Floor tile with interlocking connectors

Abstract

A floor tile (10) includes a tile top (12), a tile bottom (14) and a side boundary (16). The side boundary includes tenons (18) alternating with mortises (20) for interlocking with mortises and tenons of adjacent floor tiles, respectively. Each tenon has a front abutment surface (22) and each mortise has a rear abutment surface (24). The front abutment surface and the rear abutment surface extend from the tile top to the tile bottom, preferably over the entire height of the floor tile. Each of the front abutment surface and the rear abutment surface has a top surface portion (22a, 24a) abutting the tile top and a bottom surface portion (22b, 24b) abutting the tile bottom. The floor tile has a tenon or mortise, the bottom surface portion of which is recessed relative to the top surface portion.

Description

Background Art

[0001] The present invention relates generally to the field of floor coverings (floors) and more particularly to floor tiles including a tenon and mortise along its borders for interlocking with the tenon and mortise, respectively, of an adjacent floor tile.

[0002] EP 2843153 A1 discloses a parallelogram-shaped floor tile comprising male assembly means on four sides, the male assembly means protruding to achieve a form-fitting connection with a female assembly means defined between two male assembly means. The male assembly means are identical on the four sides of the tile. The male assembly means on two opposite sides of the tile panel are offset from each other by half a pitch. The male assembly means on two adjacent sides are offset from each other by a non-zero value different from half a pitch, a pitch or a multiple of half a pitch, so that the male assembly means on one side of the tile can cooperate with the female assembly means only on one side of the adjacent tile, without any offset between the edges of two adjacent tiles.

[0003] WO 2015 / 170129 A1 discloses a floor tile with a deflectable closed joint area, which can be used not only to construct a floor covering in a grid form, but also to construct a floor covering with offset rows. The floor tile has a core component to which a lower sheet and an upper sheet are attached. Alternating dovetail protrusions and dovetail recesses of the same shape are arranged equidistantly along the edge of the core component. The edge profiles on the opposite edges of the core component are opposite to each other. The upper sheet and the lower sheet along the two adjacent edges enclose the dovetail joint element from above and below, so that in a plan view, the component enclosed by the upper sheet is opposite to the component enclosed by the lower sheet. A similar floor tile is disclosed in US10279560 B2.

[0004] US2003 / 093966 A1 relates to a floor mat module having a dovetail shape and a corresponding dovetail groove. The floor mat module can be turned over without affecting its ability to be connected to another floor mat module via the engagement of the dovetail shape with the dovetail groove.

[0005] US2019 / 264447 A1 discloses a floor made of hexagonal floor tiles.

[0006] US2019 / 284820 A1 relates to a floor having a bottom layer and a surface layer fixed on top of the bottom layer. The bottom layer is a foam material, and the surface layer is a hard plastic film embossed with wood grain and having indentations corresponding to the wood grain.

[0007] US2014 / 333022 A1 discloses a floor mat in the shape of a four-sided mat. Each side has a toothed border having a series of teeth. At least two cutting lines divide the mat into four blocks, so that each block has an assembly edge with a complementary shape to connect with other blocks. Each block of the mat can be joined with another block of the same mat to form a puzzle mat set.

[0008] GB 2387181 A discloses a thermal insulation element having dovetail-shaped protrusions and recesses around its entire periphery. The protrusions and recesses allow adjacent elements to interlock together in a jigsaw-like manner. The thermal insulation element can be used in a wall cavity or under a floor.

