Barrier element for separation element of an ice rink

Abstract

The invention relates to a barrier element (1) for the edge of an ice skating rink, the barrier element (1) comprising a barrier body (2) which, when positioned as intended, is oriented perpendicular to the ground and whose longitudinal axis (A) is aligned parallel to the ground, and wherein the barrier body (2) is designed to act as a barrier for ice skaters when positioned as intended, characterized in that the barrier element (1) has an elongated lighting unit (3) along the longitudinal axis (A) of the barrier body (2), which is arranged such that its main emission direction (H) is inclined away from the barrier body (2) at a downward emission angle (W) of at least 25° and at most 75°. The invention further comprises a barrier, an ice skating rink, the use of barrier elements, and a method.

Description

[0001] The invention relates to a barrier element for a barrier of an ice skating rink, a barrier for an ice skating rink, an ice skating rink, a use of a barrier element for an ice skating rink and a method for illuminating an ice surface.

[0002] Ice skating is a sport that has always enjoyed immense popularity. In addition to the sheer sensation of gliding across the ice, the ambient effects of the room also contribute to the experience. Lighting, in particular, plays a key role in this context.

[0003] Although the lighting primarily serves to help the ice skaters see each other better, a targeted type of lighting can also create effects that make ice skating a special experience, e.g. colored light effects at an ice disco.

[0004] To date, ceiling lights have typically been used in ice rinks with a symmetrical ice surface or individual rinks. Other types of effect lighting are very rare, and lighting that directly utilizes the ice surface as part of the effect is unknown.

[0005] It is an object of the present invention to provide a barrier element or a barrier of an ice skating rink, a use of a barrier element for an ice skating rink and a method for illuminating an ice surface, with which the disadvantages described above are avoided and in particular a safety or effect lighting can be realized which includes the ice surface.

[0006] This object is achieved by a barrier element according to patent claim 1, a barrier according to patent claim 8, an ice skating rink according to patent claim 9, a use according to patent claim 10 and a method according to patent claim 11.

[0007] A barrier element according to the invention serves as an element for a barrier of an ice rink. These barriers are assembled from several of the elements, preferably using similar elements. However, differently shaped elements can also be used, e.g., straight and curved elements. Long and short elements can also be used.

[0008] A rink board element according to the invention comprises a rink board body which, when properly positioned, is oriented perpendicular to the ground and whose longitudinal axis is parallel to the ground. It is designed to act as a barrier for ice skaters when properly positioned. The rink board element has an elongated lighting unit along the rink board body's longitudinal axis, which is arranged such that its main beam direction is inclined away from the rink board body at a downward beam angle of at least 25° and at most 75°.

[0009] Board elements are generally known in the art. However, the board element according to the invention has a special lighting unit. Like other board elements, this board element also comprises a board body that, when properly positioned, is aligned perpendicular to the ground. The board body is a flat element or an arrangement of elements, in particular slats, a net, or a grid, in a plane. Even though a board element can be lying flat during storage or transport (board body parallel to the ground), the vertical position (board body perpendicular to the ground and surface normal of the board body parallel to the ice surface) is the functionally normal position.

[0010] As already mentioned, the board body can be formed from a single panel, which may or may not have holes, but is often used for attaching flat advertising elements. It can also be made from slats, tubes, a grid, a net, or any other arrangement of elongated or flat elements in a single plane. The longitudinal axis of the board body, usually the axis of its longest dimension, is aligned parallel to the ground in a functionally normal setup (and lies on the side surface of the board body).

[0011] The board body is designed to act as a barrier for ice skaters when properly positioned. This is achieved, for example, by the aforementioned construction. The board element is preferably higher than 0.5 m, in particular higher than 0.8 m, and most preferably at least 1 m high.

[0012] The board element has an elongated lighting unit along the aforementioned longitudinal axis of the board body (aligned parallel to the ground). The term "along" means that the lighting unit follows the longitudinal axis, but does not necessarily have to be aligned parallel to it. The lighting unit can, for example, be wave-shaped or zigzag-shaped, or slightly inclined to the longitudinal axis, in particular by a maximum of 20°, preferably a maximum of 10°. However, a parallel alignment to the longitudinal axis is preferred. It should be noted that with a curved board element, the longitudinal axis is curved along the curvature of the board body.

