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Hardwood flooring assembly system and methodHardwood flooring assembly system and method description/claimsThe Patent Description & Claims data below is from USPTO Patent Application 20070144098, Hardwood flooring assembly system and method. Brief Patent Description - Full Patent Description - Patent Application Claims
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS [0001] This invention is a Continuation-in-Part (CIP) of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/816,833 filed Apr. 5, 2004, the entire disclosure of which is incorporated in its entirety by reference herein. BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION [0002] 1. Field of the Invention [0003] The present invention provides an assembly and method for mounting hardwood or other type of flooring assembly to a substrate. [0004] 2. Description of the Prior Art [0005] Typically, flooring systems (e.g., hardwood floors) are made of different species of wood coming from different kinds of trees in nature such as oak, walnut, hickory, maple, and cherry just to name a few. They are all manufactured in random lengths from 18 inches up to 60 inches long and also random widths, which can vary from 21/4, 3, 31/4, 4, 5, 6 up to 7 inches wide. All hardwood floors, however, do have one thing in common which is their tongue-and-groove interlocking arrangement. Every piece of hardwood flooring has a single groove on one lengthwise side and one tongue on the opposite lengthwise side that allows the tongue of one piece to sit in the groove of the neighboring piece. [0006] There are two different categories of hardwood floors, solid and engineered. The one category made with 3/4 thickness from solid wood is called "solid hardwood floors," and the other category made out of pressed three ply with a veneer of wood attached to their top surfaces is called "engineered hardwood floors" and their thickness typically varies from 3/8 inches up to 9/16.sup.th of an inch. FIG. 1 illustrates the referenced dimensions of length, thickness and width for a hardwood floor board. [0007] There are mainly two methods that could be used to install hardwood on a surface. The first method is called nail down, and the second method is called glue down. In the United States and for that matter most of the countries around the globe, most commercial floors and residential basement floors are made of concrete, whereas the first and second floors of residential houses and townhouses are made out of wooden frame covered with plywood underlie. [0008] Up to now the solid wood has only been used to cover the first and second floors of residential houses and townhouses as only the plywood underlie flooring allows the use of the nail down method, thus we see the solid hardwood floor is restricted in its market. Solid hardwood can not be nailed down to floors made out of concrete and also can not be glued to them first because of their solidity and their thickness and second because of their extreme measure of expansion and contraction due to atmospheric temperature and moisture degree change. For this reason, the hardwood industry came up with the second alternative called engineered hardwood floors. This type of hardwood floor is glued down to concrete floors using second method, which is the glue down method. [0009] In the course of the last two decades the bard surface industry has also invented laminate flooring, which is a type of "floating" floor system made out of pressed composite wood covered by a decorative layer of imitation laminated wood veneer. [0010] So far, however, no other floor covering product has replaced the durability and beauty of real solid hardwood. Engineered hardwood is very deficient. For example, when this type of wood is installed, the trapped moisture that may be present inside of concrete elevates to the wood and makes the wood susceptible to bowing, warping and separation of the wood from the concrete underneath. Another problem with this kind of engineered wood is temperature change. When temperature fluctuates the wood starts expanding or contracting and this also results in separation of wood from concrete and appearance of gaps between the wood planks. [0011] Another deficiency of this engineered wood is its lifetime. Once installed, the engineered wood goes through wear and tear and scratches and it must be taken up and disposed of, as it cannot be sanded and refinished for reuse. For these reasons the commercial industry is hesitant to buy, install and invest in engineered hardwood flooring. [0012] The cost of producing engineered hardwood floor is equal to or sometimes much higher than the cost of producing solid hardwood floors. In comparison, solid hardwood flooring is a beautiful product that can be sanded and finished over and over so it may last for a few decades without replacement. [0013] The need therefore exists for a hardwood installation system and method that overcomes the drawbacks inherent in the prior art. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION [0014] The invention is s floor installation system that comprises, on the one hand, a fastening system for assembling and interlocking a plurality of hardwood floor members and, on the other hand, to a hole making apparatus for creating proper bore holes in hardwood flooring members. [0015] The fastening system includes a plurality of main fasteners that pass laterally into each hardwood floor member at set intervals. Each of the main fasteners includes an elongated shank having opposite distal ends each provided with at least one radially projecting substantially annular tooth. The opposite distal ends of each of the plurality of the main fasteners are adapted to be matingly received in opposite bore holes formed in adjacent flooring members to form an interlocking fastener. The plurality of main fasteners is adapted to form a series of interlocked fasteners extending widthwise into a plurality of floor members. [0016] Additional fastener members, which are described below, are provided to account for variations in the installation areas. These and other features and benefits of this invention will be shown and described below with reference to the accompany drawings. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS [0017] Objects and advantages of the invention will become apparent from a study of the following specification when viewed in light of the accompanying drawings, wherein: [0018] FIG. 1 shows a typical hardwood floor board. [0019] FIG. 2 illustrates an example of the hole making device in accordance with a first exemplary embodiment of the present invention. [0020] FIG. 3 illustrates the head portion of the hole making device of FIG. 2. Continue reading about Hardwood flooring assembly system and method... Full patent description for Hardwood flooring assembly system and method Brief Patent Description - Full Patent Description - Patent Application Claims Click on the above for other options relating to this Hardwood flooring assembly system and method patent application. ###  How KEYWORD MONITOR works... a FREE service from FreshPatents1. Sign up (takes 30 seconds). 2. Fill in the keywords to be monitored. 3. Each week you receive an email with patent applications related to your keywords. Start now! - Receive info on patent apps like Hardwood flooring assembly system and method or other areas of interest. ### Previous Patent Application: Roof cladding element with hidden fastening Next Patent Application: Extended width retaining wall block Industry Class: Static structures (e.g., buildings) ### FreshPatents.com Support Thank you for viewing the Hardwood flooring assembly system and method patent info. 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