The present application relates to a joint for strip floors.

Nowadays it is known to provide flooring surfaces using strips or slats of wood which have on their sides adapted tabs and complementarily shaped seats in order to enable a stable connection between them, when they are arranged mutually adjacent.

However, the provision of such floors has some drawbacks, which include the fact that, because adhesives are used to stably connect the strips, the floor thus obtained cannot be inspected and, in the event of an intervention to replace one or more damaged panels, one is forced to remove them with the impossibility of reconnecting them as they were originally, unless the entire floor is removed.

Furthermore the use of adhesives determines a deterioration of the healthfulness of the environment where the floor is laid and furthermore, once laid, it takes some time before it can be used, since one has to wait for the adhesive to dry.

JPH07229276A is known, which describes a connector for floors that are constituted by strips, which is constituted by a planar central part from the ends of which protrude two tabs which are substantially S-shaped and can be coupled to the grooves that are provided on the strips; such grooves have a rectangular cross-section, the side surface of which, on which the tabs of the connector rest, is perpendicular to the planar central part of the connector; the tabs, once the connector is installed, therefore have a single point of contact with the side surface of the grooves of the strips.

In the absence of different indications and in view of the known art of the sector, the length of the connector is limited with respect to the length of the strip to which it is to be coupled.

In order to assist connection and laying and in order to create a force that pushes the strips downward, it is necessary to interconnect the side surfaces of the strips to each other by way of tapping: in the contact side between two strips there is a convex protuberance adapted to be connected by interlocking with a concave indentation.

One drawback that is found in the use of tapping is that the interconnection between the convex protuberance and the concave indentation does not make it possible, after laying, to remove or replace the strips individually, making it necessary to dissassemble the entire floor for the removal or the substitution of one of them.

A further drawback consists in that tapping, for the type of connection that it makes it possible to obtain, creates a great deal of friction between the surfaces that come into mutual contact, effectively making it necessary to remove the entire floor in order to replace or remove a single strip.

This same applicant has filed an Italian patent application for industrial invention, no. 102016000067817, which discloses a joint for floors which is constituted by a linear bar, made of metallic material, from which a plurality of separate and adjacent pairs of elastically deformable tabs protrude, which are separated from each other by a notch that in addition partially affects a central planar body which constitutes part of the linear bar.

Each pair of tabs can be selectively associated at adapted seats which are provided underneath and longitudinally with respect to the strips.

Although such solution makes it possible to provide strip floors that can be laid rapidly and without the use of adhesives, some drawbacks have been encountered, such as the fact that the cost of the bar is high, necessitating machining work on it in order to obtain, by making notches, the various pairs of tabs.

Also, the number of bars necessary for laying is proportional to the number of strips to be laid and therefore the individual high cost of each single bar has repercussions on the total number of bars necessary for the entire supply of strips.

Making the bars out of metallic material furthermore increases the overall weight of the product to be stored and shipped for each supply, thereby further increasing costs.

Furthermore, the presence, along the same edge of the planar central body, of separate and adjacent tabs can result in the accidental bending of one or more of them during transport or handling or during laying, with the consequent impossibility of executing the coupling with the seats in the strips.

Finally, the need to obtain the various pairs of separate and mutually adjacent tabs, while making sure they retain a good level of elastic deformation, requires the production of a joint with sufficiently large dimensions which are such that the joint cannot be applied in renovations in which the intended thickness of the floor is small.

The aim of the present invention is therefore to solve the above mentioned technical problems, eliminating the drawbacks in the cited known art, by providing a joint for strip floors that, in addition to making it possible to provide strip floors that can be laid rapidly and without the use of adhesives, also makes it possible to offer low costs of production, storage and transport.

Within this aim, an object of the invention is to provide a joint that can be used even in cases where the intended thickness of the floor is small.

Another object is to obtain a joint that makes it possible to achieve an optimal coupling with the seats present in the strips even if the tabs should be accidentally and temporarily bent.

Another object of the invention is to obtain a joint that makes it possible even for individual strips to be replaced rapidly and easily.

