Abstract:
The present invention discloses a portable and modular ice skating rink structure kit that includes a liner, sidewall, a wicket or slotted anchor block for supporting the sidewall, and sidewall connectors and liner clips. The skating rink disclosed herein may be used on hard or soft surfaces. The sidewall is supported by wickets for use with soft surfaces, such as ground, and slotted anchor blocks for use with hard surfaces, such as pavement. Once the sidewall is supported, a liner is draped over the playing surface and the sidewalls create a pool of water. When temperatures fall below freezing, a smooth sheet of surface ice is created.

Description:
FIELD OF THE DISCLOSURE 
       [0001]    The present disclosure relates generally to privately used home and yard ice rinks for skating and other purposes, and more particularly ice rinks, which are portable that can be easily assembled and disassembled. 
       BACKGROUND 
       [0002]    Ice skating is a popular recreational activity, and there are many variations of activities that can be engaged in on ice skating rinks. The primary activities engaged in on ice skating rinks are recreational ice skating, the game of hockey, curling, figuring skating, and ice dancing. At one time, these activities were performed on “home” ice skating rinks, which primarily took place on frozen ponds, streams, and other naturally occurring bodies of water. With each of these “home” rinks, there is a real and ever present danger, especially with young children, of death by drowning and/or overexposure upon falling through ice, which is too thin to bear the load, applied. In order to eliminate the danger of “home” ice skating rinks, public ice skating rinks started being developed along with shallow portable ice skating rinks. 
         [0003]    Issues soon arose with the public ice skating rinks as they typically require that a person go to a nearby public ice skating rink, and these facilities are not always accessible for ice skating depending on factors such as organized hockey and other private function schedules at the outdoor public ice skating rinks. Weather conditions also affect the availability of outdoor public ice skating rinks, as inclement weather may temporarily close the ice skating rinks. Public ice skating rinks also may not be proximate or accessible from one&#39;s residence. Additionally, the cost of renting ice time is very expensive, with limited availability times. Many of the availability times being either very early in the morning or very late at night, inconvenient for most people, especially those with little children or a busy work schedule. 
         [0004]    Issues also arose with the portable ice skating rink. Some original portable ice skating rinks were made of wood, which made them difficult to assemble, cumbersome, took up a lot of storage space, limited design creativity and were expensive to maintain and were damaging to the grounds. Then came portable ice skating rinks that used long plastic tubing, such as PVC piping with elbow joints. Once again the portable ice skating rink was cumbersome, took up a lot of storage space, had limited design creativity and were expensive to purchase and maintain all the required components. Other portable ice skating rinks have added on or modified previous portable ice skating rinks by varying or adding such elements as: 4″×4″ lumber pieces; curb-like structural members, wood beams and bolts; flexible metal; mini boards with triangular back supports; water inflatable tubes; slit corrugated tubes; extruded panels; with various forms of connectors and liners. Each of these variations, add-ons or combinations resulted in portable ice skating rinks to be even more expensive, cumbersome, difficult to assemble, maintain, or caused damage to the grounds. 
         [0005]    Thus, a heretofore unaddressed need exists in the industry to address the aforementioned deficiencies and inadequacies. 
       SUMMARY 
       [0006]    The present disclosure provides a system and method for a portable ice skating rink, which is not expensive, nor cumbersome, nor difficult to assemble or maintain and does not cause damage to the grounds. Traditional portable ice skating rinks have comprised of such variations or combinations such as using lumber pieces and bolts; curb-like structural members such as PVC piping; flexible metal; mini boards with triangular back supports; water inflatable tubes; slit corrugated tubes; extruded panels; all with various forms of connectors and liners. Each of these variations or combinations resulted in the traditional portable ice skating rinks to be more expensive, cumbersome, difficult to assemble or maintain and damaging to the grounds. 
         [0007]    Briefly described, the present disclosure describes a portable ice skating rink that uses slotted anchor blocks, or wickets, which are placed at locations on a horizontal surface. Slotted anchor blocks are to be used on hard surfaces and wickets used on soft ground. The wall of the device is comprised of an interlocking mechanism and is connected and placed within the slotted anchor blocks to define the shape of the hockey rink. In one embodiment wickets are placed along the sidewall, to penetrate the ground and provide support. The wickets may be U or V-shaped, as would be known to one of reasonable skill in the art. A flexible rubber sheet is unrolled and wrapped around the sidewall defining a skating surface area. A liner is placed over the flexible rubber sheet and secured to the sheet and sidewall. Liner clips are used to secure the liner to the sidewall. A liquid is then placed within the liner and frozen, creating a skating surface, wherein a person could do such activities as ice skating. 
         [0008]    Other systems, devices, methods, features, and advantages will be or become apparent to one with skill in the art upon examination of the following drawings and detailed description. It is intended that all such additional systems, methods, features, and advantages be included within this description, be within the scope of the present disclosure, and be protected by the accompanying claims. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0009]    Many aspects of the disclosure can be better understood with reference to the following drawings. The components in the drawings are not necessarily to scale, emphasis instead being placed upon clearly illustrating the principles of the present disclosure. Moreover, in the drawings, like reference numerals designate corresponding parts throughout the several views. 
           [0010]      FIG. 1  is a perspective view illustrating an assembled portable ice skating rink in accordance with the claimed invention. 
           [0011]      FIG. 2  is a perspective view illustrating an assembled portable ice skating rink including the skating surface in accordance with the claimed invention. 
           [0012]      FIG. 3  is a perspective view illustrating the placement of wickets around a sidewall. 
           [0013]      FIG. 4  is a perspective view illustrating an assembly of the portable ice skating rink with wickets in accordance with the claimed invention. 
           [0014]      FIG. 5  illustrates an exploded cross-sectional perspective view showing the assembly of a sidewall with wickets. 
           [0015]      FIG. 6  illustrates a cross-sectional perspective view showing the components of a sidewall with slotted anchor blocks. 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENTS 
       [0016]    Reference is now made in detail to the description of the embodiments as illustrated in the drawings. While several embodiments are described in the connection with these drawings, there is no intent to limit the disclosure to the embodiment or embodiments disclosed herein. On the contrary, the intent is to cover all alternatives, modifications, and equivalents. 
         [0017]    It should be clearly understood that like reference numerals are intended to identify the same structural elements, portions, or surfaces consistently throughout the several drawing figures, as may be further described or explained by the entire written specification of which this detailed description is an integral part. The drawings are intended to be read together with the specification and are to be construed as a portion of the entire “written description” of this invention as required by 35 U.S.C. §112. 
         [0018]    Currently, it is known that ice skating is a popular recreational activity, and there are many variations of activities that can be engaged on ice skating rinks. Some of the primary activities engaged on ice rinks are recreational ice skating, the games of hockey, curling, figuring skating, and ice dancing. At one time, these activities were performed on “home” ice skating rinks, which primarily took place on frozen ponds, streams, and other naturally occurring bodies of water. With each of these “home” rinks, there is a real and ever present danger, especially with young children, of death by drowning or overexposure upon falling through ice, which is too thin to bear the load, applied. In order to eliminate the danger of “home” rinks, public ice skating rinks started being developed along with portable ice skating rinks. Issues soon arose though with both public ice skating rinks and portable ice skating rinks. 
         [0019]    Public ice skating rinks for the general public typically require that a person or family travel either a short distance or a significant distance to arrive at the public ice skating rinks. Once the person or family arrives at the public ice skating rink it is not a guarantee that the person or family will be able to have access as the ice skating rink may be overcrowded, or being used by organized hockey leagues or other private function schedules. Renting or purchasing ice time to guarantee use is not practical as ice time is very expensive with limited choices in regards to availability, which are typically inconvenient for most people. 
         [0020]    Prior portable ice skating rinks also have numerous issues, one being they are bulky as they are typically built of either wood or plastic tubing such as PVC piping with either numerous bolts or connectors. In addition, the prior portable ice rinks are expensive, as they require a user to purchase numerous components, which need to be replaced regularly, making the prior portable ice skating rinks also difficult to maintain and damaging to the grounds. Furthermore, the prior portable ice skating rinks are difficult to assemble because of its bulkiness and numerous components, requiring several people to assist in constructing the prior portable ice skating rinks. Lastly, the prior portable ice skating rinks restrict the type of shape the ice skating rink can be to either a square or rectangle based on the material required to build the prior portable ice skating rinks. Thus, there is a need for a portable ice skating rink wherein the above deficiencies and other deficiencies in the prior art have been obviated in a novel manner by the present claimed invention, as will be more apparent upon studying the remaining disclosure. 
         [0021]    Briefly described, the present disclosure describes a portable ice skating rink that uses slotted anchor blocks, or wickets, which are placed at locations on a horizontal surface. Slotted anchor blocks are to be used on hard surfaces and wickets used on soft ground. The wall of the device is comprised of an interlocking mechanism and is connected and placed within the slotted anchor blocks to define the shape of the hockey rink. In one embodiment wickets are placed along the sidewall, to penetrate the ground and provide support. The wickets may be U or V-shaped, as would be known to one of reasonable skill in the art. A flexible rubber sheet is unrolled and wrapped around the sidewall defining a skating surface area. A liner is placed over the flexible rubber sheet and secured to the sheet and sidewall. Liner clips are used to secure the liner to the sidewall. A liquid is then placed within the liner and frozen, creating a skating surface, wherein a person could do such activities as ice skating. 
         [0022]    Adverting now to the drawings, with reference to  FIG. 1  shows an initial frame of an embodiment of the portable ice skating rink generally comprising of wickets  32 , placed at locations on a horizontal ground surface  42  to establish a border of a closed geometric shape, wherein a flexible rubber sheet  50  having a first end  51  (as shown in  FIGS. 3 &amp; 4 ) and a second end  53  (as shown in  FIGS. 3 &amp; 4 ) is unrolled (as shown in  FIGS. 2 and 4 ). In one embodiment, wickets  32  are placed along the flexible rubber sheet  50  at regular intervals, thereby defining a skating surface area  40  (as shown in  FIG. 1 ). The first end  51  of the flexible rubber sheet  50  is connected to the second end  53  of the flexible rubber sheet  50 , either through the use of an interlocking mechanism  54 ,  52  as shown in  FIGS. 3 &amp; 4  or with nuts and bolts (not shown), thereby forming a sidewall  50 . 
         [0023]    The number of slotted anchor blocks  60  or wickets  32  can range from at least three to form a triangular ice skating rink to as many as a user needs to form the geometric shape they desire such as a square, rectangle, oval, circle, kidney, free form, and the like. The preferred distance between the slotted anchor blocks  60  or wickets  32  varies depending on the shape and size of the geometric shape, with the smaller or less sophisticated geometric shapes requiring less slotted anchor blocks  60  or wickets  32  and larger or more sophisticated geometric shapes requiring more slotted anchor blocks  60  or wickets  32 . 
         [0024]    The flexible rubber sheet  50  may be constructed of an EPDM rubber type material or other well-known rubber type of material available to those of ordinary skill in the art. The flexible rubber sheet  50  may come in 50-foot rolls, which allow for easy assembling as the flexible rubber sheet  50  only needs to be unrolled and then wrapped around the sidewall  50 . The flexible rubber sheet  50  also allows for easy storage, taking up minimum space, as upon dismantling the portable ice skating rink  10 , the flexible rubber sheet  50  may be rolled up and placed with the other elements of the claimed invention within a 30 gallon tote, a garbage can or the like and stored in the corner of a basement, garage or the like. 
         [0025]      FIG. 2  shows a preferred embodiment of the portable ice skating rink of the present claimed invention as indicated generally by numeral  10  is generally comprised of wickets  32 , placed at locations on the horizontal surface  42  to establish a border of a closed geometric shape. The flexible rubber sheet  50  having first and second ends  51 ,  53  (as shown ins  FIGS. 3 &amp; 4 ) is then unrolled and wrapped around the wickets  32 , therefore defining the skating surface area  40 . The first end  51  and the second end  53  of the flexible rubber sheet  50  are connected either through the use of the interlocking mechanism  52 ,  54  as shown in  FIGS. 3 &amp; 4  which will be described herein below, or using a nut and bolt configuration (not shown) wherein a hole, preferably three holes are located at each end  51 ,  53  of the flexible rubber sheet  50 . The holes are large enough to receive the bolt but not so large as to allow the bolt to pass completely through, and the nut is secured onto the bolt, thus securing the flexible rubber sheet  50  to itself, wherein the sidewall  50  is formed (hereinafter flexible rubber sheet will be referred to as “sidewall”). 
