Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
CA 02758718 2011-11-14
CURLING BROOM
This invention relates to a curling broom of the type which includes a
broom head with a body of an elastomeric material bonded or attached to one
side
of the broom had so as to define a surface for engaging the ice..
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Curling brooms influence a curling rock's trajectory as it slides over the
ice toward a desired position. The broom or brush is used to 'sweep' or brush
the ice
immediately in front of the rock to heat the ice surface above the ambient
temperature. Sweeping also clears unwanted debris out of the path. By heating
the
ice surface the friction between the rock and the ice is changed, enabling
controlling
of the sweeping action to control the speed and direction of the sliding rock.
A curling broom consists of a shaft or handle, a receptacle, and a
removable, replaceable head. The shaft is held by the curler during the
sweeping
motion and the broom head contacts the ice. The head is most commonly attached
to the receptacle via two bolts and threaded holes, bolts and nuts, or hook
and loop.
The broom head is most commonly constructed on a base that is usually made of
plastic, although many other materials including wood may also be used. The
base
may be many different shapes.
The underside of the base has a layer of foam for shock absorption
and for spreading the head pressure evenly over the ice surface. This can be
made
to various thicknesses ranging from 2 mm to 50 mm depending on the preference
of
the player, or there may be no foam layer at all. The foam may be in layers or
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combined with other materials. Some embodiments have more than one type of2
foam in various densities and thicknesses. The geometry of the foam can be
simply
flat or a more complex three dimensional surface with protrusions, indents or
gaps.
Over the foam is typically a layer of woven fabric, most often nylon or other
synthetic
polymeric woven fabric. The fabric can be of any colour or pattern. The fabric
is
fastened to the base to hold it in place. The fabric may be bonded directly to
the
foam and the foam attached to the receptacle by hook and loop fastener. Other
methods may be used to attach the cloth. The fabric may or may not be glued to
the
foam layer. Examples of such constructions are shown in Canadian
patent
2173629 of the present applicant, Canadian patent 2279025 of Kuzych or in
Canadian application 2728267 of Jenkyn.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
It is one object of the invention to provide an improved curling broom.
According to one aspect of the invention there is provided a curling
broom comprising:
a handle for manual operation by a player in a sweeping action;
a broom head mounted on the handle including an ice engaging pad
on the broom head arranged such that the sweeping action causes a bottom
surface
of the ice engaging pad to sweep over the ice surface;
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the ice engaging pad having a flexible layer of an elastomeric material3
which can be compressed to allow the surface to flex;
the ice engaging pad having a fabric layer at the surface covering the
elastomeric material;
wherein the fabric layer is removably connected to the pad so as to be
readily removable for replacement when worn while leaving the flexible layer
attached to the head.
Preferably the fabric layer is coextensive with a bottom surface of the
flexible layer. However it can be larger.
Preferably an upper surface of the fabric layer is attached to a bottom
surface of the flexible layer by cooperating portions of hook and loop
fastening
materials. However other fastening systems can be employed.
Preferably the portions of hook and loop fastening materials include a
sheet of loop material fully covering one of the upper surface of the fabric
layer and
the bottom surface of the flexible layer and a peripheral ring of hook
material
surrounding the other of the upper surface of the fabric layer and the bottom
surface
of the flexible layer. This ensures that the periphery is well attached but
reduces the
bulk and cost of the hook material. However the pad of hook material can cover
the
whole of the upper surface or can be formed in strips.
Preferably the sheet of loop material fully covers the bottom surface of
the flexible layer and the peripheral ring of hook material surrounds the
upper
surface of the fabric layer. However the loop material can also be formed as a
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peripheral strip or as strips matching the shape of the hook material on the
upper4
surface of the fabric.
Preferably the portions of hook and loop fastening materials include a
peripheral ring of one of the hook and loop materials surrounding one of the
upper
surface of the fabric layer and the bottom surface of the flexible layer and
leaving a
central area thereof which is free from the material. This central area can
receive a
disk shaped insert member for location between the upper surface of the fabric
layer
and the bottom surface of the flexible layer. Preferably the insert member is
formed
of a rigid material such as metal. This provides a harder center area of the
bottom
surface which can enable the player to better manage the location of the
pressure
on the ice to better melt required areas of the ice.
Preferably the pad is attached to the head so as to be readily
removable for replacement. However the pad can be permanently attached so that
only the fabric layer is removable. if
removable, the pad can be attached to the
head by cooperating layers of hook and loop material.
In this case the pad
comprises the flexible layer of an elastomeric material having at each of its
top and
bottom faces a layer of loop material for cooperation with hook material on
the head
and on the fabric layer.
In some cases the fabric layer includes a stiffening sheet between the
fabric and the hook material or it can consist only of the fabric and the hook
material
attached thereto. Where the stiffening sheet id provided, the fabric layer can
include
an array of indentations across the bottom surface thereof formed in the
stiffening
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5
material. These can form additional edges on the surface to engage the ice
surface
in a sweeping action to assist in removal of frost.
