Abstract
The invention relates to apparatus for polishing a running base that comprises a blade with two opposing blade edges separated one from the other by an intermediate section; the polishing apparatus comprising: a support body, and blade alignment guide means; wherein the support body is capable of carrying a polishing surface which comprises: a profile which is adapted to conform with one or more portions of the intermediate section; and wherein the blade alignment guide means comprise one or more pairs of first and second blade alignment guides, which first and second blade alignment guides in each pair are separated from each other by the polishing surface, and further wherein the blade alignment guide means is adapted to receive and/or guide and/or constrain a running base so that when the intermediate section between the two edges of the running base is brought into contact with the polishing surface, there is no contact between the polishing surface and any part of the two opposing blade edges of the running base.
Claims
1. Polishing apparatus for polishing an intermediate section of a running base of a skate blade, the skate blade comprises a blade with two opposing blade edges which are separated one from the other by the intermediate section, the polishing apparatus comprising: a body housing comprising at least a first and a second opposing side wall and a third base wall which extends between and links the first opposing side wall to the second opposing side wall, wherein the first and second opposing side walls and the base wall each comprise an inside surface which inside surfaces cooperate to form the inside of the body housing, and an outside surface which outside surfaces cooperate to form the outside of the body housing; an elongate slot formed in the base wall of the body housing, wherein the elongate slot extends between and through the first and second opposing side walls; a support body carrying polishing material having a polishing surface; and an alignment system disposed within the elongate slot of the housing for facilitating alignment of the support body, including the polishing material, with the intermediate section of the blade; the alignment system comprising: a cradle for receiving the support body, and which cradle is movable between a first and a second position; and at least one gimbal linkage mounted within the housing which is adapted to cooperate with a first pivot means and with a second pivot means; wherein the cradle is aligned with the longitudinal axis of the elongate slot and is mounted inside the body housing between the inside surfaces of the first and second opposing side walls; and wherein the at least one gimbal linkage is adapted to facilitate movement of the cradle and the support body within the body housing between the first and second positions via the first and second pivot means to thereby align the support body, including the polishing material, with the intermediate section of the skate blade but not any part of the two opposing blade edges of the running base during polishing.
2. The polishing apparatus according to claim 1 wherein the polishing surface comprises a plurality of coated sheets which are overlaid one on top of the other in a stack which is adapted to be carried by the support body.
3. The polishing apparatus according to claim 2 wherein one or more of the plurality of coated sheets are removable from the support body, and optionally one or more of the plurality of coated sheets are replaceable with one or more further coated sheets.
4. The polishing apparatus according to claim 2 wherein each of the plurality of coated sheets comprises a thin sheet material coated on a first surface which provides the polishing surface.
5. The polishing apparatus according to claim 2 wherein the polishing surface is associated with resilient means for resiliently deflecting the polishing surface towards the intermediate section between the two opposing blade edges of the running base.
6. The polishing apparatus according to claim 5 wherein the resilient means comprises a deformable material disposed between the support body and the polishing surface.
7. The polishing apparatus according to claim 4 wherein the polishing surface has raised polishing elements that are adapted to be resiliently deformable when they engage one or more portions of the intermediate section between the two opposing blade edges of the running base.
8. The polishing apparatus according to claim 1 further comprising an actuation device for driving reciprocating relative motion between the polishing surface and the intermediate section.
9. The polishing apparatus according to claim 4 wherein at least one of the coated sheets comprises a pattern that is cut therein, the cut pattern is such that when opposing edges of the at least one coated sheet comprising the cut pattern are folded in a direction away from the coated first surface, one or more raised polishing elements are adapted to protrude from the coated first surface of the respective folded cut coated sheet.
