US2371396A

US2371396A - Ice rink floor

Info

Publication number: US2371396A
Application number: US404671A
Authority: US
Inventors: Frank W Knowles
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1941-07-30
Filing date: 1941-07-30
Publication date: 1945-03-13
Anticipated expiration: 1962-03-13

Description

March l13., 1945; F, W, KNOWLES 2,371,396

ICE RINK FLOOR Filed July 3o, 1941 I ///4 /06 m9 //3 L I l '0 Y l. /f l l HTTY,

Patented Mar. 13, 1945 v UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE."

l l 'l ,--as'uss lor: umn FLOOR Frank W. Knowles, Seattle, Wash. Application July 30, 1941,I Serial No. 404,671

(Cl. 'GZ-12) 6 Claims.

The present invention relates to improvements in the construction and operation of an ice rink floor. More particularly itv relates to improve` ments in the construction of a floor that may be used either for ice skating, roller skating, dancing, conventions, or other obvious uses.

In the prior art, ice rink floors have had the refrigerant pipes laid over the floor,`and these pipes were removed when it was desired to 'use thel floor for other purposes. Such conversion was costly and time consuming. Other of the prior art floors had the pipes embedded inaI sectional or monolithic iioor usually composed of concrete. Such fioors were costly and hard to construct. They were also prone to develop cracks due to the unequal co-eicients of expansion of the metal pipes and the concrete;v and due to the drag of the slab on its supports as it evoanded and contracted.

The present invention eliminates many if not all of the defects of the prior art structures and achieves all of their desirable results. Applicants rink floor may be constructed in one section or several sections secured together and floated on the refrigerant. This eliminates the use of pipes, prevents unequal expansion, eliminates the drag as the floor floats, reduces the cost, obtains even distribution of heat transfer, and has other desirable features, as will hereinafter be evident.

Having in mind these defects of the prior art,

it is an object of the present invention to construct an ice rink floor that will be without pipes but which will oat upon the refrigerant.

erant is constrained between the oors by `means of suitable sealing meansplace'd around the top floor at its margin. The refrigerant is circulated by means of suitably placed conduits that connect with conventional refrigerating machinery.

lAs will be apparent from the following disclosure, thesev objects and others are. attained, and` these. defectsremedied by means of the devices and construction shown inthe accompanyingvdrawing, wherein: i f

` Figure 1 is a' perspective view, partly insection, of an icerink embodying my invention. y

AFigure 2 is a fragment yof a perspective view,

l partly in'section, ofa modification of my invention. f

lIn Figure 1, there is shown a perspective View, partly in section, of an ice rinkembodying one form of my invention. In thisview there is shown a top floor l made of reinforced concrete thathas around the margin an upstanding curbv 2." Secured to the curb is a fiat horizontal marginalplate 3 made .of a light weight sheet of metal that will flex relatively easily. vThis marginal plate `3 is secured to the curb by any suitable means su'ch as the bolts 4. The plate extends across a sealing well 5 or sump, that extends around the-top fioor. On the other side of this sump is the adjacent floor surface 6 to a which the marginal plate 3 is secured as by bolts 1. If desirable the marginal 'plate may rest upon gaskets 8 and-9 interposed between the plateand the curb 2 and theadjacentiioor 6, respectively.

Another object of the present `invention is the provision of an ice rink with a subfloor supporting a top floor upon a refrigerant l contained therebetween by the floors and a marginal seal.

Another object of the present invention is the Yconstruction of two superimposed floors adapted to have a refrigerant passed therebetween to refrigerate the top floor and make it usable as an ice rink.

A further object of the present invention is the construction of an ice rink floor that will be without pipes. l

A further object of the present invention is the provision of sealing means for the margin of a floating floor.

A further object of the present invention the provision of a floating floor. l

These defects of the prior art have been remedied and these objects attained by the construction of a subfloor, and atop floor resting upon and supported by a refrigerating medium contained between the two floors. The refrig- Suitable reinforcing means I0 maybe Placed in the top iioor and curb.

-The top floor fioats upon a refrigerant Il which Vmay be the usual calcium chloride brine or other similar refrigerant. The refrigerant may even be of thedirect expansion type, in which case the gaskets 8 and 9 will be necessary. Underneath the refrigerant and the top oor is placed a concrete subfloor l2 that acts to support the top floor and. to aid inconstrainingthe refrigerantagainst loss.y The subfloor has amarginal wall which is spaced from the curb 2 to form the sump 5, and toV connect the subfloor with the adjacent floor surface 6. In the middle of the subfioor and longitudinally thereof is formed va distributing trough |3- into which is led by suitable pipes I4 the incomingl refrigerant.

From thisdistributin'g troughltlie refrigerant flows outwardly to the margins of the top floor where it is collected in thesump and returned Sto the refrigerating machine thru the overflow pipes I5. -The depthof-the refrigerant in the sump is determined by the height of the over'ow openings I6, or by other suitable means. This height determines the distance which the top floor will be spaced from the subfloor, and, hence, the refrigerant space between the floors. The sump may be drained by means of suitable pipes I1 opening from the bottom of the sump. The subfloor may be placed upon a bed of insulating material I8 such as cinders, cinder concrete, or other suitable means. The device may rest directly upon the ground, but it may be placed any Where in a building. The device has been shown with a layer of ice 20 suitable for skating, covering the floor.

