Patent Publication Number: US-7914385-B2

Title: Dasher boards

Description:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention relates generally to the field of dasher boards for use in bounded sports arenas such as hockey and soccer arenas. More specifically, the present invention pertains to dasher boards with a facing panel that is attached to a dasher board frame with an adhesive member or tape. 
     BACKGROUND 
     Dasher boards are used in bounded sports arenas to demarcate a general boundary line dividing a playing field from on-looking spectators and to absorb impact from players as they maneuver the outer periphery of the playing field. The dasher boards are typically designed to be secure and stable in order to withstand vibration or shock while also providing the spectators with a clear and unobstructed view of the game. In the design of ice hockey rinks, for example, such dasher boards are designed to withstand significant impacts caused by hockey players skating or being pushed into the boards throughout the course of a game while also allowing spectators to view the game without obstructions. 
     A typical dasher board for a hockey rink includes a lower frame, an anchoring system for attaching the lower frame to the rink surface, an upper shielding pane, and a support mechanism for connecting the upper shielding pane to the lower frame. The dasher boards can be fabricated as either a fixed, continuous frame forming the boundary, or in demountable sections typically eight feet in length that are assembled together in an end-to-end fashion to form the boundary. In some designs, an ice retainer or ice dam is sometimes used on the bottom of the lower frame to prevent ice from creeping away from the playing surface. Of the known dasher boards, each has certain advantages and disadvantages. There is an ongoing need to provide alternative dasher boards as well as alternative methods for manufacturing dasher boards. 
     BRIEF SUMMARY 
     The invention provides design, material, and manufacturing method alternatives for dasher boards and/or dasher board assemblies. An example dasher board assembly may include a dasher board frame. A facing panel may be coupled to the frame. An adhesive member may be disposed between the frame and the facing panel. The adhesive member may attach the facing panel to the frame. 
     Another example dasher board assembly may include a dasher board frame. A facing panel may be coupled to the frame. The facing panel may include a solid portion and a foam portion. A tape may be disposed between the frame and the facing panel. The tape may attach the facing panel to the frame. 
     An example method for manufacturing a dasher board assembly may include the steps of providing a dasher board frame, coextruding a solid polymer layer with a foam polymer layer to define a facing panel, and taping the facing panel to the dasher board frame. 
     The above summary of some embodiments is not intended to describe each disclosed embodiment or every implementation of the present invention. The Figures, and Detailed Description, which follow, more particularly exemplify these embodiments. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       The invention may be more completely understood in consideration of the following detailed description of various embodiments of the invention in connection with the accompanying drawings, in which: 
         FIG. 1  is a perspective view of an example dasher board assembly; 
         FIG. 2  is a partial cross-sectional side view of the dasher board assembly in  FIG. 1 ; 
         FIG. 3  is a partial cross-sectional exploded side view of an example dasher board assembly; 
         FIG. 4  is a side view of an example adhesive member; 
         FIG. 5  is a cross-sectional side view of an example facing panel; and 
         FIG. 6  is a cross-sectional side view of another example facing panel. 
     
    
    
     While the invention is amenable to various modifications and alternative forms, specifics thereof have been shown by way of example in the drawings and will be described in detail. It should be understood, however, that the intention is not to limit the invention to the particular embodiments described. On the contrary, the intention is to cover all modifications, equivalents, and alternatives falling within the spirit and scope of the invention. 
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
     For the following defined terms, these definitions shall be applied, unless a different definition is given in the claims or elsewhere in this specification. 
     All numeric values are herein assumed to be modified by the term “about,” whether or not explicitly indicated. The term “about” generally refers to a range of numbers that one of skill in the art would consider equivalent to the recited value (i.e., having the same function or result). In many instances, the terms “about” may include numbers that are rounded to the nearest significant figure. 
     The recitation of numerical ranges by endpoints includes all numbers within that range (e.g. 1 to 5 includes 1, 1.5, 2, 2.75, 3, 3.80, 4, and 5). 
     As used in this specification and the appended claims, the singular forms “a”, “an”, and “the” include plural referents unless the content clearly dictates otherwise. As used in this specification and the appended claims, the term “or” is generally employed in its sense including “and/or” unless the content clearly dictates otherwise. 
