Patent Publication Number: US-6988735-B2

Title: Heating arrangement for ice skate blades

Description:
This application is a continuation-in-part application of application Ser. No. 10/015,221 filed Dec. 12 th  2001 now issued in Dec. 30, 2003 as U.S. Pat. No. 6,669,209 and a continuation-in-part of application Ser. No. 10/459,713 filed Jun. 12 th  2003 and now issued on Nov. 16, 2004 as U.S. Pat. No. 6,817,618. 
    
    
     The present invention relates to a heating arrangement for ice skate blades. 
     BACKGROUND 
     Common ice skates used in skating have an elongate blade which is arranged to slide along the ice surface. Attempts to minimise the friction between the blade and the ice using heat are shown in U.S. Pat. No. 3,119,921 (Czaja) and U.S. Pat. No. 3,866,927 (Tvengsberg) which use resistance heating to heat a blade on a skate. Resistance heating uses a high amount of energy and providing enough power to maintain a heated blade for a sufficient length of time would need a large power source. Since the optimal situation is to have a light skate, the above examples would be relatively heavy and cumbersome to use, specifically in prolonged uses. U.S. Pat. No. 5,441,305 (Tabar) discloses a heating system primarily for skis which appears to be speculative in nature and includes a number of different arrangements which could be used. 
     SUMMARY 
     It is an object of the present invention to provide an ice skate including a heating system which reduces the co-efficient of friction of the blade on the ice. 
     According to an aspect of the present invention there is provided an ice skate comprising: 
     a boot arranged to receive a person&#39;s foot; 
     a skate blade assembly; 
     a blade mounting arrangement arranged to be connected to a sole of the boot and arranged to support a skate blade thereon, and; 
     a blade heating arrangement having a rechargeable battery power source and a heating element for generating heat from electrical power supplied by the battery power source; 
     a heat transfer member extending from the heating element to the blade; 
     an electrical circuit arranged for controlling supply of battery power to the heating element; 
     wherein a contact for connection to a charging system for charging the battery power source is defined by the blade. 
     Preferably the blade heating arrangement uses a field-effect transistor controlled by a microprocessor to operate in the non-linear range to heat the skate blade. 
     Preferably at least part of the heating arrangement including the battery power source is mounted within the mounting arrangement and the heat transfer member extends from the blade to the mounting arrangement. 
     Preferably the blade heating arrangement has a motion sensor arranged to control the heating of the blade such that when the skate is in use the blade is heated, when the skate is not in use the heat is off. 
     Preferably the blade has sides which are insulated by a plastic material to provide an insulating layer between the blade and the air. 
     Preferably at least the heating element of the heating arrangement is mounted on the blade and wherein the blade is mounted on the mounting arrangement by a manually releasable mechanical coupling for readily removing the blade and the heating element from its mounting. 
     Preferably the manually releasable coupling includes at least one inclined wedge member for cooperating with a corresponding shaped receptacle on the mounting arrangement and a cam lock for pulling the blade along the mounting member longitudinally of the blade and to draw the inclined wedge member into its receptacle. 
     According to a second aspect of the invention there is provided an ice skate comprising: 
     a boot arranged to receive a person&#39;s foot; 
     a skate blade assembly; 
     a blade mounting arrangement arranged to be connected to a sole of the boot and arranged to support a skate blade thereon, and; 
     a blade heating arrangement having a battery power source, a heating element and an electronic controller for generating heat from electrical power supplied by the battery power source; 
     wherein at least the heating element of the heating arrangement is mounted on the blade; 
     and wherein the blade is mounted on the mounting arrangement by a manually releasable mechanical coupling for readily removing the blade and the heating element from its mounting. 
     Preferably the manually releasable coupling includes at least one inclined wedge member for cooperating with a corresponding shaped receptacle on the mounting arrangement and a cam lock for pulling the blade along the mounting member longitudinally of the blade and to draw the inclined wedge member into its receptacle. 
     Preferably there is provided a charging system wherein the charging system includes a first contact for engaging the blade and a second contact for engaging the skate at a position thereon spaced from the blade. 