Description
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
(1) The present invention will now be described with reference to the following figures in which:
(2) FIG. 1 schematically shows a side view of a representative blade for an ice skate;
(3) FIG. 2A shows a part cross section through the plane A-A in FIG. 1 of a representative blade for an ice skate typically used in figure skating or ice dancing;
(4) FIG. 2B shows a cross section through a corresponding plane A-A of a representative blade for an ice skate typically used in ice hockey;
(5) FIG. 2C shows a cross section through a corresponding plane A-A section of a representative blade for an alternative design of ice skate—a flat bottomed V grind profile, used in ice hockey;
(6) FIG. 3 shows a perspective view of a handheld polishing apparatus according to a first embodiment of the present invention;
(7) FIG. 4 shows a cross section of the apparatus shown in FIG. 3 through the plane B-B when it is in use together with the representative ice skate blade as shown in FIG. 2B, the latter also shown in cross section along a corresponding plane A-A;
(8) FIG. 5A shows a perspective view of the topside of a handheld polishing apparatus according to a seventh embodiment of the present invention;
(9) FIG. 5B shows a perspective view of the underside of the handheld polishing apparatus shown in FIG. 5A;
(10) FIG. 6A shows the same perspective view of the topside of the handheld polishing apparatus shown in FIG. 5A except that the top section of the apparatus housing has been removed to reveal the inside mechanism of the polishing apparatus in more detail;
(11) FIG. 6B shows the same perspective view of the underside of the hand held apparatus shown in FIG. 5B except that the base section of the apparatus housing has been removed to reveal the inside mechanism of the polishing apparatus in more detail;
(12) FIG. 7 shows a perspective view of a removable cartridge with a polishing surface for use in the polishing apparatus of the present invention;
(13) FIG. 8 shows the removable cartridge depicted in FIG. 7 with polishing material supported by the polishing surface; and
(14) FIG. 9 shows the handheld polishing apparatus as shown in FIG. 6B with some of the elements of the inside mechanism removed in order to reveal a blade alignment system in detail.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
(15) Referring firstly to FIG. 1, there is shown a side view of a representative ice skate blade 1, which has a blade body 2 which has a forward end 3 towards the front of the blade body 2, a rearward end or tail 4 towards the back of the blade body 2, and opposing upper 5 and lower 6 portions of the blade body 2. The upper portion 5 has a toe plate 7 and a heel plate 8 through which fastening means (not shown) is used to secure the ice skate blade 1 to the underside of an ice skating boot (not shown). The lower portion 6 of the blade body 2 provides the blade edges 10 which, when the ice skate is in use, contact the surface of the ice. At the forward end 3 of the blade body 2 there is a toe rake 9 which helps the wearer of the ice skates to achieve, for example, jumps, spins and stops.
(16) FIG. 2A shows a part cross section through the plane A-A of a representative blade, as shown in FIG. 1, for an ice skate typically used in figure skating or ice dancing. The blade body 2a has a lower portion 6a that has two opposing blade edges 10a, 10b which are separated one from the other by an intermediate section 11a.
(17) FIGS. 2B and 2C shows a similar view to that in FIG. 2A except that the representative ice skate blades are those typically used in traditional ice hockey blade and a new design of ice hockey blade, respectively. In FIGS. 2B and 2C, the blade body 2b, 2c respectively, has a lower portion 6b, 6c respectively, that has two opposing blade edges 10c, 10d and 10e, 10f, respectively, which are separated one from the other by an intermediate section 11b, 11c, respectively.
(18) The intermediate section 11a, 11b and 11c extends between and up to the respective two blade edges 10a, 10b, 10c, 10d, 10e and 10f, formed on the lower portions 6a, 6b and 6c, but does not include any part of the blade edges 10a, 10b, 10c, 10d, 10e and 10f.
(19) FIG. 3 shows a perspective view of a handheld polishing apparatus 14 according to a first embodiment of the present invention. The apparatus has an elongate and open ended square “U”-shaped blade-receiving channel 15 formed by two opposing parallel walls which form first and second blade alignment guides 17,18 respectively that upstand perpendicularly from, and are separated one from the other by, a horizontal base 16. The horizontal base 16 has a raised elongate ridge-like support body 20 formed on it, which runs coaxially with the longitudinal axis of the elongate blade-receiving channel 15. The apex of the ridge-like support body 20 provides a polishing surface 22 and has polishing material 24 disposed thereon. The polishing surface 22 is also adapted to have an external profile that corresponds with the profile of the intermediate section 11 between and up to, but not including any part of, the two blade edges 10 which are located on the lower portion 6 of the blade body 2 of the ice skate blade to be polished.
