Method for making corners for laminate and veneer countertops

A countertop having a laminate or veneer horizontal upper surface and a laminate or veneer vertical face, has a corner element with an arcuate surface that smoothly fairs into both the upper surface and the face The countertop is made by leaving the vertical edge of the deck unfinished and placing the vertical veneer strip on an edge piece which then is attached to the edge of the deck. The edge piece is made from a block having the vertical veneer strip attached to one of its sides. Notches are formed at the top and bottom of this side of the block and rectangularly cross section strips, from which the corner elements will be formed, are glued in the notches. These strips are then machined to form the smooth arcuate surfaces that will fair into the laminate strip. The back of the block and the top edge of the upper strip are then machined to create the end piece which mates with the countertop deck.

BACKGROUND AND SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
This invention relates to countertops, and in particular to a smooth edge 
for laminate or veneer countertops. 
When laminates or veneers are used on both the horizontal upper surface and 
the vertical face of countertops, such as kitchen cabinets, tables, 
furniture and the like, there necessarily is a sharp right angle corner 
between the horizontal and vertical surfaces. Because of its sharpness, 
this corner is easily damaged when it is hit and when damaged it is 
difficult to repair. This susceptibility to damage is made worse by the 
fact that most laminates are made from a relatively soft, easily damaged 
material. In addition, a sharp, right angle corner is not as aesthetically 
pleasing as a rounded corner in most countertop applications. Finally, 
when laminates or veneer surfaces are joined at right angles with respect 
to one another, a black line is created at their intersection by the edge 
of one of the laminate or veneer pieces. In the case of laminates, which 
are necessarily relatively thick, this black line is quite pronounced. 
While laminates are the preferred material for many applications, due to 
their durability and ease of maintenance, and veneers are the preferred 
material for many applications, due to their low cost, the inability to 
put a smooth rounded corner between the horizontal surface and vertical 
face of countertops made from these materials has made them less desirable 
than they otherwise would be. 
The subject invention overcomes the foregoing shortcomings and limitations 
of laminate and veneer countertops by leaving the vertical edge of the 
deck unfinished and placing the vertical strip of laminate material on a 
separate edge piece which is attached to the edge of the deck. A first 
corner element located between the horizontal and vertical laminate pieces 
has an arcuate finished surface which fairs into both pieces of laminate. 
Thus, the edges of both pieces of laminate are covered by the corner 
element and no black line is formed. In addition, a rounded more 
aesthetically pleasing, less easily damaged corner is created. Finally, by 
making the corner element from a thermoplastic solid surface material, 
such as CORIAN, a tougher material is located in the corner making it even 
less easily damaged. If desired, a second corner element, similar to the 
first corner element, can be placed at the lower corner of the edge piece 
to give a more rounded appearance. The second corner element also has an 
arcuate surface that fairs into the vertical laminate strip. 
The edge piece of the subject invention is made by cutting notches in the 
corners of a rectangular cross sectioned block having laminate attached to 
its face. Rectangular strips from which the corner elements will be formed 
are then glued into the notches. The sides of the strips are slightly 
larger than the notches so that they project slightly from the top and 
front of the block. The strips are then machined to form smooth arcuate 
surfaces which fair into the surface of the laminate strip. Finally, the 
back of the block and the remaining overhang portions of the corner 
elements are cut to form the finished edge piece that mates with the deck. 
In a preferred embodiment of the invention, a tongue and groove joint is 
cut in the back of the edge piece and the edge of the deck to facilitate 
attachment of the edge piece to the deck with the upper corner element 
aligned with the top laminate surface. Thus, edge pieces can be produced 
as separate items that can be installed on cabinets having a deck with 
matching or complementary top surfaces and an unfinished edge. All that is 
required to obtain a perfect fit is to cut the tongue and groove joint in 
the edge of the deck the same distance below the laminate surface as it is 
below the top edge of the first corner element on the edge piece. 
Accordingly, it is a principal object of the present invention to make a 
countertop having a laminate or veneer horizontal top surface and vertical 
edge face in which the edges of the laminate or veneer are not exposed. 
It is a further object of the subject invention to make a countertop having 
a laminate or veneer horizontal top surface and vertical edge face with a 
rounded corner between the top surface and edge face. 
It is a still further object of the subject invention to provide such a 
countertop which has a rounded corner at the bottom of the edge face. 
It is a further object of the present invention to provide such a 
countertop in which the corner is harder than the top surface and the edge 
face. 
The foregoing and other objectives, features and advantages of the present 
invention will be more readily understood upon consideration of the 
following detailed description of the invention taken in conjunction with 
the accompanying drawings.

