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EP-4737079-A2 - PANEL AND METHOD FOR MANUFACTURING SUCH A PANEL

EP4737079A2EP 4737079 A2EP4737079 A2EP 4737079A2EP-4737079-A2

Abstract

Panel which is rectangular and has long (2-3) and short (4-5) edges, wherein, on each long edge (2-3) and on each short edge (4-5), the panel (1) comprises a coupling part (7-8-9-10) which allows the panel (1) to be coupled to another similar panel (1).

Inventors

  • SCHACHT, BENNY
  • DE RICK, JAN

Assignees

  • Unilin, BV

Dates

Publication Date
20260506
Application Date
20191125

Claims (15)

  1. Panel which is rectangular and has long (2-3) and short (4-5) edges, wherein, on each long edge (2-3) and on each short edge (4-5), the panel (1) comprises a coupling part (7-8-9-10) which allows the panel (1) to be coupled to another similar panel (1); wherein the coupling part (7) on the one long edge (2) comprises a tongue (11) and a downwardly directed interlocking groove (12); wherein the coupling parts (8-9-10) on the other long edge (3) and on the short edges (4-5) each comprise a groove (13 and 26-27) and an interlocking lip (14 and 17-18); wherein the interlocking lip (14 and 17-18) on each of the other long edge (3) and the short edges (4-5) delimits the respective groove (13 and 26-27) along the bottom and comprises an upwardly directed interlocking element (19 and 28-29); wherein the tongue (11) is configured to cooperate with the groove (13 and 26-27) on each of the other long edge (3) and the short edges (4-5) of another similar panel (1) in order to produce a vertical interlocking between the respective edges; and wherein the downwardly directed interlocking groove (12) is configured to cooperate with the upwardly directed interlocking element (19 and 28-29) on each of the other long edge (3) and the short edges (4-5) of another similar panel (1) in order to produce a horizontal interlocking between the respective edges; wherein the groove (13) on the other long edge (3) is delimited along the top by a top lip (23); wherein the end of this top lip (23) extends beyond the edge of the panel, wheren the top side of this top lip (23) contains an interlocking surface (81) and wherein the coupling parts (7, 9, 10) on the one long edge and on both short sides contain an undercut which comprises an interlocking surface (82), wherein the two interlocking surfaces (81 and 82) are configured to form a vertical interlocking of coupled panels.
  2. Panel in accordance with claim 1, wherein one or several spaces or air chambers (24) are formed between the coupled edges (2-3) of the panels (1).
  3. Panel in accordance with claim 1 or 2, wherein the interlocking lip (14) on the other long edge (3), surpasses the top edge of the other long edge (3) and wherein the upwardly directed interlocking element (19) is completely in the portion of the interlocking lip (14) which is beyond the top edge; preferably wherein the top edge of the respective edge is formed by the distal or free end of the top lip (23) which delimits the respective groove (13) along the top.
  4. Panel in accordance with any of the preceding claims, wherein the interlocking lip (17-18) on the one and/or other short edge (4-5) is present along the entire or virtually the entire length of the one and/or the other short edge (4-5), respectively.
  5. Panel in accordance with any of the preceding claims, wherein the coupling part (7) on the one long edge (2) is present along the entire or virtually the entire length of the one long edge (2).
  6. Panel in accordance with any of the preceding claims, wherein the groove (11) on the other long edge (3) is present along the entire or virtually the entire length of the other long edge (3).
  7. Panel in accordance with any of the preceding claims, wherein the groove (26-27) on the one and/or other short edge (4-5) is present along the entire or virtually the entire length of the one and/or other short edge (4-5), respectively.
  8. Panel in accordance with any of the preceding claims, wherein the coupling parts (7-8) on the long edges (2-3) are configured to couple the one long edge (2) of the panel (1) to the other long edge (3) of another similar panel (1) by means of a turning movement (W).
  9. Panel in accordance with any of the preceding claims, wherein the coupling parts (7-8) on the long edges (2-3) are configured to couple the one long edge (2) of the panel (1) to the other long edge (3) of another similar panel (1) by means of a substantially horizontal translational movement (T).
  10. Panel in accordance with any of the preceding claims, wherein the coupling part (9-10) on the one and/or other short edge (4-5) and the coupling part (7) on the one long edge (2) are configured to couple the respective short edge (4-5) of the panel (1) to the one long edge (2) of another similar panel (1) by means of a substantially horizontal translational movement (T).
  11. Panel in accordance with any of the preceding claims, wherein the coupling part (9-10) on the one and/or other short edge (4-5) and the coupling part (8) on the other long edge (3) are configured to couple the respective short edge (4-5) of the panel (1) to the other long edge (3) of another similar panel (1) by means of a substantially horizontal translational movement (T).
  12. Panel in accordance with any of the preceding claims, wherein the coupling part (7-8) on the one and/or other long edge (2-3) is formed as a single part with the actual panel (1) and is made of the same material.
  13. Panel in accordance with any of the preceding claims, wherein the coupling part (9-10) on the one and/or other short edge (4-5) is formed as a single part with the actual panel (1) and is made of the same material.
  14. Panel in accordance with any of the preceding claims, wherein the panel (1) is configured in such a way that a herringbone pattern (6) can be produced using several such panels (1).
  15. Panel in accordance with any of the preceding claims, wherein the panel (1) is configured in such a way that a herringbone pattern (6) can be produced using several such panels (1), without requiring the use of panels (1) of another, different type.

