This invention relates to an edge finishing machine and relates particularly to a machine for applying an edging strip to the edge surface of timber, particle board or like sheet material.

In the joinery industry and furniture manufacturing industry, large amounts of particle board and the like are used in the construction of furniture, including shelving, cupboards, benches, tables and similar items. Particle board, or chipboard, or other composite board is generally manufactured with laminate plies on opposite facings usually timber laminate or a laminate of a synthetic material. When the sheet of material is cut to size for use, it is desirable to provide an edging on the cut, raw edge of the sheet. Background of the Invention

Heretofore, edging material has been applied to edges by hand glueing strips to the sheet edge or by using relatively large and complex edging machines which are able to handle particle board sheets and similar boards of a variety of sizes. In applying an edging material by hand, the edging strip, which is usually supplied with a heat activated adhesive, is located in position on the edge of the board and an iron or the like is used to heat activate, or melt, the adhesive while the edge material is held in place. This method of applying an edging material to a particle board sheet or the like is both time consuming and inefficient and does not result in a consistent quality product.

Edging machines currently known are large machines having a work table to receive the board or sheet to be edged. The machine, therefore, is useable only for separated, individual boards or sheet material and cannot be used when the particle board or other sheet material has already been constructed into an item of furniture or joinery.

Further, with both the manual and machine edging

processes, it is necessary to subsequently trim the edging material to the thickness of the particle board or sheet to which it is secured. Heretofore, this has been a manual operation following the edging process. Also, many items of furniture and other joinery are constructed with curved edges, the curves being either internal or external. At present, edging material can only be applied to such curved surfaces by the manual process. It is desirable to provide apparatus to assist in the application of edging material to the edge of particle board or other similar material.

It is also desirable to provide apparatus for applying edging material to an edge surface of an article, such as a sheet of particle board or the like, irrespective of the shape or configuration of the edge.

It is also desirable to provide an edging machine which is portable and which can, therefore, be used to apply edging material to a raw edge on previously con- structed joinery, furniture or the like. Summary of the Invention •

In accordance with one aspect of the invention there is provided an edging machine comprising a first support member adapted to be located adjacent an edge of a sheet of material, such as a sheet of particle board to which edging material is to be applied, roller means carried by the support member to engage an edge surface, or edging material thereon, drive means for the machine, and dispensing means to dispense edging material from a supply to the edge surface.

With this arrangement, the edging machine carries a supply of edging material which, preferably, has a heat activated adhesive thereon. The edging material is dispensed to the edge and the machine, which is supported by hand, is moved along the edge by the drive means while the roller means engages the edge and applies pressure so . hat it adheres to the edge of ^' the material to which it is applied.

- 3 - Preferably, the machine incorporates means for heating a heat activated adhesive on the edging material immediately prior to its application to the edge.

It is also preferred that the first support member _r 5 comprises an upper housing carrying a drive roller driven '* by an electric drive motor. The drive roller is adapted to engage a surface of the sheet material to which the edging is to be applied. It is further preferred that a lower housing is 10 mounted to the upper housing and carries an idler roller opposite the drive roller. The lower housing is urged towards the upper housing, by spring biasing or the like, so that pressure is applied between the drive roller and the idler roller. 15 The roller means may comprise one or more pressure rollers carried by the support member or upper housing and adapted to engage the edge surface of the sheet material to which the edging material is applied. Appropriate pressure is applied manually to the support 20 member by handles attached thereto so that the pressure rollers engage and press the surface of the edging material into intimate contact with the edge of the board or other material to which the edging is applied. In a most preferred form of the invention, both

25 upper and lower housings are each provided with cutting means which engage the outer edges of the edging material and cut or otherwise trim it to the width corresponding to the thickness of the sheet of material to which the edging is applied. The cutting means are preferably driven 30 by an ¹ appropriate motor, and the distance between the cutting means is determined by the spacing of the upper and lower housings.

In one of the preferred embodiments, a cutting mechanism is mounted on the support member to cut the 35 edging material to length. A sensor extending from the support member engages with the edge to which the material is being applied and is adapted to sense the end of that edge thereby initiating cutting of the edging material

to the correct length.

