Hockey rink construction

Claim 2

A hockey rink board section comprising: a main wall; a substantially horizontal and outwardly extending top rail formed integrally and smoothly with said main wall at the upper end of said main wall; a vertically disposed flange secured to the backsdie of said main wall at each end thereof, each of said flanges being disposed slightly inwardly from the associated end of said main wall thereby to define a vertically extending margin; and reinforcement means secured integrally to the backside of said board section, and including a horizontally extending rib disposed between said vertical flanges, said rib being disposed above the bottom end of said board section between approximately one-third to one-half of the height of said board section; and a baseboard secured integrally to the opposite side of said board section and extending along the lower end thereof.

Claim 3

In an ice skating rink, an improved board arrangement comprising: a plurality of boards, each of said boards being formed from reinforced fiberglass and including an upwardly extending wall, the upper end of which having an outwardly substantially horizontally extending top rail; a vertically disposed flange secured to the outwardly facing surface of each of said board sections, each of said flanges being disposed inwardly from its associated end of said board to define a vertically extending margin; a plurality of vertically extending supporting posts disposed circumferentially about said intended skating surface rerion, said posts being of a width in relation to the width of said margins such that when adjacent ends of adjacent boards are abutted together, said supporting posts may fit snugly between the facing adjacent flanges of adjacent panels, said posts being disposed entirely outside of said outwardly facing surfaces of said board sections whereby the adjacent vertical edges of adjacent board sections may butt against each other and define a smooth substantially continuous inwardly facing surface; and means securing said flanges to said posts.

Claim 4

In an ice skating rink, an improved board arrangement comprising: a plurality of boards, each of said boards being formed from reinforced fiberglass and including an upwardly extending wall, the upper end of which having an outwardly substantially horizontally extending top rail; a vertically disposed flange secured to the outwardly facing surface of each of said board sections, each of said flanges being disposed inwardly from its associated end of said board to define a vertically extending margin; a plurality of vertically extending supporting posts disposed circumferentially about said intended skating surface rerion, said posts being of a width in relation to the width of said margins such that when adjacent ends of adjacent boards are abutted together, said supporting posts may fit snugly between the facing adjacent flanges of adjacent panels, said posts being disposed entirely outside of said outwardly facing surfaces of said board sections whereby the adjacent vertical edges of adjacent board sections may butt against each other and define a smooth substantially continuous inwardly facing surface; and means securing said flanges to said posts.

Claim 5

An arrangement as defined in claim 2 further comprising: said skating rink including a foundation extending at least about said rink; means for supporting a plate by said foundation, said plate being constructed to circumscribe said rink and said post being secured to said plate, said plate having an inwardly extending portion adapted to support the bottom end of said board section.

Claim 6

An arrangement as defined in claim 2 further comprising: said supporting posts being of less height than said main wall of said section thereby to define a space between the underside of said top rail and the upper end of said supporting posts; an L-shaped member secured to the upper end of said post and having a portion extending outwardly therefrom and then upwardly therefrom, said upwardly extending portion of said L-shaped member being spaced outwardly from the outward end of said top rail; a filling member disposed between the underside of top rail and the horizontal portion of said L-shaped member thereby to define a channel between said upwardly extending portion of said L-shaped member and said filling member, said channel being adapted to receive the lower edge of a sheet of protective glass.