Skating Rink Perimeter Marking for Head-First Collision Warning

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Solution Overview

Problem

Skaters, especially in contact sports like hockey, face serious injuries from falling or sliding head-first into the walls of skating rinks, which can lead to paralysis due to the high impact causing compression fractures and spinal cord damage.

Innovation Solution

A visible orange mark is applied along the perimeter of the skating area, spaced inwardly from the wall by at least 12 inches, to prompt skaters traveling head-first to look up and impact the wall face-first, reducing the risk of serious injury by allowing the neck to absorb the impact.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Productivity

If skaters travel head first toward the wall at high speed, then the skating action is maintained, but serious injury including paralysis occurs

Engineering Contradiction:

Improveskating actionVSAvoidinjury risk

Core Design Contradiction:

ProductivityVSObject-affected harmful factors

Solution Approach 1:

The visible mark is placed in advance at a predetermined distance (at least 12 inches) from the wall to provide early warning to skaters before they reach the dangerous zone, allowing them to take preventive action (look up and change posture) to avoid head-first impact

Inventive Principle:

Principle #10Preliminary action

Solution Approach 2:

The mark uses a color that contrasts with the ice surface to be highly visible to skaters, ensuring they can see and respond to the warning marker from a distance, thereby changing their behavior to avoid injury

Inventive Principle:

Principle #32Color changes

2Difficulty of detecting and measuring

If the visible mark is placed close to the wall, then the warning effect is maximized, but skaters have insufficient distance to react and look up

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvevisibility of warningVSAvoidreaction time

Core Design Contradiction:

Difficulty of detecting and measuringVSLoss of time

Solution Approach 1:

The mark is positioned at an optimal distance (at least 12 inches from the wall) that provides both sufficient visibility and adequate reaction time, allowing skaters to see the mark and complete the action of looking up before reaching the wall

Inventive Principle:

Principle #10Preliminary action

3Force

If skaters impact the wall head first, then the momentum is maintained, but compression fractures and spinal cord damage occur

Engineering Contradiction:

Improveimpact momentumVSAvoidspinal injury

Core Design Contradiction:

ForceVSObject-affected harmful factors

Solution Approach 1:

The visible mark prompts skaters to take preliminary anti-action by looking up and changing their impact posture from head-first to face-first, thereby counteracting the harmful effect of momentum before impact occurs and redirecting the force to safer body parts

Inventive Principle:

Principle #9Preliminary anti-action

Data Source

PatentUS9400130B2Skating rink markings and related methods

Publication Date: 2016.07.26 THOMAS E SMITH FOUNDATION INC

AI summary

This disclosure relates to a skating rink that includes a skating area, a wall at least partially surrounding the skating area, and a visible mark extending along a perimeter region of the skating area to indicate to a skater traveling head first toward the wall that the skater should look up and to related methods.