CA1167772A - Curling ice melter - Google Patents

Curling ice melter

Info

Publication number
CA1167772A
CA1167772A CA000397001A CA397001A CA1167772A CA 1167772 A CA1167772 A CA 1167772A CA 000397001 A CA000397001 A CA 000397001A CA 397001 A CA397001 A CA 397001A CA 1167772 A CA1167772 A CA 1167772A
Authority
CA
Canada
Prior art keywords
ice
frame
driven
drive
platform
Prior art date
Legal status (The legal status is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the status listed.)
Expired
Application number
CA000397001A
Other languages
French (fr)
Inventor
Wendell J. Smith
Current Assignee (The listed assignees may be inaccurate. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation or warranty as to the accuracy of the list.)
REXO-THERM OF CANADA Ltd
Original Assignee
REXO-THERM OF CANADA Ltd
Priority date (The priority date is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the date listed.)
Filing date
Publication date
Application filed by REXO-THERM OF CANADA Ltd filed Critical REXO-THERM OF CANADA Ltd
Priority to CA000397001A priority Critical patent/CA1167772A/en
Application granted granted Critical
Publication of CA1167772A publication Critical patent/CA1167772A/en
Expired legal-status Critical Current

Links

Classifications

    • EFIXED CONSTRUCTIONS
    • E01CONSTRUCTION OF ROADS, RAILWAYS, OR BRIDGES
    • E01HSTREET CLEANING; CLEANING OF PERMANENT WAYS; CLEANING BEACHES; DISPERSING OR PREVENTING FOG IN GENERAL CLEANING STREET OR RAILWAY FURNITURE OR TUNNEL WALLS
    • E01H4/00Working on surfaces of snow or ice in order to make them suitable for traffic or sporting purposes, e.g. by compacting snow
    • E01H4/02Working on surfaces of snow or ice in order to make them suitable for traffic or sporting purposes, e.g. by compacting snow for sporting purposes, e.g. preparation of ski trails; Construction of artificial surfacings for snow or ice sports ; Trails specially adapted for on-the-snow vehicles, e.g. devices adapted for ski-trails
    • E01H4/023Maintaining surfaces for ice sports, e.g. of skating rinks

Landscapes

  • Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
  • Architecture (AREA)
  • Civil Engineering (AREA)
  • Structural Engineering (AREA)
  • Handcart (AREA)

Abstract

ABSTRACT
A wheeled carriage for a curling ice-melter conists of, a frame which is adapted to support an ice-melter for movement along an ice surface. The frame is supported by a plurality of ice engaging wheels, two of which are mounted on a common axle so as to be rotatable with the axle. A drive motor is drivingly connected to the wheels through a power transmission system which comprises a drive pulley mounted on the motor, a driven pulley mounted on the wheel shaft and a drive belt connecting the drive and driven pulleys. A mounting structure is provided which mounts the motor for movement in an arc toward and away from the axis of the shaft between a drive position and a disengaged position. A manually operable clutch is provided fdor moving the the mounting structure between the drive and release position.

Description

1 1 ~i77 7~

FIELD OF INVENTION.

This invention relates to improvements in ice melters for use in curling rinks.
PRIOR ~RT
Canadian Patent No 823,931 dated Sept 30/1969 discloses an ice meltiny machine which is manually pushed along an ice surfac~ in order to melt the ice of a curling rink.
The preparation of ice for curling has long been considered to be an art to which the "ice-maker" applies his skill. Because ice making was considered to be an art, I did not attempt to power-drive my previous ice melter thereby leaving the movement of the melter along the ice under the control of the ice-maker in the belief that this would enable him to exercise his skills to the greatest possible degree.
In attempting to make ice suitable for curling, it is important to avoid the formation of waves extending transversely of the ice. Contrary to what one might expect, water resting on an ice surface does not find its own level and melt in a perfectly flat plane. If waves or ridges are formed in the ice as it is melted, these waves and ridges will be reflected in the reformed ice surfaces.
I have found that by powering an ice maker so that it may be driven at a slow speed along an ice surface, many of the difficulties previoiusly encountered in attempting to make good curling ice can be overcome. Furthermore, I have found tha~ the ice melter can be driven in a straight line along an ice surface t but the simple expedient of driving a pair of driven wheels from a common axle as opposed to the common practice of driving one wheel while allowi.ng the other to rotate freely to facilitate the turning of a vehicle.

SUMMARY OF INVENTION
According to one aspect of the pr~sent invention, a wheeled carriaye for a curling ice melter comprises a frame adapted to support a curling ice melter for movement along an ice surface, a plurality of ice engag:ing wheels mounted on said frame, two of said wheels being mounted on a common axle to provide two laterally spaced driven wheelsl a drive motor,a power transmission system comprising a driver pulley mounted on said motor, a driven pulley mounted on said shaft and a drive belt drivingly connecting the driver and driven pulleys, mounting means mounting said motor on said frame for movement in an arc toward and away from said axle between a drive position in which said driven belt drivingly engages said pulleys and a disengaged position in which said belt will not transmit power to the driven pulley, and clutch means comprising a manually engagement lever mounted on said frame and means interconecting said lever and said mounting means for moving said mounting means between said driven position and said release position.
The invention will be more clearly understood after reference to the following detailed specification read in conjunction with the drawints wherein:
Figure 1 is a pictorial view of an ice melting machine and a carriage for powering the ice melting machine;

1 :I B~772 Figure 2 is a side view of the ice melting machlne mounted on the carriage; and Figure 3 is a detailed view of two positions of the drive control mechanism;
Figure 4 is a pictorial view of an undercarriage which can be secured to exi~ting ice melting machines to provide a powering unit.
With reference to Figure 1 of the drawings, the reference numeral 10 refers generally to an ice melter of the type described in Canadian Patent No~ 823,931. Reference numeral 12 rèfers generally to a powered carriage for use in supporting the ice melter 10. The powered carriage 12 comprises a frame generally identified by the reference numeral 14 upon which ice engaging wheels 16 and 18 are mounted for rotation.
The wheels 18 are keyed to an axle 20 so that both wheels 18 are rotatably driven at the same speed when the axle 20 is driven.
The axle 20 is mounted on the frame 14 by bearings 22.
The power source is an electric motor 24 which has a reduction gearbox 26 from which a power output shaft 28 extends.
A pulley 30 is mounted on the power output shaft 28. The electric nmotor 24 and its~ asociated geax box 26 are mounted on a platform 32. The platform 32 is connected to the frame 12 through a hinge connection 34. A pulley 36 is mopunted on the shaft 20 and a power transmission belt 38 extends from the pulley 30 to the pulley 36. By pivoting the platform 32 about the hinge 34, the pulley 30 may be moved toward and away from 1 1 ~7 7 ~ ~
the pulley 36 thereby increasing and decreasing the tension in the belt 38.
The movement of the platform 32 is effected by a clutch mechanism which includes a manually engageable lever 40 which is pivotally connected to a bracket 44 by means of a pivot pin 42. The bracket 44 is mounted on a horizontally ex~ending arm 46 which forms a part of the frame 12. A hook 48 is pivotally connected to the lever arm 40. A length adjustable mechanism generally identified by the reference numeral 50 interconnects the hook 48 and the platform 32. The length adjustable mechanism comprises an arm 52 which is pivotally mounted on the frame 12 by means of a hinge mechanism 54. The hinge 54 and the hinge 34 are located on opposite sides of the plane 56 extending through the axes of the pulleys 30 and 36. A
threaded shaft 58 is mounted on the arm 52. A first chain 60 has one end connected to the hook member 48 and its other end connected to the outer end of the arm 5?. A second chain 62 has one end connected to the outer end of the platform 32 and its other end connected to the threaded shaft 58 thereby rotating the threaded shaft 58 the effective length of the connection formed between the hook 48 and the platform 32 can be adjusted.
This facilitates the tensioning of the drive belt 3B to an extent sufficient to ensure the positive driving of the driven wheels 18.
When the lever arm 40 is in the raised position shown in Figures 2 and 3 of the drawings, the power transmission mechanism will be effecitve to drive the driven wheels 18 and ; 7 '~ '~ 2 when the lever 40 is in the position shown in Figure 1 and in bxoken lines in Figure 3, the power transmission system will be disengaged.
In use, the ice melting machine 10 is mounted on the carriage 12 and the lever 40 is moved to the raised position shown in Figures 2 and 3 and the assembly will move along khe ice surface at a uniform speed. I have four,d that only minor alignment adjustment is necessary during the movement of the ice making machine along the full length of a curling rink.
From the foregoing, it will be apparent that the mechanism of the present invention is simple and is capable of being maintained by personnel which are not trained as mechanics.
Various modifications of the present invention will be apparent to those skilled in the art. For example, the wheeled carriage of the present invention may be constructed as an integral part of the ice melter.
With reference to Figure 4 of the drawings, the reference numeral 60 refers generally to a sub-frame structure which can be mounted on the frame of the ice-melting machine of Figure 1 to support a powered drive. The sub-frame 60 comprises a plate 62 which is mounted on the bars 11 of the frame 10 tFigure 1) by means of U-bolts 64. The plate 62 overlies the bars 11 and supports bearings 66 within which a shaft 68 is mounted for rotation. The motor support frame 70 consists of a base plate 72 which overlies an end portion of the plates 62 and projects laterally therefrom to support columns 74 and 76 which 7 r~ ~7 2 project upwardly and are connected at their upper ends by bars 78 and 80 and are interconnected by bar 82. Hinge components 84 and 86 are mounted on the bar 78 and 80, respectively.
Pulleys 36a and 36b are mounted on the shaft 68 so as to be positioned within the recess formed in the sub-frame 70 and are keyed to the shaft. Wheels ]3a are mounted on and drivingly secured with respect to the shaft 68 so as to be rotatably driven when the shaft 68 is driven.
The power source and the clutch mechanism used to power the ice melter when modified in accordance with the embodiment illustrated in Figure 4 are the same as those employed in the powered carriage 12 and is illustrated in Figures 1, 2 and 3 of the drawings. In the ernbodiments illustrated in Figure 4, the platform 32 which supports the motor 24, reduction gear 26 and pulley 30 is hingedly connected to the hinge component 86 which is disposed toward the forward end of the frame in the direction of movement of the ice melter in use. The arm 52 which supports the threaded shaft 58 is hingedly connected to the hinge component 84. The bracket 44 of the clutch mechanism is mounted on the end 13 of the cross-bar of the main fxame of the ice melter. An additional pulley is mounted on the power output shaft 28 of the xeduction gear box so as to be aligned with the pulley 36b of the shaft 68. The additional pulley which is not shown is, preferably, of the same diameter as the pulley 30 so that when it is connected by means t ~ 7 7 2 to a drive belt to the pulley 36b/ a high speed drive is available. In normal use, a slow speed drive is achieved by connecting the pulley 36a to the puelley 30 by means of a V belt 38.
When modifying an existing ice-melting machine to incorporate a powered drive unit of the type described in Figure 4 of the drawings, the wheels 15 and their associated support brackets are removed and jacking wheel assemblies 17 are mounted on the frame members 19 so as to be raised or lowered as required to raise or lower the ice engaging wheels into and out of engagement with the ice surface. The jacking wheel assemblies 17 serve to permik the ice making machine to move laterally to pas through narrow entranceways. The jacking wheel assemblies 17 include mounting bracket 21 which is mounted on the frame members 19, a jacking screw 23 which has a handle 25 at its upper end and a castor wheel 27 at its lower end. In an alternative embodiment, a fast acting jacking wheel assembly may be provided in which the castor wheels 27 may be raised or lowered by a lever action.

Claims (2)

The embodiments of the invention in which an exclusive property or privilege is claimed are defined as follows.
1. A wheeled carriage for a curling ice-melter comprising:
(a) a frame adapted to support a curling ice-melter for movement along an ice surface, (b) a plurality of ice engaging wheels mounted on said frame, (c) two of said wheels being mounted on a common axle so as to be rotatable in response to rotation of said axle to provide two laterally spaced driven wheels, (d) a drive motor, (e) a power transmission system comprising a driver pulley mounted on said motor, a driven pulley mounted on said shaft and a drive belt drivingly connecting the driver and driven pulleys, (f) mounting means mounting said motor on said frame for movement in an arc toward and away from said axle between a drive precision in which said driven belt drivingly engages said pulleys and a disengaged position in which said belt will not transmit power to the driven pulley, and (g) clutch means comprising a manually engagement lever mounted on said frame and means interconnecting said lever and said mounting means for moving said mounting means betwen said driven position and said release position.
2. A wheeled carriage as claimed in Claim 1 wherein said mounting means mounting said motor comprises a platform pivotally mounted on said frame, said platform being pivotally mounted for movement about an axis disposed on one side of the plane extending between the axes of the driver and driven pulleys, said means interconnecting said lever and said mounting means comprising an arm mounted on said frame on the other side of said plane for movement in an arc toward and away from said platform, a threaded shaft threadedly mounted on said arm, two lengths of flexible connector each having first ends connected one to said manually engageable lever and the other to said platform, the second ends being connected one to said arm and the other to said threaded shaft whereby upon rotation of said threaded shaft the length of said flexible connector between said manually engageable arm and said platform is adjusted.
CA000397001A 1982-02-24 1982-02-24 Curling ice melter Expired CA1167772A (en)

Priority Applications (1)

Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
CA000397001A CA1167772A (en) 1982-02-24 1982-02-24 Curling ice melter

Applications Claiming Priority (1)

Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
CA000397001A CA1167772A (en) 1982-02-24 1982-02-24 Curling ice melter

Publications (1)

Publication Number Publication Date
CA1167772A true CA1167772A (en) 1984-05-22

Family

ID=4122159

Family Applications (1)

Application Number Title Priority Date Filing Date
CA000397001A Expired CA1167772A (en) 1982-02-24 1982-02-24 Curling ice melter

Country Status (1)

Country Link
CA (1) CA1167772A (en)

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Legal Events

Date Code Title Description
MKEX Expiry