ICE PEBBLING

CREATION DE PITONS SUR LA GLACE

English Abstract

-3- An ice pebbler is used for pebbling a sheet of curling ice. The pebbler has a wheel supported base that may be pulled or motor driven across a sheet of ice. The pebbler carries a water container for the pebbling water and a pebbler head mounted on the base for lateral movement across the sheet. The pebbler may be manually operated, pulled by hand and with a hand crank for swinging the pebbler head across the sheet. In the preferred arrangement, the wheels and the pebbler head movement are driven so that the pebbler will travel at a uniform speed along the ice sheet. The swinging movement of the pebbler head may be driven by the wheels or motor driven to provide even greater pebbling consistency. The water pressure may be from a gravity feed or air pressure, but the preferred arrangement is a pressure pump, which delivers constant pressure throughout a pebbling operation.

French Abstract

3 - Un créateur de pitons sur la glace sert à créer des pitons sur une couche de glace pour le curling. Le créateur de pitons dispose d'une base supportée par une roue qui peut être tirée ou déplacée par un moteur le long d'une couche de glace. Le créateur de pitons comporte un réservoir d'eau pour l'eau de création de pitons et un créateur de pitons monté en tête de la base pour un mouvement latéral le long de la couche. Le créateur de pitons peut être actionné manuellement, tiré à la main et avec une manivelle pour faire osciller la tête du créateur de pitons le long de la couche. Dans l'arrangement préféré, le mouvement des roues et de la tête du créateur de pitons sont conduits afin que le créateur de pitons se déplace à une vitesse uniforme le long de la couche de glace. Le mouvement de balancier de la tête du créateur de pitons peut être dirigé par les roues ou motorisé pour fournir une plus grande cohérence des pitons. La pression de l'eau peut provenir d'une alimentation par gravité ou de la pression de l'air, mais l'arrangement préféré est une pompe de pression, qui fournit une pression constante tout au long d'une opération de création de pitons.

Claims

-6-
CLAIMS
1. An ice pebbler for pebbling a sheet of curling ice, said pebbler
comprising:
a base;
wheels for supporting the base on the sheet for travel over the sheet
along a path of travel;
a water container mounted on the base;
a pebbler head connected to the water container for receiving water
therefrom; and
pebbler head displacement means mounting the pebbler head on the
base for enabling lateral movement of the pebbler head across the path of
travel.
2. A pebbler according to Claim 1 wherein the wheels are freely rotatable
and including a handle for manually moving the pebbler along the sheet.
3. A pebbler according to Claim 1 or 2 wherein the pebbler head
displacement means include a hand crank for swinging the pebbler head across
the
sheet.
4. A pebbler according to Claim 1 including a motor and means for driving
the wheels from the motor.
5. A pebbler according to Claim 4 wherein the pebbler head displacement
means are connected to the motor for driving the pebbler head movement from
the
motor.
6. A pebbler according to Claim 1, 2 or 4 wherein the pebbler head
displacement means are connected to the wheels for driving the pebbler head
movement from the wheels.
7. A pebbler according to any one of Claims 1 to 6, including a pump for
delivering water under pressure from the water container to the pebbler head.

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8. A pebbler according to any one of Claims 1 to 7 wherein the pebbler
head displacement means include vertical adjustment means mounting the pebbler
head on the base for vertical adjustment.
9. A pebbler according to any one of Claims 1 to 8 wherein the pebbler
head displacement means include angular adjustment means mounting the pebbler
head on the base for angular adjustment to change the orientation of the
pebbler
head with respect to the ice surface.

Description

De-15-02 03:11Pm From-AIKINS cA o22oisa4 2oo2-oa-i5jD4-957-0840 T-758
p.ODT/ODB F-852
ICE PEBBLING
The present invention relates to the art of ice pebbling, as used in the
sport of curling.
In curling, the surtace of a sheet of ice is "pebbled" before play by
sprinkling water droplets on the ice surface. The droplets freeze on contact
with the
ice to provide the desired pebble.
Pebbling is a manual process, carried out using a portable water
container delivering water to a pebbler head. The water may be delivered by
gravity
or under pressure, often generated using air pressure in the water tank. The
pebbler
1 D head is swung manually from side to side of the ice sheet as the person
pebbling the
ice walks backwards down the center of the sheet. The manual process can lead
to
variations in the pebble and thus variations in the performance of the ice
during play-
There may be differences in pebbling from side to side of the sheet, or
variations
along the sheet. Differences will also be apparent from sheet to sheet.
Consistency
is highly desirable, but may only be achieved by a master ice maker-
The present invention is concerned with an apparatus that is intended to
ameliorate these problems.
According to the present invention there is provided an ice pebbler for
pebbling a sheet of curling ice, said pebbler comprising:
a base;
wheels for supporting the base on the sheet for travel over the sheet
along a path of travel;
a water container mounted on the base;
a pebbler head connected to the water container for receiving water
therefrom; and
pebbler head displacement means mounting the pebbler head on the
base for enabling lateral movement of the pebbier head across the path of
travel.
08/15/02 THII 16:10 [TX/RX NO 9772] [X007