[0013] The lighting unit is arranged so that its main beam direction, i.e., the direction in which the maximum intensity is emitted, or the central beam direction, has a specific beam angle. The beam angle is directed downward, which means that when the board element is positioned as intended (i.e., with the board body vertical), it shines downwards and not upwards. Since there is a designated underside of the board body, namely the side that faces downwards, i.e., toward the ice surface, when the board element is positioned as intended, "downward" means that the main beam direction (obliquely) is toward the underside of the board body.

[0014] The main beam direction is inclined towards the boards at a beam angle of between 25° and 75°. A good beam direction would be 45°, for example. The beam angle should be understood as pointing away from the boards (and not towards the boards). Because the light from the lighting unit hits the ice surface at an angle (when the boards are set up at an ice rink), light can be coupled into the ice surface and is then slightly directed away from the boards before it exits. It should be noted that one cannot fundamentally assume an idealized image of a flat, transparent surface onto which the light beam hits. Due to unevenness, e.g. driving on the ice surface, the light in the light cone of the lighting unit is coupled into the ice surface at very different local angles. Part of it is reflected directly and part is refracted.In turn, part of the refracted light emerges directly from the ice surface after being reflected off the ground, while another part is totally reflected (due to a flat angle of incidence caused by unevenness) and only re-emerges after traveling a certain distance (possibly due to an angle of reflection caused by unevenness). All this creates the effect of a glowing ice surface, which creates a special atmosphere while skating and significantly increases safety.

[0015] It should be noted that "main radiation direction" preferably refers to the main radiation direction of a light source, i.e., an element that generates light. In the case of an LED, this main radiation direction is usually perpendicular to the emitting surface of the LED. In particular, "main radiation direction" does not refer to the mean radiation direction of a partially shaded light cone, but rather to the direction of the (unshaded) light cone.

[0016] A barrier according to the invention for an ice rink comprises a plurality of barrier elements according to the invention. As already stated above, these can be uniform, but preferably the barrier is composed of differently shaped barrier elements, e.g., straight barrier elements (possibly of different lengths) and curved or bent barrier elements.

[0017] An ice rink according to the invention comprises an ice surface and a barrier according to the invention. This barrier separates a number of areas of the ice surface from a number of other areas. In the simplest case, an ice surface is separated from an outside area. However, it can also happen that individual ice rinks are separated from each other as areas by the barrier. The barrier is arranged such that the lighting units of the barrier elements are aligned with their main radiation direction obliquely to the ice surface, i.e., they radiate obliquely downwards away from the body of the barrier.

[0018] The invention also provides for the use of barrier elements according to the invention for separating one area of ​​an ice surface from another area and for illuminating the ice surface with the lighting units with a main radiation direction of light oblique to the ice surface, preferably for an ice skating rink.

[0019] A method according to the invention serves to illuminate an ice surface with a board element according to the invention. Light from the lighting unit is radiated onto the ice surface at an angle such that a portion of the light, in particular more than 10%, is coupled into the ice surface. This is achieved by radiating light obliquely downwards from a properly positioned board element at the specified radiation angle of the main radiation direction (between 25° and 75°).

[0020] Further, particularly advantageous embodiments and developments of the invention emerge from the dependent claims and the following description, wherein the claims of one claim category can also be developed analogously to the claims and description parts to form another claim category and, in particular, individual features of different embodiments or variants can be combined to form new embodiments or variants.

[0021] A preferred barrier element is characterized by the fact that the main radiation direction is inclined at a radiation angle of at least 30°. Preferably, the radiation angle is even more obtuse, namely at least 35°, in particular at least 40°. In general, the radiation angle should be considered the angle between a baseline orthogonal to the underside of the barrier body (parallel to the vertical when the barrier element is positioned as intended) and a line tilted relative to the baseline about the longitudinal axis.

[0022] A preferred board element is characterized by the fact that the main radiation direction is inclined to the board body at a radiation angle of no more than 70°, preferably no more than 60°, and in particular no more than 55°. A particularly preferred radiation angle is 45°. At such an angle, light couples very well into the ice surface without blinding skaters.

[0023] In a preferred board element, the lighting unit is positioned at least 20 cm from the underside of the board body. The higher the lighting unit, the wider the illuminated portion of an ice surface. Therefore, the lighting unit is preferably positioned at least 30 cm, in particular at least 40 cm, from the underside of the board body.

[0024] Since the intensity decreases quadratically with increasing height per unit area, the lighting unit is preferably positioned at least 20 cm, preferably at least 30 cm, and especially at least 40 cm from the top of the barrier body. A good position for the lighting unit is below half the height of the barrier body, e.g., in the lower third.