Another object is to obtain a joint that makes it possible to fix firmly two strips, ensuring the stability of its position once installed.

Another object is to obtain a joint that makes it possible to reduce the noise caused by a floating or raised floor.

This aim and these and other objects which will become better apparent hereinafter are achieved by a joint for floors that are constituted by a series of strips, which is constituted by a single linear bar which is constituted by a central planar body from which a first tab and a second tab, which are elastically deformable and selectively associable at adapted seats provided in a lower region and longitudinally with respect to said strips and adjacent to the longitudinal perimetric edges thereof, protrude laterally, said first tab and said second tab each being substantially S-shaped with the free end directed toward the outside of said planar body, which is characterized in that said linear bar is made of plastic material, said first tab and said second tab protrude laterally from said planar body in the same direction and seamlessly along said planar body and have a first portion, substantially arc-shaped and meant for blending with said planar body, which protrudes toward the outside of said planar body, a second portion, contiguous and blended with the respective said first portion, which protrudes and is directed toward the inside of said planar body, and a third portion, contiguous and blended with said second portion, which protrudes toward the outside of said planar body, said seats having a shape that is substantially complementary at least to the shape of said first portions and at least to the shape of the initial part of said second portions.

Further characteristics and advantages of the invention will become better apparent from the detailed description of a particular but not exclusive embodiment thereof, illustrated by way of non-limiting example in the accompanying drawings, wherein:

Figure 1 is a perspective view from above of the joint according to the invention applied to strips;

Figures 2a and 2b are partially cross-sectional views of the joint applied to strips, taken along the line II-II in Figure 1;

Figure 3 is a view from above of the joint;

Figure 4 is a perspective view from above of a strip;

Figure 5 is a perspective view from above of the joint; Figure 6 is a view from below of the joint applied to strips;

Figure 7 is a view similar to that in Figures 2a and 2b of the joint applied to a variation of embodiment of the strips.

In the exemplary embodiments that follow, individual characteristics, given in relation to specific examples, may actually be interchanged with other different characteristics that exist in other exemplary embodiments.

With reference to the figures, the reference numeral 1 generally designates a joint for floors 2 that are constituted by a series of strips 3, of solid or engineered wood, substantially parallelepiped in shape with a polygonal end face, preferably rectangular, which can be arranged mutually adjacent.

In the embodiment shown in Figure 1 to Figure 6, the strips 3 have substantially longitudinal perimetric edges 4 which are planar and slightly inclined by an angle a (alpha) with respect to the vertical and are such as to define a width of the lower surface 5 that is less than the corresponding width of the upper surface 6.

In the embodiment shown in Figure 7, the strips 3 have longitudinal perimetric edges 4 which are planar and vertical, so as to define a width of the lower surface 5 which is equal to the corresponding width of the upper surface 6.

The joint 1 is constituted by a single linear bar 7, made of plastic material, which has a substantially C-shaped cross-section and is of a desired length.

The bar 7 has a length that extends by an extent such that a single bar can be used to connect two adjacent strips 3 to each other, using the majority of their length.

Preferably the length of the bar 7 is substantially equal at least to the length of the strip 3.

The bar 7 is thus constituted by a central planar body 8, which is substantially rectangular and from the longitudinal perimetric edges of which protrude, in the same direction and seamlessly along all of the planar body 8, a first tab and a second tab 9a, 9b, which are elastically deformable and are arranged along a same axis which is substantially perpendicular to the central planar body 8.

Each one of the first tab and the second tab 9a, 9b is substantially S- shaped with the free end directed toward the outside of the planar body 8.

The shape of each pair of tabs 9a, 9b can be the most appropriate as a function of specific requirements, such as the type or the size or the material that constitutes the strip 3 being used.

