PARQUET STRIP COMPRISING A REMOVABLE INTERLOCKING SYSTEM

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present disclosure concerns a floorboard comprising a releasable interlocking assembly system.

BACKGROUND

There are different types of floors known in the industry such as engineered floor and massive floor.

The massive floor has many advantages vis-à-vis other types of existing floor.

The massive floor, for example, has superior aesthetic properties and is also more resistant to moisture. It also has a longer lifespan.

Each type of floor corresponds to one or several laying techniques adapted according to the type of floor and the thickness of the floorboards. Among the possible floor laying techniques, we can mention a nailed laying in which the floorboards are nailed to joists resting on a continuous or discontinuous support, a glued laying in which the floorboards are glued on a continuous support, and finally a floating laying in which the floorboards are laid on a continuous support with no means of connection other than the contact established by the weight of a floorboard. To date, only engineered floorboards are compatible with a floating laying.

For the installation of the massive floor, we can use nailed or glued laying. The floorboards are then either nailed to joists or glued with floor glue. The nailed laying may be difficult to implement since it requires an installation of joists for example as well as suitable equipment. The glued laying, although simpler to implement, is not reversible and results, in the vast majority of cases, in the destruction of the floor when it must be removed when a building reaches the end of its life for example. If they are thus implemented, the floors are not reusable. The carbon stored in the floorboards during the lifespan of the floor is therefore released at the end of the life of the floor. It will then be necessary to mobilize once again the forest resource to manufacture new floorboards.

Easy-to-implement and reversible floor assembly solutions have been devised in order to obtain releasable and reusable floorboards in order to reduce the ecological impact and limit the manufacturing costs.

The document EP2843154B1 describes, for example, a solution for assembling reversible floorboards comprising an active locking system comprising a movable locking element. However, the system described in the document EP2843154B 1 requires for the floor assembly an additional locking element and therefore a higher manufacturing cost.

The technical problem at the basis of the disclosure concerns providing an assembly of releasable and reusable floorboards which is of simple structure, economical and with low ecological impact.

BRIEF SUMMARY

To this end, the subject of the present disclosure is a floorboard comprising a first main surface intended to form an apparent surface and a second main surface opposite to the first main surface and intended to bear on a support, a first front edge and a second front edge, the first front edge being arranged to cooperate with a second front edge of another floorboard, the first front edge comprising a first front wall and a tongue extending from the first front wall towards a distal end opposite to the first front wall, the tongue comprising a first convex bearing surface disposed on a first side of the tongue, a second bearing surface disposed on a second side of the tongue opposite to the first side, the second bearing surface being extended in the direction of the distal end of the tongue by a rounded portion,

• • the second front edge comprising a second front wall having a groove defining an opening and an inner wall extending from a first end of the opening, the inner wall comprising a first concave bearing surface disposed on a first side of the opening, a bottom surface and a second bearing surface disposed on a second side of the opening disposed opposite the first side and extending to a second end of the opening;
  • the width of the opening of the groove being equal to the distance between the first bearing surface of the tongue and the rounded portion increased by a functional clearance dimensioned so that the ratio of the distance between the first bearing surface of the tongue and of the rounded portion to the width of the opening of the groove is substantially comprised between 0.7 and 0.99.
  • the length of the tongue considered between the first front wall and an end of the tongue disposed on the tongue opposite the first front wall being less than the depth of the groove considered between the opening of the groove and the bottom wall of the groove. The floorboard may additionally have one or several of the following characteristics, taken alone or in combination.

The ratio between the length of the tongue and the depth of the groove may for example be comprised between 0.6 and 0.99.

The ratio of the distance between the first main surface and a first end of the tongue disposed on the first bearing surface of the tongue at the intersection between the first bearing surface of the tongue and the first front wall to the distance between the first main surface and a second end of the tongue disposed on the second bearing surface of the tongue at the intersection between the second bearing surface of the tongue and the first front wall may be comprised between 0.2 and 0.75.

According to one characteristic, the floorboard is made of massive wood.

