side of the male coupling element at the first long edge of the side surface and a maximum height on the side of the female coupling element at the second long edge of the side surface.

[0023] Preferably, the recesses have decreasing widths, the recesses with the smallest width being on the side of the male coupling element at the first long edge of the side surface and the recesses with the largest width being on the side of the female coupling element at the second long edge of the side surface.

[0024] Preferably, the ratio of the maximum recess height to the height of the floor panel is in the range of 0.1 to 0.4, and the ratio of the minimum height to the maximum recess height is in the range of 0.1 to 0.5.

[0025] Preferably, a ratio of a minimum width of the recess to a maximum width of the recess is in a range of 0.2 to 0.4, and a ratio of a maximum height of the recess to a maximum width of the recess is in a range of 0.8 to 1.2.

[0026] Preferably, a foot portion is formed between the recesses, the foot portion having a width greater than half of the maximum width of the recesses.

[0027] Beneficial effects

[0028] The invention allows an increased angular deflection of the male connecting part relative to the horizontal plane during the interlocking of the male connecting part with the female connecting part at the short edge. It is also possible to engage the short edge with reduced pressure on the male connecting part, wherein the angular arrangement of the recesses facilitates and accelerates the interlocking operation of the short edge, since with this arrangement of the recesses an increased pressure on the male connecting part is usually necessary only in the first pressing step. With this solution, there is no need to bend the short side and gradually push in the male connecting part located on the short edge of the floor panel.

[0029] The present invention allows the angular deflection of the male coupling part to be increased when the male coupling part is interlocked with the female coupling part at the short edge. It is also possible to engage the short edge with a substantially reduced pressing force on the male coupling part. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0030] The subject matter of the invention is illustrated in an embodiment in the accompanying drawings, in which:

[0031] Figure 1 The floor panel is shown in top view,

[0032] Figure 2 The floor panel is shown in bottom view,

[0033] Figure 3 The floor panel is shown in cross section,

[0034] Figure 4 shows the male part of a floor panel before being joined to the female part of the same floor panel,

[0035] Figure 5 shows the male part of a floor panel in the process of being joined to the female part of the same floor panel,

[0036] Figure 6 The male part of a floor panel is shown in an axonometric view during joining to the female part of the same floor panel,

[0037] Figure 7 Showing the joined floor panels,

[0038] Figure 8 A cross section of a floor panel along its recess is shown.

[0039] Fig. 9 An enlarged view of a cross section of the floor panel as seen in the direction of the recess axis is shown. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0040] Figure 1The floor panel 1 shown in the drawing is in the form of a rectangular plate with a core made of an agglomerate of polyvinyl chloride and chalk, wherein an upper surface 2 of the floor panel is delimited by two long edges 3, 3' of side surfaces 4, 4' and two short edges 5, 5' of side surfaces 6, 6'.

[0041] like Figure 2 As shown in FIG. 1 , in the lower surface 2a of the floor panel 1, a bendable portion 7 is formed across the entire width of the floor panel, the bendable portion 7 comprising five adjacent recesses 8, 8' in the form of grooves, located close to the male connecting portion 9. Thus, the recesses 8, 8' extend from the side surface 4 to the side surface 4'. The first of these recesses 8 on the side of the short edge 5' is angled α1 relative to the short edge 5'. The other four recesses 8' are inclined relative to each other at angles α2, α3, α4, α5. In this embodiment, the angle α1 = 15°, and the angles α2 = α3 = α4 = α5 = 7.5°, which means that the last recess 8' on the side of the short edge 5' is inclined at an angle of 45° relative to the short edge 5'. Depending on the bending characteristics required by the bendable portion 7 for correctly positioning the male connecting portion 9 when the floor panel 1 is connected, the inclination angle α1 of the first recess 8 and the inclination angles α2, α3, α4 and α5 between adjacent recesses can take different values. If more than one obliquely arranged recess 8 , 8 ′ is used, the angle of inclination between adjacent recesses should be reduced accordingly, so that the last recess 8 ′ on the side of the short edge 5 ′ is preferably inclined at an angle of no more than 45°.

[0042] like Figure 3 As shown in , complementary interlocking means 10, 11 are formed on the sides of the short edges 5, 5' that are connected to each other during assembly. These complementary interlocking means 10, 11 lock the connected floor panels 1 in a direction perpendicular to the upper surface 2 and in a direction parallel to the upper surface 2 and the lower surface 2a after the male connecting part 9 is connected to the female connecting part 12. In order to lock the floor panel 1 in the vertical direction, the male connecting part 9 has a vertically movable concave locking part 13 and the female connecting part 12 has a vertically movable convex locking part 14. In addition, the male connecting part 9 has an inclined guide surface 15 formed below the concave locking part 13, while the female connecting part 12 has an inclined guide surface 16 that transitions to an internal bearing surface 17 formed on a protruding coupling element 18. The inclined guide surface 16 is intended for sliding engagement with the inner side surface 19 of the male connecting part 9. The bendable portion 7 is grooved in the lower surface 2a of the floor panel 1 at the side of the male connecting portion 9 and is in the form of recesses 8, 8', wherein the first recess 8 and the further recess 8' on the side of the short edge 5' are both arranged diagonally relative to the short edge 5'.