Many features of the present invention will become apparent from the following description of one preferred embodiment of the invention with reference to the 5 accompanying drawings.

Description of the Drawings

Figure 1 is a perspective view of an edging machine in accordance with the invention, Figure 2 is a part sectional, side elevational 10 view of the edging machine of Figure 1 , and Figure 3 is a plan view of the edging machine of Figure 1. Referring to the drawings, the machine comprises an upper housing 12 and a lower housing 14, the housings 15 being adapted to engage on opposite sides of a sheet of particle board, chipboard or other sheet material 16 to which an edging 17 is to be applied. The upper housing 12 carries a rotatable drive roller 18 adapted to engage the upper surface 19 of the sheet material 16. A drive 20 motor 21 mounted on the upper housing 12 is connected to the drive roller 18 .through appropriate drive belt, cord or chain 22 such that energization of the drive motor 21 causes the upper housing 12 to move along the upper surface 19 of the sheet material 16. A pair of guide .. 25 wheels 23 assist in supporting the upper housing 12 on the upper surface 19. The lower housing 14 carries a lower roller ^' 24 which is disposed substantially opposite the drive roller 18. Biasing means, such as spring 26 act between the 30 upper 'and lower housings 12 and 14 to bias the housings towards each other and thus cause the rollers to apply pressure to the opposed surfaces of the sheet material 16. A drive roller ON/OFF switch 27 mounted on a handle 35 28 extending upwardly from the upper housing 12 controls operation of the drive motor 21. A further handle ^' 29 extends outwardly from the lower housing 14 in a direction substantially parallel to the plane of the sheet material

16 to assist in guiding movement of the machine.

The upper housing 12 includes a front part 31 which extends downwardly substantially at right angles to the axis of the drive roller 18 and spaced from the , edge 32 of the sheet material 16. The front part 31 carries two further rollers 33 and 34 which are spaced apart lengthwise along the edge 32. The rollers 33 and 34 have a length which is at least equal to the greatest thickness of sheet material 16 to which edging material is to be applied. Roller 33 is preferably located immediately adjacent the ends of the drive roller 18 and lower roller 24, and acts as a pressure roller on the edging material 17 applied to the edge 32 of the sheet material 16. The roller 34, which may also act as a pressure roller, further acts to guide the edging material

17 from a roll 36 carried by the upper housing 12.

A cutter motor 37 is carried by the front part 31 and is drivingly connected to a pair of cutter wheels 38 which, in use, are disposed adjacent the upper and lower surfaces of the sheet material 16 to trim the edging material 17 to the exact .thickness of the sheet material 16. The cutter wheels 38 may be spring biased to the opposed surfaces of the sheet material 16 so as to be automatically spaced the correct distance. Alternatively, the cutter wheels 38 may be mounted relative to the respective upper and lower housings 12 and 14 so as to be movable therewith and thereby being spaced the appro¬ priate distance. Alternatively, the cutter wheels may be fitted with free wheeling guide tyres or the like which engage ^' the opposed surfaces of the sheet material to both protect the surfaces from cutter blades and to provide the correct spacing. Many variations may be made in the arrangement of the cutter wheels with a view to trimming the edges of the edging material 17 when it is applied to the edge 32.

Generally, the edging material 17 will be preformed with a heat activated adhesive on one surface. The pre¬ formed edging is provided in rolls 36 and is fed to the

edge 32 passed a heater 39. The heater includes a fan or blower within a fan housing 41 and a heating element 42 over which air is blown onto the edging material 17. The edging material is heated by the heated air such that the adhesive is activated to cause the edging material 17 to adhere to the edge 32 of the sheet material as the machine is moved along that material.

Extending from the leading roller 34 in the direc¬ tion of movement of the machine is an arm 44 carrying sensing wheel 43 which is adapted to sense the end of the sheet material to which edging 17 is being applied. When the wheel 43 reaches the end of the edge 32, the movement of the arm 44 resulting from when the wheel 43 drops off the edge 32 causes actuation of a cutter 46 which cuts the edging material 17 to the precise length necessary to reach the end of the- edge 32. Operation of the cutter 46 may be manually selectable by a further switch 51 on the handle 28. An electronic sensor associated with the arm 44 initiates the cutter 46 to _cu the edging material 17 at the appropriate place commensurate with the necessary length required to finish the edge. A feeding slide 47 captures the free end of the edging material 17 after it is cut and is movable towards the leading roller 34 to feed the free end, as required, to facilitate the starting of a further application of the edging material to another edge.

