U.S. patent application number 12/273336 was filed with the patent office on 2009-03-19 for securing device for combining floor boards.
Invention is credited to Feng-Ling Yang.
Application Number | 20090071090 12/273336 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 40452999 |
Filed Date | 2009-03-19 |
United States Patent
Application |
20090071090 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Yang; Feng-Ling |
March 19, 2009 |
SECURING DEVICE FOR COMBINING FLOOR BOARDS
Abstract
A securing device has a base with two longitudinal sides, an
extended tongue, a rib, two buffers and at least one pin. The
extended tongue is formed on one of the longitudinal sides on the
top surface and has a first mounting groove defined in the inner
surface of the extended tongue. The rib is formed on the top
surface of the base to form a receiving recess between the extended
tongue and the rib. The rib is aligned with the extended tongue and
has a second mounting groove. The at least one hole is defined in
the base at the other longitudinal side. The two buffers are
respectively mounted in the first mounting groove and the second
mounting groove. The buffer mounted in the second mounting groove
has a diameter larger than that of the other buffer. The at least
one pin is mounted respectively in the at least one hole. With the
two buffers, the noise caused from piecing the floor boards will be
reduced.
Inventors: |
Yang; Feng-Ling; (Taichung
City, TW) |
Correspondence
Address: |
Muncy, Geissler, Olds & Lowe, PLLC
P.O. BOX 1364
FAIRFAX
VA
22038-1364
US
|
Family ID: |
40452999 |
Appl. No.: |
12/273336 |
Filed: |
November 18, 2008 |
Related U.S. Patent Documents
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Application
Number |
Filing Date |
Patent Number |
|
|
11322301 |
Jan 3, 2006 |
|
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12273336 |
|
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Current U.S.
Class: |
52/588.1 |
Current CPC
Class: |
F16B 5/008 20130101;
E04F 15/02 20130101; E04F 2201/0153 20130101; E04F 2201/042
20130101; E04F 2201/0517 20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
52/588.1 |
International
Class: |
E04F 15/16 20060101
E04F015/16 |
Claims
1. A securing device for combining floor boards comprising: a base
having two longitudinal sides and a top surface, an extended tongue
formed on one of the longitudinal sides on the top surface of the
base and having an inner surface, and a first mounting groove
defined in the inner surface of the extended tongue, a rib formed
on the top surface of the base and aligned with the extended tongue
to form a receiving recess between the extended tongue and the rib,
and having a second mounting groove, at least one hole defined in
the base at the other longitudinal side, two buffers respectively
mounted in the first mounting groove and the second mounting
groove, wherein the buffer mounted in the second mounting groove
has a diameter larger than that of the buffer mounted in the first
mounting groove for defining a gap between the side surface of the
rib and a tongue of a floor plate when the floor plate is combined
with the securing device so as to allow an expansion or contraction
of adjacent floor boards due to weather change; and at least one
pin mounted respectively in the at least one hole.
2. The securing device as claimed in claim 1, wherein the rib is
formed away from the center of the base.
3. The securing device as claimed in claim 2, wherein the
cross-section of each mounting groove is semi-circular.
4. The securing device as claimed in claim 3, wherein each buffer
is made of rubber.
5. The securing device as claimed in claim 3, wherein each buffer
is made of ethylene vinyl acetate.
6. The securing device as claimed in claim 1, wherein the
cross-section of each mounting groove is semi-circular.
7. The securing device as claimed in claim 1, wherein each buffer
is made of rubber.
8. The securing device as claimed in claim 1, wherein each buffer
is made of ethylene vinyl acetate.
Description
[0001] This application is a continuation-in-part of the
application Ser. No. 11/322,301, flied on Jan. 3, 2006.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0002] 1. Field of the Invention
[0003] The present invention relates to a securing device, and more
particularly to a securing device for combining two adjacent floor
boards conveniently.
[0004] 2. Description of Related Art
[0005] Conventionally, combinable floor boards are pieced together
via applying adhesive agent on bottom faces of the floor boards to
allow the floor boards to securely attached onto a surface, i.e.
ground. Further, securing elements such as nails are applied to
enhance the attachment between the floor boards to the ground.
