Abstract:
There is described a method and a system for edging a core, comprising a carrier adapted for connection to a contiguous edge of a core, a surface casing adapted for a conformable fit over the carrier and means for connecting the surface casing to the carrier for a conformable fit therebetween.

Description:
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION 
     This is a divisional of application Ser. No. 09/204,039, filed Dec. 1, 1998, U.S. Pat. No. 6,055,718, which was a continuation of application Ser. No. 08/950,992, filed Oct. 15, 1997, U.S. Pat. No. 6,025,047, which was a continuation of Ser. No. 08/515,266, filed Aug. 15, 1995, which is now abandoned. 
    
    
     FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention relates to a finishing piece and more particularly to an edging or nosing system to provide a finished edge to a work surface. 
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     Manufacturers of work stations and consoles of the sort used in computer operation facilities work to a large extent in a custom or semi-custom furniture environment where the design and style of their products changes from project to project. As well, equipment consoles, work stations and the like include work surfaces designed paying particular additional concern to the ergonomic requirements of their users. As a result, these work surfaces will also change from one customer to another. The ergonomic considerations require that the edges of the work surfaces be properly contoured and finished. Particularly in higher end products, aesthetics are also an important consideration. 
     Custom work tends to be expensive and the more so the greater number of parts unique to the job at hand. Accordingly, adaptability of a custom edging system for different work surface configurations and designs significantly reduces costs in terms of both part fabrication and work surface assembly. Parts inventories can be reduced and economies of scale resulting from a longer production run for a single configuration are attained. 
     Known edging techniques include “casting” of edge materials, using polymers, onto the work surface core. This method is used primarily for production of relatively small work pieces and requires, a mould, itself a specialized tooling, which encapsulates the entire work piece. Another method makes use of an extruded rigid or semi-rigid spine and a softer covering material. Existing co-extruded edges of this sort however are not conformable to curved core edges, do not allow for larger protrusions from the work surface core and generally lack the refinements needed to effectively hold the outer moulded or extruded skin in place in complete contact with the spine. 
     The lack of larger edge sections from this known method is particularly disadvantageous. Beyond a certain size, these pieces simply lack the strength necessary to provide commercial durability. People leaning on the edges, impacts from chairs and carts and ordinary wear and tear in the working environment simply break these treatments down. 
     Another known technique is the installation of a rubber or rubberized skin (e.g. PVC cushion) onto a wood spine. This is relatively efficient but only for those fabricators who know what they will be making tomorrow. This technique allows little or no flexibility of layout or shape and for those therefore in the semi-custom environment, this is not an economic alternative. 
     And yet in work surface design, a finished, padded gentle “waterfall” edge is generally recognized as ergonomically important. Such edge or nosing treatments provide a gentle transition between the user&#39;s limbs and the horizontal work surface. The feel is important as well, particularly the temperature feel of the edge in contact with the user&#39;s limbs. Traditional plastic laminates are cold and don&#39;t provide the “warmth” of self-skinning polyurethane. Plastic laminates will also chip and crack from chair and cart impacts whereas padded edge systems are bump and impact absorbent. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     The problem therefore is to provide an ergonomic nosing system adaptable to a variety of work surface shapes and sizes at a reasonable cost. The applicant has addressed these problems by providing a nosing system having a structurally strong flexible core or carrier and a separate resilient surface treatment. 
     It is an object therefore of the present invention to provide a nosing system that obviates and mitigates from the disadvantages of the prior art. 
     It is a further object of the present invention to provide a nosing system which is both very strong and durable and yet is adapted for use in relation to a variety of work surface configurations. 
     In a preferred embodiment, the present invention can achieve both small and large bending radii in either the convex or concave direction. 
     According to the present invention then, there is provided a system for edging a core, comprising carrier means adapted for connection to a contiguous edge of the core, surface casing means adapted for a conformable fit over the carrier means, and means for connecting the surface casing to the carrier means for a conformable fit therebetween. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     Preferred embodiments of the present invention will now be described in greater detail, and will be better understood when read in conjunction with the following drawings, in which: 
     FIG. 1 is a side elevational sectional view of the present nosing system; 
     FIG. 2 is a side elevational sectional view of the present nosing system including a nosing insert; 
     FIG. 3 is a perspective, partially exploded view of the nosing system of FIG. 1 adapted to conform to a curvature. 
