Abstract:
A system to reduce or eliminate the sill of dasher boards on the play area side of a transparent plane is disclosed. The system features spacers and extensions which support the transparent panes in a more inward position. The system can be installed initially or used to retrofit an arena. The system is suitable for straight and curved-corner portions of the boards assembly. The system is suitable for use with panes of tempered glass or of transparent plastic.

Description:
This invention relates to ice rinks, and particularly to hockey rinks. 
     BACKGROUND TO THE INVENTION 
     Hockey-rink dasherboards have to be robust enough to survive being crashed into by players. In hockey-rinks, dasherboards generally are surmounted by glass-shield panes to protect spectators from errant pucks. These panes should have a corresponding robustness, and the manner in which the panes are attached to the dasher boards also should have a corresponding robustness. 
     The dasher boards are built around a structural framework of metal or wood, which is attached firmly to the (concrete) floor of the rink, around the edges of the playing surface. The framework is faced with panels of wood, or more usually of plastic, and preferably of impact-deadening plastic. The ice-facing surface of the dasherboards is deliberately kept smooth and edge-free, in an attempt to minimise injuries when players crash into the boards. 
     Typically, the dasherboard structure is e.g thirteen of fifteen centimeters wide, and the glass-shield panes are e.g 12 or 15 mm thick. Traditionally, the glass-panes have been mounted at a roughly halfway-across-the-width location on top of the dasherboards. As a result, traditionally, in hockey rinks, there is a sill, or upwards-facing ledge, some six cm or so wide, at the junction between the dasherboards and the glass-shield panes. 
     This horizontal sill or ledge runs round the entire rink. It faces upwards, and is at a height, typically, of approximately one meter. Of course, the rink-owners see to it that the upwards-facing sill is covered with impact-deadening materials, but even so, many injuries are caused to players who crash into the boards while falling, whereby all too often it is the player&#39;s face or head that strikes the upwards-facing surface of the sill. 
     An aim of the invention is to reduce the injuries that are attributable to the traditional window-sill. 
     THE INVENTION IN RELATION TO THE PRIOR ART 
     It is recognized that the traditional sill between the dasherboards and the glass-shield-panes is dangerous. Also, it is recognized that the sill can be more or less eliminated as an injury-inflicting element. 
     The manner in which the glass-shield panes are affixed to the top surface of the dasherboard structure is a key factor in considering how, or whether, the sill can be eliminated. During a hockey game, players crash against not only the dasherboards, but also against the glass panes, and the designer of the boards-plus-glass system must see to it, not only that the dasherboards and the glass-shield panes themselves are sturdy enough to withstand these impacts, but the designer must also see to it that the means of attachment of the glass-shield panes to the dasherboards is also sturdy enough, as a coordinating structure, to sustain the impacts, and is also capable of transferring the stresses and strains arising from the impacts into the dasherboard framework upon which the glass pane is mounted. 
     It is recognized that the glass-shield panes can, as a matter of the physical structure required to meet the sturdiness demands, be mounted atop the dasherboards with the ice-facing surface of the glass-shield pane more or less flush with the ice-facing surface of the dasherboard. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
       The technology will now be further described with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: 
         FIG. 1  is a plan view of a dasherboard assembly, topped by glass-shield panes. 
         FIG. 2  is a side view of the structure of  FIG. 1   
         FIG. 3  is a view corresponding to  FIG. 1 , in which the glass-shield panes have been moved forwards, towards the ice, in accordance with the technology described herein. 
         FIG. 3   a  shows the profile of a space-member component of the structure of  FIG. 3 . 
         FIG. 4  is a sectioned side-elevation, corresponding to  FIG. 3  of the structure of  FIG. 2 . 
         FIG. 5  is a view similar to  FIG. 4 , of parts of an alternative structure. 
         FIG. 6  is a view similar to  FIG. 4 , of parts of another alternative structure. 
         FIG. 7  is a view similar to  FIG. 4 , of parts of a further alternative structure. 
         FIG. 8  is a view similar to  FIG. 4 , of parts of yet a further alternative structure. 
         FIG. 9  is a view similar to  FIG. 4 , of parts of yet another alternative structure. 
         FIG. 10  is a view similar to  FIG. 4 , of an alternative structure. 
         FIG. 11  is a view similar to  FIG. 4 , of a modification to the structure of  FIG. 10 . 
         FIG. 12  is a plan view of a section of a dasherboard assembly, having curved panes. 
         FIG. 13  is a plan view of a section of a dasherboard assembly, having straight panes. 
         FIG. 14  shows a portion of a curved board unit, in which the panes are curved, to follow the curvature of the dasherboards. 