[0006] A kind of conventional floor board (20) and a securing
device (50) are shown in FIGS. 6 and 7. The floor board (20) has
two longitudinal sides, a first connection part (21) and a second
connection part (22). The first connection part (21) is defined in
one of the longitudinal sides of the floor board (20) and a second
connection part (22) is formed on the other longitudinal side of
the floor board (20) to be opposite and complementary to the first
connection part (21). The securing device (50) is mounted between
the adjacent floor boards (20).
[0007] The first connection part (21) is defined in the side face
of the floor board (20). The first connection part (21) has an
upper cutout (211) and a lower cutout (212) respectively defined in
the side face of the floor board (20).
[0008] The second connection part (22) defined in the side face of
the floor board (20) opposite the first connection part (21). The
second connection part (22) has a tongue (221) extending from the
side face and a slit (222) defined in the bottom of the floor board
(20) besides the tongue (221).
[0009] The securing device (50) mounted between the adjacent floor
boards (20) has an extended tongue and a rib. The extended tongue
is mounted inside the slit (222) in the floor board (20) and the
rib formed on the top surface of the securing device (50) for
mounting inside the first connection part (21) of the floor board
(20). The securing device (50) further comprises a buffer (51)
mounted on the rib for the adjacent floor boards (20) mounting more
securely.
[0010] When the connector (50) is applied to a bottom side of one
of the floor boards (20) and the floor board (20) with the securing
device (50) is placed on top of the ground, a different floor board
(20) is connected to the previous floor board (20) with the tongue
(221) being received in the first connection part (21). Therefore,
the floor is completed via piecing the floor boards (20).
[0011] However, when the conventional securing device (50) is
assembled to the floor boards (20), a loud noise is always made due
to the hard material of the floor boards (20) and the securing
device (50). Further, the buffer (51) mounted on the rib of the
securing device (50) is adhered one by one manually and is time
consuming.
[0012] To overcome the shortcomings, the present invention tends to
provide a securing device to mitigate the aforementioned
problems.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0013] The primary objective of the present invention is to provide
a securing device to securely combine two adjacent floor boards
conveniently.
[0014] In order to accomplish the above objective, the securing
device of the present invention has a base with two longitudinal
sides, an extended tongue, a rib, two buffers and at least one pin.
The extended tongue is formed on one of the longitudinal sides on
the top surface and has a first mounting groove defined in the
inner surface of the extended tongue. The rib is formed on the top
surface of the base to form a receiving recess between the extended
tongue and the rib. The rib is aligned with the extended tongue and
has a second mounting groove. The at least one hole is defined in
the base at the other longitudinal side. The two buffers are
respectively mounted in the first mounting groove and the second
mounting groove. The buffer mounted in the second mounting groove
has a diameter larger than that of the buffer mounted in the first
mounting groove to define a gap between the side surface of the rib
and a tongue of a floor board when the floor board is combined with
the securing device. The at least one pin is mounted respectively
in the at least one hole. With the two buffers, the noise caused
from piecing the floor boards will be reduced.
[0015] Other objects, advantages and novel features of the
invention will become more apparent from the following detailed
description when taken in conjunction with the accompanying
drawings.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0016] FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view of floor boards and
securing devices in accordance with the present invention;
[0017] FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view of the securing
device in FIG. 1;
[0018] FIG. 3 is an operational side view in partial section of the
floor boards and the securing device in FIG. 1 showing combination
between two adjacent floor boards with the securing device;
[0019] FIG. 4 is an enlarged side view in partial section of the
floor boards and the securing device in FIG. 3;
[0020] FIG. 5 is a perspective view of the combination between
adjacent floor boards in FIG. 1;
[0021] FIG. 6 is an exploded perspective view of conventional floor
boards with securing devices in accordance with the prior art;
and
[0022] FIG. 7 is a perspective view of the combination between
adjacent floor boards with securing devices in FIG. 6.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT
[0023] With reference to FIGS. 1 to 3, a floor board (20) includes
a first connection part (21) formed on a first side face of the
floor board (20) and a second connection part (22) formed on a
second side face of the floor board (20) opposite to the first
connection part (21). The floor board (20) may have a structure
same as that of a conventional one.