[0043] Figure 4 and Figure 5 The arrangement of the joined elements during the process of interlocking adjacent floor panels 1 is shown. Figure 4 The arrangement of the inside surface 19 of the male coupling part 9 on the inclined guide surface 16 of the protruding coupling element 18 is shown.

[0044] like Figure 5 As shown in , after a pressing force F is applied to the upper surface 2 of the floor panel 1, the generated bending moment bends the bendable portion 7, thereby deforming the recesses 8, 8' and thus adapting the position of the male connecting portion 9 to the shape of the female connecting portion 12, and then, the inner side surface 19 of the male connecting portion 9 moves along the inclined guide surface 16 of the protruding coupling element 18 without collision and the convex locking portion 14 is seated in the concave locking portion 13.

[0045] Figure 6 The steps of partial joining of floor panels are also shown in an axonometric view. The floor panels 1 are first joined at their long edges 3, 3'. During the angular tilting of the joined floor panels 1, the adjacent recesses 8, 8' of the bendable portion 7 are elastically deformed under the pressing force F, and the male joining portion 9 is gradually fitted into the space of the female joining portion 12. In this step, the inner side surface 19 slides on the inclined guide surface 16 of the protruding coupling element 18. When the convex locking portion 14 of the female joining portion 12 approaches the height of the concave locking portion 13 of the male joining portion 9, the step of engaging the short edges 5, 5' located close to the long edges 3, 3' occurs. By using the widened recesses 8, 8', the floor panels are joined under an increased pressing force F in the areas where the recesses 8, 8' have small dimensions, but in other areas where the recesses 8, 8' are relatively large, the necessary pressing force F is significantly reduced.

[0046] exist Figure 6 In the embodiment shown in , the bendable portion 7 of the floor panel 1 has a first recess 8 arranged parallel to the short edge 5 ′, and further recesses 8 ′ are inclined relative to the short edge 5 ′ and to each other.

[0047] like Figure 7 As shown in FIG, after the floor panels 1 are completely joined together, when the male locking portion 14 is inserted into the female locking portion 13, the bendable portion 7 of the lower surface 2a returns to a flat shape corresponding to the floor plane.

[0048] Figure 8The reduced size of the recess 8 is shown. In the embodiment shown, this varying size also applies to the further recess 8'. The recesses 8, 8' have continuously decreasing heights h1, h2, wherein the minimum height h2 of the recesses 8, 8' is located on the side of the male coupling element 20 located at the first long edge 3 of the side surface 4, as shown in FIG. Figure 7 As shown in FIG, the maximum height h1 of the recess 8 is reached on the side of the female coupling element 21 which is located at the second long edge 3 ′ of the side surface 4 ′.

[0049] Fig. 9 A portion of a floor panel 1 having recesses 8, 8' is shown. The floor panel 1 has a bendable portion 7 formed by the recesses 8, 8'. The maximum height h1 of the recesses in this embodiment is 0.2 times the height h of the floor panel 1. In the case of using a floor panel 1 made of an SPC agglomerate containing 65% chalk, the maximum height h1 of the recesses is equal to 3 mm, and the minimum height h2 is equal to 0.5 mm, in the case of a height h of the floor panel 1 equal to 6 mm. The maximum width W1 of the recesses 8, 8' is the same as the maximum height h1 and is equal to 3 mm, and the minimum width W2 is equal to 1 mm. In a preferred embodiment, the ratio of the minimum height h2 to the maximum height h1 may be in the range of 0.1 to 0.5, the ratio of the minimum width W2 to the maximum width W1 may be in the range of 0.2 to 0.5, and the ratio of the maximum height h1 to the maximum width W1 of the recesses 8, 8' may be in the range of 0.8 to 1.2.

[0050] The recesses 8, 8' are separated by a foot 22 having a width W3. In the case of a maximum width W1 of 3 mm, the width W3 of the foot 22 is 2 mm.

[0051] In the case of most materials used, a width W3 of the foot 22 less than 0.5 mm results in a failure to meet the strength requirements associated with the need to carry the vertical loads caused by using the flooring in the position of the recesses 8, 8'. The parameters of the bendable portion 7, such as the number of recesses 8, 8', the inclination angles α1, α2, α3, α4, α5, the width W1, the width W2, the width W3, the height h1 and the height h2 may differ from the given preferred values ​​and should be selected according to the strength characteristics of the material used and according to the shape of the male and female connecting parts 9, 12, so that a suitable bending shape of the bendable portion 7 can be achieved, allowing sliding engagement of the surfaces to be joined and the assumed dosing of the pressure F required for joining the floor panels 1.