[0009] Floor coverings may be subject to stresses caused by temperature changes. In floor coverings assembled from tiles interconnected by tongues and mortises along their edges, the interlocking tongues and grooves are typically sized to obtain a tight fit. Such a tight fit may be provided to avoid noticeable gaps between tiles, while avoiding movement of tiles in loosely laid floors. When tiles expand or contract due to temperature changes, this may produce high stresses at the interconnections, potentially causing the tile to disconnect from its neighboring tiles. Summary of the invention

[0010] According to one aspect of the present invention, a floor tile is provided. The floor tile comprises a tile top, a tile bottom and a side border. The side border comprises a tenon, the tenon alternating with a mortise, the tenon and the mortise being used to interlock with the mortise and the tenon of an adjacent floor tile, respectively. Each tenon has a front abutment surface, and each mortise has a rear abutment surface. The front abutment surface and the rear abutment surface extend from the tile top to the tile bottom, preferably extending over the entire height of the floor tile. Each of the front abutment surface and the rear abutment surface has a top surface portion adjacent to the tile top and a bottom surface portion adjacent to the tile bottom. The floor tile has a tenon or a mortise, the bottom surface portion of the tenon or the mortise being recessed relative to the top surface portion. In other words, some (or all) of the tenons or the mortises in the tenon and / or the mortise have a bottom surface portion, the bottom surface portion being recessed relative to the top surface portion. When the floor is assembled, the recess provides a gap between two adjacent floor tiles. The gap is located in the lower region of the joint and thus remains hidden from the user of the floor. In addition, a tight fit between the tiles can still be achieved in the upper region of the joint. It has been found that the recess can reduce problems caused by temperature changes. This may be due to the recess providing space for the expansion of the tile when the temperature rises. It is worth noting that all of the tenons and mortises in the tenon and mortise may have the bottom surface portion recessed relative to the top surface portion. This may be considered advantageous, but may not be necessary for all applications. When the floor is in an assembled state, the tenon and mortise of a given tile are engaged with the mortise and tenon of an adjacent tile, respectively. If it is desired to have a gap between each tenon and its mortise counterpart, it is sufficient to provide a recess only on the tenon of the floor tile or only on the mortise of the floor tile. According to an embodiment, each of the tenons has the bottom surface portion recessed relative to the top surface portion. Alternatively or additionally, each of the mortises in the mortise has the bottom surface portion recessed relative to the top surface portion. According to an embodiment, only the tenon or only the mortise has the bottom surface portion recessed relative to the top surface portion. According to an embodiment, only the tenon but including all the tenons or only the mortises but including all the tenons have the bottom surface portion recessed relative to the top surface portion. According to an embodiment, each of the tenons has the bottom surface portion recessed relative to the top surface portion, and each of the mortises has a straight rear abutment surface, i.e., an abutment surface in which the bottom surface portion is not recessed relative to the top surface portion and in which the bottom surface portion is not recessed relative to the bottom surface portion. According to an embodiment, each of the mortises has the bottom surface portion recessed relative to the top surface portion, and each of the tenons has a straight front abutment surface, i.e., an abutment surface in which the bottom surface portion is not recessed relative to the top surface portion and in which the top surface portion is not recessed relative to the bottom surface portion.

[0011] For some types of flooring, it may not be necessary to provide a gap between each tenon and its mortise counterpart. For example, the floor tile may include a tenon or mortise having 30% or more (preferably 50% or more) of the bottom surface portion recessed relative to the top surface portion.

[0012] The front abutment surface and / or the rear abutment surface may be straight in the direction from the top surface portion to the bottom surface portion. The front abutment surface of the tenon having the bottom surface portion recessed relative to the top surface portion or the rear abutment surface of the mortise having the bottom surface portion recessed relative to the top surface portion may be angled with the surface normal of the floor tile, thereby forming a recess. The angle with the surface normal of the floor tile may be in the range of 0.5° to 5°, preferably in the range of 1° to 3°.

[0013] The front abutment surface of the tenon having the bottom surface portion recessed relative to the top surface portion or the rear abutment surface of the mortise having the bottom surface portion recessed relative to the top surface portion may have a recessed bottom surface portion spaced apart from the top surface portion by a shoulder. In this case, the top surface portion and / or the bottom surface portion may not necessarily be inclined relative to the surface normal of the floor tile.