The operation of the device disclosed in Fig ure 1 is as follows. In a condition in which the top iioor rests directly upon the subfloor and nov refrigerant is contained therebetween, the margina] plate 3 Will be found to have its inner portion flexed downwardly. As the refrigerant is delivered between the floors thru the supply pipes, I4 and the longitudinal trough I3, the sump 5 will gradually ll and the top floor will float on the refrigerant. The height to which the floor will rise will be determined by the position ofthe openings I6 in the overflow pipes I5. A The movement of the top floor is normal to its surface, that is, at a right angle to the surface. The structure may be so designed that the marginal plate 3 is level when the device is being used as a rink and has a layer of ice thereon, or it may slope upward and inward under this condition. The Water for forming ice 20 may be placed on the floor prior to refrigerating the floor or it may be placed on thereafter. If placed on thereafter, it will be found that the floor has arisen above the desired level but will return as the water is added to its surface. It will be found that the space between the floors need not be over an inc h and probably only about half that, even for large floors sixty to one hundred feet in width. From this it will be seen that the movement of the floor will be small. To reduce strain upon the marginal plate 3, it need not be secured in place by the bolts 4 and I. This plate need not be sealed if a brine is used for refrigerating.

If a direct expansion system is used, the modication shown in Figure 2 is preferable. In this figure is shown a top floor I I a marginal plate I 03, bolts |04 and I 0'I securing the plate to the top floor and the adjacent floor |06. The marginal plate bridges a sump I05. Also bridging the sump and connecting the top floor and the adjacent floor is a flexible metal or rubber seal |08 that has longitudinally thereof a bellows |09, or corrugation. One edge of this seal is embedded in the top floor and one edge in the adjacent floor. Liquid refrigerant is delivered between the top floor and the suboor I I2 thru the pipes II4 and the trough II3. The gas is Aremoved thru the pipe IIS. To reduce the distance which the two floors need to separate to allow for proper flow of the refrigerant, the. under side of the top floor, or the top side of the subfloor, is transversely corrugated to form passageways for the refrigerant. In fact, using these corrugations, a device similar to the devices shown in the drawing might be constructed with the expectation that `no movement of one floor away from the other. would occur. In the latter instance the two floors might be secured together thru out the area. If one of the floors is formed with corrugations, a form would be left in place. This form would be corrugated if on the underside of theptop floor, or ilat if the corrugations were on the top of the suboor.

The operation of the device shown in Figure 2 would be similar to that shown in Figure 1. An advantage of the device shown in Figure 2 is that the refrigerated surface may be level with that of the adjacent floor. This means that the water for the ice must be added after the iioorA is refrigerated to prevent the overflow of the adjacent fioor. Also, a temporary curb may be installed to prevent this overow. Also, the structure may be so designed that the marginal plate is level when the two floors are in contact.

A construction somewhat similar to that shown in Figure 2 may be had by the use of a liquid seal in place of .the mechanical seal |08. Such a y structure would involve deepening the sump and placing a depending skirt on the edge of the top 'floor to extend down into the sump. The sump would then be filled with a material such as water, oil, ethyleneglycol, or other liquid suitable forthe purpose, depending upon the refrigerant and the particular design. Such a seal is in common use in gas andoil storage tanks. In the' following claims wherethe refrigerant or heat transfer medium is described as being under pressure, that pressure is, of course, measured at the surface of the medium in under the marginal seal.

Having thus described my invention, I claim:

1. An ice rink iioor, comprising: a subfloor, a top floor placed over said subfloor and forming therebetween a sump, a marginal plate connecting said floors, and a flexible vapor tight seal secured between and to said top floor and said subfloor. l 2. An ice rink oorpcomprising: a subfloor, a top floor placed over said subfloor and forming therebetween a sump, a marginal plate connecting said floors, and means marginally of said top floor and over said sump for securing a vapor tight seal between said oors.

3. A heat transfer floor construction, comprising: a suboor, a top floor placed over said suboor but free therefrom, a seal placed marginally of said top floor and between said top iioor and said subfloor, the freedom of said top iioor and the nature of said seal allowing movement between said oors, and means including the above elements for confining between said floors a fluid heat transfer medium under a pressure above the atmospheric pressure on said top floor; whereby heat may be transferred between said'top iioor and said iluid medium, and at least a portion of the weight of said top floor may be carried by said uid medium to reduce the strains upon said top iioor caused by its deformation due to temperature changes.

4. A heat transfer floor construction, comprising: a subfloor, a concrete top iloor placed over said subfloor but free therefrom, an adjacent :door connecting with said subfloor, said top floor and said adjacent floor being so constructed that and adapted to have their upper faces lie in the same plane, and a seal arrangedmarginally of said top iioor and between said top floor and the other floors, and means including the above elements for confining a heat transfer fluid under a pressure greater than atmospheric between said top floor and said subfloor whereby heat may be transferred between said top floor and said fluid medium, and at least a portion of the weight of said topiloor may be carried by said fluid medium ing: a subiioor, a concrete topfloor placed over said subiioor but free therefrom, a seal placed marginally of said topoor and ibetween said topiioorA and said subfloor, the freedom of said topoor and the nature of said seal allowing movement between said oors, and means including the above elements for confining between said floors a fluid heat transfer medium under a pressure above the atmospheric pressure on said topfioor; whereby heat may be transferred between said topiioor and said iiuid medium, and at least a portion of the weight of said topfloor may be carried by said fluid medium to reduce the strain upon said topoor caused by its deformation due to temperature changes.

6. A heat transfer floor construction, comprising: a subfloor, a` concrete topfloor placed over said subiioor but free therefrom, a seal placed marginally of said topfioorand between said topfloor and said suboor, the freedom of said topoor and the nature of said seal allowing movement between said floors, means between and contacting said iioors for spacing them apart and forming a heat transfer passage therebetween, and means including the above elel0 ments for confining between said oors a fluid