In operation of the embodiment of the invention as illustrated, the lower housing 14 is moved away from the upper housing 12, against the. action of the biasing spring' 26, to enable the housings to engage on opposite sides of_ the sheet material 16 to which edging is to be applied. The spring 26 is then permitted to close the spacing between the housings 12 and 14 so that the drive roller 18 and lower roller 24 engage opposite surfaces of the sheet material.

The housings are positioned so that the leading and trailing rollers 33 and 34 engage against the edge 32 of the sheet material. During movement of the machine,

manual pressure is applied to maintain the rollers 33 and 34, particularly the trailing roller 34, in pressurized contact. A spring-loaded control switch may be used in conjunction with the pressure roller 33, the switch being operable to switch off power to the motors 21 and 37 if insufficient pressure is applied between the roller 3-3 and the edge 32.

The feeding slide 47 is actuated to feed a free end of edging material 17 from the roll 36. At the same time, the heater 39 is actuated to provide heated air over the edging material 17 to thereby soften the heat activated adhesive thereon.

The edging material 17 is engaged with the edge 32 and the leading roller 34 applies pressure so that the adhesive secures the material to the edge 32. The switch 27 on the handle 28 is actuated to commence opera¬ tion of the drive motor 21 and the second switch 48 on the handle 28 is also actuated to energize the cutter motor 37 driving the cutter wheels 38. At this time, the cutter wheels are located immediately adjacent the edge and are rotatable so as to trim any excess material from the edging 17.

The drive roller 18 moves the machine along • the sheet material 16 thus causing the leading roller 34 to rotate and feed edging material 17 to the edge passed the heater 39. Both leading and trailing rollers 34 and 33, respectively, provide pressure to ensure the edging material is adhered to the edge 32. The guide wheels 23 provide stability for the upper housing 12 on the surface of the sheet material 17 to facilitate easy guiding of the machine along the edge. The lower roller 24 provides the reactive pressure to enable the drive roller 18 to properly drive the machine.

A lockable handle 49 may be connected to the cutter wheels 38 to move the cutter wheels -between an operative and inoperative position. The handle 49 may be adjusted so as to trim more or less material from the edge being applied, as required. In one form of the invention, the

cutter wheels extend at an angle to the surfaces of the sheet material 16 so as to cut the edging on a bevel.

It will be appreciated that the edging machine of the present invention may be utilized on both internal and external curves. For an external curve, the limitation on radius is the spacing between the rollers 33 and 34 and the location of one of the guide wheels 23. This may be relocated in the event of an external curve being edged. Internal curves of any diameter commensurate with the spacing of the rollers 33 and 34 may also be edged with the machine of the present invention. Naturally, the cutter 46 is inoperative for such operations.

It will also be appreciated that the upper and lower housings 12 and 14 are interconnected by appropriate slides or guides or the like to enable relative movement perpendicular to the plane of the sheet material.

If desired, the drive roller 18 and lower roller 26 may be slightly skewed so that the driving action applies a self-maintaining pressure on either one or both of the rollers 33 and 34. The relative positioning of the drive roller 18 and lower roller 24 may be varied as desired, being located either centrally of the upper housing 12 or towards one or other end thereof. While the preferred embodiment illustrates a machine for applying an edging strip to an edge of a sheet of material which is at right angles to the plane of the sheet, it will be understood that the edge may extend at any desired angle or even by curved convexly or concavely. For this purpose, the guide rollers 33 and 34 will be appropriately configured.

Further, while the adhesive particularly described is a heat activated adhesive, many other forms of adhesive can be used. Such adhesives may be applied to the edging material or may be applied by a separate application to either the edging or the edge immediately prior to applica¬ tion of the edging to the edge.