In the particular embodiments illustrated in Figure 1 to Figure 7, each one of the first tab and the second tab 9a, 9b has a first portion 10a, 10b that is substantially arc-shaped and that is meant for blending with the planar body 8, which protrudes toward the outside of the planar body 8 according to an initial constant inclination which has an angle b (beta) of substantially approximately (55)°±10°, preferably approximately 65°C, considering a rotation starting from a plane that is perpendicular to the planar body 8 toward the outside of the planar body 8.

Each one of the first tab and the second tab 9a, 9b has a second portion 11a, l ib, contiguous and blended with the respective first portion 10a, 10b, which protrudes and is directed toward the inside of the planar body 8 according to a constant inclination which has an angle g (gamma) preferably of approximately (45)°±10°, considering a rotation starting from a plane that is perpendicular to the planar body 8 toward the inside of the planar body 8.

Each one of the first tab and the second tab 9a, 9b furthermore has a third portion 12a, 12b, contiguous and blended with the second portion 11a, l ib, which protrudes toward the outside of the planar body 8 according to a constant inclination which has an angle d (delta) preferably of approximately (55)°±10° with respect to a plane that is perpendicular to the planar body 8 and is oriented toward the outside of the planar body 8. Each strip 3 has, at the lower surface 5 and proximate to each one of its longitudinal perimetric edges 4, at least one seat 13a, 13b.

The length of the seats 13a, 13b is equal to the length of the strip 3.

In all the embodiments illustrated, the seats 13a, 13b are identical to each other and have a shape that is substantially complementary at least to the shape of the first portions 10a, 10b and at least to the shape of the initial part of the second portions 11a, l ib.

In the specific embodiment shown in Figure 1 to Figure 6, the seats 13a, 13b are mutually identical and have a shape that is substantially complementary to the shape of the first portion, the second portion and the third portion 10a, 10b, 11a, l ib, 12a, 12b so as to allow the insertion and the temporary accommodation of the first tab and the second tab 9a, 9b adjacent to the resting surfaces of the first portion, the second portion and the third portion 10a, 10b, 11a, l ib, 12a, 12b.

Each seat 13a, 13b therefore has two side walls 15a, 15b which follow substantially in sequence the angle b (beta), the angle g (gamma) and the angle d (delta), with the result that the seats 13a, 13b are shaped complementarily to the first tab and the second tab 9a, 9b.

Such side walls 15a, 15b of each seat 13a, 13b are mutually spaced apart by a space that is sufficient to allow the elastic deformation of the first tab and the second tab 9a, 9b during their insertion/removal.

In the specific embodiment shown in Figure 7, each seat 13 a, 13b has two side walls 15c, 15d, each one slightly inclined by a same angle which is substantially parallel to the angle g (gamma) of the second portions 11a, l ib of the first tab and the second tab 9a, 9b, 'the side walls 15c, 15d being substantially mutually parallel and blended by a preferably curved upper wall.

The seats 13a, 13b are arranged, with respect to the vertical planar longitudinal perimetric edges 4, so that they are mutually opposite.

The side wall 15d has a first initial part which is shaped complementarily to the first portion and to the second portion 10a, 10b, 11a, l ib of the first tab and second tab 9a, 9b and has an initial constant inclination which has an angle b (beta).

The walls 15c, 15d are mutually spaced apart by a space that is sufficient to allow the elastic deformation of the first tab and second tab 9a, 9b during their insertion/removal; such space is substantially slightly greater than the length of the third portions 12a, 12b.

In all the embodiments illustrated, the width of the joint 1 is substantially equal to double the distance between a longitudinal perimetric edge 4 of the strip 3 and the adjacent seat 13a, 13b: basically, the overall width of the joint 1 is such that its arrangement below the strip 3 causes the first tab and second tab 9a, 9b to be arranged at the seats 13a, 13b of two strips 3 once they have been arranged beside each other.

Furthermore, the thickness of the planar body 8 of the joint 1 may or may not be accommodated in an adapted cavity provided on the lower surface 5 of each strip 3 in the region that runs from the seats 13a, 13b to the longitudinal perimetric edges 4.