     FIG. 4 is a perspective view of an outside corner detail adapted for use in connection with the nosing system of FIGS. 1 and 2; and 
     FIG. 5 is a plan view of the detail of FIG.  4 . 
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
     With reference initially to FIG. 1, the present nosing system  1  generally comprises a carrier  10 , typically an aluminum extrusion, and a pliant surface casing  25  of a material such as cast urethane or extruded SANTOPRENE™ or similar flexible soft material. Carrier  10  is adapted for connection to a core  50  including a machined or routered edge  51  and a work surface  53 . 
     Carrier  10  is formed with a substantially vertical wall or wall portion  9  and a pair of rearwardly extending flanges  12  and  13  to engage a notch  55  in core edge  51  and the core&#39;s underside  56 , respectively. The carrier is also formed with a nose portion  8  extending forwardly of wall  9  having a number of cavities to engage surface treatment  25  and corner details to be described below. 
     More specifically, a pair of indentations  57  and  58  in nose portion  8  are provided to engage laterally opposite edges  27  and  28  of casing  25 . The forward edge  61  of cavity  57  is tapered relative to the vertical to pull the urethane tightly over the outer surface of carrier  10  as the casing is locked into the cavity by means of a retaining device, such as a PVC extruded insert lock  70 , which itself includes an anchor  72  for an interference fit with cavity  74  formed just rearwardly of cavity  57 . 
     The inner surface  20  of casing  25  includes an alignment feature in the nature of, for example, a linear bead  23  that slots into a cavity  68  in the carrier&#39;s lower front corner. This provides proper registry between casing  25  and the carrier. 
     The upper surface  19  of nose portion  8  is advantageously formed with a gentle convex curvature to maintain better contact between casing  25  and the carrier. 
     Finally, the carrier also includes cavities  73  and  75  to provide points of connection and alignment features for corner connectors that will shortly be described in greater detail. 
     Casing  25  as shown in FIG. 1 is moulded to fit conformably over the carrier and includes a tapered edge  33  to abut the correspondingly tapered surface of notch  55  to ensure precise registration of the casing&#39;s edge  36  with edge  52  of core  50 . 
     To connect the nosing system to the core, the nosing system is simply press fit against the core as shown in FIG.  1  and is then held in place by means of, for example, a simple wood screw  86  which passes through flange  13  into the core&#39;s underside. This connection maintains a good compressive fit between casing edge  28  and core edge  52 . 
     Carrier  10  is applied in linear lengths for straight line applications. When necessary for the carrier to conform to curved core edges as shown in FIG. 3, a series of partial depth saw cuts  44  extending from the carrier&#39;s rear edge to approximately an ⅛ of an inch short of its leading edge allows the carrier to bend and follow the contour of the core. Forming such notches on ⅜ inch centers allows the carrier to conform to tight curves having bending radii as small as 12 inches. For more gradual curves, saw cuts on one inch centers will usually suffice. It has been found in practice that the notches so formed do not telegraph through casing  25  which itself conformably follows the curvature of the carrier and masks any faceting in the carrier&#39;s leading edge between the notches along the length of the curvature. 
     Moulded casings of the type shown in FIG. 1 tend to be expensive to manufacture and are typically fabricated in 8 foot lengths. Considerably savings will therefore result if the carrier can be extruded in indefinite lengths formed into rolls. Such a casing is shown in FIG.  2 . To facilitate its installation over carrier  10 , carrier  10  is fitted with a co-extruded nosing insert  128  to provide additional cushioning at the leading edge of the profile. 
     Where lengths of the present nosing meet at inside corners, it has been found advantageous to simply miter the intersecting pieces. For outside corners, the use of corner connectors is preferred. An exemplary corner connector will now be described with reference to FIGS. 4 and 5. 
     A corner connector  90  comprises a metal insert  91  including orthogonally extending tabs  94  and  95  adapted for insertion into cavities  73  and  75  in carrier  10 . 
     A triangular insert  98 , which may be made of wood, is connected to the upper surface  101  of insert  91 . The entire connector, apart from tabs  94  and  95  is put into a mould and then encased in rubber shaped for a conformable fit with the respectively opposed abutting edges  22  of adjacent casings  25 . 
     The above-described embodiments of the present invention are meant to be illustrative of preferred embodiments of the present invention and are not intended to limit the scope of the present invention. Various modifications, which would be readily apparent to one skilled in the art, are intended to be within the scope of the present invention. The only limitations to the scope of, the present invention are set out in the following appended claims.