Floor Panel Coupling Profiles for Expansion Gap Control
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Existing floor panel installations face challenges such as complexity in installation, drift apart during expansion and shrinkage, and the need for expensive and time-consuming metal connection elements to maintain panel integrity.
Innovation Solution
A laminated floor panel design with specific edge configurations, including sideward tongues and recesses, allows for easy assembly through angled insertion and snapping mechanisms, providing triple locking in horizontal, vertical, and rotational directions without additional elements.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If floor panels are installed loosely onto the subflooring with tongue and groove coupling, then ease of installation and ability to accommodate expansion/shrinkage are improved, but panels drift apart during expansion and shrinkage causing gaps
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies curvature to the tongue and groove interfaces by rounding the edges and surfaces of the coupling profiles. This rounded geometry allows the panels to accommodate expansion and shrinkage movements while maintaining continuous contact between adjacent panels, preventing gaps from forming during dimensional changes.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent modifies the geometric parameters of the coupling profiles, specifically the shape and dimensions of the tongue and groove elements. By optimizing these parameters, the connection maintains both the ease of installation and the reliability needed to prevent panel drift during expansion and shrinkage cycles.
2Reliability
If metal connection elements are provided between floor panels to prevent drifting apart, then panel connection stability is improved, but manufacturing cost and installation time increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts and eliminates the need for separate metal connection elements by integrating the coupling function directly into the tongue and groove profiles of the panels themselves. This self-contained coupling system maintains panel connection stability without requiring additional components.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent merges the functions of panel connection and dimensional accommodation into a single integrated tongue and groove coupling system. This unified design eliminates the need for separate connection elements while maintaining both reliability and ease of installation.
3Productivity
If tongue and groove coupling is used for floor panels, then ease of installation is improved, but connection reliability during expansion and shrinkage deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The rounded geometry of the tongue and groove profiles enables smooth relative movement between panels during expansion and shrinkage while maintaining continuous contact. This curved interface preserves connection reliability without compromising the quick installation enabled by the tongue and groove design.
Data Source
AI summary
The invention relates to a panel, in particular a floor panel, interconnectable with similar panels for forming a covering. The invention also relates to a covering consisting of mutually connected floor panels according to the invention. The invention further relates to a method of assembling multiple floor panels for forming a covering.