[0025] When installing a barrier, it is preferable to select the height position of the lighting unit appropriately, e.g. by designing the lighting unit and the barrier body in such a way that the position of the lighting unit on the barrier element can be varied.

[0026] For example, if the board is made of slats, the board can be designed so that a slat equipped with a lighting unit can be mounted at different heights. This allows the illumination width of the ice surface to be taken into account and the intensity of the light to penetrate the ice. This effect can be varied, particularly along the length of a board, creating a unique lighting effect.

[0027] In a preferred strip element, the lighting unit comprises a number of support strips equipped with luminous elements, in particular LEDs, on their upper side. Such a support strip can be formed, in particular, from a wooden panel, a metal panel, or a plastic panel, e.g., from a printed circuit board strip made of epoxy resin or an aluminum strip. The luminous elements are then preferably arranged in a linear arrangement on the support strip. It is preferred that each luminous element has a conical radiation characteristic with a main radiation direction, wherein the main radiation direction of substantially each of the luminous elements of the lighting unit has an above-mentioned radiation angle (between 25° and 75°). The term "substantially" means more than 80%, in particular more than 90%, of the luminous elements, preferably all luminous elements.

[0028] In a preferred board element, the lighting unit is designed such that half the aperture angle of its light cone is smaller than the beam angle of the main beam direction toward the board body. This means that its light cone is so small that it does not illuminate the board body.

[0029] In a preferred barrier element, the barrier body is formed from a plurality of slats. The lighting unit is attached to the underside of one of the slats. It is preferred that the lighting unit comprises a plurality of support strips with luminous elements whose main radiation direction is aligned parallel to the surface normal of the support strips. The support strips are preferably attached to a beveled side of the respective slat or to a beveled surface of a support structure. Such a support structure can, for example, be a triangular profile strip, e.g., with the cross-section of a right-angled triangle, to whose hypotenuse the lighting unit is attached.

[0030] A preferred barrier element comprises a post on at least one of its two end faces. Depending on the design of a barrier, a barrier element can have a post on each side, in which case two posts would adjoin each other at the barrier, or just one post, in which case the barrier body of an adjacent barrier element would be attached to the post of a barrier element. The post preferably projects beyond the lighting unit in the direction of the surface normal of the barrier body. This basically means that the post is preferably thicker than the barrier body with the lighting unit. The post preferably projects beyond the barrier body on all sides orthogonal to its longitudinal axis. The post is therefore preferably thicker and higher than the barrier body. This means that the barrier element with its lighting unit is somewhat protected by the post.

[0031] The invention is explained in more detail below with reference to the accompanying figures using exemplary embodiments. In the various figures, identical components are provided with identical reference numerals. The figures are generally not to scale. They show: Figure 1 a perspective view of a band element according to the invention, Figure 2 a barrier element according to the invention with a view of the barrier body, Figure 3 a barrier element according to the invention at the edge of an ice surface, Figure 4 the coupling of light into an ice surface using a barrier element according to the invention.

[0032] Figure 1shows a barrier element 1 for a barrier of an ice rink. It comprises a barrier body 2, which, in the intended positioning shown here, is aligned perpendicular to the ground, and whose longitudinal axis A is aligned parallel to the ground. The barrier body 2 is formed here from a total of five slats 6, which in this example are all arranged parallel and slightly spaced from each other between two bars 4. It is quite possible that one of the bars 4 already belongs to an adjacent barrier element 1. The bars are provided with feet 5 at the bottom, which can be screwed onto a floor surface. For later use (see e.g. Figure 3 ) the feet 5 would be (at least partially) covered by an ice surface E.

[0033] If one looks at the barrier element 1, its second bar 6 from below has an elongated lighting unit 3 along the longitudinal axis A.

[0034] In Figure 2This band element 1 is shown again in a top view of the band body 2.

[0035] In Figure 3 is the band element 1 of the Figure 1 once again in side view with a transparent bar 4. Here it can be seen that the underside of the second bar 6 is bevelled from below and the lighting unit 3 is mounted obliquely on the bar so that its main radiation direction H (arrow) is inclined away from the board body 2 at a radiation angle W of at least 25° and at most 75° (here approx. 45°).

[0036] In an enlargement, it can be clearly seen that the lighting unit 3 is essentially formed by a linear arrangement of luminous elements L, e.g., LEDs, on a carrier strip T. This carrier strip T is then arranged obliquely on the underside of the slat 6 in order to obtain an oblique main radiation direction.