[0014] The side border of the floor tile may have a top border portion adjacent to the top of the tile and a bottom border portion adjacent to the bottom of the tile. The top surface portions of the front surface and the rear surface may be part of the top border portion, and the bottom surface portions of the front surface and the rear surface may be part of the bottom border portion. The entire bottom border portion of the side border may be recessed relative to the top border portion.

[0015] The recess has a depth of preferably 0.1 mm to 1 mm, more preferably 0.1 mm to 0.5 mm.

[0016] The tenon and the mortise may have any shape that provides an interlocking engagement. For example, the tenon and the mortise may be mushroom-shaped, hook-shaped, etc. According to preferred embodiments, the tenon and the mortise comprise a dovetail tenon and a dovetail mortise.

[0017] The floor tile may comprise at least three edges forming the side border. According to preferred embodiments, the floor tile may comprise four, five or six edges. The edges may be straight or curved.

[0018] Preferably, the side boundary of the floor tile is formed by milling at least in the segment. Alternatively or additionally, the side boundary of the floor tile is formed by laser cutting or water jet cutting. However, any technology or combination of technologies capable of forming a side boundary of a segment having a bottom portion including a depression can be used. According to one aspect of the present invention, a method for producing floor tiles is proposed. The method may include the assembly of a layered structure, which is cut and formed, for example, by the above-mentioned milling, laser cutting, water jet cutting or other technology. It can be noted that the cutting of the side boundary may produce scraps. The amount of scraps at the bottom of the tile may be greater than the amount of scraps at the top of the tile. In other words, among the materials that the scraps produced may include, the proportion (volume) of the material from the bottom of the layered structure is greater than that from the top of the layered structure. The scraps can be recycled, for example, by crushing them and introducing the crushed material into the production process of one or more floor tile layers.

[0019] Another aspect of the invention relates to a floor covering comprising a plurality of floor tiles as described herein.

[0020] According to a preferred embodiment, the floor covering is a heterogeneous PVC floor covering according to standard EN ISO 10582:2017.

[0021] The floor covering preferably belongs to use class 42 or higher, for example use class 43, according to standard EN ISO 10874:2009.

[0022] As used herein, the expression "floor tile" refers to a flooring block, such as, for example, a brick, a plank or a panel, which can be assembled with other flooring blocks in order to decorate a floor surface. The flooring block may be rectangular in shape, but other shapes (e.g., triangles, quadrilaterals, pentagons, hexagons, etc.) as well as more complex tessellated shapes, such as those envisioned by MCescher (e.g., birds, fish, lizards, etc.) are not excluded. The tessellation may be regular, semi-regular or aperiodic. The tessellation may be monohedral or based on a set with more than one prototype block.

[0023] Terms such as "upper", "lower", "lower", "upper", "horizontal", "vertical", "above", "below", "top", and "bottom", and their derivatives (e.g., "horizontally", "upward", etc.) refer to the orientation of a floor tile or flooring when in use (i.e., laid on a floor), with the decorative surface of the tile facing upward. These terms are adopted herein for convenience of description and as a naming convention. They should be interpreted as referring to the relative orientation of different components, but are not meant to imply a particular absolute orientation of a tile or flooring assembly in space. For example, arranging the decorative surface of a tile upside down should not prevent the decorative surface from being considered as the top surface.

[0024] As used herein, the expression "tenon" refers to a protrusion on the side border of a floor tile, and "mortise" refers to an opening of complementary shape into which a tenon can be inserted from above or from below. At least some of the tenons and mortises are shaped so that the tenons and mortises interlock, i.e., prevent two connected tiles from being disconnected by movement only in the plane of the floor tile. The tenons and mortises preferably extend over the entire height of the floor tile.

[0025] As used herein, the qualifier "decorative" is intended to imply that the article thus defined (such as a surface covering) remains visible in normal use (as a finished article). However, the use of this term should not be understood as implying any particular aesthetic appearance. The expression "decorative layer" means a layer having a decorative pattern. Examples of decorative layers include printed layers, in particular rotogravure printed layers and digitally printed layers.

