Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
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¦The present invention relatPs to an artificial
skating surface for roller skating and roller blading, and in
- particular to an artificial roller skating surface adapted for
-~¦ use in the playing of t~am sports.
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Artificial roller skating surfaces are well known
in the art. Common roller skating rinks, which have been in
- public use for many years, generaily comprise a hard flat
~ skating surface which is typically surrounded by a wall
- 10structure. Very often, the effect is much like that of a
typical ice-hoc~ey or figure-skating rink. Indeed, in many
instances, ice~hockey arenas are used for roller skating, with
~- the ice surface either removed or covered by a surface
suitable ~or roller skates.
15Other "purpose-built" roller skating rinks and
; tracks are known. For example, United States Patent No.
3,266,800 ~Yee) discloses a portable skating track in which
s the curved ends of the oval-shaped track are banked to guide
a skater around the curve and thereby facilitate skating at
; 20greater speed. The track surface is substantially flat
through the straight portions between the curved ends.
i~; United States Patent No. 3,930,647 (Berlemont)
discloses a skating rink composed of a flat annular floor
surrounded by a low wall structure. During winter, the
skating rink can be flooded with water to form an ice-skating
surface confined within the wall structure. During summer,
the floor of the rink forms an annular roller skating track.
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United States Patent No. 4,172,593 (Palakanis)
discloses an artificial roller skating rink having a figure-8
shape. The opposite end sections are curve upwards to form
banked ends. One intermediate section i5 substantially flat,
and connects opposite sides of the end sections. The other
~`intermediate section is sloped so as to pass under the first
intermediate section and connects opposite sides of the end
sections to close the figure-8 track.
All of the above prior art skating surfaces are
disadvantageous for the playing of team sports. In
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particular, the common roller skating rink provides a large
playing surface. How~ver, the fact that this surface is
substanti~lly flat over its Pntire playing area reduces the
speed at which players can skate, thereby reducing the
enjoyability and excitement of the game for both players and
spectators. Conventional roller skating tracks typically have
banked ends which permit skaters the travel at speed around
the curved portions of the track, but lack a large playing
area, and any banking of the track is generally restricted to
the curved portions of the track, so that high speed turns
across the width of the track are effectively prevented.
Finally, while many conven~ional roller skating rinks are
confined w:ithin a wall structure, the transition between the
skating surface and the wall is typically very sharp, so that
;~ 15 the wall can be used only to define the edge of the skating
surface and to prevent players and puck (or ball) from
; inadvertently falling outside the playable area. Thus aside
from the limited possibilities of bouncing a puck (or ball)
off the wall, the conventional wall structure cannot be
ef~ectively used as a portion of the playable area.
It is an object of the present invention to provide
an artificial roller skating/blading surface which provides
a large playing area, and which is adapted to facilitate high
speed turns at all locations around the perimeter of the
surface.
It is another object of the present invention to
provide an artificial roller skatinglblading surface in which
a surrounding wall structure can also be used by players as
a portion of the skating and playing surface.
According to an aspect of the present invention,
there is provided a roller skating/blading surface comprising:
a substantially flat central portion: a wall portion
surrounding said cPntral portion and forming a peripheral
limit of said skating surface, said wall portion being
oriented substantially normal to said central portion; an
upwardly curved portion extending between said central portion
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and said wall portion and providing a substantially smooth
~ transition therebetween.
--~ According to a preferred embodiment of the present
-~ invention, the curved portion of the skating surface is
elliptical in cross-section. This contour provides a smoothly
increasing curvature towards the peripheral limit of the
skating surface.
According to a further preferred embodiment of the
present invention, the curved portion extends approximately
5m from the wall portion to the central portion of the
surface. Thus according to this embodiment, the curved
portion constitutes a substantial fraction of the total area
- of the skating surface, thereby allowing players to take
maximum advantage thereof.
According to a further preferred embodiment of the
present invention, at least part of the wall portion is
transparent, so that the wall can be extended upwards without
interfering with spectators' view of the game.
According to a further ]preferred embodiment of the
present invention, the skating/blading surface is formed of
a plurality of removable panels assembled edge-to-edge, so
; that the skating surface can be clisassembled for storage or
transport.
According to a further preferred embodiment of the
present invention, the skating surface can be assembled using
customised panels which permit the surface to be assembled
~and games played thereon3 within existing arena facilities
having rink surfaces of various dimensions.
According to a furt.her preferred embodiment of the
. 30 present invention, the maximum height attained by the upwardly
curved portion of the skating surface varies along at least
one side of thereof.
Further features and advantages of the present
invention will be apparent from the following detailed
description of a preferred embodiment in conjunction with the
appended drawings in which:
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~; Figure 1 shows a plan view of an embodiment of a
roller skating/blading surface according to the present
invention;
Figure 2 shows a cross-section of the skating
, 5surf~ce o~ Figure 1, taken along line A-A;
Figure 3 shows a cross-section of the skating
surface of Figure 1, taken along line B-B;
, Figure 4 shows a cross-section of the skating
: surface of Figure 1, taken along line C-C;
~ 10Figure 5 shows a perspective view o~ part of an
,;` embodiment of a panel used to form the skating surface of
Figure 1;
Figure 6 shows a perspective view of a joint between
two panels used to form the skating surface of Figure 1; and
15Figure 7 shows a partial cross sectional view of two
, interlocking panels used to form the skating sur~ace of Figure
,,~ 1.