(20) FIG. 4 shows a cross section of the apparatus shown in FIG. 3 through the plane B-B when it is in use together with the representative blade shown in FIG. 2B, the latter also shown in cross section along a plane corresponding to A-A. As can be seen, the first and second blade alignment guides 17, 18 serve to constrain the orientation of the blade body 2 by contacting the outer surfaces 12a, 12b of the blade body 2. In this way, the polishing material 24 on the polishing surface 22 can be ensured to contact the intermediate section 11 between and up to, but not including any portion of, the two blade edges 10. The apparatus 14 further includes two edge relief channels 26, 27 which assist to ensure that no part of the two blade edges 10 are contacted by the polishing surface 22 and/or the polishing material 24. The two edge relief channels 26 and 27 are each formed by an elongate void and each channel has an axis that runs parallel to the axis of the blade receiving channel 15. Specifically, edge relief channel 26 is located between the first blade alignment guide 17 and the support body 20, and edge relief channel 27 is located between the second alignment guide 18 and the support body 20.
(21) When the apparatus 14 is in use, a section of the lower portion 6 of a blade body 2 of an ice skate blade 1 is inserted into the blade receiving channel 15; in so doing, the orientation of the blade body 2 is constrained by the first and second blade alignment guides 17, 18. The operator then pushes the blade body 2 towards the polishing surface 22 so that the intermediate section 11 between and up to, but not including any portion of, the two blade edges 10, comes into contact with the polishing material 24 on the polishing surface 22. Whilst this contact is maintained, the user moves the polishing apparatus 14, in a stroking motion that is guided by the first and second blade alignment guides 17 and 18, along the lower portion 6 of the blade body 2, to and fro between the forward end 3 and the rearward end 4 of the blade body 2. In this way, the apparatus achieves a polished mirror finish on the intermediate section 11 which is between and up to, but not including any portion of, the two blade edges 10.
(22) FIG. 5A shows a perspective view of the top side of a handheld polishing apparatus 114 according to a second embodiment of the present invention. The apparatus 114 comprises a housing 128, formed by two base portions 129a and 129b and a top portion 130. The top portion 130 has a generally dome-shaped profile, with opposing first and second side regions 131, 132. FIG. 5B illustrates the underside of the apparatus 114, and shows the presence of an elongate and open ended generally square “U”-shaped blade receiving channel 115 that is formed between the base portions 129a and 129b of the housing 128. As can be seen, this channel 115 extends between and through the first and second side regions 131, 132 of the top portion 130.
(23) FIG. 6B illustrates the apparatus 114 shown in FIG. 5B, except that the base portions 129a and 129b of the housing 128 have been removed so that the internal structure of the blade receiving channel 115 can be seen more clearly. In particular, FIG. 6B shows that the apparatus 114 includes a cartridge 134 which carries polishing material 124 and which cartridge is positioned within, and removable from, the elongate channel 115.
(24) As shown in FIG. 7, the removable cartridge 134 has a central beam 136 with a forward end 138 and a rearward end 139. One pair of opposing first and second blade alignment guides 117a, 118a are located at the forward end 138 and another pair of opposing first and second blade alignment guides 117b, 118b are located at the rearward end 139, of the central beam 136. Each of the alignment guides 117a, 118a, 117b and 118b upstand perpendicular relative to the longitudinal axis of the central beam 136. Further, the two opposing alignment guides in the first pair 117a, 118a are separated one from the other by a distance greater than the width of the top portion of the central beam 136 at its forward end 138 and the two opposing alignment guides in the second pair 117b, 118b are separated one from the other by a distance greater than the width of the top portion of the central beam 136 at its rearward end 139.
(25) As shown in FIG. 7, the central beam 136 of the cartridge 134 has a raised elongate ridge-shaped support body 120 which runs coaxially with the longitudinal axis of the central beam 136. The purpose of the support body 120 is to carry polishing material 124, as shown in FIG. 8. The polishing material 124 can, for example, be disposed directly into the support body 120, or, as shown in FIG. 8, be coated onto sheets of a substrate material 140, 142a and 142b (not shown) which are overlaid and aligned one with the other in a stack 143 (not shown) that is carried by the support body 120. The topmost surface 144 of the polishing material 124 of the topmost substrate material 140 in the stack 143 (not shown) provides a polishing surface 122 which has an external profile which corresponds with the profile of the intermediate section 11 between and up to, but not including any part of, the two blade edges 10 which are located on the lower portion 6 of the blade body 2 of the ice skate blade to be polished.