[0026] The expression "surface normal" refers to the direction perpendicular to the surface of the decorative side (top side) of the floor tile.

[0027] In this document, the verb "comprise" and the expression "consist of" are used as open-ended linking phrases, meaning "including" or "consisting of at least". Unless the context implies otherwise, the use of singular word forms is intended to include the plural, except when the cardinal number "one" is used: "one" in this document means "exactly one". Ordinal numbers ("first", "second", etc.) are used in this document to distinguish different instances of common objects; the use of these expressions does not imply a particular order, importance, hierarchy, or quantitative limitation. In addition, when multiple instances of an object are referred to by ordinals, this does not necessarily mean that there are no other instances of the object (unless clearly inferred from the context). When this specification refers to "an embodiment", "one embodiment", "various embodiments", etc., this means that the features of those embodiments can be used in the combinations explicitly presented, and these features can be combined across the embodiments without departing from the invention, unless it is inferred from the context that the features cannot be combined. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0028] By way of example, various preferred non-limiting embodiments of the present invention will now be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

[0029] Figure 1 is a schematic perspective view of a tenon and mortise connector for a floor tile according to an embodiment of the present invention;

[0030] Figure 2 is a top view of a floor tile in an unassembled state according to an embodiment;

[0031] Figure 3 After assembly Figure 2 A top view of the floor tiles;

[0032] Figure 4 Yes Figure 2 A schematic top view of a portion of a floor tile is shown having an entire bottom portion of a side border recessed relative to a top portion;

[0033] Figure 5 Yes Figure 2 A schematic top view of a portion of a floor tile is shown, where only the bottom portions of the front and rear abutment surfaces of the tenon and mortise are recessed relative to the corresponding top portions;

[0034] Figure 6 is a cross-sectional elevation view through a first embodiment of the tenon and mortise in an engaged condition;

[0035] Figure 7 is a cross-sectional elevation view through a second embodiment of the tenon and mortise in an engaged condition;

[0036] Figure 8 is a cross-sectional elevational view through a third embodiment of the tenon and mortise in an engaged condition;

[0037] Fig. 9 is an illustration of a method for forming a tenon and mortise connection according to aspects of the present invention. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0038] In the detailed description, like reference numerals refer to like elements. The various views are not necessarily drawn to scale.

[0039] Figure 1 A portion of a floor tile 10 having a tongue and mortise connector according to an embodiment of the present invention is shown. The floor tile 10 has a decorative top surface 12, a bottom surface 14, and side borders 16. Figure 1 Only a portion of them is shown. The side border 16 comprises a tenon 18 and a mortise 20 located between two adjacent tenons 18 and having a shape complementary to the tenon 18. Each tenon 18 has a front abutment surface and each mortise 20 has a rear abutment surface 24. When the tenon and mortise connectors of two adjacent bricks are engaged, the front abutment surface of the tenon of one brick is arranged opposite to the corresponding rear abutment surface of the mortise of the other brick.

[0040] The front abutment surface 22 and the rear abutment surface 24 extend over the entire height of the floor tile 10. The side boundary 16 of the floor tile 10 has a top boundary portion adjacent to the tile top 12 and a bottom boundary portion adjacent to the tile bottom 14. Each front abutment surface and each rear abutment surface has a top surface portion 22a, 24a adjacent to the tile top 12 and a bottom surface portion 22b, 24b adjacent to the tile bottom 14. The top surface portions 22a, 24a are portions of the top boundary portion, and the bottom surface portions 22b, 24b are portions of the bottom boundary portion. The bottom surface portions 22b, 24b are recessed relative to the corresponding top surface portions 22a, 24a. The front abutment surface 22 and the rear abutment surface 24 are straight in the direction from the corresponding top surface portions 22a, 24a to the corresponding bottom surface portions 22b, 24b. By making the front abutment surface 22 and the rear abutment surface 24 relative to the surface normal ( Figure 1 The recess is obtained by making the angle (arrow N) of, for example, 0.5° to 5° (preferably 1° to 2°).