         FIG. 15  shows a portion of a similar curved board unit, in which the panes are straight, or flat, and are laid at a small angle relative to each other in order to follow the curvature of the dasherboards. 
         FIG. 15   a  is a close-up of an upwards-facing surface, or land, and indicates the manner in which the width of the land is measured. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
     The scope of the patent protection sought herein is defined by the accompanying claims, and not necessarily by the particular features of specific embodiments. 
       FIG. 1  is a plan view looking down on the sill of a dasherboard assembly  20 . The sill  23  is shown partially cut away. The dasherboard assembly includes a welded-up framework, which includes two rectangular-section hollow structural members, being an ice-side stringer  25  and a back-stringer  27 . Attached to the ice-side stringer  25  is an ice-side pad  29 . 
     Two glass-shield panes  32  are shown. These panes rest on top of the sill  23 . The lateral edges of the panes  32  are retained in a suitably-shaped pillar  36 . The pillar  36  in  FIG. 1  is an extrusion in aluminum, and is designed to be used with a retainer-strip  38 , which also is an aluminum extrusion, of a Tee-section. 
     Protective gaskets  40  can be provided, which are located between the edge of the pane  32  and the pillar  36  and retainer-strip  38 . 
     To assemble the glass panes  32 , the panes are placed upright between adjacent suitably-spaced pillars  36 , and then the retainer-strips  38  are slipped onto the pillars. 
     The manner in which the retainer-strips  38  are attached to the pillars  36  is shown in  FIG. 2 . Pins  43  are provided in the pillar  36 , and the retainer-strips  38  are provided with angled slots  45 . With the pane  32  in place, a person manoeuvres the retainer-strips  38  so that the pins  43  engage into the slots  45 . Gravity keeps the retainer-strips  38  in place. Removal is simply a matter of lifting the retainer-strips off the pins, and then removing the (remains of) the (broken) pane  32 . The panes can be of tempered glass, or of acrylic plexiglas, etc. Other more expensive materials, such as laminated glass, can also be used. Mechanical aids for lifting the panes  32  are commonly provided in hockey rinks. 
     The set-up as shown in FIGS.  1 , 2  positions the panes  32  roughly (or exactly) in the middle of the sill  23 . As such, the FIGS.  1 , 2  set-up is not included in the scope of patent protection sought herein. 
     FIGS.  3 , 4  show similar views to FIGS.  1 , 2  of another set-up, in which the glass-shield panes  32  have been moved forward towards the ice. In FIGS.  3 , 4 , the ice-side surfaces  47  of the panes  32  lie flush with the ice-side surfaces  49  of the dasherboard pads  29 . 
     The term “flush” should be construed as “substantially flush”; that is to say, flush to the extent that the horizontal projection on the ice-side of the boards is reduced to zero, or is reduced to such small dimensions as to present no danger, or a substantially reduced danger, compared with the corresponding danger presented by the traditional horizontal projecting sill, of injury to a player who is falling while crashing heavily into the boards. Thus, the term “flush” does not necessarily mean that the ice-sides  47  of the panes are geometrically co-planar with the ice-sides  49  of the dasherboard pads. 
     In FIGS.  3 , 4 , an extra extrusion (in aluminum) has been added, termed a spacer-pillar  50 . The extruded profile of the spacer-pillar  50  is shown individually in  FIG. 3   a . The profile is such that the spacer-pillar  50  can be assembled endwise (lengthwise) over a pillar which corresponds to the pillar  36 , but is now termed a board-pillar  37 . Thus, the provision of the spacer-pillar  50  means that the glass panes are moved forwards towards the ice. 
     In the FIGS.  3 , 4  structure, the board-pillars  37  are retained. As in FIGS.  1 , 2 , in FIGS.  3 , 4  the boards have been constructed to accommodate the board-pillars  37 . The board-pillar  37  passes down through a hole in the sill  23 , and down between the ice-side stringer  25  and the back-stringer  27 . The bottom end of the board-pillar  36  rests on a platform or ledge  52 . The ledge  52  is attached to a pillar-support-stringer or middle-stringer  54  of the dasherboard framework. Suitable lateral retainers (not shown) keep the board-pillar  38  upright, and constrain it against tipping, and otherwise becoming misaligned. 
     The spacer-pillar  50  also serves to support the glass panes  32 . That is to say, the spacer-pillar performs the dual functions of supporting the glass and spacing the glass forwards towards the ice. Thus, the spacer-pillar  50  is also a pane-pillar. 