08-15-02 03:llPm From-AIKINS CA 02201684 2002-08-15 204-95T-0840 T-T58
p.008/008 F-852
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This apparatus provides a stable base for the heavy water container and
the pebbler head. Irregular vertical movements of the pebbler head and changes
in
the pebbler head orientation wifih respect to the ice surface are minimized,
providing a
more uniform pebble to the ice sheet.
The pebbler may be manually operated, pulled by hand and with a hand
crank for swinging the pebbler head across the sheet. In the preferred
arrangement,
the wheels and the pebbler head movement are driven so that the pebbier will
travel
at a uniform speed along the ice sheet. The swinging movement of the pebbler
head
may be driven by the wheels or motor driven to provide even greater pebbling
consistency. The water pressure may be from a gravity teed or air pressure as
in the
prior art, but the preferred arrangement is a pressure pump, which delivers
constant
pressure throughout a pebbling operation.
The pebbler head displacement means may include vertical adjustment
means mounting the pebbler head on the base for vertical adjustment and
angular
adjustment means mounting the pebbler head on the base far angular adjustment
to
change the orientation of the pebbler head with respect to the ice surtace.
Other features that may be employed are variable speed drives for the
wheels, the pebbler head and a water delivery pump.
!n the accompanying drawings, which illustrate an exemplary
embodiment of the present invention:
Figure 1 is a side view of a pebbler according to the present invenfiion;
Figure 2 is a front view of the pebbler; and
Figure 3 is a top view of the pebbler.
Referring to the accompanying drawings, there is illustrated a pebbler
10 that includes a base frame 12 including two side members 14 and a back
cross
member 16. At the front of the base frame is a live axle
08/15/02 THLJ 16:10 [TX/RX NO 9772] x]008

-3-
18 that extends across the frame and carries two front wheels 20. At the
back of the base frame is an axle 22 that carries two back wheels 24.
Extending upwardly from the front ends of the side members
14 are two uprights 26. At their upper ends, the uprights merge into a
forwardly projecting U-shaped hand grip 28.
As illustrated most particularly in Figures 2 and 3, the base
frame 12 carries a DC electric motor 30. A pulley 32 mounted on the motor
shaft is connected by a belt 34 to a pulley 36 on the live axle 18. This
drives both of the front wheels at the same speed to drive the pebbler
forwardly along an ice sheet.
A rechargeable electric battery 38 is mounted on the base
frame 12 immediately behind the motor 30.
Partway up the uprights 26 is a pebbler assembly 40. This
includes two sleeves 42 fitted slidably on the respective uprights 26 and a
crossbar 44 joining the two sleeves. Hex head set screws 46 are screwed
into threaded bores in the sleeves 42 and serve to lock the pebbler assembly
in place at a desired height on the uprights.
A swing arm 48 projects forwardly from the center of the
crossbar 44. At its front end, the swing arm is connected to an oscillator
arm 50 mounted by a vertical pivot pin 52 on the crossbar 44, at its lateral
centre. Forwardly of the pivot pin 52, the oscillator arm is pinned to a link
54 which is in turn pinned to a crank 56 driven by a swing arm motor 58
mounted on the crossbar 44. The swing arm motor is a variable speed DC
motor driven by power from the battery 38. Operation of the motor swings
the swing arm back and forth across the back of the pebbler.
At the free, rear end of the swing arm 48 is a pebbler head 60
screwed into a pebbler head socket mounted on the end of the swing arm

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and coupled to a hose 64. The hose leads from the pebbler head to a pump
and motor assembly 66 mounted on a water tank 68 located on the base
frame beside the motor and battery. The pump and motor assembly is
powered by the battery 38. The tank is filled with water as needed through
a filling opening closed by a cap 70.
With all three motors in operation, the pebbler is driven at a
constant speed along the sheet of ice, while the swing arm swings back and
forth across the ice in a uniform manner and the pebbler head receives
water at constant pressure from the pump and motor unit.
The nature of the pebbling can be altered by controlling any of
the three motors.
A pump control 72 on the motor and pump unit 66 can vary
the pressure delivered by the pump to the pebbler head and thus the
breadth of the pattern from the head. It has been found that a pressure
resulting in a 13 inch (33 cm) rise of the water from the head yields good
results
The swing arm motor 58 is controlled with a swing arm motor
control 74 to vary the speed of oscillation of the pebbler head across the
sheet.
The drive motor is controlled by a control 76 that will vary the
speed at which the pebbler advances along the ice. Normally this will be in
the order of 2 to 3 miles per hour (3 to 5 kph), approximately walking
speed.
The height of the pebbler head above the ice is adjustable by
releasing the set screws 46 and sliding the pebbler assembly up or down on
the frame uprights 26. Where it is desired to tilt the pebbler head up or
down to change its orientation with respect to the ice surface, the swing

-5-
arm may be bent up or down.
While one particular embodiment of the invention has been
described in the foregoing, it is to be understood that other embodiments
are possible within the scope of the invention and are intended to be
included herein. It is, for example, possible to configure the pebbler as a
completely manual apparatus with a hand crank for oscillating the swing arm
as the pebbler is drawn forward along the sheet of ice by hand. Gravity
feed, air pressure or a pump may be used for delivering water to the pebbler
head in the manual version of the apparatus. The pump is preferred as it
provides a uniform pressure for the full length of a sheet, while gravity feed
and air pressure will normally drop as the pebbler advances along the sheet.
It is also possible to link the oscillating drive of the swing arm to the
wheels
of the pebbler so that the swing arm is oscillated in timed relation with the
rotation of the wheels.
Another characteristic that may be included in some
embodiments is a pebbler head and hose that is detachable from the swing
arm. This allows the ice maker to remove the pebbler head for use in spot
pebbling, for example in the corners of the sheet that would not normally be
accessible without turning the pebbler around.

Representative Drawing