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Abstract

An apparatus and associated method for grooving a relatively rigid planar laminate sheet structure of the type having a relatively rigid substrate layer and a flexible sheet layer fixedly overlying the substrate layer to facilitate the folding of the sheet structure about a right corner defined by two planar surfaces of a polygonal panel during a laminating operation utilizes a circular rotatable grooving blade having teeth having cutting edges providing in cross-section, a V having an apex directed generally radially outwardly of the blade and further utilizes a member associated with the blade for defining first and second guide planes. The teeth cutting edges are adapted to form a V-sectioned groove in the laminate sheet structure as the blade is rotated within a plane oriented generally perpendicular to the plane of the laminate sheet and moved in operative grooving engagement across the laminate sheet. The provided V has a projected height which is about equal to the thickness of the substrate layer of the laminate sheet to be grooved, and has one leg which terminates at a point which rotates, as the blade is operatively rotated, within one blade plane oriented to one side of the blade body. The first guide plane is coincident with the defined one blade plane, and the second guide plane is oriented generally perpendicular to the first and spaced from the rotational axis of the blade a distance equal to the distance between the rotational axis and the apex of the provided V minus the projected height of the provided V so that by placing one corner-defining surface of a polygonal panel against the substrate side of a laminate sheet and moving the apparatus relative to the laminate sheet to be grooved with the first guide plane in sliding engagement with the other corner-defining surface of the panel, the second guide plane in sliding engagement with the laminate sheet, and the grooving blade in operative grooving engagement with the laminate sheet, the blade forms a V-sectioned groove in the laminate sheet adajcent the panel corner, which groove has a depth equal to about the projected height of the provided V. In the resulting V-sectioned groove, the substrate layer of the laminate sheet is substantially severed while the flexible sheet layer remains uncut.

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