Patent Application
20220410333
The present invention is directed to a device for sharpening the blade of different types of ice skates, and more particularly a handheld device that can be used to sharpen a blade without removing one's skate.
Devices for sharpening skates are known in the art. With traditional sharpeners, athletes are required to remove their skates and pay a sharpening service between $7 to $12 each time they sharpen their skates. Some athletes sharpen their skates anywhere from one to three times a week. Further, devices used to sharpen skates are expensive ranging from $800 to $8,000 and are heavy ranging from 25 lbs. to 800 lbs. which makes them difficult to transport. Accordingly, a need exists in the art for a device that addresses these deficiencies.
An objective of the present invention is to provide a device for sharpening a blade of different types of ice skates that is less expensive to use.
Another objective of the present invention is to provide a device for sharpening a blade of different types of ice skates that is easier to use.
These and other objectives will be apparent to one having ordinary skill in the art based upon the following written description, drawings, and claims.
A skate blade sharpening device includes a housing having a top wall, side walls, and a bottom wall that form a hollow chamber. The top wall has a lid separated by a front face and a back face where the front face extends from a first edge to the lid and the back face extends from a back edge to the lid. A groove extends from the front edge to the back edge along the bottom wall and preferably the groove has a coating. Disposed within the hollow chamber of the housing is a motor, at least one battery, a grinding wheel, at least one magnet, a dust catching compartment, and a micro-computer. The grinding wheel partially extends into the groove.
The front and back face preferably are arcuate and convex in relation to the lid which is inverted and concave. Positioned adjacent both the front edge and the back edge are a pair of parallel spaced detents on the front face and the back face. Adjacent the lid on the front face is an on/off switch and between the on/off switch and the pair of parallel spaced detents is an opening that aligns with a display screen. Also, positioned between the pair of parallel spaced detents and the lid on the back face is a second lid.
Preferably the grinding wheel is centered between the front edge and the back edge, and the motor is connected to the grinding wheel and is spring biased against the groove by a spring that extends between a side wall and the motor. The at least one battery is connected to the motor, the display screen and the micro-computer and the on/off switch is connected to the micro-computer. The at least one magnet is positioned adjacent the dust catching compartment which is in communication with the groove.
Attached to the housing is a skate blade adapter that in one example has a first end, a second end and an elongated section that extends therebetween. The first end and the second end of the adapter are configured to connect to the pair of parallel spaced detents on the front and the back face of the housing. In the example the first and second ends are perpendicular in relation to the elongated section and the elongated section has a groove that aligns with the groove in the housing and also has walls along a portion of the edge of the groove that extend upwardly from the adapter to be inserted within the groove of the housing.
Referring to the Figures, a skate blade sharpening device 10 includes a housing 12 having a top wall 14, side walls 16, and a bottom wall 18 that form a hollow chamber 20. The housing 12 is of any size, shape, and structure. In one example, the top wall 14 of the housing 12 has a front face 22 and a back face 24 that are separated by a lid 26. The front face 22, which preferably is arcuate and convex extends from a front edge 28 of the bottom wall 18 to the lid 26. Likewise, the back face 24 extends from a back edge 30 of the bottom wall 18 to the lid 26 in an arcuate and convex manner. Preferably, the lid 26 is inverted, or concave, in relation to the front 22 and back 24 face. The housing 12 is made of any material, but preferably is made of plastic from a steel mold.
Adjacent the front edge 28 on the front face 24, are a pair of parallel spaced dimples or detents 32. Adjacent the lid 26 on the front face 24 is an on/off switch 34. Between the dimples 32 and the switch 34 is an opening 35 that aligns with a display screen 36. Adjacent the back edge 30 on the back face 24 are another pair of parallel spaced dimples or detents 32. Preferably, all dimples 32 align and dwell in the same horizontal plane. Positioned between the dimples 32 and the lid 26 on the back face 24 is a second lid 38.
Extending from the front edge 28 to the back edge 30 along the bottom wall 18 is a groove or slot 40 that is used as an alignment guide for the skate blade (not shown). Preferably the groove 40 is centered along the bottom wall 18 in relation to the side walls 16 and has a coating, such as a ceramic coating, so that the skate blade does not become dull.