Description

The present invention relates to a panel and to a method for manufacturing such a panel. More in particular, the invention relates to a panel which is rectangular and has long and short edges. The panel comprises a coupling part on each edge which makes it possible to couple the panel to another similar panel. Such panels are known, for example from WO 97/47843. In this case, the coupling part is configured at the one long edge to cooperate with the coupling part at the other long edge of another similar panel. The coupling part at the one short edge is configured to cooperate with the coupling part at the other short edge of another similar panel. The cooperating coupling parts form an interlocking tongue and groove connection, both at the long and at the short edges. This is a tongue and groove connection which does not only produce a vertical, but also a horizontal interlocking between the coupled edges. The vertical interlocking is produced by the cooperation between the tongue and the groove. The horizontal interlocking results from an interlocking lip engaging with a downwardly directed interlocking groove. The panels from WO 97/47843 are usually arranged in rows according to a standard pattern. In this case, the panels are installed with a short edge abutting a short edge and a long edge abutting a long edge. Similar panels are also known which allow for more advanced laying patterns. In this case, the panels are often installed with a short edge abutting a long edge. This is the case, for example, with herringbone patterns. Such herringbone patterns may be produced using the panels described in WO 03/089736 and WO 2004/063491. However, a general problem is the fact that two different types of these panels are required in order to achieve the herringbone pattern. In this case, the one type of panels is the mirror image of the other type of panels. This not only makes installation of the panels more difficult, as the correct type of panel has to be selected as the next panel to be installed, but it also makes the manufacturing process relatively complicated because two types of panels have to be manufactured. WO 2011/153916 and WO 2015/155312 try to offer a solution to these problems. They propose to construct the coupling part on each edge of the panel to be similar. This offers the advantage that only one type of panel is required in order to produce herringbone patterns. Every coupling part comprises an interlocking lip which is interrupted repeatedly and an interlocking groove which is present at the location of the interruptions in the interlocking lip. With coupled panels, the interlocking lip of the one panel engages with the interlocking groove of the other panel and vice versa. Thus, both a vertical and a horizontal interlocking are produced between the coupled panels. However, the resulting interlocking is not optimal. This is due to the fact that the cooperation between the interlocking lip and the interlocking groove only occurs over a limited distance along the coupled edges. Thus, undulation of the surface may occur with flexible materials, in which case alternating differences in height occur between two adjoining floor panels, namely where differences in height occur along coupled edges with alternately the one and then the other adjoining panel is situated in a higher position. Furthermore, the coupling parts are not simple to manufacture, because of the discontinuous or variable nature of the coupling parts. WO 2005/098163 also describes panels which only require one type in order to produce herringbone patterns. In the coupled position, the coupling parts form an interlocking tongue and groove connection on the long edges. The coupling parts on the short edges are of identical design and are configured to cooperate with each of the coupling parts on the long edges. However, the practical examples of the coupling parts on the short edges are relatively complicated or do not produce an adequate interlocking action. Thus, the vertical movement of the short edges is not always limited in the coupled position. This has the adverse effect of creating a risk of differences in height between adjacent panels in the installed position of the respective panels. It is an object of the invention to offer a solution for one or several of the problems encountered with prior-art panels. To this end, the invention relates to panels according to a first independent aspect and to panels according to a second independent aspect. These two independent aspects propose alternative solutions to problems encountered with prior-art panels. To this end, the invention relates, according to the first independent aspect thereof, to a panel which is rectangular and has long and short edges. On each long edge and on each short edge, the panel comprises a coupling part which allows the panel to be coupled to another similar panel. The coupling part on the one long edge comprises a tongue and a downwardly directed i