US Patent 7251916 Panels comprising an interlocking snap-in profile

Panels or boards comprise laterally mounted locking elements that can be inter-connected laterally in a positive fit, without the use of adhesive. The locking elements are designed to be connected in an initial position in which the panels are interlocked at least in one direction in a positive fit and a certain amount of play occurs in the common joint of the two panels. The panels may then be shifted, in a parallel direction relative to the common joint, to final position in which there is no play in the common joint and the panels are interconnected without the use of adhesive.