PREFERRED EMBODIMENT OF THE INVENTION 
Referring to FIG. 1 of the drawings, the countertop of the subject 
invention comprises a deck 10 having a horizontal finished upper surface 
12 and an unfinished vertical edge 13. In the drawings the deck is shown 
as an unfinished substrate 14 and the finished upper surface is a sheet of 
laminate 16 which is adhesively attached to the substrate. Countertops of 
this type are commonly used on kitchen cabinets and similar structures. 
However, the invention can also be utilized with decks made from veneer 
covered wood or similar materials, such as is used on tables, desks, and 
other furniture items. The unfinished vertical edge 13 is covered by an 
edge piece 18 having a first planar side 20 which abuts the unfinished 
deck edge 13, and a second planar side 22 which is parallel with and 
opposed to the first side 20. The second side 22 of the edge piece 18 has 
a finished face 24, which is the same as or complementary to the finished 
upper surface on the deck. In the embodiment illustrated, the edge piece 
is an unfinished substrate, and the finished face 24 is a strip of 
laminate 28 which is adhesively attached to its second side 22. However, 
the edge piece also can be veneer covered wood or other similar material. 
The upper intersection of the deck and the edge piece contains a first 
corner element 30. The first corner element is attached to the upper edge 
of the edge piece and has a curved finished surface 32 which fairs into 
both the finished surface 12 of the deck and the finished face 24 of the 
edge piece. Thus, the first corner element eliminates the line which 
normally occurs between adjoining perpendicularly exposed laminate or 
veneer surfaces. A second corner element 34 is located at the lower edge 
of the edge piece to provide symmetry. The second corner element 34 has a 
curved surface 36 which fairs into the finished face 24 of the edge piece. 
Referring to FIGS. 2-7, in a preferred embodiment the edge piece 18 is made 
from an elongate rectangularly cross-sectioned block 38 of substrate 
material which has approximately the same height as the desired edge piece 
but is somewhat thicker, FIG. 2. The laminate strip 28 is attached to one 
side of the block 38 and rectangular notches 40 are cut in the upper and 
lower edges of the laminate side of the block, FIG. 3. The substrate 
preferably is formed from wood or a wood substitute. 
Rectangular strips 42, of a surface material which can be cut with a 
shaper, are placed in the notches 40 and secured to the block 38 by means 
such as glue. The preferred material for the strips 42 when they are used 
with a laminate surfaced deck, is a solid surface thermoplastic material 
of the type sold under the trademark CORIAN. The strips 42 are slightly 
larger in cross section than the notches 40 and thus protrude slightly 
above the front and the ends of the block 38, FIG. 4. Next, an arcuate 
surface is cut on the strips 42 by a shaper in a manner such that they 
fair into the laminate strip 28 on the front of the block 38 but still 
project slightly from its ends, FIG. 5. 
Finally, the back side of the block and the overhanging portions of the 
strips are cut with a router to form a finished end piece 18 that mates 
with the deck, thus forming the first corner element 30. In a preferred 
embodiment, shown in FIGS. 1 and 7, one side of a tongue and groove joint 
46 is formed in the back side of the block 38, with the height between the 
edge of the first corner element 30 and the tongue and groove joint 46 
being a predetermined distance "h". The matching side of the tongue and 
groove joint can then be cut in the edge 13 of the deck substrate 14 with 
the distance between the top of the laminate sheet 16 and the tongue and 
groove joint being equal to the distance "h". This permits the edge pieces 
to be made in advance and then installed on a deck on-site, and still have 
a smoothly faired surface between the deck laminate 16 and the first 
corner element 30. With this embodiment the back of the block is cut to 
provide a glue slot 48 so that excess amounts of the glue 44 used to 
attach the edge piece to the deck will not be squeezed out onto the 
finished surfaces. If desired, the tongue and groove joint can be 
eliminated and the edge piece can be flush mounted on the deck as shown in 
FIG. 8. 
In an alternate embodiment of the invention, shown in FIG. 9, the second 
corner element is not used and the laminate strip 28 extends to the bottom 
of the edge piece 18. 
The terms and expressions which have been employed in the foregoing 
specification are used therein as terms of description and not of 
limitation, and there is no intention, in the use of such terms and 
expressions, of excluding equivalents of the features shown and described 
or portions thereof, it being recognized that the scope of the invention 
is defined and limited only by the claims which follow.