According to one characteristic, the floorboard may comprise a wear layer extending from the first main surface in a direction orthogonal to a plane of the floorboard 1 and representing a fraction of a thickness of the floorboard of at least 25%, and preferably more than 35% or even more than 40%, the thickness of the floorboard being considered between the first main surface and the second main surface, the tongue and the groove being positioned relative to the thickness of the floorboard in a lower layer of the floorboard disposed below the wear layer.

According to one possibility, the floorboard comprises a chamfer disposed on the other side of the rounded portion with respect to the second bearing surface of the tongue.

The chamfer may have an angle of inclination with respect to an insertion axis comprised between 10 degrees and 45 degrees.

Advantageously, the value of the angle of inclination comprised between 10 degrees and 45 degrees facilitates the interlocking of the tongue into the groove.

The second bearing surface of the tongue may be configured to be substantially planar. According to one embodiment, the floorboard further comprises a first lateral edge and a second lateral edge of the floorboard disposed opposite the first lateral edge, the first lateral edge comprising a first flange extending along a plane of the floorboard and an anchoring abutment extending from the flange in a direction transverse to a plane of the floorboard, the second lateral edge comprising a second flange extending in the plane of the floorboard and an anchoring cavity provided in the second flange, said anchoring cavity being of complementary shape to the anchoring abutment and intended to receive the anchoring abutment of a neighboring floorboard.

According to one embodiment, the first flange comprises a surface disposed in the extension of the first main surface of the floorboard, and the second flange comprises a surface disposed in the extension of the second main surface of the floorboard.

According to one embodiment, the anchoring abutment and the anchoring cavity have a triangular shape.

According to a first possibility, the first flange extends from the first main surface, the thickness of the first flange is greater than the thickness of the wear layer, and the anchoring abutment is disposed in the lower layer, or

• • according to a second possibility, the second flange extends from the first main surface, the thickness of the second flange is greater than the thickness of the wear layer, and the anchoring cavity is disposed in the lower layer.

According to the first possibility, the second flange extends from the second main surface and is included in the lower layer. According to the second possibility, the first flange extends from the second main surface and is included in the lower layer.

The tongue may have a bearing point disposed in the direction of the distal end of the tongue relative to the first bearing surface of the tongue, and the inner wall of the groove has an abutment surface disposed in the extension of the first bearing surface of the groove, the bearing point being configured to come into abutment on the abutment surface of a neighboring floorboard when the tongue is introduced into the groove.

According to one possibility, the first bearing surface of the tongue is arranged to slide on the first bearing surface of the groove of a neighboring floorboard between:

• • an initial sliding position in which the bearing point belongs to a plane of the opening; and
  • a final sliding position in which the bearing point is in contact with the abutment surface.

According to one embodiment, the sliding path is curved and defined by the first bearing surface.

The second bearing surface of the tongue may be arranged to bear against the second bearing surface of the groove.

Advantageously, the sliding movement of the tongue in the groove prevents the tongue from breaking when the latter is subjected to a high distributed load, for example of a value substantially equal to 500 daN/m2 and to a high concentrated load, for example of a value substantially equal to 700 daN.

Advantageously, the sliding movement of the tongue in the groove is reversible and results in that two floorboards may be released and reused, thus constituting a non-fixed assembly after the two floorboards have been interlocked.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES

The disclosure will be better understood with the help of the detailed description which is exposed below with reference to the appended drawings which are not to scale and which are given for information purposes only, and in which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a floorboard having a first front edge and a second front edge, the first front edge being arranged to cooperate with a second front edge of another floorboard.

FIG. 2 is a sectional view of the first front edge of the floorboard of FIG. 1 according to a first embodiment of the first front edge.

FIG. 3 is a sectional view of the second front edge of the floorboard of FIG. 1 according to a first embodiment of the second front edge.

FIG. 4 is a front view of the second front edge of the floorboard of FIG. 1 showing an anchoring abutment and an anchoring cavity.

