Floor panel with coupling means and methods of making the same

Abstract

A floor panel for forming a floor. In one embodiment, the floor panel includes a body portion having a first end, an opposite, second end, a male coupling portion protruding from the first end and having a convex surface portion and a concave groove formed on the convex surface portion, and a female coupling portion protruding from the second end and having a concave surface portion complementary to the convex surface portion of the male coupling portion such that, as assembled, the male coupling portion of a floor panel is received in and engaged with the female coupling portion of an adjacent floor panel, whereby an adhesive channel corresponding to the concave groove is formed by the convex surface portion of the male coupling portion and the corresponding concave surface portion.

1 . A floor panel for forming a floor, comprising: 
 a. a body portion having a first end, an opposite, second end and defined therebetween an upper edge and a lower edge, where a thickness d is defined between the upper edge and the lower edge;    b. a male coupling portion protruding from the first end, wherein the male coupling portion has an edge in parallel with the upper edge of the body portion, an edge in parallel with the lower edge of the body portion, and a convex surface portion connecting the two edges in parallel with the upper and lower edges of the body portion, and wherein a concave groove is formed on the convex surface portion of the male coupling portion; and    c. a female coupling portion protruding from the second end, wherein the female coupling portion has an edge in parallel with the upper edge of the body portion, an edge in parallel with the lower edge of the body portion, and a concave surface portion connecting the two edges in parallel with the upper and lower edges of the body portion.    
   
   
       2 . The floor panel according to  claim 1 , wherein the male coupling portion and the female coupling portion are formed such that the male coupling portion of a first floor panel is receivable in and engageable with the female coupling portion of a second floor panel, and an adhesive channel corresponding to the concave groove can be formed by the convex surface portion of the male coupling portion and the corresponding concave surface portion.  
   
   
       3 . The floor panel according to  claim 2 , wherein the male coupling portion and the female coupling portion are cross-sectionally complementary such that, as assembled, the male coupling portion of the first floor panel is received in and engaged with the female coupling portion of the second floor panel.  
   
   
       4 . The floor panel according to  claim 3 , wherein the convex surface portion of the male coupling portion cross-sectionally is a part of circle characterized by a radius R, and the concave surface portion of the female coupling portion cross-sectionally is a part of circle characterized by the radius R.  
   
   
       5 . The floor panel according to  claim 1 , wherein the body portion of the floor panel further has a third end and an opposite, fourth end.  
   
   
       6 . The floor panel according to  claim 5 , wherein one of the third end and the fourth end is formed with a male coupling portion, and the other of the third end and the fourth end is formed with a female coupling portion, respectively.  
   
   
       7 . The floor panel according to  claim 1 , wherein body portion comprises a laminated panel, a solid wood panel, a plywood panel, a medium/high density fiberboard (MDF/HDF), a marble/granite panel, or a plastic panel.  
   
   
       8 . A floor comprising: 
 a. a first floor panel comprising: 
 i. a body portion having a first end and an opposite, second end and defined therebetween an upper edge and a lower edge, where a thickness d is defined between the upper edge and the lower edge; and  
 ii. a male coupling portion protruding from the first end, wherein the male coupling portion has an edge in parallel with the upper edge of the body portion, an edge in parallel with the lower edge of the body portion, and a convex surface portion connecting the two edges in parallel with the upper and lower edges of the body portion, and wherein a concave groove is formed on the convex surface portion of the male coupling portion; and  
   b. a second floor panel comprising: 
 i. a body portion having a first end and an opposite, second end and defined therebetween an upper edge and a lower edge, where a thickness d is defined between the upper edge and the lower edge; and  
 ii. a female coupling portion protruding from the second end, wherein the female coupling portion has an edge in parallel with the upper edge of the body portion, an edge in parallel with the lower edge of the body portion, and a concave surface portion connecting the two edges in parallel with the upper and lower edges of the body portion,  
 wherein the male coupling portion of the first floor panel and the female coupling portion of the second floor panel are formed such that the male coupling portion of the floor panel is receivable in and engageable with the female coupling portion of the floor panel, and an adhesive channel corresponding to the concave groove can be formed by the convex surface portion of the male coupling portion and the corresponding concave surface portion.  
   
   
   
       9 . The floor according to  claim 8 , wherein the male coupling portion of the first floor panel and the female coupling portion of the second floor panel are cross-sectionally complementary such that, as assembled, the male coupling portion of the first floor panel is received in and engaged with the female coupling portion of the second floor panel.  
   
   
       10 . The floor according to  claim 8 , wherein each of the body portion of the first floor panel and the body portion of the second floor panel comprises a laminated panel, a solid wood panel, a plywood panel, a medium/high density fiberboard (MDF/HDF), a marble/granite panel, or a plastic panel.  
   
   
       11 . A method for forming a floor with a plurality of floor panels, wherein each floor panel comprises: 
 a. a body portion having a first end and an opposite, second end and defined therebetween an upper edge and a lower edge, where a thickness d is defined between the upper edge and the lower edge;    b. a male coupling portion protruding from the first end, wherein the male coupling portion has an edge in parallel with the upper edge of the body portion, an edge in parallel with the lower edge of the body portion, and a convex surface portion connecting the two edges in parallel with the upper and lower edges of the body portion, and wherein a concave groove is formed on the convex surface portion of the male coupling portion; and    c. a female coupling portion protruding from the second end, wherein the female coupling portion has an edge in parallel with the upper edge of the body portion, an edge in parallel with the lower edge of the body portion, and a concave surface portion connecting the two edges in parallel with the upper and lower edges of the body portion,    wherein the male coupling portion and the female coupling portion are formed such that, as assembled, the male coupling portion of one of the plurality of floor panels is receivable in and engageable with the female coupling portion of another one of the plurality of floor panels, and an adhesive channel corresponding to the concave groove can be formed on the convex surface portion of the male coupling portion, comprising the steps of: 
 (i). providing a first one of the plurality of floor panels;  
 (ii). providing a second one of the plurality of floor panels; and  
 (iii). coupling the first one floor panel and the second one floor panel such that the male coupling portion of the second one floor panel is received in and engaged with the female coupling portion of the first one floor panel to form the adhesive channel.  
   
   
   
       12 . The method according to  claim 11 , further comprising the step of injecting an amount of adhesive into the adhesive channel.  
   
   
       13 . The method according to  claim 11 , further comprising the step of injecting the adhesive into the adhesive channel from both ends of the adhesive channel.  
   
   
       14 . The method according to  claim 11 , further comprising the step of applying an amount of adhesive into the concave groove prior to the coupling step.  
   
   
       15 . A floor panel for forming a floor, comprising: 
 a. a body portion having a first end, and an opposite, second end;    b. a male coupling portion protruding from the first end, wherein the male coupling portion has a protrusion with a groove formed therein; and    c. a female coupling portion protruding from the second end, wherein the female coupling portion defines a complimentary groove for receiving a protrusion of the male coupling portion of a floor panel therein to form an adhesive channel corresponding to the groove formed in the protrusion of the male coupling portion.