[0041] In various embodiments of the invention, the entire bottom border portion may be recessed relative to the top border portion, such as, for example Figure 4 However, Figure 1 This is not the case in the illustrated embodiment. The sides 26 of the tenons (corresponding to the side surfaces of adjacent mortises) are substantially perpendicular to the top surface 12 of the floor tile 10, i.e., their bottom portions are vertically aligned with the top portions. In the illustrated embodiment, the sides 26 are generally S-shaped, but other shapes are not excluded. For example, the sides 26 may be substantially straight in the horizontal direction, such as Figure 2 and Figure 3 In the transition area between the side surface and the front abutment surface 22 / the rear abutment surface 26, the concavity of the bottom boundary portion gradually increases.

[0042] It may be worth noting that the bottom border portion does not protrude beyond the top border portion at any point.

[0043] Figure 2Two unassembled floor tiles 10 are shown in a top view. The illustrated floor tiles 10 are shown as squares, but other shapes are possible. The tenon and mortise connectors are arranged along the edges of the floor tiles 10. The pattern of the tenons 18 and mortises 20 can generally be periodic. However, one or more of the tenons and mortises can be shaped in a specific (e.g., unique) manner to form one or more keys and locks that implement a specific way to assemble the tiles and prevent accidental laying methods (error-proofing). Generally speaking, one or more of the tenons and mortises can be configured to break the symmetry of the tiles. In the illustrated embodiment, such keys and locks are formed at the corners 28 of the tiles 10. These keys and locks prevent the tiles 10 from being assembled in a staggered manner and force the user to lay the tiles in a square grid. Other types of keying can be used to implement a unique orientation of the tiles relative to their adjacent tiles. It is worth noting that the error-proofing keys and locks do not need to be arranged at the corners 28, but can be arranged elsewhere along the side borders.

[0044] Figure 2 The tenons and mortises of floor tiles are dovetail shaped, but other shapes are not excluded.

[0045] Figure 3 Shown after assembly Figure 2 The tenon and mortise connectors of adjoining tiles fit tightly together because the top border portions of the tiles 10 are precisely complementary in shape. When laying the floor, the gaps between tiles provided by the recesses in the bottom border portions remain hidden from the user.

[0046] Figure 4 An embodiment of floor tile 10 is illustrated in which the entire bottom portion of the side border, represented by dashed outline 30 , is recessed relative to the top portion of the side border, represented by continuous outline 32 .

[0047] Figure 5 An embodiment of a floor tile 10 is illustrated in which only the bottom portions of the front and rear abutment surfaces of the tenon and mortise are recessed relative to the corresponding top portions. The sides of the tenon (and mortise) are substantially vertical. The dashed outline 30 represents the bottom portion of the side border, and the continuous outline 32 the top portion of the side border.

[0048] Figure 6 , Figure 7 and Figure 8 Different configurations of the front and rear abutment surfaces of the tenon and mortise are shown. Figure 3 A possible cross-sectional elevation view of line AA is shown.

[0049] Figure 6 and Figure 7Embodiments are shown in which the front and rear abutment surfaces 22, 24 are straight in a direction from the top surface portions 22a, 24a to the bottom surface portions 22b, 24b. Figure 6 The front face 22, 24 of the brick is in the vertical direction (or Figure 1 The surface normal N) shown forms an angle of 1°. This produces a recess of 0.11 mm in a floor tile having a height (thickness) of 6.5 mm. Figure 7 The front face 22, 24 of the brick is in the vertical direction (or Figure 1 The surface normal N) shown forms an angle of 2°. This produces a 0.22 mm recess in a floor tile having a height (thickness) of 6.5 mm.