(26) Also as seen in FIG. 8, each of the overlaid and aligned coated sheets of substrate material 140, 142a, 142b (not shown) has a first pair of slots 145a, 145b on one side of the central beam 136, and a corresponding second pair of slots 146a, 146b (not shown) on the other side of the central beam 136.
(27) The overlaid and aligned coated sheets of substrate material 140, 142a, 142b (not shown) are retained by the support body 120 as follows. The coated sheets of substrate material are similar to each other, and when they are overlaid and aligned with one another, each slot 145a, 145b, 146a (not shown), 146b (not shown) in a first coated sheet of substrate material 140 is aligned with the slots that are in identical positions in all of the coated sheets of substrate material being overlaid. Referring again to FIG. 7, the cartridge 134 has a first pair of clips, 148a, 148b, which are spaced one from the other and are located along the same long side of the central beam 136. The cartridge 134 also has a second pair of clips 149a, 149b, which are positioned along the other long side of the central beam 136, so that the position of each clip in the second pair 149a, 149b opposes the clips in the first pair 148a, 148b respectively. Each of the clips 148a, 148b, 149a, 149b protrude from their respective side of the central beam 136, and are adapted to be received by one of the aligned slots 145a, 145b in the aligned stack 143 of aligned coated sheets of substrate material 140, 142a, 142b (not shown).
(28) A further feature of the coated sheets of substrate material 140, 142a, 142b (not shown) is that they are each cut with an interlocking pattern 150. This forms a series of raised interlocking finger-shaped sections 152 which protrude from the coated surface of the substrate material 140 when the coated sheet of substrate material 140 is folded sub-horizontally over the central beam 136 of the cartridge 134. It is these raised interlocking finger-shaped sections 152 which provide the polishing surface 122 which engages with, and thereby achieves the polished mirror finish on, one or more portions of the intermediate section 11, particularly the portions that are between and up to, but not including any portion of, the two blade edges 10 of the ice skate blade 1. The finger-shaped sections 152 are slightly resiliently deformable when pressed upon, and thereby, in use, resiliently deflect the polishing surface 122 towards the intermediate section 11. Thus, the polishing surface 122 as disposed on the finger sections 152 remains in contact with the intermediate section 11 when the apparatus 114 is in use.
(29) FIG. 8 illustrates that the coated sheets of substrate material 140,142a, 142b (not shown) each have a tab portion 154, 156, present in connection with coated sheet 140 and 142a respectively, which is designed to be gripped between the forefinger and thumb of the user of the apparatus 114 and pulled sharply away from the support body 120 so as to tear the topmost coated sheet of substrate material 140 from the stack 143, to reveal the next successive coated sheet of substrate material 142a. Substrate material 142b is the bottom most coated sheet of substrate material and it does not have a tab portion; there will be no need to remove this bottom most coated sheet from the support body because there is no next successive coated sheet of substrate material which is able to be revealed.
(30) Referring back to FIG. 6B, the apparatus 114 is also provided with a rechargeable battery 158, and a power input socket 160 through which the apparatus 114 can be connected to an external power source to charge the battery 158.
(31) FIG. 6B further shows four rolling guide wheels 162a, 162b, 162c and 162d which are mounted in first and second opposing pairs on either side of the blade receiving channel 115. The rolling guide wheels 162a, 162b, 162c and 162d each have an axis of rotation that is perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the blade receiving channel 115, and their function is to engage with and roll over the opposing outer surfaces 12a and 12b of the blade body 2 by rotating about their respective axis of rotation as the blade body 2 is moved to and fro during the polishing operation as described above. The guide wheels 162a, 162b, 162c and 162d are particularly useful to assist in guiding the skate body 2 smoothly within the blade receiving channel 115 during the polishing operation. They provide gross alignment of the apparatus and prevent high forces from being applied to the cartridge. In addition to the above described rolling guide, FIG. 6A also shows that two further rolling guides 163a and 163b are also provided, and which are oriented so their axis of rotation is also perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the blade in the receiving channel 115 but also perpendicular to the axis of rotation of rolling guides 162a-d, such that the axis of rotation for the rolling guides 162a-d and rolling guides 163a-b, and the longitudinal axis of blade receiving channel 115, are mutually three-way perpendicular to each other. The purpose of the rolling guides 163a and 163b is to help to control the movement of the blade in the blade receiving channel and to remove load being exerted on the bottom slot, and in turn prevent high forces being transmitted to the cartridge in a perpendicular direction to the rolling guides 162a-d.
