Method of making a decorative composite panel

Decorative panels having the appearance of tongue-in-groove construction and the method of making such panels. The panels are made from a composite structure including a base member and a decorative surface veneer on such member. A portion of the base member is removed. The removed portion includes a segment to a first depth less than the total depth of the base member measured from the surface of the base member opposite the veneer, and spaced segments to a total depth of the base member. This leaves an intermediate part of the base member connected to the veneer between the removed spaced segments. The sides of the base member opposite the removed portion are urged toward one another; and the intermediate part is substantially simultaneously urged toward the surface of the base member opposite the veneer. The intermediate part is then secured to such sides of the base member to complete the panel.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
This invention relates generally to decorative panels, and more 
particularly to a decorative composite panel having the appearance of 
tongue-in-groove construction and the method of making same. 
In certain furniture or wall covering applications wood panels are used for 
decorative purposes. Such panels are typically of two types of 
construction. The first type of construction employs individual solid wood 
boards which are interconnected by tongue-in-groove joints. Panels 
constructed in this way are very expensive due to the cost of the boards 
and the labor and equipment required to form the tongue-in-groove joints. 
As such, these panels are only used in the highest quality, and 
accordingly most expensive, furniture or wall coverings. The second type 
of construction attempts to emulate the first type construction at a 
reduced cost, both as to material and labor. Such second type of panel 
construction employs a large sheet of composition wood material covered on 
one surface with a decorative veneer embossed to give the appearance of 
solid wood. To make the panel look like it is formed of individual boards 
interconnected by tongue-in-groove joints, strips of the veneer are 
removed and the underlying material stained an appropriate matching color. 
While panels constructed in this manner have found wide acceptance in both 
furniture and wall coverings, their use has been limited to economy 
applications because, upon cursory examination, their construction is 
apparent and has never fully met the appearance of panels of the first 
described type of construction. 
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
This invention is directed to decorative panels having the appearance of 
tongue-in-groove construction and the method of making such panels. The 
panels are made from a composite structure including a base member and a 
decorative surface veneer on such member. A portion of the base member is 
removed. The removed portion includes a segment to a first depth less than 
the total depth of the base member measured from the surface of the base 
member opposite the veneer, and spaced segments to a total depth of the 
base member. This leaves an intermediate part of the base member connected 
to the veneer between the removed spaced segments. The sides of the base 
member opposite the removed portion are urged toward one another; and the 
intermediate part is substantially simultaneously urged toward the surface 
of the base member opposite the veneer. The intermediate part is then 
secured to such sides of the base member to complete the panel. 
The invention, and its objects and advantages, will become more apparent in 
the detailed description of the preferred embodiment presented below.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT 
Referring now to the accompanying drawings, a decorative panel, according 
to this invention, is designated generally in FIGS. 1 and 4 by the numeral 
10. The panel 10 is intended to give the appearance of a high quality, 
tongue-in-groove constructed panel, such as panel 20 shown in FIG. 2. The 
prior art panel 20 comprises individual boards 20a-20e of solid wood 
respectively having opposing longitudinal marginal edges shaped as tongues 
22a-22d and grooves 24b-24e. Such boards are joined by the interconnection 
of the tongue of one board with the groove of an adjacent board. FIG. 3 
shows a prior art decorative panel 30 which attempts to emulate the 
appearance of tongue-in-groove construction. Such panel has a base member 
32 covered with a decorative surface veneer 34 embossed to give the 
appearance of solid wood. Parallel longitudinal grooves 36 are cut into 
the base member through the surface veneer 34. While the grooves 36 are 
stained to match the veneer, the overall appearance obviously fails, on 
even a cursory inspection, to give the look of the high quality panel 20 
of FIG. 2. 
The panel 10 is composite structure including a base member 12 and a 
surface veneer 14. The base member 12 is, for example, composition board 
material; and the surface veneer is, for example, vinyl material embossed 
to give the appearance of high quality solid wood. Of course, other 
materials are suitable for use in the decorative panel of this invention. 
