ICE RINK AND COMPONENTS EMPLOYED FOR ICE RINK CONSTRUCTION
Ice rink assemblies include a plurality of panels and support brackets. Each support bracket may include a floor support and an upright coupled to the floor support. The upright may include a central body, a plurality of wings extending laterally outward from the central body, and a slot formed in at least one wing. At least one fastener may extend through each panel, and may be positioned within a respective slot associated with a respective support bracket to couple a panel to the support bracket. Methods of assembling ice rinks may include positioning at least one fastener through a panel and into a respective slot associated with a support bracket, and tightening the fastener to constrict the fastener and the panel against the support bracket. Other aspects, embodiments, and features are also included.
The present Application for patent claims priority to Provisional Application No. 62/535,200 entitled “Ice Rink and Components Employed for Ice Rink Construction” filed Jul. 20, 2017, the entire disclosure of which is incorporated by reference herein.
TECHNICAL FIELDThe technology discussed below relates generally to ice rinks, and more specifically to components and methods for constructing an ice rink.
BACKGROUNDWhen building an ice rink, the water pressure as well as the expansion of the ice when freezing applies relatively high pressure against the boards or panels that hold the water in. The panels are typically supported even in the event of thaw and freeze.
It would be beneficial to provide components for use in ice rink construction that can facilitate ease of construction and flexibility in locations and sizes.
BRIEF SUMMARY OF SOME EXAMPLESThe following summarizes some aspects of the present disclosure to provide a basic understanding of the discussed technology. This summary is not an extensive overview of all contemplated features of the disclosure, and is intended neither to identify key or critical elements of all aspects of the disclosure nor to delineate the scope of any or all aspects of the disclosure. Its sole purpose is to present some concepts of one or more aspects of the disclosure in summary form as a prelude to the more detailed description that is presented later.
Various examples and implementations of the present disclosure facilitate ice rinks that are relatively easy to set up and take down, while also facilitating easy storage. One or more embodiments of the present disclosure include ice rink assemblies. According to at least one example, an ice rink assembly may include a plurality of panels. A plurality of support brackets may each include an upright including a plurality of slots associated therewith. One or more fasteners may extend through at least one panel, and may be positioned within respective slots associated with respective support brackets, where a respective fastener facilitates coupling a respective panel to a respective support bracket.
Additional aspects of the present disclosure include ice rink support brackets. According to at least one example, an ice rink support bracket may include a floor support coupled to an upright. The upright may include a central body, a plurality of wings extending laterally outward from the central body, and a slot formed in at least one wing of the plurality.
Further aspects of the present disclosure include methods of assembling an ice rink. In at least one implementation, such methods may include positioning at least one fastener through a panel and into a respective slot associated with a support bracket. The at least one fastener may be tightened to constrict the fastener and the panel against the support bracket.
Other aspects, features, and embodiments associated with the present disclosure will become apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art upon reviewing the following description in conjunction with the accompanying figures.
The illustrations presented herein are, in some instances, not actual views of any particular ice rink or component, but are merely idealized representations which are employed to describe the present disclosure. Additionally, elements common between figures may retain the same numerical designation.
Various embodiments of the present disclosure include ice rinks and components for forming an ice rink.
According to an aspect of the disclosure, support brackets 104 are employed to support the panels 102 of the ice rink 100.
The upright 202 can include apertures 206 to facilitate coupling two wall panels together in some implementations, or to simply couple the bracket 200 to a wall panel. The upright 202 may further include slots 208 that are configured to receive a fastener (e.g., bolt, screw) when coupling the upright 202 to a wall panel in some implementations, as will be described in more detail herein. In the depicted embodiment, the bracket 200 includes a plurality of wings 210 extending outward from a central body 212, with the apertures 206 and/or slots 208 are formed in one or more of the wings 210.
Referring to
The spike 302 can include protrusions or ribs 304 on one or more side surfaces thereof to provide grip when placed in the ground. For example, after the spikes 302 are forced into the ground, the ground may enclosed around the spikes 302 and may harden in response to the cold temperatures. With the hardened ground closed up against the spikes 302, the ribs 304 provide structure that can aid in inhibiting the spike 302 from being pulled out of the ground.
Referring now to
In at least some examples, a bracket 200 may further include a wall connection plate. For example,
Additionally, a wall joiner tension plate 702 shown in
Turning now to
Utilizing the aspects described above, an ice rink may be assembled and disassembled with relative ease. Aspects of the present disclosure include methods of assembling an ice rink.
In another example, such as at one or more angled connections of the ice rink assembly, the corner wall coupler plates 402 may be utilized in the assembly process. For example,
In addition or in the alternative to the utilization of the slots associated with the support bracket (e.g., slots 208 of the upright 202, slots 404 of the corner wall coupler plate 402), a wall joiner plate may be utilized for coupling panels 102 to brackets 200.
The panel 102 can then be positioned adjacent a first side of the upright 202, and the wall joiner plate 1102 can be positioned adjacent an opposing second side of the upright 202, as depicted in
The various features associate with the examples described herein and shown in the accompanying drawings can be implemented in different examples and implementations without departing from the scope of the present disclosure. Therefore, although certain specific constructions and arrangements have been described and shown in the accompanying drawings, such embodiments are merely illustrative and not restrictive of the scope of the disclosure, since various other additions and modifications to, and deletions from, the described embodiments will be apparent to one of ordinary skill in the art. Thus, the scope of the disclosure is only determined by the literal language, and legal equivalents, of the claims which follow.
Claims
1. An ice rink assembly, comprising:
- a plurality of panels;
- a plurality of support brackets, each support bracket comprising an upright including a plurality of slots associated therewith; and
- at least one fastener extending through a panel of the plurality of panels and positioned within a respective slot associated with a respective support bracket, wherein the fastener couples the panel of the plurality of panels to the respective support bracket.
2. The ice rink assembly of claim 1, wherein the at least one fastener positioned within a respective slot associated with the respective support bracket comprises the at least one fastener positioned within a respective slot formed in the upright of the respective support bracket.
3. The ice rink assembly of claim 1, wherein at least one support bracket further comprises:
- a corner wall coupler plate coupled to the upright, the corner wall coupler plate include a plurality of slots, wherein the at least one fastener positioned within a respective slot associated with the respective support bracket comprises the at least one fastener positioned within a respective slot corner wall coupler plate.
4. The ice rink assembly of claim 1, wherein each support bracket further includes a floor support coupled to the upright.
5. The ice rink assembly of claim 1, wherein at least one support bracket further comprises a spike coupled to the upright.
6. The ice rink assembly of claim 1, wherein at least one support bracket further comprises:
- a wall connection plate coupled to the upright.
7. The ice rink assembly of claim 1, further comprising at least one wall joiner tension plate pivotably coupled to a panel of the plurality of panels, the at least one wall coupling tension plate comprising:
- an aperture through which a fastener is positioned for pivotably coupling the wall joiner tension plate to the panel; and
- a slot including at least one angled side.
8. The ice rink assembly of claim 1, further comprising:
- a height extension support positioned adjacent to the upright of at least one support bracket;
- a support strap coupling the height extension support to the upright of the at least one support bracket;
- a ground strap coupled to a floor support, the floor support coupled to the upright of the at least one support bracket; and
- a support leg coupled to, and extending between, the height extension support and the ground strap.
9. An ice rink support bracket, comprising:
- a floor support; and
- an upright coupled to the floor support, the upright comprising: a central body; a plurality of wings extending laterally outward from the central body; and a slot formed in at least one wing of the plurality of wings.
10. The ice rink support bracket of claim 9, further comprising a spike coupled to the upright.
11. The ice rink support bracket of claim 10, wherein the spike comprises a plurality of ribs protruding outward from one or more sidewalls.
12. The ice rink support bracket of claim 9, wherein the upright is coupled to the floor support oriented as a spike.
13. The ice rink support bracket of claim 9, wherein the upright is pivotably coupled to the floor support.
14. The ice rink support bracket of claim 9, further comprising at least one aperture formed in at least one wing of the plurality of wings.
15. The ice rink support bracket of claim 9, further comprising at least one corner wall coupler plate coupled to the upright, the at least one corner wall coupler plate comprising a plurality of slots.
16. The ice rink support bracket of claim 9, further comprising a wall connection plate coupled to the upright.
17. The ice rink support bracket of claim 9, further comprising:
- a height extension support positioned adjacent to the upright;
- a support strap coupling the height extension support to the upright;
- a ground strap coupled to the floor support; and
- a support leg extending between and coupled to the height extension support and the ground strap.
18. A method of assembling an ice rink, comprising:
- positioning at least one fastener through a panel;
- positioning the at least one fastener into a respective slot associated with an upright of a support bracket; and
- tightening the at least one fastener to constrict the fastener and the panel against the upright of the support bracket.
19. The method of claim 18, wherein positioning the at least one fastener into a respective slot associated with an upright of a support bracket comprises:
- positioning the at least one fastener into a respective slot formed in the upright of the support bracket.
20. The method of claim 18, wherein positioning the at least one fastener into a respective slot associated with an upright of a support bracket comprises:
- positioning the at least one fastener into a respective slot formed in corner wall coupler plate coupled to the upright of the support bracket.
Type: Application
Filed: Jul 20, 2018
Publication Date: Jan 24, 2019
Inventor: Brian Goldwitz (Orange, CT)
Application Number: 16/041,086