     Preferably the charging system comprises a skate guard for receiving and holding the blade of the skate. 
     Preferably the skate guard has a first contact for engaging the blade and a second contact spaced from the blade. 
     Preferably the first contact and the second contact are connected to a port on the skate guard for connection to a separate charger. 
     According to a third aspect of the invention there is provided a combination of an ice skate and a charger therefor comprising: 
     an ice skate comprising: 
     a boot arranged to receive a person&#39;s foot; 
     a skate blade assembly; 
     a blade mounting arrangement is arranged to be connected to a sole of the boot and arranged to support a skate blade thereon, and; 
     a blade heating arrangement having a rechargeable battery power source and a heating element for generating heat from electrical power supplied by the battery power source; 
     a heat transfer member extending from the heating element to the blade; 
     an electrical circuit arranged for controlling supply of battery power to the heating element and for controlling charging of the rechargeable battery; 
     and a charging system comprising; 
     a skate guard having a support for the blade of the skate; 
     a first contact for engaging the blade; 
     and a second contact for engaging the skate at a position thereon spaced from the blade. 
     Preferably the first contact and the second contact are connected to a port on the skate guard for connection to a separate charger. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       In the accompanying drawings, which illustrate an exemplary embodiment of the present invention: 
         FIG. 1  is a side view of a heated skate according to the present invention showing the blade and mounting for attachment to a skate boot which is omitted for convenience of illustration. 
         FIG. 2  is a top view of the embodiment of  FIG. 1  showing the heating arrangement and power supply. 
         FIG. 3  is a schematic illustration of the heating circuit of the embodiment of  FIG. 1 . 
         FIG. 4  is a side elevation view of a modified skate blade arrangement for use in the construction of  FIG. 1  including a two part blade material. 
         FIG. 5A  is a cross section view the blade of  FIG. 4 . 
         FIG. 5B  is an exploded view of  FIG. 5A . 
         FIG. 6A  shows a schematic illustration similar to that of  FIG. 1  of a modified embodiment in which the charging of the battery is effected through contact with the blade. 
         FIG. 6B  shows the skate alone of the arrangement of  FIG. 6A . 
         FIG. 7A  is a side view similar to that of  FIG. 1  of a heated skate blade showing a quick change blade in place attached to a blade holder for mounting on a skate boot which is omitted for convenience of illustration. 
         FIG. 7B  is a side view of the embodiment of  FIG. 7A  showing the quick change blade detached. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
     Referring to the accompanying drawings  FIGS. 1 and 2 , there is illustrated an ice skate blade assembly  1 . The skate blade assembly is of the conventional ice skate type having a blade  2  and a holder  3  to support the blade. The holder has a heel  4 , toe  5  and a sole plate flange  6 . The sole plate flange has holes  7 . The skate blade assembly  1  is generally fastened through the sole plate flange holes  7  through matching holes in the sole of an ice skate boot (not shown) with mechanical fasteners (not shown). The heel  4  and the toe  5  of the skate blade holder  3  generally are hollow. 
     A heating arrangement  8  is arranged to use an electronic heating circuit to heat the skate blade such that the heat reduces the coefficient of friction of the blade  2  on an ice surface. The heating arrangement  8  has a circuit board  9  mounted in the hollow part of the holder. In an alternative arrangement (not shown) the circuit board can be mounted directly on the blade assembly to itself. The heating arrangement circuit has an electronic controller  10 , a thermal conductor  11 , a transistor  12  and a temperature sensor  13 . The heating arrangement is powered by a battery  14 . The battery  14  is connected via an on/off switch  15  to the heating circuit with an insulated wire  17  and by the skate blade  2  utilizing it as an electrical conductor. 
     The thermal conductor  11  is enclosed within the skate blade  2  and, is arranged to be concealed within the skate blade holder  3  or it may extend below the skate blade holder. A portion of the thermal conductor  11  is arranged to extend up into the blade holder  3  and connect to the transistor  12  which produces the heat. 
