US3735533A
Expired / Lapsed
US
⏱️ 0.0 years remaining
Sharpening of ice skates
Assignee: Merco International Ltd
•
Filing: 1971-04-27
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Granted: 1973-05-29
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Expires: 1991-04-27
Abstract
Abstract A coin-operated automatic ice skate sharpening machine is disclosed. The two skates are arranged heel-to-heel and the two aligned edges ground by a thin, flat grinding wheel having a convex wheel edge profile. The wheel lies in the same plane as the skate blades. The wheel moves along the skates, so grinding a concave edge profile. The machine can be set grind either ''''figure'''' skates or ''''hockey'''' skates as desired. The grinding wheel is automatically dressed. The number of passes by the grinding wheel is preset by the operator to take into account present condition of skates.
Inventors
No inventors recorded.
Bibliographic Details
Application Number
—
Jurisdiction
US
Data Source
google_patents
Last Synchronized
2026-11-01 13:23
CPC Classifications
B; B24; B24B; B24B3/00; B24B3/003
Claims Analysis
Total Claims: 11
Claim 1
Independent Claim
131 words
An ice skate sharpening machine including: a. clamp means arranged to clamp a skate blade in fixed position; b. a thin flat grinding wheel having its traverse crosssectional profile dressed to the desired Concave cross-section of the skate blade bottom edge; c. mounting means by which the grinding wheel is held with its plane in a plane containing the skate blade; d. driving means by which the grinding wheel can be driven at a suitable grinding speed; e. biasing means by which the driven grinding wheel can be brought towards the skate blade edge so as to engage and grind that edge to the said desired cross-section; f. traversing means by which the grinding wheel is moved along the skate blade to grind all appropriate parts of the skate blade edge.
Claim 2
Dependent Claim
131 words
An ice skate sharpening machine including: a. clamp means arranged to clamp a skate blade in fixed position; b. a thin flat grinding wheel having its traverse crosssectional profile dressed to the desired Concave cross-section of the skate blade bottom edge; c. mounting means by which the grinding wheel is held with its plane in a plane containing the skate blade; d. driving means by which the grinding wheel can be driven at a suitable grinding speed; e. biasing means by which the driven grinding wheel can be brought towards the skate blade edge so as to engage and grind that edge to the said desired cross-section; f. traversing means by which the grinding wheel is moved along the skate blade to grind all appropriate parts of the skate blade edge.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim
60 words
A skate sharpening machine according to claim 1, and in which: a. the clamp means are arranged to clamp both skates of a pair of skates with their blades in alignment; and b. the said traversing means is adapted to move the grinding wheel along both skate blades in turn to grind all appropriate parts of both skate blade edges.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim
71 words
A skate sharpening machine according to claim 2, and in which: a. the two skates are arranged in heel-to-heel arrangement; b. limit switches are arranged to be operated as the said grinding wheel reaches an appropriate point near the toe end of each skate; c. the limit switches are arranged to stop forward movement of the grinding wheel by the traversing means when the grinding wheel reaches the said appropriate point.
Claim 5
Dependent Claim
114 words
A skate sharpening machine according to claim 2, and in which: a. a first limit switch is arranged near the toe end of the or each skate blade; b. a second limit switch is arranged nearer the toe end of the or each skate blade than is the said first limit switch; c. the first limit switch is arranged to terminate forward movement of the grinding wheel at a first appropriate point when a ''''figure'''' skate is being ground; d. the second limit switch is arranged to permit forward movement of the grinding wheel beyond the said first appropriate point as far as a second appropriate point when a ''''hockey'''' skate is being ground.
Claim 6
Dependent Claim
113 words
A skate sharpening machine according to claim 1, and in which: a. an abutment is provided against which the heel end of each skate blade is placed; b. a movable toe locator is movable along the direction containing the said skate blade to engage the toe end of the skate blade; c. switch operating means movable with the said toe locator are arranged to operate a limit switch when the said grinding wheel reaches a predetermined point near the toe end of the skate; whereby different sizes of skates can be sharpened in the machine and excessive forward movement of the grinding wheel is prevented despite the insertion of different size of skates.
Claim 7
Dependent Claim
28 words
A skate sharpening machine according to claim 1, and in which grinding wheel dressing means are provided by which the profile of the grinding wheel can be dressed.
Claim 8
Dependent Claim
42 words
A skate sharpening machine according to claim 6, and in which: a. an automatic system provides operation of the wheel dressing means; b. a presettable control determines the degree of dressing to be given to the grinding wheel in a single operation.
Claim 9
Dependent Claim
47 words
A skate sharpening machine according to claim 1, and in which; a. an automatic control system is provided; b. the automatic control system determines the actual grinding of the (or each) skate blade; c. the automatic control system automatically effects any necessary redressing of the grinding wheel.
Claim 10
Dependent Claim
46 words
A skate sharpening machine according to claim 1 and in which: a. an automatic control system is provided; b. the automatic control system determines the number of times the skate blade will be ground, in accordance with the setting by an operator of a variable control.
Claim 11
Dependent Claim
58 words
A skate sharpening machine according to claim 1, and in which: a. an automatic control system is provided; b. the automatic control system determines the actual grinding of the skate blade. c. a coin-operated mechanism controls the automatic control system, whereby a grinding oPeration takes place only if an acceptable coin is first fed to the coin-operated mechanism.
References Cited (Backward Citations)
USPTO Annuity & Maintenance Windows
| Annuity Stage | Window Opens | Payment Deadline | Surcharge Period Until | Estimated Fee | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3.5 Years (Year 4) | 1976-05-28 | 1976-11-27 | 1977-05-29 | $2000.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 7.5 Years (Year 8) | 1980-05-28 | 1980-11-27 | 1981-05-29 | $3760.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 11.5 Years (Year 12) | 1984-05-28 | 1984-11-27 | 1985-05-29 | $7700.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |