Static structures (e.g. – buildings) – Facer held by stiffener-type frame – Back-to-back facers spaced by concealed framing
Reexamination Certificate
1998-09-08
2001-03-13
Friedman, Carl D. (Department: 3635)
Static structures (e.g., buildings)
Facer held by stiffener-type frame
Back-to-back facers spaced by concealed framing
C052S177000, C052S180000, C472S090000, C472S092000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06199335
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
This invention relates to a floor structure for use on ice and the method of using the same which allows the use of ice rinks for purposes other than just for ice skating without the ice ever having to be melted.
Ice rinks either indoors or outdoors are a common sight and in most cases are set up year round for recreational purposes. It would be cost prohibited either if the arenas all were set up with ice rinks and could not be used for anything else or the ice in the arenas would have to be melted in order for the arenas to be used for some other types of events and then the ice rinks would have to be reformed after the other types of events were finished. To avoid having to do the latter each time, most operators of the arenas have used flat boards such as plywood and simply wood-like portable floors such as is commonly seen for basketball floors which are foldable wood-like floors having flat bottom sides and which are laid out upon the ice. The problems with these types of floors are that (1) they don't have any kind of insulation and as a result, the coldness from the ice penetrates through the floors and causes condensation to form on the top sides of the floors making the floors essentially slippery and dangerous and unusable, and also (2) they tend to stick to the ice making it very hard to remove after use. However, the present invention overcomes all of these problems.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a floor structure for use on ice and the method of using the same includes a plurality of sheets of substantially rigid lightweight material each of which includes a generally flat, smooth topside capable of being walked upon by users and a bottom side having a generally flat, uniform border extending at the edge thereof and a plurality of geometric recesses each of which are tapered in depth or has side walls which are tapered inwardly to provide added strength and stability to the sheets. Each of the geometric recesses has a particular geometric shape such as a square, rectangle, and circle. The geometric recesses are arranged in a waffle-like pattern between the margin and with a plurality of recess dividers separating the geometric recesses. The sheets also have thermal insulation properties. These sheets of rigid material are placed on the ice surface with the recess dividers and the flat margins of the bottom sides resting essentially flush upon the ice surface, and are engageably placed side-by-side to form a floor structure. Ambient air is trapped inside the recesses between the ice and the sheets of material thus creating an thermal insulating means.
One objective of the present invention is to provide a floor structure for use on ice which has insulating means and prevents the coldness from penetrating through the floor structure and causing condensation to form on the topside or access side of the floor structure.
Another objective of the present invention is to provide a floor structure for use on ice which can be conveniently and quickly placed upon the ice and then be easily and quickly removed from the ice after use without the floor structure having been stuck to the ice.
Further objectives and advantages of the present invention will become apparent as the description proceeds and when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings wherein:
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Althoff Arnold G.
Brenot Stephen E.
Schneider Randy M.
Friedman Carl D.
Horton Yvonne M.
SpaceAge Synthetics, Inc.
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