초록 ▼

A floorboard assembly comprises first and second solid wood floor boards (10) and (12). The first floor board (10) has a tongue (14) extending longitudinally along a first side thereof. The second floor board (12) having a groove (16) extending longitudinally along a second side thereof. The groove

A floorboard assembly comprises first and second solid wood floor boards (10) and (12). The first floor board (10) has a tongue (14) extending longitudinally along a first side thereof. The second floor board (12) having a groove (16) extending longitudinally along a second side thereof. The groove (16) has a width defined between a top lip (22) and a bottom lip (24). The tongue (14) is insertable in a tight fit manner in the groove (16) to prevent translational separation of the boards (10, 12) in a common plane thereof. A clearance (26, 26′, 28, 32, 32′, 32″, 36 and 38) is provided between the tongue (14) and the groove (16) at one of a tip portion of the tongue (14) and an outermost portion of the top and bottom lips (22, 24) of the groove (16). The clearance (26, 26′, 28, 32, 32′, 32″, 36 and 38) is configured to allow angular withdrawal of the tongue (14) from the groove (16) by manually pivoting the first and second floor boards (10, 12) towards one another in one of an upward and a downward direction.

대표청구항 ▼

1. A floorboard assembly comprising: at least first and second hardwood floor boards adapted to be mounted in a side-by-side coplanar relationship, the first floor board having a tongue extending longitudinally along a first side thereof, the second floor board having a groove extending longitudinal