[0037] Figure 4shows the coupling of light in a band element 1 according to the invention as shown, for example, in the Figures 1 to 3 A cone of light rays S hits an ice surface E. With respect to the main radiation direction H, the Figure 3 can be considered as an example. A large portion of the light rays is reflected by the surface of the ice surface E (solid arrows), but another portion penetrates the rough surface into the ice surface E (dashed arrows) and is refracted several times. This is possible because the rough surface causes the local angles of incidence of the light rays S into the ice surface E to vary. This creates the impression that the edges of the ice surface are glowing.

[0038] Finally, it should be noted once again that the invention described in detail above merely represents exemplary embodiments that can be modified in a variety of ways by a person skilled in the art without departing from the scope of the invention. Furthermore, the use of the indefinite articles "ein" or "eine" does not exclude the possibility that the respective features may be present in multiple instances. Likewise, terms such as "einheit" do not exclude the possibility that the respective components consist of several interacting subcomponents, which may also be spatially distributed. The term "a number" should be read as "at least one." Regardless of the grammatical gender of a particular term, this includes persons of male, female, or other gender identities. List of reference symbols

[0039] 1Band element 2Band body 3Lighting unit 4Stand 5Base 6Lattice ALongitudinal axis EIce surface HMain radiation direction LLight body SLemitting beam TSupport strip VVertical Wradiation angle

Claims

1. A barrier element (1) for a barrier of an ice rink, the barrier element (1) comprising a barrier body (2) which, when positioned as intended, is aligned perpendicular to the ground and whose longitudinal axis (A) is aligned parallel to the ground, and for which purpose the barrier body (2) is designed to act as a barrier for ice skaters when positioned as intended, characterized in that the barrier element (1) has an elongated lighting unit (3) along the longitudinal axis (A) of the barrier body (2), which is arranged such that its main radiation direction (H) is inclined away from the barrier body (2) at a downward radiation angle (W) of at least 25° and at most 75°.

2. Band element (1) according to claim 1, characterized in thatthe main radiation direction (H) is inclined at a radiation angle (W) of at least 30°, preferably at least 35°, in particular at least 40° to the band body (2) and / or at most 70°, preferably at most 60°, in particular at most 55° to the band body (2).

3. Band element (1) according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the lighting unit (3) is arranged at least 20 cm, preferably at least 30 cm, in particular at least 40 cm away from the underside of the barrier body (2) and / or at least 20 cm, preferably at least 30 cm, in particular at least 40 cm away from the upper side of the barrier body (2), particularly preferably parallel to the longitudinal axis (A) of the barrier body (2).

4. Band element (1) according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the lighting unit (3) comprises a number of carrier strips (T) which are equipped on their upper side with lighting elements (L), in particular with LEDs.

5. Band element (1) according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the lighting unit (3) is designed such that half the opening angle of its light cone is smaller than the beam angle (W) of the main beam direction (H) to the band body (2).

6. Band element (1) according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the board body (2) is formed from a plurality of slats (6) and the lighting unit (3) is attached to an underside of one of the slats (6), preferably wherein the lighting unit (3) comprises a plurality of carrier strips (T) with luminous elements (L) whose main radiation direction (H) is aligned parallel to the surface normal of the carrier strips (T) and the carrier strips (T) are attached to a bevelled side of the respective slat (6) or to an oblique surface of a holding structure.

7. Band element (1) according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in thatit has a bar (4) on at least one of its two end faces and the bar (4) projects beyond the lighting unit (3) in the direction of the surface normal of the barrier body (2), preferably wherein the barrier body (2) is projected beyond by the bar (4) on all sides orthogonal to its longitudinal axis (A).

8. A board for an ice skating rink comprising a plurality of board elements (1) according to one of the preceding claims.

9. An ice skating rink comprising an ice surface (E) and a barrier according to claim 8, which separates a number of regions of the ice surface (E) from a number of other regions, the barrier being arranged such that the lighting units (3) of the barrier elements (1) are aligned with their main radiation direction (H) obliquely to the ice surface (E).

10. Use of barrier elements (1) according to one of claims 1 to 7 for separating one area of an ice surface (E) from another area and for illuminating the ice surface (E) with the lighting units (3) with a main radiation direction (H) of light oblique to the ice surface (E), preferably for an ice skating rink.

11. Method for illuminating an ice surface (E) with a board element (1) according to one of claims 1 to 7, wherein light from the lighting unit (3) is radiated onto the ice surface (E) at such an angle that a part of the light, in particular more than 10%, couples into the ice surface (E).

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