[0024] A securing device (10) in accordance with the present
invention is mounted between adjacent floor boards (20) and has a
base (11), an extended tongue (12), a rib (13), a receiving recess
(122), at least one hole (14), two buffers (15,152) and at least
one pin (16).
[0025] The base (11) has two longitudinal sides and a top
surface.
[0026] The extended tongue (12) is formed on one of the
longitudinal sides on the top surface of the base (11) and has an
inner surface and a first mounting groove (121). The mounting
groove (121) is defined in the inner surface of the extended tongue
(12). In a preferred embodiment, the cross-section of the mounting
groove (121) is semi-circular.
[0027] The rib (13) is formed on the top surface of the base (11)
away the center of the base (11) to form a receiving recess (122)
between the extended tongue (12) and the rib (13) and is aligned
with the extended tongue (12). The rib (13) has a top, a side
surface, a top board and a second mounting groove (131). The second
mounting groove (131) is defined in the side surface facing the
extended tongue (12). The top board is formed on the top of the rib
(13) to make the rib (13) bend toward the same direction as the
extended tongue (12).
[0028] The at least one hole (14) is defined in the base (11) at
the other longitudinal side. In a preferred embodiment, two holes
(14) are respectively defined through the base (11).
[0029] The two buffers (15,152) are respectively mounted in the
first mounting groove (121) and the second mounting groove (131).
The two buffers (15,152) may be made of rubber, Ethylene Vinyl
Acetate (EVA), foam rubber or any material that can eliminate
noise. The buffer (152) mounted in the second mounting groove (131)
has a diameter larger than that of the buffer (15) mounted in the
first mounting groove (121).
[0030] The at least one pin (16) is mounted respectively in the at
least one hole (14). In a preferred embodiment, two pins (16) are
respectively mounted through the two holes (14) and are securely
inserted into the floor board (20).
[0031] With reference to FIGS. 3 and 5, when the securing device is
assembled to adjacent floor boards (20), the extended tongue (12)
is mounted inside the slit (222) in the second connection part (22)
in the floor board (20). The rib (13) and the base (11) are
respectively mounted in the upper cutout (211) and the lower cutout
(212) in the first connection part (21) of the adjacent floor board
(20). The tongue (221) of the second connection part (22) is
mounted inside the receiving recess (122) in the securing device
(10) and abuts with the buffers (15,152) mounted in the mounting
grooves (121, 131). Finally, the pins (16) are respectively
inserted into the floor board (20) through the holes (14). The
advantages of the securing device of the present invention describe
as follows.
[0032] First, to mount the buffers (15,152) in the mounting grooves
(121, 131) is easier than the conventional one. In manufacturing,
multiple securing devices (10) may be made by aluminum extrusion.
When the aluminum extrusion process is made, two strips of buffers
(15,152) are adhered inside the grooves (121,131), then the
pre-securing device (10) is cut into multiple pieces to obtain
multiple securing devices (10). Accordingly, to manufacture the
securing device (10) in accordance with the present invention is
easy and convenient.
[0033] Second, with further reference to FIG. 4, the adjacent floor
board (20) mounted inside the receiving recess (122) will make the
noise reduce due to the buffer (15) mounted inside the first
mounting groove (121). With the arrangement of the buffer (15), the
tongue (221) can be kept from bumping with the base (11) directly,
so that noise generated during assembling the floor boards (20)
will be reduced. In addition, the buffer (152) mounted in the
second mounting groove (131) has a diameter larger than that of the
other buffer (15) mounted in the first mounting groove (121), so a
gap (16) is defined between a free end of the tongue (221) of the
second connection part (22) and the side surface of the rib (13).
The gap (16) may have a width in 0.3 to 0.4 millimeter (mm). With
the gap (16) between the tongue (221) and the rib (13), an
extension gap is defined between adjacent floor boards (20) and the
expansion or contraction of the wooden floor boards (20) due to
weather change is allowed.
[0034] It is to be understood, however, that even though numerous
characteristics and advantages of the present invention have been
set forth in the foregoing description, together with details of
the structure and function of the invention, the disclosure is
illustrative only, and changes may be made in detail, especially in
matters of shape, size, and arrangement of parts within the
principles of the invention to the full extent indicated by the
broad general meaning of the terms in which the appended claims are
expressed.
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