     The following detailed description should be read with reference to the drawings in which similar elements in different drawings are numbered the same. The drawings, which are not necessarily to scale, depict illustrative embodiments and are not intended to limit the scope of the invention. 
       FIG. 1  illustrates an example dasher board assembly  10 . Assembly  10  may be one of a series of modular dasher board assemblies or segments that can be flexibly connected to each other in an end-to-end fashion to form a bounded area of a sports playing surface such as a hockey rink or soccer arena. In the illustrative view of  FIG. 1 , a single dasher board assembly  10  is depicted, which, when attached to other dasher board assemblies, forms a modularized dasher board system and/or the bounded area of a sports playing surface. It should be understood, however, that in other embodiments dasher board assembly  10  could be part of a fixed, continuous dasher board system, if desired. 
     Each dasher board assembly  10  can include a dasher board frame or frame assembly  14  adapted to vertically support a number of upper shielding panes  16 / 18 . Frame  14  may include a first end section  20 , a second end section  22 , a lower section  24 , and an upper section  26 . Lower section  24  of frame  14  may be anchored to the underlying playing surface  28  (e.g., a concrete slab, the ground, etc.) of the arena or rink via an anchoring mechanism in order to secure dasher board assembly  10  in place. 
     The impact side (i.e., the side facing “inward” and/or toward the playing area) of frame  14  can be covered with a facing panel  30 . Facing panel  30  may be supported on frame  14  by attaching panel  30  to one or more vertical posts (e.g., 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, etc.) and to one or more horizontal stringers (e.g., 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, etc.) disposed in frame  14 . Some addition discussion regarding how panel  30  may be secured to frame  30  can be found below detail below. A kickboard  32  may be connected to the lower portion of panel  30  to further strengthen panel  30 , for example, from hits with the players&#39; skates. In some embodiments, an ice retainer or ice dam  34  can also be connected to lower section  24  of frame  14  to prevent ice from creeping away from playing surface  28 . 
     The shielding panes  16 / 18  can be made from a variety of materials including tempered glass, acrylic, Plexiglass, or other suitable material. In embodiments where dasher board assemblies  10  utilize tempered glass, shielding panes  16 / 18  may be about ½″ thick on the sides of the arena and about ⅝″ thick on the ends and radius sections of the arena. Acrylic shielding panes  16 / 18 , on the other hand, are typically about ½″ thick at all locations. Shielding panes  16 / 18  may have a horizontal length of about 4 feet, with two such panes  16 / 18  typically spanning approximately an 8 foot length along dasher board assembly  10 . The number and length of the shielding panes may vary, however, depending on the dimensions of each dasher board assembly  10 . 
     Shielding panes  16 / 18  can be vertically supported at least in part using a sill  36  located on the upper periphery  38  of frame  14  adjacent to the non-impact or spectator side of dasher board assembly  12 . Sill  36  may extend along all or a portion of the length of frame  14 , and can be configured to abut the non-impact side of shielding panes  16 / 18  for support. Sill  36  may be formed from a relatively hard material such as high-density polyethylene (HDPE), which acts to support shielding panes  16 / 18  in place within frame  14  when deflected in the direction indicated generally by the arrows  40 . Alternatively, shielding panes  16 / 18  may be disposed on top of frame  14  and supported vertical support bars (not shown). 
     As can be further seen in  FIG. 1 , each dasher board assembly  10  may include a top bumper  42  such as a SOFTCAP bumper  42  extending longitudinally along the upper periphery  38  of frame  14  between ends  20 / 22 . In the illustrative embodiment depicted, bumper  42  is located along the upper periphery  38  adjacent the impact side of frame  14  and shielding panes  16 / 18 . During use, the structure and material composition of the bumper  42  may be configured to provide impact absorption when a player strikes dasher board assembly  10 , or when the player jumps a section of dasher board assembly  10  not containing shielding panes. Some additional details regarding the form and configuration of the SOFTCAP bumper  42  can be found in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/422,754, filed on Jun. 7, 2006 and entitled SOFT CAPS FOR DASHER BOARD ASSEMBLIES, the entire disclosure of which is herein incorporated by reference. 