[0052] Reference numerals list

[0053] 1 floor panel;

[0054] 2 Upper surface;

[0055] 2a lower surface;

[0056] 3, 3' long edge;

[0057] 4, 4' side surface;

[0058] 5, 5' short edge;

[0059] 6, 6' side surface;

[0060] 7 bendable part;

[0061] 8,8' recess;

[0062] 9 male connecting part;

[0063] 10 interlocking device;

[0064] 11 interlocking device;

[0065] 12 female connecting part;

[0066] 13 concave locking portion;

[0067] 14 convex locking portion;

[0068] 15 inclined guide surface of the male connecting part 9;

[0069] 16: inclined guide surface of the female connecting portion 12;

[0070] 17 internal bearing surface;

[0071] 18 protruding coupling elements;

[0072] 19 medial surface;

[0073] 20 male coupling element at the long edge;

[0074] 21 long edge female coupling element;

[0075] 22 feet;

[0076] α1, α2, α3, α4, α5 tilt angles;

[0077] h height of the floor panel;

[0078] h1 is the maximum height of the recess;

[0079] h2 is the minimum height of the recess;

[0080] W1 is the maximum width of the concave part;

[0081] W2 minimum width of the concave portion;

[0082] W3 Width of the foot.

Claims

1. A floor panel connector, wherein: The connected floor panels (1) are in the form of rectangular panels, and the floor panels (1) comprise: - an upper surface (2) and a lower surface (2a) parallel to said upper surface (2), said lower surface (2) being designed to be laid on a subfloor, - two long edges (3, 3') of the side surface (4, 4'), - two short edges (5, 5') of the side surface (6, 6'), - complementary interlocking means (10, 11) formed on the sides of the edges (5, 5') joined to each other, wherein the complementary interlocking means (10, 11) formed on the sides of the short edges (5, 5') engaging each other comprise connecting parts made as male connecting parts (9) and female connecting parts (12) and having vertically movable female locking parts (13) and male locking parts (14), and inclined guide surfaces (15, 16), And wherein a bendable portion (7) is formed in the lower surface (2a) of the floor panel (1) across the entire width of the floor panel (1), characterized in that the bendable portion (7) of the floor panel (1) includes a plurality of adjacent recesses (8, 8') formed in the lower surface (2a) near the male connecting portion (9), and the plurality of adjacent recesses (8, 8') are inclined relative to the short edge (5') of the side surface (6'), thereby allowing the angular deflection of the male connecting portion (9) relative to the horizontal plane to increase during the interlocking of the male connecting portion (9) and the female connecting portion (12) at the short edges (5, 5').

2. The connecting piece according to claim 1, characterized in that: The bendable portion (7) of the floor panel (1) comprises 3 to 20 adjacent recesses (8, 8').

3. The connecting member according to claim 1, characterized in that: The bendable portion (7) of the floor panel (1) comprises 4 to 10 adjacent recesses (8, 8').

4. The connecting piece according to claim 1, characterized in that: The inclination angle (α1) of the first recess (8) on the side of the short edge (5') is greater than the inclination angles (α2, α3, α4, α5) of the other recesses (8') relative to each other.

5. The connecting member according to claim 1, characterized in that: The bendable portion (7) of the floor panel (1) comprises the first recess (8) arranged parallel to the short edge (5').

6. The connecting piece according to any one of claims 1 to 5, characterized in that: The recess (8, 8') has a reduced height, wherein the recess (8, 8') has a minimum height (h2) on the side of the male coupling element (20) located at the first long edge (3) of the side surface (4) and a maximum height (h1) on the side of the female coupling element (21) located at the second long edge (3') of the side surface (4').

7. The connecting piece according to any one of claims 1 to 6, characterized in that: The recess (8, 8') has a reduced width, wherein the recess (8, 8') has a minimum width (W2) on the side of the male coupling element (20) located at the first long edge (3) of the side surface (4) and a maximum width (W1) on the side of the female coupling element (21) located at the second long edge (3') of the side surface (4').

8. The connecting piece according to claim 6, characterized in that: The ratio of the maximum height (h1) of the recess (8, 8') to the height (h) of the floor panel (1) is in the range of 0.1 to 0.5, and the ratio of the minimum height (h2) of the recess (8, 8') to the maximum height (h1) is in the range of 0.1 to 0.

5.

9. The connecting piece according to claim 7 or 8, characterized in that: The ratio of the minimum width (W2) of the recess (8, 8') to the maximum width (W1) of the recess (8, 8') is in the range of 0.2 to 0.5, and the ratio of the maximum height (h1) of the recess (8, 8') to the maximum width (W1) of the recess (8, 8') is in the range of 0.8 to 1.

2.

10. The connecting piece according to claim 9, characterized in that: A foot portion (22) is formed between the recesses (8, 8'), and the foot portion (22) has a width (W3) greater than half of the maximum width (W1) of the recesses (8, 8').

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