FIG. 5 is a sectional view of an assembly of two floorboards according to FIG. 1 presenting a wear layer.

FIG. 6 presents phases of an interlocking of two floorboards.

FIG. 7 is a sectional view of the first front edge of the floorboard of FIG. 1 according to a second embodiment of the first front edge.

FIG. 8 is a sectional view of the second front edge of the floorboard of FIG. 1 according to a second embodiment of the second front edge.

FIG. 9 is a sectional view of the first and second lateral edges of the floorboard according to a second embodiment of the first and second lateral edges.

FIG. 10 is a detailed view of a front assembly area of the two floorboards.

FIG. 11 is a detailed view of a lateral assembly area of the two floorboards.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

In the detailed description which will follow of the figures defined above, the same elements or the elements performing identical functions may retain the same references so as to simplify the understanding of the disclosure.

The disclosure concerns a floorboard 1 presented in FIG. 1 and comprising a first main surface 5 intended to form an apparent surface exposed to the footsteps of a user of the floor, for example, and a second main surface 5′ opposite to the first main surface 5 and intended to bear against a support such as the ground, for example a screed or a slab, of a house or of a tertiary building for example.

The floorboard 1 described may be made of massive wood.

According to one possibility, the floorboard 1 described may be a engineered floorboard.

The floorboard 1 may comprise a wear layer 5a represented in FIG. 5 and extending from the first main surface 5 in a direction orthogonal to a plane of the floorboard 1 and representing a fraction of a thickness of the floorboard 1 of at least 25%, and preferably more than 35% or even more than 40%, the thickness of the floorboard 1 being considered between the first main surface 5 and the second main surface 5′, the tongue 6 and the groove 7 being positioned relative to the thickness of the floorboard 1 in a lower layer 5b of the floorboard 1 disposed below the wear layer 5a.

These provisions make it possible to make the fastening method compatible with one or several sanding of the floor, and thus to give a renewable character to the floor.

The wear layer 5a may be able to be renovated, in other words, it is possible to sand the floor so as to find a smooth surface by removing material from the thickness of the wear layer 5a.

The floorboard also comprises a first front edge 2 which can also be called the male part and a second front edge 3 which can also be called the female part, the first front edge 2 being arranged to cooperate with a second front edge 3 of another floorboard, in other words to make a male-female assembly by interlocking a male part of a floorboard with a female part of another floorboard, the interlocking being advantageously reversible. Indeed, the massive wood being a material whose dimensions may vary depending on the humidity and temperature of an environment in which it is located, the floorboard 1 described makes it possible to take into account the variations of the massive wood depending on the humidity and temperature of the environment in which it is located.

The first front edge 2 comprises a first front wall 28, 21 and a tongue 6 extending from the first front wall 28, 21 towards a distal end opposite to the first front wall 28, 21.

FIG. 2 presents a sectional view of a first embodiment of the first front edge 2 in which the tongue 6 has a curved shape and comprises a first smooth and convex bearing surface 27 disposed on a first side of the tongue 6, a second bearing surface 22 disposed on a second side of the tongue opposite to the first side, the second bearing surface 22 being able to be configured to be substantially planar and being able to be extended towards the distal end 26 of the tongue by a rounded portion 23. The floorboard may also comprise a chamfer 24 disposed on the other side of the rounded portion 23 relative to the second bearing surface 22 of the tongue 6.

According to a second embodiment of the first front edge 2 presented in FIG. 7, the first bearing surface 27 may comprise a first portion 27a, a second portion 27b and a third portion 27c disposed on the bearing surface 27 so that an obtuse angle of intersection is produced between the first portion 27a and the second portion 27b, and an obtuse angle of intersection is produced between the second portion 27b and the third portion 27c.

By obtuse angle of intersection is meant the angle measured starting from the first portion 27a and turning clockwise to reach the second portion 27b, and starting from the second portion 27b and turning clockwise to reach the third portion 27c.

According to one possibility, the chamfer 24 has an angle of inclination with respect to an insertion axis B (FIG. 2) comprised between 10 degrees and 45 degrees.