     As shown further in  FIG. 2 , frame  14  can further include a number of vertical posts  58  each connected or welded at a lower end thereof to a lower base plate or bottom channel  60  anchored into playing surface  28  via bolts  62 . The upper ends of posts  58 , in turn, are connected to several upper stringers  64 / 66  via a welding plate  68 . A number of additional stringers  70 / 72  can be further connected to vertical posts  58  adjacent to panel  30  to provide additional structural support to frame  14 , if desired. Several holes or openings  74  can be provided in vertical posts  58  to permit an adjacent dasher board assembly to be fastened together in an end-to-end manner so as to define a bounded enclosure such as a hockey rink or soccer arena. 
     Assembly of typical dasher board systems may include the installation of frame  14  and the attachment of facing panel  30  to frame  14 . The attachment of facing panels in typical dasher boards is usually accomplished with screws. While this is an effective way of assembling dasher boards, installing the relatively large number of screws that may be required to secure the facing panel to the frame may be time consuming and labor intensive. This may increase the cost of the dasher board system. In addition, sometimes the screws can become partially dislodged or they may extend out, protrude, or otherwise stick out from the dasher boards. If the ends of these screws stick out into the playing area, they may have the potential to catch on players, players&#39; uniforms, or other equipment, potentially causing harm to these objects. Furthermore, protruding screws may also catch on ice resurfacing machines (e.g., ZAMBONI® ice resurfacing machines), which could damage to these machines. 
     In at least some embodiments, facing panel  30  of assembly  10  may be secured to frame  14  through the use of an adhesive member  76  as depicted in  FIG. 3 . This may overcome some of the limitations of using screws to secure facing panel  30  to frame  14 . In some embodiments, the only fastener that is used to secure facing panel  30  to frame  14  is adhesive member  76 . In other embodiments, however, another fastener (e.g., screws, bolts, nails, etc.) may be used in addition to adhesive member  76 . 
     The use of adhesive member  76  for the securing of facing panel  30  to frame  14 , instead of screws, may be desirable for a number of reasons. For example, the use of adhesive member  76  may also provide assembly  10  with a “clean” or seamless appearance, which may be aesthetically pleasing. Furthermore, the use of adhesive member  76  may help to reduce the amount of time required to install assembly  10 , thereby reducing the labor costs and, thus, the overall cost of assembly  10  (and/or the completed bounded area of a sports playing surface). 
     In some embodiments, securing facing panel  30  to frame  14  may include disposing adhesive member  76  along portions or all of one side of facing panel  30  and then pressing facing panel  30  onto frame  14 . This may include providing a sheet of adhesive member  76  that is sufficiently sized to cover portions or all of facing panel  30  or it may include providing a plurality of discrete pieces or strips of adhesive member  76  and applying the pieces to the desired portions of facing panel  30 . In other embodiments, adhesive member  76  may be disposed on the appropriate portions of frame  14  (e.g., posts  58 , strings  64 / 66 / 70 / 72 , etc.) and then facing panel  30  may be pressed onto frame  14 . 
     The form of adhesive member  76  may vary. In some embodiments, adhesive member  76  is a layer of an adhesive such as an epoxy, glue, or the like. In other embodiments, adhesive member  76  may take the form of a tape, for example a double sided tape. In general, a tape is understood to be a substrate having an adhesive disposed on one (single sided) or both (double sided) sides. The tapes may be provided in a convenient use form such as in a roll, in strips, in pieces, etc. so that they can be efficiently used for their intended purpose. In addition, these tapes may or may not have a release liner(s)  78  (shown in  FIG. 4 ) disposed over the adhesive that may further aid in the handling of the tape. 
     The substrates for suitable tapes may include, for example, an acrylic foam. Acrylic foams may be viscoelastic in nature, which may give the foam energy absorbing and stress relaxing properties. Suitable foams may be classified as conformable, very conformable, firm, or clear and any of these may be used for adhesive member  76 . 
     The adhesives for suitable tapes may include a variety of different adhesives including multi-purpose acrylic adhesives, modified acrylic adhesives, general purpose acrylic adhesives, low temperature appliable acrylic adhesives, low surface energy adhesives, combinations thereof and the like, or any other suitable adhesive. In general, these adhesives may have performance characteristics that are suitable for securing facing panel  30  to frame  14 . As such, adhesive members like adhesive member  76  may be sufficiently strong so that they can be used in place of screws, rivets, spot welds, liquid adhesives, other fasteners, and the like. 