[0050] Figure 8 An embodiment is shown in which the front and rear abutment surfaces 22, 24 have recessed bottom surface portions 22b, 24b spaced from the top surface portions 22a, 24a by respective shoulders 34, 36.

[0051] Fig. 9 A method for forming a floor tile having a tenon and mortise connector having a three-dimensional curved surface is illustrated. The floor tile may be produced from a tile blank 38, which is then processed using a CNC (computer numerical control) machine such as, for example, a CNC cutting machine, a CNC milling device, a CNC grinder, a water jet cutting machine, a laser cutting machine, etc. Fig. 9 As illustrated, during manufacture, a CNC cutting tool 40 may be moved along the contour of the floor tile while changing the orientation of the cutting tool 40. Arrow 42 shows the path of the cutting tool 40. For illustration, several locations that the cutting tool 40 passes through are indicated by dashed line representations of the cutting tool. It may be noted that different techniques may be combined to form the side borders of the floor tile. For example, a tile blank may be obtained by die cutting. Then, a CNC cutting technique may be used to form the concave bottom portion of the side border.

[0052] The floor tiles according to the invention may also be formed by additive manufacturing (3D printing).

[0053] Floor tiles and floorings according to various embodiments of the invention may be heterogeneous PVC floor coverings according to EN ISO 10582:2017 or homogeneous PVC floor coverings according to standard ISO 10581:2019. However, floor tiles do not have to be based on PVC. It should be understood that use class 42 or higher, for example use class 43, according to EN ISO 10874:2009 may be achieved.

[0054] Floor tiles may be homogeneous, ie comprise one or more layers of the same composition and colour, possibly forming a pattern over the entire thickness of the tile. In homogeneous floors, transparent outer coatings of different composition are not excluded.

[0055] The floor tiles may be heterogeneous, in which case the floor tiles comprise a multi-layer assembly of multiple layers of different compositions. A heterogeneous floor tile may include one or more core layers that provide most of the structural strength of the tile, a decorative layer (e.g., a print) on top of the core layer, and a clear wear layer that protects the decorative layer. The wear layer may include a clear outer coating (e.g., a polyurethane varnish) as its uppermost layer. On the bottom side, the tile may include a backing layer.

[0056] The core layer may include one or more reinforcement layers (e.g., fiber mesh, glass yarn, glass grid, polyester resin mesh (CRENETTE), leno fabric, etc.). The core layer may consist of (plasticized) PVC, fillers and additives (e.g., stabilizers, processing aids, such as, for example, impact modifiers, pigments).

[0057] Examples of fillers include calcium carbonate, clay, calcium silicate, calcium sulfate, calcium oxide, magnesium oxide, hydrated magnesium silicate (talc), titanium oxide, zinc oxide, aluminosilicates, chalk, limestone, dolomite, alumina, silica, diatomaceous earth, ceramic powder, ceramic microspheres, wood flour, cellulose fibers, and molecular sieves.

[0058] Preferably, the floor tile is phthalate-free (i.e., phthalic acid-free). Examples of plasticizers include phthalate-based plasticizers such as, for example, dioctyl phthalate (DOP), diisononyl phthalate (DINP), di(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate (DEHP), etc., or other plasticizers such as, for example, terephthalate (e.g., di(2-ethylhexyl) terephthalate (DEHT)), trimellitates, alkyl citrates, adipates, sebacates, benzoates, maleates, diisononyl 1,2-cyclohexanedicarboxylate (DINCH), etc. A preferred plasticizer is dioctyl terephthalate (DOTP).

[0059] Examples of processing aids include stearic acid, metal stearates, petroleum wax, silicone oil, mineral oil, synthetic oil, and polyethylene wax. Acrylic-based processing aids may be preferred.

[0060] Examples of heat stabilizers include metal compounds, specifically lead salts, organotin compounds, barium, cadmium, and zinc salts, and calcium / zinc stabilizers to provide stability during heat treatment.