         [0026]    In one embodiment, slotted anchor blocks  60  (as shown in  FIG. 6 ) are positioned at a location on the horizontal surface  42  outside and against the sidewall  50 . In another embodiment, wickets  52  (as shown in  FIGS. 3 ,  4  and  5 ) provide support for sidewall  50 . A flexible liner  38  is placed on the horizontal surface  42  over the closed geometric shape extending outwardly over the sidewalls  50 , thereby forming a liner  38  of a structure capable of containing a liquid. The liner  38  is secured to the sidewall  50  with a liner clip  36 . The wickets  32  may be placed at locations on the horizontal surface  42  over and around the sidewall  50  in-between the slotted anchor blocks  60  or wickets  32 . 
         [0027]    Having completed assembling the portable ice rink  10 , the ice building process is ready to begin weather permitting. 
         [0028]    Ambient temperatures must be below freezing to effectively build the skating surface area  40 , usually requiring close observance of local weather forecasts. Mother Nature&#39;s freezing process always commences from the top of the ice and works downward. Thus, rather than filling the liner  38  completely with water, it is preferred to build the skating surface area  40  like the professional . . . a layer at a time. Such a practice eliminates “shell ice” and air entrapment beneath the ice surface, and facilitates regulation of the water to be added so that the existing outdoor temperatures can handle the heat load of the newly applied water in a timely manner. Capitalizing on very cold or night weather during the building process will speed formation of the skating surface area  40 . It is recommended that the ice building process be continued until the ice thickness reaches four to six inches or till the ice thickness reaches the top of the sidewall  50 . However, the user may fill the liner  38  completely with water till it reaches the desired thickness and allow the skating surface area  40  to freeze solid creating a skating surface  40 . 
         [0029]      FIG. 3  shows a cross sectional view of the one embodiment of the claimed invention illustrating wickets  32  supporting sidewall  50 . The sidewall  50  has first end  51  and second end  53  and the ends  51 ,  53  may be connected through the use of an interlocking mechanism  52  &amp;  54 . The interlocking mechanism comprises a male connector  52  as part of the second end  53  and a female connector  54  as part of the first end  51 . The connectors  52 ,  54  may also comprise a shape including rounded lobe-shaped connectors, dovetail connectors and polygonal geometric connectors. Each lobed shaped male connector  52  is shaped to fit into the female connector  54 , thereby interlocking the sidewall  50 . The female connector  54  has a hole or a throat, which is capable of receiving the male connector  52 . The throat may be of the shape of a teardrop, which narrows to interlock with a narrow neck  57  (as shown in  FIG. 4 ) on the male connector  52  to lock the sidewall  50  securely together. If desired the male  52  and female  54  connectors can be made with a slight interference fit with one another or with molded in detents to form an even more secure attachment between the sidewall  50 . The connectors  52 ,  54  may be virtually any geometric shape, diamond, triangle, hexagon, they could even be curved or irregularly shaped as long as the connectors are allowed sufficient clearance to interlock. 
         [0030]    The flexible, water-proof slip  38  is placed on the horizontal surface  42  (as shown in  FIG. 4 ) over the closed geometric shape extending outwardly over the sidewalls  50 , thereby forming the liner  38  capable of containing a liquid. The liner  38  is secured to the sidewall  50  with liner clips  36 . 
         [0031]    The wicket  32  may comprise of a first end  31  and a second end  33  (as shown in  FIG. 4 ). The first end and second end are shaped to penetrate the ground. The wicket  32  may be placed at locations on the horizontal surface  42  outside and against the sidewall  50 . The wicket  32  provides additional support to the sidewall  50  preventing the sidewall  50  from buckling during the ice building process as described above in  FIG. 2 . 