     The skate blades  2  are optionally coated on the side surfaces with a non-stick compound such as Polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) to provide an insulating layer between the blade and the air. The non-stick coating also serves to minimise incrustation of ice on the sides of the blade. 
     Optionally the circuit board  9  has recordable electronic memory for storage of data collected from the electronic devices and or sensors. 
     Optionally the electronic controller  10  has an internal clock. The clock is used by the electronic controller to execute instructions or functions or collect data on a time counted basis. 
     Optionally the circuit board  9  has an integral motion sensor  18  used detect the presence or the lack of motion and or to detect the magnitude and frequency of motion. The motion sensor may signal an instruction in the electronic controller and or may store motion data in the electronic memory. The motion detector may signal the electronic controller to turn off the heating if the skate remains motionless for a long period of time 
     Optionally the skate blade assembly  1  has in integrated heart rate sensor used to sense the heart rate of the skater. The heart rate sensor is connected to the electronic controller and may store heart rate data in the electronic memory. 
     Optionally the circuit board  9  has a radio frequency (RF) transmitter capable of wirelessly transmitting or receiving electronic digital or analog data intermittently or continuously collected from the skate electronics or sensors. 
     Optionally a visible light emitting diodes (LED) are incorporated to indicate electronic status or functions of the heating system. 
     The circuit, as illustrated in  FIG. 3 , has an electronic controller  10  which controls the temperature of the blade. The electronic controller  10  is connected to a temperature sensor  13  which senses when the heat to the blade should be turned on or off. During heating, there are two distinct states, heating on and heating off. The thermal conductor is fastened to the skate blade through which the electronic heating arrangement sends the thermal energy to heat the skate blade. 
     By taking a transistor  12  into the non-linear region of operation, a high efficiency heat source that operates with minimal radio frequency leakage is produced. As the self-destruct region of the power device is easily reached in the configuration, an electronic controller  10  is used to generate a continuously adapting drive waveform. Additionally, the electronic controller also manages the heating on-off, the average current flow, blade temperature and low battery shutdown. 
     The use of a blade as part of the tuned load as well as the heat sink permits dynamic tuning as a function of the target&#39;s current thermal/electrical resistance. 
     The power source is a rechargeable battery  14  and is regulated for circuit operation and used to supply the transistor  12 , preferably a field effect transistor (FET) or a power MOS-FET. This FET or power MOS-FET is supplied power by the electronic controller. The resultant bias is used to operate a tuned snubbing network. 
     The electronic controller is configured to deliver a buffered and shaped waveform to the transistor  12 . This waveform drives the FET  12 . The battery  14  is regulated for circuit operation and used to supply the field effect transistor  12 . 
     A temperature sensor  13  is used to monitor blade temperature. The temperature set point is adjustable. 
       FIGS. 4 ,  5 A and  5 B are shown a skate blade which is modified relative to the skate blade of the embodiment described above. In this arrangement the skate blade and the heat transfer thermal conductor  11  are formed as a common component providing a blade  2  and an insert portion  31 . The insert portion  31  defines a strip  11  having a first end  33  and a second end  34  which is embedded within the steel blade  35 . The insert portion can be formed in a manner which extends from the bottom surface of the blade and then is machined in the conventional blade sharpening and forming process so that the bottom edge of the insert portion is machined down with the bottom surface of the blade to form a common sharpened blade edge. 
     The insert portion  31  extends from the forward edge  33  which is spaced rearward of the front end of the blade and is located adjacent the front mounting of the blade. The rear end  34  extends toward the rear mounting of the blade but is spaced forwardly therefrom. At the forward end, the insert portion tapers upwardly to a narrower upstanding portion  40  which extends to the top of the blade into the mounting to attach to the heating element as a heat sink therefore. The insertion portion is formed from a suitable material having a higher thermal conductivity than steel such as copper thus rapidly transferring the heat from the thermal conductor away from the heating element through the upstanding portion  40 , into the tapered portion which communicates the heat to the horizontal bottom elongate portion of the insert portion which is at the bottom edge of the blade so that the majority of the heat is transferred to the bottom edge of the blade rather than to other parts of the blade. Thus the insert portion along its main length has a relatively low height, less than 50% of the height of the blade itself thus carrying the heat primarily to this area. Conveniently the transistor  12  is fastened to the upper portion  40  of the thermal conductor insert  11  with a machine screw  41  and a nut  42 . As shown in  FIG. 5 , the insert portion is sandwiched between two sides of the steel forming the blade so that the heat is transferred through the center of the blade to the required part of the steel adjacent the bottom edge of the blade. 