According to one possibility, the chamfer 24 may be replaced by a curved shape ridge connecting the rounded portion 23 to one end of the tongue 25.

A first embodiment of the second front edge 3 presented in FIG. 3 comprises a second front wall 11, 16 having a groove 7 defining an opening and an inner wall extending from a first end of the opening 18. The groove 7 may extend longitudinally over the entire length of the floorboard 1 according to a plane of the floorboard 1.

According to the first embodiment of the second front edge 3, the inner wall comprises a first smooth and concave bearing surface 15 disposed on a first side of the opening, a bottom surface 13 and a second bearing surface 12 disposed on a second side of the opening disposed at the opposite on the first side and extending to a second end of the opening 19.

According to a second embodiment of the second front edge 3 presented in FIG. 8, the first bearing surface 15 may comprise a first portion 15a, a second portion 15b and a third portion 15c disposed on the bearing surface 15 so that an obtuse angle of intersection is produced between the first portion 15a and the second portion 15b, and an obtuse angle of intersection is produced between the second portion 15b and the third portion 15c.

By obtuse angle of intersection is meant the angle measured starting from the first portion 15a and turning clockwise to reach the second portion 15b, and starting from the second portion 15b and turning clockwise to reach the third portion 15c.

The floorboard described may be remarkable in that the width W of the opening of the groove 7 which is visible on FIG. 3 is equal to the distance between the first bearing surface 27 of the tongue 6 and the rounded portion 23 increased by a functional clearance J1 dimensioned so that the ratio of the distance between the first bearing surface 27 of the tongue 6 and the rounded portion 23 to the width of the opening W of the groove 7 is substantially comprised between 0.7 and 0.99, and in that the length L of the tongue 6 presented in FIG. 2 and considered between the first front wall 28, 21 and the end of the tongue 25 disposed on the tongue 6 opposite the first front wall 21, 28 is less than the depth P of the groove considered between the opening of the groove and the bottom surface 13 of the groove 7. This results in that the end of the tongue 25 may not be in contact with the bottom surface 13.

The functional clearance JI and the fact that the length L of the tongue 6 is less than the depth P of the groove promotes the reversibility of the interlocking of two floorboards.

The ratio between the length L of the tongue 6 and the depth P of the groove 7 may for example be comprised between 0.6 and 0.99.

The ratio of the distance between the first main surface 5 and a first end X of the tongue 6 disposed on the first bearing surface 27 of the tongue 6 at the intersection between the first bearing surface 27 of the tongue 6 and the first front wall 28, 21 to the distance between the first main surface 5 and a second end Y of the tongue 6 disposed on the second bearing surface 22 of the tongue 6 at the intersection between the second bearing surface 22 of the tongue 6 and the first front wall 28, 21 may be comprised between 0.2 and 0.75.

The floorboard 1 may further comprise a first lateral edge 4 which comprises a first flange extending along a plane of the floorboard and an anchoring abutment 9 extending from the flange in a direction transverse to a plane of the floorboard as shown in FIG. 4. The first flange may comprise a surface disposed in the extension of the first main surface 5 of the floorboard 1 also visible on FIGS. 4 and 9.

The floorboard 1 may also comprise a second lateral edge 8 presented in FIGS. 4, 9 and 11 and disposed opposite the first lateral edge 4, the second lateral edge 8 comprising a second flange extending in the plane of the board. The second flange may comprise a surface disposed in the extension of the second main surface 5′ of the floorboard 1.

An anchoring cavity 10 may be provided in the second flange, said anchoring cavity 10 being of complementary shape to the anchoring abutment 9 and intended to receive the anchoring abutment 9 of a neighboring floorboard.

According to a first possibility which is presented in FIGS. 5 and 9, the first flange extends from the first main surface 5, the thickness of the first flange is greater than the thickness of the wear layer 5a, and the anchoring abutment 9 is disposed in the lower layer 5b.

According to this first possibility, the second flange extends from the second main surface 5′ and is included in the lower layer 5b.