     The FIGS.  3 , 4  design is such that the glass panes  32  can be moved flush with the dasher board pads  29  on a retro-fit basis. Thus, if rink owners wish to move the panes  32  so that they lie flush with the pads  49 , they need only purchase a set of the spacer-pillars  50 . The spacer-pillars  50  are assembled to the existing pillars  36 —now shortened, thus becoming board-pillars  37 —by sliding the pillar sections together lengthwise. The glass panes are then assembled and secured in place using the same retainer-strips  38 . The spacer-pillars  50  are provided with pins  43 , suitably located as to their heights, and the retainer-strip  38  slots onto the pins  43 , in the same manner as in  FIG. 2 . 
     In  FIG. 4 , the spacer-pillar  50  rests on top of the existing sill  23  of the dasherboard framework, as do the glass-shield panes  32 . The spacer-pillar  50  and the retainer-strip  38  extend over the full height of the panes, or over such fraction of the full height as the rink designers deem desirable. 
     Again, it should be understood that, in  FIG. 4 , the support-pillar  36  is still present, although now in the form of the shorter board-pillar  37 . In  FIG. 4 , the board-pillar  37  need extend only so far up the height of the spacer-pillar  50  as to make sure the board-pillar  37  and the spacer-pillar  50  become functionally unitary, as far as the strength and positioning of the panes  32  is concerned. The designer preferably should see to it that the profiles of the two pillars correspond to each other in sufficient respects as to ensure that the members, when so assembled, are immovable in respect of e.g rotational motions about all axes, and indeed in respect of all modes of relative movement other than axial sliding. 
     In  FIG. 5 , the sill has been removed. Now, a pane socket-strip  56  (again, an aluminum extrusion) receives the bottom edge of the pane, and the socket-strip  56  is fastened to the ice-side stringer  25 . 
     The socket-strip  56  provides robust support for the bottoms of the panes. This is particularly desirable around the radiused curves in the corners of the hockey rink. In the corners, the pads  29  are curved. (The panes, too, might/could be curved, but curved panes are much more expensive than flat panes, and curved panes can create reflections, and spoil the view of spectators.) The common arrangement, in a traditional rink, is that the pads  29  and the stringers  25 , 27  are curved, but the panes  32  are flat, whereby the adjacent flat panes, around the corners of the rink, lie at a small angle to each other. Thus, in the corners of the rink, the stringers  25  follow an arc, whereas the socket-strips  56  lie on respective chords. The straight socket-strips preferably should be wide enough as to engage the tops of the curved ice-side stringers  25 , even at the widest separation of the chord and the arc. 
     In  FIG. 5 , there is no component like the sill  23 , as a specific structure; and also there is (substantially) no part of the boards/glass combination that presents an upwards facing surface that has to be covered in order to minimize the likelihood of injury. A cover of some kind, if that is desired, can be placed over the stringers, simply by way of a shelf, on the spectator side of the glass panes. 
     In some rinks, the glass-shield panes are supported, not by vertical pillars of the kind shown at  36  in  FIGS. 1-5 , but by a different conventional support system. Here, the pane basically supports itself, as a structure, from its bottom edge. The bottom edge of the pane engages a complementary slot in a socket. Traditionally, in this system, the socket carrying the bottom edge of the pane nestles in the space between the ice-side stringer  25  and the back-stringer  27  of the framework of the dasher boards. In this system, there is basically no support provided in respect of the side edges of the panes, except that, near the tops of the panes, adjacent panes are anchored together by means of a top-clip. 
       FIG. 6  shows an alternative structure by which the glass-shield panes  32  can be mounted on the dasherboards, in such manner that the panes  60  lie flush with the ice-side pads  29 . This alternative is applicable in the above-described case where the panes are mounted from their bottom edges, and there are no vertical pillars embedded in the dasherboard framework. 
     In  FIG. 6 , a socket-strip  63  is provided, which is bolted or otherwise firmly attached to the tops of the two stringers  25 , 27 . The socket-strip  63  is formed with a trough  65 , and the bottom edge of the pane  60  is received in the trough  65 , to a depth of about fifteen cm. A gasket  67  fits between the trough and the sides of the glass pane  60 . 
     The trough  65  can be deep enough that the bottom area of the trough  65  can lie below the bottom of the ice-side stringer  25 . That being so, the ice-side pad  29  cannot be attached directly to the side of the stringer  25 . A plate  69  is tacked to the socket-strip  63 , for supporting and attaching the pad  29 . 
     The socket-strip  63  is bent from sheet metal, typically being formed on a brake-press from sheet steel that is e.g two or three millimeters in thickness. The socket-strips  63  preferably are around 1.2 meters long, corresponding to the width of the glass panes. 
