Carrying bag for ice skates

Abstract

The present invention, a bag for carrying ice skates, is intended to allow the user to contain, protect, and transport ice skates easily, and with a minimum of maintenance to the skates and the bag. It has a bottom made of a soft vinyl grating that allows air and moisture to pass through, reducing the risk of corrosion. The grating is thick enough to protect the skate blades from damage caused by collisions with nearby objects, and is soft enough such that it does not dull the blades itself. The entire skate may be put inside the bag, and other small articles may be set on top of the skates for easy transport and protection. The sides and top of the bag are surrounded by a cloth cover and flap that may be fastened down, securing the skates inside, and protecting them from the elements.

1 . A bag for receiving and transporting an ice skate, said bag comprising: a cloth outer cover having four sides and a flap that covers the top opening; a top opening when the flap is moved aside for receiving the ice skate; an inner portion of vinyl strips welded into a flexible grating, which forms the bottom of the bag; a stiff metal wire frame, where the wire is permanently bent into the shape of an elongated cube, to which said bag and grating are attached by means of plastic wire ties. 
   
   
       2 . The wire frame of  claim 1  wherein said frame comprises two long sides, and two “U”-shaped short sides, where the bottoms of the “U” are bent at right angles, such that the base of “U”-shape is flat, the short sides comprising the base upon which the bag rests on the ground, the long sides comprising the means for suspending both the grating and the outer cover. 
   
   
       3 . The wire frame of  claim 2  wherein said frame is made entirely of one continuous length of wire bent into two parallel opposing “U” shapes on the short ends, where the bottom of the “U” forms the base, and the wire at the upper extremities of the “U” is bent toward the opposing parallel “U”-shaped end in order to adjoin the two ends. 
   
   
       4 . The grating of  claim 1  wherein a rectangular piece of said flexible vinyl grating is attached to said parallel opposing long sides of said wire frame using plastic wire ties and allowed to sag in the middle to nearly the base-level of the frame, such that the lowest portion of the grating is within one inch of a level surface upon with the base of said frame rests. 
   
   
       5 . The grating of  claim 4  supporting the blade of an ice skate, when the skate is placed inside of said bag. 
   
   
       6 . The grating of  claim 5  wherein gaps between said vinyl strips allow moisture on the blade of ice skate to drain through onto the surface upon which said bag rests, said gaps comprising over half of the total area of said grating, allowing maximum ambient air circulation within said bag to assist evaporation of said moisture. 
   
   
       7 . The grating of  claim 6  wherein said vinyl strips are less than one-half of an inch thick, causing a minimum of contact with said skate blade such that the smallest amount of moisture is entrapped in intimate contact with said skate blade. 
   
   
       8 . The grating of  claim 7  being made of soft polyvinyl chloride, such that the sharpened edges of said ice skate blades are not dented or otherwise made dull by contact with said grating at cold temperatures, which could cause hardening of other plastics and increase the likelihood of dulling said ice skate blade edge. 
   
   
       9 . The cloth outer cover of  claim 1  being made of a water-resistant cloth of polyester or nylon. 
   
   
       10 . The cloth outer cover of  claim 9  being attached to the wire frame of  claim 3  by means passing a plastic wire tie through a hole in said cloth outer cover, over wire of long side of said wire frame, around lengthwise oriented vinyl strip of said vinyl grating, back under said wire of long side of wire frame, through a second hole in said cloth outer cover one-quarter inch below said hole in cloth outer cover, adjoining to opposite end of said wire tie, and cinched tightly. 
   
   
       11 . A plurality of plastic wire tie fastening assemblies of  claim 10  along each long side of said wire frame, such that the spacing does not exceed four inches between said plastic wire tie fastening assemblies, and such that the cloth outer cover bears none of the weight of the other portions of the bag or the weight of the contents of the bag. 
   
   
       12 . A bag for receiving and transporting an ice skate, identical to that described in  claims 1  through  11  is attached to said bag in order to accommodate a second ice skate. 
   
   
       13 . The two bags of  claim 12  being aligned parallel to each other lengthwise and fastened together by metal rings adjoining the long sides of said wire frames to each other at the corners and passing through holes in said cloth outer cover.