The invention also includes an ice engaging pad itself for use on a
separate a curling broom comprising a handle for manual operation by a player
in a
sweeping action and a broom head mounted on the handle for receiving the ice
engaging pad on the broom head such that the sweeping action causes a bottom
surface of the ice engaging pad to sweep over the ice surface. In this case
the ice
engaging pad comprises:
a flexible layer of an elastomeric material which can be
compressed to allow the surface to flex;
a fabric layer at the surface covering the elastomeric material;
wherein the fabric layer is removably connected to the pad so
as to be readily removable for replacement when worn while leaving the
flexible
layer attached to the head.
The invention also includes replaceable fabric layer for an ice engaging
pad of a curling broom comprising a handle for manual operation by a player in
a
sweeping action and a broom head mounted on the handle for receiving the ice
engaging pad on the broom head such that the sweeping action causes a bottom
surface of the ice engaging pad to sweep over the ice surface, where the ice
engaging pad comprises a flexible layer of an elastomeric material which can
be
compressed to allow the surface to flex.
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6
In this case the fabric layer is shaped and arranged to cover the
elastomeric material and including a fastening material arranged such that the
fabric
layer is readily removable from the pad for replacement when worn while
leaving the
flexible layer attached to the head.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
One embodiment of the invention will now be described in conjunction
with the accompanying drawings in which:
Figure 1 is a top plan view of a curling broom according to the present
invention;
Figure 2 is a cross-sectional view of the curling broom of Figure 1
taken along the lines 2-2;
Figure 3 is a bottom plan view of a replaceable fabric layer according
to the present invention;
Figure 4 is a cross-sectional view of the curling broom of Figure 3
taken along the lines 4-5;
Figure 5 is a top plan view of the replaceable fabric layer of Figure 3.
In the drawings like characters of reference indicate corresponding
parts in the different figures.
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DETAILED DESCRIPTION
7
The curling broom includes a handle 10 for manual operation by a
player in a sweeping action carrying a broom head 11 mounted on the handle 10
including an ice engaging pad 12 on the broom head arranged such that the
sweeping action causes a bottom surface of the ice engaging pad to sweep over
the
ice surface.
The ice engaging pad 12 is formed by a flexible layer 13 of an
elastomeric material or foam which can be compressed to allow the surface to
flex.
The flexible layer 13 has at each of its top and bottom faces 13A and 13B a
layer of
loop material 14A, 14B where the loop material includes a loop fabric 15 of a
conventional nature and an adhesive material 16 attaching the loop material to
the
foam 13. The layers 14A and 14B cover the whole face of the foam block 13.
As shown in Figure 1, the foam block 13 in plan is generally circular
with a cut off section at a front cord 13C at right angles to the handle so as
to form a
front edge across the front of the broom head.
The top layer 14B of loop material is arranged for cooperation with a
ring 17 of hook material around an outer edge of a flat bottom face 11A of the
head
11. Around the ring is provided a lip 11B which extends partly along the foam
block
to a peripheral edge 11C of the head.Between the layers 14A and 14B is
provided a surrounding covering
band 13D of a protective fabric of a conventional material such as woven nylon
which covers and protects the edge of the foam block. The upper and lower
edges
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8
of the band 13D are tucked underneath the layers 14A and 14B and are held in
place by the adhesive layer thereof to provide an attractive disk arrangement
defined
by the loop material on the faces and the band around the edge.
The ice engaging pad has a fabric layer 20 at the surface covering the
lower face of the foam block. The fabric layer 20 is formed of a sheet 21 of
the
conventional woven nylon material which is removably connected to the loop
fabric
14A of the pad by a ring 22 of hook material so as to be readily removable for
replacement when worn while leaving the foam block 13 attached to the head 11.
The fabric layer 20 is coextensive with the bottom surface 13B of the
foam block 13.
Thus the upper surface 21A of the fabric layer is attached to a bottom
surface of the foam block 13 by cooperating portions of hook and loop
fastening
materials.
Thus the portions of hook and loop fastening materials include a sheet
14A of loop material fully covering the bottom surface of the block 13 and a
peripheral ring 22 of hook material surrounding the upper surface of the
fabric layer.
This arrangement may be reversed.
Thus the portions of hook fastening materials provide only a peripheral
ring of the hook materials leaving a central area 24 thereof which is free
from the
material. A disk shaped insert member 25 is located in some embodiments
between
the upper surface of the fabric layer 20 and the bottom surface of the block
13.
However the disk can be omitted if not required. It can be supplied as part of
the
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components to be assembled to form the ice engaging pad and can be installed
or9
omitted at the choice of the user.
Where the insert member is formed of a rigid material such as metal or
stainless steel it provides a hard raised center of the fabric 21 for engaging
the ice.
As shown in Figures 3, 4 and 5, the fabric layer includes a stiffening
sheet 27 to which the fabric layer 21 is attached and on top of which the ring
22 of
hook material is attached leaving the central area 24. Where this stiffening
sheet is
used, it can provide an array of indentations across the bottom surface
thereof. The
edge of the fabric 21 can be sealed to the edge of the ring 22 to encase the
stiffening sheet 27.
Since various modifications can be made in my invention as herein
above described, and many apparently widely different embodiments of same made
within the spirit and scope of the claims without department from such spirit
and
scope, it is intended that all matter contained in the accompanying
specification shall
be interpreted as illustrative only and not in a limiting sense.