       FIG. 7  shows another alternative arrangement, in which the glass is again (as in  FIG. 6 ) supported in a trough at its bottom edge, rather than by posts or uprights like the pillars in  FIGS. 1-5 . 
     In  FIG. 7 , the trough  70  is formed as an extrusion in aluminum. The extrusion is attached to the upper surface of the ice-side stringer  25 . The glass pane  47  fits into the trough  70 . Again, a gasket fits between the walls of the trough and the sides of the glass pane. In  FIG. 7 , the ice-side pad  29  overlies the trough structure, and the gasket  67  may be arranged to enwrap the upwards-facing edge of the pad  29 . A cap  72 , or shelf, is fixed in position on the non-ice side of the glass pane. 
     In  FIG. 7 , the ice-side stringer  25  has been placed at a lower height than the back-stringer  27 . The reason for this is that, even though the trough  70  has been placed on top of the ice-side stringer  25 , the presence of the trough  70  does not reduce the field of view of the spectators. The  FIG. 7  arrangement would generally not be suitable in the case of a retro-fit to an existing rink installation. By contrast, the  FIG. 6  arrangement does lend itself to retro-fit applications. 
       FIG. 8  shows another alternative arrangement, in which the glass is again (as in  FIG. 6 ) supported in a trough at its bottom edge, rather than by posts or uprights like the pillars in  FIGS. 1-5 . Here, the trough unit  80  is formed from two sections of folded sheet metal (e.g steel). The two sections are welded together where they touch. The outer section  82  is folded to wrap around the ice-side stringer  25 , while the inner section  83  is folded so as to overlie the back-stringer  27 . The sections are attached to the stringers in any suitable manner. The  FIG. 8  manner of forming and attaching the trough means that the trough is integrated into the two stringers very securely. 
     As shown in  FIG. 8 , structure (here, in the form of board-pillars  85 ) can be provided which extends down from the two top stringers  25 , 27  to the middle-stringer  54 , or to some other suitable location of the board-framework. The stresses on the panes  32  when players crash into the glass can be considerable, and it can be important to feed those stresses into the dasherboard as a whole unit, rather than into just the top stringers. The pillars  85  are spaced appropriately as required for transmitting the stresses. The outer-section  83  may be ribbed, e.g as shown, for the same reasons. 
       FIG. 9  shows another alternative arrangement in which the glass is supported on pillars. Here, again, the board-pillar  37  is structured and supported, in and by the dasherboard, in the conventional manner. But now, as in  FIG. 4 , a spacer-pillar  90  fits over the board-pillar  36 . The spacer-pillar  90  may be an extrusion, e.g in aluminum, being so shaped that it cannot move in any direction or mode, relative to the board-pillar  36 , other than axial sliding. The spacer-pillar  90  slides down the board-pillar  36 , coming to rest on top of the sill  23 , again as in  FIG. 4 . (A through-hole is cut in the material of the sill  23  for the board-pillar  36  to pass through.) 
     The spacer-pillar  90  is about 30 cm high. In  FIG. 9 , the spacer-pillar  90  is shaped to receive a separate pane-pillar  92 . The pane-pillar extends (almost) the full height of the panes  32 . The pane-pillar  92  may be an extrusion, e.g in aluminum, being so shaped as to receive two of the panes  32  (preferably with gaskets  40 ) and the retainer-strip  38 . The profiles of the board-pillar  37 , the spacer-pillar  90 , the pane-pillar  92 , and the retainer-strip  38 , and the manner in which they interact, are shown in  FIG. 10 . 
     As shown in  FIG. 9 , the spacer-pillar  90 , the pane-pillar  92 , and the panes  32 , all rest against the top surface of the sill  23 . In  FIG. 11 , a groove is provided in the sill  110 , and the pane  32  rests in the groove. The bottom edge of the pane  32  can be vulnerable to damage, and the groove helps in that regard. The groove being present, the portion of the sill  110  that lies on the ice-side of the groove inevitably protrudes, towards the ice, beyond the ice-side surface  47  of the pane  32 . In keeping with the underlying basis for the present technology, such protrusions should be as small as possible, commensurate with the need for the ice-side wall of the groove to be mechanically strong enough. 
     It is suggested that the designers should always aim to keep protrusions, as measured from the ice-side surface  47  of the pane  32 , in the direction towards the ice, below about 2.5 centimeters. It is suggested also that if a protrusion were to exceed about 3.5 cm, that would be an indication that the designers were not seeking to eliminate the protrusions, in accordance with the technology as described herein. 