[0061] Examples of impact modifiers include methyl methacrylate-butadiene-styrene (MBS) terpolymer, acrylate-methacrylate copolymer (acrylic acid), chlorinated polyethylene (CPE), ethylene-vinyl acetate copolymer (EVA), acrylonitrile-butadiene-styrene terpolymer (ABS).

[0062] The floor tiles may include recycled PVC.

[0063] Although various specific embodiments have been described in detail herein, it will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that various modifications and alternatives to these details may be developed based on the overall teachings of the present disclosure. Therefore, the specific arrangements disclosed are intended only to illustrate and not to limit the scope of the present invention, which is given by the full scope of the appended claims and any and all equivalents thereof.

Claims

1. A floor tile, comprising: Brick top; Brick bottom; a side border including tenons alternating with mortises, the tenons and mortises being configured to interlock with the mortises and tenons, respectively, of an adjacent floor tile; wherein each tenon has a front abutment surface, and each mortise has a rear abutment surface; the front abutment surface and the rear abutment surface extend from the top of the brick to the bottom of the brick; each of the front abutment surface and the rear abutment surface has a top surface portion adjacent to the top of the brick and a bottom surface portion adjacent to the bottom of the brick, The floor tile comprises a tenon or a mortise, wherein the bottom surface portion of the tenon or the mortise is recessed relative to the top surface portion.

2. The floor tile according to claim 1 or 2, wherein 50% or more of the tenons or the mortises have the bottom surface portion recessed relative to the top surface portion.

3. The floor tile according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein each of the tenons has the bottom surface portion recessed relative to the top surface portion.

4. The floor tile according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein each of the mortises has the bottom surface portion recessed relative to the top surface portion.

5. The floor tile according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the front abutment surface and the rear abutment surface are straight in a direction from the top surface portion to the bottom surface portion.

6. The floor tile according to claim 5, wherein the front abutment surface of the tenon having the bottom surface portion recessed relative to the top surface portion or the rear abutment surface of the mortise having the bottom surface portion recessed relative to the top surface portion is angled with a surface normal of the floor tile, thereby forming a recess.

7. The floor tile according to claim 6, wherein the angle to the surface normal of the floor tile is in the range of 0.5° to 5°, preferably in the range of 1° to 3°.

8. The floor tile according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the front abutment surface of the tenon having the bottom surface portion recessed relative to the top surface portion or the rear abutment surface of the mortise having the bottom surface portion recessed relative to the top surface portion has a recessed bottom surface portion spaced apart from the top surface portion by a shoulder.

9. The floor tile according to any one of claims 1 to 8, wherein the side border of the floor tile has a top border portion adjacent to the tile top and a bottom border portion adjacent to the tile bottom, and wherein the entire bottom border portion is recessed relative to the top border portion.

10. The floor tile according to any one of claims 1 to 8, wherein the recess has a depth of 0.1 mm to 1 mm, preferably 0.1 mm to 0.5 mm.

11. The floor tile of any one of claims 1 to 10, wherein the tenon and the mortise comprise a dovetail tenon and a dovetail mortise.

12. The floor tile according to any one of claims 1 to 11, comprising at least three edges forming the side boundaries.

13. The floor tile according to any one of claims 1 to 12, wherein the side borders of the floor tile are formed at least in sections by milling.

14. The floor tile according to any one of claims 1 to 13, wherein only the tenon or only the mortise has the bottom surface portion recessed relative to the top surface portion.

15. The floor tile according to any one of claims 1 to 13, wherein only the tenons but all of the tenons or only the mortises but all of the mortises have the bottom surface portion recessed relative to the top surface portion.

16. A floor covering comprising a plurality of floor tiles according to any one of claims 1 to 15.

17. Floor covering according to claim 16, which is a heterogeneous PVC floor covering according to EN ISO 10582:2017.

18. Floor covering according to claim 16 or 17, belonging to use class 42 or higher, such as use class 43, according to EN ISO 10874:2009.

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