The second flange may, according to a second possibility, extend from the first main surface 5, the thickness of the second flange is greater than the thickness of the wear layer 5a, and the anchoring cavity 10 is disposed in the lower layer 5b.

Thus, according to this second possibility, the first flange extends from the second main surface 5′ and is included in the lower layer 5b.

According to one embodiment, the anchoring abutment 9 and the anchoring cavity 10 have a triangular shape like that of FIGS. 4, 9 and 11 for example.

Indeed, during the interlocking of two floorboards presented in FIG. 6, the tongue 6 of the floorboard 1 may possibly undergo a translational movement by sliding within the groove 7 of a neighboring floorboard. To overcome this drawback, the disclosure provides for the anchoring abutment 9 of the floorboard 1 to be inserted into the anchoring cavity 10 of a neighboring floorboard as an additional fastening means, so as to block a such translational motion.

When fitting two floorboards 1a, 1b as in FIG. 11, a clearance J2 may be provided between the first lateral edge 4 of the floorboard 1a and the second lateral edge 8 of the neighboring floorboard 1b.

The tongue 6 may have a bearing point 26 disposed in the direction of the distal end of the tongue with respect to the first bearing surface of the tongue.

The inner wall of the groove has an abutment surface 14 disposed in the extension of the first bearing surface 15 of the groove.

The bearing point 26 may be configured to come into abutment on the abutment surface 14 of a neighboring floorboard when the tongue 6 is introduced into the groove 7.

According to one possibility, the first bearing surface 27 of the tongue is arranged to slide on the first bearing surface 15 of the groove of a neighboring floorboard according to a sliding path which may be curved and defined by the first bearing surface 15 between:

• • an initial sliding position in which the bearing point 26 belongs to a plane of the opening; and
  • a final sliding position in which the bearing point 26 is in contact with the abutment surface 14.

Thus, a back-and-forth movement of the tongue 6 between the initial sliding position and the final sliding position may take place when the latter is inserted into the groove 7.

The second bearing surface 22 of the tongue 6 of FIG. 2 may be arranged to bear against the second bearing surface 12 of the groove 7 of FIG. 3.

The first front wall 28, 21 and the second front wall 11, 16 may not be in permanent contact during the interlocking of the floorboard 1 with a neighboring floorboard due to the presence of the functional clearance J1 and the fact that the length L of the tongue 6 is less than the depth P of the groove 7.

Advantageously, the sliding movement of the tongue 6 in the groove 7 makes it possible to avoid the breakage of the tongue 6 when the latter is subjected to a high distributed load, for example of a value substantially equal to 500 daN/m2 and to a high concentrated load, for example of a value substantially equal to 700 daN.

Thus, the tongue 6 of a neighboring floorboard may slide in the groove 7 of the floorboard 1 and advantageously form a stable floor covering work which does not require the fastening of the floorboards by an additional fastening means such as floor glue for example.

Advantageously, the value of the angle of inclination of the chamfer 24 with respect to the insertion axis B comprised between 10 degrees and 45 degrees facilitates the interlocking of the tongue 6 into the groove 7.

Advantageously, the sliding movement of the tongue 6 in the groove 7 is reversible and results in two floorboards being releasable and reusable, thus constituting a non-fixed assembly after the two floorboards have been interlocked. In other words, in the medium term and in the long term, two floorboards may separate to cooperate again on another support.

Advantageously, two neighboring floorboards may be assembled so as to support natural deformations of the wood depending on the humidity of the ambient air, such as a variation in the width of the floorboard of 0.15% for a humidity variation of 1%, while remaining united and therefore allowing an installation of the floor without floor glue or other assembly component. The fact of not using the floor glue or any assembly component results in the floorboards being easily releasable and therefore in the laying of the floorboards becoming easy, reversible and with a low environmental footprint.

Although the disclosure has been described in conjunction with specific embodiments, it is obvious that it is in no way limited thereto and that it comprises all the technical equivalents of the means described as well as their combinations if these fall within the scope of the disclosure.