The shapes of the seats 13a, 13b and of the first tab and second tab 9a, 9b are such that the latter can be inserted into the seats 13a, 13b by virtue of an elastic deformation that can be imparted outward to the third portions 12a, 12b during their insertion into the seats 13a, 13b.

The shape of the first tab and second tab 9a, 9b is such that, once they have been inserted into the seats 13a, 13b, their return to the initial shape results in a removable clamp-like mechanical locking with respect to the seats 13 a, 13b.

At the lower surface 5 of each strip 3 there is a plurality of grooves 14, which are transverse and are mutually parallel, and which extend for the entire width of the strip 3 and are adapted to increase the flexibility of the strips 3.

In use therefore, a series of joints 1, conveniently mutually spaced apart, are initially placed on the foundation of the floor 2: each one of these is then associated with the various strips 3, arranging the first tab 9a in the seat 13b of one strip 3 and the second tab 9b in the seat 13a of a separate and adjacent strip 3.

It is in fact sufficient to apply a light pressure on each strip 3 in order to obtain the coupling with a joint 1; the decoupling is equally simple and rapid.

The elastic deformation of the first tab and the second tab 9a, 9b that can be imparted during coupling, once the tabs are accommodated in the seats 13a, 13b, forces the clamp-like connection of two adjacent strips 3 which are thus stably arranged beside each other; the possible presence of the slightly inclined form of the longitudinal perimetric edges 4 makes it possible to compensate for any tolerances of the strips.

In practice it has been found that the invention has fully achieved the intended aim and objects, a joint having been obtained that makes it possible both to provide strip floors that can be laid rapidly and without the use of adhesives, and also to offer low costs of production, storage and transport by virtue of the production and disposal of the joint from plastic material and by virtue of the fact that there are only a first tab and a second tab which protrude laterally, in the same direction and seamlessly along the planar body.

Furthermore, the use of plastic material and the arrangement of the first tab and the second tab seamlessly along the planar body make it possible to achieve an optimal coupling with the seats present in the strips even if the tabs should be accidentally and temporarily bent, and makes it possible to use the joint even if the intended thickness of the floor is small.

The structural memory of the plastic material furthermore makes it possible to reuse the joint 1 multiple times in the event of removal from the floor.

Furthermore the invention makes it possible to obtain floating and raised floors which can be walked on immediately after laying, it being unnecessary to wait for the time required for the drying of the adhesive which, being absent, ensures a healthful environment, free from substances that are harmful to the user.

It has furthermore been found that the joint 1 is capable on its own of ensuring the stable fixing of two strips 3, once installed, given that the interaction between at least the first portions 10a, 10b and the initial part of the second portions 11a, l ib with much of the side surface of the seats 13a, 13b creates a force that pushes the strips 3 downward, keeping all the strips 3 that go to make up the floor 2 joined together, and keeping them resting firmly on the ground.

Finally, each individual strip can be removed or replaced, together or individually, rapidly and easily, without needing to dismantle the entire floor, thus reducing, by virtue of the use of plastic material, the noise that is characteristic of a floating or raised floor.

Furthermore, the foundation on which the floor rests can be made of any material, which also renders the invention applicable in buildings undergoing renovation.

The plurality of grooves 14 which extend along the entire width of the lower surface 5 of the strip 3 increase the flexibility of those strips 3.

The joint is structurally simple and of low cost.

Naturally the materials used as well as the dimensions of the individual components of the device according to the invention may be more relevant according to specific requirements.

The various means of achieving certain different functions certainly need not coexist only in the embodiment shown, but may be present in many embodiments, even if they are not shown.

The characteristics indicated above as advantageous, convenient or the like, may also be missing or be substituted by equivalent characteristics.

The disclosures in Italian Patent Application No. 102019000003627 from which this application clai priority are incorporated herein by reference.

Where the technical features mentioned in any claim are followed by reference numerals and/or signs, those reference numerals and/or signs have been included for the sole purpose of increasing the intelligibility of the claims and accordingly, such reference numerals and/or signs do not have any limiting effect on the interpretation of each element identified by way of example by such reference numerals and/or signs.