     Referring to  FIGS. 6A and 6B , there is shown a skate guard and charging stand which is the with a modified circuit arrangement in which the blade itself is used as a contact through which current is supplied for recharging the battery. Thus the blade can be inserted into a skate guard which includes a contact for engaging the blade and a second contact for engaging a suitable ground contact on the skate at the mounting. Thus recharging the battery can be effected simply and quickly by mounting the skate in a suitable guard which provides the voltage at the required level to recharge the battery. Suitable circuit protection elements in the form of a diode are provided to prevent the battery from discharging through the blade during normal use. 
     The skate batteries charging system embodies a skate guard  50  which is supplied power from a transformer and electronics panel  51 . A connector  52  from the charger electronics panel connects to a mating charging port  53  on the skate guard. Wires  58  and  59  connect the charging port with, respectively, a contact  54  on the heel of the skate guard and a spring contact  55  in the bottom slot of the skate guard. 
     Within the skate blade holder of the skate, one terminal of the battery  14  is connected through a wire  56 A to a contact point  56  on the skate blade. The second battery terminal is connected through a wire  58  to a contact  57  on the heel of the skate blade holder. 
     When the skate  1  is positioned within the skate guard and charging stand  50  electrical contacts  54  and  57  connect and electrical contacts  55  and  56  connect completing the two wire charging circuit. The skate is held properly supported in the guard by stands  60  on the bottom of the guard. 
     Referring to  FIGS. 7A and 7B  there is shown a modified holder  33  and modified skate blade  32 . This arrangement permits the quick removal of the skate blade without removing a top plate  36  of the skate holder from the skate boot (not shown) as you would with a conventional skate holder and blade. The blade is held in place with rear angled wedge members  34  on the top of the skate blade  32  which align with matching sockets  35  in the holder. The skate blade is locked into the skating position in the holder by inserting a cam lock mechanical fastener  39  into through aligned holes  40  and  41  and then turned to tightened. 
     To permit quick changing of the blade  32  without removing the holder  33  from the ice skate boot, the holder or mounting assembly  33  has a longitudinal groove  42  on the bottom of the holder. The longitudinal groove has the front and rear sockets  35  formed therein. The blade  32  is equipped with the matching front and rear wedge members  34  so that when the thin blade body engages into the slot  42  the wedge members  34  engage into that part of the slot which forms the corresponding shaped sockets or receptacles  35 . The blade is inserted into the holder positioned near its final mounting position and then pushed in diagonally towards the rear end of the holder. The blade is fastened by inserting the partial turn cam lock  39  into the machined hole  40  in the rear of the holder and matching hole  41  in the blade. After inserting the cam lock  39 , it is turned, pulling the blade towards the rear thus tightening the blade in the holder. The blade is removed by reversing the operations. 
     This arrangement is particularly effective where the circuit board and the heating transistors carried thereon are mounted directly on the blade rather than on the holder. Thus the blade and its heating components with the exception of the battery  14  which remains in its location described in respect of  FIG. 1  which is at the rear  44  of the holder  33 . Thus the blade is mounted on its mounting arrangement by a manually releasable mechanical coupling for readily removing the blade and the heating element from its mounting. Particularly the manually releasable coupling includes at least one inclined wedge member for cooperating with a corresponding shaped receptacle on the mounting arrangement and a cam lock for pulling the blade along the mounting member longitudinally of the blade and to draw the inclined wedge member into its receptacle. 
     While one embodiment of the present invention has been described in the foregoing, it is to be understood that other embodiments are possible within the scope of the invention. The invention is to be considered limited solely by the scope of the appended claims.