Disposed within the housing 12 is a motor 42, one or more batteries 44, a grinding wheel 46, one or more magnets 48, a dust catching compartment 50, and a micro-computer 52. The grinding wheel 46 preferably is centered between the front edge 28 and back edge 30 and partially extends into groove 40 to engage and sharpen the skate blade. The motor 42 is connected to and drives the grinding wheel 46. Preferably, the motor 42 is spring biased against groove 40 by a spring 54 that extends between a side wall 16 and the motor. As a result, based upon manual pressure applied to the skate blade the grinding wheel 46 and motor 42 will adjust in response to the pressure.
The one or more batteries 44 are connected to the motor 42, the display 36, and the micro-computer 52. The switch 34 is connected to the micro-computer 52. The magnet(s) 48 is positioned adjacent the dust catching compartment 50 which is in communication with groove 40.
Attached to the housing 12 is a skate blade adapter 56. The skate blade adapter 56 is of any size, shape, and structure and permits the sharpening device 10 to be used with various skate blades. In one example the adapter has a first end 58, a second end 60, and an elongated section 62 that extends between the two ends 58 and 60. The ends 58 and 60 are configured to connect to the housing 12 via the dimples 32 on the front 22 and back face 24. The ends 58 and 60 are also generally perpendicular to the elongated section 62 that extends along the bottom wall 18 to provide a slick surface for the skate blade to slide across. The adapter 56 also has a groove 64 that extends between the ends 58 and 60 and is positioned to align with groove 40 of the housing 12. Along a portion of the edge of groove 64 are projections or walls 66 that extend upwardly from the adapter 56 and are inserted into groove 40 when the adapter 56 is attached to the housing 12. The width of groove 64 is different on separate adapters 56 for use with different types of skate blades such as for speed skates, figure skates, or hockey skates.
In operation, depending upon the type of skate blade to be sharpened, an adapter 56 is selected that has a width adapted for use with the selected blade. The adapter 56 is attached to the housing 12 preferably by a snap fit wherein the ends 58 and 60 snap fit into the dimples 32 on the front 22 and back 24 face. Once attached the switch 34 is moved to an on position which activates the display 36 and the motor 42. By holding the housing 12 in one's hand, the skate blade is inserted into the groove 40 through groove 64 of the adapter 56. For speed and figure skates the middle of the sharpener 10, preferably where the grinding wheel 46 is positioned and is rotating, is lined up with the edge of the blade before sharpening and then the blade is slid through the groove as the engagement with the rotating grinding wheel 46 sharpens the blade. For a hockey skate the blade is sharpened along a curved edge.
As the blades are sharpened metal dust is attracted by the magnet(s) 48 into the dust catching compartment 50. To empty the dust catching compartment 50 a second lid 66 positioned on the back face 24 between the back edge 30 and lid 26 and aligned with compartment 50 is opened and the compartment removed. As the magnet(s) is no longer attracting the metal dust it will fall from the compartment 50. The lid 26 also can be opened to permit access to the chamber 20 to replace or repair components such as the grinding wheel 46, motor 42, batteries 44 or the like. Alternatively, the housing has a USB port 68 connected to the batteries 44 for recharging.
Accordingly, a skate blade sharpening device has been disclosed that at the very least meets all the stated objectives.
From the above discussion and accompanying figures and claims it will be appreciated that a skate blade sharpening device 10 offers many advantages over the prior art. It will be appreciated further by those skilled in the art that other various modifications could be made to the device without parting from the spirit and scope of this invention. All such modifications and changes fall within the scope of the claims and are intended to be covered thereby. It should be understood that the examples and embodiments described herein are for illustrative purposes only and that various modifications or changes in the light thereof will be suggested to persons skilled in the art and are to be included in the spirit and purview of this application.
This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application Ser. No. 63/213,984 filed Jun. 23, 2021, the content of which is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety.
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 63213984 | Jun 2021 | US |