(32) A further important feature of the present invention is the provision of a polishing surface alignment system 164 which not only aligns the polishing surface 122 with the intermediate section 11 of the blade body 2 (i.e. it ensures that no part of the two opposing edges 10 of the blade body 2 are also contacted by the polishing surface 122), but also the polishing surface alignment system 164 ensures that this alignment (between polishing surface 122 and intermediate section 11) is independent of the orientation of the running base blade 1 relative to the polishing apparatus 114 as a whole.
(33) Looking again at FIG. 6B in conjunction with FIG. 9, these Figures show a gimbal frame 166 which carries a cradle 168 which, in turn, receives the support body 120. FIG. 9 in particular shows the same view of the apparatus 114 as illustrated in FIG. 6B, except that the gimbal frame 166 and battery 158 have been removed to more clearly reveal the mechanism by which the cradle 168 is attached to the gimbal frame 166. The cradle 168 is moveable between first and second positions about a virtual pivot point (not shown). Specifically, this virtual pivot point is located remotely of the outside surface of the base portions 129a and 129b of the apparatus housing 128, and is aligned with the point of intersection between the longitudinal axis of the blade receiving channel 115 and the midpoint between the first and second pairs of blade alignment guides 117a, 118a and 117b, 118b, respectively. The movement of the cradle 168 between first and second positions is enabled by four gimbal linkages 170a, 170b, 170c, 170d, each of which cooperate firstly with one of four first pivot means 172a, 172b, 172c, 172d, and secondly with one of four second pivot means 174a, 174b, 174c, 174d. The second first pivot means 174a, 174b, 174c, 174d are pivotally attached to the gimbal frame 166 (as shown in FIG. 6B), and enable the cradle 168 to hang from the gimbal frame 166 and swing about the virtual pivot point (not shown). Thus, when the apparatus 114 is in use, since the polishing surface 122 (as supported by support body 120) is mounted within the cradle 168, it swings with the cradle 168 between the first and second positions of the cradle 168, and the polishing surface 122 is maintained in contact with the central portion of the intermediate section 11 independently of the orientation of the skate blade 1 relative to the apparatus 114 as a whole.
(34) As shown in FIG. 6A the polishing apparatus 114 has a motor 164 which, when actuated, drives reciprocating movement of the support body 120 and its associated polishing material 124 relative to the cradle 168, in a direction of movement that is parallel to the longitudinal axis of the blade receiving channel 115.
(35) Referring to FIG. 8, the removable cartridge 134 has a pair of flexures 178a, 178b which are elongate leg members which are substantially parallel with, but extend in a direction diametrically opposite to that of, the blade alignment guides 117a, 117b, 118a, 118b. An important purpose of the flexures 178a, 178b is to provide means by which to seat the removable cartridge 134 within the cradle 168 whilst permitting it to reciprocate parallel to the skate blade.
(36) A further feature of the apparatus of the present invention as shown in FIG. 6A, is the provision of a gimbal frame which is i) pivotably mounted within the apparatus, and ii) biased by a spring 180. Applying load via the cartridge to the gimbal frame causes a deflection which is used to actuate a switch 182 that activates the motor when sufficient load is applied. Thus, spring 180 controls the pressure at the workface over a limited range, and the switch 182 will not operate until the spring 180 is compressed by at least a certain amount in order to ensure that no polishing occurs until there is sufficient force to activate the motor. This prevents the abrasives moving about in an uncontrolled fashion, and also ensures that the cartridge will tend to self-centre into the radius of hollow, as it needs to be pressed into the radius of hollow before it starts reciprocating. The spring 180 is chosen to be relatively hard and when mounted in the polishing apparatus it is not fully compressed, so that when a skate is inserted between the opposing blade alignment guide means and pushed too hard, the skate engages with the wheels 163a and 163b as a result, the force exerted on the polishing surface by the blade is governed by the compression of the spring 180.
(37) Various optional features of the invention have been described above in particular combinations by way of example only, such optional features may be combined in other ways without restriction to the scope of the invention, which is defined by the appended claims.