     The protrusions, in the above paragraph, are protrusions that face upwards. A surface, or a portion of a surface, is defined as facing upwards if it lies at an angle of about forty-five degrees, or less, to the horizontal. Thus, a surface that sloped downwards at an angle of more than 45° to the horizontal would not be a “protrusion” as that term is used herein—on the basis that the ability of a surface sloping at such an angle to cause injury to a falling player&#39;s face is minimal. 
     Other variants are possible, for new installations in which the stringers can be redesigned. In  FIG. 12 , no spacers are required, in order for the pane to be moved towards the ice. Rather, in  FIG. 12 , the ice-side stringer now takes the form of a strip  120  of sheet metal, typically being a strip of 13 mm-thick aluminum. The strip  120  is attached to the back-stringer  123  by means of connecting struts  125 , spaced at suitable intervals lengthwise along the framework of the dasherboard. The horizontal width of the back-stringer  123  is increased, corresponding to the reduced horizontal width of the ice-side stringer  120 . 
     In  FIG. 12 , the panes  32  are connected directly to the pillars  36 , which function as they did in FIGS.  1 , 2 , except that the pillars  36 , and the panes  32 , are now moved closer to the ice. The panes  32  rest on the sill  23 . The pillars  36  rest on the middle-stringer  54 . 
       FIG. 13  shows a variant in which the ice-side stringer now takes the form of a trough  130 , being the trough in which the bottom edge and bottom margin of the pane are to be held. Again, the back-stringer  132  has been correspondingly extended, width-wise. The ice-side-pad  29  is trimmed at its top edge by a fold of a shaped liner  134 , which lines the inside of the trough  130 , and which can be extended over the back-stringer  132  as desired. A strut  136  is rigid with the bottom of the trough  130 , and is attached to the middle-stringer  54 . Thus, the stresses and strains applied when a player crashes into the glass are distributed throughout the dasher-board framework. 
     As can be seen, the protrusions on the ice-side of the panes are greater in the trough-mounted pane system of  FIG. 13  than in the pillar-mounted system of  FIG. 12 , but still the protrusions are considerably reduced compared with the protrusions to be found in conventional trough-mounted pane installations. Generally, it is readily possible to more or less eliminate protruding upwards-facing surfaces when the panes are pillar-mounted, as shown in FIGS.  3 , 4 , 5 , 9 , 11 , 12 . But the trough-mounted systems generally leave a protruding upwards-facing surface, as in FIGS.  7 , 13 . FIGS.  6 , 8  do more or less remove all protrusion, but at the expense of leaving the ice-side of the trough relatively unsupported, which is less preferred. 
     Dasherboards in the corners of ice-rinks are rounded, typically at a radius of 8.5 meters. As mentioned, the dasherboards themselves are rounded, but the glass panes are often not rounded.  FIG. 14  shows a portion of a curved board unit, in which the panes are curved, to follow the curvature of the dasherboards, while  FIG. 15  shows a portion of a similar curved board unit, in which the panes are straight, or flat, and are laid at a small angle relative to each other in order to follow the curvature of the dasherboards. 
     It will be noted that, in  FIG. 15 , an upwards-facing surface, or land,  150  is exposed—being the land of width L as indicated in the close-up view of  FIG. 15   a . The components should be arranged such that the dimension L at no point exceeds 3.5 cm, and preferably should be less. On the other hand, the pane should not be allowed to overhang the sill, because the exposed edge can be vulnerable to damage. In the corners of the rink, the glass is typically 15 mm thick (being typically 12 mm thick in the straight areas). 
     NUMERALS USED IN THE DRAWINGS MAY BE SUMMARIZED AS 
     
         
           20  dasherboard assembly 
           23  sill 
           25  ice-side stringer 
           27  back-stringer 
           29  ice-side pad 
           32  glass-shield panes 
           36  pillar 
           37  board-pillar 
           38  retainer-strip 
           40  gaskets 
           43  pins 
           45  angled slots 
           47  ice-side surface of pane  32   
           49  ice-side surface of pad  29   
           50  spacer-pillar 
           52  ledge 
           54  middle-stringer 
           56  socket-strip for pane 
           60  pane ( FIG. 6 ) 
           63  socket-strip 
           65  trough 
           67  bottom area of trough 
           69  plate 
           70  trough ( FIG. 7 ) 
           72  cap or shelf 
           80  trough unit ( FIG. 8 ) 
           82  outer section 
           83  inner section 
           85  board-pillar 
           90  spacer-pillar 
           92  pane-pillar 
           110  sill with groove 
           120  ice-side-stringer=strip of sheet metal 
           123  back-stringer 
           125  connecting struts— 120  to  123   
           150  upwards-facing land