1. A floorboard assembly comprising: at least first and second hardwood floor boards adapted to be mounted in a side-by-side coplanar relationship, the first floor board having a tongue extending longitudinally along a first side thereof, the second floor board having a groove extending longitudinally along a second side thereof, the groove having a width defined between a top lip and a bottom lip, the tongue being linearly insertable and removable from the groove while the first and second floor boards are coplanar, the tongue being received in a tight fit manner in the groove, a top surface of the tongue being in frictional engagement with an undersurface of the top lip of the groove from a top outermost contact point to a top innermost contact point relative to a depth of the groove, a bottom surface of the tongue being in frictional engagement with a top surface of the bottom lip of the groove from a bottom outermost contact point to a bottom innermost contact point relative to the depth of the groove, the frictional engagement of the top surface of the tongue depending at least on a distance between the top outermost contact point and the top innermost contact point, the frictional engagement of the bottom surface of the tongue depending at least on a distance between the bottom outermost contact point and the bottom innermost contact point, the frictional engagement of the top and bottom surfaces providing sufficient frictional resistance to resist against translational separation of the first and second floor boards in a common plane thereof when subject to pull-apart forces of a magnitude similar to that encountered during factory sanding operations, the top outermost contact point and the bottom innermost contact point defining a first diagonal, the top innermost contact point and the bottom outermost contact point defining a second diagonal, the first and second diagonals defining slopes of opposite sign, one of said first and second diagonals having a length sufficiently greater than the width of the groove to substantially lock the first and second floor boards against relative pivotal movement in one of an upward and a downward direction associated with said one of said first and second diagonals, a clearance provided between the tongue and the groove, the clearance reducing the length of the other one of said first and second diagonals to approximate the width of the groove to permit an angular withdrawal of the tongue from the groove by manually pivoting the first and second boards toward each other in the other one of said upward and downward directions, and means for providing added flexibility in the bottom lip of the groove, said means including an undercut defined in an undersurface of the bottom lip, the undercut extending substantially along the full extent of the bottom lip in a depthwise direction of the groove. 2. The floorboard assembly defined in claim 1, wherein the other one of said first and second diagonals defines a lip clearance angle with respect to the vertical, said lip clearance angle being comprised in a range of about 12 to about 20 degrees. 3. The floorboard assembly defined in claim 2, wherein the lip clearance angle is comprised in a range of about 12 to about 16 degrees. 4. The floorboard assembly defined in claim 3, wherein the lip clearance angle is about 14 degrees. 5. The floorboard assembly defined in claim 1, wherein the clearance reduces the length of the first diagonal, and wherein a ratio of the distance between the top outermost contact point and the top innermost contact point relative to the width of the groove is about 0.25. 6. The floorboard assembly defined in claim 1, wherein the clearance reduces the length of the second diagonal, and wherein the width of the groove is about 4 times greater than the distance between the bottom outermost contact point and the bottom innermost contact point. 7. The floorboard assembly defined in claim 1, wherein the clearance is provided by at least one clearance undercut defined in at least one of a top and a bottom tip portion of the tongue and an outermost portion of the undersurface of the top lip and a top surface of the bottom lip of the groove. 8. The floorboard assembly defined in claim 7, wherein the at least one clearance undercut comprises a first undercut defined in the undersurface of the outermost portion of the top lip of the groove, and a second undercut defined in the undersurface of the bottom tip portion of the tongue. 9. The floorboard assembly defined in claim 7, wherein the at least one undercut comprises a first undercut defined in the top surface of the tip portion of the tongue, and a second undercut defined in the outermost portion of the top surface of the bottom lip of the groove. 10. The floorboard assembly defined in claim 1, wherein the undercut provides a 0.020 inch to 0.030 inch reduction of the thickness of the bottom lip. 11. The floorboard assembly defined in claim 1, wherein the clearance has a dimension which represents 5% to 20% of the width of the groove. 12. The floorboard assembly defined in claim 11, wherein the clearance includes a 0.020 inch undercut in an outermost portion of the undersurface of the top lip of the groove. 13. The floorboard assembly defined in claim 8, wherein the second undercut has a length L1 representing about 15% to about 30% of a total length L2 of the tongue. 14. The floorboard assembly defined in claim 8, wherein the second undercut has a thickness T1 representing about 5% to about 20% of a total thickness T2 of the tongue. 15. The floorboard assembly defined in claim 8, wherein the first undercut has a length L3 representing 15% to 30% of a total length L4 of the groove. 16. A pre-finished floorboard assembly comprising at least first and second solid wood floor boards, the first floor board having a tongue extending longitudinally along a first side thereof, the second floor board having a groove extending longitudinally along a second side thereof, the groove having a width defined between a top lip and a bottom lip, the tongue being linearly inserted in frictional engagement in the groove while the floor boards are coplanar to counteract pull-apart forces exerted on the first and second floor boards during factory sanding and varnishing operations, the first and second floor boards being linearly disengageable while being held in a common plane by overcoming a frictional resistance offered by a tight fit engagement of the tongue in the groove, at least one play provided between the tongue and the groove at at least one of a tip portion of the tongue and an outermost portion of the top and bottom lips relative to a depth of the groove, the play being configured to allow the tongue to be angularly withdrawn from the groove by manually pivoting the first and second floor boards towards one another in only one of an upward and a downward direction, and means for providing added flexibility in the bottom lip of the groove, said means including an undercut defined in an undersurface of the bottom lip, the undercut extending substantially along the full extent of the bottom lip in a depthwise direction of the groove. 17. The pre-finished floorboard assembly defined in claim 16, wherein a top surface of the tongue is in frictional engagement with an undersurface of the top lip of the groove between a top outermost contact point and a top innermost contact point relative to the depth of the groove, a bottom surface of the tongue being in frictional engagement with a top surface of the bottom lip of the groove between a bottom outermost contact point and a bottom innermost contact point relative to the depth of the groove, the top outermost contact point and the bottom innermost contact point defining a first diagonal, the top innermost contact point and the bottom outermost contact point defining a second diagonal, and wherein the presence of the play has for effect of pivoting one of said first and second diagonals closer to the vertical such that said one diagonal has a length approximating the width of the groove, the first and second diagonals having slopes of opposite sign. 18. The pre-finished floorboard assembly defined in claim 17, wherein said one of said first and second diagonals defines a lip clearance angle with respect to the vertical, said lip clearance angle ranging from about 12 degrees to about 20 degrees. 19. The floorboard assembly defined in claim 18, wherein the lip clearance angle ranges from about 12 degrees to about 16 degrees. 20. The floorboard assembly defined in claim 19, wherein the lip clearance angle is about 14 degrees.