Floating, groutable vinyl floor tile

Abstract

A vinyl-based floor tile is disclosed for constructing a floating and groutable floor covering. The vinyl-based floor tile has a decorative upper surface and a lower surface for support the floor tile. On one edge of the floor tile is a male coupling member having a vertical insert and an opposing edge has a female coupling member that has two or more grooves for accepting the vertical insert of a male coupling member of an adjacent floor tile. The grooves determine the width of a grouting channel that is formed between the edges of the adjacent tiles and a grout-accepting surface on the top surface of either the male or female coupling member. The decorative upper surface of the tile can have a removable protective layer that protects the vinyl tile during the installation and grouting process.

1 . A vinyl-based floor tile for making a floating and groutable floor covering, the floor tile comprising:
 a decorative upper surface and a lower surface for supporting the floor tile;   a first edge of the floor tile between the decorative upper surface and the lower surface, the first edge having a male coupling member having a vertical insert;   a second edge of the floor tile between the decorative upper surface and the lower surface, the second edge opposite the first edge, the second edge having a female coupling member extending from the second edge wherein a top surface of at least one of the male coupling member and the female coupling member define a grout accepting surface, the female coupling member defining at least two grooves, wherein at least one of the two grooves receives the vertical insert from the male coupling member of an adjacent floor tile thereby forming a grouting channel between the second edge, the grout accepting surface and the first edge of the adjacent floor tile, and wherein a width of the grouting channel between the first edge of the adjacent tile and second edge is determined by one of the at least two grooves that receives the vertical insert from the adjacent floor tile.   
     
     
         2 . The vinyl-based floor tile of  claim 1  wherein the decorative upper surface has a removable protective layer for protecting the decorative surface during installation. 
     
     
         3 . The vinyl-based floor tile of  claim 2  wherein the protective layer defines a top edge of the grouting channel to allow for precise placement of grouting material in the grouting channel. 
     
     
         4 . The vinyl-based floor tile of  claim 1  further comprising a glass filament layer, wherein the glass filament layer extends into at least one of the male coupling member and the female coupling member to provide increased rigidity to the corresponding coupling member. 
     
     
         5 . The vinyl-based floor tile of  claim 1  wherein the grouting channel is configured to receive grouting material to chemically bond the floor tile with the adjacent floor tile. 
     
     
         6 . The vinyl-based floor tile of  claim 1  wherein a first groove of the at least two grooves determines the width of the grouting channel to be 3 millimeters and a second groove of the at least two grooves determines the width of the grouting channel to be 5 millimeters. 
     
     
         7 . A vinyl-based floor tile for making a floating and groutable floor covering, the floor tile comprising:
 a decorative upper surface and a lower surface for supporting the floor tile;   at least one edge of the floor tile between the decorative upper surface and the lower surface; and   a beveled edge between the at least one edge and the decorative upper surface, wherein the beveled edge forms a grout accepting groove when the at least one edge is abutted to an adjacent floor tile.   
     
     
         8 . The vinyl-based floor tile of  claim 7  wherein the decorative upper surface has a removable protective layer for protecting the decorative surface during installation. 
     
     
         9 . The vinyl-based floor tile of  claim 8  wherein the protective layer defines a top edge of the grouting channel to allow for precise placement of grouting material in the grouting channel. 
     
     
         10 . The vinyl-based floor tile of  claim 7  wherein the lower surface has a non-slip backing applied thereon. 
     
     
         11 . The vinyl-based floor tile of  claim 10  wherein the non-slip backing is patterned.