Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
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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;
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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.