         [0032]      FIG. 5  shows an exploded cross sectional view of the components of the portable ice skating rink  10 . The wickets  32  shown in  FIG. 3  and  FIG. 5  may be made of steel or other well-known sturdy materials available to those of ordinary skill in the art. The length of the wickets  32  may vary in size depending on user&#39;s choice of flexible rubber sheet  50 . 
         [0033]    The flexible rubber sheet  50  or also known throughout the claimed invention as the sidewall  50  and may be constructed of an EPDM rubber type material or other well-known rubber type of materials available to those of ordinary skill in the art. The dimensions of the flexible rubber sheet  50  is preferably twelve inches in height and a thickness of ⅛ inch to 1/16 inch durometer of 80 and the length may vary depending on the size of the desired playing area as defined by the user. The sidewalls  50  may be stored and packaged in fifty-foot sections and in tightly compacted rolls. The flexible rubber sheet  50  may also have the interlocking mechanism  52 ,  54  as described above in  FIG. 3  or it may have numerous holes preferably three located at the first end  51  and second end  53  of the flexible rubber sheet  50 , where currently the interlocking mechanism  52 ,  54  is located. These holes in the flexible rubber sheet  50  are of the size capable of receiving a standard size bolt, which is thread through the holes and a nut is connected to the bolt securing the two ends  51 ,  53  of the flexible rubber sheet  50 . 
         [0034]    The flexible, water-proof slip  38  or also known throughout the claimed invention as the liner  38  may be constructed of a water impermeable barrier such as Tyvek type material, vinyl tarp type material, or elastomers such as polybutadiene, polyisoprene, natural rubber, poly(butadiene-styrene), poly(butadiene-acrylonitrile), polyurethane, poly(ethylene-propylene) or poly(ethylene-propylene-non-conjugated diene) and the like, or fabric coated with such elastomers or with the above mentioned plastics, or other well-known water impermeable barriers available to those of ordinary skill in the art. The liner  38  may vary in size depending on the size of the desired skating surface area  40  defined by the user. 
         [0035]    The liner clips  36  are preferably an aluminum, wood, or plastic clip or other well-known materials available to those of ordinary skill in the art. The preferred size of the liner clips  36  is of the size of one to three inches. However, the size of the liner clip  36  may vary depending on the thickness of the flexible rubber sheet  50  and the flexible, water-proof slip  38 . 
         [0036]    When setting up the portable ice skating rink of the claimed invention it is advisable to seek a substantially leveled ground or surface, free of any debris. The method of the claimed invention comprises of: first, placing slotted anchor blocks  60 , or in the alternative wickets  32 , at locations on the horizontal surface  42  to establish a border of a closed geometric shape. Next, the flexible rubber sheet  50  having first and second ends  51 ,  53  is unrolled and then inserted into the slotted anchor blocks  60 , or in the alternative along wickets  32 , thereby defining the skating surface area  40 . The first end  51  of the flexible rubber sheet  50  is connect to the second end  53  of the flexible rubber sheet  50  by the interlocking mechanism  52 ,  54  or with nuts and bolts, thereby forming a sidewall  50 . Wickets  32  are then places along the flexible rubber sheet  50 . The flexible, water-proof slip  38  is then placed on the horizontal surface  42  over the closed geometric shape and extending beyond the sidewalls  50 , thereby forming the liner  38  of the portable ice skating rink  10  capable of containing liquid. Liner clips are then used to secure the liner  38  to the sidewall  50 . The liquid is then placed within the liner  38  during below freezing temperatures, thereby freezing the liquid and creating the skating surface  40 . 
         [0037]    One embodiment of the present disclosure has U or V shaped support wickets that provide sidewall support on a ground surface. Another embodiment incorporates a slotted anchor block  60  that holds the sidewall. 
         [0038]    Although exemplary embodiments have been shown and described, it will be clear to those of ordinary skill in the art that a number of changes, modifications, or alterations to the disclosure as described may be made. For example, the slotted anchor block may have small holes located approximately to the bottom of the slotted anchor block capable of receiving sidewall anchor bolts and the slotted anchor block may be constructed of wood. In addition bands may be placed in-between the ice sheets to create lines such as those on a hockey rink. All such changes, modifications, and alterations should therefore be seen as within the scope of the disclosure.