Referring now to Figure 1, a roller skating/blading
sur~ace 1 according to the present invention is generally
rectangular in shape to de~ine an elongated playing area
, having two opposed end zones 2,. The playing surface 1
comprises a generally flat central portion 3 extending between
the end zones 2, an upwardly curved portion 4 (indicated by
contour lines 4a which denote changes in elevation across the
curved portion 4), and a wall 5 which surrounds the playing
surface 1, and forms a peripheral limit thereof.
Figure 2 shows a cross-section of the skating
surface 1, taken along line A-A of Figure 1. The central
portion 3 of the surface 1 extends along most oX the length
of the surface 1 between the two end zones 2. The upwardly
curved portion 4 extends between the central portion 3 and the
wall 5, and provides a smooth transition therèbetween. By
this means, the wall 5 becomes a part of the actively playable -~
area of the surface 1. Preferably, the curvature of the
curved portion 4 is elliptical, so that the width of the
curved portion 4 is greater than its height. Thus the curved
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portion 4 can extend far enough into the playing area of the
surface 1 to allow players to take maximum advantage thereof.
The central portion 3 extends between approximately 3 and 8
meters (preferably approximately Sm) from the wall 5.
Figure 3 shows a cr~ss-section of the skating
surface 1, taken across the width of the surface 1 along line
B-B of Figure 1. It will be apparent from this drawing that
the central portion 3, curved portion 4, and wall 5 cooperate
to provide the surface 1 with a bowl-shape, particularly in
the vicinity o~ the end zones 2 of the surface l. This bowl
shape not only permits a player to travel around the corners
substantially without loosing speed, but can also be used by
a player to increase their speed, thereby contributing to
; enjoyment and excitement of the game.
As illustrated by the contour lines of Figure 1, and
the cross section drawing of Figure 2, the maximum height
~ttained by the curved portion 4 of the surface 1 can vary
alony the sides of the surface 1. Figure 4 shows a cross-
section of the skating surface of a portion of the surface 1,
in which the maximum height of the! curved portion 4 has been
reduced with respect to that of the end zones 2 of the surface
1. In this case the width o~ th~ ~urved portion 4 has not
been altered, and its curvature remains elliptical, so that
a smooth transition between the central portion 3 and the wall
5 is maintained.
The surface 1 is preferably composed of a plurality
of panels which, when asse.nbled edge to edge on a suitable
sub-framed (not shown in the drawings), form the central
portion 3, curved portion 4, and wall 5. This arrangement
facilitates transportation of the surface 1 from one site to
another, and/or disassembly and storage of the surface 1 to
permit other uses of the axena facility. Preferably, the
panels of at least the central and curved portions 3,4 have
a composite structure to provide sufficient strength and
i 35 rigidity, a good skating/playing surface, and sufficiently
¦ light weight to facilitate assembly of the surface 1.
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-¦ Referring to Figure 5, a top layer 6 formed o~ a neoprene
~i rubber composition (or an applied polyester or epoxy resin)
is preferably employed to provide the skating/playing surface.
l~ The top layer 6 is bonded to a front surface of a structural
¦ 5 panel 7 composed, for example, of a fibreglass reinforced
plastic material, to provide structural strength while
minimizing weight. Flanges 8 (one of which is shown in Figure
l 5) mounted on the back surface of the structural panel 7
¦ facilitate connection of the adjacent panels to one another
and to the sub-frame by means of suitable fasteners such as
¦ nuts and bolts, or cables (not shown). In addition,
sti~feners (not shown) can be mounted on (or ~ormed integrally
with) the back surface of the structural panel 7 to increase
rigidity.
Figure 6 shows a second embodiment of the panels
used to construct the skating surface 1. In this case,
~j flanges 9 are formed integrally with the edges of the panels,
which are linked together by means of brackets 10.
~ Figure 7 shows a third ernbodiment of the panels used
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to construct the skating surface 1. In this case, the flanges
9 include integrally formed interlocking ridges 11 and grooves
12, which are adapted to ensure proper alignment (and minimum
gap) between adjacent panels. As described above in
il connection with figure 6, suitable brackets can ~e used to
i~ 25 securely hold the panels in place.
The wall 5 can be formed of the same type of panels
` as is used for the central and curved portions 3,4 of the
surface 1. Indeed, the wall, or a portion thereof can be
form~d integrally with those panels forming the uppermost part
of the curved portion 4 of the surface 1. However, at least
a portion of the wall 5 is transparent so as not to interfere
with the view of spectators. For this purpose, plate glass
or transparent plastic (such as Plexiglass or Lexan -
Trademarks) panels can be used.
It will be apparent that the skating surface can be
varied without departing from the scope of the present
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invention. For example, in the illustrated embodiment the
height of the curved portion 4 varies along two sides of the
surface 1. It will be apparent that the degree of variation
in height is a matter of design choice, so that if desired,
the height of the curved portion 4 can be constant around the
entire surface ~.
In addition, the height of the wall 5 can be varied
as desired, and one or more of the panels forming the wall 5
can include a door to permit entry and exit to and from the
playing area.
Furthermore, the upper edge of the wall 5 can be
provided with an inwardly directed lip at its upper extremity.
In this case, if a puck or ball is shot at high speed along
the playing surface, it will travel up the wall 5 and be
"tripped" by the lip as it continues its upward trajectory.
The 0ffect of the lip is to provide the puck or ball with an
inwardly directed component of motion, and thus ensure that
the ball will fall back into the playing area, so that play
of the game can continue without interruption.
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