Substantially parallel longitudinal grooves 16 are formed in the panel 10 
in the manner to be explained hereinbelow. Because the embossed surface 
veneer 14 covers the entire surface of the grooves 16, the panel 10 gives 
the appearance of high quality tongue-in-groove construction. 
The method of making the decorative panel 10, according to this invention, 
is described with particular reference to FIGS. 5 through 8. As shown in 
FIG. 5, the panel 10 starts out in flat form with the veneer 14 secured to 
a surface 12a of the base member 12. Such composite structure is mounted 
in a fixture 40 which aligns the structure with a plurality of spaced 
cutting heads 42 (corresponding to the desired number of grooves to be 
formed) adjacent to surface 12b of the base member 12 (See FIG. 6). The 
structure is then moved past the cutting heads, and the heads engage the 
structure to respectively remove longitudinal portions 18 from the base 
member 12 (see FIG. 7). 
The portions 18 respectively include a first segment 18a and second 
segments 18b, 18c bounding the first segment. The first segment extends 
into the base member 12, measured from surface 12b, to a depth less than 
the distance between surface 12b and 12a. The width and depth of segment 
18a are selected to correspond to the desired width and depth of the 
finished groove 16. While such width and depth depend on the overall 
appearance desired for the panel, it has been found that a depth of 
approximately 25%-50% of the distance between surfaces 12b and 12a yields 
an optically pleasing result for the finished groove. The second segments 
(18b, 18c) extend into the base member 12, measured from the surface 12b, 
to the full depth between surfaces 12b and 12a. Since the second segments 
bound the first segment, an intermediate part 12c, secured to the veneer 
14, is left after the portion 18 is fully removed (see FIG. 7). For the 
reasons set forth below, the width of the second segments is substantially 
equal to the desired depth of the finished groove 16. 
Once the portions 18 are removed, the composite structure is mounted in a 
fixture 50 (see FIG. 8). In such fixture, marginal edges 12d and 12e of 
the base member are urged toward one another. Substantially 
simultaneously, parts 12c are urged toward surface 12b. Such urging action 
continues until, for each portion 18, the segments 18b, 18c, are closed 
(i.e., base member and intermediate part are in intimate contact) and part 
12c forms a contiguous planar surface with surface 12b (see FIG. 4). Since 
the widths of segments 18b, 18c are respectively substantially equal to 
the desired depth of the groove 16, when such segments are closed, the 
veneer opposite such segments is located so as to line the side walls of 
the groove. Thus, the surfaces of the grooves 16, over their entire 
surface area, are covered with the decorative surface veneer 14. After, 
the parts 12c are located relative to the base member 12 in the 
above-described manner, such parts are permanently secured to the adjacent 
portions of base member by any suitable means, such as stapling or gluing, 
for example, to complete the decorative panel 10. Alternatively prior to 
the urging action, a suitable glue may be placed in the segments 18b, 18c 
so that when the urging action is completed and the glue sets, parts 12c 
are secured to the adjacent portions of the base member. The completed 
decorative panel 10 then has the high quality look of tongue-in-groove 
construction, primarily because the grooves 16 are completely covered with 
the decorative embossed surface veneer 14. 
While the grooves 16 have been shown and described as having a generally 
rectangular cross-sectional shape, any other suitable shape may also be 
formed according to this invention. For example, the cross-sectional shape 
of the grooves may be of a modified V configuration where the grooves have 
sloping side walls. To form a groove with sloping side walls, the parts 
12c are held in a particular spaced relation from adjacent portions of the 
base member as the glue sets. That is, the fixture 50 urges the edges 12d, 
12e toward one another to a degree which does not completely close the 
segments 18b, 18c, and the part 12c is urged toward the surface 12b but is 
not contiguous therewith. Accordingly, the surface veneer between the 
portion covering parts 12c and the portions covering adjacent base member 
portions have an inward slope of a degree determined by the location of 
parts 12c and the held spaced relation. The glue, when set, supports such 
sloped veneer to maintain the modified V groove shape. 
The invention has been described in detail with particular reference to 
preferred embodiment thereof, but it will be understood that variations 
and modifications can be effected within the spirit and scope of the 
invention.