     A number of suitable tapes are commercially available from 3M® (St. Paul, Minn.) that may be suitable for use as adhesive member  76 . For example, adhesive member  76  may include any suitable 3M® VHB® tape such as 4941 family (e.g., 4926, 4936, 4919, 4936F, 4941, 4947, 4941F, 4956, 4979, 4956F, or 4991) tapes, 5952 family (e.g., 5925, 5952, or 5962) tapes, 4950 family (4920, 4930, 4929, 4930F, 4950, 4949, 4955, 4959, or 4959F) tapes, 4945 family (4945 or 4946) tapes, 4910 family (4905 or 4910) tapes, 4951 family (4951, 4943, or 4957) tapes, 4952 family (4932 or 4952) tapes, 4611 family (4646, 4611, or 4655) tapes, 4622 family (4618, 4622, or 4624) 3M® VHB® tapes, combinations thereof, and the like, or any other suitable tape. 
     In addition to variations in adhesive member  76 , facing panel  30  may also vary in form. In some embodiments, facing panel  30  may be an extruded polymeric sheet. The sheets may be provided in a variety of different sizes. For example, the sheets may be about 4 feet by 8 feet. The size, of course, can vary depending the size of frame  14  and/or assembly  10 . In addition, the particular polymer(s) utilized for facing panel  30  may also vary. For example, facing panel  30  may include a high-density polyethylene, a medium-density polyethylene, fiberglass, thermoplastic elastomer polyolefin (TPO), combinations thereof, and the like, or any other suitable material. 
     In some embodiments, facing panel  30  may be solid, single-layered sheet, for example, of extruded material. In other embodiments, however, facing panel  30  may have one or more layers.  FIG. 5  illustrates another example facing panel  130 , which may be utilized with any of the assemblies disclosed herein, that includes two layers or portions  130   a / 130   b . In some embodiments, both of layers  130   a / 130   b  have the same form or configuration. In other embodiments, layers  130   a / 130   b  may differ. For example, layer  130   a  of facing panel  130  may be or include a foam having a plurality of air pockets or openings  180  whereas layer  130   b  may be generally solid. This configuration may be desirable, for example, because foam layer  130   a  may be sufficiently deformable so that facing panel  130  can provide a certain amount of “give” or provide impact absorption when a player strikes dasher board assembly  10 , while still maintaining its integrity so that panel  130  can be securely attached to frame  14 . 
     Just like panel  30 , facing panel  130  may be secured to frame  14  with adhesive member  76 . The use of facing panel  130  in concert with adhesive member  76 , instead of screws, may be desirable for a number of reasons. For example, it can be appreciated that if screws were used to attach facing panel  130  to frame  14 , the desirable impact absorption characteristics of facing panel  130  may be lost. This may be because if the screws were driven through facing panel  130  and into frame  14  in a manner so that facing panel  130  was secured onto frame  14 , foam portion  130   a  may be sufficiently deformed or compressed so that it can no longer provide the desirable impact absorption. Thus, using screws to secure facing panel  130  to frame would limit if not overcome the desirable features of foam layer  130   a.    
     Facing panel  130  may be manufactured in a variety of different manners. For example, layers  130   a / 130   b  may be coextruded to form panel  130 . At the appropriate time, layer  130   a  can be injected with air so as to form openings  180  and create the foam-like appear in layer  130   a . Alternatively, layers  130   a / 130   b  can be provided separately and joined together in the appropriate manner. 
     Alternative facing panels are also contemplated with different forms. For example, facing panel  230 , which may be utilized with any of the dasher board assemblies disclosed herein, is illustrated in  FIG. 6 . Facing panel  230  may have a single foam layer having openings  280 . Alternatively, facing panel  230  may have one or more foam layers that are joined together in the appropriate manner to form a single foam layer. The foam-like configuration of facing panel  230  may have some or all of the same desirable characteristics of foam layer  130   a.    
     It should be understood that this disclosure is, in many respects, only illustrative. Changes may be made in details, particularly in matters of shape, size, and arrangement of steps without exceeding the scope of the invention. The invention&#39;s scope is, of course, defined in the language in which the appended claims are expressed.